Things to do when a new Location gets released (usually done by admins - please ask permission if you want to do it):
A Location's page is built with the intention of being descriptive about the location with pictures placed appropriately and according to the description to give players a better idea of how the location looks like and discovery of additional information. The page contains the respective sections:
- General View Picture: An overall full view picture of the location, it can be up to 3 pictures and must "fully" show the location;
- In case such as Hidden World Annex, the two general view pictures show an overall view of the two main sections of the location;
- Synopsis: A short description about the location, including if the location is free or exclusive under a specific factor, when it was released or if it's one of the starter locations, and additional information such as if the location is home for major mechanisms;
- Description: A long, fulfilling, descriptive documentation of the location, following the "Overall view -> Major importance -> Minor importance" order. The images must be clear, in png format and must be placed appropriately to what the Description talks about, for example, if the Description mentions the entrance to a location and the picture used for that section is a general view of a location, then the placement of the picture is wrong and must be placed by the part where the location is generally described;
- Fishing Spots: Some locations feature Fishing Spots which require a more in-depth look at them, in this section, it must contain a synopsis with a bullet list listing the Fishing Spots and the respective pictures in order;
- Holiday Variants: Some locations such as The School have Holiday Variants, specifically a Dreadfall (Halloween) and Snoggletog (Christmas), pictures of it must be gotten to showcase what the Holiday Variant changes;
- In-Game Details: The details that are shown and told to us in a format of Quests, for example, what characters are available at the location. If the Location doesn't have information on a specific section then there's no need to add the respective section. For example Stormheart doesn't have any information on what species of Dragons live in said location, therefore, it doesn't need it;
- Ways of Access: Here is where you list all the possible ways of accessing the location, if the way of access is Quest-exclusive, do add "(Quest exclusive)" to it - the ways of access aren't just ways that can be used to leave the location, ways that are a one-way only should be added as well. For example: Auction Island is accessible by entering Eret's boat during the Return to Dragon Island Expansion but it's a Quest-exclusive and a one-way only form of access, though since it's considered as a way of access, said way should be added to the list;
- Characters present in this location: A list listing ALL the character that are present in this location, Quest-exclusive characters included;
- Dragons that live on this location: Quests will often let us know about the Dragons that (supposedly) live on the said Location, for example, in Icestorm Island - we learn that Speed Stingers also live there;
- History: Facts regarding the update of the model and animation;
- Trivia: Facts regarding other factors;
- Glitches: Facts regarding a glitch with the Location;
- Navboxes: At the end of each page, adding {{Localbox}} to location pages is important as it allows a quicker access to other Locations.
General Image Standards
- JPEG Images aren't accepted and will be deleted if one uploads them to a Location page;
- Locations pictures need to be as clear as possible as well as according to the description, for example, if the description starts describing The School's chasm, the picture must demonstrate and focus on the chasm;
- The images must ONLY FOCUS ON IMPORTANT CHARATERISTICS OF THE LOCATION, if the description mentions mountains with trees, the image should focus on the group of mountains with the trees NOT one shot of the trees, then another shot of the mountains;
- The Viking and Dragon should not appear inside the canvas, the focus is on the Location's scenery exclusively, if the Viking or Dragon are in the picture, it can be a tad distracting unless the description mentions an effect the Location inputs on them (for example, Hidden World Annex inputs an effect on the Dragon's skin, revealing the Bioluminiscent Patterns);
- When taking a screenshot of the dragon, make sure to:
- Keep your identity hidden, UIs hidden and the screenshots must be in Singleplayer, you can go to the Options menu in the game to hide your name, to turn off MMO and hide your Viking and Dragon UI - any image that includes any of these will be deleted or replaced;
Location Showcase
Locations without any images to showcase it is the equivalent of describing an animal without any examples of its appearance, the Location pictures need to be as clear and filling as possible to demonstrate the Location's scenery. The images themselves divide in x sub-categories:
General View
- Examples of General View images
School general.png
The School's General View
General View is the name given to a picture showcasing an overall look of the location and serves as a general visual clue of what is about to be described down below. It's often the biggest of the bunch and the most filling of them, with the focus locked on the overall appearance of the location. Locations like New Berk need both an inner General Views and one or two outer General Views.
Description-Linked
Take a look at this excerpt taken from The School:
- "But in v3.0.0 - Hidden World Update, February 21st, 2019, Harald Forkbeard invaded the School and implemented a bomb on top of the Geyser Elevator, Hiccup and Astrid tried to stop Harald but it was too late, the Geyser stops, bringing the platform with the bomb downwards and it explodes, breaking and shattering the Geyser Elevator and bringing a enormous chunk of the underwater grounds with it, creating a chasm.
- The chasm is a wide, deep, steep-sided hole created by the explosion of the mystery box, it's enormous, almost the size of the School building and as deep as the entire School's underground section. It contains lots of waterfalls due to the lagoon's underwater grounds shattering and taken down the hole, in the very end of the hole, there's a dense cloud of steam fog. In some of the cliffs, there's a tunnel and a cave for players to fly or hang out in, and while the Geyser Elevator pillar has been completely shattered and taken down, the World Map pillar is still intact, with the edge close to the chasm a bit shattered. This is now permanent and the new look of the School, without any way of going back to original version."
The images must be linked and placed accordingly to what the description gives:
- Highlighted in purple, the general image demosntrate the chasm in question along with the rest of the school for a sceneric view;
- Highlighted in green, the images help understand just how big it is, with the left picture demonstrating its lenght, and the left demonstrating how deep it goes;
- Highlighted in blue, the images further give emphasis on the chasm's descriptions, showing its multi-waterfalls that end in fog and holes in the walls.
Holiday Variant
Some locations such as New Berk and The School have Holiday Variants, namely Dreadfall (Holiday), Snoggletog (Christmas) and Thawfest (Thanksgiving/fictional Holiday). These need to be added and described, however, because the main page already describes the location itself, what the Holiday Variant pages need to have is a description about the changes the Holiday Variant does. A great example can be seen at Isle of Berk/Dreadfall.
Fishing Spot
Nearly all the locations have Fishing Spots and these need to be added along with a sceneric-like image demosntrating its location. When adding the Fishing Spots, you must state if it's a Salt Water or Freshwater spot and summarize its location, the images MUST be in order according to the bullet list. An example can be seen at New Berk.
If the location doesn't have Fishing Spots, the sypnosis must state its inexistence.
There's a total of 4 types of locations and each need to be categorized accordingly. As the game updates, more locations have transitioned from Exclusive to Starter, and to keep track of them, these categories were made.
- Starter Locations are charaterized by locations that can be visited right from the start. It's important to test on a new Viking if a recently added location can or cannot be visited without any sort of requirement, whether it's a Quest or an Expansion. The School and Impossible Island are an example.
- Exclusive Locations are charaterized by locations that require an Expansion to be unlocked. Because some locations such as The Ship Graveyard have transitioned from Exclusive to Starter, as mentioned before, it's important to test on a new Viking if the requirement is still there. Hidden World is an example.
- Quest Locations can be a bit tricky to understand if they fit the criteria, these locations are either locked behind a Quest or are limited by a Quest. For example, The Wilderness is locked behind Wilderness Training but once it's completed, it can be visited at anytime; however, locations such as Hobgobbler Nest can be only visited during the Returning to the Nest Quest.
- Other Locations are charaterized by locations that can be accessed in multiple ways and have various locations. The Store and Blacksmith are locations that have a variety of ways to access them, as well as they appear in various locations.
