DOTA 2: Thanks volvo

[Man0warr]

Tons play HoN still. Usually 30-35k on a night and most the DotA pros have moved over.

S2 is so fucked when this goes public...

Not if it sucks. If it's anything like LoL...

HoN is so great because it IS DotA with better UI, lobby, graphics, leaver protection, etc.

Also I doubt this is coming out anytime soon, Valve is really slow.

[Insanecyclone]

DOTA 2?

http://gameinformer.com/b/features/a...d-details.aspx

[Lebzile]

http://gameinformer.com/b/features/a...d-details.aspx








Good luck getting the site to load though, so friggen slow for me.

[Insanecyclone]

May as well post this here.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/13/va...ounces-dota-2/

As expected, Valve has just announced Dota 2 – that's capital D, lower-cased ota – its "massive sequel for one of the most played games in the world." There aren't many details in the short press release found after the break, save for its platforms – Mac and PC – and its release window of 2011.

The title, which eschews the original's acronymical camel-casing ("DotA"), also avoids any mention of the actual original game's title, which is "Defense of the Ancients." Earlier this year, Valve filed a trademark application for the DotA trademark which led one of the game's original creators, Steve "Pendragon" Mescon – now working on DotA-esque League of Legends at Riot Games – to tell Joystiq that he was "surprised that [Valve have] decided to try to trademark the DotA name, because it goes against what [he] and others believe DotA means to the community."

Riot Games even counter-filed for the DotA trademark, pledging "to protect the work that [original DotA creator] Eul, Guinsoo and dozens of other modders have done to create the game," adding, "if we were to obtain the trademark, we would keep the game and the DotA name freely available to the mod community."

Breaking! More details incoming.

VALVE ANNOUNCES DOTA 2

Leading Independent Studio Reveals "IceFrog's" New Project

October 13, 2010 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced Dota 2, a massive sequel for one of the most played games in the world.

Coming to the PC & Mac in 2011, Dota 2 promises to take the unique blend of online RTS and RPG action that has made Dota popular with tens of millions of gamers and expand upon it in every way.

First details on Dota 2 are available now via an exclusive on Gameinformer.com.

For more information on Valve and its games, please visit www.steamgames.com

[Lebzile]

Ah, didn't know there wasn't another thread, but anyways here is the entire article so you guys don't have to open GameInformer's slow as shit site.

Spoiler: show

http://media1.gameinformer.com/image...nnounce610.jpg

The rumors and speculation can cease. Valve is making Dota 2, we've played it, and it's already amazing even though it's not coming out until next year. And we haven't yet laid eyes on Dota 2's biggest innovation: a radical approach to integrating the game's community back into the gameplay itself.

What's a Dota?

Dota 2 takes its name from the Warcraft III mod Defense of the Ancients, a drastic change to that stock real-time strategy title, which pits two teams of five players against each other in highly competitive, 40-minute or longer matches. Unlike most RTSes, DotA has each player controlling a single hero who levels up and stockpiles gold to purchase powerful equipment and consumables. As computer-controlled armies continually spawn and rush the enemy's base, players are responsible for using their powerful heroes to turn the tide of the battle in their favor.

DotA quickly gained massive popularity on Blizzard's Battle.net service, with the growing community utilizing user-created channels and the rudimentary custom game browser to connect players. As mods tend to do, it branched into several variations as time passed. Eventually, one rose to the top: DotA-Allstars, originally created by Steve "Guinsoo" Feak (now employed with Riot Games designing League of Legends). Allstars is currently maintained and updated by IceFrog (who declined to give his real name), who was hired by Valve in 2009 and is now working on Dota 2.
http://media1.gameinformer.com/image...loodseeker.jpg

DotA enjoys such unprecedented popularity for a number of interconnected reasons. The game has a skill curve as long and as wide as Counter-Strike or StarCraft; expert players dominate matches with lesser-skilled individuals solely through manual dexterity and hard-won knowledge. Extensive upgrade paths allow players to combine items into more powerful versions, gaining thousands of hit points or powerful life-stealing attacks. Team play is hugely rewarded; though the map is large enough for all ten players to spread out and fight creeps on their own without anyone engaging anyone else directly, late-game play is almost invariably centered around giant 3v3 or even 5v5 team fights.

