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Fallout Wiki

Notability

  • Bugs that contain typos (i.e. misspelled or blatantly incorrect words), inconsistent dialogue (i.e. the subtitles phrase the response one way, but the actual voice acting deviates from said phrasing) or incorrect pronouns (e.g. the player character is a "he" but certain characters refer to them as a "she" and vice versa) are not notable.
  • Graphical bugs that consist of clipping, weapon texture glitches (e.g. floating/incorrectly positioned weapon pieces), moving facial features or body parts on dead characters and inconsistent appearances in flashbacks are not notable.
    • Graphical bugs that consist of significant distortion of the character model (i.e. inverted body parts, distended facial features, etc.), low res textures that hide enterable areas and graphical glitches that interfere with/block the visual field are notable (Weapons texture glitches that block the field of vision are therefore notable).
  • All other bugs are notable.

Brevity and clarity

  • Wherever possible, bugs should be re-written with brevity and clarity in mind.
  • On pages which have eight or more main bullet point entries in the Bug Section, the {{Notable Content}} template should be used to reduce the clutter and volume of said section such that it does not exceed the volume of the indicated article.

Where do bug reports belong?

  • Generally speaking, a bug belongs in the article of the bugged entity and nowhere else. E.g., quest bugs belong on the quest page and not on the NPC page.
  • Bugs that can be linked to a single entity should be listed at the bottom of said entity's page.
  • Bugs not specific to an entity (e.g. crashing on cell change) should be listed on the main bug page.
  • The main bug page should not contain duplicate listings from individual article pages. Entries should be moved to the appropriate page.

Layout for bug sections

For bug sections contained within any standard article, entries should be sorted from top to bottom based on the following classifications, where those in category 1 would be at the top, those in category 2 wold fall below category 1, etc.

  1. Those bugs which have the potential to cause extreme data loss, i.e. having to revert to a very old save, or restart the game from scratch.
    1. For example, if the targeting HUD mod is worn or berry mentats eaten, in Virgil's lab at an early point in the game, then the player will discover a significant amount of time later that the main questline is broken, and will be forced to reload a save before the previously mentioned game breaking event, resulting in massive progress loss.
  2. Those bugs which have the potential to cause minor data loss, i.e. having to revert to a previous save. Anything which can potentially cause the game to crash would fall into this category.
  3. Those bugs which can potentially hinder progression of a quest, but can be resolved without having to revert to a previous save. This excludes issues which can only be resolved by the use of console commands. For the sake of non-PC users, those would more likely fit into #1 or #2 above.
  4. Everything else deemed notable for inclusion, roughly sorted in decreasing order of severity.

Exploits

  • Exploits relating to a particular article should be mentioned briefly in the article but only be explained in detail on dedicated exploit pages (e.g. Fallout 3 exploits). This is because so many of the exploit descriptions are so very long.
  • Exploits should not be listed on the main bugs pages, but they should be moved to the main exploits page.

Using the {{verify}} template

  • Most bugs should be believed, but all NEW bugs must receive a {{Verify|~~~~~|type=bug}} tag so that the bugs can be tested for validity.
  • Bugs should not automatically be removed if the timer runs out, especially if they pertain to bugs involving quests or time specific events as these can be hard to reproduce in 1 try. Suspicious or unlikely-sounding bug reports should also be marked with the same template and removed if no verifications are forthcoming before the timer runs out. (Formerly the timer was set for 2 weeks, it has since been extended to 1 month, this is plenty of time for users to verify a bug.)
  • As a general rule, 10 tries is what you should aim for when attempting to replicate a bug.
Guideline for editing: Editors who can recognize or quickly test an unreproducible event should remove it. If you're unsure and the bug entry sounds iffy, that's when you use the verify template.

Using the {{Verify|verified}} Sub-template

  • The verified subtemplate is to be placed on all bugs that were present in articles, excluding those marked with the verify or {{Platforms needed}} tag, before February 6th 2013.
  • The Verified tag should only be placed on bugs currently holding a verify tag if they have been verified by a second party. Editors should not apply the verified tag to bugs they have added themselves.

Using the {{platforms}} template

  • Almost all bugs occur on all platforms. When that is apparent, editors should go ahead and list all platforms via the template.
  • The few bugs which are specific to a platform, on multiple platforms should be marked only with the platform(s) appropriate.
  • It should be noted that the Platforms template, while great for identifying the specific system that the bug was discovered on, does not serve as automatic verification of its existence.

Using the {{platforms needed}} template

  • The platforms needed should be placed on all bugs lacking a platform that are available on multiple platforms (i.e. Xbox 360, PS3, PC).
  • Users should practice discretion with the template, for example the platforms needed tag should not be placed on bugs that have a sub-bullet which expresses a bug fix that directly denotes the console of origin.

Workarounds and bug-fixes

  • Even though Fallout Wiki does not cover the use of third-party mods, bug-fixes are appropriate to list and link to. Acceptable sites to link to are ModDB and the Nexus sites. Please check the link to assure that it works and that the bug-fix is appropriate for listing.
  • Fixes and workarounds for pc users should be listed in an indented bullet below the bug they fix. It is acceptable as well to link to an appropriate section of the console commands article page.
  • Workarounds for console players tend to be quite verbose and should be reworded for brevity and clarity wherever possible.

Layout for game bug pages

Game Bug pages have been sporadic and messy in the past. To correct this, future Game Bug pages should be conformed to the following layout:

  • Add-on-Specific Bugs
    • This section should link to the individual Add-on Specific bug pages. Bugs that are applicable to the add-ons should not appear in the main game bug page.
  • General advice and notes
    • This section should be composed of tips to go about handling bugs, and generally how they happen.
  • Weapon Mods
  • Using the console
  • Crashing, freezing and other hardware- or software-related issues
  • Menu-, HUD-, inventory-, and radio-related bugs
  • Physics engine glitches
  • Graphics glitches
  • Effect bug
  • Custom button-mapping bugs
  • Non-player character-specific bugs
    • Should link you to the Characters Page
  • Quest-specific bugs
    • Should link the user to the Quests Page
  • Location-specific bugs
    • Should link the user to the Locations Page
  • Gameplay bugs
    • Xbox 360 Only Bugs
    • PS3 Only Bugs
    • PC Only Bugs

Add-on specific bug pages

Add-on Specific pages should provide a detailed list of bugs that are present only in the DLC, and do not overlap with characters/quests/items/locations. Add-on Specific bug pages should appear in the following format:

  • Multi-platform
  • PC only
  • PS3 only
  • Xbox 360 only


Policy vote forum overview
PolicyBug policy
Proposal voteNotable bugs policy
Date and result3 December 2010 · 27-1-0
Templates{{Verify}} · {{Platforms}} · {{Notable content}}
Amendment 1Extend timer & create verify template · Vote · 9 February 2013 · 6-0-2; 4-1-3
Amendment 2Separate policy page · Vote · 25 March 2013 · 21-0-1
Amendment 3Notable content template/notability/layout · Vote · 9 July 2016 · 12-5-2; 13-3-2; 15-1-1
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