Conquest of the Horde - Server/client-related

Custom Patches and You; How to install for 4.3.4a

Tue, 01 Apr 2014 13:18:00 -0700

Hey folks, so after trying to help a couple of people online with installing the custom patch I decided to just do a simple and easy step-by-step thing for installing the custom patch.

First off; What is this 'Custom Patch' you speak of, oh Great One?

The Custom Patch is something that you can install that adds a metric buttload of game objects! These can range from simple weapons to huge buildings that would be otherwise unspawnable. It's handy for having several new locations opened up to you!

Now, on to the good stuff.

Firstly, go here. Kretol has put his own instructions down, but if you are like me... you tend to skim. The patch download is at the top of that page! Archived is in a zip file, which means you have to have a program to unzip it. I suggest WinZip or 7zip.

Next I suggest opening up this page as you will most likely need to go there afterwards.

Make sure you click on this link as that is the patcher for our version of WoW (4.3.4a)!

Second!

Place the patcher in your CotH-WoW folder, anywhere works.

Kretol Wrote:When running the patcher, the options you want checked are "Disable signaturefile checks" and "Disable second socket connection" (if available). To be safe, also check "Maximize patch number limitation" and "Disable Wow.mfil check".

But Thoradin! I am getting an error! Where is comdlg32.ocx at?

Well, if you get that it means you don't have it! Hopefully you still have that download page up, where you got the link for the patcher.

First off click the x86 link on that page, it is just below the wall of links.

Be sure to click on the comdlg32.zip link and install that!

IF YOUR COMPUTER IS AN x86

Unzip the comdlg32.ocx into Windows\System32

After it is there, be sure to open a command line and run

regsvr32 %Systemroot%\System32\comdlg32.ocx

If it tells you it worked, run the patcher as specified above and restart WoW!

IF YOUR COMPUTER IS AN x64

Quote: 1. Move comdlg32.ocx to c:\Windows\SysWOW64
2. Open a command line window and run following command:

regsvr32 c:\Windows\SysWOW64\comdlg32.ocx

b) For Vista/Win7 users with UAC turn on, the above command needs to be run from elevated command prompt.

3. Once comdlg32 is registered successfully, following message will prompt: "DllRegisterServer in C:\WINDOWS\SysWOW64\comdlg32.ocx succeeded."

Once that is done, try to run the patcher! Be sure to go back up and click on the boxes Kretol specified!

Make sure to get the patcher running -before- you install the patch! Because chances are that the Custom Patch will be deleted! So check your WoW-Data folder to see if it is still there!

If you did everything here correctly, you should see Murkablo on GM Island!

Spoiler:

Installing 4.3.4 on a Mac

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:26:26 -0800

Low and behold, the solution for us is finally here! However there is a small process that you'll have to to get this native Cata Mac client working. It's easy, I promise, even I could do it and I'm about as good with computers as a squirrel is.

I did this on a 10.6.8, however it should work for later editions. I am not sure if it works on a lower OS however.

Step 1:

Download this Torrent.

The torrent took me two days to download. In the end that depends on your internet. Once the torrent is done, come on down to step two.

Step 2:

Once you get the torrent downloaded where you need it to go, you're going to want to find the WoW.app. Notice the torrent does NOT have a launcher. This is so that you'll never accidentally end up patching yourself past cata.

Step 3:

With that open, you'll want to open a new finder window and pop open your Terminal. Once it is open, you'll want to type in the following command, but DO NOT hit enter yet: chmod u+x

Spacing is important!

Step 4:

Go back to your other finder window where your World of Warcraft.app is located. Once there, follow the instructions below.

- Right Click
- Show Packaged Contents
- Contents
- Mac OS

In the MacOS folder there should be a BLANK FILE. You will want to drag this file over into the terminal. Make sure there is a space between chmod u+x and the text that will appear when you drag the file open. It should look something like this:

Step 4:

The next step is simple: Hit enter and exit the terminal. The once blank file should now look like this:

And bam, that's it! You're now free to enjoy Cothaclysm on a Mac once. Credit goes to Molten WoW for uploading the torrent [which Kretol has moved to his dropbox just in case] as well as finding the fix for it.

If you have further problems with this, I'm afraid I'm not techy enough to help, however post your problem anyway and I'll see if I can find a solution elsewhere!

Don't forget to change your realmlist!

How To Dual-Wield World of Warcraft

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:46:36 -0700

When I first set about joining CotH (not all that long ago), my biggest hurdle to jumping into the server was the possibility of losing the characters I'd established on retail WoW combined with my uncertainty about whether I really wanted to get into the whole private server thing in the first place. In the interest of what pliantreality called "unnecessarily hedging your bets," I set about trying to install two separate WoW programs - one able to run Cataclysm on retail servers and one patched no higher than 3.3.5a for CotH purposes.

I didn’t run across any guides on how to run multiple WoW clients (that is, the program that runs WoW), and I think it’s high time the internet gets one. This is how to install multiple WoW clients…

…On Windows!

STEP 1
I’m assuming a blank slate here.
Download a copy of WoW. If you want one of your clients to run retail, then I suggest you install that one first. In any case, go to your server-of-choice’s site and follow their instructions for installing a WoW client. Make sure you know where WoW is installing. It should be making a new folder in “Program Files” by default (and likely is if it’s retail), but if you’re installing a client for a private server it may try to plant itself somewhere else. Just make a note of it. Then head outside to bid the sun a fond farewell.

