1. Posted by Trebot on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:05:51

    I want to document my troubles with this book and the programs that are supposed to be companions to it as a heads up to other people considering purchasing this book.

    The book is a good one. It is well written and informative. The problem is that it has chapters devoted to working with a couple of programs that are companions to this book, WowLua and Addon Studio for Wow, and it seems there isn't much support for these programs.

    First, I followed a link in the book that pointed to this website to download WowLua. The link took me to a page that said the node no longer existed, whatever that means. I was able to cruise around the site and find the appropriate place to get WowLua, and I understand that links change. But why did I get to a page wth an error instead of a page that redirects me to the right page?

    When I am finally able to download WowLua, it doesn't work, see my previous post. Ah well, many people seem to have no problem, so I chalk it up to my pc and write a post on this forum. But when I click my post to check it, my post is full of html code like </P>. Huh? So, the book points me to an error, the downloaded program doesn't work, and the forum jumbles up my post asking for help. Sheesh!

    I'll just move on to downloading the next program the book tells me to, Addon Studio for Wow. Except I have nothing but problems with that too. While it installed fine, when I try to open up a new project and click "Basic Warcraft Addon" I get "Requested registry access is not allowed". Went to the forums for wow addon studio and people had posted about this problem 6 months ago and no one yet has offered a solution. In fact the last post on this error was in June.

    I am not a person who usually complains and I understand that problems can arise for certain customers. But every step of the way with this book and programs has been a major fail. As a customer, I feel like my money was taken, tyvm, but all support for the book has stopped. This isn't like I'm upset about a free addon slipping. In that case the authors are working for free in their spare time. In this case however, I paid good money, and when the book has chapters that require accompanying software, I expect that software to actually work.

    Now, can I get some help please ;)

  2. Posted by jnwhiteh on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:08:47

    I want to document my troubles with this book and the programs that are supposed to be companions to it as a heads up to other people considering purchasing this book.

    The book is a good one. It is well written and informative. The problem is that it has chapters devoted to working with a couple of programs that are companions to this book, WowLua and Addon Studio for Wow, and it seems there isn't much support for these programs.

    There's an amazing amount of support for WowLua.. but your post was less than 12 hours ago and I'm only one person that shockingly needs to sleep =).

    First, I followed a link in the book that pointed to this website to download WowLua. The link took me to a page that said the node no longer existed, whatever that means. I was able to cruise around the site and find the appropriate place to get WowLua, and I understand that links change. But why did I get to a page wth an error instead of a page that redirects me to the right page?

    Because its an error that needs to be fixed. Again, I'm the only person who is providing any support on this site in any way shape or form and I have lots of things going on in my personal and professional life.

    When I am finally able to download WowLua, it doesn't work, see my previous post. Ah well, many people seem to have no problem, so I chalk it up to my pc and write a post on this forum. But when I click my post to check it, my post is full of html code like </P>. Huh? So, the book points me to an error, the downloaded program doesn't work, and the forum jumbles up my post asking for help. Sheesh!

    You unzipped the file wrong. Your post contained XML code that wasn't escaped using the 'code' button at the top of the editor. The forums (again) are maintained only by me and I have limited time. I can either be here answering questions and doing work.. or trying to fix all the issues. I cannot manage to do all of them at the same time.

    I'll just move on to downloading the next program the book tells me to, Addon Studio for Wow. Except I have nothing but problems with that too. While it installed fine, when I try to open up a new project and click "Basic Warcraft Addon" I get "Requested registry access is not allowed". Went to the forums for wow addon studio and people had posted about this problem 6 months ago and no one yet has offered a solution. In fact the last post on this error was in June.

    WoW Addon Studio was a single chapter. I would not recommend using it. It's changed since we wrote that chapter, and things don't match up. That's not our software, you would need to contact them for support, as the chapter indicates.

    I am not a person who usually complains and I understand that problems can arise for certain customers. But every step of the way with this book and programs has been a major fail. As a customer, I feel like my money was taken, tyvm, but all support for the book has stopped. This isn't like I'm upset about a free addon slipping. In that case the authors are working for free in their spare time. In this case however, I paid good money, and when the book has chapters that require accompanying software, I expect that software to actually work.

    Your experience is incredibly limited. Your expectations are a bit off:

    • I apologize for the difficulty downloading WoWLua. The addon most certainly works and is up to date, however.
    • There is no other software. Everything else is contained within the book itself. The only reason WoW Addon Studio was there is an example. We make this quite clear in the book.
    • I am working for free and in my spare time.

    Now, can I get some help please ;)

    Of course, that's why I am here... I'm providing help.

  3. Posted by Trebot on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:34:50

    First thank you for the quick reply. I do appreciate it. Having re-read my post I apologize greatly for the tone. I was very frustrated trying to get the programs referenced in this book to work. I do not have an axe to grind or anything like that. Having said that I do believe most of my concerns were legitimate.

