Thanks for your interest in improving Jame's Leveling Guide: Addon Version [Beta] !

There are two ways to help out with the leveling guide: testing and revising.

Testing doesn't require anything but the newest addon files and a character of the appropriate level. Simply take detailed notes as you play through the guide and post any mistakes you find using our Bug Reporting page. An administrator will link it to the known mistakes, and it will be corrected next time that section is worked on.

Revising guide files requires a little knowledge of the syntax (language) the addon is written in. The language is actually pretty simple and easy to learn. This guide will provide that knowledge. Both testing and revising are needed to make this guide great, but most useful if you can edit the files yourself rather than just pointing out the mistakes.

Communication is key! Make sure you use the systems in place when helping us to test or revise the guides. This keeps people from editing the same guide at once and causing confusion! Post a comment on the works in progress page every time you start something or change something, to keep everyone in the loop!

Related links:

• General Info Page
• Bug Reporting
• List of works in progress
• Forum Discussion
• Latest News

1. Glossary of Terms
2. Getting Started
3. Syntax
4. Formatting Guidelines
5. Common Mistakes
6. Testing Your Guide
7. Uploading Your Guide
8. Nuzz's TourGuide Editor

Syntax - In this context, it refers to the language the TG files are written in.

TG - TourGuide

Tag - An addition to the objective that adds detail, these range from the mandatory (for Accept/Turn-in/Complete) Quest ID (QID) to Quest Objective (|Q|...|QO|...|) for Note/Kill objectives. Surrounded by the "|" character.

1. Download the addon and it's dependencies.

You can find the addon and supporting files, along with instructions on how to download and use theme, on the General Info Page. Familiarize yourself with the way the guide works in game before you start working on the code.

2. Decide on an editing program.

I highly recommend Notepad ++ as an editing program. It organizes things very nicely and has some basic features that help with coding, and is free to download. However, you can use the basic notepad programs that come with your computer if you prefer.

3. Find a section to work on.

Go to the List of works in progress and find a guide you want to work on, that no one is currently signed up for. Leave a comment that you would like to work on that guide, and a moderator or admin will add your name to the list. Make sure you check in at least once a week with your status, or we may give that section to someone else to work on.

4. Open up the file and get to work!

First, you'll need to find the section you want to work on in the addon files. The naming format is as follows: "002_43_44_Jame_Dustwallow_Marsh", where the first number is just a placeholder (ignore it), the second is the starting level, the third is the ending level, and the last is the zone name.

It is probably easiest to edit guides with WoW running in windowed mode. This is a mode for WoW that you can get to through your video options in game. I usually have one browser window open with a tab for the written guide and a tab or two for WoWhead, my Notepad ++ window, and WoW all running at once, and alt+tab between them.

Now you should be ready to start editing!

As you write or revise a guide, the most important thing to realize is that Tour Guide works in steps rather than paragraphs. This can sometimes make it a little difficult to translate Jame's guides into Tour Guide form. Follow the formatting guidelines below if you get confused.

Most of the time you will be revising a guide already in place. However, if you want to create a new guide, you'll need to start off by inputting the following code:

TourGuide:RegisterGuide("Ashenvale (30-31)", "Thousand Needles (31-31)", "Horde", function()
return [[
]]
end)

All of your steps should be written between the two [[ ]].

Each step in Jame's guides must fall under one of the following types. Each step must also have it's own line in the guide. You can separate them with blank lines (this can really help readability for people revising the guide), but make sure that those lines have NOTHING on them. It will keep the guide from loading if they have anything other than the following types of steps.

For each step, I will also list possible tags and tell you whether or not they are required.

A - Quest Accept

Example:

A Squire Maltrake|QID|3462|N|He's next to Kalaran.|

An "A" denotes a quest accept step. Use this every time you direct the player to accept a step. Usually coordinates are not needed for these steps, since Lightheaded is a required part of the addon package and should have almost every accept and turn in coordinate in it's database.

