Zelda Wiki:News 2006

{{Hide {{clear}}
 * header= Quarter 1 (January-March)
 * content=

TP to Work With Rev Controller
A recent issue of NGC has told us that Twilight Princes will use the revolution controller...

While also still set for release on GameCube, the new Zelda adventure will contain special features enabling players to make use of Revolution's controller, so when the disc is inserted into Revolution it will give the player the option to use the next-gen console's radical device. ~Gamesradar

What's on people's minds are all of the possibilities this will bring to the field of Zelda - from fishing games to wielding two swords at once, all the way to conducting a baton. If we're lucky, we might just get to see the bow and arrow idea that our Bobslob had in effect. It all boils down to some good patience and hope that Nintendo, like it seemingly always does, has more tricks up their sleeves just for Zelda. --Posted by Jason, 19:00, 12 Jan 2006 (GMT)

Another year's end approaches
A happy New Year to you all, out there in Internet-land. In celebration of the close of a successful year, we bring to you thoughts from our BtR team about this past year. A year in review, if you will.

Pipking, Lord-of-Shadow, Bobslob, and Jason all contributed to this small collection of thoughts and opinions of things in the world of entertainment (movies, books, video games), and of course some Zelda.

This new year will, at Zelda Universe, bring to you more features, content, and design: look forward to what is to come!

Once again, Happy New Year everyone; may this coming year bring us all good fortune, and more Zelda! --Scott 19:02, 12 Jan 2006 (GMT)

The Little Things
Not much to say today, I just wanted to point out some little updates here and there.

Specifically, the text of the Creation of Hyrule, Lands of Hyrule, and Races of Hyrule pages has been reworded to be less clunky and awkward. I am also working on fixing up the game information pages, but that is no where near done.

In other news, I should inform you all that my fellow webmaster Jason has resigned from his position and left ZU for personal reasons. This came as quite a shock to our forum community, who learned of this a couple of days ago. Not to worry, though. Site updates will continue on a more regular basis than they have for a while.

Also, the Gods of the Internet saw fit to mock me as I created this page, so some of you may have noticed an inexplicable black newspost, or a lack of links in this newspost. Well, such is life. --Scott 19:02, 12 Jan 2006 (GMT)

Shock and Awe
As incredible as it may be, I felt the need to make two newsposts. This one having no bearing on the earlier one from today. You may be interested/excited to know that we have a new poll available for your voting pleasure.

Nothing groundbreaking, just a simple opinion. Expect the next poll much faster than the time interval since the last poll update. If you havent found it yet, it's on the right side, down a little ways. Also, a little fun tip for future/current webmasters and newsposty people: always double-check you have everything before releasing things to the public.

I also feel the need to say "Oh, looky there! 100 site updates since we switched to Mambo." That's right. This is newspost #100 in our "Site updates" catagory since we started using a CMS. Though, it is newspost #144. --Scott 19:02, 12 Jan 2006 (GMT)

Update on Updating
The forums will be down for no more than a couple of hours today, because we're upgrading to vBulletin 3.5.

UPDATE: Forum upgrades have been completed. Some info within.

vB3.5 is a vast improvement over the current version, I think. Although the forums won't really look all that much different at first, those of you active there will certainly notice some changes. A side-effect of upgrading the forums renders the main site login, and the comments system, temporarily inaccessible. Please be patient with that, and we will have that all working again soon.

To ensure that your browser catches all the new features of the forums once they return, I suggest clearing your temporary internet files. Besides, deleting those now and then is always a good thing. --Scott 19:02, 12 Jan 2006 (GMT)

TP Controller Rumors Dispelled
Shortly before New Year's, we reported on a rumor which said that Twilight Princess would have the option to be controlled by the Revolution's unique controller. Nintendo has since dismissed this claim.

