I’m fine with them breaking it, but ONLY if they can break it without messing up other addons.
Because, unlike a compiled program that you can not see inside to verify what it is and is not doing, Spy is just LUA, just plain text
you can read it and see everything it does, and how it does it, and what it does and does not read.
Which is probably good because it would make it really hard to try to put out an addon that secretly stole peoples account info or something nasty.
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sounds like it would be easy to break then.
Sir, Arby’s makes a damn fine roast beef sandwich. Damn fine.
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Easy to say how
Strike stealth/Prowl/Shadowmeld from combat log
The actual doing of it, doubt terribly easy or someone would have long ago alleviated the spam of john ate a fish etc from the combat log
I bet blizzard has some smart people who could edit an 15 yr old game.
You are mistaking “dont know how” with “dont feel is worth the time”
Ok, if you say so lol. Don’t hold your breath though.
You would think for such a cringy post you would know that this addon was around in vanilla.
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The misconception is ‘read the combat log’.
In the API, functions exist to read combat log events. This is what spy uses and most other Addons use as well.
When speaking of the ‘combat log’ you may refer to two different things.
- The Internal Combat Log that your client is maintaining which any UI element can read via API calls.
- The Combat Log UI that has been created by Blizzard to read the Internal Combat Log as part of the default UI set
Spy is essentially another Combat Log UI that reads the Internal Combat Log. Addons are intended to extend or replace the default UI set. That is what Spy does.
Flight Paths attach an Aura to the character riding them. And As far as I know that aura pulses and will show up in the Internal Combat Log. However, the Combat Log UI that is part of the default UI set chooses not to report that aura and other similar Auras. Another Addon that can be customize to show this aura I believe is WeakAuras.
I have messed around with writing Addons but I am far from an expert. I do know that Spy is fairly straightforward and just uses some Libraries that many other Addons use.
The LUA files the make up Spy and its libraries are just flat text files. You can open them up and read them. It is all close to english, human readable, non compiled code. The Addon-Run-Space is essentially a closed sandbox that cannot access resources outside of the WoW Interface folder. There is nothing hidden or capable of being hidden.
If you are concerned then open Spy’s files up with Notepad and take a look at everything it does. It isn’t that hard to understand.
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I’ve been through all of Classic w/o downloading Spy. My first toon was a priest and got it to 60 w/o using the addon. Went through the first few days of P2 without the addon. I knew about it, and its functionality, but wanted to keep some integrity for myself, even if it meant a majority of opponents would have a leg up on me.
I finally caved this past weekend and downloaded it because leveling my 50 alt just became too difficult in a world with zerg raid groups running around.
Holy feces this addon is the definition of game changing. If I gank someone in my questing area, I know exactly when they respawn from their corpse. If a rogue enters the area, I actually know he/she enters the area. It can easily tell me a group of 2 or 3 enter the area, and i know it’s now a good time to run, hide, or log out for 20 seconds and pee to let them pass.
I’m not here to argue it’s bad for the game. It exists, for better or worse. I know nothing about software development, so I have no idea if it’s even possible to break the addon.
However, I’m surprised Blizz didn’t make a Blue post about this addon, similar to what they did for the LFG addon. I’d argue this addon is more “Classic game changing” than the LFG addon would have been.
This is an incredible addon. Certainly one of the oldest and most dependable ever made.
If you’re out in the open world doing anything that requires your undivided attention, especially on a PvP server, this addon is essential. Anytime a hostile player or NPC uses an ability within 200 meters, an alert sounds and a visual warning is issued.
It will not target the hostile for you. It’s simply there to get your attention so some coward creature in stealth mode, doesn’t get too much of an advantage on you when your attention falters.
Every class with a stealth ability HATES this addon. Without it they can easily ruin your day. Do yourself a favor and download it now. Then you can turn the tables and ruin their day !
Every download comes with an empty 1 gallon beaker for collecting Rogue tears (j/k). Enjoy !
Spy should be broken. Or heavily limited.
It’s one thing to know that other players might be nearby. It’s another to know exactly how many are within 200 yards (well outside of draw distance), their class, faction, and even their freaking location.
It’s not even about what this addon does to rogues, which is absolutely crippling a crucial part of their class. It’s actively enabling the hyper-toxic ‘world pvp’ environment we have now, because the offending faction can pin-point your location from miles away, through numerous walls, if you do so much as dare to sit down to eat or buff yourself.
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See. The beaker is on its way to getting filled already !
I bet if they made a drink called “Rogue Tears” it would sell like hot cakes !
Well, they can be obfuscated like any other programming language but it would take a good amount of effort to hide it well and I have yet to see an addon that did this in any meaningful way. Most addons are extremely straightforward and Blizzard actually limits functionality pretty well.
Damage and some effects are only seen by the target and the person causing the damage. Auras, buffs, debuffs, and the like can be seen by everyone. So if I have a damage or threat meter I can only see my own damage and threat. However, damage and threat meters share the damage numbers between them so that they can build up a full picture that includes what other people are doing.
Spy doesn’t do this. It just looks at what’s in your combat log and stuff it can get with in-game queries such as the “who” command and targeting. There’s still a lot of information there so it can detect enemies pretty easily. However, I’ve had many cases where someone was sitting around in stealth or even out of stealth where Spy didn’t go off until I nearly bumped into them and moused over them.
I have yet to have a rogue attack me from stealth without Spy informing me that they player was in the area beforehand, i’m level 60 and on a pvp server. It also seems to detect other players even if they are just sitting there afk - maybe it is the invisible auras that alot of items have that Spy is reading?
The LFG addon is in the game and tons of people use it. And Spy-like addons were in the game in Vanilla and tons of people used them.
We went through this with flying.
We went through this with caster spell bars.
We went through this same exact thing 15 years ago.
Blizzard didn’t change their minds then. Won’t change their minds now. It’s very unlikely they will change their minds in the future.
Everyone that is complaining about this addon is simply too friggin lazy to adapt to it. I guess complaints and misguided hopes are easier than actually overcoming a problem.
Cast bars and flying were things Blizzard themselves implemented.
No amount of situational awareness is going to let me know the guy I killed a few minutes ago - and ran out of draw distance from - just resed on his corpse before he’s buffed / eaten / ect, and that I’m free to go kill him again.
Get a grip.