Hacking World of Warcraft (ExtremeTech) by Daniel Gilbert, James Whitehead II
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Book Reviews of Hacking World of Warcraft (ExtremeTech)
Book Review: Great Book
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is wonderful. I tried for months on end to try and self teach off of various websites on how to properly write .lua code and XML for addons. I finally broke down and purchased this book and it has helped leaps and bounds over anything I learned on various websites because it teaches from the ground level up. The first section of the book is perfect for someone who is just starting WoW or just starting to explore various WoW Addons. The second section is geared more towards people like me who are just starting to or want to learn how to create their own addons for the game. If you are new to programming or even new to writing .lua and XML scripts I recommend you purchasing this book.Book Review: Great Book to learn of about WoW mods
Summary: 5 Stars
I myself had been using mods for some time, but Dan explained a lot I never knew, and right from the beginning he quoted Blizzards opinion on using mods in World of Warcraft.I recommend this book to anyone at any stage of using mods.
And if you want to make your own mods to use in WoW, there is many chapters that cover that.....along with making two of your own mods.
So, not only has he and his co-author made some wonderful mods for a great game, but they have also made a fine book together!
Book Review: Dated - but still terrific!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
By its very nature, this sort of material is dated by the time it can go to press. That being said, the authors have done an exemplary job of providing material that covers lasting principles, and not specifics that will be immediately invalidated. In addition, supporting material on-line is fresh and regularly updated. A solid 5 stars!Book Review: Warlock
Summary: 5 Stars
Pretty simple guide really, just needs one line of text:
Roll a Warlock
am i rite?
Book Review: A Review from Chris Davies, Creator of the AtlasLoot Addon
Summary: 4 Stars
If you are seeing this book in a shop somewhere, pay close attention to the 'Whom this book is for' section in the introduction. It is not for the advanced user who is already creating mods or maintains a large library of addons for themselves. It is for the person who had a couple of addons, but wants to involve themselves further in the modding scene. It is for the user that has plenty of mods, but wants to know what some of the contents means so that they can start tinkering. It is for the person who e-mails people like Dan and myself saying 'Hi. I have downloaded your mod, what do I do now?'.
The book is of a fair length, enough to cover a lot of ground, but short enough to be to the point. It is laid out really well, with the first half more or less dedicated to various mods, what they do and where to get them and the second half dedicated to how to make addons, a simple example and a more complex secure frame example. There is also a really good section explaining the macro system implemented with the Burning Crusade in some depth.
The selection of mods in the first half is quite good, covering how to install and configure the most popular mods around as well as a few really handy mods that might not be so well known. Of particular interest to me and what really impressed me the most was how up-to-date the book was. For example, it deals with the issue in Patch 2.1 of error messages being hidden by default and how to re-enable them if you want to. It also describes what I believe to be the proper procedure for tracking down addon bugs and when and how to report them to the author concerned.
My only criticism I guess is that Chapter 15 probably could have been expanded a little bit. It wasn't immediately obvious early in the chapter (to me anyway, only ever having played a DPS class seriously) where the FocusFrame example mod was going, but once you get into the code a little it is an excellent example of the power of secure frames. The chapter covers quite a tricky area that a number of experience addon devs struggle with, and I think the explanation of the concepts is good. The fact that you come out of it with a non-trival, useful mod is a huge bonus.
In summary, the book is a great overview of the state of play with WoW addons. Most advanced users would know a lot of it already from their own tinkering or collection of mods, this book isn't really for you. For the mainstream WoW player though, it is excellent.
Reposted with permission.