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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsBlizzard to break the AVR mod in Patch 3.3.5
by Fox Van Allen 
May 20th 2010 at 5:00PM
Blizzard poster Bashiok broke the news of AVR's impending demise, citing its invasive nature and the fact that it takes away from the need for on-the-spot decision making:
Bashiok -- AVR Mod Broken in 3.3.5This is a notice that we're making changes in 3.3.5 in attempts to break the ability for the AVR (Augmented Virtual Reality) mod to continue functioning. For those unaware, this mod allows players to draw in the 3D space of the game world, which can then be shared with others who are also using the mod. In some cases this manifests itself through drawing/tagging/defa
The full announcement after the break.
Bashiok -- AVR Mod Broken in 3.3.5This is a notice that we're making changes in 3.3.5 in attempts to break the ability for the AVR (Augmented Virtual Reality) mod to continue functioning. For those unaware, this mod allows players to draw in the 3D space of the game world, which can then be shared with others who are also using the mod. In some cases this manifests itself through drawing/tagging/defa
We're making this change for two reasons. The invasive nature of a mod altering and/or interacting with the game world (virtually or directly) is not intended and not something we will allow. World of Warcraft UI addons are never intended to interact with the game world itself. This is mirrored in our stance and restriction of model and texture alterations. The second reason is that it removes too much player reaction and decision-making while facing dungeon and raid encounters. While some other mods also work to this end, we find that AVR and the act of visualizing strategy within the game world simply goes beyond what we're willing to allow.
The change we're making in attempts to break the functionality is light in its touch and approach. When blocking any functionality we run the risk of affecting other mods, but we've targeted the changes as carefully as possible. If we find that the AVR mod (or any mod attempting to replicate its functions) are usable after 3.3.5 we will take further, more drastic steps.
We're making this change for two reasons. The invasive nature of a mod altering and/or interacting with the game world (virtually or directly) is not intended and not something we will allow. World of Warcraft UI addons are never intended to interact with the game world itself. This is mirrored in our stance and restriction of model and texture alterations. The second reason is that it removes too much player reaction and decision-making while facing dungeon and raid encounters. While some other mods also work to this end, we find that AVR and the act of visualizing strategy within the game world simply goes beyond what we're willing to allow.
The change we're making in attempts to break the functionality is light in its touch and approach. When blocking any functionality we run the risk of affecting other mods, but we've targeted the changes as carefully as possible. If we find that the AVR mod (or any mod attempting to replicate its functions) are usable after 3.3.5 we will take further, more drastic steps.
Reaction to the news will surely be mixed -- there are plenty of purists who feel that AVR's very existence goes against what Warcraft is supposed to be about, and there are plenty of people who find AVR an invaluable tool that does little more than enhance their playing experience.
What's your reaction to the news? Did Blizzard go too far, or were they right in stamping out a blight on the World of Warcraft?
Filed under: Blizzard, News items, Add-Ons
Reader Comments (Page 8 of 14)
Hnetu Matakai May 20th 2010 5:59PM
Well, this saves me from having to download another mod to get into raids. I'm good with stuff like DBM because honestly if I had a photographic or somesuch memory I'd have all the boss abilities memorized anyways (that is, down to the timing and cooldowns), but AVR is a bit much...
Lageno May 20th 2010 5:59PM
Aw, I liked this with Totem Radius. I can totally see why they would take it out for raids though.
Banarax May 20th 2010 6:01PM
Glad it's gone, but never used it before.
Used to use DMB, but I know all the heroic RDF fights now.
Still never raided.
I think the perfect way to deal with this is to have a Super Mario Brothers "easy" mode that teaches you the fight. As well as common sense to "not stand in the fire".
One of my favorite mods was the "Auto-Travel" addon that let you pick a point and travel to there, as long as you set waypoints along the way. I had the entire overworld mapped, and used it to grab a drink or start cooking some food while I had the 6 minute ghost jog back to my corpse. They canned that, and I lived. They can this, and I - as well as everyone - can live.
WoW grows, don't be resistant to change. Just learn to play the game better.
Banarax May 20th 2010 6:07PM
(Ironically, I can't log in - what the hell is going on with this site)
But I meant DBM, not DMB. Before anyone corrects me. :P
Pyromelter May 20th 2010 6:10PM
'have a Super Mario Brothers "easy" mode'
I like how people invoke Mario as if it was some kind of simplistic easy game. Mario games can be freakin hard man. A Mario mode to me would be like super-ultra-heroic-insane-hardmode.
CDave May 20th 2010 8:27PM
He's talking about the feature in New Super Mario Bros on the Wii that shows you how to do the level if you die too much.
Numb May 20th 2010 10:51PM
aka, watching encounter videos on any of a million various wow strat sites.
Don May 20th 2010 6:16PM
Well, as long as they don't make any other fight mechanics like Malleable Goo, then AVR won't be needed anyway. Goo behavior just a really cruddy encounter design, and thankfully someone made an add-on to get around the RNGhey of it, too bad the mechanic will stay but the add-on will be leaving, thankfully the ICC buff will probably be so big by the time they break AVR that you can brute force Heroic PP anyway.
Nadi May 20th 2010 7:21PM
Malleable Goo wasn't cruddy, it was /hard/. It's just like the rockets from the Mimiron encounter or the stalactites from Hodir but for the /lack/ of a neatly defined circle indicating where the danger would be.
This is why DBM doesn't create the stir that AVRe does: Goo and Rockets are handled in exactly the same way by DBM ("oh god oh god, you idiot RUN!"), so DBM provides enhancement in proportion to the difficulty of the projectile. >>AVRe, on the other hand, reduces the difficulty of Goo to that of Rockets
Nadi May 20th 2010 7:24PM
(...and it cut off the last part of my reply. Yeargh.)