NGC last month reported "that Twilight Princess will be playable on the forthcoming Revolution using the upcoming console's unique controller..." And that if played on the revolution, it would give you the choice. 1UP.com has reported, however, that NGC's claim was pure speculation, according to Nintendo:

"The article in the January edition of NGC Magazine is pure speculation. Nintendo have made no new announcements regarding The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. We can however confirm that the game is still in development and that it will launch on Nintendo GameCube in 2006."

Of course, that statement does not explicitly say that there won't be functionality to use the Revolution's controller... --Scott 19:02, 12 Jan 2006 (GMT)

MediaWiki 1.5.5
The Wiki has now been upgraded from 1.5.4 to 1.5.5. This is a security fix, and should prevent people from uploading malicious files. As always, please report bugs in the "Discussion" tab.

Known Bugs: --Jason 15:19, 14 January 2006 (GMT)
 * none.

MediaWiki 1.5.6
The Wiki has now been upgraded from 1.5.5 to 1.5.6. This is a code fix, preventing an infinite loop bug that occurred during some page edits. Bug report (Discussion tab) is here as usual, please say any if you find them.

Known Bugs: --Jason 00:29, 22 January 2006 (GMT)
 * none.

Media Wiki 1.5.7
The Wiki has now been upgraded from 1.5.6 to 1.5.7. This is a bug fix, with various random improvements to the Wiki software. There should be no change on the user side. Use the bug report as usual if anything comes up.

Known bugs: --Jason 18:44, 4 March 2006 (GMT) }}
 * none

{{Hide {{clear}}
 * header= Quarter 2 (April-June)
 * content=

MediaWiki 1.6.2
The Wiki has now gone through the major upgrade from 1.5.7 to 1.6.2. This is a bug fix, with various random improvements to the Wiki software. There are some spiffy changes listed inside which you may or may not find interesting. -- From mediawiki.org:

What's new in 1.6
User interface:
 * The account creation form has been separated from the user login form.
 * Page protection/unprotection uses a new, expanded form

Templates:
 * Categories and "what links here" now update as expected when adding or removing links in a template.
 * Template parameters can now have default values, as

Uploads:
 * Optional support for rasterizing SVG images to PNG for inline dislay

Feeds:
 * Feed generation upgraded to Atom 1.0
 * Diffs in RSS and Atom feeds are now colored for improved readability.

Database:
 * MySQL 3.23.x support dropped; 4.0 or later required
 * Experimental support for Unicode mode of MySQL 4.1/5.0 (moderately tested)
 * Experimental Oracle support (not well tested!)

Anti-spam extension support:
 * Spam Blacklist now has support for automated cleanup.
 * Support for a captcha extension to restrict automated spam edits.

Numerous bug fixes and other behind-the-scenes changes have been made; see the file HISTORY for a complete change list.

Compatibility
Older PHP 4.2 and 4.1 releases are no longer supported; PHP 4 users must upgrade to 4.3 or later.

MediaWiki 1.6 is the last major version to support PHP 4; future versions will require PHP 5.

MySQL 3.23.x is no longer supported; some older hosts may need to upgrade. At this time we still recommend 4.0, but 4.1/5.0 will work fine in most cases.

As always, please report any bugs you find. This was a major update, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were some major bugs floating around. Thank you!

Oh, and we have the Spam Blacklisting program installed. This will automatically scan the Wiki for periodic spam and purge it! So look forward to a nice, spam free Wiki. --Jason 22:18, 8 April 2006 (GMT)

These Pages Are Wanted!
Down in the dumps because you can't think of an article you want to create? Never fear! There's a buildup of about 900 articles linked throughout this wiki that haven't been created yet.

Why haven't these pages been created? Who knows! The ZU Wiki has been sitting around in the 1000's and 1100's for the longest time, but look at this stunning list of articles that need creation here. If that doesn't get your attention, you can also click this entire part of the sentence to see the list!

If you STILL can't find the list, I've added it to the navigation now on the left side of the wiki. It's just under "Random Page," and it's called "Wanted Pages." Seems like the most wanted page right now is Tarm Ruins, so why leave it wanted?

