Template:Infobox emulator

Infobox emulator

Developer(s)	Anonymous/Unidentified
Latest version	N/A
Platform(s)	{{{platform}}}
Emulates	{{{target}}}

Infobox emulator

An infobox for pages detailing specific emulators. It's an improvement from the original template, with a design closely modelled from Wikipedia, and with support for a lot more parameters. Most parameters are optional but are explained below.

Example

Empty layout

{{Infobox emulator
|title         = 
|logo          = 
|logowidth     = 
|developer     = 
|version       = 
|active        = 
|platform      = 
|architecture  = 
|target        = 
|compatibility = 
|accuracy      = 
|website       = 
|prog-lang     =
|support       =
|license       =
|source        =
|bios          =
}}

Filled layout

{{Infobox emulator
|title         = higan
|logo          = Icon.png
|logowidth     = 160
|developer     = byuu et al.
|version       = {{higanVer}}
|active        = Yes
|platform      = [[Emulators on Windows|Windows]]<br/>[[Emulators on macOS|macOS]]<br/>[[Emulators on Linux|Linux]]<br/>[[libretro]]
|architecture  = x86_64
|target        = [[Nintendo Entertainment System emulators|NES]]<br/>[[Super Nintendo emulators|SNES]]<br/>[[Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators|GB]]<br/>[[Sega Genesis emulators|MD]]<br/>''others''
|compatibility = <small>100% for commercial titles<br/>Some homebrew may have small defects</small>
|accuracy      = Cycle-accurate
|website       = [http://byuu.org/emulation/higan/ byuu.org]
|prog-lang     = C <!-- this may not actually be true, it could also be C++, but this is just an example -->
|support       = [https://www.patreon.com/byuu Patreon]
|license       = GNU GPL v3
|source        = [https://gitlab.com/higan/higan GitLab]
|bios          = [[Emulator_files#SNES_.2F_Super_Famicom|Required for some games]]
}}

Render

higan

Developer(s)	byuu et al.
Latest version	v110
Active	Yes
Platform(s)	Windows macOS Linux libretro
Architecture(s)	x86_64
Emulates	NES SNES GB MD others
Compatibility	100% for commercial titles Some homebrew may have small defects
Accuracy	Cycle-accurate
Website	byuu.org
Support ($)	Patreon
Programmed in	C
License	GNU GPL v3
Source code	GitLab
BIOS/Keys	Required for some games

Parameters

The order of parameters here are arranged according to the order they are displayed in the box. You can technically place each parameter in any order you want (as opposed to first, second, third, etc.) in the markup, but it can get confusing as the template is designed to have the values show up only one way.

title

The name of the emulator. If no value is given, it will default to the name of the page instead. This one might be necessary for emulators that are not capitalized (and also make sure {{lowercase title}} is included on the page) because the default behavior relies on MediaWiki's internal name for the page.

logo (replaces image)

Used to put logos in. It's optional.

logowidth (replaces imagewidth)

Also optional. Set the width of the logo. Might be useful for logos that either exceed the size of the infobox, or have a more vertical (and thus uncomfortable) aspect ratio.

screenshot

Used to put screenshots of the program in. This is optional for a few reasons, the most compelling being that some emulators run from the terminal and don't have a recognizable user interface.

screenshotwidth

Also optional. Set the width of the screenshot. This may be necessary for programs that only output in much more square aspect ratios like 4:3 and thus extend the infobox a fair bit.

screenshotcaption

What is the screenshot showing? Optional because in many cases the image is self-explanatory, though details may be added if desired.

orig-developer

If development was passed onto other people, use this to write the original developer (and use developer for the current). This will change the text accordingly, and is optional.

developer (replaces fourth)

Who's making the emulator? If the project is inactive, then who made the emulator? If the project is on GitHub, you can link it to the contributors page as "(project) Team". Leave it unanswered and it will say "Anonymous/Unidentified".

version (replaces first)

What's the current version? For new pages, you will want to templatize this, especially when updates happen often. Emugen naming conventions are usually Template:(Project)Ver and you transclude it into the infobox by doing {{ (Project)Ver }} (or {{ Version|(Project) }}, see Template:Version to know which to use). See the pages of other emulators if you're confused. For the targeted platform's own table, apply the same template there. For open-source projects that don't have a version system in place, you can use Git (as is often done on the comparison table). Leave it unanswered and it will say "N/A".

last-version

Replaces version (don't use both at the same time). If the project is actually defunct and no longer in development, this parameter should be used to show the last version published.

active (replaces second)

Is the project active? If its repository hasn't received any activity in the last month or two, it probably went inactive. Always be sure to check other branches. Optional, because not everyone has the time to check.

fate

If the project is defunct and no longer in development, what happened to the project? Do not use for active projects (obviously).

platform (replaces third)

What platforms does the emulator run on? Often called the host in virtualization. Required because it's gotta run somewhere. If the emulator has a libretro core, include libretro (but do not use RetroArch in place of libretro).

List clearly the operating systems and consoles the emulator's standalone package runs on, including the names of the platforms. Do not use "multi-platform" as a replacement for a clear list of platforms, and do not justify it with the fact that it's used on the console page. That usage is different because, in that context, it signifies that the number of platforms the emulator is available for is too many to show in an overview, and that the full list would make the table too wide on smaller displays. When transferred to the emulator's page itself however, this doesn't apply because the infobox is a fixed width and can handle the list.

architecture

What architecture is the emulator coded for? Not to be confused with the target architecture, which will always be the same so long as you target the same device.

target

What platforms does the emulator... well, emulate? Often called the guest in virtualization. Required because it's gotta emulate something to be an emulator. Be sure to link to the target's own page.

compatibility

This one's optional, since there's no universally accepted metric for what counts as compatible, but essentially... does it run every game? What can it run?

accuracy

How accurate the emulator is. Optional.

prog-lang

Optional, especially given that it's difficult to determine what programming languages closed-source projects use.

language

Optional because this is really only needed if it's not in English, for example XEBRA.

website (replaces fifth)

The hub of the emulator. Not the location of the downloads, those usually go in the downloads section on the article. Optional because not every project has a website (especially true of older and inactive projects for which we have articles on).

download

Optional because most articles link to builds in their downloads section instead.

support

The crowdfunding service the emulator uses (with a link to the account). Many projects run on contributions from their users so to help fit that into the article better, this parameter allows you to link to such service whether it be Patreon or any other; the parameter is generalized because there are other services, otherwise it'd be patreon. Optional because not every project has one set up, and it probably doesn't exist at all for inactive and outdated projects.

source (replaces sixth)

Where can the source code be found? Optional as closed-source emulators don't provide this (obviously).

bios

Does the emulator require any additional files/BIOS/keys to run? Link to the appropriate section in Emulator files if applicable.