Tags:


• |QID|3462| - Quest ID - REQUIRED - This tag tells Lightheaded what quest to look up for NPC coordinates. There are only a few very special cases where this should be omitted: basically, if Lightheaded has the wrong coordinates due to NPC location being fluid or changing in a patch.
• |N|...| - Note - Usually not required, but sometimes it's nice to have a word description of where to find an NPC. This is especially true in multi-level buildings or cities.
• |O| - Optional - This tag will cause the quest not to show up in the guide unless certain criteria are met (usually a quest prerequisite or an inventory item).
• |L|3462 8| - Loot - Use for optional quests, the quest will only be shown if the loot item(s) is in the player's inventory. Uses item ID, space, the number of items.
• |U|3462| - Use - Provides a button to use a quest starting item. Requires an item ID.
• |PRE|Quest Name| - Prerequisite - Use for optional quests, shows this accept quest only if a previous optional quest has been completed. Uses quest name, not ID.
• |C|Priest,Mage,...| - Class - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified classes.
• |R|Orc,Trol,...| - Race - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified races.
• |Z|Zone Name| - Zone - Only useful for quest tags if manual coordinates are given. Specifies a zone for coordinates other than the normal guide's zone.

C - Quest Complete

Example:

C The Flame's Casing|QID|3452|N|Kill twilight mobs until one drops a Symbol.|

A "C" denotes a quest complete step. Use this when the player is completing all of the steps of a quest at once. If you are planning to split up the quest complete steps, you'll need to use a note or kill step instead with quest objective tags on it. Please make sure to provide coordinates to the quest objective location, since these are not available from the Lightheaded database.

Tags:


• |QID|3462| - Quest ID - REQUIRED - This tag is what allows the objective to autocomplete.
• |N|...| - Note - REQUIRED - Make sure to include the coordinates in the (##.#,##.#) format. A little description of what to do for the quest is also nice, but sometimes not necessary.
• |O| - Optional - This will cause the complete objective to only show up if the player has the optional quest in their log.
• |U|3462| - Use - Provides a button to use a quest item. Requires an item ID.
• |C|Priest,Mage,...| - Class - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified classes.
• |R|Orc,Trol,...| - Race - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified races.
• |Z|Zone Name| - Zone - Specifies a zone for coordinates other than the normal guide's zone.

T - Quest Turn-in

Example:

A Squire Maltrake|QID|3462|N|He's next to Kalaran.|

A "T" denotes a quest turn-in step. Use this every time you direct the player to turn in a step. Usually coordinates are not needed for these steps, since Lightheaded is a required part of the addon package and should have almost every accept and turn in coordinate in it's database.

Tags:


• |QID|3462| - Quest ID - REQUIRED - This tag tells Lightheaded what quest to look up for NPC coordinates. There are only a few very special cases where this should be omitted: basically, if Lightheaded has the wrong coordinates due to NPC location being fluid or changing in a patch.
• |N|...| - Note - Usually not required, but sometimes it's nice to have a word description of where to find an NPC. This is especially true in multi-level buildings or cities.
• |O| - Optional - This will cause the complete objective to only show up if the player has the optional quest in their log.
• |U|3462| - Use - Provides a button to use an item. Requires an item ID.
• |C|Priest,Mage,...| - Class - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified classes.
• |R|Orc,Trol,...| - Race - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified races.
• |Z|Zone Name| - Zone - Only useful for quest tags if manual coordinates are given. Specifies a zone for coordinates other than the normal guide's zone.

R - Run
F - Fly
b - Boat/Zeppelin
H - Hearth

Example:

R Searing Gorge|N|Head southwest out of the Badlands (0.2,63.4)|Z|Badlands|

These steps are all really variations on the same type - a location change. The step auto-completes when the subzone or zone name matches the specified one (in the example above, the step would complete when the character entered the Searing Gorge). Coordinates are useful for this step, so that players can see where to run, or where the flight master is if flying. Make sure to include the zone tag if needed.

