MetaMap vs Cartographer... help please?

Cindy1002 · 05-26-07, 06:54 PM

I apologize in advance if this starts a flame war.. I hope it won't.. but I'd like some feedback.

I've been using MetaMap for awhile now and I'd have to say that I'm quite happy with it. However, I've been using a lot of Ace2 and noticed it. Also, after asking around, I found out a number of people I know use Cartographer.

So I'm wondering, is Cartographer better then metamap? Are there advantages? What do people here prefer and why?

I'm willing to switch, but I have to know it's worth it. Also, I'm a bit concerned about losing all my mining, herbal, etc. nodes. Is there any way around it?

ReverendD · 05-26-07, 07:14 PM

I am a MetaMap user, and prefer it over Cartographer due to how I can add notes myself, its auto add of mob groups (i set it to manual myself so I can add what/who I choose to with a key binding). I also just prefer the look/feel of it over Cartographer. It really does not use that much memory as people say unless they are activating every little module it has (database, etc). At most I think I have had it up to 4 megs of memory, with it usually sitting around 1.5megs. FuBar uses more memory than anything else I run atm. But MetaMap can be a hog if allowed, its interface for settings is not intuitive and the new features with quests, mobs, locations etc can be a pain getting turned off when all you want to see is the map. Then anyone using MetaMap already knows that.

Cartographer as you know already is Ace based. I am not sure memory wise how well it works since I havent tested how much memory it likes to grab, but the number of modules you can add to Cart for various things is astounding, not to mention the community behind Cart. You can add only the modules you need for the info you want, and it allows automatic viewing of guild member locations if they also are using Cart. Most modules are automatic in their functioning such as grabbing quest locations, items, herbs/mine locations, etc.

Both are wonderful map addons I think, and both have their place. It just really depends on what you like to do. MetaMap in my opinion allows more fine control of settings, along with the ability to manually 'auto add' info on mobs and locations, where Cart is more of an On/Off type of thing. Either it does it, or it doesn't depending on your settings and modules. Best thing I can say to do is look at what modules you can get for it (files.wowace.com), then try it out. There is also supposed to be a note importer to carry over MetaMap notes to Cart, but I havent tried it since I havent gone back to Cart.

As for your flame war, I dont think you will get that here. Too many people who like to answer Q's and help than those who want to call you n00b or yell pwnd!!!!111Shift-One!11! all the time. Hope this helps.

Ratheri · 05-26-07, 07:51 PM

I've used MetaMap, and I am using Cartographer right now... I prefer Cartographer to MetaMap because A) It's modular, B) it's Ace2'd, and C) There are a number of little things that it does, like the Waypoint module, that after I tried them I just couldn't live without. I do agree with ReverendD that you're best bet is downloading both, trying MetaMap for a bit, then trying Cartographer and see which one you like best. the reason I recommend trying MetaMap first is because I believe there is a notes converter in beta over on the wowace site. that way (hopefully) you can convert all your meta map notes if you decide to go with Cart, because I don't think you can do the reverse. Plus, you might find that you just like MetaMap better.
Also, even without conversion, I have found that my Cart notes tend to fill up rather quickly with the proper modules installed. That's the main thing about it - it comes with some modules, but some of the other ones (like the quest giver tracker) are separate modules.

Edit: Duh... went back and re read the original post... I plumb forgot after I started writing this that you said you were allready using meta... my bad... well everything else still applies

Dreadlorde · 05-26-07, 08:23 PM

Off-topic, but the MetaMap community and Cartographer community are like the people who think Discord is dead, and the few who think Loz is going to Finish DUB. They get very offensive if you tell them otherwise.

Cindy1002 · 05-26-07, 09:19 PM

Well to put it simple I only use metamap for resources, I haven't figured out how to make it show quest locals I haven't already discovered (You know if I have to "loot" something to collect items.) If there's more question functionality I have no idea. :P

Debz · 05-27-07, 08:16 AM

Originally Posted by ReverendD

It really does not use that much memory as people say unless they are activating every little module it has (database, etc). At most I think I have had it up to 4 megs of memory, with it usually sitting around 1.5megs. FuBar uses more memory than anything else I run atm.

What are you using to see this? As far as I am aware "warmup" doesn't show the addons usage correctly because it depends what one starts up all the ace2 libraries , therefore showing it using a lot more than it actually does, and the others a lot less (because the libraries are already loaded)

Granted I don't understand much on how this works, but I know I was told that with ACE2 addons warmup is not accurate.