The mod has benefited from excellent, long-running support in the form of constant updates that add new content or address balance issues. Said balance is good enough that no dominant team composition or strategy has ever taken hold for long. The heroes are varied enough that a match featuring different team rosters can take on an entirely different character from the last.

The enormous following generated by DotA's deep gameplay is unprecedented. Today, years after its release, a third-party site hosting an update can get hammered by more than six million downloads in a day. The mod spawned a new subgenre, commonly referred to as "action-RTS," that contains two successful commercial games in League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth (and the unfortunate flop Demigod) as well as DotA-Allstars itself. Valve Corporation, the company beloved for its Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, and Left 4 Dead series as well as its outstanding Steam digital distribution and matchmaking platform, is making its entry into this still-growing genre next year with Dota 2.
http://media1.gameinformer.com/image...drowranger.jpg
What Does Valve Bring?

Valve's approach to Dota 2 is unusual in that the gameplay itself is remaining almost entirely untouched. "Our first reaction is to assume that [design elements are] there for a reason," project lead Erik Johnson explains. "IceFrog is one of the smartest designers we've ever met. He's made so many good decisions over the years in building the product. He virtually never makes a decision that doesn't have some reasoning behind it and a way to pick apart the logic behind it." This approach means that Dota 2 basically is DotA-Allstars with new technology.

DotA-Allstars' roster of 100+ heroes is being brought over in its entirety. The single map games take place on is functionally identical to the one that you can download for free today in the Warcraft III mod. Items, skills, and upgrade paths are unchanged. Some hero skills work slightly better due to being freed from the now-ancient Warcraft III engine, but Dota 2 will be instantly familiar to any DotA player.

A few things will make significant differences to players making the transition. Dota 2 uses Valve's Source engine, so the game is much prettier. Source itself is getting a few upgrades, including improved global lighting and true cloth simulation. Dota 2's integrated voice chat is a huge step up from having to set up your own Ventrilo server, and the speed of voice communication is very nearly a requirement for a game as team-focused as DotA.

AI bots will take over for disconnected players, and will be available to play against in unranked training matches as well. However, don't get your hopes up for a full-fledged single-player game, though. Johnson says, "Our goal with the AI is just that their experience isn't destroyed just because one person couldn't finish the game."

The visual style is remarkable for retaining the somewhat cartoony feel that the Warcraft III version of DotA-Allstars is built around, while going in a few different directions. "I think there are functional aspects to the art that are pretty significant to the players," Johnson muses. The environment, particularly in the forests that fill in the map between the three lanes that the NPC armies follow, uses a desaturated color scheme to give the colorful heroes and abilities some visual pop. The sizable art team is putting a lot of work into making the shapes and animations of each hero distinct to the point that players will be able to instantly identify any hero they see and quickly gauge the threat level of any situation.

The game will also feature a ton of custom voice work. You'll get amusing lines from heroes as they deny the enemy team last hits on creeps, and champions who have backstory connections will trade quips when nearby.

The bulk of innovation in Dota 2, however, is ancillary to the gameplay itself. Valve is upgrading Steamworks (the company's backend technologies for matchmaking and other gameplay and community-related things) to allow them to create in-game rewards for participating in the Dota 2 community. The idea is to have everything a player does in or out of game tie back into their online identity. Like the improvements to Source, the Steamworks upgrades will be available to third-party developers who choose to use Valve's tools when Dota 2 launches in 2011.

At a basic level, posting useful feedback or participating in constructive discussions on the forums will contribute to your standing in the community in a visible way. Valve doesn't have the specifics on how this will work nailed down yet. Will you get points that contribute to a visible ranking, like a Gamerscore? Will your posts need to be recommended by other community members to count for anything? What counts as a constructive discussion? These questions are all being actively explored at the moment. Valve assures us that the designers have a slew of awesome ideas for how to implement rewards in a way that’s visible to the rest of the community, but there are no details to announce yet. "When we talk about this identity that exists inside and outside the game, we don't think we're anywhere near it with what exists on Steam right now," Johnson admits.

If this was just about getting points for posting comments, though, we wouldn't waste your time by telling you about it. Dota 2 goes much farther than that. Everything from unlocking new skins for your favorite hero to getting a unique title for writing a strategy guide is on the table. Valve has ambitious plans (for which, again, there are no specifics to share) to host everything themselves and provide the best framework for the community to interact with each other. The idea is to reduce the social friction inherent in having to dig around a bunch of different fansites and wikis to find what you're looking for.

