Talk:Don't Starve Wiki

Are you searching for previous discussions?

---

Suggestion regarding duplicate content in the Wiki

At the present time, every page appears to be duplicated for each of the two versions of the game (Don't Starve and Don't Starve Together). I've noticed that this has resulted in largely identical pages. The Rain Coat page is a good example of this. I've noticed that when I edit a page, I always have to also edit the other version of the page, and be meticulous about checking for the consistency between the two versions of the content. I've come to the conclusion that the content duplication makes the wiki harder to edit and harder to maintain, and can result in pages having inconsistent structures, sections and amount of development.

In my opinion, the content of the two games do not diverge enough to warrant separate pages. I suggest we merge identical and nearly identical pages into one. If pages are mostly identical, still combine them into one but add clarifications for each version where necessary. If content diverges significantly in the future, we can create separate pages as needed.

Where small amount of content diverges, I suggest we use icons that indicate that a certain point of information is only relevant to a specific version. We could adopt the same system that the Terraria Wiki uses. They append a small PC icon for information that is only relevant to the Desktop version of the game; a joystick icon for console; a phone icon for mobile version, etc. See these pages for some examples: [[1]], [[2]], [[3]]. (Notice how in the last link, the drop table specifies which items are available in each version with small icons) --WilsonGamer1234567890 (talk) 11:34, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

when you edit Raincoat/DST, what parts of the DS Raincoat page do you have to change? Generally, if the DST and DS page are separated well, and since DS generally doesn't get updates, only the DST pages need to be edited much. And many things are quite different between DS, DS and some DLC, and DST, which is why we started separating pages because it was difficult for users to see what actually applied to DST. --Allumii (talk) 13:28, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

It's not a problem when it comes to adding new content, since that is usually as simple as appending new text to the DST page (which is where all the new content goes nowadays). The problem begins to show when one wants to revise content that is shared between both pages. For example, I made some edits to the Gears page to improve the quality and clarity for that particular article. But I had to go over the same grammatical mistakes/improvements on the DST page for consistency's sake, because they shared a lot of the same text.

That's not the main problem though. This duplicity has a subtle impact on certainty and clarity of information. The problem is that having duplicate pages allow many discrepancies to exist and, as readers and editors, we can't know why they exist without extensive investigation of each differing segment of text. As someone who does not have an encyclopedic knowledge of all the items, mobs, interactions, probabilities and variables of both games (and if I did, I would probably not need this wiki), I cannot make a reasonable assumption about why some information isn't shared among the two pages, because the reasons could be wildly varied. I'd like to clarify this with an example. Take the Gears/DS page, it says:

"They can also be found by digging up Graves (chance of 3.07%)."

It says that the chance to dig up Gears from graves is 3.07%, but this information isn't presented in the DST page. Why? Is it because the drop chance values are known in DS and unknown in DST? Or did the previous editor simply neglect to copy the information to the other version as they should have? I'd have to cross-reference other articles on the wiki (which may also have the same problem!), or dissect the game myself to know. I could not even fix this discrepancy myself as an editor, because I don't know why it exists. To illustrate this point further, take another example, also from the Gears page:

"Clockwork Knights, Clockwork Bishops, and Clockwork Rooks will not respawn and graves will not reset on their own, but they can respawn if they are part of the caves, as the caves can be reset. This makes Gears a renewable resource in the base game."

This paragraph is not present in the DST version of the page. Put yourself in the position of a reader - someone who isn't familiar with the game, then ask yourself: why is this not in the DST page? Does that mean clockworks respawn in DST? And graves reset on their own in DST? Can the caves not be reset in DST? It raises more questions than answers.

But these problems would be solved if the information was consolidated in one page. With an one-page policy, it would be imperative to the editor to clarify if some information only applies to one version of the game. Readers and future editors would be able to safely assume that, if no difference or peculiarity is mentioned, then that the information applies to both games. It avoids additional work and unnecessary complexity. So it would be logical to me to adopt such a policy. --WilsonGamer1234567890 (talk) 14:22, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

Why should a reader interested in DST even read the DS page? By the way, the tips in Gears/DST mention the respawning of clockworks in caves.

And regarding the drop chance info missing from Gears/DST. I don't see any difference between a unspecific "Gears drop from graves" being on the DST page or being in a DST section on a shared page. --Allumii (talk) 14:52, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

Is it so unlikely that a DST player will be interested in the base game? The two games are an identical point of interest. I, for one, am interested in both of them. Furthermore, the concern is not specifically with the Gears page; please avoid fixating on my example. Every problem in that page can be fixed; including the inconsistency on the location of the information that you pointed out. Because it's not about any page in particular - it's about how duplicity affects the quality of all of the articles in the wiki. --WilsonGamer1234567890 (talk) 15:06, 1 September 2024 (UTC)