Dota 2

Dota 2 Reborn coming soon, beta next week

http://cdn.dota2.com/apps/dota2/images/blogfiles/reborn_beta_day1.png

Presumably built on the new Source 2 engine that has been seen in screenshots a few times over the years, Dota 2 Reborn will bring a total interface overhaul and some new ways to play.

Not a ton of details are available yet, but for some of the interface changes you can see the beta page here: https://www.dota2.com/reborn/part1/

I'll be glad to see Source 2 in use, and can't wait for Valve to count to 3 and give us something else built with it!

Announcement post: http://blog.dota2.com/2015/06/dota-2-reborn/

Valve's Free To Play Documentary Launches on Steam & YouTube

"FREE TO PLAY is a feature-length documentary that follows three professional gamers from around the world as they compete for a million dollar prize in the first Dota 2 International Tournament. In recent years, E Sports has surged in popularity to become one of the most widely-practiced forms of competitive sport today. A million dollar tournament changed the landscape of the gaming world and for those elite players at the top of their craft, nothing would ever be the same again. Produced by Valve, the film documents the challenges and sacrifices required of players to compete at the highest level."

You can watch it right now on YouTube linked above or download it on... Read All

Valve's Free to Play Movie Coming March 19th

"FREE TO PLAY is a feature-length documentary that follows three professional gamers from around the world as they compete for a million dollar prize in the first Dota 2 International Tournament. In recent years, E Sports has surged in popularity to become one of the most widely-practiced forms of competitive sport today. A million dollar tournament changed the landscape of the gaming world and for those elite players at the top of their craft, nothing would ever be the same again. Produced by Valve, the film documents the challenges and sacrifices required of players to compete at the highest level."

Apparently Valve is getting into the business of doing everything... Read All

6.79 Patch update

http://www.brokenjoysticks.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/dota2-wallpaper.jpg

The past several months of dota have been good. Extremely good. The stability of v6.78 created a strong dependable meta game and a fierce competitive scene.

But all good things must end right?

Hopefully to make room for better things.
V6.79 brings a boat load of changes that have turned the meta upside down. The next few months will be an anything goes slug fest as we see old tactics become obsolete and new ones rise in their place.
dont believe it? Check this chart that tracks some if the most significant effects on W/L ratio.
http://i.imgur.com/hLTqLC8.png

I'd love to talk about the changes in depth and look at the new meta and theory craft. But I'll save it for another... Read All

Hands On With the Dota 2 Mac and Linux Clients

Recently, Dota 2 left beta for its final free to play release on Windows. During its Beta it wasn't available for Linux or Mac but recently Valve made a test build available for both platforms. Recently I downloaded both clients on Linux and Mac to give them a shot. If you have Steam for Mac or Linux you can simple download the Dota 2 test from your games list.

Mac Test Build

This build works well enough that I recommend it for Mac users if they prefer gaming from their Laptop or iMac. That said, I don't recommend it for serious Dota 2 playing but if you want to have a bit of fun with bots or friends, it works well.

A few issues I noticed:

When the character selection... Read All

Travis Admin Member wrote on 07/17/2013 at 01:59pm

"It wasn't a huge deal, but my Macbook has an SSD and 16G of RAM, it doesn't need to slow down."

What's the video card in the Macbook? That could explain the slow down.

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 07/17/2013 at 05:50pm

NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1024 MB
2.6 GHz Intel Core i7

Dota 2 should be fine :D

Travis Admin Member wrote on 07/17/2013 at 06:20pm

Aye, I think it should.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 07/17/2013 at 09:35pm

It's probably just the ghost of Steve Jobs, trying to tell you to keep those dirty games off of his dream!

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 07/18/2013 at 01:42am

HAHAHA yeah I bet.

I have found that many games on Mac are not as speedy as they seem they should be. I have a Linux box with lesser specs in some respects that totally smokes it for games. Its a strange thing because I have the latest Retina Macbook with the highest specs. Kind of should be enough horsepower for most games I think.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 07/18/2013 at 02:31am

Are you running 10.8? Ever since I made the upgrade to Mountain Lion, I've noticed significant decrease in performance on my iMac. Mine is an older system (3ghz Intel Core 2 Duo), but I can imagine that it might be part of the problem.

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 07/18/2013 at 02:37am

Yeah, I am running Mountain Lion. For everything else it seems fine, just games are a bit more laggy than they should.

