WarcraftRealms.com

WarcraftRealms.com is a fansite that specializes in providing facts, historical data, and trends in the population of the World of Warcraft realms and their players' classes, races, and guilds — and how these change over time. These contributions are player submitted and gathered with the use of various Addons. This data can be viewed by server (realm), faction, class, race, guild, or even level. It is also regularly maintained and updated with new and improved features and data analysis. Rollie is the owner and developer of the CensusPlus UI Mod, which is an extension of the original mod by Ian Pieragostini.

WarcraftRealms.com is privately owned and has no ties to the gold/account/item selling enterprise sites whose ads were necessary to pay for the servers. As of June 13, 2008, the site has officially gone gold free.

Data collection and upload


Data is collected by the Warcraft CensusPlus UI mod, which can be downloaded here. The mod essentially crawls the /who data of people online when you take the census. Additional Battleground related data is collected by the Killing Fields mod, a feature only available for US realms.

After you have taken a Census from within the game, the data is saved to your UI variables folder. You must upload this file to the website for processing. Once the file has been uploaded, it is placed in a queue to be processed and the data is added to the database for display!

Uses of the data
WarcraftRealms.com does offer a variety of game based data. Realm data, both in the US and EU servers, are reflected in the form of realm conception dates, timezone, type (PvP/PvE/RP/etc), faction population, faction ratios, and total realm population. Additionally, it has the ability for guilds to enter their guild progression, links to their website, and [recently added] image album.

One of the common form of using the website is via the Character History which guilds use to gauge an applicant's playing styles through comparison of how quickly they leveled or seeing how loyal the player is by checking their previous guild history.

Once signed up to the website, a player can claim their character and hide their history, in which the message The owner of this character has requested that the history be hidden will be displayed. Additionally, the profile can display a biography, user submitted images, and recent battlegrounds (via the Killing Fields mod). The Character History does have a comment box in which people can leave messages in regards the player character. These comments can be deleted by the owner once the character has been claimed.

Another form of use of the character data is in the form of signature, most commonly used on message boards. These can be made first by claiming your character and then choosing from a wide selection of fonts, font sizes, colors, display options, and even backgrounds. Additional customization can be made by using MySigSpace.com, a site run by the same administrator, Rollie, that enables the user to take artistic control of their signature.

Current version
4.1.8 - 06/18/2008 - Update - http://www.warcraftrealms.com/censusmod/CensusPlus-20400-4.1.8.zip
 * Some additional localization updates
 * Due to a strange crash bug when doing BG's and a census is running, I have updated CensusPlus to disable while in a battleground.

Other 4.x
4.1.7 - 04/08/2008 - Update
 * Updated string search functionality so scans would not get stuck when 3 or less entries were returned.

4.1.6 - 04/08/2008 - Update
 * Unbeknownst to me, Blizzard has further localized classes and races in the client, making for gender specific terms. Thanks to SirCotare for his current efforts with the localization.

4.1.5 - 01/22/2008 - Update
 * Added some code to alleviate the guild panel opening during a census scan

4.1.4 - 06/03/2007 - Update
 * Fixed a bug with selecting guilds from the guild list
 * Added the last seen date to the Player List window

4.1.3 - 5/30/2007 - Update for patch 2.1
 * Added a check when you first start this version that will remove all bad entries from your local database.
 * Fixed shift+clicking names to do a /who
 * Added code to detect when the ACE WhoLib is loaded and will stop WhoLib from keeping Census from running properly
 * Made it so that when you click on filters (race, class, level) that it will update the guild list accordingly

4.1.2 - 4/08/2007 - Update
 * Added checks to detect when /who results returned to the chat window have been modified by other mods.
 * Added a check when you first start this version that will remove all bad entries from your local database created by the above issue.

4.1.1 - 3/17/2007 - Update
 * Corrected some German, French and Spanish translations

4.1 - 3/16/2007 - Update
 * Fixed the less than 3 problem where those characters were not processed
 * Removed the profiling information altogether, Arena does this for us now!
 * Changed the tooltip on Purge
 * Added the ability to shift click a name to do a /who on it while a Census scan is in process

4.0 - 01/16/2007 - Burning Crusade Update
 * Updates for Burning Crusade. Added races for Draenei and Blood Elf as well as increased levels from 60 to 70.

