Guild Wars 2 Wiki talk:Image formatting

Archive

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• 2010 Sep - 2012 Jun

User Interface + Maintenance Template

In GWW, we replaced screenshots that were taken with subject selection and had a template to tag images below standard requirements. I see no such indication here in GW2W. Did any consensus decided to not continue this practice? Yoshida Keiji (talk) 13:08, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

We have {{image request}}. And we should definitely replace images like that. —Dr Ishmael 14:03, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

Depth blur

Any "official" stance on it? I don't want to add something that would be removed, but I think the game looks horrible with it, hence no need to have it on when doing images for here. Plus it's only purpose is to stylistically blur distant objects, that doesn't help. Previously Unsigned 01:02, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

If all it does is blur distant objects, then does it matter? Screenshots of "stuff" are supposed to be up-close anyway. —Dr Ishmael 04:32, 13 September 2012 (UTC)

Nobody uses "File:User <Username> <description>".xxx BTW

Somebody should edit Special:Upload so that people know... somehow make that rule visible so people use it, cause I never see anybody use that format. Or even make a checkbox which automatically appends {{user image|<Username>}} to at least keep them in the correct categories. Previously Unsigned 14:23, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

I see this as a reason to stop the User Username description format tbh. The user image template allows user images to be nicely categorised, which deals with the original reason (I think?) for having that name format. Adding/editing/automating templates is also easier and requires less maintenance than renaming images and informing users.

GWW had some radio buttons in Special:Upload that added the user image template, so we could use that here. I wouldn't want to add it to the licensing drop-down since only one option can be chosen and licensing is more important than internal categorisation. pling 14:32, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

That sounds like a good solution. —Dr Ishmael 14:42, 14 September 2012 (UTC)

Policy link

Is there a reason we don't have GW2W:IMAGE link here? GWW has GWW:IMAGE link to the image policies there. And I can't tell you how many times I've tried that here already. I'm sure I'm not the only one. --Jyavoc 06:47, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Feel free to set it up! poke | talk 09:40, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Done. --Jyavoc 15:06, 5 November 2012 (UTC)

Using a torch

I have tried a couple of times to use an equiped torch to lighten up the image, most used on an NPC. Is this an accepted way to get a good image? And what about other ways, not-in-game, to make image perfect? Hencovic 03:04, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

Not-in-game? Most people don't approve of altering screenshots in any way (besides cropping). —Dr Ishmael 06:40, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

Yea, oh, i was unclear there. Like Photoshop or Paintshop or whatever. Yea I do only cropping. --Hencovic 19:19, 1 January 2013 (UTC)

Possible armor/weapon naming convention change?

Perhaps instead of naming the image icon currently to match what it represents exactly, the formating could be changed to 'PvX Armorset/WeaponsetName Typepiece' (i.e 'PvP Acolyte(1) Headpiece') and when linking it would be using [[PvP Acolyte(1) Headpiece|Acolyte(1) Mask]]? I only suggest this would universalise all the armor/weapon icon naming conventions as some headpieces could be a helm or helmet or mask the same can be seen in the weapon naming conventions as well. This would allow someone to search for a particular item if the armor/weapon set name is known.

I guess this could encourage more people to upload images as you now only need to know the armor/weaponset name and the typeppiece.

I do see a downside when linking to the item that it would have to be done using the alternative text, unless there is another way to link it and display the 'non-convention' name, i.e. the actual in-game name. Azekarii The Midnight Stray 21:47, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

We have a page for each weapon/armor set, like Feathered armor, where we list all the components of the set. So if, as you say, you know the set name, you just go to that page, then you can drill down to the individual pieces. —Dr Ishmael 22:47, 2 February 2013 (UTC)

Weapon preview

Do we want to have all weapon images use the preview panel? The Weapon Only option looks pretty good when I did it for Final Rest. There are some large weapons that clip into text like greatswords, but that shouldn't be too problematic.--Relyk ~ talk > 07:15, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

