MazzleUI 3.0/WOTLK Devs Only

erogroth · 10-15-08, 10:16 AM

The purpose of this thread is to organize an effort among Developers to update and maintain MazzleUI as we move into Patch 3.0 and WOTLK. I am asking that only those that are coders and Developers post in this thread. We will start a new thread for beta testing and feedback once we have something to work with.

Some key points to start off will be:

1) Who do we have on our new Dev team?
2) What do we know has changed in 3.0 that has broken the Mazzle Core?
3) What 3rd party addons are we dependent on that are not Mazzle Core?
4) Are these 3rd party addons discontinued? If so can we find replacements or do we want to update them ourselves?
5) Once we figure out the above we can divide up the work.

Thanks to all the people who are volunteering to help on this project.

Mixsae · 10-15-08, 12:04 PM

Count me in...with a caveat or two.

First, I'm a coder but I've never coded in LUA. Actually, looking through Mazzle's code this morning is the first time I've ever seen LUA in action; I did some reading on it yesterday -- so I'm a noob here. However, I do have experience/schooling in C, C++, Fortran, Pascal, Cobol, VB, C#, VBScript, JavaScript and Assembler...so I don't think it will take me too long to pick it up. However, if you can't use me I completely understand.

Second, we really ought to check with Mazzle if it's okay to work on this project. The last thing I'd want to do is step on the toes of the person who created this, frankly, awesome UI compilation. Besides which, if we get Mazzle's blessing, we might be able to open up a dialogue to better understand the code (there's not a great deal of comments in there!).

erogroth · 10-15-08, 12:53 PM

First off, thank you for offering your help. With your background I don't think you will have much trouble adapting to LUA.

Second, I have already posted else where about this thread and reached out to Mazzle on this. Since he does not actually play the game and develop the mod anymore I don't see why he would have a problem with this but Mazzle, if you are reading this and you do have any issues with the community updating your mod please just let us know so we can work it out. I know others have updated the Mod in the past so I don't see why there would be a problem now. And of course any input you have would be greatly appreciated.

I know that there are a few other people who posted about helping in other threads. I would like to get them all posting in here and then we can organize how we want to go about this. So welcome aboard.

Inygo · 10-15-08, 01:08 PM

I am fluent in 7 languages, but like Mixsae, i am fairly new to LUA.

There are 2 direct dependencies that i cannot find updates for on the internet.

Metrognome - Wont try to load, shows as too old
DiscordUnitFrames - Tries to load, but has errors

I will look at Metrognome later tonight, as it seems that development on it has been halted. Maybe we will get lucky, and its something simple (like a version check)

As for DUF, i think we need to wait for them to update it.

erogroth · 10-15-08, 01:14 PM

I think DUF has been discontinued as well. We either may have to update it ourselves or find a new mod to replace it.

alayane · 10-15-08, 01:49 PM

Hey there,
I'm not really a dev but i did find some info that might help with getting Mazzle back up and running. As far as DUF goes it is still being worked on, just not by the oringinal author. Instead the community is doing the updates. You can find the forums discussing progress and the links to downloads on http://underworldexodus.com

mcdadrom · 10-16-08, 10:19 PM

I'm just a huge fan trying to help while surfing ideas on a new UI i found this website. Its a very useful tool i think. Its a tool designed to make custom UIs. Please get it working again. PLEASE!!! I love Mazzle

http://addon.hotwow.com/addon/addon_66.html

Real2Reel · 10-17-08, 02:32 AM

I'm one of the many "coders but not yet LUA enabled" and willing to help.

From what I can see, throwing away Mazzle would be a huge waste of time. Rewriting other libraries and addons falls into the same category at least in the short term and reality is, once the UI works everyone is off playing until the next patch breaks something so, for want of a better phrase, "3rd-party libraries are the go" (until broken beyond repair).