STEP 2
After compulsively checking to see if the download is done for the umpteenth time, you may find that the client has successfully installed. Open the client as a test run to make sure it actually works. If your first client is a retail client, it will most likely want to install some updates. Let it do that, then give it a test run. If the client doesn’t work, this would be a good time to do some Googling.

STEP 3
At this point your first client should be working, and you should be starting to forget what grass feels like. Now we prepare to install your second client. Open “My Computer,” then “Local Disk (C,” followed by “Program Files.” You should find a folder labeled “World of Warcraft” here. If you’re running Windows 7 and can’t find the “World of Warcraft” folder in “Program Files,” try “Program Files (x86).” It’ll probably be there.
If, back in Step 1, you noted that your computer installed WoW someplace other than “Program Files,” you don’t have to do Step 4, and Steps 5 and 6 are likely irrelevant, too.

STEP 4
Once you’ve found the “World of Warcraft” folder, move it to another location OUTSIDE OF “PROGRAM FILES.” Make sure to MOVE it, not copy it.
You can move the folder anywhere you like. I initially dropped it onto the desktop and later moved it into “My Documents” where I made a folder called “Retail Servers” that became its permanent home. You should make the location fairly obvious to yourself, in case you ever need to mess around with the WoW files. This is especially true if the client you just installed is for a private server.

STEP 5
Delete any and all shortcuts to WoW that may have plopped themselves on your desktop or taskbar as these will no longer be able to find the copy of WoW you just installed.

STEP 6
Go into “Control Panel” (you’ll find it in the start menu) and find the “Uninstall a Program” tool. Look through the listed programs and see if WoW is among them. If it is, click on it and tell the tool to uninstall it.
"What?!" I hear you cry, interrobang in hand. "But I just had to go out in the sun and the bugs waiting to INSTALL it!"
Quite so, but you see, you also moved it. The uninstall tool shouldn't be able to find it now. It will simply clear your computer’s metaphorical head.

STEP 7
If you've settled on where to keep this copy of WoW, now would be a good time to find the “WoW.exe” or “Launcher.exe” file within the “World of Warcraft” folder that you just moved. If this copy is for private servers, you're looking for “WoW.exe.” If it's for retail, “Launcher.exe” is the way to go. In either case, make a shortcut of the file and drop it somewhere useful like your desktop. Then rename the shortcut. DO NOT rename the actual file.
You're aiming for clarity with the new name. For my retail WoW I went with "rWoW" versus my private WoW client which is "pWoW" because I'm creative like that. You can name it "Muffins" if you like. Just make sure you know what it is.

STEP 8
Double-check that everything is happy and beautiful. This means: your shortcut works, the client works, the entire “World of Warcraft” folder is out of “Program Files” and is where you want it, etc. Now close out of everything.

HALFWAY THERE!

STEP 9
Alright, at this point you should hate computers but be feeling like a 1337 h4ckz0rz for your adept computer trickery. Now is the time to install your second WoW client. Again, go to the site of the relevant server and follow their instructions for install. Same rules apply as in Step 1. In fact, you’re basically doing Step 1 again. The only thing you need to be sure of is that this second WoW client doesn’t try to install in the same place you put your first one.
Go out with some friends while it’s installing and bid them a fond farewell.

STEP 10
Once your second WoW client is installed, head into the folder it installed to (likely “Program Files” again) and move it somewhere else, as we did before. Wherever you put it should not be the same place that you put your first WoW client. When I did this, I made a new folder called “Private Servers” in “My Documents” in which I put my new client.
If it happened to install itself in a place that is neither “Program Files” nor the place your first WoW client inhabits, then you can probably leave it where it is, unless you’d like to be tidy.

STEP 10
You've moved your second WoW! Now find “WoW.exe” and run it to make sure it works properly. If it does, delete any extraneous shortcuts that may have installed (except the one that leads to your first WoW client!) and repeat Step 6. Once that’s done, and your new WoW is where you want it to be, head to its “WoW.exe” file and create a shortcut of it. This is just like we did before: drop the shortcut somewhere handy like the desktop and rename it something like “pWoW” or “Bagels,” so that you know exactly which WoW you’re looking at.

STEP 11
Now you should double-check that everything is merry and glib. Check your shortcuts for both clients, make sure everything still runs, et cetera. If it’s all working, then congrats! You are now dual-wielding WoW clients!
(If it doesn’t work, post below, and we’ll troubleshoot.)

Other Notes and Thoughts

+Two is Better than One, and Three is Better than Two, and... and... INFINITE WOWS!
You could easily repeat this process ad nauseum to have as many WoW clients as you like. If you want your entire computer to be WoW clients, go ahead, be my guest, just keep each folder set separate from the others and label things clearly. Also, keep in mind that each time you install a new WoW client, you're taking up another WoW-sized chunk of gigabytes.
Part of the reason this method works is that each “WoW.exe” file is referring to a 100% separate set of files than the ones the other “Wow.exe” files are looking at. That means that you need to have separate copies of every single file relevant to WoW, and they have to be the right copies for the client’s particular patch, to boot. As such, I don't see any sense in having two WoW clients on the same patch as you can always modify your realmlist; you really don't need to use up all that space. Multiple clients strike me as primarily useful for when you need/want different patches.

+HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?
Folder trees. We are using folder trees to trick your computer.
World of Warcraft is not a single, self-contained program. It’s a series of files which one program (WoW.exe) references. When a program works this way, it traces a specific path through a specific folder tree to find the files it needs to run. So, suppose “WoW.exe” needs to look at “realmlist.wtf” (as it does whenever you log into a server). “WoW.exe” reaches out to the “Data” folder, through that to the “enUS” folder, where it finds “realmlist.wtf,” all of which (including “WoW.exe”) is happening within the “World of Warcraft” folder. If you were to move any of those individual files or folders to another location, “WoW.exe” would be unable to run properly because it wouldn’t know where to find “realmlist.wtf.”
Your computer at large works in the same fashion. By moving the “World of Warcraft” folder out of “Program Files,” you’re effectively hiding WoW from your computer. By separating the two “World of Warcraft” folder trees into different locations, you prevent them from looking through each other. Therefore, they are able to reference their own files at their own patch without interfering with one another.
Basically, this is the same premise as when you save “BookReport.doc” under “My Documents” and a separate “BookReport.doc” onto your flash drive and your computer doesn’t ask if you want to overwrite (when there wasn’t a pre-existing “BookReport.doc” in either location).

+So. Windows, huh? What about Mac? Or Linux?
I have never seen a Linux computer. Go away with your alien language.
As to Mac, I will be borrowing a Mac-user’s computer sometime soon and seeing if I can sort out how to do it on that. I theorize that the same basic process will work for Macs as well, but I also know that the Mac file/folder system is very different from the Windows one. I did attempt to enact this process with a much, much smaller program (a chess program), and it worked just fine, so feel free to try the methodology out. If it works, let me know. Either way, I’ll write up a guide once I have a chance.

+I'm Not Gonna Use a Retail Client, But, OH GOD, What If I Ever Want To Go Back To It?!
This is a suggestion pliantreality gave me when he was trying to dissuade me from taking so damn long with the install process: make a copy of your "Account" folder and save it elsewhere before altering WoW for your private server. Put into more detail:
Go into the “World of Warcraft” folder, then into the “WTF” folder. You should see a folder labeled “Account” there. Copy it, and save it somewhere safe, like your documents folder. Then uninstall or depatch your current WoW, depending on what sort of server you’re planning to use, and proceed along the usual install process from there.
This allows you to avoid the whole two-client brouhaha without losing your characters, though you’ll only be able to play on one server at a given time. If you ever want to go back to your previous server, all you need to do is return to the relevant patch and plop your old “Account” folder into “World of Warcraft/WTF” in place of the one the program automatically created.

Correct Usage of the .addrpitem Command, A Guide

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 08:29:32 -0700

The how-to of our lovely new command.

"Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which we will not put."
~ W.C.

Table of Contents
1.0: How It Works
1.1: How To Use It
1.2: How You SHOULD Use it
1.3: What Is "Too Epic"?
1.4: The Mary Sue Effect
1.5: Realism
1.6: Uniforms
1.7: More Information
1.8: Why The Fel Is Everyone Naked?!1!

This simple guide is intended to ensure people use the shiny new .addrpitem command correctly - in all of its aspects. In the short time it's been instated I've seen it abused numerous times, often without any IC explanation by the character on how they even got the armor and fancy, four foot long sword. I'm no Piroska, but here goes. Enjoy, or perish!

1.0: How It Works

Basically, Kretol has copied most weapons and pieces of armor from Common to Epic and made it completely stat-less vanity armor. These items function as any other custom items do, meaning you must drag and drop to equip them on your character. The ID numbers on the items are the same, with the mathematical addition of 200,000 added onto them. For example,[item]Fine Longsword[/item]'s ID number is 13816. To get the custom item ID number, you just calculate 13816+200,000. This comes out to 213,816, or 213816. Simple, no?

This monumental movement allows you to add just about any item model to your bags with the exclusion of off-hands, tabards, and items like mounts. Thus, my main reason for creating this guide.

1.1: How To Use It

Commands

Desired items are "created" and placed in your bags at the entering of the command .addrpitem [ID#+200000] or [Shift-Click Link]. If you are unsure of an item's ID, or would like the shift click link, simply type .lookup rpitem [Item Name] (shortcut .lo rp) For example;

[Say]: .addrpitem 213816 (Quantity number if desired goes after the ID number with a single space in between)

Or;

[Say]: .addrpitem [item]Fine Longsword[/item]

At this point, you will receive a message saying you have created your item, and may now find it in your bags and equip it.

Item Finding Programs

Here are a few links you can use to find potential items for your character.

Wowhead
Model Viewer (I strongly suggest downloading this program)
The Offical WoW Armory

1.2: How You SHOULD Use It

Ah, yes. My main motivation for constructing this guide. First, I'd like to start by talking about the term "Mary Sue". A Mary Sue is a character that is, essentially, epic. You've created this character with the intent of beating any opponent, hurdling every obstacle, and being a general badass with no room for failure. It's understandable that people may do this subconsciously, or accidentally. Whenever you watch a movie, or read a book, they tend to have a Mary Sueish character than takes down all the bad guys and ends the story with flashy moves, epic brute strength, or over-the-top dynamics. Or all three!