It's not the most amazing pep rally, I know, but if we want this wiki to be the best and most active it can be then the thing we'd most love to see is the "Wanted Pages" section nearly totally empty! Who knows, maybe the person who makes article 2000 (or 10,000, dare we dream so high?) can get some prize or something. But we'll never know until we get there!

Why are you still reading this? Shoo and make some new articles from the list! --Jason 15:56, 9 April 2006 (GMT) }}

{{Hide {{clear}}
 * header= Quarter 3 (July-September)
 * content=

Welcome to the new-old wiki
It died for a while, but now it's back in action - the Wiki is being updated and maintained on a different server so that it can be constantly worked on, instead of neglected. So look forward to cool stuff or something.

Massive cleanups will also follow. The main goal is to get enthusiasm in the wiki up again, without me having to traverse all over the globe and to the far reaches of ZU to do it. I still consider myself not working on ZU; the wiki is simply a project I love. The freedom it offers is something I really cherish in a website, and it pains me sometimes that you guys aren't milking it for all it's worth. The opportunity to create a truly vast land of knowledge - not just about Zelda, but this wiki offers everything if you want it to - should be welcomed as a great privilege!

There are future plans for this wiki... but you'll have to wait and see what they are... ;) --Jason 11:41, 9 September 2006 (GMT)

Making the Dream
If you haven't figured it out yet, the current plans for the wiki are not a new skin. However, it's something a little more promising. It's an affiliation program, but not the kind you'd expect. Read more to find out just what I mean.

We here at The Zelda Effect, or the Zelda Universe Wiki, or whatever you want to call it, are calling out. We want this wiki to expand, but not just on our own accord. And we want to spread what we've already got. We think we have something great here, something that has potential to grow and become something that can change the way the online Zelda community gets it's data.

I, personally, have seen these all around. There are numerous sites out there with Zelda wikis, many formed after this one, and some formed before. But most of them are not successful, and are merely attempts at compiling data based on their observations elsewhere. But that poses a question: With all these wikis, how can we get a good amount of data? Is it too dispersed? Are all the wikis too separated from each other? How do people pick which one to go to?

The answer? Having all of these little wikis creates clutter and confusion, and, if you've tried one and it was not a success, you notice like I did that it sits around and does nothing until you make it do something.

The real point of this message? We want to share the wiki through a special affiliation program.

The philosophy of The Zelda Effect is that, if we create one universal Zelda Wiki throughout all of the Zelda sites on the internet, it will become without a doubt the indisputable force of wiki-based Zelda information, of course not trying to rival the main sites themselves. This also brings forth a connection between both the webmasters and communities of other Zelda sites, who will hold a place on The Zelda Effect.

When you affiliate with The Zelda Effect, it is a "true" affiliation, as I like to call it - sites who literally help one another. The wiki becomes your wiki. Call it your encyclopedia on your site, and link to it. Your site will be added as a link on the main page under who is connected "by the power of Wiki." You, as a site manager of the wiki, will also get Sysop powers so that you can have more power over the encyclopedia that we all share. You can also make news updates on the main page if you choose.

While the idea is experimental, it just might be able to work. Together, we can create a wiki that we all share and enjoy. Corny? Sure. A big Zelda encyclopedia? Heck yes.

If you want to be a part of this, simply comment with a link to your site or email me. Say you'd like to be a part of The Zelda Effect, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

When enough sites are connected together by the wiki, there will be a skin change, so that the wiki does not look as though it is proprietary to Zelda Universe. --Jason 15:27, 10 September 2006 (GMT)

Continuing the Dream
We went down for a little while, but with good reason. We're on a new server, with a new name, and a new domain. Say hello to Zelda Wiki.org - we've made the dream. Now we just need to keep it going. Keep an eye out for various projects and goodies coming soon.

One of what you will probably find the greatest goodie is a new layout. I've got in mind for a new one, and Scott agreed to help me make it happen. There might even be some neat 3D renderings for a new logo and famicon.

