Hardware Guidelines and Workplan Discussion

[AndyC]

O.K. as we have already stated we need a thread to discuss what what we need to do to get the ball rolling with the hardware section. I feel this will be the most productive way of doing this until we can work out the logistics of getting us all together for a chat-meeting. I've seen that you have put quite a bit of time in latley, Tholly, with new additions and adding photographs, which is excellent now we just need to pull everything together and work out who's going to do what.

I've thought of a few areas, which will need covering:

• New releases U.S. and Europe
• Current Generation Accessories Already released U.S. and Europe
• Older Systems Accessories U.S. and Europe

Now the hard bit. How will we begin to gather the information needed to do this work. In the past I have added the new European games released, to do this I have had magazines to show me what's coming out for the month and also on retail web-sites it pretty much covers all the game releases for the week/ month. Some of these sites such as Amazon and Play also feature hardware, but not in any great quantity. However the information will be readily available if we "shop around" so to speak.

Again current generation stuff is still available from Amazon and other sites so this information can be acquired and added to our database.

It's the older stuff I would have a problem with. Other web-sites list various accessories and hardware on their sites sometimes for retail and sometimes to document, as we are doing here. However there is no definitive answer to it. I have always in the past only ever focussed on games and have never spent any time buying accessories other than Joypads and even there I've mainly only ever bought official ones as they tend to take more of a battering. This is where I was hoping you would both have a little more experience.

So anyway, after bulking up the database we are going to have to start to look at adding some content to the pages. Tholly has already started adding some photos he has done onto some of the pages. I was hoping I could start to do the same thing and you could too, Josh. I also wanted to start adding photos showing consoles/ peripherals from angles people might not expect, such as images showing the back of machines showing cable entry, open PlayStations showing CD entry, the Nintendo Wii's many openings for it's controllers/ SD card etc. This will give a more definitive view of an item and not just some common stock photo, available on any other website. In addition overviews and the like will also have to start being written. This is not an area I am particularly good in, as you can probably tell from my posts, I write the way I speak and coming from the North of England doesn't exactly make for easy reading, especially to people from the US.

I was thinking with overviews we could start with some of the more major consoles ie. SNES, NES, Megadrive/ Genesis, PlayStation as these will undoubtedly be the more popular items people will be both looking at and adding to their collections. If people see these pages they may not be too aware that most of the other pages are empty

Anyway lets bounce a few ideas around and see if we can work something out from there. Also if any one else not related to the hardware sections has any suggestions feel free to stick them in this thread, the more input the better.

[JWKobayashi]

I really like the idea of taking pictures of the output ports of consoles.   I think that we should also list as much of this information as possible in the overview. For example:

Nintendo Wii

{..basic info...}

• 4 Gamecube controller ports [include picture below]
• Digital Outupt - Accepts [link to composite cable entry]composite and [link to component cable entry]component [include picture below]
• etc....

The hard part is not only finding out what to include in the database, but also the details (part #, etc) of said items.  We know that some of the more major items are out there, but what about the little known stuff? Take the NES for example.  I know that there were tons of third party peripherals made, but how are we going to know about  them all?  Research, as you said, would be the way.

That being said, I think that it would be smart to focus on one system at a time.  Once we have what we feel is an adequate amount of info for a system, we move on to next system.  Unlike software, this information hasn't been documented often, so it'll be difficult to tell if we should "move on" or not, but I think that this might be a good way to get started.

Also, do you think that we should include hardware "guides" as well? For example, I modified my US SNES to be able play import releases. This info has been documented on the web in various places, but it'd be nice to have a more complete collection of hardware articles.

Uh... well I just read through that and it didn't make as much sense as when I wrote it... hopefully I had at least one coherent thought in there.

[AndyC]

Don't worry about not making sense. I usually can't remember what I've written about by the time I get to the bottom of the post.