Travis Admin Member wrote on 07/18/2013 at 01:03pm

From what I read, 10.9 should fix some of those speed drop problems, so maybe gaming will get better as well.

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 07/18/2013 at 03:20pm

That's good news. From my very non scientific research it seems Steam games on Linux are on par with Windows and a bit better than the Mac. But, again, just a "feel" no benchmarks or anything.

Hat tip to Valve, the porting effort is very good.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 07/22/2013 at 12:00am

I think a key reason for the performance difference could be that Valve is tightening up their engine in preparation for the Steambox. Since it's purported to be Linux-based, it would make sense that there are optimizations in Linux that don't exist in Mac OS.

I have noticed that since the beta launch of Steam for Linux, a great number of the Valve titles have been through multiple revisions, with each one performing slightly better than the last. When TF2 was first available for Linux, I experienced serious performance hits on my woefully underpowered Intel HD 3000. Two updates later, however, and the framerate got to an acceptable-but-not-yet-playable-with-humans point.

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 07/22/2013 at 04:59am

Good to hear they are improving performance. If vendors are to release different versions of the Steam Box with different hardware then they will need to optimize as well as they can. Then again, modest hardware now days is pretty beefy all told.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 07/22/2013 at 06:02pm

True, yet there is still a bottom end to the hardware. My laptop was right at the base spec for the Steam Linux beta. The desktop I'm on now has some pretty low specs: Core 2 Duo 2 GHz, NVIDIA GT220, 4 GB DDR 800 RAM running off of a slow SATA drive. Still, most of the Valve titles run really well and keep getting better. That's why I'm itching for Portal 2 to get to Linux. Or HL3. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry. That happens any time I think about HL3. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 07/22/2013 at 06:06pm

When they get Portal 2 ported to Linux that will be awesome. Have you played it yet?

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 07/22/2013 at 06:19pm

Oh yeah. Finished the single-player on the PS3 and the laptop was just barely fast enough to play it in Windows, but I rarely booted to Windows so I'm itching to play it again and/or co-op this time around.

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So, Dota 2 has been released.

http://cdn2.steampowered.com/v/gfx/apps/570/extras/gamepage_image.jpg?t=1373475257

Now you can finally play it! I jest, I think at this point, everyone who wanted it already has it. Now, however, the beta is officially over and anyone can play with or without a beta code. It's odd to me that this game that's been the subject of major eSports tournaments wasn't officially released until today.

The big news for me is that there are official Mac and Linux versions on the way! They're currently testing it internally and will be releasing them soon. There may be more beta out of this thing yet.

http://www.dota2.com/thebetaisover

DoTA 2 Int. Coming to Seattle Aug 7th - 11th

"The first team invited to The International are the returning champions, Invictus Gaming. Twelve more teams will be announced over the coming days. Just like in last year’s event, the winners of the East and West Qualifiers will each receive an invite. As you’ve probably noticed, that only adds to 15 teams. Right before The International begins, the Wild Card event will determine the final spot in a match between the runner-ups of each qualifier.

The West Qualifier will be hosted by GDStudio from May 13th through the 19th and the East Qualifier by BeyondTheSummit from May 20th through the 26th. All matches will also be available for free through DotaTV."

I am SERIOUSLY... Read All

25 people exit Valve

http://www.develop-online.net/news/43261/Jason-Holtman-leaves-Valve
http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/12754/article/valve-steambox-controller-engineer-jeri-ellsworth-fired/

Reports dribbling in regarding large changes in staffing at Valve, at least some of which are in the group focusing on hardware.

Anyone up for some speculation?

jdodson Admin Member wrote on 02/13/2013 at 09:27pm

Hmmm, seems like some kind of shake-up for sure. Hard to say why though.

Valve is making a __HUGE__ push to hardware, so I imagine this is in some way in service of that? I don't know how, but its possible there might be more visibility on this later on. IE they might say something about it.

I hope this doesn't hold up the Steambox too much, because it needs to happen.

Travis Admin Member wrote on 02/13/2013 at 10:28pm

It seems like the SteamBox is already on it's way, other hardware providers on-board and everything. I doubt at this stage that would just stop.

I do hope there's some transparency on this.

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 02/13/2013 at 11:23pm

So, as a semi professional video games podcaster, I don't actually keep up with much in the way of news about new games/new shit. What advantages does the Steam Box have over, say, a computer?