Ultimately, two things will make Dota 2 stand out: the coaching system and interactive guides. Read on to find out more.
http://media1.gameinformer.com/image...sheet_lina.jpg

Riding the Skill Curve

Getting owned sucks. It doesn't matter if you're the victim of a headshot in Counter-Strike, corner trapped in Street Fighter, or swarmed under by Zerglings in StarCraft. Holding the short end of the skill stick in competitive games like these is rough. This problem is compounded in DotA and its clones by two factors. First, matches last around 40 minutes – that's a long time to spend getting your face kicked in. Second, dying not only takes you out of the game while your respawn timer counts down but also directly benefits the other team by giving a big cash bounty to your killer.

At intermediate and higher levels of play, having a poor player on your team who dies frequently is worse than fighting with a man down, as the opposite team gets gobs of gold for picking off the newbie. This has fostered a legendarily newbie-hostile attitude within large swaths of the DotA community. As fun and rewarding as the game is when you're in a match of appropriate skill level – and it can be one of the very best experiences in gaming, without exaggeration – finding those matches has always been a nightmare. It doesn't help that the game is so intense that Valve had to institute a "no talking about the match for an hour afterwards" rule for its internal playtests. The recent commercial titles that more or less cloned DotA have ameliorated this to some extent, but it is still often a huge problem.

Valve believes that the solution to the huge barrier to entry is threefold. The first, obvious solution is to have excellent skill-based matchmaking for both individuals and teams. Valve believes that the work going into Steamworks for Dota 2's release meets that requirement. Second, interactive guides will allow players to do more than just read a guide for their favorite hero that has been deemed helpful by the community at large. Valve plans to allow guide-makers to tie their work back into the game by doing things like highlighting suggested item purchases or displaying useful information during a match.

Finally, a coaching system is being deeply integrated into the game. By logging in as a coach, veteran players can do their part to help out newer folks. Valve hasn't entirely decided on the specifics of how newbies and coaches will be matched up, but once they're together a few things happen. The coach sees the pupil's screen, and gets private voice and chat channels to communicate with them. The coach probably won't be able to take control of anything directly (once again, the details are currently under discussion), but information is power in Dota 2 and having a mentor whispering in your ear can make all the difference in the world.
http://media1.gameinformer.com/image..._morphling.jpg

Of course, the pupil will be able to rate the coach's helpfulness. Being a well-regarded coach will have explicit in-game rewards, just like writing useful guides, posting constructive feedback, or engaging in interesting strategy discussions. If the overwhelming response to Battle.net achievements is any indication, vanity rewards like these will be extremely effective in channeling the community's energies toward positive contributions.

Valve founder and boss Gabe Newell thinks that ongoing service and value creation over a game's lifespan is the new reality of game development. "IceFrog was one of the smartest people we've ever met about doing that, and he was doing it with both hands tied behind his back, so to speak," Newell says. The company plans on approaching Dota 2 with the same dedication that won it the fanatical devotion of the Team Fortress 2 community, pushing out dozens of updates that do everything from adding new hats to fixing balance issues to introducing entire new match types for free.

"I think the interesting thing is us adding a second layer where the community is a service to each other. That's the real shift that we're trying to build here. Valve is going to keep building software around Dota and around the community and around Steamworks for Dota, but we're also going to build this system where the community can bring service to each other and be recognized for it," Johnson proclaims. With a solid backbone of community-enabling systems and Valve's legendary support and technology behind it, Dota 2 has a chance to turn one of the most popular mods of all time into a full game on PC and Mac that compares favorably to any eight-figure-budget console blockbuster.
http://media1.gameinformer.com/image...et/logo610.jpg

[Hyan]

Not sure if I'll like the source engine for this game, we'll see. Artwork looks pretty.

[Kaisha]

What's wrong with the Source engine? Runs fine on a large variety of machines as well as cross compatible via PC/Mac a la Warcraft 3, which the original was built within.

[Vandole]

merged cause leb's a fucknut that cant use search function or read the first page

[Lebzile]

Hey, fuck you. When I posted that this thread wasn't bumped. You negro-lover.

[Insanecyclone]

Yeah we kind of posted at the same time.

