HitsMode5 is now in beta. Check out the new and improved HitsMode and help me iron out the bugs!
Click here to report an issue or request a new feature
Please do not use comments for bug reports.
What is HitsMode?
HitsMode is the premiere World of Warcraft combat log replacement. Boasting incredible power and flexibility, HitsMode completely transforms your combat log into readable, customizable text.
Features
- Separate your combat into up to four windows
- Colorize various parts of your combat log
- Show or hide unit names, spell names, and sentence structure
- Go with normal sentences or just the numbers
- Multiple text layout options
- Flags, color overlays, spell icons and raid icons let you see what's going on without a lot of text
- Powerful filters let you see only what you want to
- Personal combat summary counts your DPS, experience gained, and more
- Copy your settings from character to character or save multiple presets
- Integrated help system to get you started
Frequently asked questions
Why do I have little vertical lines or other graphical corruption in my combat log?
This is a long-standing bug in the WoW client rendering engine. Changing your resolution, turning on/off anti-aliasing, and other things will affect this. HitsMode doesn't cause the issue, but turning off Show Spell Icons will generally fix it.
Why does HitsMode use so much memory (especially during raids)?
HitsMode is an evolution of a very old code base, first created just a few months after WoW was released. It has grown by leaps and bounds over the years, with literally over 300 separate options at this point. Unfortunately, the add-on generates a great deal of "garbage" (programmer term for temporary memory used while processing). Additionally, algorithms such as early exit aren't used (this would lower processor usage if you've turned off a lot of the combat log). HitsMode requires a complete rewrite to solve these issues, and that process has begun (see HitsMode5). All the extra memory usage shouldn't impact your performance if you have a decent amount of RAM, so just ignore it. This is particularly bad during raids, which generate thousands of lines of combat log per second. There are a number of other things that just aren't going to happen without a full rewrite, including: simplifying the options system; supporting raids and parties better; integrating into the Blizzard interface options dialog; integrating with the Blizzard combat log filters; etc.
Why is this add-on named HitsMode?
The name HitsMode comes from the EverQuest /hitsmode command, which also allows you to configure your combat log.
Can HitsMode show timestamps, right align text, remove my chat window buttons, allow mouse wheel scrolling, change the font size of the combat log, allow my chat windows to be more resizable, etc?
No. HitsMode intentionally does not offer many chat related features. Please use a separate chat add-on like Prat or Chatter.
Why isn't the default Blizzard combat log going away?
HitsMode will not disable or hide the default Blizzard combat log. You can try hiding it yourself or docking it behind another chat window.
HitsMode is writing it's output to the Blizzard combat log window, but things aren't working properly!
I don't recommend putting HitsMode output in the Blizzard combat log (window #2). This can lead to unexpected behavior and is unsupported. HitsMode will allow you to do it, however.
For all other questions, please see the in-game knowledge base by opening the HitsMode options window and clicking the large ? icon.
Getting started
- Install HitsMode and login. You should see a message in your chat window that HitsMode loaded. If you don't see this message, the add-on hasn't loaded. Check your add-ons screen to make sure you haven't disabled it (this screen is available at character select).
- HitsMode is ready to go out of the box. A new chat window should appear, called "HitsMode 1". This window will at first be hidden behind your General Chat window. Drag it out and put it somewhere else.
- If you don't want to see the Blizzard default combat log, hide the Combat Log window or dock it behind General Chat.
- To configure HitsMode, type /hitsmode or /hm
- For further help, please click the ? icon at the top right of the options window. There are many topics available there to get you started.
- If HitsMode doesn't work at all, check the following:
- Add-on is installed in your Interface/AddOns folder
- Add-on is enabled in WoW
- You're using the English client
- If you're upgrading from a previous version and something doesn't work, load the default options. This is available from the Presets tab.
- If nothing works, you probably have an add-on that's conflicting with HitsMode. Some chat add-ons have been known to cause problems. Try disabling these and see if it helps. Contact me if you find a specific conflict and I'll see what I can do.
History
- HitsMode was first released in March 2005, about four months after WoW came out.