Travis Admin Member wrote on 02/13/2013 at 11:35pm

Gary, essentially marketing and a prettier box to have in your living room. It's Valve focusing on the living room, sharing the space consoles normally do. You can boot up into Steam's Big Picture mode, control everything with the controller, etc. Valve's will be based on Linux, which they're banking a lot on, and hopefully this will get more Linux games in Steam. But others can/will be made by third-parties and can be based on Windows if they so desire.

jdodson Admin Member wrote on 02/14/2013 at 12:18am

Want to add to what @panickedthumb said a bit.

Gabe gave a few talks recently where he talked a bit about value. It kind of goes like, "With each console generation when you upgrade to the next, eventually you have to toss away your old stuff and get new stuff." Which is true, can't get a PS3 to play your PS2 games anymore but PS1 works? Eventually the Wii U+1 won't play Wii games.

So its kind of an interesting idea. Buy a game once on Steam, play it on your PC and console. When you upgrade you don't have to toss out your games, DLC and friends.

jdodson Admin Member wrote on 02/14/2013 at 01:45am

"We don't usually talk about personnel matters for a number of reasons. There seems to be an unusual amount of speculation about some recent changes here, so I thought I'd take the unusual step of addressing them. No, we aren't canceling any projects. No, we aren't changing any priorities or projects we've been discussing. No, this isn't about Steam or Linux or hardware or [insert game name here]. We're not going to discuss why anyone in particular is or isn't working here."

http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/13/valve-gabe-newell-layoffs-statement/

scrypt Supporter wrote on 02/14/2013 at 01:46am

My speculation is that this is just spring cleaning. Valve is an interesting organization, given the dynamics of its amoebic infrastructure, but it's still a business. If reports are true, these individuals make up roughly 8% of the Valve team. Which doesn't seem crazy, to me. Some may have left voluntarily. They seem like they are in various talents, too. Feels weird to me that this is actually news.

Travis Admin Member wrote on 02/14/2013 at 04:49am

Thanks for posting that Jon, that eases some of my fears. He's right though, speculation is dangerous, and only leads to fans panicking about their favorite thing going away :)

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 02/14/2013 at 05:12pm

I am a bigger fan of gaming in my computer space but I supposed it'd be nice to have the option for Isaac: Rebirth.

jdodson Admin Member wrote on 02/14/2013 at 05:32pm

When I got Portal 2 for PS3 that had the Steam code for the PC version that could also play on the Mac it was magical. I want more of that, buy once, play where you like. I prefer PC but sometimes I wanna sit on the couch and shoot stuff.

Gary_Butterfield wrote on 02/14/2013 at 05:59pm

I've been couching for Demon's Souls and it's not bad but I like being closer to the screen, like I am with the PC. Also, ease of alt-tabbing and looking up shit.

jdodson Admin Member wrote on 02/14/2013 at 06:02pm

Oh yeah for sure. Doing a search on a Phone on the couch ain't awesome, like I said I prefer PC for gaming. But playing Portal 2 or Halflife 2 while my wife was in the room is an epic experience. Her comments on GlaDOS or Wheatley made the game that much more memorable and a quotable for both of us in "I saw a Deer today" is a really awesome thing.

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Need an Invite?

Seems like Valve is giving out a ton of DoTA 2 invites and I have 5 to give away for anyone that wants them. Just ask in the comments and I will hook you up!

Antonio_Morales wrote on 01/29/2013 at 02:08am

I need one if you don't mind steam Id is amorales2005

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 01/29/2013 at 02:31am

Sent!

BR Supporter wrote on 01/29/2013 at 02:43am

I also have plenty to give away.

Travis Admin Member wrote on 01/29/2013 at 03:38am

If you run out, I got 5!

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 01/29/2013 at 03:58am

Nice, we should keep people playing :D

JaBo wrote on 01/30/2013 at 12:31am

This game is my obsession...I also have a bunch of invites.

JaBo wrote on 10/10/2013 at 06:06pm

Funny...8 months ago this game was my obsession....today, even more so lol. I played 6 games between Tuesday/Wednesday night and I just want to go home now and play allllll day.

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 10/10/2013 at 06:08pm

You should post some basic strats for this one, personally I like DoTA 2 but I don't know the basics very well.

JaBo wrote on 10/10/2013 at 06:34pm

Yeah, I can do that. I tried getting Tim into it...but unfortunately the game we played he got steam rolled and it understandably burnt him. I've always been into competitive PVP style games though. From FPS, to MMO, to RTS, and MOBA (Multiplayer online battle arena).