Tags:

• |N|...| - Note - REQUIRED - Almost always necessary, except when hearthing. Even if it's just to direct the player to the nearest flight master, include coordinates. Remember to use a zone tag if you are not in the guide's normal zone.
• |O| - Optional - If you on a small optional section, you can use this tag along withe a PRE or L tag to make the section only show if the player is doing that optional circuit.
• |U|3462| - Use - Provides a button to use an item. Requires an item ID, nice if you are asking the player to hearth (6948 is the HS's number).
• |C|Priest,Mage,...| - Class - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified classes.
• |R|Orc,Trol,...| - Race - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified races.
• |Z|Zone Name| - Zone - Specifies a zone for coordinates other than the normal guide's zone.

B - Buy

Example:

B [Skinning Knife]|N|Buy a skinning knife from the trainer (35,68)|L|7005|

A "B" denotes a buying (or any item-acquisition) step. You can list the item's name and have it complete that way, but you should always provide a loot tag to guarantee that it auto-completes properly. A description of what to do and directions to a nearby vendor are nice.

Tags:

• |N|...| - Note - It's very nice to show where the nearest vendor is for buy steps.
• |O| - Optional - If you on a small optional section, you can use this tag along withe a PRE or L tag to make the section only show if the player is doing that optional circuit.
• |L|3462 8| - Loot - REQUIRED - Step will auto-complete when the specified number of the specified item are in the character's inventory.
• |C|Priest,Mage,...| - Class - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified classes.
• |R|Orc,Trol,...| - Race - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified races.
• |Z|Zone Name| - Zone - Specifies a zone for coordinates other than the normal guide's zone.

U - Use

Example:

U Hoard of the Black Dragonflight|N|Use the chest you received.|U|10569|

A "U" denotes a use step. This will auto-complete when the item is used. It requires a use tag to function.

Tags:

• |N|...| - Note - It's nice to include a description, but not necessary unless the player is required to use the item at a special location.
• |O| - Optional - If you on a small optional section, you can use this tag along withe a PRE or L tag to make the section only show if the player is doing that optional circuit.
• |U|3462| - Use - REQUIRED - Provides a button to use an item. Requires an item ID, nice if you are asking the player to hearth (6948 is the HS's number).
• |C|Priest,Mage,...| - Class - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified classes.
• |R|Orc,Trol,...| - Race - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified races.
• |Z|Zone Name| - Zone - Specifies a zone for coordinates other than the normal guide's zone.

h - Set Hearth

Example:

h Orgrimmar

An "h" denotes a set heart step. Make sure to spell the town's name exactly correctly, or it won't auto complete correctly. Auto-completes on the message " is now your home.".

Tags:

• |N|...| - Note - REQUIRED - It's nice to use coordinates and directions to show the player where the inkeeper is.|
• |O| - Optional - If you on a small optional section, you can use this tag along withe a PRE or L tag to make the section only show if the player is doing that optional circuit.
• |C|Priest,Mage,...| - Class - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified classes.
• |R|Orc,Trol,...| - Race - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified races.
• |Z|Zone Name| - Zone - Specifies a zone for coordinates other than the normal guide's zone.

f - Get Flight Point

Example:

f Thorium Point|N|(34.9,30.8)|

An "f" denotes a get flight point step. Make sure to spell the town's name exactly correctly, or it won't auto complete correctly. Auto-completes on the message "Discovered flight point".

Tags:

• |N|...| - Note - REQUIRED - It's nice to use coordinates and directions to show the player where the flight point is.|
• |O| - Optional - If you on a small optional section, you can use this tag along withe a PRE or L tag to make the section only show if the player is doing that optional circuit.
• |C|Priest,Mage,...| - Class - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified classes.
• |R|Orc,Trol,...| - Race - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified races.
• |Z|Zone Name| - Zone - Specifies a zone for coordinates other than the normal guide's zone.