Anway I thought it would be good also to keep track of what we have done, just to keep every one up to date:

17.1.06 - Added all Nintendo Wii (PAL) accessories listed on Amazon 

[Tynstar]

So anyway, after bulking up the database we are going to have to start to look at adding some content to the pages. Tholly has already started adding some photos he has done onto some of the pages. I was hoping I could start to do the same thing and you could too, Josh. I also wanted to start adding photos showing consoles/ peripherals from angles people might not expect, such as images showing the back of machines showing cable entry, open PlayStations showing CD entry, the Nintendo Wii's many openings for it's controllers/ SD card etc. This will give a more definitive view of an item and not just some common stock photo, available on any other website. In addition overviews and the like will also have to start being written. This is not an area I am particularly good in, as you can probably tell from my posts, I write the way I speak and coming from the North of England doesn't exactly make for easy reading, especially to people from the US.

I like the idea of the different pictures to show ports. Also don't worry about the overviews sounding bad. If you are talking about a European system why should teh review sound "American"?

[Tynstar]

I really like the idea of taking pictures of the output ports of consoles.   I think that we should also list as much of this information as possible in the overview. For example:

Nintendo Wii

{..basic info...}

• 4 Gamecube controller ports [include picture below]
• Digital Outupt - Accepts [link to composite cable entry]composite and [link to component cable entry]component [include picture below]
• etc....

The hard part is not only finding out what to include in the database, but also the details (part #, etc) of said items.  We know that some of the more major items are out there, but what about the little known stuff? Take the NES for example.  I know that there were tons of third party peripherals made, but how are we going to know about  them all?  Research, as you said, would be the way.

That being said, I think that it would be smart to focus on one system at a time.  Once we have what we feel is an adequate amount of info for a system, we move on to next system.  Unlike software, this information hasn't been documented often, so it'll be difficult to tell if we should "move on" or not, but I think that this might be a good way to get started.

Also, do you think that we should include hardware "guides" as well? For example, I modified my US SNES to be able play import releases. This info has been documented on the web in various places, but it'd be nice to have a more complete collection of hardware articles.

Uh... well I just read through that and it didn't make as much sense as when I wrote it... hopefully I had at least one coherent thought in there.

I like you ideas as well. A guide how to mod the system could be done in the trivia section or some section we could add if needed.

As far as working on one system at at time that could be both good and bad. I would like to see a lot of different items in the database. If anything I would say add a lot of different consoles then go back and concentrate on one system. For all the NES accessories talk to Pieter. He has over 200 of them and most are boxed. I know he is a freak.

[JWKobayashi]

As far as working on one system at at time that could be both good and bad. I would like to see a lot of different items in the database. If anything I would say add a lot of different consoles then go back and concentrate on one system. For all the NES accessories talk to Pieter. He has over 200 of them and most are boxed. I know he is a freak.

Gotcha, sounds good.

Do we know of anywhere that lists the part # of stuff? I was looking up some gamecube accessories that I know about, and I didn't want to add them without complete information.

[AndyC]

Gotcha, sounds good.

Do we know of anywhere that lists the part # of stuff? I was looking up some gamecube accessories that I know about, and I didn't want to add them without complete information.

Games = Yes

Hardware = No

[tholly]

yea, i added about 200 hardware entries over xmas break....i did add a lot of pictures as well...plus, i have more pictures taken that i didn't add yet....

now that im back at grad. school for the spring semester, im gonna be slowing down, but ill add what i have when i can.....

[tholly]

also, the idea about working on one system at a time....i dont like that idea....sometimes you get info in little parts with a large amount of time in between ( i mean, ive had an NES since i was very young and i am still learning new things about it) so, i say, add what you can, where you can, and expand it out as you learn more about it....

this would keep knowledge on everything expanding, making the site not necessarily the complete end all of info on one thing, but it would at least make us a source of some knowledge on a lot of things...

[tholly]

i added a bunch more hardware pics tonight....thats all the pics that i had taken

i need to take more....

[AndyC]

i added a bunch more hardware pics tonight....thats all the pics that i had taken

i need to take more....

