LoTROInterface - Lua support coming to LOTRO

LoTROInterface (https://www.lotrointerface.com/forums/index.php)

- General Authoring Discussion (L) (https://www.lotrointerface.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22)

- - Lua support coming to LOTRO (https://www.lotrointerface.com/forums/showthread.php?t=947)

Aye I modded similar HUD like the IceHud when I played WoW a long time ago. That is one of the things I have really missed and will be a priority for me in Lotro if it's possible to do.

I am ceasing development on any of my UI work whilst this goes through the pipeline as it could make it all redundant.

All we really want is to modify the UI *without* modifying the gameplay. Let me modify the unit frames, buffs and action bars fully and I will be happy!

No 'Easymode' addons please!

And yet... part of me does hanker for a dps meter. Sorry!

well.. dps meter would be fun in a way if it would only show the results for yourself, I might even support that .. but we all know what would happen in time with those kind of things :c

(personally I wouldn't give a crap if a dps/threat meters like in WoW would be doable as I don't group up with the kind of people who require such things, but it would be bad for the community in the end imo)

I actually went to sleep last night dreaming of things I could try to do... Sad huh?

There are already things like cstats that let us calculate our personal DPS - but as far as I am aware very few people use them. Maybe this is because the results are not 'live'.

And yes, I see your point about DPS meters.

From my experience with WoW as a Tank a threat meter was basically a waste of screen space - I could tell when I had lost threat! As a DPS'er it made things a little easier, but not a lot.

heh yeah exactly. I am interested of my DPS but I'm not _that_ interested that I would bother with a "third party" plugin.

all in all I'm very thrilled about LUA, no matter where it takes us UI vice, at least it should give us a lot more freedom in creativity.

Narrel had this to say about LUA:

Quote:

With the breaking news of Lua’s introduction into The Lord of the Rings Online, we wanted to give you a brief history of how this system came about, what state it is in, and where we want it to go.

History:
To start, I will say that the primary driver behind introducing UI plugins is this: no single version of a UI element will ever be ideal for all players everywhere. What one player loves about part of the UI can send the player standing next to them reeling into a frothing rage of frustration. Knowing this, a small group of us got together last year and began investigating the possibility of adding a UI scripting system.

As several other games have used Lua successfully for UI scripting, we decided to look into it and were quickly able to get a prototype Lua UI scripting interface into our engine. Since then, we have gradually continued to develop the system alongside our other initiatives. Today, we are in the process of Beta testing the Lua UI scripting interface on our closed Beta preview servers.

Current State:
Many of you have been asking what this means when it goes live. This system has been implemented to allow players to override existing elements in the graphical user interface. The functionality available in its current state is small in scope but introduces a lot of fun UI possibilities. Our Lua-based UI plugin system exposes functionality through chunks of functionality referred to as “APIs.” In its current state, we have implemented the following APIs:

• Basic UI element creation (such as windows, text boxes, buttons, etc.)
• Quickslot information (allowing for additional quickslot arrangements for skills, items, etc.)
• Inventory UI information
• Your character’s morale/power information as well as what effects you currently have on you

To clarify, our implementation of Lua scripting in our game is not a macro-able/BOT-able interface. The system does not allow automated input such as mouse-clicks or macroing, nor does it allow automatic skill execution. Any UIs created through Lua scripts will still require human interaction to use.

We intend to continue heavy Beta testing on the Lua UI scripting system on the private test servers. There are several internal hurdles that remain to be cleared before the initial launch of the system and it is not yet guaranteed that “Lua in LOTRO” will launch in the Volume 3 Book 2 (F2P launch) timeframe. Much like our initial launch of QuestGuide or DX10, we will likely launch the feature as a public “beta” stage/“work in progress” as we continue to solidify and expand the initial functionality.

The Future:
As for our future plans for this, our intention is to continue to add more API functionality after the initial launch. For example, some of the popular requested APIs are: target, fellowship, and raid vitals, as well as vault functionality similar to the current API’s inventory functionality. The ultimate goal for this system is to allow players to legitimately customize their UI as a largely upgraded version of our current long-standing “UI skinning” tech. It’s all about the UI and letting players change it so the information we already expose in our current UI can be presented in different aesthetic fashions.

I hope this information clarifies what “Lua scripting” means for The Lord of the Rings Online. As we come closer to the actual launch, we will provide more information into the specifics of the system. We are very excited about this feature and look forward to the day when it goes live allowing players to have a much more customizable experience with our graphical interface.
~Narrel~
Game Systems Engineer
Master of UI and shorts-wearing

he also answers a couple questions in that same thread here:

http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.p...97#post4825797

:D

Thanks for the link!

I hope they'll consider sending invite to the beta to UI authors.

I'm not subbed anymore so *waves hand* ;)

BTW I would not mind a oneself only DPS meter but I foresee some people/guilds asking others to parse their results if you see what I mean...

(edit) I do hope DDO will get the LUA lovin' too as it seriously needs some care too. The UI is killing the game play, especially the player/opponent vitals frames and the examination window.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deewe (Post 4259)

Thanks for the link!

I hope they'll consider sending invite to the beta to UI authors.

Hey Deewe? Try looking at your PMs some time. :p;)

Curious about how far one will be able to edit the UI with this scripting. Let's hope the have fixed some bugs as well like 3rd quickslot bar hiding behind UI and reposition after switching fullscreen to windowed mode as well as they are developing anyway.

Cheers,
Ray

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cairenn (Post 4260)

Hey Deewe? Try looking at your PMs some time. :p;)

Thx for the hint, didn't notice it at all!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray (Post 4261)

I'm not worried for such things, pretty sure all the layout will be customizable and we will get rid the resolution issue tied to the bottom bar.