BioWare has a track record of developing outstanding computer role-playing games including the recent XBox 360 game that took the world by storm, Mass Effect. That game company can weave a story that rivals the ability of Blizzard and I have high hopes that they will be able to deliver on this MMO. Only time will tell!

New MMORPG? Yup. And it turns out that it may very well be based on the Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) universe. Now that would be super sexy. Star Wars: Galaxies was a definite flop…but BioWare is a whole different caliber of game development. I have serious high hopes in their abilities and will be excitedly watching as information on this game becomes available! My fingers are crossed that the game actually is a Star Wars game. With EA Games’ recent acquisition of BioWare and Pandemic Studios (pdf), this seems like more of a possibility.

w00t!

I, for a time, was spiraling down towards addiction to the game when it was first released…if I had not been married at the time, I’m quite sure my life would have suffered with the addiction. There are a few people I know that are quite thoroughly enthralled by WoW that they spend gobs and gobs of time playing, sometimes forfeiting time with friends and family to opt to raid. It is fun, don’t get me wrong, but there is a balance that needs to be reached and many just don’t have the willpower to draw that line.

I am one of those people. I can’t play a game like that without getting fully involved…I thrive on that type of thing…so steering clear is the best bet. Thanks to Randy I’m a board game geek now and spend time playing Euro Games when I’m not doing stuff with my wife or programming or screwing around with EatPoopUCat.

Not everyone can pull themselves away, though…MMO addiction is sadly a reality. How much longer before we begin having Interventions for addicted gamers?

Wow. Just wow. Here’s the dude’s video:

What is it exactly? Well, its a map of World of Warcraft that you can zoom in and out on Blizzard’s wonderful MMORPG world with the familiar controls of Google’s mapping tool. MapWoW gives a good description on what can be done with the tool:

Overall, a fairly groovy mashup with a lot of functionality for World of Warcraft! Awesome.

UPDATE: It seems the guys at MapWoW have an Outland map as well. w00t!

Here are the features:

• Health/Mana Bars colour levels.
• All Bars are animated.
• Shows Level, Name, Class and Elite/Boss, Pet, NPC.
• 4 Alpha Settings for: Combat/Target selected/No Target/Player is regging.
• 4 Displaymodes for Health/Mana.
• Many positioning and Scaling Options.
• Hide Blizzard Player/Targetframe.
• Target Menu with Leftclick on Targetname.
• Player Menu with Rightclick on Playername.
• Castingbar with Cast-time.
• Option to hide Petbars.
• Option to hide Targetbars/Text.
• Load-on-Demand configuration display.
• Target’s Target display – click to switch to that target.
• Aggro alert – audible and visual warnings.
• Target PvP status.
• Self PvP status.
• Status icons for Rested, Combat, Raid leader, and Loot Master.
• Target distance display.
• Support for Mobhealth, Mobinfo2, and Mobhealth2.
• FlightMap support.
• myAddons Support.
• FuBar Support.

So what’s the use of MetaHUD? You’ve got your health and the mob’s health at the top left of the screen as per the default World of Warcraft interface. Well, thats the problem. I play with a high resolution and a small UI which places that information at the far top-left of the screen, well away from the center of the screen. In tight situations, the act of pulling my eyes from the center of the screen – however easy that seems – can be the death of your character. You know…that idiot Alliance Rogue that’s creeping around to back-stab you and had your eyes remained in the center of the screen rather than checking your target’s health – you would have seen the little bastard appear for a split second and you could have reacted appropriately, pwned him, and continued on your merry way. But no. You find yourself pissed, dead, and rezzing at a graveyard.

Thats why MetaHUD is useful. Stop crying and download the mod. You can thank me later.

Introduction

Continuing my Macro listings, I’ll post some Druid Macros! These macros are all thanks to World of Warcraft Druid Forum. I don’t play a druid on any server, yet the macros are pretty straightforward. If you have questions or suggestions…let me know and I’ll update/post them here.

