[ENLIGHTENMENT+REQUEST] Multiple Blackspots elements

[chinajade]

Greetings, all! Time to acquire more enlightenment.

Part 1-Enlightenment

Given the following profile fragment:

<HBProfile>
    <!-- ... -->
    <Blackspots>
        <Blackspot X="-1647.421" Y="7911.19" Z="-48.76979" Radius="200"/>
        <Blackspot X="1006.403" Y="7546.765" Z="21.68882" Radius="10"/>
        <Blackspot X="809.6536" Y="7861.026" Z="22.79888" Radius="100"/>
        <Blackspot X="-1659.786" Y="7996.463" Z="-27.09612" Radius="200"/>
    </Blackspots>

    <Blackspots>
        <Blackspot X="338.4681" Y="7820.176" Z="19.74734" Radius="100" />
        <Blackspot X="203.3937" Y="7726.902" Z="20.08119" Radius="100" />
        <Blackspot X="-253.9716" Y="2449.073" Z="22.68854" Radius="200" />
    </Blackspots>

    <!-- ... -->
<HBProfile>

1) What happens to the <Blackspots>?

a) The contents of the two <Blackspots> elements are merged into one comprehensive blackspot list
b) The results are undefined, but only one of the <Blackspots> elements will be used.
c) something else... (please specify)​

2) Are the answers the same for (select all that apply)...

a) <AvoidMobs>
b) <Mailboxes>
c) <Vendors>​

2) The answers provided for 1 & 2 are....

a) Guaranteed (please cite the reference)
b) Observed Behavior in latest releases
c) I guessed anyway, and don't really know​

Thanks in advance, and a Request...
If the answer to '1' is not 'a', could we get it to be 'a'?


Part 2-Consideration of a Feature Request

Would it be possible to add an optional MaxLevel attribute to the <Blackspots>? To wit...

    <Blackspots MaxLevel="18">
        <Blackspot X="338.4681" Y="7820.176" Z="19.74734" Radius="100" />
        <Blackspot X="203.3937" Y="7726.902" Z="20.08119" Radius="100" />
        <Blackspot X="-253.9716" Y="2449.073" Z="22.68854" Radius="200" />
    </Blackspots>

The above blackspots would be in force until the toon was 'level 18'. Upon achieving that level, the blackspots would be 'switched out' of the profile.

Why would we want this? The idea is to write Questing profiles without using SubProfiles. Providing this feature would allow a single <QuestOrder> within a profile, and provide for appropriate blackspots to be 'switched' in and out via level-appropriateness.

Today, SubProfiles are employed to achieve the same effect--switching blackspots in and out of a profile--for questing profiles. However, this is cumbersome for several reasons:
1) It makes the profiles unnecessarily large, error prone, and difficult to maintain because the blackspots have to be repeated for many of the subprofiles.
2) Forcing a Questing profile to use SubProfiles means the Vendors and Mailboxes must be frequently replicated in each SubProfile further adding to the problem
3) Questing Profiles written using Subprofiles are not "max-level toon friendly" or "heirloom gear friendly"


Are there any drawbacks to implementing this? The only drawback we currently perceive--besides the additional code to support the feature--is that there are 'two ways to do things' (using this attribute, or using SubProfiles). We feel the benefits far outweigh the drawback, as questing profiles could be completely written without the need for SubProfiles.


Shouldn't this concept be applied to <AvoidMobs>, <Vendors>, and <Mailboxes>, also? Yes.

Shouldn't a MinLevel attribute be available also? Yes, both the principle of symmetry (closure) and the principle of least surprise indicate that a MinLevel attribute should be made available. A practical example is that certain vendors (e.g., profession trainers) won't teach lower skills, and are of no use until you reach a certain minimum level.

Thanks for the consideration!

cheers,
CJ