    In regards to WowLua, you say I unzipped the files incorrectly. I routinely unzip files and know how to do this. I have downloaded and unzipped literally thousands of zip files from thousands of websites in my life. I read the in-game lua error and noted it was related to fonts. The first thing I did was reopen the zip file and look for something related to fonts. There was nothing. The problem was on the first download the zip file did not contain the font folder or the image folder. I can't explain it and I am not blaming anyone for this. It could of been an error with my pc on downloading. However in this forum on Sept 9th jodyblau reported strange problems with downloaded zip files being corrupted in which you personally responded "There is something really screwy going on." That said I will readily admit that I should have tried a second download again before posting here.

    The problem of your link in the book pointing to an error page is also not a problem unique to me. On June 2nd, jack33b reported the exact same error I had. So did hoingaz on Sept 5th.

    In regards to addon studio, you point out (rightly) that it is not your software. However I would suggest that if an entire chapter of your book is about getting and using the software, and it is listed first under your Helper Applications section of the utilities page, then it should be expected that customers are going to try to get it and use it. Letting your customers know in the link description or on the forums that you don't even recommend using it anymore would be a huge time saver. Installing this program can take hours and if it doesn't work there are many fixes and patches the authors want you to try out to get it to work. It is a very frustrating process for a program you say to avoid anyway.

    My posts were jumbled because I didn't use the code button. I did not know about that feature of the editor or how it worked. My fault. I have never encountered this before when posting on any other forum. Of course, I am new to programming so maybe this is a common practice on programming forums and maybe I'm just a noob :)

    I understand your time is limited and I appreciate your efforts. That said, I respectfully disagree that maintaining this website is being done for free when it is touted as a companion to a book sold for profit. As a potential paying customer I viewed this website as a selling point for the book.

    One last thing. This book is extremely well written. I have read the other book by the author whose name rhymes with Smaul Smemmerich ;) I personally find that your book is much easier to follow and I love the large reference section.

  4. Posted by jnwhiteh on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:43:17

    First thank you for the quick reply. I do appreciate it. Having re-read my post I apologize greatly for the tone. I was very frustrated trying to get the programs referenced in this book to work. I do not have an axe to grind or anything like that. Having said that I do believe most of my concerns were legitimate.

    In regards to WowLua, you say I unzipped the files incorrectly. I routinely unzip files and know how to do this. I have downloaded and unzipped literally thousands of zip files from thousands of websites in my life. I read the in-game lua error and noted it was related to fonts. The first thing I did was reopen the zip file and look for something related to fonts. There was nothing. The problem was on the first download the zip file did not contain the font folder or the image folder. I can't explain it and I am not blaming anyone for this. It could of been an error with my pc on downloading. However in this forum on Sept 9th jodyblau reported strange problems with downloaded zip files being corrupted in which you personally responded "There is something really screwy going on." That said I will readily admit that I should have tried a second download again before posting here.

    That issue was fixed a while ago, and the link to WoWLua goes to wowinterface.com which is a highly reputable addon site. I'm sorry it didn't have the Fonts folder.. but I can assure you the folder has been there, for years.

    The problem of your link in the book pointing to an error page is also not a problem unique to me. On June 2nd, jack33b reported the exact same error I had. So did hoingaz on Sept 5th.

    I never once even remotely indicated it was a problem unique to you. Tell me the specific link you are trying to go to and I will make every effort to get it fixed.

    In regards to addon studio, you point out (rightly) that it is not your software. However I would suggest that if an entire chapter of your book is about getting and using the software, and it is listed first under your Helper Applications section of the utilities page, then it should be expected that customers are going to try to get it and use it. Letting your customers know in the link description or on the forums that you don't even recommend using it anymore would be a huge time saver. Installing this program can take hours and if it doesn't work there are many fixes and patches the authors want you to try out to get it to work. It is a very frustrating process for a program you say to avoid anyway.

    Many people do not have the same experiences you do. I'll update the verbiage on that page, however.

    My posts were jumbled because I didn't use the code button. I did not know about that feature of the editor or how it worked. My fault. I have never encountered this before when posting on any other forum. Of course, I am new to programming so maybe this is a common practice on programming forums and maybe I'm just a noob :)

    I understand your time is limited and I appreciate your efforts. That said, I respectfully disagree that maintaining this website is being done for free when it is touted as a companion to a book sold for profit. As a potential paying customer I viewed this website as a selling point for the book.

    None of that changes the amount of time I have available. The API reference (which is the absolutely primary companion touted in the book) absolutely and 100% works.

    One last thing. This book is extremely well written. I have read the other book by the author whose name rhymes with Smaul Smemmerich ;) I personally find that your book is much easier to follow and I love the large reference section.

    Thanks, I really appreciate it. Hopefully I can find some time in my day to get some of these issues resolved, so please be patient. Just because things don't work precisely as you'd expect them doesn't mean they are broken.. just not as well developed as they could be.