Because we're now a real domain, standards are rising dramatically. We're a league of sites with something big, so we need everyone to put in their best effort to keep articles clean, nice, and well-written. From this point on, anything that's more or less scrap will be, well, scrapped.

A new main page should be on the way, too! It's being discussed, and Toby has some nice ideas. I know he's not the only one, so feel free to talk about what you want the main page to be - it's completely open. Right now, the idea is to make it much like Wikipedia's community portal.

Also, the more sites that want to be in the project, the better! We've only just begun, and I look forward to seeing how this place will grow now that it has a domain and some nice sites connected to it. Something all webmasters of sites that join can look forward to are @zeldawiki.org emails, which I'll provide for everyone. Since I'm such an advocate of Google, I decided to use the opportunity to test Google's Tools for Domains, meaning that all the @zeldawiki.org emails are done through GMail. They aren't GMail accounts, but it's all on Google's server, so everyone gets 2+ GB etc. without having to pay regard to space being used up that could be used for the betterment of the wiki. Even better yet, all of these email accounts are compatible with Google Talk. Just another reason to join up! ;)

The wiki has also been upgraded to version 1.7.1, which should get rid of any remaining bugs that existed before. If there are any bugs, please report them in the talk page. --Jase 07:29, 17 September 2006 (CDT)

Misc Controversy
Over the past couple days there has been a bit of controversy over the Misc. Category. Articles have been marked for deletion and unmarked because of misunderstandings. There is a discussion going on about what to do about the Misc. Category and I would encourage you to participate.

The Misc. category is currently used for "fun articles" that often have nothing to do with Zelda or gaming in general. The current discussion involves both the idea of removing it all together (all though this is unlikely) and renaming it so that there is less confusion about the content of the category.

If it is going to be renamed, then we need some appropriate name suggestions. If you don't want it renamed, be sure to let us know. If it is renamed, then the Miscellaneous category would instead be used for miscellaneous Zelda articles.

Please give us your input and allow us to work through this small controversy. --Yumil 15:46, 26 September 2006 (CDT)

}} {{Hide {{clear}}
 * header= Quarter 4 (October-December)
 * content=

The New ZW.org
As you may have noticed, the look of the site has changed. You'll notice a bit more is on the main page now, and the look is a bit more "Zelda-ish." We also have a new logo (or two, if you like to count both).

Everyone should be able to see the new template automatically - there is nothing else to choose from. The white theme may be put back in the future as "ZW.org White" if there are enough complaints about people not liking the new theme, which is called "Old Blue." Due to some problems with MediaWiki, though, it is called "MonoBook" in the skin section of preferences so that everyone is automatically using it.

With this new look will come a new standard in quality. Now the the wiki looks presentable, the content must as well. Pages that are poorly made will no longer be tolerated to the degree they were previously. There will also be a big hunt to fix pages tagged for needing improvement.

You'll also see that we're also asking for people to write Wiki-specific articles. Now, you don't get anything in return for this, but volunteering to write something for the Wiki, some special content that everyone can read (and will be read by many a-visitor), is a very nice gesture indeed. In fact, we need some of those types of people. If you're interested, send an email over to me at jason [at] zeldawiki.org.

Some thanks to the people who made this update possible:
 * Toby, who created the majority of the template for the new main page.
 * Jin, who also helped create the main page template.
 * Fury Three, who provided the initial jump start for the layout, and even though he disappeared gave the foundation of understanding for the "xbox-huge" CSS file.
 * Captain Cornflake, who also contributed to understanding the CSS file.

That's all for now. Look for more updates in the future! --Jase 16:19, 22 October 2006 (CDT)

Wii Box Art
IGN has a good load of box art for some Wii launch titles, and they continue to add more to the gallery. Check out some of the neat boxes that'll be on shelves not too long from now.

Go and See. --Jase 08:52, 28 October 2006 (CDT)

Twilight Princess GC Release Date Confirmed
For those of you who may have spiraled into depression over the news that Twilight Princess may not be coming out for the GameCube, you may smile once more. The release date of TP:GC is confirmed - December 15th, 2006.

