Difference between revisions of "Editing Rules: Software"

Revision as of 18:36, 15 September 2014

Players are programs that can play, create, modify, or convert videogame music files. This page explains the editing rules regarding Players pages.

Valid Players

Keep the following points in mind when deciding which players to add to the site.

The Videogame Music Preservation Foundation is not a software pirating organization. Feel free to add players that are open source, freeware, or shareware, but if the player is still being sold, you may not upload the player! You may still create a player page, but instead link to the Amazon sales page or the official web site of the player. If a player is no longer being sold, and the copyright holder still exists, do not upload the player until 10 years have passed since the player's release date.

Also remember that the Videogame Music Preservation Foundation is not meant to be a comprehensive list of every music player ever made. While all players that were made specifically to play, edit, or convert videogame music formats should be included, you should only add other players unrelated to videogame music if they meet some of these criteria:

• Extremely versatile that visitors will find helpful recording their own soundtracks (Audacity).
• Has wide plug-in support for game formats (foobar2000, Winamp).
• Was used by videogame musicians to make game music (Sequencer Plus Gold, AdLib Visual Composer).
• Plays a format better than existing players (Play CMF).
• Supports a format that isn't yet covered on a particular platform (QuickTime Components).
• Is extremely popular so a review page would be helpful (Media Player).

Screenshots

Screenshots should be of the box art. Failing that, a screenshot of the program's common usage. Players come in numerous types including stand-alone players, plug-ins, and command line programs. The screenshot should reflect the player's type; examples are seen below.

• 

  XMPlay is an example of a stand-alone program.

• 

  Game Emu Player is an example of a plug-in.

• 

  MIDI Play is an example of a command line program.

Downloads

The downloads section should contain a list of various versions of the program for as many platforms for which the program was released. It's only necessary to add older versions if they have a particular function that was discontinued in a later released. Downloads are not necessary for large players that are being actively developed like Audacity.

The version column should contain the program's official version. If the program wasn't versioned, it should contain the date of the program's release. If a release date cannot be obtained, default to "N/A".

Uploaded Archive

When uploading a player, you should strive to make the zip archive as accurate to the original program as possible. Try to eliminate any files that advertise for download sites and make sure the program is free from viruses and malware.

The zip archive's file name should be the player's name plus its version. For example, Play CMF has two versions available for download, so the uploaded files are named:

• Play CMF v1.01
• Play CMF v1.05

Player Download Template

The Player Download Template makes it easy to create a download link for a player archive. Here is an example with Play CMF. You can see how the Player Template works by viewing the source of this section.

Links

The links section should contain links to the player's official page, the program's author, and any sites that offer in-depth instructional information.

Categories

There are several player-related categories that should be added to the bottom of player pages. The default category Players is automatically added to every player page that uses an Infobox Player template. Additional categories should be added based on the platforms that player can run on and the type of program it is.

Platform Categories

Platform categories should look like this:

[[Category: DOS Players]]
[[Category: Macintosh Players]]
[[Category: Windows Players]]

Type Categories

Each player is automatically added into the Players type category, but additional type categories should look like this:

[[Category: Converters]]
[[Category: Editors]]

You should also add a platform type category which look like this:

[[Category: DOS Editors]]
[[Category: Windows Editors]]

Format Categories

Format categories include which formats this player can use and look like this:

[[Category: Players That Support MIDI]]
[[Category: Players That Support WAV]]
[[Category: Players That Support OGG]]

You should also add type format categories which look like this:

[[Category: MIDI Editors]]
[[Category: ROL Editors]]
[[Category: WAV Converters]]
[[Category: IMF Converters]]