Is there another addon you used to see this information? Or how did you work it out? Would be nice to see what addons are using what memory

Dreadlorde · 05-27-07, 08:17 AM

Originally Posted by Debz

What are you using to see this? As far as I am aware "warmup" doesn't show the addons usage correctly because it depends what one starts up all the ace2 libraries , therefore showing it using a lot more than it actually does, and the others a lot less (because the libraries are already loaded)

Granted I don't understand much on how this works, but I know I was told that with ACE2 addons warmup is not accurate.

Is there another addon you used to see this information? Or how did you work it out? Would be nice to see what addons are using what memory

use the default UI, it tells you how much memory an addon is using.

ReverendD · 05-27-07, 09:45 AM

Originally Posted by Debz

What are you using to see this? As far as I am aware "warmup" doesn't show the addons usage correctly because it depends what one starts up all the ace2 libraries , therefore showing it using a lot more than it actually does, and the others a lot less (because the libraries are already loaded)

Granted I don't understand much on how this works, but I know I was told that with ACE2 addons warmup is not accurate.

Is there another addon you used to see this information? Or how did you work it out? Would be nice to see what addons are using what memory

So does PerformanceFu and FuBar_Usage now. Its working since the latest patch, which is why I have been able to test it. The funny thing is FuBar is always at the top of the list with 5-7 megs of memory usuage. The next one down is around 3 megs, and everything else drops to around 1 meg after that, which is where MetaMap has been sitting. One of these days I will try Cart again and check its memory usage, but as it stands my memory stays below 50 megs and is usually at 40 megs until I hit AH or something.

Debz · 05-27-07, 11:35 AM

performancefu only give me a total of usage, not a breakdown of each addon

I will try fubar-usage thanks

ReverendD · 05-27-07, 12:21 PM

Incorrect, PerformanceFu now gives a breakdown as well. Check the settings if you have updated to the newest one. Usage gives you a much larger breakdown than Perf, but it is still the same info.

Gemini_II · 05-27-07, 03:23 PM

Originally Posted by ReverendD

So does PerformanceFu and FuBar_Usage now. Its working since the latest patch, which is why I have been able to test it. The funny thing is FuBar is always at the top of the list with 5-7 megs of memory usuage. The next one down is around 3 megs, and everything else drops to around 1 meg after that, which is where MetaMap has been sitting. One of these days I will try Cart again and check its memory usage, but as it stands my memory stays below 50 megs and is usually at 40 megs until I hit AH or something.

Strange. I have been using FuBar for almost a year now, and it has never been a memory hog, nor any of it's plugins (other than FarmerFu once upon a time). I have never seen any FuBar mod appear in my top 5 list of addons (which PerformanceFu shows perfectly). My biggest ones are KC_Items (1.5-4 MB), TrinityBars (1.8 MB, and sometimes X-Perl (1.8 MB) during raids.

Back to the OP. I used to use MetaMap (2-5 MB) and liked it, but switched to Cart ( less than 1 MB) for the memory efficiency and modular design. Not to knock MetaMap but, I haven't missed anything.

**Seerah** · 05-27-07, 03:49 PM

Yeah, FuBar and it's plugins never make it into my Top 20... Do you run embedded, ReverendD, and is FuBar one of the first Ace2 mods that the game loads up? (they load up alphabetically) If so, then PerformanceFu's calculations include the libs' memory usage.

ReverendD · 05-27-07, 04:04 PM

Yes, embedded libs.
As for what loads first, I have a slew of addons that load before FuBar does, so it is no where near being the first to load. As for Fubars other plugins, they are low in the list.
Here is PerfFu and Usage just to give you an idea.

PerfFu & Usage

As you can see, MetaMap really doesnt hit much memory wise. I think I have had it up to 3 or 4 megs after a long gaming spree (6+ hours), but it really doesnt hurt me, specially after a garbage collect which drops it back to the 1-2 meg spot.

**Seerah** · 05-27-07, 04:19 PM

Yeah, like I said - mine's not even in the top 20, which means it runs below 500kb. Perhaps the ace2 mods that load before FuBar have older versions of the libraries, and thusly, the game uses the libraries in your FuBar folder. Anywho, running with embedded libs, you won't get an accurate representation of a mod's performace.

Gemini_II · 05-27-07, 09:36 PM

Running with embedded libs will only give you relatively accurate results after a GC.

But... what Seerah said leads me to believe that maybe some of your FuBar plugins are old and you may be loading more than one version of a lib (which would explain the anomolous memory usage)

Aside from that your mem usage doesn't appear to be huge or anything worth worrying about too much (depending on how fanatical you are about performance). Informant seems to be a big one. I have used Auctioneer for the last year but I'm switching my UI to KCI/Mendeleev. The performance increase has been incredicble.