K - Kill

Example:

K Blazing Elementals|N|Kill elementals. (47.8,49.2)|Q|The Flawless Flame|QO|Heart of Flame: 4/4|

A "K" denotes a kill step. This is one of the few steps that you might not have auto-complete, since there are times in Jame's guide when he has you kill everything of a certain type in an area but not necessarily stay there to complete the quest. However, whenever possible add a loot or quest objective tag so that this step will auto-complete.

Tags:

• |N|...| - Note - REQUIRED - Make sure to include directions and coordinates to tell the player where to go.|
• |O| - Optional - If you on a small optional section, you can use this tag along withe a PRE or L tag to make the section only show if the player is doing that optional circuit.
• |L|3462 8| - Loot - Step will auto-complete when the specified number of the specified item are in the character's inventory. Use this or a quest objective tag whenever possible.
• ||Q|Quest Name| |QO|Some Mob slain: 10/10| - Quest Objective- Step will auto-complete when the specified quest objective is complete in the character's quest log. Make sure to spell the quest name and objective exactly right. Use this or a loot tag whenever possible.
• |C|Priest,Mage,...| - Class - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified classes.
• |R|Orc,Trol,...| - Race - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified races.
• |Z|Zone Name| - Zone - Specifies a zone for coordinates other than the normal guide's zone.

N - Note

Example:

N Kill on sight|N|Any elemental, Heavy War Golem, and Dark Iron dwarves.|

A "N" denotes a note step. Use these as little as possible. Main reasons to use a note step include:


• Kill on sight - A step letting the player know to kill certain mobs while he or she completes other steps.
• Train/repair/sell/restock - Used when in major cities or in towns in between circuits.
• Check AH for *** - Use to remind players to check the AH for a certain quest item, used occasionally in Jame's guides.
• Level Check: ## - Used to help players check their leveling progress against what Jame expects.
• Things to do - Like "Kill on sight", reminds players of objectives to complete as they go.
• READ THIS - A warning before starting the next step, something the player must read, such as a note about a difficult escort quest.
• Other quest objectives not covered in the other type of notes. Often this might include looting something from a world object or talking to someone.

Whenever possible, make these steps auto-complete. If applicable, supply coordinates and directions in a note tag.

Tags:

• |N|...| - Note - These steps will usually have a note tag. Make sure to include directions and coordinates to tell the player where to go if needed.|
• |O| - Optional - If you on a small optional section, you can use this tag along withe a PRE or L tag to make the section only show if the player is doing that optional circuit.
• |L|3462 8| - Loot - Step will auto-complete when the specified number of the specified item are in the character's inventory. Use this or a quest objective tag whenever possible.
• ||Q|Quest Name| |QO|Some Mob slain: 10/10| - Quest Objective- Step will auto-complete when the specified quest objective is complete in the character's quest log. Make sure to spell the quest name and objective exactly right. Use this or a loot tag whenever possible.
• |C|Priest,Mage,...| - Class - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified classes.
• |R|Orc,Trol,...| - Race - Only shows the objective if the player is of one of the specified races.
• |Z|Zone Name| - Zone - Specifies a zone for coordinates other than the normal guide's zone.

More information about the TourGuide syntax can be found at Tekkub's TourGuide page.

In a post on his blog, Jame clearly outlined the standards of quality he is looking for in the leveling addon. I'll go over what he said here and add a few other pointers as well.

1. Auto-complete whenever possible

If it's at all possible to set a step to auto-complete, do so. Sometimes this means breaking something into multiple small steps. Try to put things in a logical order, and use the |N| note tag to remind players of other objectives.

2. Use an arrow whenever possible

Anytime you can provide an arrow for the player to follow, it greatly improves the guide. Rather than making them read a huge block of text as directions, just have them "follow the arrows" and list a series of coordinates. Try to be as exact as possible, since you want the series to flow naturally, so put the steps in places the player would naturally run. Make sure you test these series, since sometimes TomTom will jump to the nearest coordinate rather than the next in the series.

