Each week Matthew Porter contributes The Creamy GUI Center, a column aimed at helping you enhance your WoW experience by offering an in depth guide to addons, macros and other tools we use to play WoW, along with commentary on issues that affect how we all play.
Welcome readers to this week's The Creamy GUI Center. It looks like I stumbled upon an addon topic that, judging from your comments, a lot of people view as a cornerstone of their UI and addon experience. This week, thanks to reader feedback, I'm going to extend our look at inventory addons to three parts instead of two so that we can take a look at a couple of fan favorite bag addons that I missed. I did indeed hear your cries of wanting more in the comments, so let's get down to it with a look at ArkInventory and TBag.
It's not secret that I'm very excited about Achievements. Over 500 little questlets to do and work on all the time, with snazzy tabards and pets as rewards? Sold. But aside from a few screenshots on Blizzard's official page, we've had little idea what it was going to look like for the players. Now, thanks to Skosiris of Wowhead, that's going to change (Wowhead's WotLK site just opened up to the public, by the way). He sent me these exclusive screenshots from the beta just a little while ago – click on for a promenade through the Achievements UI.
Fixing "their" bugs which in turn breaks "our" addons and mods. The suggestion is that they don't care, or could take steps to prevent this.
As you can imagine, all sorts of responses cropped up, including the usual people who get into arguments with other posters, players in agreement, joking and sarcastic responses, and of course, an awesome string of blue responses.
We were lucky enough to get an Azerothian ton (they're like twice the weight of normal tons, don't you know) of news about Wrath of the Lich King at Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational this weekend, and hidden in the Death Knight hands on, there's a ton of great information about the way the class' summons will work. Most of the summons seem to be in the Unholy tree -- Death Knights will not only be able to summon the ghouls we heard about earlier, but will also be able to bring down a gargoyle and summon an insect swarm. But the ghouls are what we're most interested in -- Army of the Dead is a level 80 spell (with a 10 minute cooldown!) that will summon a "legion of your best ghouls to fight by your side."
And our question is: how is this going to work? Obviously the ghouls won't actually work as pets as in the way Hunter or Warlock pets work, but surely they'll have a little more control implemented than the Druid's treants or the Priest's shadowfiends, right? As far as I can remember, we've never actually controlled multiple pets before -- are we going to have one bar to control all three with, or will we mark a target as they're summoned? It would seem that with a tanking class like the Death Knight, more focused pets would be a necessity in some cases.
Or maybe our ghouls will be as mindless as ever, and after we hit a button to summon, they'll just head for the closest thing that looks like it might have brains to eat. Hopefully the Death Knight's ghouls will be a bit more interesting than that (there was a rumor a while back that you'd be able to raise your fallen group members as ghouls, though I don't see that spell in the hands on), and if not, I guess there's always other Hero classes to improve upon the pet mechanics.
Some of you may remember me gushing over MazzleUI back in the day, when it first came out of private beta. In short, it's an extremely coherent and well-designed UI compilation, that aims to be lightweight and efficient while still being complete and feature-filled. However, its long-suffering author, Mazzlefizz, quit WoW at a certain point, and MazzleUI started to become plagued with incompatibilities as WoW went through its normal patching process. No more! Docevl has come and rescued this lovely UI from the dust, and it's now all patched-up and ready for 2.4.2. I just installed it myself and it worked pretty faultlessly.
Of course, I did have to bring over a few AddOns from my previous UI (13 of them, in fact), since Mazz isn't meant to be all things to all people, and I have several that I've gotten very used too that aren't included (like MetaHud and TBag). And there are a few things you'll probably want to change from the default configuration:
Set the text size to Large or Mr Magoo, unless you keep a magnifying glass by your monitor (or it has fewer pixels per inch than mine).
Be sure and prevent it from yelling garbage about "mazzlegasms" (seriously) by setting the appropriate menu to "Bite your lip and keep it in" at the end of configuration. Those around you will thank you.
I actually ended up going back to my cobbled-together UI after not too long with Mazz, because I prefer something that uses minimal screen space and I don't need all the machinery that Mazz brings. I've also gotten very used to my setup. But if you want an all-in-one package, this is one of the best ones out there.
Ever wanted to make your mark in the WoW community? Want to see your handiwork featured in our Reader UI of the Week? Or maybe you've always dreamed of an frameset with a Hello Kitty theme?
Well, WoWInterface's new raffle might just give you that chance. WoWInterface is an addon download site, brought to you by the parent company that runs Allakhazam, Thottbot, and Wowhead. They announced yesterday in their forums that every Sunday for the next five weeks they'll be raffling off two copies of World of Warcraft Programming: A Guide and Reference for Creating WoW Addons.