...This makes Goo a laughably easy annoyance (as rockets were in Mim) rather than a core mechanic of the fight, as they are meant to be in Putricide.
Avan May 20th 2010 6:13PM
Huh? AVR doesn't actually draw on the game world. From what I understand, it takes the angle of the camera and the position of the player and puts an image on the screen. That image is then stretched and positioned accordingly to mimic a projection. It's an ingenious use of data that is readily available to the client.
I think in order for Blizzard to prevent an addon like this from functioning ever again, they would have to prevent the client from being able retrieve information about the player's position and their camera, and/or restrict the ability for the client to draw/redraw/position images on the screen.
All in all, AVR wouldn't be so popular if Blizzard gave players a way to communicate locations in game better. There's what, 3 colors of smoke flares? And they only last 5 minutes? There needs to be more colors of flares, they need to last longer, and they need to have a longer range. Bam, problem solved.
PeeWee May 20th 2010 6:18PM
...or people just need to learn to start thinking for themselves.
Phelps May 20th 2010 6:21PM
Or, Blizzard could start tuning encounters around having everyone play their class instead of playing "when the boss makes this sound get to this exact spot in 8.3 ms or everyone wipes."
Avan May 20th 2010 6:59PM
@PeeWee:
Uhh, no. Thinking for yourself will not solve a strategy, nor will it communicate the strategy.
Think about this for a moment (no cheating, you've got to think of it yourself): How do you tell people where you want them to stand without a visual aid? Take your time and figure that one out.
Time's up!
It would take far more time for a raid leader to describe the floor or the surrounding area than it would to toss a few flares out and denote that.
See, Blizzard provides a few smoke flares for players to use, but the flares don't allow for a wide selection of indicators. Red, White, Green, Purple, those are the only colors you have available to you. Those flares only stay on the ground for 5 minutes after they land, so what happens if the fight takes longer than that? If someone has to AFK for a moment before the pull? If setting up your array of flares takes awhile (remember, 5 second cooldown between each flare!).
Longer duration on the flares, more colors, and a shorter cooldown between uses would solve the problem the AVR addresses: Communicating locations and positions.
theRaptor May 20th 2010 9:00PM
@Phelps
Because fighting a target dummy is hard? Maxxing out your DPS/heals/threat is easy. The only thing that makes raiding a challenge is having to avoid boss abilities. There is a reason tank and spank fights are regarded as loot pinatas. Oh, and I raid on Australian ping (400ms-600ms) and can do fine.
PeeWee May 21st 2010 9:13AM
Voice-chat, alrady provided in-game. Any other no-brainer questions you feel the need to humiliate yourself by asking?
Avan May 21st 2010 3:19PM
@PeeWee:
Voice chat isn't going to solve the problem. Going over strategy would take much longer if the raid leader has to describe the location on the floor.
"Mage, stand at the right most side of the door frame, move forward 8 yards, then turn clockwise ninety degrees, and move forward 6 yards. You should then be standing on top of the floor pattern where the top skull has three eyes instead of two, but where the bottom skull is missing an eye. Look towards the boss and step half a yard forwards. You'll be in the perfect spot to hit Frost Nova when the adds spawn."
Yeah, that'll be fun. That won't take several seconds (it took me just over 25 seconds to read aloud) to explain. Multiply that however many special positions you have, and that's a long time explaining positions.
Fact: In the time it took me to read that paragraph aloud, I could have thrown 5 smoke flares out.
Redielin May 20th 2010 6:25PM
Yes this mod went too far. Yes this is a good change.
This mod is far more powerful, and far more intrusive than things like DBM.
DBM tells you who and when, it does not tell you where. If you have DBM, the responsibility for raid movement is still on the player, not an addon. It just democratizes reaction time a little. It makes it so even people with the reaction times of mere mortals can learn to raid. WOW has never been about twitch gaming (which is probably good for an internet based game). You shouldn't be punished for lag, and twitch gaming can do that, at least indirectly. THe player must still react correctly, and there are some things that must be coordinated manually.
AVR goes too far. It democratizes movement and coordination, which essentially trivializes raid movement. There's a reason everyone talks about "dont stand in fire". They like to make it sound like it is easy, but the reality is, on fights like Sindi or Sarth +3D, it is hard, and it is part of the challenge - getting everyone coordinated in their movements. AVR just trivializes those kind of encounters. Sure, DBM makes these encounters easier too, but AVR does so in a much more drastic fashion.
Its basically an argument over degrees - and Blizzard has decided that AVR just goes too far.
Chione May 20th 2010 6:34PM
I disagree. DBM does tell you where for some encounters.
The person targeted by malleable goo in the putricide fight will yell it out. AVR does the same thing, only with a circle on the ground.
Text vs. a graphic. It does the same thing.
With fights like Princes, it shows graphically if you are too close to someone instead of seeing a little box with people you are too close to.
Again, they serve the same function, they just portray the data in a different way.
imho, if Blizz thinks that the addon is going too far with it's "drawing" on the game world, fine. That's their decision. But to break it because it helps people to coordinate during boss encounters is silly.
Nadi May 20th 2010 7:49PM
@Choine: The data presentation is what this is all about. You're exactly right in suggesting that Blizzard is simply putting a limit on the ways in which we can present data to one another, but this is /not/ a small difference to be brushed off.
Consider:
Red, yellow, and green are used to convey the same data that top, middle, and bottom are for traffic lights. People don't say, "Stop at the top!" though. Why? Because color is a more effective way to present data than relative position. There would be a *lot* more accidents if relative position were the only indication of traffic status.
Blizzard is just saying that all we get is the in-game equivalent of relative position. We don't get both position and color, because that would convey the information /too/ clearly.