Feral Macros

Ravage/Shred combo

If not in stealth mode, cast shred.  Otherwise, cast ravage.
1/cast [nostealth] Shred; [stealth] Ravage

Ravage/Shred/Ferocious Bite
If alt is pressed, cast Ferocious Bite. Otherwise if in stealth, cast Ravage. Otherwise cast Shred.

show Shred
/cast [modifier:alt] Ferocious Bite; [stealth] Ravage; Shred

Pounce/Rake combo
If not stealth cast rake, otherwise cast pounce.

/cast [nostealth] Rake; [stealth] Pounce

Pounce/Rake/Rip
If alt pressed, cast Rip. Otherwise if stealth cast Pounce. Otherwise cast Rake.

# show Rake
/cast [modifier:alt] Rip; [stealth] Pounce; Rake

Pounce/Mangle combo - Note the extra ()
If not stealth cast Mangle, otherwise cast Pounce.

/cast [nostealth] Mangle (Cat)(); [stealth] Pounce

Prowl or Faerie Fire (Feral)
If out of combat and not stealthed, cast Prowl. Otherwise if in combat and not stealthed, cast Faerie Fire.

/cast [nocombat, nostealth] Prowl; [combat, nostealth] Faerie Fire (Feral)()

Maul/Mangle
This is a space saver macro! In combat, Mauls first, then Mangles, then Mauls, then Mauls. Each 'spell' requires a click.

/castsequence reset=6/combat Maul, Mangle (Bear)(), Maul, Maul

Mangle (Bear) replacing auto-attack
Starts off auto attack with a Mangle...if Alt is held while clicking the macro, you will stop attacking.

# show Mangle (Bear)()
/startattack [nomodifier:alt]
/cast [nomodifier:alt] Mangle (Bear)()
/stopattack [modifier:alt]

Shifting Macros

Shift to Caster
Shift to Caster Form from any form

/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>

Shift to Dire Bear
Shift to Dire Bear Form from any form - note: to have this macro also de-shift you, include "[stance:1] Dire Bear Form; " somewhere in the /cancelaura line.

/cancelaura [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance] Dire Bear Form

Shift to Dire Bear and Charge
Shift to Dire Bear From and Feral Charge from any form

/cancelaura [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance] Dire Bear Form; [stance:1] Feral Charge

Dire Bear and Equip
Shift to Dire Bear Form and equip Idol/Weapon
* "Shift to Dire Bear From from any form, equip Warden Staff and Idol of Brutality only when you actually shift to Dire Bear. Note that the test for the equip is still [nostance] because it hasn't yet registered that the stance has changed. You don't need to worry about the global cooldown, because the stance change and the weapon equip both trigger it at the same time, so you only suffer once. (...equipping things can be done during global cooldown.) "

/cancelaura [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance] Dire Bear Form;
/equip [nostance] Warden Staff
/equip [nostance] Idol of Brutality

To Cat Form
Shift to Cat Form from any form - note: to have this macro also de-shift you, include "[stance:3] Cat Form; " somewhere in the /cancelaura line.

/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance] Cat Form

To Cat and Stealth
Shift to Cat Form and stealth from any form (first line makes the macro display the Prowl cooldown)

show Prowl
/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance] Cat Form; [stance:3, nostealth] Prowl

Shift to Cat Form and equip Idol
Switch from any form to Cat form and equip an Idol

/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form;[stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance] Cat Form; [stance:3, nostealth] Prowl
/equip [nostance] Idol of Ferocity

Shift to Travel Form from any form
Self Explanatory

/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance] Travel Form

Travel Form + Nature's Grasp - note: you can cast Nature's Grasp in forms
If you are in a non-travel form, cancel it. If you are mounted, dismount. Cast Travel Form, cast Nature's Grasp.

/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance, outdoors] Travel Form; [stance:4, outdoors] Nature's Grasp

Spam Travel Form
If you are in a non-travel form, cancel it. If you are mounted, dismount. Cast Travel Form.

