WoWInterface - In-game Browser and Support Tools in 5.3

WoWInterface (https://www.wowinterface.com/forums/index.php)

- News (https://www.wowinterface.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=5)

- - In-game Browser and Support Tools in 5.3 (https://www.wowinterface.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46228)

Ya, the performance didn't seem hugely impacted in Windowed (fullscreen) mode. I get much lower framerates in Pandaria but that's how it's always been and I gotta deal. I have to agree it does make switching apps a lot faster and easier.

I hereby stand corrected.

** and Haleth, you're right about the simple shortcut for toggling between windowed and fullscreen. I still found it a hassle though. I guess i'm just lazy. :p

Not sure why performance became such a hot topic in this thread, but in any case, I believe it's better to do it like this so that they don't have to keep their xml bridge updated, also they would have to expand their bridge and game addon to handle more advanced functionality like looking up personal information, ticket status, item restoration, e.g. It was cheaper to simply allow the game to access the support site directly, not to mention regarding "looks ugly" they can always skin the site to suit the game UI design, thus eliminating you even noticing it's a webpage.

Anyway I look forward to this, also they improved how the game communicates with their support server in MoP as the earlier traffic hijack proof of concept I made a while ago (hosts-file), does no longer work in the Pandaria expansion.

Well, aesthetics aside, it's simply unusable for people with poor vision. If I can't zoom the text like a real browser window, and can't use an addon to enlarge the text, I'm not even going to try to use it. Plus, it's probably based on Internet Explorer (at least on Windows) which means it's using its own horrible text rendering engine instead of the third-party one I've installed on my system to replace ClearType, further reducing readability. I hope they don't get rid of the existing ticket system. There's no way I'm going to try to conduct a conversation with a GM through an unusable embedded browser window.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phanx (Post 276288)

I hope they don't get rid of the existing ticket system. There's no way I'm going to try to conduct a conversation with a GM through an unusable embedded browser window.

There's been an update on that :

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/to...8546?page=2#40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nethaera

The most important thing to keep in mind is that this system is being devised not to remove GM assistance when it’s needed. It’s meant to make it easier for those that want to find “self-help” options without the need to contact Customer Support should they wish to.

More on the latest update on all this from Neth :

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/to...8546?page=2#40

Quote:

I know your impulse is to not share any of this, but it's going to be figured out eventually. You may as well make it easy for the people who want to help to find issues before the people who want to exploit it find something to take advantage of.

We’re glad that there are so many who want to help test the functionality of this new system and appreciate the questions. You’re right that the development team is continuing to take player privacy and security very seriously. Here’s what we can answer for you:

I know this is a trade off between security and useful testing, but can/will you tell us anything about the browser tech you're using? Which rendering engine, etc?

We’re using the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) for the browser functionality within the system.

Is it going to have access to any of the active game information (for example, will you need to log in to the Customer Service website while you're in the game, or will the game authentication somehow be passed through?

We plan to have a single sign on process, which will alleviate the need to re-authenticate. We plan to have this implemented in the near future.

Will the character currently logged in be automatically selected, game state information be captured for ticket data, or client logs be available to include (or automatically included) with ticket submission?

Tickets will capture some data relevant for Customer Service to be able to work effectively such as a player’s location for ‘stuck’ bugs (which allows a GM to teleport to the player location.) This is done on the backend.

Where will browser session information be stored on the local PC? Will any of it persist between game sessions?

We are minimizing the amount data stored on player’s machines and the data we persist between sessions. The browser will not be able to access ‘general purpose’ sites.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that this system is being devised not to remove GM assistance when it’s needed. It’s meant to make it easier for those that want to find “self-help” options without the need to contact Customer Support should they wish to.

Quote:

We’re using the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) for the browser functionality within the system.

That's even worse than IE... Chromium is totally incompatible with third-party font rendering engines, and the text ends up distorted and pixellated. :rolleyes:

That's what happened!!!!

When I would open the ? button, it would have the knowledge base button highlighted, and say 'your search term not found' or something like, in an frame that had the buttons, but nothing in the content section other than that.

I expect that's why I can't submit a ticket, tho I can submit suggestions and bugs.

Which is probably all because I run on Linux and Blizz doesn't admit to it.

Which gives me no way to talk to a GM either. :/

-Barleduq

Yep, in-game support has been dead to me since they introduced the <insert unfriendly adjective(s) of your choice here> embedded browser. You just have to alt-tab to your real browser to submit GM tickets now.