Emulation General Wiki:Guidelines

Here are some guidelines for laying out specific types of pages on the wiki.

You may break from the suggested grammatical structure if you feel your approach works better and works well alongside the existing articles.

Emulator Pages

Pages that cover emulators and similar software.

If the first character in the emulator's name is a lowercase letter, you will need to prepend {{lowercase title}} to the top of the article.

Example pages: MAME, redream

Infobox

Start by adding the {{Infobox emulator}} template, adding in any known information using each parameter.

For the logo, find in order of importance:

• An SVG
• A high resolution PNG, preferably transparent
• A JPEG, if nothing else exists

You can usually find these on the project's website, in their source code repository, or in the project's Discord posted by the logo designers.

Lead section

Start the page with an introductory overview (one or two sentences) of the emulator. The general style is something along these lines.

'''Example-emu''' is a (closed/open)-source emulator (developed by [author]) (released on [date]). (Explain its significance. In other words, justify to the reader why an entire page is necessary for this emulator.)

Download

Use a MediaWiki table to lay out the download links.

{| cellpadding="4"
|-
|align=center|{{Icon|Win|Lin}}
|[https://www.maindownloadpage.com '''Official release''']
|-
|colspan="3"|<hr/>
|-
|align=center|{{Icon|Lin-big}}
|[https:///www.otherdownloadpage.com Other downloads]<br><small>Latest dev build</small>
|}

• The most common download link you expect people to use goes first, in bold.
• The link that the project itself makes available for users should be called the "official release".
• To clarify additional information, such as the type of build the emulator is, add a break line and the appropriate information in smaller text. (<br><small>(Stable/Dev) builds</small>)

• Use the {{Icon}} template for platform logos (to make finding the downloads easier). The list of applicable platforms is available at the subtemplate File.
• If the link only pertains to a single platform, append -big. For multiple platforms, use the regular size. The table above demonstrates this usage.

Overview

Put a longer-form description of the emulator here. Highlight its features, what it's good at, where it falls short, etc.

If applicable, you may also provide a history of the emulator.

System requirements

At the moment, the way to list system requirements is either in a paragraph or in bullet points. This may be changed to a table in the future, with links to Passmark's benchmark database.

* CPU: Intel Core i5-2600K or newer
* RAM: 6 GB or more
* GPU: Integrated Graphics or better

External links

Add official links here, stuff like the emulator's/developer's YouTube channel, Twitter, Discord, wiki and compatibility lists (unofficial compatibility lists are okay too).

Make sure to add all relevant category links.

System/Console Pages

Pages that cover consoles, computers, and other systems. Conventions for the title vary between articles. Some pages use a shorthand version (Super Nintendo emulators), others include the manufacturer (Sega Genesis emulators). Computers with a range of models often use a capitalized "Line" instead of "emulators".

Example pages: Super Nintendo emulators and PlayStation emulators.

Infobox

Start by adding the {{Infobox console}} template, adding in any known information using each parameter.

For the logo, find in order of importance:

• An SVG
• A high resolution PNG, preferably transparent
• A JPEG, if nothing else exists

You can usually find these on Wikipedia or in a press kit (for recent consoles). Use image for pictures of the console, not logo.

Lead section

Start the page with an introductory overview (one or two sentences) of the console. The general style is something along these lines.

'''Example''' is a (x)-bit (xth)-generation console (developed by [manufacturer]) (released on [North American date]). (Explain its significance. In other words, justify to the reader why emulators exist for it outside of overall tech preservation.)

For computers:

'''Example''' is a family of computers (developed by [manufacturer]) (released on [North American date]). (Explain its significance. In other words, justify to the reader why emulators exist for it outside of overall tech preservation.)

Provide a simplified overview of the type of hardware it contained if possible, as well as its development history. For consoles, refer to Wikipedia's convention for console generations.

You may also include its MSRP, or retail price (wrapped in the {{Inflation}} template to add the equivalent price in 2024).

