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05-02-13, 07:13 PM   #1
Clamsoda
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Determining the Number of Mobs Within Some Distance of Your Target

Good evening,

I am curious if there is any way to ascertain how many mobs might be withing a certain distance of a target.

The example would be: If I targeted a mob; would there be any way to see how many mobs are within 5 yards, or 10 yards of THAT target.

Thank you for any insight.

Last edited by Clamsoda : 05-03-13 at 12:28 AM.
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05-02-13, 07:20 PM   #2
Phanx
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Not possible. See also:

Originally Posted by Phanx View Post
Addons cannot tell which direction mobs or other players are facing.
  • You cannot have an addon that tells you if you can use Backstab right now.

Addons cannot determine the position of mobs or players outside of your group.
  • You cannot tell exactly how far away something is from you.
  • You can only get a general idea by checking to see if spells are in range.
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05-02-13, 11:52 PM   #3
Clamsoda
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There is an AddOn (apparently), that can tell you the amount of mobs in front of you, to gauge the effectiveness of Chi Wave. Wasn't sure if there was a way to tell inside of an instance with the new minimap changes.

Last edited by Clamsoda : 05-03-13 at 03:15 AM.
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05-03-13, 01:12 AM   #4
semlar
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Does this mysterious addon have a name or do you expect us to just know what you're talking about.
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05-03-13, 02:48 AM   #5
Clamsoda
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I haven't got a clue, this isn't my question. I was asked if such a thing was possible, and when I said there was no way to know where a mob was, I was told that there is an AddOn that already does it.

That being said, the person who asked me if I could make an AddOn to tell how many mobs are around a target has no experience beyond using AddOns, and could be completely mis-describing the functionality of the "Chi Wave AddOn".

Was hoping you guys knew.

I edited my previous post to emphasize the "apparently" portion, considering I've never heard of it either.

Edit: I think the only reason I decided to ask, rather than dismissing the notion, is because there are modules for Grid that gauge the effectiveness of Chain Heal, Circle of Healing, et cetera. Also, the Sha Assist AddOn, and the range modules for BigWigs and Deadly Boss Mods at least have the illusion of knowing where units are. I wasn't sure if that same API could be translated to mobs to achieve a similar goal.

Last edited by Clamsoda : 05-03-13 at 03:07 AM.
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05-03-13, 03:08 AM   #6
semlar
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Well, you can tell them that it isn't feasible to accurately detect the position of an enemy unit.

There have certainly been addons in the past that show how many friendly units are within range of an aoe heal, but what you're describing can't really be done.

You can get the position of units in your group, and through addon communication it is possible to transmit the coordinates of other units running the addon, but outside of that there are no api functions for getting real positional data.

There is one teeny tiny exception involving the combat log and friendly unit positions but as far as I know it's never actually been implemented into an addon and it wouldn't be reliable enough to use.

Last edited by semlar : 05-03-13 at 03:15 AM.
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05-03-13, 03:11 AM   #7
Clamsoda
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Very well them, Semlar. I appreciate the insight.

Reading through your edits; and it is just as I thought. I just want to re-iterate, it is less about the specific position, and more about knowing how many mobs are within a certain distance. Even though the former may lend itself to the latter.

I imagine the intent was to gauge the potential effectiveness of a Mind Sear, or Seeds.

Oh well. The only stupid question is the one not asked, figured I'd put it out there.

Last edited by Clamsoda : 05-03-13 at 03:19 AM.
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05-03-13, 03:29 AM   #8
semlar
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Alright, I'll expand on my theory involving the combat log and you can do what you will with it.

Since you do know the position of players in your raid and it is possible to watch the combat log for attacks, it is possible to infer a radius of more or less where the enemy had to be within when they made or took the hit.

In other words, if I know where the tank is, and I see that they've melee'd the boss, I know that at least a portion of the boss's hitbox is within 5 yards of that player at the time of the attack.

By watching other hits made by or to other units in the raid you can develop an estimate for the general location and facing of enemies that you're in combat with.

This wouldn't be all that simple to write, and since I've never actually seen someone do it before I can't say how realistic it would be to use this information. It was just something I was considering for a map addon I was writing.
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05-03-13, 03:33 AM   #9
Clamsoda
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I imagine there are various ways to determine where a mob may be, to varying degrees of accuracy, but that is something better suited for someone else, and is extreme overkill for this person's request. They can enable nameplates and use their eyes.

I really appreciate you taking the time to entertain my thoughts, and I would love to see whatever AddOn you were/are working on.
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