Hey, your doing well. I really need to try and get started, all of my stuff is still at my mums house though, so I really need to try and sort it all out first though.

[Tynstar]

i added a bunch more hardware pics tonight....thats all the pics that i had taken

i need to take more....

Hey, your doing well. I really need to try and get started, all of my stuff is still at my mums house though, so I really need to try and sort it all out first though.

You just moved and that can be a nightmare so take your time.

[JWKobayashi]

Heya!

My personal life shit has died down, and I'd like to get back started on my job of hardware submission.  Do you think that it would be beneficial to set a goal, such as like 20 submissions a week, or 1000 total submisisons by the end of April?  I think that with a goal like this it might be easier to stay focused.

I still also have tons of stuff at home to take pictures of. Maybe I can find some time this week, as it's spring break for me at school.

[AndyC]

Heya!

My personal life shit has died down, and I'd like to get back started on my job of hardware submission.  Do you think that it would be beneficial to set a goal, such as like 20 submissions a week, or 1000 total submisisons by the end of April?  I think that with a goal like this it might be easier to stay focused.

I still also have tons of stuff at home to take pictures of. Maybe I can find some time this week, as it's spring break for me at school.

That sounds like an excellent idea setting targets, even if they are just minor ones. Like yourself I have had various issues to contend with in my life away from the site and hopefully they may be being resolved at the moment. I still won't be able to put as much time in as I have in the past, up until about June anyway, as hopefully I will be receiving a laptop for 10 years loyal service to my works.

Like you said however if we try and focus on getting 1000 hardware entries into the databse by the end of April it will give us some thing to aim for, and keep us clued up on the scripts and everything until I can actually get some time to do some more in depth work on the site.

[Tan]

Before the hardware database entries get too extensive I think we need the guidelines for what should and shouldn't be done to clarify hardware variations.

I've noticed Apolloboy has submitted edited Atari ST entries that cover the dozen or so models of the ST line. Now what exactly is the difference between a hardware entry and a hardware variation in this case?

Before someone goes and approves all of those submissions that were submitted for them wait until this is cleared up first. Here's why I added these as variations of the 520 as opposed to individual entries:

A number of machines were released in the ST family. Here they are, in rough chronological order after the original 520ST:

    * 520ST+ - Name for early 520STs with 1 MiB of RAM, but without floppy disk
    * 260ST - European name for the 520ST with 512 KiB. Used after the release of the 520ST+ to differentiate the cheaper 512 KiB models from the 1 MiB models
    * 520STM - a 520ST with a built-in modulator for TV output
    * 520STFM - a 520STM with a newly redesigned motherboard in a larger case with a built-in floppy disk drive
    * 1040STF - a 520STFM with 1 MiB of RAM and a built-in double-sided floppy disk, but without RF modulator
    * 1040STFM - a 520STFM with 1 MiB of RAM and a built-in double-sided floppy disk with RF modulator
    * Mega ST (MEGA2, MEGA4) - 1040 with 2 or 4 MiB of RAM, respectively, in a much improved "pizza box" case with a detached keyboard. Early models did not include the BLiTTER chip; most did. Included a real-time clock and internal expansion connector.
    * 520STE and 1040STE - a 520STFM/1040STFM with enhanced sound, the BLiTTER chip, and a 4096-color palette, in the older 1040 style all-in-one case


As you can see it's basically the same system with variations in memory, cases or such. I was under the impression that wasn't enough to warrant them being unique entries but variations of the standard 520ST and that's how I submitted them. Check how I added them to the Atari ST database and see if it meets approval. If I'm mistaken and minor details are enough to warrant more than how I've added them already them let me know before I add more. If I'm correct then the mess of submissions awaiting approval has to be dealt with as there is still useful information for the systems outlined even if the titles don't change.

Apolloboy may not realize how the [variation] portion of the title works and that that part of the title signifies a variation on the original 520ST hardware. Those models that are more unique than they are alike to the 520 already have their own listing. If I am wrong then what exactly is the purpose of the variation title?