You can even use these arrows for steps you wouldn't initially think of, such as sell/repair, hearthstone setting, flight paths, or docks/zeppelin towers.

3. Be short and to the point

Try to keep it to one sentence notes when possible. The less reading, the faster leveling! Remember, use arrows instead of wordy directions.

4. Include class quests

Using the |C| class tag, you can incorporate class quests into the guide wherever they would best fit. The goal is to include all necessary class quests - please note that some are definitely NOT necessary, such as the druid poison quest or the paladin sense undead quest.

5. Include optional quests

use the |O| optional tag to allow players the choice of small optional circuits. This is great for people leveling in a group who might be able to tackle mobs that are too hard for the normal leveling crowd.

6. Always provide a |U| use tag when applicable

Use the |U| use tag to help players complete quests without digging through their bags to locate quest items.

7. Warn for accidentally selling quest items

Using the |B| buy tag after a sell/repair step to check if the player still has the necessary item in his or her back, and provide text warning them to buy it back if the step does not auto-complete. The warning will automatically disappear once they buy it back.

8. Code in "paragraphs"

Leave blank lines between steps when the location changes. This really helps when revising code.

1. Quests with the same name

When you have a quest with several follow ups with the same name, you MUST add (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) etc tags in the step description, or it won't work.

For example, in the 1-12 Night Elf guide:

A The Balance of Nature |QID|456|
C The Balance of Nature |QID|456|
T The Balance of Nature |QID|456|
A The Balance of Nature |QID|457|

Needs to be:

A The Balance of Nature (Part 1) |QID|456|
C The Balance of Nature (Part 1) |QID|456|
T The Balance of Nature (Part 1) |QID|456|
A The Balance of Nature (Part 2) |QID|457|

2. No need to put coords for Quest Accept and Quest Turn-in steps, as long as you input the QID

In 99% of the cases, you don't need to add a note with coords for these two types of steps: Quest Accept and Quest Turn-in. (A and T)

Why? Because Lightheaded already has a database of all the quest NPCs' locations linked to each Quest ID (QID). So it automatically creates a TomTom arrow pointing you to the quest NPC you need to talk to to accept or turn in a quest. Better than that, it also puts the name of the quest NPC you need to interract with under the TomTom arrow.

So there's no need to add a note with coords int he step, as long as:

• It's a Quest Accept or Quest Turn-in step
• You added the QID in the step (which is done automatically if you use Nuzz's TourGuide Editor)

Example:

A The Balance of Nature (Part 1) |N| (58.70, 44.30)| |QID|456|
C The Balance of Nature (Part 1) |N| (62.00, 38.00)| |QID|456|
T The Balance of Nature (Part 1) |N| (58.70, 44.30)| |QID|456|
A The Balance of Nature (Part 2) |N| (58.70, 44.30)| |QID|457|

The coords here are only necessary for the C step. It's not needed for the other 3 steps. It should be like this instead:

A The Balance of Nature (Part 1) |QID|456|
C The Balance of Nature (Part 1) |N| (62.00, 38.00)| |QID|456|
T The Balance of Nature (Part 1) |QID|456|
A The Balance of Nature (Part 2) |QID|457|

3. You MUST include a |Z| zone tag for coordinates not in the zone listed in the guide's title.

If you don't do this, the coordinates will point back to the title zone. Note that you do not have to provide this tag for quest turn ins or accepts, since Lightheaded tells TomTom/Cartographer the correct zone for those.

If this is a new guide, first make sure it is inside the TourGuide_Horde/TourGuide_Alliance folder. Then, open up the Guides.xml file in that folder. This file is basically an index that tells the addon which guides to load. The syntax is:

<script file="(Beginning Level)_(Ending Level)_(Zone Name)_(Guide Author)_(Parent Guide).lua"/>

So, for example, the Ashenvale 30-31 section would be:

<script file="30_31_Ashenvale_Jame_2131.lua"/>

What you need to do is add your guide into this file. That's it, then you can fire up the game and it should load, ready for testing.

