Jump to content

Trophy Guides: The complete walkthrough


Monkeyman 8322

Recommended Posts

For the list of games without Trophy Guides, go here:

Games Without Trophy Guides List

I am using images from x360a as they are easier to find and it has exactly the same layout.

 

Play the game, and get most or all of the trophies.

 

Pretty self-explanatory. If you haven't played the game, you would have no idea what to put in the guide. Depending on the game, you need to have most or all of the trophies before you can know how to get them or start the guide.

 

Starting a guide for a game that is not out yet is not allowed 99% of the time. If you were lucky enough to get the game early, or if the game is a direct port (i.e. the game actually is out already, just not on the 360)

 

If you start a guide, especially if it's for a new game, you have an obligation to work on it immediately. Even if the game is out, that doesn't allow you to start a guide if you're not going to work on it for days.

 

STEP TWO

Get a properly-formatted Trophy list. (Guide skeleton)

 

For an example of a properly-formatted guide, see this guide.

 

All Trophies should look like this:

 

Line 1: Trophy Picture, Trophy Name, Trophy Level

Line 2: Trophy Description

Line 3: Trophy Walkthrough

 

The method for getting a properly-formatted skeleton up happens to be the quickest possible way of getting any skeleton up, and is as follows:

 

Sub-Step one: Go to the page for the guide you want to make.

 

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/1778/guidehowto1me8.png

 

 

 

Sub-Step two: Click and drag your mouse, starting at the very first achievement tile, ending at the end of the last achievement's description. Everything should be highlighted.

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/4333/guidehowto2eb9.png

 

 

 

Sub-Step three: Right-click your mouse, and select "Copy".

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/5376/guidehowto3qg8.png

 

 

 

Sub-Step four: Start a new thread in the respective game forum, right-click, and select "Paste".

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/91/guidehowto4uz7.png

 

 

 

Sub-Step five: Press "Preview Post".

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/8379/guidehowto5yg6.png

 

 

 

 

Sub-Step six: Scroll down. You'll notice that the text and pictures are now in one unbroken line. Add line breaks and spaces to make it look like the Uncharted Guide I linked.

http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/6727/guidehowto6us4.png

 

 

 

 

Sub-Step seven: Reply to the thread a few times with "Reserved for guide". Each post has a 10,000 character limit, and you will most likely need the space. Reserve two extra posts for arcade games and five for retail, and feel free to make more if it looks like you'll need it. We can always delete them later.

IMPORTANT - In the forum guide, feel free to reorder the achievements, change font, or even replace the tiles so they don't have the border. Whatever you want to do to make it look better is fine. However, the guide you enter in the Submit forum (See Step Five) MUST be formatted exactly to the specifications I just laid out. It makes it massively easier for them to edit it and put it on the site.

Edited by olsen77
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 407
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

STEP THREE

Post here to tell the community you're working on the guide.

This is the simplest step in the guide process. Just reply to this thread with the link to the guide you're currently working on. Please make sure to scan through this thread to see if anyone is working on a guide.

Edited by Monkeyman 8322
Link to comment
Share on other sites

STEP FOUR

Write the guide

 

Time for the big part. Write the achievement guide. The number-one rule of thumb for writing guides is that someone who has never played the game should have a good idea of what to do.

FIRST OFF: Spelling and Grammar (Make it readable.)

 

A guide won't do anyone any good if they can't read it. If you have poor spelling and/or grammar, ask someone to look the guide over before you post it. If you have Microsoft Word, write your guide there first and run spellcheck, or use Firefox as your browser; it will run spellcheck as you go.

 

Not a sentence: "U got 2 the top it is ther."

 

Don't use any internet abbreviations or 1337 speak. Write it like you were submitting it for an English class.

 

Also, keep the in-game terms consistent. "Kill 100 people with your shotty" isn't correct, unless the shotgun is actually called a "shotty". Instead, try: "Kill 100 people with your W1200 (shotgun)". Make sure you're using terms like Act, Episode, Level, etc., correctly.

 

Finally, try to not get too personal. You don't have to be robot-like, but things like jokes, outside references, and smilies can be easily misinterpreted as important. Keep in mind this is an international site, some people might not understand certain slangs or jokes at all.

 

NEXT: Trophy Detail (Make it descriptive.)

 

Do not assume the guide's user will have any previous knowledge of the game, the system, the controller or anything! Go into so much detail that your head hurts after writing the guide. This goes double for sports games, you cannot assume that the player is familiar with the sport.

 

Here is an example using an achievement I just made up:

[spoiler=123] "Kill the rabid dog."

 

Worst:

"Self-explanatory" or "Like it says, kill the rabid dog."