No, not all, because it's still a tiny window. High-res screenshots with the weapon actually equipped (in good lighting) are still preferred. —Dr Ishmael 13:42, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

I don't like Weapon Only. There's no context to see how it actually looks on a character. How big is it? Does it clip? How is it oriented on your back? The appearance of the weapon itself is just one aspect of a weapon screenshot. (For the same reasons, I didn't like GWW's weapon renders; by themselves, they're not particularly useful.) pling 01:16, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

I shouldn't suggest to replace images with the weapon only preview. However, it's something anyone can add and we don't have to worry about consistency of the images. Whether it replaces existing images or in addition to existing images, is it something we should encourage players to upload?--Relyk ~ talk > 01:44, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Screenshots enhanced with SweetFX?

After reading the guidelines for the use of uploading screenshots on the Wiki, I have one question: What is the current stance when it comes to screenshots enhanced using SweetFX or other AA Injectors? Should I upload the enhanced versions or the original version? ~Fleeting Flash @ Sanctum of Rall~ 00:04, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

Use the original version, it keeps the images consistent. I can say no one will really care if it doesn't make a substantial difference, but use the original version.--Relyk ~ talk > 07:26, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

Yes, use the original. Having images "enhanced" with third-party programs like that would only confuse other players who can't figure out why it doesn't look like that on their system, even with highest graphics settings / high-end video card / etc. —Dr Ishmael 12:43, 22 March 2013 (UTC)

[[Image:Filename.png|alternative text]] doesn't work

There is no alternative text, and the full resolution of the image is displayed. It is identical to using [[Image:Filename.png|]] Previously Unsigned (talk) 01:05, 23 July 2013 (UTC)

The alternative text is text that is displayed, when the image cannot be displayed. For example when the image simply does not exist or when the browsing user has disabled images (for example when using a screenreader). It is simply a means of adding accessibility to images.

If you want to create a text link to an image, you can prepend the file name with a colon to make it work, e.g. [[:File:Filename.png|Link text]]. poke | talk 10:52, 23 July 2013 (UTC)

The alt text is shown as a tooltip when you hover your mouse pointer over the image. And as Poke pointed out, you have to use an initial colon to create a text link, otherwise any wikilink to the File: namespace will return the file iteself. —Dr Ishmael 12:51, 23 July 2013 (UTC)

Ok then. Can this be added to the main upload page? Because I don't see this as the most intuitive or obvious thing. Other people may want to images without having the image being embedded. Previously Unsigned (talk) 16:32, 25 July 2013 (UTC)

Displaying images is on Help:Editing, and I just added a section on how to link images there too. poke | talk 22:04, 25 July 2013 (UTC)

Maps?

I was just wondering, how are people finding/making the clean images of dungeon/area/etc maps? (Ex: [[:File:Twilight Arbor map.png]]) Even if I turn off/remove/reset everything I possibly can it'll still show things like area names, the character location icon, the dotted movement trail, etc. Thanks in advance. :D -Somohexual (talk) 15:11, 18 October 2013 (UTC)

Using endless tonics for photography character shrinking

Another tip for taking screenshots of NPCs, is to become tiny. For this I like to use an Endless Black Quaggan Tonic, since it turns your character into a relatively smooth and smell model. Especially handy when you use a norn for shootings. ~ Sanna 19:46, 29 December 2015 (UTC)

Underwater images

Is there a way to get nice big images without my character in the way when underwater? When I zoom in to first person camera, the screen is just full of bubbles, and /sleep doesn't work underwater either. -Azurem (talk) 16:10, 22 December 2016 (UTC)

What are you trying to get pictures of exactly? - Do_odleplex 18:45, 22 December 2016 (UTC)

You could try to take pictures the way I used to, go under the model with max field of view until the npc is right in the middle of your camera. Arguably you have even more freedom to take pictures than on land. -Darqam 18:53, 22 December 2016 (UTC)

@Doodleplex Various things? The recent one that made me ask this was [[File:Coolant Tank.jpg]], but [[File:Quaggan Calf.jpg]] was also kind of awkward. I just had a hard time trying to position myself, and thought I should ask if there was anything I was missing in case I have to do it again in the future.