[Maguspk]

Why the fuck are they adding hats. I wanted my first post in this thread to be a joke. Kind of excited to see where this goes, there's been a lot of drama though and there's a juicy article about how Icefrog is apparently fucked up and helped Riot/S2 develop their games (was employed by them).

http://icefrogtruth.blogspot.com/

[Noobta]

He was laughed out of Riot when they interviewed iirc. He wanted a top position in the company and full control over everything lol

[Maguspk]

I should clarify and say it's only speculation that he was involved with Riot and at least did try to propose selling the DoTA concept to them, the only proof that exists is that he worked with S2.

I think DoTA 2 will do great, it should easily squash shit like LoL and HoN if Valve does their thing with it, I just hope the hats and stuff do not affect the game like the items and shit affect TF2. Just hearing about all the random item drops and crafting and shit in TF2 turns me off so much, I don't play games like that to have to farm items to be competitive, I play games like that because they offer an environment where you can be competitive without having to farm for X items every Y update(s).

[Tidy]

I wanna see concept art for Puck D:

[Insanecyclone]

http://www.dota2.com/2010/11/dota-2-qa/

Q: Is there reconnect support for DotA 2? (by Vanes-UT)
A: This was actually one of the very first things we added early on, before the game was stable, in order to help with testing. You’ll also be able to have a friend of similar skill level substitute for you in case you have to leave. Players that want to improve their reputation in the game and community will also be able to help out by joining ongoing games that are missing players.

Q: Can I still play with my friends from America even though I am European? (by Adam Mosley)
A: Yes, a lot of people have friends in different regions and we want to allow them to easily interact. One of the things that makes DotA special is how big the community is, so we will do our best to make it easy to connect and communicate with one another.

Q: How are you going to handle delay and lag between players? (by Alex)
A: This is something we are putting a lot of time and resources into. Minimizing delay to servers, along with optimizing networking code, is very important to being able to enjoy DotA on both a casual and competitive level. We’re expanding the Steam infrastructure around the world so the matchmaking service for DotA 2 is able to provide the lowest possible ping wherever you are playing. There will also be some uniquely located servers that are optimized regionally for handling longer distance matches.

Q: What kind of hardware requirements will the game have? (by S.Hong)
A: We don’t have an official minimum spec just yet. The goal is to make sure that people with older computers and the PCs at LAN centers will be able to support the game, while also allowing for newer computers to scale well.

Q: I heard there was going to be an AI feature for when a player leaves. Is there going to be an option to take direct control of the hero? (by Stephen)
A: The AI features will be optional to the players in the game. You can have teammates use it, send it to the base, or give it AI modes and behaviors to follow.

Q: Will there be anything like the AI maps in DotA or a “training mode” with difficulty levels? (by L.Pham)
A: Yes there will be bot support if you just want to play by yourself, or you can create a party of friends and fill the rest of the slots with bots. There are a variety of different settings you can use in order to configure the bots, ranging from selectable difficulty levels to specific behaviors that you want to practice against. For example, if you want to practice your lane control, you could configure the bots to be stronger at denying, last hitting, and harassing. We’ll also have some specially crafted challenge scenarios, similar to things like Pudge Wars, which I’ll elaborate on in the future.

Q: Will the replay system allow me to move freely backwards and forwards in time rather than having to watch a whole replay? (by Luciando)
A: You’ll be able to jump around to any point in the replay, add bookmarks for easy referencing, view detailed stats and graphs while the game is going, and watch through a specific player’s view (with regards to their camera movement). You’ll also be able to watch replays with friends if you want to review a game or learn from your mistakes. To aid videomakers, the replay system will have flexible camera angle and speed controls. There will also be a bunch of commentating and editing features you can add to your replays.

Q: Don’t you think you should make a lot of changes to the gameplay? (by Robert)
A: Significant changes would not necessarily make it a better game. There are countless features we are building around the game that will make the experience a much better one. The gameplay itself, though, has always evolved step by step, and it will continue with that methodology. We consider this a long term project, in the same way DotA has always been. We want to provide a quality experience and not just change for the sake of change. You’ll naturally see additions and improvements to the game as time passes, but it would be a natural progression aimed at improving the game for the players and not for other arbitrary reasons. Valve and I strongly believe that the player focused development process the game has gone through is what will allow us to continue making the best decisions with regards to where we spend our development time.