/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance, outdoors] Travel Form

All-Terrain Travel Form
If you are in a non-travel/non-swimming form, cancel it. If you are mounted, dismount. If you are swimming, cast Aquatic Form. Otherwise cast Travel Form.

/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance, swimming] Aquatic Form; [nostance, outdoors] Travel Form

Spam All-Terrain Travel Form
No matter the current form, cancel it. If you are mounted, dismount. If you are swimming, cast Aquatic Form. Otherwise cast Travel Form.

/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance, swimming] Aquatic Form; [nostance, outdoors] Travel Form

Spam ATTF + Mount
If you are in a non-travel/non-swimming form, cancel it. If you are standing still, mount. If you are swimming, cast Aquatic Form. Otherwise cast Travel Form.

/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/use Stormpike Battle Charger <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance, swimming] Aquatic Form; [nostance, outdoors] Travel Form

Spam Travel Form + Rejuv - the WSG flag carrying macro
Cancel any form. If you are mounted, unmount. Cast rejuvenation, travel form, travel form, travel form (one per button press in that order).

/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>; [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/castsequence [nostance] reset=12 Rejuvenation, Travel Form, Travel Form, Travel Form

Shift to Tree of Life form and switch your actionbar from #1, to #2
Since most spells don't work in Tree of Life, you can set up a dedicated actionbar with ToL-only spells.

/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/cast [nostance] Tree of Life
/changeactionbar [stance:5] 2

Return to Caster Form and restore original actionbar

/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Tree of Life
/cancelaura [mounted] Frostwolf Howler <replace with your mount>
/changeactionbar [nostance] 1

Restoration Macros

Cleanse Poison/Curse Combo

#left click abolish poison, right click remove curse. both find target, alternatively, if you prefer targeting player first, replace target=none with target=target
/cast [button:1,target=none] Abolish Poison; [button:2,target=none] Remove Curse

Spam Cleanses

/targetfriend
/cast [button:1] Cure Poison; [button:2] Remove Curse
/stopcasting

Pseudo -Decursive

/cast [help] Cure Poison
/stopcasting
/cast [target=player] Cure Poison
/cast [target=party1] Cure Poison
/cast [target=party2] Cure Poison
/cast [target=party3] Cure Poison
/cast [target=party4] Cure Poison
/stopcasting

Nature's Swiftness + Healing Touch

/cast Nature's Swiftness
/stopcasting
/cast [help] Healing Touch; [target=player] Healing Touch

NS + HT/Regrowth

/cast Nature's Swiftness
/stopcasting
/cast [nostance, help] Healing Touch; [nostance, target=player] Healing Touch; [stance:5, help] Regrowth; [stance:5, target=player] Regrowth

ZHC + NS + HT/Regrowth

/use Zandalarian Hero Charm
/stopcasting
/cast Nature's Swiftness
/stopcasting
/cast [nostance, help] Healing Touch; [nostance, target=player] Healing Touch; [stance:5, help] Regrowth; [stance:5, target=player] Regrowth

Heal target or self, based on context

/cast [help] Healing Touch; [target=player] Healing Touch
/stopmacro [nohelp]
/say "Healing %t in 3 seconds."

HoT Stack

/castsequence [help] reset=8/target Regrowth, Rejuvenation, Lifebloom; [target=player] reset=8 Regrowth, Rejuvination, Lifebloom

Rejuv + Idol

/equip Idol of Rejuvenation
/cast Rejuvenation

Heal Target or Target's target

/cast [help] Healing Touch; [target=targettarget] Healing Touch

Healing Touch Mega-pack

/cast [modifier:alt,target=player] Healing Touch;[help] Healing Touch;[target=targettarget, help] Healing Touch;[target=mouseover,help] Healing Touch;[target=focus,help] Healing Touch;[target=focustarget,help];[target=none] Healing Touch

General Utility Macros

Faerie Fire and Feral Faerie Fire combo

show Faerie Fire (Feral)()
/cast [nostance] Faerie Fire; Faerie Fire (Feral)()

Spammable Prowl and Shadowmeld

/cast [nocombat, stance:3, nostealth] Prowl; [nocombat, nostealth] Shadowmeld

Innervate - note: Innervate supposedly can now only be cast on units with mana.