And, no, it's not some dusty old tome they are trying to unload because Mom wants them to clean up their rooms. The book was published May 5, 2008, less than a month ago. It normally lists for $39.99, so this is a great way to get started on your new addon-writing career and save some money at the same time. Or just get something for free and make some stuff.
The best part is, even though the book's authors are addon pros James Whitehead II, Matthew Orlando and Bryan McLemore, this book is written in such a way that you need no programming knowledge to get started writing your own WoW addons. To enter the raffle, all you need to do is register for a WoW Interface account and make sure your real email address is on your account. They'll be pulling the winners from the list of members. For more details, see the raffle rules.
Good luck and write some good addons for us to review!
Ok, you're done clicking sliders and choosing your race and class as part of the character creation process. You've watched the opening cinematic - you watched the cinematic, right? Did you stay through the credits to see the bonus scene? No? Good thing there wasn't one. Now you're sitting in starting area for your race, staring at the user interface (UI) for the first time and could be going, "Oh, man. What do all these buttons do?"
As far as UIs, World of Warcraft's isn't that bad actually. If you want to see a game with a horrid interface, take a gander at Second Life; that UI will scar your brain.
World of Warcraft allows all of us an unprecedented ability to modify our user interface to meet our needs. Each week WoW Insider will bring you a fresh and detailed look at reader submitted UIs. Have a screenshot of your UI you want to submit? Send it, along with your character name and server, to readerui@gmail.com.
Pondera of the Blackhand-US server sent in his UI, along with a short description of the major addons he's using. One of the major decisions in shaping this UI was to make it viable for each of his alts, something I strive towards with my own UI. Pondera is a 26 year-old Web Developer from Brazil, which shows in his UI. (Note the aesthetics and organization.)
As you can tell, his setup is similar to many UI's you'll find out there, with much of the game function happening at the bottom, and a compliment of information "gauges' at the top, courtesy of Fubar. I'm not sure what skin he's using for his "Fu-stuff", but I'm digging it myself. Note where Control Freak, his consumables and Decursive are. I like that he's found a home for those in the nooks and crannies of his UI, although I would imagine that Decursive could be problematic in that location when running Alterac Valley.
Check back after the break for his addons and description.
World of Warcraft allows all of us an unprecedented ability to modify our user interface to meet our needs. Each week WoW Insider will bring you a fresh and detailed look at reader submitted UIs. Have a screenshot of your UI you want to submit? Send it, along with your character name and server, to readerui@gmail.com.
Draxyl from the Turalyon U.S. server submits to us his Warlock UI. It's actually very reminiscent of the UI that I had for quite some time until I upgraded my graphics card and started using a lot of alpha-blending (transparency). He uses Fubar across the top with several key pieces of information and quick to reach options, and then has the bottom of the screen filled with status indicators, chat, and action buttons.
I think it's a common theme amongst most UI enthusiasts to focus the information in one or two places. This has several benefits, from limiting eye movement when trying to pickup information, to allowing more space to see what's going on in the rest of the environment.
A user interface is an ever-evolving work of art. You can use it one way for a long time and then suddenly find one simple addon that lets you change everything and make it much better. Especially with all the problems that show up every patch, I've begun to look at my interface as a constant work in progress. As such, I'm usually in a constant state of getting rid of old addons, enjoying the ones I use now, and looking for new ones that might help me even more in the future. Every choice of what to put in or what to take out is a conscious decision about what will help make my game play smoother, more successful, and more visually interesting.
As hunters, there are a number of needs that we have which other classes don't have - and special hunter addons are there to help in many of those cases, while in other situations, one of the more generalized addons might fit our needs best.
Today I'll cover three of the most glaring interface problems for hunters and show you how I deal with them at the moment. In the comments section, feel free to share your own different interface issues, as well as your own solutions, for the benefit of our readers. Keep in mind that a user interface is an extremely subjective thing, and one solution may not work for everyone. Nonetheless, often times just sharing your idea will inspire someone else to vary it a little and make their own thing out of it, which is even better.
World of Warcraft allows all of us an unprecedented ability to modify our user interface to meet our needs. Each week WoW Insider will bring you a fresh and detailed look at reader submitted UIs. Have a screenshot of your UI you want to submit? Send it, along with your character name and server, to readerui@gmail.com.
Today's Reader UI of the Week comes from Zerfall, and UndeadWarlock on server Eonar. He has many addons working together to support his game play. What I particularly like about his UI is that it's not cluttered, allows for good visibility, and uses what I would consider to be critical addons that everyone should at least try out.