On CotH, these characters are deeply frowned upon. Character profiles showing these traits are always denied, and even mentioning the phrase puts people off. For the most part, it's due to it's nature. When a person refers to your character as a Mary Sue, you may take it as an insult to your RP skill, but it's not always so. As mentioned before, Mary Sues can be a complete accident, and aren't always the product of someone's ego.

The obvious problems with Mary Sues is that it usually leads to power-gaming and ultimately god-moding. Since CotH relies heavily on roll-fighting, this simply does not fly. In the land of rolls, you could be wearing full T10.5 with a giant flaming sword, and still be killed by a naked gnome. Therefore, what's the point, if the items don't even give you stat bonuses?

Overly epic armor can be seen as a sign of a Mary Sue. If you look at a character, and they are wearing glowing weapons with spikes jutting everywhere and shoulder pads that go above their head, one might instantly suspect a Mary Sue. Let's face it; Wearing that armor doesn't make your character better. If everyone is hanging out in the Ratchet Tavern with giant rifles and tusked hoods, it can degrade the quality of the RP severely and shatter any sense of immersion one might have. When in doubt, wear clothing. You don't always need armor, after all.

1.3: What Is "Too Epic"?

To be honest, this is a matter of common sense and point of view, but I thought I might lay down some suggestions and examples on what could be classified as just to much.

Armor

Sanctified Bloodmage - I'm going to point out the obvious here: It looks like what a darkfallen would wear (WoW's vampire equivalent). You know, like Prince Keleseth and the rest of the San'layn?

Cataclysm - I shouldn't need to say much. The set looks like you are covered in volcanic rock, with magma breaking through cracks. It's just not feasible in-game. Even if you were a shaman, the kind of elemental magic to make and sustain it would be ridiculous, not to mention how would you ever convince the spirits to do it?

Sanctified Lightsworn - The shoulders are caved in, with light coming from the impressions. The helm looks like a beak, and I can't imagine it ever being made by anyone, because it's just not helpful in anyway. If you were to replace the shoulders and helm, it would be fine for things such as ceremonial occasions and the like, but you shouldn't expect to wear something like this into battle or take a stroll around town.

Dark Coven - Take a look at this. Glowing runes and a Hershey Kiss hat. If you can get past that, can you honestly tell what it's made of, and how you would get it? I don't think any sane tailors would make something like this, and the Lich King doesn't do free hand outs. And by the looks of it, the Scourge are the only ones who'd even think about making something so out there.

On Death Knights; Death Knights are special cases. Often times, they have the resources to acquire very epic, and very impressively large gear because 1) They have smiths with the ability and need to make them and 2) They have the the strength and stamina to fight and otherwise move in the kind of gear you might see one in.

An example is Wrathful Gladiator's Desecration and Edge of Agony. The helm would most likely hurt the necks of anything other than a tauren and the strongest of orcs, not to mention the shoulders! Those alone would weight a massive amount. And since weapons scale depending on the race and gender, I doubt even a tauren could swing this thing. Death Knights are undead, and empowered by their Scourge Elitism. Leave the big stuff and glowing runeblades to them.

Weapons

Edge of Ruin - I have two major problems with this axe. First of all, it's huge. I mean...comically huge. Not to mention, almost nothing makes sense on it. The curve on the handle would be a detriment to your swing, and the extra blades on the side just don't make sense at all. I advise you to stay away from things like this.

Jin'rohk, The Great Apocalypse - It would be a feat of strength to even pick this thing up. Even for a Death Knight, swinging the thing would be a terror. Besides that, it glows for no reason and is curved the wrong way. I can only wonder who would make something like this, and how they would go about it. It's classic Blizzard fantasy-fail.

Armageddon - I'll put this in a very blunt way; It's bigger than you. You could not swing it. It would probably be even heavier than Jin'rohk. Simply dragging this across the floor could pose problems for most races. This isn't anime, and neither should your sword-to-height ratio be.
(Just for fun, take a look at this)

Spoiler:

Archon Glaive - I actually chuckled when I saw this. Let's assume you IC'ly acquire it somehow, whether by spending a fortune on it or making it (however you'd go about doing that), did you notice that the outside curve of the blade is stunted off with stone attachments? Yeah. Unless you can manage to get a body part in those teeny little loops where the blades are peeking out, you'll just cause some blunt trauma if you achieve the impressive feat of swinging it.

1.4: The Mary Sue Effect

As I mentioned already; Ridiculous armor makes you appear to be a Mary Sue if you do not have the IC background to back the items up. If you are a Death Knight and have a large, glowing sword, where did you get it? Was it commended to you by the Scourge? Did you create it yourself? If you have a full plate, how did you acquire it? Perhaps you were in the military, or maybe you even stole it! However, I would like to note that stealing armor as a background is a very lazy shortcut, and should only be used if you hold an event in which you RP obtaining said armor. This can be very fun, as I've used this method personally!

Mary Sues easily ruin RP. Their often taciturn or holier-than-thou attitudes cause negative reactions that don't make for good RP, unlike when it's done naturally, from a taciturn character. People may not want to approach you or RP with you because they suspect you will god-mode, or are IC intimidated by the very large axe on your back and horned helmet. You'll also find yourself attacked less if you don't look like you just hopped off the boat from Strand of the Ancients!

