ArcHUD3

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If you're in a hurry to just get the latest, here it is:
Last updated 3/7/2011
ArcHUD3.7z 129 KB
ArcHUD3.zip 227 KB
Be advised: This is beta quality code, not responsible, YMMV, whatever. If I've posted it, it's cleared some quick use tests by yours truely, but that's hardly thorough. Generally, whatever's up is whatever's in my UI folder, unless I'm actively working on it.

Changelog

• 20110307 - finally realised I could update this now my web server's back online... And the changes in the interrim are uncertain. Suffice it to say, it still works for my day to day play.
  I recall at some point adding ring modules for only certain resources: mana, rage, energy, runic power.
  changed Mana.lua and JustMana.lua to latch max mana in combat so those new int procs won't throw the numbers all over the board
• 20091108 - added a contribution from Gaerthe to add a color-change to the mana text as a cue for mana gem or evocation usage
• 20090331 - added special case code to Health.lua to get HP updated properly when you release from someplace like Naxx or TK
• changes before log start:
  • Adjusted PetMana.lua to update frequently for the 3.0 energy mechanics
  • Adjusted DruidMana.lua to use new UnitPower() API, removing hooks to other mods that used to be needed to track mana in form
  • Revamped repainting code using AceEvent instead of MetroGnome
  • Removed target frame as redundant with other mods
  • Possibly other things that I've forgotten

What is ArcHUD?

ArcHUD is a well-rendered set of partial rings around the center of your screen. Each ring is the equivalent of a bar elsewhere: Your health bar, your mana bar, your casting bar, your enemy's casting bar, your breath timer underwater, your target's health or mana, and so on. However, rather than having this information scattered in various corners of your screen, ArcHUD gracefully displays them close to the center, near your character, where the action is.

Each ring is a module in the mod, so it's comparatively easy to add new sorts of rings. The mod is quite configurable, allowing for significant resizing and recentering of the rings, as well as switching various rings on or off.

ArcHUD is a completely informational mod. There are no clickable frames outside of the configuration options.

TODO: Add screenshots.

Historical

Sometime in November 2008 I got frustrated with the lack of updates for ArcHUD2, one of my favorite mods for World of Warcraft. Being reasonably adept in coding, I decided to do some updates, changes, and fixes by myself, for myself. So the fork started from... Well, from 3.0.2beta5 on Curse.com, I think.

Sometime in December, I got all the old Metrognome library calls out of the code, and reworked how the ring modules are updated. I think it's a significant enough change to merrit the new major version number, so I started calling it ArcHUD3.

Since I don't grok some of the math involved in actually rendering the wonderful rings, there's a fair amount of this code that I'm avoiding playing with, so the result feels rather 'frankensteined'. For that reason, I probably won't ever call this thing more stable than beta quality. Just the same, I use it with good result, and some of my friends use it, so I decided to create this page to make it easy for people to get.

I haven't logged a lot of my early changes to the code... But the improvements from ArcHUD2 are quite significant.