So Ulduar patch is going to break all interfaces (again!)..
 

I came across this post on the upcoming patch, seems they have released more info - at least officially.

http://www.wow-europe.com/en/info/underdev/index.html

This is likely to break the majority of addons once again I bet? I find this frustrating to say the least, and feel sorry for the authors who get bombarded with requests to fix their addons 0.1 seconds after the patch lands.

Why cant blizz give a base set of functions to work off, which rarely change?

I am all for the innovation idea, I like all the new stuff they are adding, I feel its great they give the players what they want, and is no doubt a reason for wows success, but eesh, headache after headache on the majority of patch days with they way they implement them.

My thoughts are with you, all addon authors...

i dont think itll be a huge problem for the majority of addons like UF and so on... It can be a problem thou for some addont that were somehow related to the new functions. Also blizzard very rare change basic functions tbh... And when they do they are making it better IMO =P

Blizzard will always tinker with their code. They don't simply freeze their games (they still release patches for their older games like Starcraft) once they get to a certain point.

As Balkeep said, the vast majority of AddOns will not be affected. This includes things like your Unit Frames, Action Bars and the like.

Mods that will be affected will be the following:

- Equipment managers (a few will be obsolete, others will add additional functionality since they have an actual Equipment Manager to hook into)

- Quest/Achievement trackers

- LFG mods

- Some BG/PvP mods (just a minor change, if any)

- Talent mangers (this will be biggie with Dual Talent specs).

Many chat-related addons will break as well.
Same with non-chat addons that have chat-related components.

I can't really see why chat addons would break..

So basically what you are saying is this will be like any major patch where you WILL HAVE TO UPDATE most of your addons? It really isn't a big deal, most mod authors who are active are already pushing out updated versions of their addons for the test realms so that once the patch does go live they will be set to jet. Now I understand though you, just like me, might have that one or two addon(s) that havent been updated in awhile and the author has been MIA and it might possibly break, but it'll give you as well as me the chance to try new things. And with new things you might find a better addon who knows. :banana:

wow, you don't really know what you're trying to complain about do you?

They are adding new things, which means new "base" set of methods to work off of, which rarely change (these "base" methods changed in 2.0 and in 2.4 btw).

However, when 3.1 comes out I would like the addons i use (bartender, pretty much the only addon effected by all of the changes), support these new features/methods/whatever added by blizzard.

Anything that changes from one patch to another that "breaks" an existing addon are most of the time bug fixes because the method that was changed was severely broken.

They've changed the way that chat filters work, and have completely eliminated the global arg1, arg2, etc, which most chat addons currently rely on.

Ah, I see. Didn't see that one anywhere. Good to know, thank you :)

It is, since not everybody can afford to keep supporting Blizzard (especially now they make it hard to make money of addons).

That said, it was mostly problems with texture maps, since they are adding some new regions in Nothrend.

And in other news, the sky is blue, people need oxygen to breathe, gravity keeps us earthbound, etc.:p

In short, it happens all the time. Nothing is permanent and the best thing to do is to make a list of addons you are using, back up your WTF folder regularly, and when the patch comes out, look for updated releases or alternatives. I have personally gone through over two dozen complete UI overhauls since I started, and expect to do a lot more.

Nature of the beast I'm afraid.

Frankly, this is not a big deal. Come patch day, just about all the affected mods will have 3.1 versions ready to go (except those who have elected to fold). Most will be ready before the Patch acutally hits or have decent beta versions now so you can get a bit of a head start. Go through your mods, note which ones you really like and use the Favorites feature of WoWI to keep track of them and to make them really easy to find. Trust me, the Favorites works very nicely! :D

This may be a little annoying, but I don't really see the problem in patches breaking some addons. What it does it just to weed out old and no longer maintained addons, and if the addon was just a little useful, someone will surely take it over, or create a new one which does the same.

I actually believe this is sometimes a good thing, giving people some new inspiration by forcing them to redo their interface.

I dont mind haveing to update my adons. What grips me is that there broken NOW. If the patch isnt live why are the mods messing up. :mad:

I think they are changing something to the vehicle frame, atleast my personal bar addon got screwed.

Where did you read this and what are they using to replace arg1, arg2, etc?

On the official Blizzard forums in the UI & Macros section, specifically here. Also, diffs from 3.0.9 to the current version of the PTR are here.