3.x
3.6.0 - 12/05/2006 - Update
 * Updates for patch 2.0. Removed the character profiler until it can be reworked. Updated API calls and LUA to be compliant with the new restrictions and requirements.

3.5.1 - 10/07/2006
 * Finally put in place a way to do a normal /who while census is running
 * If your /who returns more than 3 results, the friends frame window will be displayed and the census will be paused
 * Added an audible sound that can be played with the census is complete. In addition an option has been added to the options panel to disable this feature.
 * Moved the Verbose option to be a character specific option
 * dded Spanish Translation, props to Nekromant of EU-Zul'jin for this translation

3.5 - 08/29/2006
 * Updated TOC for patch 1.12
 * New commands:
 * /census take - allows you to start a census via command line
 * /census stop - allows you to stop a census via command line
 * Added a right click menu to the mini-map button to allow you to do common census functions like Take, Stop, and Pause
 * Added a player list feature that will show you the list of players for currently selected filters in the display. This list is capped at 1000 players.
 * Modified the locale detection to hopefully clear up locale issues
 * Added battleground wait time collection information which will soon start being reflected on the site
 * Removed the restriction on taking census snapshots while in battlegrounds
 * Made efforts to removing the lag created when a census finishes. You will likely still see the lag if you have the Census window open when a census completes, but if it is closed, there should be no noticeable lag.

3.4 - 07/03/2006
 * Updated version number for 1.11 patch
 * New command:
 * /census timer ## - will set the timer for the autocensus function (in minutes)
 * Added a confirmation box when you hit the Purge button

3.3 - 03/30/2006
 * Updated version number for 1.10 patch
 * Added a couple of new commands:
 * /census who XXXX - will return any local data you have where a character name or guild matches (partially or fully) the given term
 * /census who unguilded ## - where ## is a level, will return all unguilded characters of that level

3.2 - 01/06/2006
 * Fixed a hidden EU error.

3.1.2 - 01/05/2006
 * Fixed a prune error.

3.1 - 01/03/2006
 * Many fixes pertaining to character profile data.
 * Added per character option of saving your profile or not (under options panel) which is OFF by default.
 * Added method for determining EU vs US regions (no more user selecting!).
 * Added pruneing options, can now do the following:
 * /census prune X - prunes all data older than X days
 * /census serverprune - prunes all data other than the current server
 * Also improved the Prune functionality to be more functional.
 * Several other minor fixes and tweaks.

3.0 - 10/14/2005
 * Removed the Mini-census button and added a mini-map button. There is a slider under the options where you can move the button around the minimap to find an unoccupied position. You can also elect to not have the mini-map button present, but without it, no census data will be collected. The mini-map button is an unimaginative button with a `C` on it.
 * You can now `deselect` a level, just as you could select a level before. This will allow you to do such things as remove lvl 60's from the display. You need to right click on the level bar to remove it and right click again to bring it back. Thanks to Tuatara for this addition.
 * The Take/Stop/Pause methodology has changed somewhat. When you click the Take button, the Take button will change to a Pause. Only by clicking stop or when a snapshot has completed will it revert back to Take. The Pause button has been replaced with a Prune button. Prune will remove any data older than 30 days from your local database. Be warned, there is no confirmation box! Thanks to Tuatara for this as well =)
 * There is now a built in character profiler that will collect character data on your characters. This can be used to upload your character data to the site to be displayed as a character profile. You can see an example here: http://www.warcraftrealms.com/profile.php . The processing end on the site is not quite ready yet, but I will let you know when it is (very soon!). There will be a way to opt out of displaying a character profile when this part comes online.
 * Other assorted tweaks and fixes, including updates for patch 1.8.

2.x
2.7 - 9/16/2005
 * VERY IMPORTANT!!! The only place Census data will be saved after this version is in the /SavedVariables/CensusPlus.lua file
 * The main census window is now movable
 * You can now filter the main census window by level by clicking on a level bar (thanks to Tuatara for these changes)
 * The 3 or less system messages should no longer show during a census if verbose mode is off
 * Added locale display
 * Put in checks for Karma modifications to the /who list
 * Added a check to see if you are currently in a battleground when a Census runs, and if so, will cancel the snapshot. This is due to Blizzard only returning results for people currently in your battleground instance.

