EQWatcher Evolution Documentation -- Program version v2.26 - July 24, 2003

What is EQWatcher Evolution (formerly EQWatcher Advanced)?

EQWatcher Evolution is a real-time text input parser, previously intended only for use with EverQuest log files.  EQWatcher interprets small programs written for it that do certain things, most notably audio responses such as Text-to-Speech or .WAV sounds, when user or game text input is read.  For example, when used with EverQuest, EQWatcher Evolution can speak out loud things like your character's damage per second, your character's movement speed, tells received, all using information from the text log files.  Similar can be expected from other games that allow writing text logs in real-time -- EverQuest 2, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, you name it.  EQWatcher's abilities also allow advanced uses like accessing databases, and simple but useful things like controlling Winamp.  EQWatcher by design CANNOT be used to "macro" (automate game play), hack, or sniff packets, and is therefore not against the license agreement for most software (including EverQuest).

This documentation is presented in such a way that reading a section (i.e. Installation) in numerical order (i.e. 1,2,3,4,5) is preferable.  Information contained in previous parts may be critical to understanding the later parts, and in general you will not need to read later parts to understand the previous parts.  When in doubt, refer to the Anatomy section for any definitions or explanations.  If you have trouble understanding certain pages of this documentation, please let me know -- and be very specific as to what you had trouble on.  I can only make it easier to read if I know what you are having trouble with.  If you assume that someone else will do it first, well, it would already be fixed if that was the case.  You may email me directly or refer to the message board.

Table of Contents

Installation

1. System Requirements
2. Installing EQWatcher Evolution (EQWA)
3. Installing Text-to-Speech (TTS) (not required)
4. Installing ODBC (not required)

Using EQWatcher

Is This Safe?

1. How do I know this isn't just a clever scheme to steal my password?

Getting Started

1. Initial EQWatcher Evolution Setup and Default Settings
2. Sending Commands to EQWatcher Evolution
3. Configuring Winamp to work with games and EQWA (not required)
4. Optimizing Your Windows Operating System
5. Changing skins
6. Updating EQWatcher Evolution
7. Frequently Asked Questions

EverQuest

Is This Safe?

1. The universal question: Does this violate the End User License Agreement (EULA) from Verant/Sony?

The Basics -- Using the Default Core Functionality for EverQuest

1. Sending Commands to EQWatcher Evolution
2. Chat Channels (Tells, Group chat, Guild chat, etc.)
3. Combat Statistics
4. Winamp
5. Loot Tracking
6. Navigation
7. Skills

EQWatcher Anatomy Class

1. Sounds (Priorities, The Difference Between Synchronous and Asynchronous)
2. File Paths
3. Aliases (EQWatcher Commands)
4. Command Files
5. Timers
6. Variables
7. Triggers
8. Pronunciation Guides
9. Scripts
10. The Script Management System
11. Text-to-Speech Voice Characteristics (using XML)
12. Initialization (Ini) Files

Pretty Colors -- EQWatcher Skin Development

1. Introduction to EQWatcher Skin Development
2. Skin Definition File
3. Skin Controls (coming soon, all the info you need is in parts 1, 2 and 3 for now)
   1. Button
   2. Check Box
   3. Edit Box
   4. Label
   5. Progress Bar
   6. Slider
4. Control Names EQWatcher Recognizes

Certain Death -- EQWatcher Evolution Scripting Language

1. Introduction
2. Constants and String Data
3. Identifiers and Numerical Data
4. Variables
5. Functions, Triggers, and Aliases
6. Comments
7. Statements (If-then-else, #include, return, mathematics, etc)
8. Predefined variables and constants

9. Automatically used aliases

10. Function Libraries, and Importing Functions

11. Built-in Functions
    1. EQWatcher
    2. Audio (.WAV, CD, TTS, and MP3)
    3. Triggers
    4. Timers
    5. String Manipulation
    6. Mathematics
    7. Arrays
    8. File I/O
    9. Internet
    10. System
    11. Spell Database
    12. Initialization/Settings (.ini) Files
    13. Accessing Databases with SQL
12. Using the Compiler Front-End
13. Using the Compiler
14. The Breakpoint Window
15. The dynarray Script

Disclaimers

I am not a representative of Sony Online Entertainment or Verant Interactive (which is now actually part of SOE).  Winamp support was coded using Winamp front-end/plug-in control API written by Justin Frankel (January 8 1999).  I am also not a representative of Nullsoft or any other Winamp-related business.  Most of the credit for the sexy new installer goes to Nullsoft for writing NSIS, all I did was make a little script and hit compile. Nor am I a representative of Microsoft.  Therefore EverQuest is not mine, Winamp is not mine, Windows and SAPI are not mine.  EQWatcher is mine.   EQWatcher is provided free of charge and does not generate a cent of profit.  Not even from ads.  There are no ads on the web site (not even those annoying popups from the old free web hosts and ezboard anymore).  The EQWatcher skin system is based on (read: almost completely rewritten) the free source "SkinSys" by Cuneyt Elibol, which in turn uses some other peoples code, which credit is given in the publicly available code for that system.