Q: Can you spectate an already ongoing DotA 2 game? (by Valo)
A: A lot of the game will be built around spectating and shoutcasting support. You will be able to join most ongoing games (unless the players marked it as private) and just watch them. You can join a game your friend is in, see what your favorite clan is doing, or simply pick a skill level and a hero you like and it will find you one to watch. We also have a system in place that automatically distributes the load to multiple servers so that the game itself won’t be affected by users joining to spectate. Our distribution network will allow us to support any number of users that want to watch, by dynamically assigning more servers to the task. There will also be special tags and search options to help you find live or old shoutcasted games. Shoutcasters will be able to operate as directors, so anyone watching will have his camera looking at the same things the shoutcaster is viewing. There is also an optional anti-cheat mechanism built in so that the game you are spectating can be time delayed by any amount of time to reduce potential abuse.

Q: Will you keep loyal to casting times like Torrent and will it still be possible to do the advanced tricks, like animation canceling, fog of war tricks we’ve learned, etc? (by Lycan)
A: Yes, those mechanics are implemented. They are a very integral part of the game and it wouldn’t feel the same without them.

Q: How will we manage replay files? (by Nikos)
A: They will be automatically saved with your identity online utilizing the Steam Cloud storage system, so you don’t have to worry about losing them. You’ll be able to use the replay browser tools to search, sort, tag, rank, and favorite them.

Q: Are you going to work on DotA after DotA 2 is released? (by Jack Lee)
A: I plan to keep DotA updated for as long as the community wants. That being said though, I think that DotA 2 represents the long term future for the game.

Q: How will development change with regards to your role, current beta testers, community feedback, etc? (by Basel)
A: All that stuff will remain the same, except that now I also get to work with the developers at Valve. All of our current playtesters and even contributors like Kunkka are helping. One of the most important things for me has always been getting input from the community. There will be a lot of opportunities, throughout the next year, to give your feedback on all the things we are working on, ranging from features to visuals.

Q: Are the upgraded graphics going to be distracting? New graphics are great, but when there’s too much, you can’t see what’s going on anymore. (by Lycan)
A: Gameplay is definitely the most important aspect, everyone on the team understands this concern. The number one priority is making sure players can quickly and easily tell what’s happening on the screen at all times. Fine tuning the right visual balance with each ability, effect, hero, etc., will be an ongoing process as the game is playtested and we get your feedback. A clean and understandable visual representation of the action is important to everyone from experienced players, spectators, to new players.

Q: Will I be able to help test DotA 2? (by Sing Liu)
A: There will certainly be an opportunity to get involved with beta testing DotA 2 and help us with your feedback. We’ll release more information about how to sign up in the future.

Q: Are you going to do anything to make it easier for new players to get into the game and feel welcome? (by Arvin)
A: Some of what makes it hard, in current DotA, stems from the lack of services around the game that can help foster a better relationship between players and that it’s hard for players to be matched up with equally skilled allies and opponents. Things like tutorials, matchmaking, AI bots, identity, coaching, and community contribution will go a long way to making it easier for new players to fit in.

Q: What hotkey setup will exist in DotA 2? (by Stany Kaff)
A: We have a few default templates that cover the most popular configurations, but you’ll also be able to fully customize them to your liking. You can customize it on a global level or on a per hero basis if you choose. The hotkey configuration will include everything, not just heroes and items, but also how you navigate in the game, control the camera, autocast, set control groups, etc. Your settings are saved to your identity online, so if you go to a LAN center you will not have to reconfigure your keys.

[Ramor]

for most people who play HoN as opposed to LoL and played the original dotas (allstars/df etc) how do you like it? i've never played hon but i'm pretty ok with LoL as it is even though it seems fairly watered down and noob level.

my main question is if it's a copy of DotA: AS how's Traxex? does she still have a silence? that's my main gripe with LoL is that trax has some stupid creeping ability rather than a shutdown compared to dota (at least the last time i played dota trax had silence)

[Rivero]

for most people who play HoN as opposed to LoL and played the original dotas (allstars/df etc) how do you like it? i've never played hon but i'm pretty ok with LoL as it is even though it seems fairly watered down and noob level.

my main question is if it's a copy of DotA: AS how's Traxex? does she still have a silence? that's my main gripe with LoL is that trax has some stupid creeping ability rather than a shutdown compared to dota (at least the last time i played dota trax had silence)

I beta-tested HoN and I'm a 6 year DotA Vet. Honestly I can say HoN is just DotA with nicer but more difficult to manage graphics (meaning in some team fights you might have trouble seeing what the fuck is happening). All in all, playing HoN or playing DotA depends on how well you know your community. If you've been playing DotA for a long-time, chances are you know a lot of people in the community, are in a clan, versed with the gameplay/graphics/control so you're going to automatically lean more towards DotA.