2.6 - 8/13/2005
 * Fixed major bug with PVP honor order
 * Fixed targeting bug associated with gathering PVP honor data (Paperdoll error message)
 * Fixed a long outstanding problem with EU users always having to reset their local database
 * Unfortunately, due to a data change with patch 1.6 that I did not catch until just today, all data prior will have to be purged from local user data. Not only that, but all PVP honor data will be reset on the site as well.

2.5 - 8/9/2005
 * Updating Guild Handling
 * Added WG & AV tracking. Site display soon to follow

2.4 - 7/21/2005
 * Updating UI version number

2.3 - 7/3/2005
 * No longer have to have the show offline members box checked to get a full guild listing
 * Further improvements to address the totalCharacterXP nil value problem

2.2 - 6/18/2005
 * Further modifications for guild processing and a small bug fix

2.1 - 6/7/2005
 * Updated TOC file to match latest patch
 * Added /census prune command which will remove any characters not seen in the past 30 days from your local CensusPlus database
 * Modified guild member tracking for better results on upload
 * Various other small fixes and enhancements

2.0 - 4/23/2005
 * Friends panel will no longer even attempt to open if the auto-close who is selected. This allows any other panels to be open during a census and they will not close or change your view.
 * Mini-Census button is now moveable. You'll have to click just around the button to move it
 * Added PVP Honor tracking. This will be viewable on the site soon.
 * Modified the time tracking, cool new stats on the site to follow soon.
 * Added in some regional server detection. Please note if you get any error messages detailing that the Mod thinks your locale should be set differently and let me know about them.
 * Auto-census will no longer start as soon as you log in and will instead wait 5 minutes.

1.x
1.8
 * Removed support for /censusdate
 * Implemented usage of new date and time APIs
 * Added option of doing an auto-census. Will effectively redo a census 30 minutes after each census completes
 * Added in option window

1.6.2
 * Added name letters to further separate data

1.6
 * Fixed a serious bug that forced me to create a new version or risk contaminating the US data with EURO server data

1.5
 * Updated interface version number to 4211 which syncs up EURO and US versions.
 * Added an initial selection dialog that will set your CensusPlus version to EURO or US. This MUST be set correctly for data to be reliable for US vs EURO servers. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE set this correctly! I have absolutely no way to guarantee that the data I receive is from a EURO or US server so I am forced to rely on you, the users! Please don't let me down! Note that your set locale can be seen in the upper left corner. You should see either "Census+ v1.5" or "Census+ v1.5 EU" in the top bar of the Census window.
 * Fixed a time bug issue with offset times if you had them set in Cosmos.
 * This version should be nearly fully French and German localized with the exception of recently added strings. If you find the strings to be incorrect, please let me know as some of the translators have confessed not being 100% sure they are 100% correct.
 * I will have another version coming soon with many requested features. For this release I was concentrating on finding as good a solution as possible for localization and handling of EURO and US data.
 * Note: If you are a EURO player, when you start this new version, it will clear out all your previous data in order to make sure that uploaded data is reliable. If you change your locale, it will also purge your database to best maintain reliable information.

1.2


 * Fixed a bug with a current census that is paused becoming unpaused when you close certain windows.
 * Added a /censusverbose command that will toggle the CensusPlus messages on/off.
 * Modified the way a census is taken. Instead of the divide and conquer style used that started a census with 1-60 and going from there, it will now start in 5 level increments and divide if necessary.
 * Added guild support. The mod will now capture guild data when viewed on the guild panel. This data is used to provide more comprehensive data on the site and is available through the guild exports.
 * Added a tracking feature that will allow tracking of the number of characters seen during a census. This data is displayed on the Activity Page
 * We are also now included in the Cosmos UI deployment system
 * Site related: Updated the way the site handles foreign languages and character sets. It should now handle UTF-8 compliant character sets correctly.
 * Site related: Am now tracking data on characters under level 10, but you will only be able to view under level 10 characters on the character history and guild info pages. Under 10 info is not included in the main Census Display, the Quick Stats, or the Realm Stats pages.
 * Site related: Added in realm information and guild exports. Info can be found on the Data Export page.
 * Added a Most Wanted page showing the realms that have not been updated in the longest amount of time.