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02-09-08, 12:32 PM   #1
Jdtigg
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Bartender vs. Bongos2

I am trying to work a few things out on my UI, switch and swap to see which will work better, memory wise and versatility, and have come across a dilemma on the button mods.

I tried trinity and did not have the full list of things i need that bongos gave (besides, took up to my memory vs. bongos).

So, in looking further I saw the Bartender bar mods and need some advice on the comparison of the two.

Thank you
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02-09-08, 01:09 PM   #2
Sparr
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I've used Bartender3 and Bongos2. Both have the coverage of functionality that I want, and these are:
  • Support for class stances/forms
  • Out-of-range coloring
  • Display of key bindings
  • Interoperability with Omni Countdown Cooldown
  • "Snap-to" behaviour for aligning bars
  • Per-bar, variable scaling, sizing (number of buttons per bar), and orientation

Two things tipped the balance into Bongos2's favor:
  • Better rendering of keybinds - Bongos2 can display bindings like ALT + CTRL + Q, Bartender3 cannot.
  • Better mechanism for assigning keybinds - Enter keybinding mode, hover over a button, key in your keypress combination, done. Repeat.
  • Better configuration UI - Right-click on a bar to get a tab-categorized menu of options. The menu is also persistent until you command it to close.

I realize most of these advantages are usability factors pertinent only to configuring the mod before "actual" use, but they give the sense of a more polished addon. And I use tri-key "chord" combos a lot, that being able to display them on their buttons is more than a nice-to-have feature.

Last edited by Sparr : 02-09-08 at 01:15 PM.
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02-09-08, 06:43 PM   #3
Petrah
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I originally used Bongos but then had issues with the "disappearing pet bar" (not Bongos related)... which Bartender fixed. After having to use Bartender because of the pet bar, I found that I had more options and it was much easier to use than Bongos.

They are both great mods, but for me Bartender is easier to use.

Just my 2 cents
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02-09-08, 06:47 PM   #4
mozulo
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I use bartender not really tried bongos as i have no problems with bartender as of yet and its ACED.

best thing i would do is test them both out your self and see which works for you.

GL in your choice
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02-09-08, 08:10 PM   #5
Seerah
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Originally Posted by mozulo View Post
and its ACED.
ACE = Accidental Caps-Lock Error (as said by Dameek on the wowace forums)

That a mod is written with the Ace2 libraries doesn't mean a whole lot. A good author writes good mods, a bad author writes bad mods. Doesn't matter which framework (if any) that they use.
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02-09-08, 09:10 PM   #6
Tweeker
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The one thing that has not been pointed out, and it tips the balance more in favor of Bongos.. is:

Let's say you have a DOT casted on someone, like serpent sting, or any damage over time, or for that matter, even a buff like mark of the wild.. when you have that person targetted, it will put a bright green highlighted border around the ability in the action bar, therefore it's easy to know when a DOT has worn off of that specific person, or the person needs the buff.

I have come to rely on that.

Plus bongos's menu driven config is by far easier.

and it's much smaller...

aced or not, a lower memory intense addon is typically better...

But i do really like Bongos best of all, even though i do not use all of it. (disabled most parts via the ADDONS section from character select screen) therefore making it much smaller.

My review of Trinity, the author is a genius! He should get on mazzle's team and get to work, but please stay away from AddOns, I don't mean to sound cruel, but that thing is HUGE!! Extensivyl powerfull, but --HUGE--

BT3 was nice, but bongos just does more with less resources and easier.

Go with Bongos


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02-09-08, 09:45 PM   #7
Seerah
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Tone that font down a bit, Tweek - your post fills my entire screen.
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02-09-08, 10:04 PM   #8
mozulo
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Originally Posted by Seerah View Post
ACE = Accidental Caps-Lock Error (as said by Dameek on the wowace forums)

That a mod is written with the Ace2 libraries doesn't mean a whole lot. A good author writes good mods, a bad author writes bad mods. Doesn't matter which framework (if any) that they use.
Thats your opinion, and i have my own and if it does not mean a whole lot could you tell me why its one of the biggest addon sites used?
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02-09-08, 10:05 PM   #9
Ragnor
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Hamburger or HotDog it's a tough call...
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02-09-08, 10:12 PM   #10
Seerah
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Originally Posted by mozulo View Post
Thats your opinion, and i have my own and if it does not mean a whole lot could you tell me why its one of the biggest addon sites used?
Because some very popular addons call it home, many of the addons hosted there do not get released to the "release sites" (wowace was never meant to be a release site), WowAce Updater, and the misconception that Ace = uberleetsaucepixiedust. I've known some very crappy mods written with the Ace libraries.
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02-09-08, 11:04 PM   #11
Petrah
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I could enjoy this forum ever so much more if people would leave their negative opinions about other mod sites out of the posts.
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02-10-08, 04:59 AM   #12
MidgetMage55
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In the grand scheme of things it will come down to your personal preferences. Ive used both. enjoyed both, and have settled on bartender. Never could really determine why. Might be the catchy name, could be a subliminal message. I do tend to use quite a few Ace based mods and its mostly likely just the convenience of having most of my ui updated in one place through the updater.