If you just picked up DotA or played it on and off you might be better off with HoN since it has actual stats/clan support/faster updates/etc. I think the only reason DotA is still alive is because the requirements are really low (Warcraft III) and supposedly the balancing is a lot more tighter on DotA's end. Also the competitive scene for DotA is way bigger and more famous compared to HoN. I've heard of pro HoN matches but they can't come close to the pro DotA community at the moment.

I've played all three though and I can't really compare LoL to either but I personally enjoy DotA better when weighed against HoN, it feels less stressful in team fights since I don't have to deal with the sharp and dark graphics and it might just be how I'm so used to the WC3 models.


Also know that DotA is practically free of cost since you can pirate WC3 and play on LAN-based programs (RGC,Garena,etc).

[Man0warr]

Leak from today:

Regarding Beta:

“The beta client is only useable on a special unlocked version of steam, so no sharing.”

It’s quite obvious as of now that there haven’t been many beta keys released and only Valve staff and testers are able to access beta, however later in the text it is said that it will be open to beta testing. As of when, it was not stated.

Regarding Modes:

“Valve is doing a lot of creative things with it. They have “classic” mode that is 1 for 1 true to WC3 DotA and a ton of new modes for play as well.

Classic Mode: None of the changes, 100% WC3 Dota
Normal Mode: Orb updates, bug fixes, etc
Easy Mode: No EXP loss from deny, no gold loss on death, etc
All Random All Mid: I give you 1 guess.
Fortress Mode: 1 team is attacking while the other defends, defending team can buy traps, attacking team can buy creeps.
Arena Mode: FFA or teamed death match
Wild Mode: Random heroes with random skills.
Free Mode: No cool downs with no mana cost on skills.
Commander Mode: When you die you are changed into another hero with the same items and same level. The first side to run out of heroes or to lose their base loses.”

To sum it up: Classic mode = normal mode in HoN, Normal mode has some orb changes, EM is now basically casual mode in HoN, 5-6 other FUN modes are being released: deathmatch, offense/defense, WTFmode,

Regarding UI and Gameplay (Int heroes):

“Really they have done wonderful job porting DotA play over.
The UI aids in last hitting (you can turn it off) where things that you can kill with a melee attack glow a little, Items are pure copies of the DotA items but they reworked the orb system. Also the shop is crazy well designed.
The game is still Str/Agi/Int but most Int heroes have at least 1 spell that scales off their Int at least a little.
Not posting pics or anything as my brother (who got me into the beta) said if I post anything they can sue his ass for all he has ever made working for them.

Looks a little like the HoN shop but you can set up an auto shop where it auto buys items for you based on the gold you have. So you can tell it at X gold when you are in range of the shop have it buy X items.

It is not that bad. Like some of them do it interesting ways even. Like Puck’s Illusory Orb costs 10 mana less per 20 int you have.”

TLDR: Interface is really good, noobs can use a last hitting aid, Int scales for certain skills (Puck’s Illusory Orb costs 10 mana less per 20 int you have”

Random general info:

“Classic mode is still as long. Easy Mode goes about 20-30 mins most the time. The other modes are all over the place.
Orb effects are 100% redone with a new system. Not going to go into the meat of it as it is still in flux.
Animation canceling works just like in DotA.
All the heroes are ported tho only about 75% of them are turned on most the time, the other 25% are turned on for testing them and then turned off again if they are not ready.
The models are mostly new, easy to tell what hero is what tho. only about 45% of heroes have VA right now but for the most part it is good.

A lot of the TF2 and Portal VAs are doing Dota 2 work.

Oh also there are 8 maps right now tho some of them only really work for their modes (like the All Random All Mid map).”