1.5: Realism

A point people have been making is, "This is a fantasy universe." While this may be true, things like physics and probability still exist. The Warcraft Universe is still heavily based off of real life. How could it not be? It's important that players can connect to the game they are playing. The reality is tweaked by all the things that we consider impossible at this time, like magic, demons, long-distance space travel, and talking cows/walruses/crabs/whateveryou'dliketoadds, etc. You still come back down when you jump, and still have to mine materials and cook food and sleep.

Therefore, a certain level of realism should be acknowledged. This does include how much you can carry. You may notice certain Lore figures and epic bosses carrying ridiculously large weapons/armor, but you have to remember: They are made epic by Blizzard, and Blizzard needs to appease a larger range of players. Do you think a hard core raider would be happy with a normal looking sword? No. He or she wants a giant warhammer with a head the size of a small child to crush murlocs with. It's only natural Blizzard would do this, not to mention their own twitchy fits over insanely large weapons. Sometimes I think Metzan accidentally dragged the mouse too far on the scaling slider.

This is how I do it. I use a reference from somebody in real life to compare the character to. Say...Hulk Hogan? Your relative? Arnold Schwarzenegger? It all depends on the character. I then gauge how much I think that particular person could lift, then add the other factors such as strength modification, enchantment, etc. Things like that. Then, just look at the item, maybe pull up modelviewer or wowhead. How big is it compared to your character? Does it look like it's made from a heavy material? These are things to keep in mind that I don't think everyone accounts for.

1.6: Uniforms

This is one of the more exciting things about the new command. You can use if for a guild, a small troupe, an acting gig...the duplication is incredibly easy! I think the section title really speaks for itself, and I don't doubt this possibility has already been utilized in some form or another.

Just remember, small variations can be important. I doubt you could get everyone to look exactly the same, increasingly so the more complex the set becomes. It adds a personal feel to your character, which is also important. I myself wouldn't want to look exactly like the person standing next to me. That would be...really boring!

1.7: More Information

The Player's Guide to Commands! - A rather more concise explanation of the commands, which I think you would benefit from reading anyway, should you want more information on the .addrpitem command or any others that are listed there.

Green is the New Awesome- An Index of Vanity Sets - A collection of normal, non-epic matching item sets that I highly recommend you look at. It's a work in progress, but it's still growing!

Sewer Swimming: A Guide to Sueism, godmoding and ClichÃƒÂ©s - A guide to avoid being a Mary Sue, which ties in with portions of this guide.

1.8: Why the Fel Is Everyone Naked?!1!

I believe this is a bug having to do with your cache. As Kretol explains it,

Kretol Wrote:This will happen anytime people have their cache purged. The reason you don't hear it much before is because people hardly actually purge their cache on their own. When it was force-purged due to the patch, -everyone- will see those with custom armor (that they're 'seeing' for the first time) naked, initially.

The only way we've found to fix this is to unequip and reequip your custom armor and weapons. If that doesn't work, a relog or /reload will usually do the trick.

For easy armor reequipping, I highly recommend downloading Outfitter from curse.com, as I've been having problems with Equipment Manager that WoW has built into the interface.

Update! Kretol has instated fancy new goggles you can equip and unequip in order to fix the bug! You can buy these goggles from Mok'tar, located on the second level of the GM Island Building. Go Kretol!

That concludes this guide! Remember, if it glistens, it is probably not good! Har har.

Edit: Updated with corrected grammar and spelling mistakes! Woot! (And again)

Warsong Gulch & Arathi Basin Maps!

Fri, 21 May 2010 19:28:41 -0700

I was bored so I made these to help old and new players find what they are looking for. Remember - to reach Warsong Gulch (WSG) you can take an OOC Portal or each major city has a Shattrath Portal. Once in Shattrath the WSG Portal is in the center under the giant Naaru. Arathi Basin (AB) can be reached through a Portal inside the main Horde building in WSG, next to that portal is a book on the ground which takes you to the Arathi Farmlands where you can buy mounts. Enjoy and happy RPing!

WARSONG GULCH

Spoiler:

ARATHI BASIN

Spoiler:

Hurr durr lrn2server hurr

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:23:12 -0800

Alright, Pies is in the house, yo, ready to explain more stuff than my tired brain can handle! (Thank god for biological overclocking..)

Anyways, first off, we want to download an ArcEmu repack (Because we're too lazy to make one ourselves).

Currently, for my own screwing-around-server, I am using a repack called "Heroes of Northrend", which is currently at version 7.

That really cool guy Wrote:Some kind of explanation regarding the repack

And here's the actual download link FOR the repack!

Here's Hamachi, which is somewhat useful for hosting servers when your IP is a b***h, a lot like mine!

Navicat Lite, so you can actually do some Database editing!

Alright, now, let's begin with the freaking tutorial!

That really cool guy who came back Wrote:1 - Setting your stuff up!
1.1 - Hao2Unzip?
1.2 - What now!?
1.3 - Wut's a Hamachi!?
1.4 - Wait, so, is THAT the realm, or that other one!?
1.5 - Forcing others to connect at your whim (Works about 20% of the time)
2 - Seeing if this bloody thing works!
2.1 - Okay, setting your realmlist..
2.2 - Now, turning the server ON.
2.3 - We're in!
2.4 - Getting OTHERS to connect!
3 - HACKING TEH DATABASES
3.1 - Okay, so, what the [SPOILER] do I do here!?
3.2 - Oh, I get it now! Well, at least I think I do!
3.3 - Thanks Pies, you are my hero! <3
4 - Question and Answer time! (Feel free to post questions, as others may be able to help!)

