MobMap development blog

Lately several users experienced crashes when trying to upload their collected data to the MobMap server. The source of this problem has been fixed, too :o) Uploads should work fine now.

Another MobMap version - another bunch of bugs (hopefully) fixed!

I highly suggest updating your database copy too when updating to MobMap 3.32! During the last days there were some erroneous databases online for brief periods of time, and if you got one of those errors can appear even with the newest MobMap version! The most current database is now bug-free as far as I know, so please update to it before you report a bug.

Changelog v3.32:
- fixed: The configuration checkbox "automatically show quest comments" does now store its setting correctly instead of enabling the functionality when the checkbox is being disabled and the other way round
- fixed: A compatibility issue with Cartographer which prevented players from opening dropdown menus in instances if both MobMap and Cartographer were enabled
- fixed: Several misbehaviors when searching for quest targets in both the MobMap and the Blizzard quest tracker
- fixed: A stack overflow bug that could cause the WoW client to freeze when displaying the positions of mobs in the Dalaran sewers

Unfortunately the bugfixing phase isn't over yet as it seems. I have just tracked down and fixed another bug that was causing Lua error messages in MobMap_itemdropdata.lua and/or problems when using the quest tracker and wrong search results on quest target searches. Fortunately though, this bug was entirely server-side, so there's no need for a new MobMap release, you just have to fetch a new database to get the fix.

There's a little caveat though: I had to temporarily deactivate the boss loot tables as they are the source of the problem. But since those were horribly wrong and mostly empty anyway and require a "big fix" (which they will get as soon as I can spare the time) that was only a minor loss.

**sincerely hopes that this bugfix will now finally get the post-3.1-MobMap into a reasonably stable state**

When fixing one of the Patch 3.1 problems last night, I seem to have overseen a side-effect of one of my changes that rendered a lot of the position data in MobMap useless: The positions just didn't display in the game, because they weren't included in the database.

The problem has been fixed now, correct and working databases are online. If you have gotten a MobMap update in the last 8 hours, I suggest you to fetch a new database copy, as you probably got a bad one during that timeframe. I'm very sorry for this inconvenience :( but I hope I've at least got most of the big Patch 3.1 problems fixed now.

Oookay, it was a long night (peeking out of the window lets me observe the first daylight right now...), but I think I was able to squish the most problematic bugs, or: the bugs which I have seen a lot in the reports and which I was able to replicate instantly. Unfortunately I had to alter the database format once again, so you'll have to get a new database, too, when downloading v3.31. But to compensate for that I've also added a tiny little feature: recipes are now linkable into chat :)

And then there's one problem that will still remain for about 24-48 hours (just a rough estimate): The malfunctioning new "Guide" feature was malfunctioning due to a very complicated Patch 3.1 side effects problem in my backend database which has partly corrupted some data. That caused most of the guide entries not to be generated which then in turn causes the guide to show all sorts of wacky stuff, like flightmasters which are 20.000 yards away. Fortunately, now that I have found and fixed the problem, the guide will literally "fix" itself pretty soon :o) though it'll take that little time span until most of the corruptions have been corrected by the ongoing data parsing process. So the bottom line is: if you'd like to use the new guide, I suggest you to update your database in about a day or two. Please note though that these problems mainly affect the guide feature, stuff like quest target searching or recipes are working fine.

Update: oops, forgot to switch the manual download versions from 3.30 to 3.31 last night...now 3.31 is up for download.

Update 2: GODDAMMIT! Seems as if one of my fixes last night has caused the position data in newly built databases not to be included correctly, so many mobs and stuff don't show any positions in MobMap at the moment. I definitely shouldn't roll out new releases when I'm tired :( The source of this problem has already been fixed, correct database builds are on their way...

Changelog for v3.31:
-------------------------------
- changed: DATABASE FORMAT CHANGE! You will need to get an updated database copy!
- fixed: A bug in the database routines which caused MobMap to either show wrong quest targets or throw an error in MobMap_itemdropdata.lua for certain quest target searches and which displayed the wrong mob names in the drop database
- fixed: Another bug that caused the wrong recipe reagents to be displayed
- added: Shift-clicking a recipe line in the recipe database will now link it into chat!

I have received and confirmed a bug in the current MobMap database creation routine that seems to create two errors: one is strange search results when searching for certain quest targets, another is a plain error message in WoW. The reason for this bug is still to be researched, but I will get to it as soon as possible. The same goes for the other bugs that have been reported, I'll see what I can reproduce and try to fix them.

I have seen several reports now concerning a refresh problem with the MobMap quest tracker. The problem consists of the tracker not updating automatically whenever a quest target status changes. It is of course intended to update automatically and does so on any test systems I could get my hands on. Therefore I need more information about this bug:

- What addons do you have loaded besides MobMap?
- Is the log updating correctly when you accept a new quest?
- Does the problem persist even if you temporarily deactivate all addons besides MobMap?

