Astrolabe for Cataclysm
 

http://wiki.esamynn.org/Astrolabe

My question is basically, how can I add the new Cataclysm zone data to it? If you look at "Astrolabe.lua" on line 1079 and beyond, you see that each parent (continent ID) has their children zones, where each child contains height, width, xOffset and yOffset.

How I see it is that the height and width are the zone physical dimensions in yards. Not the map "0 to 1.0" float coordinates addons generate. The other thing is a X and Y offset, probably the top-left corner of the zone, relative to the parent continent.

How exactly could I gather the data needed to construct the entries required for the new zones? I think I need to use some other method than the in-game API as it won't suffice...

Any clues?

The information for zone sizes and offsets from the continent parent map are basically available in the .dbc files you can extract using an MPQ extractor. GatherMate and Routes (which I wrote) uses these data.

Astrolabe's data doesn't come from the .dbc files though, it comes from pure observation and testing of values and then tweaking them ingame until they fit. HandyNotes (which i wrote too) uses Astrolabe.

You can take a look at LibMapData-1.0 on wowace, where we are setting up a new library containing just map data and some conversion and zone name localisation functions for general use that we intend to use for the GatherMate/Routes/etc addons. Instead of using mapFile names as unique map identifiers, it uses the unique zone IDs introduced with Wintergrasp (data also available in the .dbc files) for every zone in the game. This includes instances.

LibMapData-1.0 will be built to also handle phasing maps (there are a number of zones where the zone map is different based on the phase you are in) as well as dungeon levels. The coordinates used internally is being expanded from 8 digits to 10, but we may expand this to 15 digits (the max integer that can be saved with accuracy).

[P.S. I'm not trying to advocate any library or data over another. Just giving some options and sources of data.]

On a side note, blizzard really makes us go great lenghts just to for example make the world map quest icons show on the minimap. That's what I used Astrolabe for until Cataclysm came, so I am researching for alternatives. Preferably a library that let's me just tell it "show X on the minimap" and it handles orientation and position of the icon itself.

By all means share your knowledge, I like to learn and discover new things -including new libraries. ;)

yeah the fact i can track everything at once, and flight paths are on map now. it pretty much killed the need for handynotes for me. but i still love your works anyways ;)

gathermate isn't going anywhere though.

Yep. Basically, GatherMate is undergoing a revamp to handle phasing terrain. Currently undecided whether to call it GatherMate2 (and people who want to import data from GM1 (what for??) could use anther addon to do it), or just wipe all existing data and reuse GM1.

i'm sure if you wipe it and stay GM you'll get QQers from the enivitable private servers from all those crazed "vanilla was greatest ever forget cataclysm" people.

but i say do it anyways :)

cause if you don't, you'll end up with poeple who dont clean up their interface folder when 4.0 launhes, install GM2 with curse client thinking it magically emoves GM1 for them, then fill up the ticket system with error reports saying GM2 is broken casue their GM1 is reporting errors.

vs Gm1 staying gathermate1 getting updated and replaced in 4.0 release :)

People using addons on Private servers will not be supported by anyone on wowinterface.com

It's actually a standing and stickied rule.

there's china too. which will probably be on wrath til 2013. then again cata doesn't have as many bones so who knows

If you have Astrolabe information -or- alternative addon that provides same functionality, speak up. :P thanks. I.e. don't offtopic please. :(

pretty much anything you need is in (or will be in) http://www.wowace.com/addons/libmapdata-1-0/ like xin said. i don't think china (who only just now got wrath) is entirely off topic, when it comes to mapping based addons or libs, some compatiblity check for that will make sense :)

I needed Astrolabe updated as well, so ended up pretty much updating it myself. It only took flying through all the zones and recording two coordinates at each and cross-mapping them onto the world coordinates. The rest was just basic math. Tomorrow I'll have all the zones realigned and I'll contact the Astrolabe authors to see whether they want it or not ;P

I could have done that too if I just knew "basic math", I'm not a math guy, it's sad because I like math in general. :(

Here you go. Astrolabe updated.
 

One Astrolabe updated for Cata beta, here you go.

http://pastebin.com/xg2tzGAj

Here's the coords block. No Maelstrom in yet, that's coming next as soon as I get to get there :]

I just wanted to chime in to let people know that Astrolabe should be updated to support Cataclysm in the next couple of weeks. I've finally found (most) of the time I need to update it for the world changes and I'm intending to provide full support for instances and Battlegrounds in the new version as well.

Some additional info, since patch 4.0.1, most zone maps now have corner coordinates supplied through GetCurrentMapZone().

Example:
Note that world, continent, and instance maps don't supply usable data for these extra returns and may return nil or zero. Each continent also has their own origin point.

thats great news! thank you.