I always find that Warlocks and Tanks have the most complicated UIs. Tanks because of the necessary information they need to have about everything and everyone, and Warlocks because of the large amount of spells at their disposal. Zerfall does a good job at organizing all his abilities using his action bars. One area is for miscellaneous items, one area for his pet bar, one for his curses and often used spells, and another for his lesser used spells and abilities. I always find that this kind of distinction is critical in a successful UI.
World of Warcraft allows all of us an unprecedented ability to modify our user interface to meet our needs. Each week WoW Insider will bring you a fresh and detailed look at reader submitted UIs. Have a screenshot of your UI you want to submit? Send it, along with your character name and server, to readerui@gmail.com.
This week the column returns to give you your dose of regularly scheduled UIs. We'll be looking at the UI provided to use by Selece of the Deathwing server. He's submitted a UI back in March of 2007, but the one he sent us a couple weeks ago was so slick we just couldn't pass it up.
Selece tells us his UI is designed for end game Hunters and has four primary goals:
Clean lines – He needs to see what's happening without the UI getting in his way.
Readability – Text elements need to be clean and crisp, everything has to be easily identifiable.
Clear center – He needs to be able to see what's going on around him, and the center of the screen is his place for that.
Visible cooldowns – Cooldowns need to be easy and quick to see, so he knows what's up next.
I really find those four pieces of advice to be very useful for not only a ranged DPS class like Hunters, but also for any class.
So the combat log will not be rolled back and there may not be a Patch 2.5 before Wrath of the Lich King.
He did say, however, that the UI changes that were to happen in the fictional 2.5 will in fact happen in WotLK. Specifically, the arguments "this" and "argN" will be phased out of the Blizzard UI in favor of "self" and other local arguments. Slouken recommends that authors start using "self" in the meantime, so that they will be prepared for when the expansion comes out.
As you are all aware, we are changing direction around here, so it has come time for Addon Spotlight to sail into uncharted waters. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find much of an addon community for Hello Kitty Online, so things may be a bit rough in the coming months, as developers start filling those little User Interface needs. I wanted to point out that this can be seen as an opportunity for new and exciting things. We've got a fresh start, folks, with all the world of Sanrio in front of us.
Many of you addon users may be wondering what mods we can expect in Hello Kitty Online. I am thinking we will see some savvy WoW addon developers releasing HKO-compatible versions of their addons in the future. I can't imagine any MMORPG without an Auctioneer-like addon. You can expect to see things like Outfitter, FuBar & Titan Panel, an Ace-like system and an entire library of compilations. Once beta-testing ends, and we see a release of Hello Kitty Online, sites similar to Curse Gaming, WoWInterface and WoWUI are bound to show up. With all these exciting weeks ahead of us, you can count on us at HKO Insider to provide all the latest HKO news, and yours truly will bring you all the best addons and mods.
As with addons, macros are still somewhat mysterious, but I promise you'll know more as I learn more about scripting in our new world. Come back after the catnap and I'll give you something to get you by until the full release of HKO.
Patch 2.4 is finally going live, and with all of the new content, it will be pretty overwhelming when you first log on and attempt to decide what you want to do.
With new loot, new quests, and new areas to explore, there will be plenty to keep you busy!
04. For the explorer: If you like to be prepared, check out our coverage of the maps for Sunwell Isle. If you'd rather dive right in and be surprised, then check out your own map of the Eastern Kingdoms. The little island at the very top is your new destination! Either way, the easiest way to get there is from the Ironforge (Alliance) or Silvermoon City (Horde) Flightmaster.
For the rest of the countdown, hop through the break!
We were lucky enough to get an Azerothian ton (they're like twice the weight of normal tons, don't you know) of news about Wrath of the Lich King at Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational this weekend, and hidden in the Death Knight hands on, there's a ton of great information about the way the class' summons will work. Most of the summons seem to be in the Unholy tree -- Death Knights will not only be able to summon the ghouls we heard about earlier, but will also be able to bring down a gargoyle and summon an insect swarm. But the ghouls are what we're most interested in -- Army of the Dead is a level 80 spell (with a 10 minute cooldown!) that will summon a "legion of your best ghouls to fight by your side."
Ever wanted to make your mark in the WoW community? Want to see your handiwork featured in our Reader UI of the Week? Or maybe you've always dreamed of an frameset with a Hello Kitty theme?
On April Fools' Day, amongst our extensive HKO coverage, Daniel Whitcomb reported that the combat log changes introduced in Patch 2.4 were being rolled back in Patch 2.5. Slouken has since indicated that he was "just kidding", as Daniel had guessed.
Patch 2.4 is finally going live, and with all of the new content, it will be pretty overwhelming when you first log on and attempt to decide what you want to do. 
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