Curse

Welcome to another World of Warcraft add-on spotlight! Today we're covering WhereIs, by halcinlatsmir.

The Addon

On your perilous journeys across distant lands, have you ever ran out of goods, but didn't know where to get them? Have you ever wondered where was the nearest flight master or repairing vendor? Or maybe you just wanted to buy some booze! If this has ever happened to you, then you should stop wondering and start asking WhereIs what you're looking for.

WhereIs is an add-on that knows where you can find any important NPC or location. That includes entrances to dungeons, trainers, transportation, mailboxes,… Anything that does not move.

Take notice that, for getting the add-on to work for the first time, you will need to install WhereIs Update. This add-on contains a database of all key locations for WhereIs to use, and should be updated on new expansions or patches which provide new content. Afterwords, login and type /wi update in the chat.

Interview

We also had the opportunity to have a chat with the current add-on's developer, halcinlatsmir:

How did you come-up with the idea for WhereIs? Do you tend to get lost?
How can I get lost when I have a map? I know where I am, it's everyone else that's lost!
I noticed that in various chat channels one question kept being asked: "Where is.....?".  Just like the real world; outside of cities, finding that one vendor can be tricky.  And you can end up travelling miles because you only know of one spot that has the thing you want

What do you find it most useful for?

On a daily bases, I use the transport options the most.  Get to the nearest taxi, then I can make a cuppa while my toon is flying.
I never expected the addon to be in constant use. The real value only comes when you are looking for something out of the ordinary.  You want to do something different and so go to a new zone, but end up spending the time trying to find where everything is.

How do you manage to sustain a database of all key locations?

I knew from day one that an accurate database would be essential.  I quickly decided that trying to import the information would be a bad idea.  The only other way to get the information I needed was from the game it's self.  And so WhereIs is designed with automation in mind.  Whenever possible the addon will update the database it's self.
Now the initial data gathering phase is close to completion, I will only need to release data updates when there are changes to the game I've not been able to automate.

Did you come across any problems during development?

I've had two main problems with development. Firstly, I'm new to Lua and tables. Understanding their flexibility and impact on performance has taken up a lot of time.  Some things never change - I can remember doing garbage collection on my TRS-80.
Also, trying to automate the database maintenance functions is a big problem for me.  For example, it's easy to know when a player is using a mailbox, but I've not found a secure way of identifying a mailbox created by MOLL-E.

Could you tell us about any other mods you are working on, or planned for the future?

I have some ideas for new addons, but that's as far as it's got. It seems fashionable for software to be in permanent beta phase. But I think many users don't want to be constantly updating. So, at the moment, I want to concentrate on my existing addons. Get them “finished” before I start something completely new.

 Thank you to halcinlatsmir for answering our questions and developing this add-on.