@Darqam Thanks for the suggestion. I guess you do have a lot more freedom with what angle to take the picture from. -Azurem (talk) 19:27, 22 December 2016 (UTC)

Automatic skill icon grab

Since we have the icons from skills in API:2/skills, would it be possible to get the skill infobox to automatically grab the image from the API when the page is created without having to upload it? Mith🌟Talk 20:08, 4 August 2019 (UTC)

Yes it would be possible, but with the frequent unavailability of the API combined with the preference to use local images, uploading seems a decent idea. Plus we get to maintain a cool history of previous icons. -Chieftain Alex 20:50, 4 August 2019 (UTC)

Png vs Jpg

Can we make some exceptions for official concept art and sources that use png (like loading screens) instead of needing to convert them to a lossy format? Would be great to keep transparency properly on things like [[:File:Yao concept art.jpg]] as well. I'm not saying we need to specifically go back and edit stuff but there should be a place for exceptions to the standard. -Dak393 (talk) 14:50, 2 June 2022 (UTC)

Absolutely; I don't believe that the guidelines were meant to prohibit uploading concept art as pngs where it makes sense. We specify jpg for screenshots, png for icons, gif for animations, and leave everything else up to user discretion. I do see one point that could be clearer, which I've corrected. - Felix Omni 12:45, 8 June 2022 (UTC)

Does this really justify reuploading hundreds of duplicate images, especially images without transparency? See trait line background images (72 uploaded duplicate images) and training images (114 uploaded duplicate images), for example:

• File:Air specialization.jpg vs File:Air specialization.png
• File:Berserker training.jpg vs File:Berserker training.png

Honestly, I can't spot a difference. --Tolkyria (talk) 07:32, 6 July 2022 (UTC)

"Does this really justify reuploading hundreds of duplicate images"

The older ones are gonna be replaced so no dupes, doesn't cause you any issue as you're not working on it, also I did confirm with User:Chieftain Alex before progressing forward.

"especially images without transparency" "Honestly, I can't spot a difference."

Doesn't really matter if they have transparency or not for this case imo, these are the proper source files and I can see the difference not that it matters much. I see no reason we shouldn't use proper source files in cases like this when we have them. This change also allowed me to properly tag them all with IDs and upload the missing images. Hopefully that makes sense --Dak393 (talk) 07:41, 6 July 2022 (UTC)

Not really, but the icon and image handling on the wiki doesn't make sense for a quite some time now. --Tolkyria (talk) 07:50, 6 July 2022 (UTC)

Provided the png images aren't conflicting with pages with similarly named icons, I don't see an issue with the occasional PNG images if this is what they're stored as in the DAT file. As Dak says, I'm willing to delete the existing jpg training/spec images. I suggest we amend the existing sentence in the #File Format section and expand the scope from

"The permitted file types: jpg, png, svg, jpeg, gif, however not all permitted files are appropriate for all images. For example, files that should be .png are icons such as File:Cap Hop.png or art with transparency, and files that are .gif should be primarily reserved for animated images such as File:Mini Super Spider moonwalk animation.gif. Most files should be uploaded as .jpg or jpeg otherwise. User images that are used for user pages are left up to the uploader's discretion."

to

"The permitted file types: jpg, png, svg, jpeg, gif. Most images uploaded to the wiki will be of the .jpg format (such as for screenshots). Animations will utilise the .gif format. The .png will be used for (i) icons, (ii) images with transparencies, or (iii) DAT file and concept art resoures natively available in png. User images that are used for user pages are left up to the uploader's discretion."

Up for variations in paragraph wording obviously. -Chieftain Alex 19:45, 7 July 2022 (UTC)