Regarding Pricing:

“I don’t know really.
Tho the fact that TF2 went free makes me think Dota 2 will not.
Also the in game store only has hero skins and such listed in it so it seems all heroes will be unlocked from the start.
But ya 8 maps right now we have been getting 1 each week for the last 4 weeks tho and they say more is on the way.
They are doing some interesting things to mess with the classic style of play on the map so they have been fun so far. Tho some heroes are a little better on some maps then others.
If they allow all the maps competitive play then events will be crazy fun to watch.”

Regarding Release Date:

Also our NDA is dated to be lifted the same day as Gamescon.
They are playing to do a huge event with a playable Demo there.

[More info regarding Gamescon > ]Valve listed for GamesCom event in mid August - Possible dota 2 preview?

Rumor is public beta starting then too.

Heroes:
“All the heroes look cool but the animations are changed but the heroes don’t really look the same as they do in Dota.
Their looks are changed around a lot but you get used too it fast, they look like their names.”


Icefrog:

“Well I am not an insider but I know what my brother has been telling me.
More or less Icefrog is worried Guinsoo will steal their new modes or make legal issues.
Gabe is more or less a Icefrog fanboy (they spend a lot of time in the office having one on one meetings and shit) so he has full control of his project.
They agreed the name Dota 2 is all the marketing it needs to get a huge start there is no reason to waste money marketing it.
So ya that is way we are going to only see stuff for the first time this Gamescon.”

Graphics:

“I am not the best at explaining graphics but I will try.
The game over all looks bright, the map has nice contrast to the heroes and it is east to see units on top of it. The units over all have vary complex models that look great if a little on the dark side.
Techies (who I play the most) is now a cart with 2 goblins in the back holding a bomb and 1 goblin in the front. Their spell effects look really good too.
Phantom Lancer looks much more like a lion man and is a darker blue.
Pit Lord is fully redone and looks like a huge hell dog with two heads and dragon wings.
But ya over all they look great.”

Regarding Lack of Info:

“My brother is a programer as valve and they give out 4 codes to each person that is working on the project.
We had sign a huge NDA to get in then they mail us a special copy of Steam that we have to use.
For the most part people joke around about leaking shit but know that if we get found out the person who got us in gets fired and has to pay a huge fee.
That is why no images as it will start a head hunt inside valve.
Over all the testing has been great with almost no bugs. Some heroes had wonky shit like Phantom Lancer had a bug that made it so all his attacks made clones and all his clones attacks made clones. Had a game where we all went down to 5 FPS after there was over 2,000 clones on the screen just eating anything that moved.
But once they get the last few heroes rolling it will be fully ready for open testing then releasing”

Training for noobs;

“There is a great tutorial for the game over all explaining each little thing about the game with videos and a tutorial for each hero as well.
A great single player training mode to learn how to play in as well.”

Launcher:

“Oh a few things about the launcher it’s self.
Has full support for Clans, Tournaments, etc within the UI it’s self.
To set up a Tournament all you have to do is pick the mode you want, the rules being used, if bans are being used or if you want to pre-ban heroes, then if it is open or invite only. Once you have it set up it will show up on the list of open tournaments or the players you invited will get a message.
As teams sign up (as a clan) it will auto make brackets based on their clan ranking (tho the tournament maker can change brackets as needed for seeds and such).
Then when it is time for the games to take place a message goes out to the players and it auto matches people for the game, after each game it updates the bracket and sends out invites for the next game.
There is a full spectator mode for any public game that allows you to see tons of info and also lets you mess around with the UI for it. Like if you want to only see the stats for 1 team then you can make it show that, if you want full info on only one player then you can get a full UI based around that one person, etc.
Makes it great when watching replays of your games to work out what you did right or wrong.
Over all the most professional game interfaces I have ever seen.”

More info about maps:

“Ummm… 1 of the maps has no lanes and is just a huge jungle. Has some real interesting ganking play tho wards kind of ruin the map, I have put in more then one report explaining why they need to be disabled on the map.
There is a 3v3v3 map that makes for some fun play but it is not fully up yet, they have us test it, write reports, then they take it back down till they rework it.
It is not like the 6th version now.”

[Kiehl]

"More or less Icefrog is worried Guinsoo will steal their new modes or make legal issues."

I'm assuming Guinsoo from Riot. Interesting read. A couple of friends and I are excited for this.

[Man0warr]

Yeah Guinsoo was the original creator of DotA Allstars before Icefrog took over keeping the game updated.

Funny thing is neither of them have rights to the name or the game, it's just a mod a community built over the course of a decade.