"Why won't Honorbuddy work with a 64-bit WoWclient?", or
"Why not make two versions Honorbuddy, one is for 32-bit, another for 64-bit?"
These fair questions have been discussed many times in the forums, and the answer is "No, a 64-bit version will not be supported until its absolutely needed". The reasoning for the decision frequently escapes non-developers, but we touch on the salient points here.
Making a 32-bit and 64-bit version of Honorbuddy would literally double the resources needed to make repairs to Honorbuddy, and double the length of time we are down on 'patch days'. This happens because:
Offsets for 32-bit and 64-bit versions will never be the same.
It would be quite easy for Bliz to slip anti-bot code into one version, but not the other one.
Thus, the need to conduct full analysis for anti-bot machinery in both executables, and all their associated DLLs.
The compiler configurations will be different, so two sets of pattern catalogues must be maintained.
Structure of 32-bit and 64-bit data will be different.
With a larger scalar data structure, alternative and much more efficient algorithms may be employed. This was proven by the Plan9 operating system almost 25 years ago. So, the 32-bit and 64-bit WoWclients will be significantly different in structure.
Its possible Honorbuddy would need different implementations for one function.
This again is due to differences between 32-bit and 64-bit implementations.
Probably the most impactful issue in supporting 32-bit and 64-bit versions...
it doubles the amount of testing.
To "do it right", a 32-bit and 64-bit version of Honorbuddy would effectively need to be treated as two separate bots. Bossland GmbH is a small company, and development staff resources are very limited. Supporting both versions would stretch the already heavily-loaded staff.
Here are two forum posts to get you started:
The Senior Development staff's stance
"64 bit" thread
We'll leave it to you to use forum search if you want more.
"Why don't you just abandon the 32-bit version of Honorbuddy?"
The 32-bit WoWclient works for everyone—the 64-bit version does not. If Bossland GmbH only has the staffing resources to support one version, its going to be the version that addresses the largest audience.
32-bit WoWclients are still 20% or so of the market. Bossland GmbH refuses to abandon roughly a quarter of its client base.
"Won't a 32-bit only version of Honorbuddy make me more likely to get banned?"
Absolutely not—using the 32-bit WoWclient does not make you 'more likely to get banned'. Bliz does not ship a 32-bit version of the WoWclient as 'bot detection bait'. A significant (non-botting) part of their user base still uses only the 32-bit version of the WoWclient. Otherwise, they would drop support for it in a heartbeat, as it costs them significant development resources to support 32-bit, also.
Blizzard would love to move to 64-bit, exclusively. They want the more efficient algorithms, and would like to dismiss some of their development staff when maintenance of two versions is no longer necessary. A push to 64-bit is an economic decision, trying to increase the 'bottom line' in a tight economy. Recall, that they have lost several million players from their revenue stream in the last couple of years.
"I've a 64-bit version of Windows. Will it run a 32-bit WoWclient?"
Yes, a 64-bit operating system runs both 32-bit and 64-bit applications just fine. However, a 32-bit operating system will NOT run a 64-bit application.