1 - Setting your stuff up.
1.1 - Hao2unzip?
Okay, what we want to do first is download the Heroes of Northrend ArcEmu repack using the link I provided. It's relatively large, about 68mb. Shouldn't be too large a download. Okay, after doing that, UNZIP the files inside the file you downloaded, into a directory you have writing/editing rights to, so I'd suggest a sub-section in "My Documents". EG: "C:/Users/Liam/My Documents/Heroes Of Northrend Server Thingy/" Now, you've successfully unzipped a file. If anything catches fire during the process, however, you're probably not even fit to own a computer in the first place.

1.2 - What now!?
Ah, this is where the fun part comes in! File editing! What you'll need to do is navigate to the folder "ArcEmu\configs\", which is a sub-directory of your Heroes Of Northrend directory. In there, you shall find some files! "realms.conf", and "logon.conf". Open both of these up, for we shall be editing them soon!

1.3 - Wut's a Hamachi?
Hamachi is a program that.. I can't really explain it. It kind of gives you an alternate IP other people with Hamachi can connect to. Complicated, but awesome stuff. Well, follow the link I gave you to the Hamachi installer, go through the dialogues and install! After the installation is done, that's when we get technical! Run Hamachi for the first time, and soon the super-special-awesome graphical UI will show up! Okay, now, click on the "Network" tab, and select "Create a new network". Now, a dialogue will come up asking for a Server name and Password. Just choose something you'll remember, and that others most likely will too. Perhaps, "CotHPie" for example. For the password, just chuck in "123" or something of the sorts. Something simple, or not. Depends on what you want!

1.4 - Wait, so, is THAT the realm, or that other one!?
Okeh, now, you've got a Hamachi server up and running, and you've got the files you need to make a WoW server! Hmm, remember those .conf files we opened earlier? I want you to bring them up, and apply the following changes!

logon.conf - Use the CTRL+F Find feature in notepad.exe, to find the line beginning with " Host, ISHost, RealmListPort, ServerPort

Now, with "Host" and "ISHost", you want to change it to "Host = [Hamachi IP Here]" and "ISHost = [Hamachi IP Here]", respectively. With that done, we need to check two more values! "RealmListPort" and "ServerPort". Set RealmListPort to "RealmListPort = 3724", and set "ServerPort" to "ServerPort = 8093".

Now, we want to use the CTRL+F feature again to find "
That's logon.conf finished with!

realms.conf - Okay, only two parts need editing! First off, use the CTRL+F function to find "
Set "Address = "[Hamachi IP Here]"", and "Port = "8093"". That's that section done!

And now, use the CTRL+F function again to find "
Now, we want to set the server "Name" and "Address"!

"Name = "[Insert Server Name Here.. Whatever you want to it be!]""
"Address = "[Hamachi IP Here]:8129""

Okay, just read just above that part in the text file, and find which things suit your server best. Want RPPVP? "Icon = "RPPVP"". Easy as that! Want a different Timezone? "Timezone = "[Insert Timezone Number here]""

Well, you can figure that out for the time being!

1.5 - Forcing others to connect at your whim (Works about 20% of the time)
Needs more Vinnie Jones. ALWAYS.

2 - Seeing if this bloody thing works!
2.1 - Okay, setting your realmlist..
Here's an example realmlist.wtf file:

Quote:set realmlist 5.207.90.86
set patchlist 5.207.90.86

Okay, now, just replace the "5.207.90.86" with your own Hamachi IP. After that, save the realmlist.wtf file!
2.2 - Now, turning the server ON.
Okay, here's what you do. You open up 4 seperate files. Two .exe's, and two .bat's.

You'll find the first two under "/server/", which are called "MySQL.bat" and "Apache.bat". Open them up, doesn't matter what order. Two Command Prompts will open up. That's just to show you anything that happens (Disconnects, connection errors regarding databases, etc.)

Now, we want the two .exe's. Find them under the "/ArcEmu/" sub-directory inside the main Heroes Of Northrend directory. The two .exe's are called "arcemu-logonserver.exe", and "arcemu-world.exe". Always open "arcemu-logonserver.exe" first, and "arcemu-world.exe" last. Okay, now wait until you see this in the "arcemu-world.exe" window:

2.3 - We're in!
Now, open up WoW, and log in (Well, attempt to, at least) with the username and password "admin". If it goes to an empty character screen, great! If not, eh.. Check over the steps again, fix any minute errors. Now, not so fast!

2.4 - Getting OTHERS to connect!
Well, all they simply need to do is connect to your Hamachi server, change their realmlist.wtf file to the exact same as yours! BUT, they don't have accounts just yet, so we'll return to this step later!

3 - HACKING TEH DATABASES
3.1 - Okay, so, what the [SPOILER] do I do here!?
Well, it's obvious! Download and install Navicat Lite, which has a download link alongside the others! After installing it, run it! Now, what you need to do after opening it is clicking the "Connection" button, then "MySQL". It'll bring up a new window, where you'll insert some info.