/cast [modifier:alt, target=player] Innervate; [help] Innervate; [target=mouseover, exists, help] Innervate; [target=none] Innervate

Moonfire Spam
Cast Moonfire rank 10, 9, 9, 9, 9 each time the button is pressed. Reset the macro if you change targets, enter combat, or hold ctrl and press the macro.

/castsequence reset=9/target/combat/ctrl Moonfire(Rank 10), Moonfire(Rank 9), Moonfire(Rank 9), Moonfire(Rank 9), Moonfire(Rank 9)

Moonfire Flex
If you hold control, cast moonfire 1. If you click with your second mouse button, cast rank 9, otherwise cast rank 10.

/cast [modifier:ctrl] Moonfire(Rank 1); [button:2] Moonfire(Rank 9); Moonfire(Rank 10)

Moonfire + Idol

/equip Idol of the Moon
/cast Moonfire

Totem Killer - needs testing

/target totem
/cast [harm] Moonfire(Rank 1)

Faerie Fire Target or Target's target

/cast [harm] Faerie Fire; [target=targettarget, harm] Faerie Fire

Hurricane+Barkskin - note: for some reason, this still show's Barkskin's cooldown

show Hurricane
/stopmacro [channeling:Hurricane]
/castsequence reset=60/combat Barkskin, Hurricane

Gift of the Wild/Mark of the Wild

/cast [button:2] Gift of the Wild; [modifer:ctrl] Gift of the Wild; Mark of the Wild

Mark of the Wild + Thorns

/castsequence [modifier:alt, target=player] reset=10/target Thorns, Mark of the Wild; [help] reset=10/target Thorns, Mark of the Wild; [target=player] reset=10/target Thorns, Mark of the Wild

Stun and Self-Heal (Tauren)

show War Stomp
/cancelaura [stance:1] Dire Bear Form; [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/castsequence [target=player] reset=120/combat War Stomp, Regrowth, Rejuvenation

Stun and Self-Heal (Dire Bear Form) - doesn't work yet...

show Bash
/cancelaura [stance:2] Aquatic Form; [stance:3] Cat Form; [stance:4] Travel Form; [stance:5] Moonkin Form <or Tree of Life>
/castsequence [stance:1] reset=50/combat Bash, Dire Bear Form, Regrowth, Rejuvenation
/castsequence [nostance] reset=50/combat Dire Bear Form, Bash, Dire Bear Form, Regrowth, Rejuvenation

Cartographer is a modular, lightweight, and efficient framework for manipulation of the world map. It is based on Ace2 and other libraries of the Ace community. It features:

• Battlegrounds : allows viewing of battlegrounds outside of the zone.
• Coordinates : adds coordinates to the bottom of the world map of the player and the cursor.
• Foglight : Shows unexplored areas on the map. replacement for MozzFullWorldMap or Unexplorer. Much more efficient, though.
• Group Colors : turns all your party’s and your raid’s POIs into circles colored based on class, and shows a number on them based on their raid group.
• Instance Maps : shows maps of instances.
• Instance Notes : adds boss notes and such to instance maps.
• Look ‘n’ Feel : allows you to change the transparency, position, and scale of the world map.
• Notes : lets you put notes on the map.
• Professions : automatically tracks herbs and minerals.
• Zone Info : on hovering over a zone, it will show the levels of the zone, the instances in the zone, their levels, and the number of men the instance is made for (e.g. 5-man, 40-man).

The basic map provided with World of Warcraft is severely lacking…heck, there aren’t even coordinates! My previous map solution was Atlas…a great instance map mod, but thats where its usefulness ended…instances. Cartographer is a full blown mod that gives a you all the sweet stuff (see the list).

What’s more? Cartographer is on the WoWAce Wiki with resources for using Cartographer functions for other mods. w00t.