- Allara is the original author of HitsMode, and has played WoW off and on since launch.
- Elieehel and Tsurani have updated HitsMode in the past while Allara was gone.
- WoW patch 2.4 (in March 2008) was Blizzard's first update to the combat log since launch. The new Blizzard combat log borrows some formatting ideas and even some of it's terminology from HitsMode. HitsMode and the default combat log are now similar in many ways, but HitsMode offers many more configuration possibilities and is suitable for advanced users.
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r77 | allara | 2010-02-06 20:51:17 +0000 (Sat, 06 Feb 2010) | 1 line
Changed paths:
A /tags/r76-release (from /trunk:76)
Tagging as r76-release
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r76 | allara | 2010-02-06 20:48:11 +0000 (Sat, 06 Feb 2010) | 1 line
Changed paths:
M /trunk/HitsMode.lua
- Remove all "unknown" messages
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Installation Guide
- Exit "World of Warcraft" completely
- Download the mod you want to install
- Make a folder on your desktop called "My Mods"
- Save the .zip/.rar files to this folder.
- If, when you try to download the file, it automatically "opens" it... you need to RIGHT click on the link and "save as..." or "Save Target As".
- Extract the file - commonly known as 'unzipping'
Do this ONE FILE AT A TIME!
- Windows
- Windows XP has a built in ZIP extractor. Double click on the file to open it, inside should be the file or folders needed. Copy these outside to the "My Mods" folder.
- WinRAR: Right click the file, select "Extract Here"
- WinZip: You MUST make sure the option to "Use Folder Names" is CHECKED or it will just extract the files and not make the proper folders how the Authors designed
- Mac Users
- StuffitExpander: Double click the archive to extract it to a folder in the current directory.
- Verify your WoW Installation Path
That is where you are running WoW from and THAT is where you need to install your mods.
- Move to the Addon folder
- Open your World of Warcraft folder. (default is C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\)
- Go into the "Interface" folder.
- Go into the "AddOns" folder.
- In a new window, open the "My Mods" folder.
- The "My Mods" folder should have the "Addonname" folder in it.
- Move the "Addonname" folder into the "AddOns" folder
- Start World of Warcraft
- Make sure AddOns are installed
- Log in
- At the Character Select screen, look in lower left corner for the "addons" button.
- If button is there: make sure all the mods you installed are listed and make sure "load out of date addons" is checked.
- If the button is NOT there: means you did not install the addons properly. Look at the above screenshots. Try repeating the steps or getting someone who knows more about computers than you do to help.
Translations
When you download a mod, please be sure that the mod is compatible with your translation of wow. Some mods only work on the US versions, while some only work on some of the various European versions. These variations are called "Localizations".
TOC Numbers (Out of Date Mods)
When Blizzard patches WoW, they change the Interface number. This means that all mods will be "out of date" unless or until the author releases a new version for that interface. Some people go into the .toc files and update the numbers themselves, but this is STRONGLY advised against as it will cause problems locating possible incompatibilities addons. When you log into WoW after a patch, you DO NOT have to delete your interface directory. All you have to do is simply tell WoW to ignore the interface numbers and load all the mods anyway. All you have to do is, while at the "character select" screen, look in the lower left corner and click on the "addons" button. A window will pop up listing all your installed mods.
If you look in the upper left corner of that window there should be a box that says "Load Out of Date AddOns". You want to CHECK this box. Now simply go into WoW normally and all your mods should load. As of the 1.9 patch, you will have to do this after EVERY patch/update that Blizzard posts! If you encounter any problems with a mod after a patch, please be sure to let the author of the mod know so they can fix it.
See also: About "Out Of Date AddOns"
Mac Support
WoW addons are not platformed based. As such, they can be used on either Mac or PC. You can extract both .zip and .rar files on a Mac using StuffitExpander.
Directory Structure
World of Warcraft
|_ Interface
|_AddOns
|_*AddonName*
|_ *AddonName*.toc
|_ *AddonName*.xml
|_ *AddonName*.lua
|_ (possibly others as well)...
