I don't post much on the forums but I do however read quite a bit, the one thing I am getting a strong sense of, is how people want to move past WOTLK and onto the later expansions. (I am one of them
). I am also noticing at least 2 reasons as to why people have not so far.
1. To many different tools are needed to do so, alot of different tasks are needed to be done by to many different applications, when, in reality, the process could be simplified and integrated into 1 program (Noggit). For Example:
Instead of using futa and adt adder then the offset fix and gruul me (4 different applications) to get your first map up and running. You can have a "Create New Map" button in noggit. When clicked it would ask you to input the map name, base texture, if you want it covered in water and what kind of water, and the general height of the adt. After all that is put in you hit a create button. Then a progress bar will show up as noggit automatically creates the adt files, does the offset fix, creates the wdt and wdl files all in one swoop. All that is left is for you to do the Map and Area DBC for it to be recognized. We have the source for all these programs if I remember correctly?
You would still need Futa for alpha maps but the other 3 programs you would not need anymore. Basically intergrate the tools we are already using into 1 program instead of being split into many different programs. Gruulme would still have its use as well outside of noggit for if you change the size of your map or something like that, but I am sure that could be intergrated as well. I think you get the idea
.
2. The other reason I think people aren't moving past wotlk is the server emulation. To be honest the other cores no matter how you slice it are not up to snuff with wotlk, which is no suprize. To be honest I could careless if everything is spawned and 100% blizzlike gameplay. I would rather have the empty sandbox where nothing is spawned but all the systems like say (spells, professions, questing, talents etc... etc..) are working 100%, spawning and such can come later (as that really is a ton of work). Besides, we are here to create our own gameworld inside the world of warcraft universe, why would we need the blizzlike spawns and encouners to be blizzlike scripted? No idea how to fix this one, besides just waiting
.
Those are the 2 main things I have noticed.
We have an ADT converter, a wdt converter which can convert and create the necessary files needed for maps to be recognized in WOD (ADT, WDL, WDT). We have a M2 and WMO converter which can convert down to WOTLK or WOD. Which means we have the ability to read those specific files and convert them down and up correct, with the sources on how to do so? So if all that information and such is integrated into noggit we should be able to read and write adt files in noggit for later expansions (WOD mainly). We can use the info from the M2 and WMO converter to be able to render those objects in noggit (cause it would need to know how to read the M2 and WMO files). So that convers the maps and all the objects in that version of the game. We have the information, all that is left is to make it a reality right?
Maybe its just me lol, I just believe all this stuff could be simplified greatly to make things quite a bit easier for everybody to do, so wow modding as a whole, can move past wotlk. I have actually tried to learn how to code in c++ (spent quite a lot of time on it actually) just so I could help with these things or do them myself, just, it didn't stick very well so it is gonna be quite a long time before I can be of use with these things as I need to learn it. Hopefully this helps with giving the people that can code, the ideas and thoughts needed to help things move forward? I would really love to see things step forward, as a whole.