Once again, from what I've looked at so far fixing the mazzle UI should be a matter (not trivial but certainly not re-writeworthy) of bringing it into spec with the 3.02 API changes and finding/replacing/discarding 3rd-party addons as required.

major Issues seem to be mostly to do with this to self (and args), font object changes for buttons and finding a way of replacing removed generic API calls with their (mostly unit) replacements (there's another one, FrameDropdowns or something). For mine, the this/self is the biggest hurdle but that's proabaly more my lack of syntactical understanding at this cursory stage.

(I haven't looked at the Mazzifier but it should be fixable as anything Mazzle_UI can marshall, Mazzifier should be able to pre-configure).

There are working 3.02 version of most of the major must have "dependencies" like DUF, Autobar,oRA2,sraifFrames etc. and a bunch of the old ones still seem to work. Maz just needs to ba able to marshall them back into the fanstastic interface we all know and love.

I'll be spending some time this weekend trying to work on and learning Maz as well as addon hunting and I'll bring any insights and progress back here.

Real2Reel
So, I'm an optimist, shoot me... eerr no wait.

silentdave · 10-21-08, 07:56 AM

The aggro indicatator should still be fine in MazzleUI (i used it as inspiration for my eepanels aggro alerter and expanded on it to change color on pet-aggro). It is dependent on banzailib 1.1 which still incidently works as intended in 3.0. I used to use mazzleui a bit back and got hooked by poisoner (of all things, i find it invaluable). these days i use a photek inspired ui, but if ya want me to post up the aggro indicator script i use in eepanels2 then drop me a message. Also I now manage poisoner (now "posioner 3") and have it sorted for 3.0, yes its on here and also on curse (as soon as the new file is approved anyway).

Hoonsy · 10-21-08, 12:26 PM

Well, if you want, I'll do the button layouts, since I allready planed to do that after I stopped the BC-Spells addon.

Xaottic · 10-21-08, 02:17 PM

For the record, the context menu has been almost completely rewritten and is working (cept paging has a peculiarity with it). I will be retaining it until things get figured out here.

fyrye · 10-24-08, 09:30 PM

One can be inspired by another persons work and be okay as far as copyrights are concerned. If the basic idea of a search engine couldn't be copied because it represented the original we wouldnt have google/yahoo/msn/live/lycos and the endless slew of other things that exists today.

You can not however copy paste, make it look different and call it your own. All I did was change the paint but I built it!!

With that said you are going to be better off making your own rather than learning how someone else did it. It'd be easier to manage, easier to update, and you get the gratification of knowing YOU made it, not someone else.

I feel the main reason many people who helped fix MazzleUI havent come back is because it is a larger task than many want to take on. Those that do, realize later how much code there is to read through just to learn how it works before you can effectivly fix it and become discouraged, or they were not all that familiar with the WoW API or even LUA code to begin with.

Using it is different, and for those that became dependant on this compilation, I apologize. But if you can't use anything else, give a shot at fixing it for yourself.

legion3pm · 10-24-08, 10:00 PM

IMHO i dont see this gettin fixed this time unless Mazzle looks at the changes that came with the new patch and lends a helping hand. im sure someone here prolly could fix it but seems like everyone is so content on making something new. i can barely manage to play without this UI and i think the game basically sucks without it. but anything short of Mazzle helping out i really think this thing is dead this time.

Yhor · 10-24-08, 11:37 PM

Originally Posted by legion3pm

IMHO i dont see this gettin fixed this time unless Mazzle looks at the changes that came with the new patch and lends a helping hand. im sure someone here prolly could fix it but seems like everyone is so content on making something new. i can barely manage to play without this UI and i think the game basically sucks without it. but anything short of Mazzle helping out i really think this thing is dead this time.

I can relate to this. Other than my main (a druid), all of my alts are useless to me to play seriously (could get by on my rogue, but that's easy mode), because of my "dependence" on Mazzleui with my alts (I'm one of those who rarely play an alt anyway).