Emulators

Do not add an emulator to a table without linking to either its website, source code, wiki page, or a download link.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! scope="col"|Name
! scope="col"|Platform(s)
! scope="col"|Latest Version
! scope="col"|[[Emulation Accuracy|Accuracy]]
! scope="col"|<abbr title="Free/Libre and Open-Source Software">FLOSS</abbr>
! scope="col"|Active
! scope="col"|[[Recommended Emulators|Recommended]]
|-
! colspan="8"|PC / x86
|-
|-
|[https://example.com/ Example-emu]
|align=left|{{Icon|Windows|Linux|macOS|FreeBSD}}
|[https://example.com/ Git]
|High
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✓}}
|-
! colspan="8"|Mobile / ARM
|-
|[https://example.com/ Example-emu]
|align=left|{{Icon|Android}}
|[https://example.com/ 1.0]
|Low
|{{✗}}
|{{✓}}
|{{✗}}
|-
! colspan="8"|Console
|-
|[https://example.com/ Example-emu]
|align=left|{{Icon|NGC|XB1}}
|[https://example.com/ V2.64]
|Mid
|{{✗}}
|{{✓}}
|{{~}}
|}

Name: If there is an existing page on the wiki for the emulator link to it, and if not link to the emulator's website/source code repository. If the project doesn't have a website, it does not need a link.

Platform(s): Use the {{Icon}} template and align it left.

Latest Version: The text should be the latest version number/name, and if an emulator's version is posted on many pages it may have a template (eg. {{MednafenVer}}). If the emulator updates very often you can use 'Nightly', or if the emulator is open source with a buildbot, 'Git'. This should also be linked to the download page of the emulator.

Accuracy: See the Emulation Accuracy page to determine how emulators should be ranked.

FLOSS: The permissiveness of the license in the code repository. For an emulator to be considered open source, it must be deliberately made available on the part of the developers under a license that the wider community recognizes as valid. If the code is leaked or decompiled, it is not FLOSS. If the license only grants the ability to use the code under non-commercial terms, it is not FLOSS. Similarly, if it once was open but now isn't, we do not consider it FLOSS.

Active: If the project has seen development/releases/news in the past year or so. This isn't a hard rule, as sometimes an emulator will regularly go over one year without releases, and other times a developer will say that they're stopping development on the emulator.

Recommended: See the Recommended Emulators page to determine how emulators should be ranked.

You may add additional columns to cover some enhancement considered desirable for the emulator to have when not all the emulators listed support it. One common example is libretro support. ('''[[Libretro|Libretro Core]]''')

Criteria

The criteria for the table varies between systems, but overall:

• The emulator has to exist in a form that is accessible to the reader, whether it be through a URL pointing to the installer, a Linux distro package, or the source code. The only time where this rule can be broken is if a reputable developer who has been in the scene for years confirms its legitimacy.
• Only include Mobile / ARM and Console rows when there are emulators for them.
• If a system has thousands of emulators, DO NOT list them all. The ones that are noteworthy are defined by their commitment to hardware accuracy, compatibility, long-term maintenance and/or ease of use for the average person. (Exceptions can exist when any of these factors are tipped in favor of another, see higan and Mednafen.) Historical significance should also play a role; emulators should not have to be "perfect" to be listed, and in fact if an emulator has name recognition elsewhere, whether it be from the scene of the 90s or through emulating another system, it is worth adding.
• The overall order in which each emulator is listed is: recommended, honorable mention, not recommended. The order of recommended emulators is less defined, but generally speaking it should start at the gold standard (or the one closest to) and then work its way down. Honorable mentions ({{~}}) are similar.

Comparisons

Provide a paragraph explaining the rationale behind the recommendation (or lack thereof). Start with a brief gerund summarizing its ranking (and not a full sentence). The rest of the paragraph should be spent explaining what it does well, where it falls short, and any history behind it (if it does not have its own article). Try to be as concise as possible. You can usually accomplish this if the emulator has its own article, as many facts about the emulator can be moved there.

We use definition lists (;) to provide convenient stylization and help distinguish paragraphs apart from each other. Use them in conjunction with indents (:) like such:

one liner
;example:description
multi liner
;example
:description

Emulation issues

If a given system has roadblocks that make emulating it a challenge, use this section to spotlight it.

Peripherals

If a given system has a number of peripherals that are needed for a small portion of its catalog, this is the section to showcase them and their status in emulation.

Other sections

If there was a hardware revision of the system that emulates different games add a section detailing it and if any of the emulators support it.

Make sure to add all relevant category links.