If you suffer from this bug I'd be happy if you could drop a message in the comments :)

Here it is, just in time for the big content patch - the newest MobMap version.

Besides being (hopefully) 100% compatible with the patch, this version introduces a nifty new feature: the MobMap Guide. Right-click on the MobMap minimap Button to see it in action - basically it's a list of things you can search for, like repair vendors, reagent vendors, portals, trainers, profession vendors, Bankers, Flight Masters, Auctioneers, ... you get the point :). The list is clean and simple to use: click an entry and you'll be shown the way to the nearest vendor/trainer/whatever, depending on your current position. By shift-clicking an entry, all stored positions are being displayed on the world map.

The current list of entries is of course not yet what I'd like it to be, so expect some more useful points of interest to be added in the future!

Okay, and here's the complete changelog for v3.30:
---------------------------------------
v3.30:
- changed: DATABASE FORMAT CHANGE! You will need to get an updated database copy!
- fixed: A bug causing errors when searching for specific quest targets in the Blizzard quest log
- changed: The addon has been updated for Patch 3.1
- added: Little icons for quest-specific items next to the quest titles in the quest tracker (very similar to the new item icons in the Blizzard quest tracker)
- added: Guide functionality: by right-clicking the MobMap minimap icon you can open the new guide which points you to the nearest (repair) vendor/flightmaster/banker/... - there is already a nice list of supported targets and more are to be added in the future


Update: Unfortunately there's an unexpected problem with database generation. I'm already looking into it and hope to have a solution available soon.

Update 2: Database download problem has been solved, sorry for the inconvenience. If you encounter any bugs or problems with the new MobMap version, please leave a comment with a detailed (Very important! I cannot fix errors which I cannot reproduce) problem description.

I have seen several reports of update problems with the MobMapUpdater tool lately and have finished investigating the cause. The problem affects Windows XP only (and only in some cases as it seems, not on all machines) and causes the MobMapUpdater to fail when starting the self-update procedure - the update notification window just closes and nothing happens.

A new version of the MobMapUpdater (1.86) where this problem has been fixed has just went online for download. But of course: since this bug may prevent you from updating, that's not worth too much ;-) There's help though - you can easily start the update process manually which will get you the newest version. You'll only have to do this once, because with the bug fixed now, future updates should be downloaded with just one click again.

To do this, navigate to the directory where you have installed the MobMapUpdater (on most machines, this should be c:/Program Files/MobMapUpdater, but it might be on a different drive or in a different location you have specified during the install). There is a file called "selfupdate.exe" - double-click on it to run it. Then there should be that little "updating now" window in the center of your screen which will get you the newest version.

If you cannot find your installation directory, you might try to search for the file "selfupdate.exe" on your hard disk.

Alternatively you can of course download the full installation package and re-install the MobMapUpdater (you won't have to uninstall it first if you install the new version into the same directory as the old one). That will also get you the newest version and fix the problem.

In both cases it is IMPORTANT that you make sure MobMapUpdater IS NOT CURRENTLY RUNNING when you do the manual update/reinstall!

-----------------------------------------------

Nochmal auf Deutsch, weil es doch eine recht wichtige Sache ist:

Es gibt im MobMapUpdater leider einen Bug, der auf einigen unter Windows XP betriebenen Rechnern verhindert, dass der Update-Prozess des Tools nach Klick auf den "Update"-Button korrekt gestartet wird. Eine soeben veröffentlichte Version 1.86 des Tools behebt diesen Fehler; da das automatische Update auf den betroffenen Rechnern aber nicht funktioniert, ist einmalig ein manuelles Aktualisieren nötig. Weitere Updates in der Zukunft sollten dann wieder wie gewohnt funktionieren.

Zum manuellen Start des Updates muss der Ordner, in dem das MobMapUpdater-Programm installiert wurde, geöffnet werden (meistens ist das c:/Programme/MobMapUpdater, der Laufwerkbuchstabe kann sich aber unterscheiden, ebenso kann es sich um einen ganz anderen Ordner handeln, falls bei der Installation ein anderer angegeben wurde). Darin liegt eine Datei namens "selfupdate.exe", die durch Doppelklick ausgeführt werden muss. Daraufhin startet das Update wie gewohnt.

Alternativ dazu ist es natürlich auch möglich, das komplette Installationspaket erneut herunterzuladen und neu zu installieren. Dazu muss die alte Installation nicht unbedingt deinstalliert werden, wenn der MobMapUpdater bei der Neuinstallation in dasselbe Verzeichnis wie bei der letzten Installation installiert wird.

WICHTIG: In beiden Fällen muss sichergestellt sein, dass der MobMapUpdater gerade NICHT LÄUFT! Während das Programm ausgeführt wird, kann es weder aktualisiert noch neu installiert werden!