As seerah has said. a good bit of coding stands on its own merits, regardless of the use of a framework or not. As even the site says its not a magical device that just makes mods better. Its designed for developers so they dont have to code simple yet necessary tasks leaving time to develop the actual mod they set out to do and less time coding in the little things.

Its a great tool. but its by no means the end all be all of what makes something good or bad. If you love it use it. i know i do =)
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02-10-08, 06:41 AM   #13
Jocke
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Batender3 problem

I have a stupid little problem in Bartender3. When I try to put things in like..let's say bar 4, It also puts the same thing in bar 5...? Wierd huh? Anyone know what to do? It happened after I uppdated my addons in WUA...
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02-10-08, 08:05 AM   #14
Slakah
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Originally Posted by mozulo View Post
Thats your opinion, and i have my own and if it does not mean a whole lot could you tell me why its one of the biggest addon sites used?
Fanboi's, WAU and lack of understanding.
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02-10-08, 04:07 PM   #15
Seerah
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Originally Posted by Silenia View Post
I could enjoy this forum ever so much more if people would leave their negative opinions about other mod sites out of the posts.
Never once have I ever said anything negative about wowace. Not even in the posts in this thread. If you go over to the wowace forums, you will find that I have well over 4000 posts in the past year. Wowace is on my bookmarks toolbar, right next to WoWI, and after trolling these forums, I go over and troll there. I have files on the wowace svn, have had my hand in other people's code on the svn, have helped with the wiki, have answered NUMEROUS posts by users with questions, have helped beta test and bug fix plenty of addons.

So, I don't know where you get the idea that I was badmouthing wowace. Badmouthing any site (or any person) on these forums is not encouraged. All I was speaking was the truth. And it is a truth seen by many more than myself.
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02-10-08, 05:18 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by Slakah View Post
Fanboi's, WAU and lack of understanding.
And that makes no sense
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02-10-08, 05:32 PM   #17
Maul
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Originally Posted by Tweeker View Post

My review of Trinity, the author is a genius! He should get on mazzle's team and get to work, but please stay away from AddOns, I don't mean to sound cruel, but that thing is HUGE!! Extensivyl powerfull, but --HUGE--
Memory usage in most cases does not mean what people think it means. It is a very poor measuring stick to use on addons.

I think Cogwheel explains it best in this thread -

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/th...00510200&sid=1

From that thread -

Public Service Announcement:

Unless you are an addon developer, you generally don't need to concern yourself with addon memory usage. In and of itself, memory use says absolutely nothing about how an addon impacts WoW's performance. WoW itself uses an order of magnitude or more RAM than even the most memory-intensive UIs.

Data mods like Auctioneer will always show HUGE numbers compared to other addons but they don't do any processing whatsoever unless you're actively using them (scanning the AH). By the same token, many memory-efficient mods can use up an extraordinary amount of CPU time (damage/threat meters, for instance).

As a user, you should never judge an addon's worth by the amount of memory it uses. For a real test, use CPU profiling which is also included in PerformanceFu. Another mod I like for this purpose is AddonManager.
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02-10-08, 08:29 PM   #18
kindofabuzz
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Originally Posted by Jocke View Post
I have a stupid little problem in Bartender3. When I try to put things in like..let's say bar 4, It also puts the same thing in bar 5...? Wierd huh? Anyone know what to do? It happened after I uppdated my addons in WUA...
turn off the paging of bar 5 on bar 4.
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02-10-08, 08:42 PM   #19
Seerah
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Originally Posted by mozulo View Post
And that makes no sense
It means basically the same thing I posted on the last page.
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02-10-08, 09:11 PM   #20
Petrah
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Why does it matter so much if someone likes a mod because its Aced? Obviously people are going to get the wrong idea if people keep going out of their way to tell others that like an addon because of its framework that its not all that, that you don't like it as a whole.

People are going to like what addons they like regardless of how others "feel" about it... and trying to "enlighten" them isn't doing much in your favor. Especially when it's done to the point of derailing an entire thread
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WoWInterface » AddOns, Compilations, Macros » AddOn Search/Requests » Bartender vs. Bongos2

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