 

This gives no indication of where this dog is or how to kill it. No help whatsoever is given, it simply restates the achievement description, which we already know.

 

Bad:

"Kill the rabid dog in level 3."

 

This gives the level location, but not an exact location and still no way of actually killing the dog.

 

Better:

"Kill the rabid bog in level 3 by sneaking behind and shooting it with your gun."

 

Still only a general location, but now we know pretty much how to kill it and with what to kill the dog.

 

Best:

"When you start level three, you will be in front of a brown house. Go around the left of the house to the back to find the dog. Press L1 to go into sneak mode and get a few steps away from the dog. Pull out your gun (by pressing up), then shoot it with R1."

 

As you can see, this leaves no questions on where to find the dog or how to kill it. This means no one will have any doubt about how to get this achievement.

 

Finally: Trophies the "quick" way. (Make it easy.)

Aside from the "legit" way to get the trophies, is there a simpler way? These guides are not only how to get the trophies, but the fastest and easiest way to get them, as long as it's legit. For instance:

  • Can you play against a second controller instead of the CPU?
  • Can you play on the easiest game setting?
  • Can you move any game sliders?
  • Can you input cheat codes or turn in-game cheats on?

  • Can you boost/trade online trophies? If so, how?
  • Is there a complete walkthrough for the game itself?
  • Do you have a list for collectibles? What about maps for them?
  • Do difficulty achievements stack?
  • Can you use level select for trophies?
  • Do kills/collectibles/etc carry from game to game, difficulty to difficulty?

You should always note if these things apply to the game, because people WILL ask them. We get tons of repeat questions on the forums because these questions are not clearly addressed in the trophies guides. Make sure the user knows if any of these apply; if they don't, make sure they know that as well.

Edited by Monkeyman 8322
Link to comment
Share on other sites

STEP FOUR

(continued)

 

FAQ's and General Tips

Q: I want to have a brief notes section on my guide that isn't under a trophy. Can I do that?

 

A: Put it right at the bottom under the last trophy.

 

Q: The game I'm working on has separate trophies for completing the game at 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% / separate trophies for beating each level. Do I have to write an entire thing for all of these?

 

A: No. Stackable and cumulative trophies do not need to have a full guide for each one, but you do need to have all of the information there. Look at this excerpt from the Lego Star Wars II: TOT Guide(x360a):

[spoiler=456]

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/72/LEGO7.jpgGame 20% complete. 20http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg

Complete 20% of the game.

 

Refer to “Game 100% complete”

 

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/72/LEGO8.jpgGame 40% complete 40http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg

Complete 40% of the game.

 

Refer to “Game 100% complete”

 

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/72/LEGO9.jpgGame 60% complete. 60http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg

Complete 60% of the game.

 

Refer to “Game 100% complete”

 

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/72/LEGO10.jpgGame 80% complete. 80http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg

Complete 80% of the game.

 

Refer to “Game 100% complete”

 

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/achievements/72/LEGO11.jpgGame 100% complete. 180http://www.xbox360achievements.org/images/site/gp-g.jpg

Complete everything in the game!

 

To earn 100% complete, you'll have to collect and beat absolutely everything in the game. These are the things you must do to complete the game 100%:

  • Complete all missions
  • Complete all super missions
  • Complete all bounty hunter missions
  • Complete Lego City
  • Collect all power bricks
  • Collect everything from the store
  • Collect all mini kits
  • Collect all gold bricks
  • Create the spigot

To make things go by extremely quick and to avoid having to sit underneath the spigot for hours like myself, here are a few tips. First, you'll want to buy Ghost Ben Kenobi (1,100,000 studs; Unlocked after beating all episodes). He's a valuable asset because he'll be the character you'll use to receive the majority of the undefeated achievements and make super story, acquiring power bricks, minikits, and so forth a walk in the park. Secondly, you'll want to buy the 2x (Power Brick 6; 2 million studs), 4x (Power Brick 9; 6 million studs), and 8x multiplier (Power Brick 15, 20 million studs). Thirdly, you'll want to buy Greedo and all the other bounty hunters because you'll need him for the race to 1 million studs and the other bounty hunters to unlock the bounty hunter missions. And lastly, you'll want buy the minikit detector (500,000 studs; Power Brick 11). This will make locating the minikits much easier. Even with a minikit guide, they can be a little sneaky and difficult to find. This is completely optional though as there is a guide for the minikits. You'll have to buy the detector either way for the 100% achievement

 

Minikit + Power Brick guide: Click Here For The Guide

 

Initially, I was buying everything in the store excluding these. Once I came to the end and tried to buy everything else, it took forever because the spigot took so long to produce studs. Having those 3 multipliers equates to a 64x multiplier. For example, if you collected 100 studs, you would actually receive 6400 studs since you have the multipliers on. This will make receiving studs a breeze and save you hours.