A recent article from Nintendo Magazine UK released information that, they hoped, would spark interest in the Twilight Princess customers who wouldn't be owning a Wii console in the near future. It touches upon askpects that led to western Nintendo fans to believe that there was an odd possibility that TP would not be released in the states.

Contributing to this belief was the disappearance of Twilight princess from the online catalogs of both EB Games and Gamestop. Nintendo officially shot down the rumor surrounding this event, however.

Source. --Jase 21:56, 30 October 2006 (CST)

24 Hours
With only 24 hours till the Wii, we start to see what we've all waited for - shortages of consoles, campers, and more shortages of consoles.

Amazon has already revealed that it will be stocking a limited number of Wii consoles, receiving one hundred times the demand than actual existing product, but is expected to replenish its supply this holiday.

Those who truly want a console have been advised to wait, sometimes for days, in front of superstores such as Wal-Mart. One such "guide to camping out" released in late September talks about sleeping in shifts, conversing with the other waiters, and so on. Camping out has become a big deal this holiday season, perhaps much more so for the PS3 than the Wii, but the Wii is still seeing some action on the campout front.

Luckily, no person has of yet been shot in a Wii line.

Now may very well be the time to decide whether or not you want to go for the Wii or the PS3, or an XBOX 360 if you don't already have one from the year previous. The deal now: If you haven't decided yet, it doesn't matter anymore. Wait until the end of the holiday season, because that's the only time when you'll be able to get anything other than an XBOX 360, unless, of course, you camp out tomorrow.

I'll be on line at my local Toys-R-Us. Where will you be in the fight to get the Wii? Sources: IGN, Camp-out Guide --Jase 07:33, 18 November 2006 (CST)

600,00 Wiis
You'll be happy to hear this: The Wii has sold 600,000 units in just one week alone! By the way, that's nearly one Wii per second since its November 19th launch.

If you wanted a Wii, you certainly probably got one, because Nintendo has been shipping out those babies like wildfire. Stores are selling out again and again - and it's making Nintendo rich. Enough to make the Wii a $190 million dollar business practically overnight.

Want some even better sounding news? 454,000 of the 600,000 Wii purchases also included Twilight Princess. That's 75% of the Wii purchases. Nintendo fans sure do love their launch releases of Zelda.

And if the Wii wasn't achieving enough of its goal, your mother will like it to. Or your father. Or your grandmother. Maybe your sister who hates gaming but likes to play tennis. In fact, the Wii has attracted a plethora of non-gamers as well as existing gamers - just as it intended to do.

If you still don't have a Wii, just wait until the holiday season. Heck, wait another week, tops. You'll be able to get your hands on one in no-time. I would hold your breath, however, for Wii component video cables - Nintendo is out of those until mid December. Or you could buy them on eBay for $100 a pop.

In the meanwhile, have fun with your Wii, and be generous with it. Invite a friend to play with it if they don't have one.

Source. --Jase 20:10, 27 November 2006 (CST)

Not a Recall
Nintendo has stated that the so-called "recall" for the Wii wrist straps is not, in fact, a recall at all, but merely an opportunity for those wary about the strength of their wrist straps to replace them.

If you bought a Wii and are worried that you may now have to send your wrist straps back to Nintendo, don't despair. Nintendo is not recalling any straps, but merely allowing those who wish to have them to get new wrist straps with a thicker strand of fabric at the end.

So, to clarify, Nintendo is merely giving people the option of replacing their Wii straps. I, personally, have ordered three replacements - not because I need them, but hey, I bet these things won't be free forever! ;)

For those wondering the difference between these two Wii wrist straps, here is Nintendo's official File:

 (Source is all over the net.)  --Jase 20:09, 21 December 2006 (CST)

Wiinternetz Are Go!
The Internet Channel was released today for the Wii console, so we grabbed it.

On December 20th, Opera released its browser for the Wii. Those who were eagerly awaiting this release found their Wiis flashing blue, signifying that an update was available. The Wii Internet (or, as I shall henceforth call it, Wiinternet) browser can be found in the Shop Channel.