"Connection Name:" - This is the server name which the program uses to remember the server details. Just let the name be anything, really!
"Host Name/IP Address:" - Set this to "localhost".
"Port:" - Set this to "3306".
"User Name:" - Set this to "root".
"Password:" - Set this to "ascent".

Now, click "OK". It should display the new server on the left-hand side of the window. Double-click it, and wait until it connects.

Now, we're just going to make accounts here for the time being, so I'll explain how to do that. Custom weapons, armour, NPCs and quests are unimportant just now. Well, now, underneath the display to the left, it should say
"cms"
"information_schema"
"logon"
"mysql"
"world"

Now, double-click on "logon." To the right, it should display all the tables in that sub-directory. Double-click on the one called "Accounts".

It will bring up a table, filled with information which MAY seem confusing just now.

Here are the important columns explained:

"acct" - The account number/ID. Altering this means removing the player's characters/etc. No to "acct" values should be the same.
"login" - Your account name! Simple as that.
"password" - Your account password! Simple as that.
"gm" - GM status at the current moment. Not really sure on the values just now, but, a = Grakor. az = Kretol. That's all I know, pretty much. Leave as "0" or blank to make the player a simple player, not a GM.
"banned" - Just a return value. 0 = not banned. 1 = banned.
"email" - The email that is registered to the current player. Doesn't really make a difference, seeing as you're making a small funserver. Not a blizz-like, fully-fledged private server.
"flags" - Just keep at 24.
"muted" - Same as banned, just muted instead of b&hammered.
"banreason" - Pretty much the reason a player has been banned.

Okay, now just fill out these things as you see fit! If something is blank on the pre-existing account, leave it blank. Also, it helps to rename/change password of the main admin account.

3.2 - Oh, I get it now! Well, at least I think I do!
Well, I hope you do! If anything goes wrong, just send me a /whisper ingame, or a PM on the forums!

3.3 - Thanks, Pies, you are my hero! <3
Of course I am, although, I require sleep just now, so yeah.. Umm.. I'll be back later some time, and hopefully not falling asleep on my keyboard.

4 - Question and Answer time! (Feel free to post questions, as others may be able to help!)
LATER, FOR FEL'S SAKE! :3

Graphic boost by console

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 03:25:42 -0800

Source: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/threa ... 3053&sid=1
If you have WOTLK try it! Graphic boost by console:

Quote:Since the graphics engine has been upgraded, here are some visual boosts you may enjoy. Make two macros, since one macro can't hold it all, and paste in one of the following selections, and enjoy.

HIGH:
/console overridefarclip 1
/console farclip 1600
/console horizonfarclip 6226
/console groundeffectdensity 256
/console groundeffectdist 140
/console smallcull 0
/console skycloudlod 3
/console characterAmbient
/console extshadowquality 4
/console environmentDetail 2

MED:
/console overridefarclip 1
/console farclip 1400
/console horizonfarclip 2112
/console groundeffectdensity 128
/console groundeffectdist 140
/console smallcull 0
/console skycloudlod 2
/console characterAmbient
/console extshadowquality 3
/console environmentDetail 1.5

LOW:
/console overridefarclip 0
/console farclip 1277
/console horizonfarclip 2112
/console groundeffectdensity 96
/console groundeffectdist 140
/console smallcull 0
/console skycloudlod 1
/console characterAmbient
/console extshadowquality 2
/console environmentDetail 1

NOTE - Make sure you type "/console shadowlod 1" for the following settings.

DEFAULT: - Default for WoTLK
/console overridefarclip 0
/console farclip 1277
/console horizonfarclip 2112
/console groundeffectdensity 64
/console groundeffectdist 70
/console smallcull 0
/console skycloudlod 0
/console characterAmbient 0
/console extshadowquality 0
/console environmentDetail 1

LOWEST: - Equiv to Classic WoW / TBC
/console overridefarclip 0
/console farclip 777
/console horizonfarclip 2112
/console groundeffectdensity 32
/console groundeffectdist 35
/console smallcull 0
/console skycloudlod 0
/console characterAmbient 0
/console extshadowquality 0
/console environmentDetail 0.5

Additional Tweaks:
-ENGINE-
m2Faster - Adds additional threads used in rendering models on screen (0 no additon threads, 1 - 3 adds additional threads)
Note: If you have a Duel Core or Quad Core System (Multi Processor too) this will show an increase in performance in situations with lots of models and players/npcs on screen.
[MaeNote: That's thread per core. Three additional threads is for a quad-core/cpu PC!

-SHADERS-
ffx - Global Shader Control (0 disables all on screen effects, 1 enables them)
ffxRectangle - Renders effects on a rectangle based polygon (0 for Off, 1 for On)
ffxGlow - Bloom/Screen Glow and Underwater Wave effect (0 for Off, 1 for On)
ffxDeath - Death World Screen Glow, Greyish Blue (0 for Off, 1 for On)
ffxNetherworld - Mage Invis Spell Effect (0 for Off, 1 for On)
ffxSpecial - Borean Tundra or DK Starter Area Eye Haze (0 for Off, 1 for On)

fixedfunction - This forces the pixel shares in the game to run on the 1.1 path. (1 for FF Shaders, 0 for Programable Shaders)
For some older machines they will receive a decent speed boost.

hwPCF - Enables a more efficient method for rendering extShadow effects. (0 for Off, 1 for On)

Example usage is:
/console ffxNetherworld 0

Side Note - What does CharacterAmbient do?