 

For super story, don't worry about how fast you beat it. You just have to beat the super story and you'll receive your golden brick. But, the faster you beat it under the clock, the more studs you receive. So I recommend trying to zip through it as quickly as possible. I beat all of them in under 48 minutes, and I received quite a bit of studs.

 

For the race to a million studs, use the almighty Greedo. Greedo is the fastest character in the game and he has a gun. What you should do with him is run and shoot everything in sight. Make sure you're shooting ahead of yourself at all times. With Greedo you should be able to do this with little or no troubles. Avoid using invisible characters because they're too slow and do not have guns.

 

Note: Remember having power bricks on will not allow you to receive the undefeated achievements!

 

 

As you can see, copy-pasting the guide for the last trophy into the guides for all 5 will result in ridiculous clutter, so doing so is actually discouraged. Also, make sure that the information is for the last trophy you will receive. This is hard to explain, so for example:

 

Let's say that the 40%-100% trophies all said to look at the 20% trophy, which had the actual content. Now, let's say someone was following the guide through his playthrough of the game and was using the MyPS3Trophies feature to hide his trophies. Once he gets past 20% completion, he hides that trophy. Now he can no longer see the content. See the problem?

 

Q: I found a way to get an trophy really quickly, but the method doesn't involve doing what the trophy says. Is that okay?

 

A: There's a fine line between boosting and cheating. It's considered cheating if you don't actually do what the trophy says to do.

 

For example, let's say the trophy is "Get 100 headshots." If there's a way to make a match with just you and your friend so you can just headshot each other, that's okay. If there's a way to get someone to recover your account on their 360, play a match, and it unlocks no matter what you do, that's not okay.

 

If you're not sure something is legit or not, pm one of the admin BEFORE you put it in your guide.

 

Q: You have a few pretty specific guidelines and requirements. Can I not follow some of them?

 

A: Short answer, no. You have a little bit of leeway with the forum guide, provided the changes are to make it easier to read and not out of laziness. For example, you can change the order of the achievements to correspond with the order you unlock them in the game. But the guide you put in the Submit forum (See Step Five) MUST follow every guideline and requirement I just laid out.

 

We don't mind fixing a few errors, but if it's way off, your guide will be denied. Simple as that.

 

Q: How do I get a picture on the guide?

 

A: Depending on your situation, there's a few answers.

 

If you have the picture saved to your computer:

[spoiler=789] Go to an image hosting site, such as www.imageshack.us. Click on "Browse...", and then find your picture. Then, hit "Host it!" and wait a little. Then, scroll all the way down, to the bar that says "Direct link to image:" Copy-paste that whole thing, and put it in the guide like this:

[img=**your copy-paste goes here**]

 

If the picture is on a website:

[spoiler=135]Right click on the image, select "Properties", then copy-paste what it says next to "Location:" Alternatively, if you are using Firefox, you can right-click the image and select "Copy Image Location" to automatically copy-paste the location. Either way, put it in the guide like so:

[img=**your copy-paste goes here**]

If you need to crop or edit a picture on another website:

[spoiler=791]Right-click on the picture, and click "Save Image As...". Save the picture, then open it up in Paint or any image editing program. Edit it, save it, then follow the instructions for "If you have the picture saved to your computer:".

 

Note: You cannot put copyrighted images in your guide. Refer to the below question.

 

Q: I have something I want to put in the guide, but I didn't write/make it. Is that okay?

 

A: Usually. If it's something like a scan of a Prima guide, that's an absolute no unless you somehow got permission from the company or it's (legally) hosted on the official website.

 

If it's from another site, post the link, and not the actual content. Sites like gamefaqs.com are okay, some others (that we're direct rivals with), are not. If these forums automatically replace the site's name in the url with asterisks, the link isn't allowed.

 

If it was written by another site member and posted on this site, it's automatically okay. You can copy-paste it into the guide, or just put the link, depending on how long it is. Make sure to give them credit, though.

 

Q: How do I get a video on the guide?

A: Just copy-paste the url into the guide.

Note: Check the end of this guide for General FAQ.

Edited by mjc0961
two step fives >_>
Link to comment
Share on other sites

STEP FIVE

Submit the guide in the Submit Forum.

 

Simple. When your guide is done, go to the Submit Forum. (click)

 

EDIT 03/03/09: Webb has said that simply creating a topic and linking to your existing thread shall suffice for submitting it. No longer do you need to copy and past the entire guide.

