Class Colored Nameplates

[Clamsoda]

As a disclaimer: I struggled in deciding where to post this thread: Lua/XML Help, or General Authoring Discussion. If a moderator decides this fits better in another section, please move it. Thank you.

I am curious as to why Blizzard provides the option to color hostile nameplates by class, but not for friendly name plates. Is anyone able to shed some light on the topic for me, if there is some sort of logic behind the situation.

The reason I ask is because is seems a bit ridiculous that we have to write extremely hefty AddOns to cache units, and process their class, then update the nameplate to reflect that cached information, when Blizzard is capable of doing it for hostile units.

If there isn't a valid reason for Blizzard neglecting this option for friendly units, does anyone think it would be worth my time posting about it?

[Phanx]

I doubt they are intentionally not adding class coloring for friendly players. They just have no idea what they are doing with the nameplate system, and keep making random changes that nobody who actually plays with nameplates likes (changing the tapped color from gray to purple, making small mobs' nameplates smaller, letting nameplates overlap, etc.) because someone who doesn't actually play WoW or use nameplates had a half-baked idea, and nobody else involved actually plays WoW or uses nameplates, so everyone just went along with it so they could say they were doing something.

Since many of the major features they've added to the default UI were basically copied from addons (Scrolling Combat Text, CTRaid, Grid/Healbot, PowerAuras, QuestHelper, etc.) I would not be surprised if the lack of improvements to the default nameplates was directly related to a lack of popular nameplate addons, which in turn is directly related to the internals of the nameplates being so horrible for authors to work with.

I'd go ahead and make the suggestion, but I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for them to implement it (or any other sensible improvements) either.

[Clamsoda]

Thanks for the response Phanx. Admittedly, I started laughing, I can just imagine you screaming for some reason lol.

Maybe I'll sit down and write something out, dunno though. I am just discouraged; my thread is going to get flamed, and pushed off the front page in five minutes.

[Coote]

Originally Posted by Phanx making small mobs' nameplates smaller

This was a change they made? All this time, I thought the nameplates I was using were bugged to hell. >.<

[Fizzlemizz]

I don't use nameplates except in very specific situations so excuse my ignorance.

If friendly and enemy plates were coloured by class how would you tell who was the enemeny outside targetable distance?

[Clamsoda]

Typically you only have one or the other showing at any given time. I keep track in my head of which nameplates are toggled: friendly or hostile.

[Phanx]

Originally Posted by Clamsoda I am just discouraged; my thread is going to get flamed, and pushed off the front page in five minutes.

Yeah, I avoid the official WoW forums. Every single thread there is just totally depressing and makes me hate WoW and hate myself for even knowing what WoW is.

Originally Posted by Coote This was a change they made? All this time, I thought the nameplates I was using were bugged to hell. >.<

There is some more info about it (as well as code for fixing it) here:
http://www.wowinterface.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=44971