Talk: Precursor alphabet

Map Text

I've looked at my copy of the manual, and have found no Precursor writing whatsoever. Where exactly is it? 173.218.139.203 07:26, December 19, 2014 (UTC)

I'm actually not sure, myself. I've never seen it before either, but maybe the user who wrote that had a physical copy of the promo map? —Jak Himself (talk·contributions) 14:14, December 19, 2014 (UTC)

Compass, covers, letter variations, barrels

I looked at the Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy map and it looks like the compass that has been retraced has four different letters than the regular ones, but the version shown on this page still contains the generic four characters for letters N, E, S and W. The four original letters resemble the Latin alphabet even closer than the common ones, so I think its worth replacing and saying those four letters are different. Also, it would be useful if the other four variations of the letters I,E, G and M were shown. I found the E and an un recognizable character on a large Precursor orb in the background when I looked up "Jak and Daxter Precursor Legacy cover." It would be good to show any and all variations visually for reference.

In fact, it would be good to provide visuals of every sign mentioned, but that might be difficult.

Finally, barrels at the drill platform in Jak II during the first mission there say "barrel of shit" rather than barrel of Eco. I don't know if this version of the barrels exist anywhere else. I tried to make the change myself once and got my privileges taken away, which makes sense because a lot of kids like these games. But just because it doesn't align to the standard, family friendly fare, doesn't mean it isn't an Easter egg worth mentioning.

Just a few ideas. 174.52.221.154 06:00, January 8, 2015 (UTC)

That's very interesting... What do you mean by "I got my privileges taken away"? I'm on Wikia mobile right now so I can't check to see if you were blocked or if your edit was reverted, but neither should be the case. Go ahead and try to edit, I don't think there should be any problems.

I don't mind putting "barrel of shit" in the article, as long as it's correct. The Jak and Daxter Wiki is not censored, thus our content doesn't have to be "family friendly." As for the compass retracing, I used the Precursor cipher instead of Latin letters because 1) we don't have the correct font and 2) only Precursor cipher images belong on the alphabet page, not a random image of a compass. Anyway, I'm off to bed. Good luck on your edits, if you still have problems then I'll check into it tomorrow. —Jak Himself (talk·contributions) 06:20, January 8, 2015 (UTC)

I don't know either because I have lost my password(s) for the wiki, but I wouldn't consider early versions of the font to be random symbols. I suppose there is no proof that they ever were early versions, but I go to Disneyland twice a year and I don't feel there's much of a correlation between the Indiana jones script and this one. And if this page is supposed to be about the precursor alphabet, I think the least relevant thing on here is that fact, and that's in the trivia section. This page already has a section that mentions, albeit briefly, alternate letterings, and we might as well use it to show them.

And I don't mind if you retrace the compass and put it on here, as long as it's correct. You can't just change the letters on a supposedly accurate compass for convenience. That's not an accurate representation of the truth. The four symbols on that compass are among the variations of letters and they resemble the precursor alphabet far more closely than some other, unrelated alphabet created by a different studio for different reasons and that pertains in no way to the usage of the topic of the page, especially considering that they appear on the canon map of the game world.

If we want, as a wiki, to provide access to all in-game information, no matter how minute or tangential, maintain interest and enable art by members of the fan base of which we are presumably a part, it becomes useful to give visuals of every variation in a font to be presented as they were found, discussed fairly, contemplated, and eventually used in fan art as extra symbols for people who really like leaving messages in Precursor.

Perhaps those four symbols are used as shorthand for their directions without having to write the whole word, but that discussion can't take place if nobody sees them. And if nobody can see them then how good of a job are we really doing? I hope that was convincing. —Preceding unsigned comment was added by 174.52.221.154 (talk · contribs). Please sign your posts with ∼∼∼∼!

Well, actually, as a wiki we try not to point out every last detail. Information has to be proven notable to include. The reason being is that eventually we start to become an indiscriminate conglomerate of useless facts, which serve no real purpose to an article other than to clutter it up. However, I'm not saying that I'm automatically opposed to including alternate symbols, the only problem is that no font exists which has such symbols, therefore we haven't been able to include them. If you find a Precursor font that does have them, then by all means go add them.

And I can agree on the compass retracing. But we should keep it there until we have the proper N, E, S, W letters (after all, the letters that are on still are straight from the game, just out of context). As for you losing the password to your account, I can't help you with that. You'll have to contact staff to recover your password (though I think you can change your password by clicking the "Forgot password" link). What was your account name, just out of curiosity? I checked your IP address, none of your edits were reverted, nor were you blocked, so you should be able to edit just fine. Oh, also, about the Indiana Jones thing, the F, I, O, M, P, Q, and R look similar to some of the letters, just compare the images. It'd be nice if we had some third party media to cover it, though I guess as of right now it's unsourced therefore I can't justify keeping it. I suppose that will be left up to consensus if any other users decide to give their input (I know it was User:Jakraziel who found it, and User:Tim H who brought it up). Kind regards, —Jak Himself (talk·contributions) 14:39, January 8, 2015 (UTC)

Oh, and also, I get the feeling that you have multiple issues with this article and the way it presents information. If you want, you can use a sandbox to rewrite the article, then have it peer-reviewed once you're finished, then it can be implemented (copy-pasted) on the real page. —Jak Himself (talk·contributions) 14:45, January 8, 2015 (UTC)

Alternate Lettering

PAL front cover.

Is it possible to show the reference to the alternate forms of E, I, G, and M? I was able to find the E and I on this cover. But there's another cover with supposed "rows of Precursor text" that has both the E and I, but also with G and M. —Preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.23.55.85 (talk · contribs) 03:26, July 15, 2016. Please sign your posts with ∼∼∼∼!

I think adding the alternate forms to the main image is a good idea, we'd just need to know what they look like first. I can only see the 'E' and 'I', which cover has the others? --Tim H - Talk 09:37, July 15, 2016 (UTC)

I couldn't find the G and M either. That's what I meant to say. Sorry that wasn't clearer. There's also another conversation above regarding the alternate compass letters as well. I have those here. It was made in MS paint, so it's a bit low quality: http://tammleandbass.deviantart.com/art/Jak-and-Daxter-Precursor-Compass-621977979?ga_submit_new=10%253A1468668629 —Preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.23.55.85 (talk · contribs) 05:32, July 16, 2016. Please sign your posts with ∼∼∼∼!

Good catch. We have the compass uploaded but with the proper NWES lettering. I guess it's not too hard to re-do it and add the alternate forms to the mainpage. It will take some time but be done eventually. --Tim H - Talk 23:26, July 17, 2016 (UTC)