Opera's logo is all over this channel. I think they want to stress that Opera is the creator so that it can gain a greater foothold in the browser wars. Either way, it's just as functional and innovative as all of the Opera-designed browsers. Those who liked Opera Mini will fall in love with the Wiinternet Browser.

The browser displays on a portion of the screen far smaller than full screen. This could be a temporary thing, as it is a beta. However, it seemed annoying that when the entire screen was full and ready for internet viewing, only about three quarters of the screen was actually used.

In the picture it is hard to tell, from the dark room, that it is not using the entire screen. It is also quite obvious, from the quality, that it is a picture of a TV - bear with us, we've only got normal digital cameras here, not miracles.

The lack of an address bar is entirely apparent, but works with the idea of displaying as much content as possible. To go to a new website, you must return to the Opera Home page and click "Enter a Web Address." The Wii on-screen keyboard pops up and you can enter the address. There is also an option to turn on word guessing, so that you can enter text faster as the Wii assumes what words you type.

Yes, it supports flash, and yes, it is awesome. However, some flash games run slow, presumably because this is still a prototype. Flash movies run at normal speed.

Any web page begins completely zoomed out, and the (+) key can be used to zoom in. From there, holding the B-button and moving the pointer around will take you across the web page, albeit slowly. Whenever the pointer is on the screen, arrows appear on the browser signifying that there is a place to scroll. When playing flash games, these arrows tend to get in the way. Also, at current resolution standards on the internet, it is hard to zoom in and still see the entire flash window (it becomes far too large for the screen).

The rest of the controls are intuitive. The buttons are large and everything is easy to use. Anyone with a general knowledge of the way a browser works will be delighted to see how easy and effectively they were put into Opera's Wiinternet Browser. It's got some work to be finished - true full screen support and more intuitive and faster scrolling (using the D-pad or holding (A) and dragging the page would be nice) are features that beg to be added, but for now, it's on the right foot to get the Wii online. --Jase 13:58, 22 December 2006 (CST)

Temporary Advertisements
There are some extenuating circumstances that, most sadly, has led me to place a single advertisement on the site. I am incredibly reluctant to do this, as I'd always wanted this site to remain ad-free, but there is a very specific reason why it must be there, and it truly does decide whether or not this site remains online. Please read more if you're curious as to why I placed the ad there.

On Friday, my computer was struck down - mostly by my own foolishness - and two of my most important hard drives sustained physical damage. Mind you all, this is the computer that I operate the site from, and it is the computer that had become a fairly large investment for me... while I find it selfish that this would be the reason, the sheer cost of repair for this computer, which, yes, is in fact my entire life, is astounding. In fact, it may well exceed $1000. That comes out of paying for this site's hosting. So, unless I can get that paid off and get my computer back up to speed, this site will go bye-bye. I don't want to let that happen. I love this place too much.

So, until I can find a proper place to service my computer and recover the data for reasonable price, and then pay that off both with this advertisement and a job that I'll have to get (yes, I'm showing my youth here), the ad must remain. I want to say how sorry I am, because I feel that it degrades the quality of the site, by appearance at least. While I tried my best to make it blend in, it still irks me that "OMG, it's an advertisement!" I honestly could never see myself doing it unless it was a truly dire situation - and this is one. $1000 debt, and me without a job. On the bright side, I did just get my driver's license (showing my youth yet again). Let's hope the ad sustains the site until then, eh? Just bear with me - it'll be gone before you know it.

EDIT: Someone suggested that I could also open up donations, but I kind of feel that the reason is far too selfish to ask for a donation. However, if you feel compulsive enough to donate something, any amount at all, the option is open. The money goes to the "recover the data on Jason's hard drives to save the site's data and his own data" foundation. Thing. Oh, and happy new year, too. May your computer not be dead like mine for 2007. ;)

Thanks for your patience, and happy wiki-ing, --Jase 22:16, 31 December 2006 (CST) }}