In regards to whether or not the project will die, only time will tell, but I can't foresee this project being "fixed" without Mazzle this time. The look and feel can be replicated, but there's no Mazzlegasmic joy from the copies that are floating around (I've tried, sorry guys, they look like Mazzleui, but it's just not Mazzleui).

It will likely kill a lot of people's enjoyment from WoW if this were to come true, but I really hope this project 'dies' if Mazzle has no intention of ever returning. Patch days made me die a little inside and the wait was sickening (after Mazzle quit WoW). I will truly miss this community as it was, but really, just let it go and start from scratch.

Sincerely, ~Yhor

bruj0 · 10-25-08, 12:03 AM

Originally Posted by Yhor

In regards to whether or not the project will die, only time will tell, but I can't foresee this project being "fixed" without Mazzle this time. The look and feel can be replicated, but there's no Mazzlegasmic joy from the copies that are floating around (I've tried, sorry guys, they look like Mazzleui, but it's just not Mazzleui).

Sincerely, ~Yhor

Im going to have to disagree with this, ive used MazzleUI for the longest time but i always modified as i saw it fit my game style and so did a lot of people.
The only thing you cant replace is the Mazzlefier that simplyfies the change in resolution and that can be programed, its not easy but its posible.
Cheers

Mazzlefizz · 10-25-08, 12:45 AM

Originally Posted by fyrye

I feel the main reason many people who helped fix MazzleUI havent come back is because it is a larger task than many want to take on. Those that do, realize later how much code there is to read through just to learn how it works before you can effectivly fix it and become discouraged, or they were not all that familiar with the WoW API or even LUA code to begin with.

It's not a technically difficult project. It's just really annoying and time-consuming. There's just so many different permutations of configurations, so many add-ons' data structures and init procedures to figure out, and so many little details. It's nature also makes it fairly brittle.

kittyinacage78 · 10-25-08, 11:13 AM

damn i wish i knew how to code! i'd love to get my hands on this progect...this kind of time consuming work is just what i love doing lol
yes i'm odd
and i really want mazzleui to live on and on
if i can help in anyway or if someone wants to take me under their wing and teach me how to help them i'm all for it
just let me know here

kitty purr

Geeskin · 10-26-08, 04:32 AM

well no disrespect mazzle but i gess some people forget about pirate bay and mininova etc ,

big films get pirated. so maybe your work will lmfao..

bet no ones looked there lol.

malathar · 10-26-08, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by Geeskin

well no disrespect mazzle but i gess some people forget about pirate bay and mininova etc ,

big films get pirated. so maybe your work will lmfao..

bet no ones looked there lol.

You'd actually be suprised how many malicious files there are out there with the name 'MazzleUI'.

Sketch · 10-26-08, 02:27 PM

Mazzle has every right to keep the code of their specific things they created closed. Being open doesn't mean 'you're better than everyone because you're giving it away and letting everyone and their mother work on it' it just means you aren't good enough to do it on your own.

I kid, i kid, but it's bile and vinegar that's seeping into this thread that SHOULD be about how to get either the best addonUI compilation back in working order, OR making a comparable replacement.

Now, what about simply creating a UI compilation that uses similar structure? Cleave what we do and do not need from the UI to make it simpler to recreate/fix. Do we NEED little 3D guys? Not really. Do we NEED a lot of choice for raid frames? Nope. Do we even need Set button layouts? NO.

Honestly, what appealed to me about Mazzle was the look. It had a low on screen footprint, gave you everything you needed, and had a low memory footprint as well. Now, how hard is it to recreate something like that?

We don't need the addon to set itself for us...we've kind of forgotten our roots in that Mazzle did it for us :P Everyone is worried about how to make the Mazzifier, and no one seems concerend about simply making a UI compilation that works and releasing it like everyone else's. Where the end user HAS to make tweaks, but overall it's nice.