This game is definitely not good to new players, but everyone starts somewhere/sometime. I actually started playing dota2 by myself (I had played dota 1 quite a bit) and frankly, it's rare to ever see another player again. That maybe adds to the bashing you may get because players are so anonymous, but it also made me feel comfortable learning and being a noob too. I would give a disclaimer that I'm pretty new. I just took any hateful comments and shrugged them off, I didn't care, I told them I'm learning and often times if you are playing by yourself new, the other players are either new too or on re-rolled smurf accounts. Either way, no one will seriously hold it against you and you won't see those players again. It gave me a blanket of not caring what they thought of me.

Now when you group up, you get equalized a bit in the matchmaking. I've played with a new guy and we got matched against new guys that I then just stomped...and it was nice for him to be able to learn w/o the pressure of needing him to make good plays lol. But other times we've been pushed up closer to my skill range and then he gets creamed and as a team we get creamed because he "fed" the enemy and they got powerful.

Bots and solo que are a pretty decent way to learn. There's a tutorial now too, but I haven't gone through it. There's also tons of websites dedicated to giving useful info. Another super useful thing now is being able to load a hero build. So I use these all the time when I play heroes I don't have my own strategies with, you just open the menu and look at some popular builds (skill and item builds) and then as you level it'll highlight the skill you should learn next (and they often put in some text to give you tips on using those abilities) and same with items. They'll be prioritized as starting equipment, core items, situational items. That's real handy to save time trying to read everything and pick the best option while also trying to play the game.

The most important thing to learn is to not die. Play conservative if you have to, but dying is the worst. It obviously happens, but each death gives the opponent heroes more xp and more gold to increase their advantage over you and your allies.

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 10/11/2013 at 02:16am

I think DoTA 2 is easier to get into now. WhiteboySlim and I played it a few times and adding the bots in helped. Because of the community I am not really interested in playing online with anyone other than friends. I now this means I might not be any good, but i'd prefer to have fun than get annihilated by a-holes verbally.

That said, League has done some nice stuff to address this. I kind of hope DoTA 2 heads that direction, it would be pretty nice.

JaBo wrote on 10/11/2013 at 03:39pm

Well...I report players for being A-holes and so do other people. Then a week later I get a notification that they've taken action against one or more players I reported for bad conduct.

Also, to add to the whole "anonymous" thing. I go to dotabuff.com to see better stats and I played a game last night and I was checking stats on the site today. Not everyone's name shows up on this 3rd party website because you have to enable it, but some of my opponents had it enabled. With someone's name/profile I can click on them and and it will show me their stats but also show me how many games I've ever played with this person.

And this is how I can say you rarely see the same person twice. Only twice so far have I seen more than 1 match with someone (I haven't clicked on everyone I've played with obviously). This guy, I played 2 matches with, one last night, other one 8 months ago lol.

JaBo wrote on 10/11/2013 at 04:02pm

I just went back 51 games played, which put me to August 28. I clicked on everyone that wasn't private profile and blocking 3rd party apps. Probably average of 3 people to look at each game. That's 153 profiles I checked. There was 5 people I've played 2 games with. Everyone else, only 1. And FYI, my total matches played is 712. So, it's not like in some games where you may have a reputation and have like a persona or presence in the game....you really are 1 little drop of water in a huge pool.

jdodson Admin Member Post Author wrote on 10/12/2013 at 12:04am

Huh, thats really good to know. Ill check it out a bit more, interesting someone made an app to do that.

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DoTA 2: A Friendly, Fun Experience

A few nights ago @WhiteboySlim and I decided to get together around 8PM PST and play some games together. We didn't have a game in mind but we wanted to play.

After meeting up I had the idea to play DoTA 2. Recently I went into the game and noticed you can create a lobby match and play with bots. In fact, you can play just yourself with all bots if you want to.

After pinging a few folks on the site, @panickedthumb, @WhiteboySlim & @Jacob_Richardson joined us for the match.

After getting everyone in the lobby and spending a few minutes figuring out how to start the game we started. I had no idea what any of the characters did, so I picked one at random. Our first match... Read All

Dota 2 Reborn coming soon, beta next week

Valve's Free To Play Documentary Launches on Steam & YouTube

Valve's Free to Play Movie Coming March 19th

6.79 Patch update

Hands On With the Dota 2 Mac and Linux Clients

So, Dota 2 has been released.

DoTA 2 Int. Coming to Seattle Aug 7th - 11th

25 people exit Valve

Need an Invite?

DoTA 2: A Friendly, Fun Experience

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