It's often very useful to revise the guide while playing. When you make a revision, you can reload the addon without logging out by using the following macro:

/script ReloadUI()

Once you have your guide up to snuff, it's time to upload it and share it with the wow-pro community, so Jame can put it in the next release.

1. First, make a zip or rar file and put all the guide files in your guide into this file (this is only applicable if there are multiple files for one guide, like for Jame's old world leveling guide chapters).
2. Once you have you file ready, you need to upload it somewhere. Unfortunately you can't upload it directly to WoW-Pro due to file type constraints. Some sites that are commonly used include FileFront and Google Sites.
3. When your guide is uploaded, leave a comment on the Works in Progress page with a link to the download for the file. A moderator will put this into the table, so that anyone wanting to work on that guide before the next addon version comes out will be able to use your updated file.

Download Here - Updated for WotLK (January 22nd 2009)

Writeup from Nuzz:

Short version

The good thing about this program: It provides an efficient way for creating TourGuide files quickly. Since you will be working quickly, you will be less likely to cut corners and leave out things such as coordinates or item/quest IDs.

The bad thing about this program: It is not perfect, and you cannot currently edit TourGuide files that have already been made by other people. The compilation process is one-way.

Long version

This is a program that will compile TourGuide LUA files on the fly. It was designed for the purpose of creating or tweaking TourGuide scripts, while playing the game at the same time. It was also designed to simplify the process of creating TourGuide scripts. Instead of learning the syntax for the code, and typing everything in by hand, you can use this program's form to fill in fields. A listbox displays all of the objective for the current 'guide', and there is a guides tab with another list box containing all of the 'guides' for the project. You can export your project to a folder, and the folder will have all of the LUA files you need, a text file to insert into the main list of guides, as well as a text-file with instructions for how to do this (and a pop-up with the same instructions will appear). When editing these objectives, you can copy and paste either the quest name, or the quest ID, and the quest ID will automatically be filled in if there is one match, otherwise you will get a list of quest IDs to choose from (I usually look it up on a site such as thottbot if I cannot find the quest).

The quick, non-detailed process for converting traditional "text-based guides" to addons is:

1. Time Spent (editing the guide and testing it together in part two): roughly 50% gameplay, 50% guide editing, depending on your style and performance While not in-game, read through the guide and use the TourGuide editor to create as accurate of a TourGuide representation of it as possible, in the least amount of time possible.
   The items to focus on in this phase are (in order of importance):
   
   
   1. Quest Accept, Quest Do, Quest Complete Objectives (coords are only needed on Quest Do)

   2. Quick, simple instructions (note section) for what is needed to complete the quest

   3. Make sure that you use a run/fly/boat/hearth objective to make sure your character is in that current zone before the objectives for that zone will be executed. The author of the editor did not intend for the guides to use the Zone objective. A side effect of this is that sometimes when logging onto the game, the arrow direct will be given for the world map's coordinates and not the current zone's coordinates. To fix this in-game, open and close the world map, then check/uncheck the current objective as completed.
2. Time Spent (during in-game only): roughly 80% gameplay, 20% tweaking the guide I usually do the above part several levels at a time, but not the entire thing. Just enough so that I can stay 'ahead' of where my character is. At this point, I will export the guide and install it as part of the addon, then go in-game and run through it with my character. I will make corrections as needed, and update each coordinate as needed with exact measurements (To the nearest 0.1).

3. Time Spent: roughly 98% gameplay, 2% tweaking the guide When I make a pass a second time with another character, I will tweak the guide again, but this requires a minimum of adjustments. I usually am leveling very fast by then, and can even spend time doing other things, or play very little, and still manage to level up at a reasonable speed.