 

Quick checklist:

[spoiler=246]

 

  • Every trophy is in the same order as the trophy list on the mainpage.
  • Everything is in Veranda, Size 2, and in black (default font). You can bold or italicize a few things for emphasis, but keep it minimal.
  • Every trophy has the tile, title, level, description and guide, formatted like this:

  • http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/8/4.jpgPlatinum (Platinum)
    Get all the bronze, silver and goldtrophies.
  • Spelling and grammar are perfect.
  • Every trophy has a guide for it, even if it's just telling you to look at another trophy.
  • Every time you mention the name of another trophy in the guide, put the trophy name in double quotes, like this:
  • http://www.ps3trophies.org/images/trophies/8/1.jpg30 Headshots (Bronze)
    Kill 30 enemies with headshots
    See "100 headshots".
  • No spoiler tags. They don't work on the mainsite, and anyone looking at the guide should expect a spoiler. If you want to make a big chunk of text (like a full locations list or walkthrough) look smaller, make your own thread for it in the forums and put a link in the guide.
  • You've given all credit where it's due.

 

After the guide has been submitted, it will be moved to the Admin/Mod board, where they will revise, proofread, and accept it. If the game is new, it may take a while to go on the mainsite.

Edited by mjc0961
new information; updating guide
Link to comment
Share on other sites

STEP SIX

Receive thanks and signs of gratitude.

 

 

When you finish a guide, this is what you get:

  • Your name up on the mainpage.
  • Once you get 3 guides, you get a forum award.
  • If your guide is outstanding, you may also be eligible for the A+ thread award.
  • And most importantly, automatic love from everyone who uses your guide.

FAQ's

 

 

Q: I'm working on a guide. Can I get a sticky on it?

 

A: No. Guides are stuck when they are done and approved, not if they're a work in progress. If your guide was approved and we didn't sticky your thread, that's our fault. Notify us (make sure you point out that it was approved) and we'll sticky it.

 

Q: What's this mainsite you keep talking about?

 

A: PS3T.org has two main sections: the mainsite and the forum. 90% of the site's visitors don't use the forums, so it's obviously more important to have the mainsite up to date. You can see the mainsite guide list by clicking here. (

click)

 

Q: How do I know if my guide was approved/rejected?

 

A: If it was approved, you'll see the change on the mainsite. (see above) If it was rejected, we'll most likely contact you and tell you what changes you need to make. If you were rejected because another person's guide is better, you won't be notified.

 

Q: I noticed a small error in an achievement guide. How do I get it changed?

 

A: Post in this thread. (

click)

 

Note: See Step Five for more FAQ's.

Edited by Monkeyman 8322
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't shake the feeling that I missed something.

 

You wrote all that and you still think that, lol? Brilliant guide, extremely in-depth, and imo just what we needed. More people need encouragement to create guides, there aren't many. Thanks for writing it. I have a LBP trophy guide but it's probably not as in-depth as it should be now that I've read this :o

 

Here's a link to my LittleBigPlanet http://www.ps3trophies.org/forum/littlebigplanet/5126-trophy-guide.html, maybe I should improve it... I haven't posted it in the Submit forum, it's just in the LBP sub-forum.

 

I'll definitely write another guide sometime, and I'll use this post for guidance.

Edited by boinggg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You wrote all that and you still think that, lol? Brilliant guide, extremely in-depth, and imo just what we needed. More people need encouragement to create guides, there aren't many. Thanks for writing it. I have a LBP trophy guide but it's probably not as in-depth as it should be now that I've read this :o

 

Totally agree. Touché.

 

I may get my feet wet and help with adding some depth in to the guides after the New Year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't know what went on here, but I have to agree with Webb on the concept of a thread like this being kept clean for its intended purpose. Maybe you guys should make another thread elsewhere or PM a mod or admin directly if there are some issues about something. Anyway...

 

And there you have it. I can't shake the feeling that I missed something. Feel free to chime in.

The only thing I could think of is making the thread more trophy specific. Obviously this is mostly a copy/paste job from x360a, but now the work lies on making it more PS3 specific. Things like changing all instances of "achievement" to "trophy" and getting screenshots of a guide from this site to replace the ones of x360a. I'd also give more specific credit to Marx0r from x360a for writing a lot of that.

 

Beyond those small things, this is a great step towards bringing this site on par with it's older sister. Great job!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was thinking of taking on the Battlefield guide, what's a good number of spaces to reserve?

 

Maybe 2 or 3 more than you'll think you'll need. If you have extra posts left over, it's easy for a mod to delete them from the thread. But if you end up needing more posts, that's not so easy to fix.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...