PB4 and Aura Monitoring Questions

[Leogun]

Been having difficulty trying to make a few minor adjustments in PB4.

Is there a way to darken the color of health color text? I know that there are modules for setting the bar colors but I can't figure out how to adjust text the same way. Can it be done through LUA?

Anyone got LUA code for adjusting the power color automatically from one class to another? I can't seem to find a decent function to handle this.

Also, I was wondering if anyone knows of an addon that filters auras into a frame independent of subject (enemy debuffs and player buffs into one frame) and uses icons. Basically the functionality of NeedToKnow with the output of Satrina's Buff Frames.

[Dreador]

Also, I was wondering if anyone knows of an addon that filters auras into a frame independent of subject (enemy debuffs and player buffs into one frame) and uses icons. Basically the functionality of NeedToKnow with the output of Satrina's Buff Frames.

SBF can do that on it's own, no? Just use target as the frame and it will put both buffs and debuffs if you set it...but setting it to player buffs and enemy debuffs would be impossible if I understood correctly.

[Quinafoi]

SBF can do that on it's own, no? Just use target as the frame and it will put both buffs and debuffs if you set it...but setting it to player buffs and enemy debuffs would be impossible if I understood correctly.

Player buffs and target debuffs isn't possible to have in a single group because each group is assigned one unit id to use. However, you can anchor two separate groups together I believe if that's how you want it set up, thus making it so player buffs appear next to target debuffs.

[Satrina]

You can't anchor frames together in 3.1. That's a feature of 3.2 which I am starting coding on this week, so beta should be opening in a few weeks.

[Quinafoi]

Ah my mistake then. If you want to use anchoring today you could try using ElkBuffBars instead. That I know you can anchor multiple groups together of different types. Or you have to wait for Satrina's next version.

[Leogun]

Ah my mistake then. If you want to use anchoring today you could try using ElkBuffBars instead. That I know you can anchor multiple groups together of different types. Or you have to wait for Satrina's next version.

I'll try Elk's to see how that works in the meantime, thanks for the info. I guess no one else is as finicky about that text color bit as me though

[Dreador]

You can't anchor frames together in 3.1. That's a feature of 3.2 which I am starting coding on this week, so beta should be opening in a few weeks.

Dying for this!

[Satrina]

Well, in the current version you could always define a frame for target debuffs and one for your buffs, and use buff flowing to run one into the other for a unified display. I have to admit to not seeing at all why you'd want to display your buffs and your target's debuffs in such close proximity to each other, though. Or why you'd have all of your buffs in a single frame for that matter.

[Quinafoi]

It makes an odd sort of sense with certain specs. For example a balance druid it makes sense to see player buffs and target debuffs mixed (not entirely). The balance rotation is determined by current debuffs applied and the Eclipse buff. By placing the player buff Eclipse in with the target debuffs it reduces eye movement required when doing your standard rotation. This is why addons like Squawk and Awe actually display them together as well. Balance DPS is a prime example of why you would want to do it.

[Dreador]

It makes an odd sort of sense with certain specs. For example a balance druid it makes sense to see player buffs and target debuffs mixed (not entirely). The balance rotation is determined by current debuffs applied and the Eclipse buff. By placing the player buff Eclipse in with the target debuffs it reduces eye movement required when doing your standard rotation. This is why addons like Squawk and Awe actually display them together as well. Balance DPS is a prime example of why you would want to do it.

Works sort of like Sword and Board or Bloodsurge then, no?

[Quinafoi]

Works sort of like Sword and Board or Bloodsurge then, no?

Kinda. Your rotation is party determined by the debuffs on your target, you want to keep them up with different priorities on each but it is also based off of you gaining a buff that makes certain abilities more desirable to use, like Slam in the case of Sword and Board. Now say your Sword and Board buff was way off in the corner of your screen where as your target debuffs are right in the middle by the target frame. Because you have to look way off to the side (your eyes have to move more) you're more likely to miss that information vital to your rotation. Where as if that information appears all in the same place in your UI, you are looking in one set place to determine what the heck do I push next. It reduces the chances of you missing that information.

Sword and Board though you likely have a special monitor for anyway to put that informaton where it is easily visible. For example in my UI (a little out of date picture) Eclipse appears in 3 locations. It appears in my player combat buffs (above player frame) and it also appears mirrored on the debuffs of my target. The third place is just the cooldown monitor which is a verticle SexyCooldown bar in the middle.
UI_20100125.jpg

By looking at just the debuff section of the UI I can determine that my next cast will be another Starfire, however I can only cast one more Starfire before the Eclipse would have less duration than my cast time. After that Starfire my priority would shift to renewing Insect Swarm (this is prior to 3.3.3 when Insect Swarm was still a high priority cast). I get all that information by looking at just one section of the UI, that's why I put both the buff and the and target debuffs together.

This is a reason why you want to sometimes show player buffs in the same place as target debuffs. Because both are used in figuring out your next cast... and the cast after that... and so on. By having it all in one place you don't have your eyes jumping accross to different places on the screen looking for info.

It does however have a odd side effect however... because that bar above the target frame is a "player" buff, it will show even if there isn't a target selected. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to making a slight modifcation to the buff bars so that it will only display that bar if I have a target selected.

[Leogun]

Well, in the current version you could always define a frame for target debuffs and one for your buffs, and use buff flowing to run one into the other for a unified display. I have to admit to not seeing at all why you'd want to display your buffs and your target's debuffs in such close proximity to each other, though. Or why you'd have all of your buffs in a single frame for that matter.

What I'm trying to create is a UI element to monitor the 3 debuffs (major armor reduction, attack power reduction, attack speed reduction) and 1 buff (health) that I bring to the raid as a prot warrior. I'm not particularly interested in every instance of these but more that at least one of each is active and, in some cases, insuring the most powerful version is up (other details I can generally derive based on these). That's what I've been using NeedToKnow for, since it allows me to set each bar within in window to track a set of (de)buffs and different bars can have different targets within one window. My personal preference is to use icons w/ omnicc rather than bars though, so that was what I have been looking for.

[Satrina]

This is pretty close to how my UI looked when I stopped raiding: http://i44.tinypic.com/1196ka1.jpg

As you can see, my buffs are pretty much split all over. Up beside the minimap are auras. Across the top in nice big icons are my debuffs - you can see Impale on me there. The mostly transparent stack to left and right are pretty evident, just two small frames that filter stuff that is important to know about on me (left) and my target (right). Just above my target frame is a buff frame with 8 slots that filters all of the short duration buffs that I care about knowing when they go up (weapon procs, heroism, etc.) Below the unit frame is all of the debuffs on my target (because I was one of the raid leaders; most people probably don't care to see them all.) Bottom left stack is all buffs on me.

Just a view of an alternate setup for the same idea.

[Dreador]

I do enjoy your shout icons and target debuffs, I might implement that one. SBF is probably the best addon I have in my folder.

[Dreador]

nvm