/console CharacterAmbient
0 = Default basic ambient lighting on characters.
0.1 - 1.0 controls how bright this ambient lighting is.
1.0 is equiv to when you click a character and they fully highlight.
No Value disables all character model ambient lighting so when they do light up from an external light source it looks far better and not washed out.
No Value tweak was disabled in 8905 and 0 up works now. :/

Multiple chat boxes.

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:49:25 -0700

Guess who. No really, guess. It's Aeonar! Here to help hopefully ease the minds of some people who are having a tough time keeping up with Chat, Barrens, Adult, Whispers, Party Chat, and their RP. I had someone ask today about multi-chat-boxing, something i've found quite useful in the past. Here you go, a handy little guide. Cue the intro music!

Step one, you want to right-click your current chat window until a tab appears at the top. Right click that tab, and go down to select "New chat window". Follow the steps, naming and whatnot. Right click your chat box again, and this time, drag and drop the new chat window to somewhere.

Step two! Right click your shiny new chat window, and right click the tab again. From there, click "Settings", and select/deselect which channels you want to be in. Chat, barrens, and whatnot. Don't forget to select/deselect whispers, says, yells, party, and anything else, so your two chat windows have no overlap channel-wise. Do the same to your original channel as well. Also, as an added touch, change the color of your chat channels, for spice.

Congratulations! You now can discuss Sandvich, lolcats, lazors, turkey necks, and even the price of tea in China, all without leaving the comfort of your RP, or asking people in Chat or Barrens to shush the fork up. Enjoy!

Oh, you want an example. Fine, fine. Any questions, feel free to ask. Hope this helped! */bow*

This is Your Responsibility to the Server You Love.

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:25:49 -0700

Getting fed up with OOC chatter in /Say while you're trying to RP? Are you ignored when you ask people to stop spamming in /LFG or /Chat? Godmoding? Have people been flat-out rude to you OOC'ly?

You can do something about it. Here it is:

Step one: Make sure it's clear. Dragging the upper or lower border of your chat pane will make it larger, so it will fit more text. Get as much of the incident in one shot as you can. You can also change the background opacity by right-clicking the tab and going to the little box that shows the color of the pane. A solid background is easier to read.

Step two: Screen shot it. Usually this is done with the "Print Screen" button on your keyboard. (Sometimes it says "Prnt Scrn" instead.) It's usually located next to F12. Make sure you know where it is! If it doesn't take the shot, check your WoW keyboard bindings. Take multiple shots if you need to.

A note: Make sure you do this as SOON as you can. We all know how unreliable the internet and computer programs can be, and if you're disconnected, you loose the chance to go back and screen shot it.

Step three: Upload the image to an image hosting service. Photobucket is a reliable service, and gives you little links under each image. Click the link that says IMG, and it will automatically copy the BBC code for forums like this. Just paste (Ctrl+V), and boom, your image is inserted.

Step four: PM it to a GM. Any GM. It doesn't matter which one you send it to, because, as mentioned in other threads, they all talk to each other. If anyone needs help with the PM system, just say so, and I'll post instructions for that, too. If you're too shy to send it to a GM, send it to me and I'll do it for you. The current active GMs (as you should address the PM) are Kretol, Rensin, and Grakor456.

If you think you're the only one annoyed: Send it anyway. You're not.

If you think someone else may have reported it: Send it anyway. You may have part of the conversation they don't.

If you think a player will be mad at you: Send it anyway. That's their problem.

If you think a GM will be mad at you: Send it anyway. They won't.

If you think you're not going to make a difference: Send it anyway. You will.

So why am I doing this? Because I'm sick and tired of it, and I know you are, too. We talk about the GM's responsibilities and powers, but in the end, THEY WILL NOT BAN WITHOUT A REASON. We need to let them know when stuff happens. We need to say something when we realize that the will to RP, which is WHAT WE CAME TO THIS SERVER TO DO, is sucked away by a bunch of snarky high school locker room attitudes.

Graphics Enhancement Macro

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:57:52 -0700

(From WorldofRaids)

Gfx enhancement macro: WoW will look better

Some players found a way to improve WoW graphics by manipulating several console commands. The following macro will do the job:

/console farclip 777
/console horizonfarclip 6226
/console groundeffectdensity 256
/console groundeffectdist 140
/console smallcull 0
/console skycloudlod 3
/console characterambient 0

You have to restart WoW for some of the effects to be used.

What does this do?

Ã¢Â€Â¢ The vegetation can be seen from miles away (grass flowers etc) plus there seems to be FAR more of it.
Ã¢Â€Â¢ The "bloom" effect seems to be more vivid.
Ã¢Â€Â¢ The view distance is greatly increased.
Ã¢Â€Â¢ Everything seems to be more sharp and crisp.
Ã¢Â€Â¢ The weather effects appear to be more intense.

Check here for the full post, including screenshot examples.

However depending on your hardware you might encounter some fps issues (low framerates), so here is the macro to revert the changes (you can also go to video options and pull all the detail options to minimum):

/console groundEffectDensity 16
/console groundEffectDist 1
/console horizonfarclip 1305
/console farclip 177
/console characterAmbient 1
/console smallcull 1
/console skycloudlod 1
/console detailDoodadAlpha 1