Blizzard DOTA Trailer Announced! Will They Rival Dota 2?

Blizzard DOTA trailer has just announced in the 2011 Blizzcon. As you may already know, Blizzard has working on its own Dota map on the Starcraft II for quite some time. And now, we can see a little glimpse of what the Blizzard Dota will looks like. Check out the Blizzard DOTA trailer!





After watching the trailer, i must say that it is quite amazing. The story lies between two Gods in the universe, the Red God and the Blue God (i must say that their names kinda lame -_-). They then kidnap heroes from across the time and universe to fight each other and amuse them.

We will see many heroes from Blizzard on the battle field, such as Queen of Blade and Nova from the Starcraft series, Thrall and Arthas from the Warcraft world, and much more. But the release date is yet to know. For those who are too lazy watching the trailer, you can check these images. Enjoy!

Thrall from Warcraft in Blizzard Dota

Nova from Starcraft!

More heroes from Blizzard's realm!

The legendary Arthas will also join the party!

Enjoy the Dota war in the Starcraft II realm!

Another battle field for ancient heroes!

Lock-Down?

Now, there's only one question remain, when will the map finished? ^^;; Will Dota 2 released before them? What do you think? And stay tune for more news of the DotA genre!

The DotA 6.72f AI Got Delayed! But Come with Stronger AI!

It seems there will be some delay on the DotA 6.72f AI release date. Last week, PBMN said that the map will be coming around these days, but it looks like PBMN manage to work together with Cloud_str, the former AI developer. With those two combined, we get a team who will be able to add a great AI to heroes who doesn't have it yet. So, if you said the delay is a bad news, i think the possibility of having more heroes with better AI in it is worth the delay. Check out what PBMN said:

Hello, again.
We discussed the release with Cloud_str and we came to conclusion that we need a little more developing time. During that time, many heroes will get their long anticipated AI, so i guess at the end the long waiting will be rewarded.
Basically the good news outbid the bad news of the delay: we get more AI for the heroes, bugs get fixed and skill usages get refined. Cloud_Str is a coding machine :) and every dev day means new amazing things and possibilities in the DotA AI world. Stay tuned... the release is definitely coming!!!

Can't wait for the new DotA 6.72 AI map! Since PBMN doesn't say any hint on when the map will be released, you can subscribe our feed so we can tell you when the map is released. Cheers!

DotA 6.72f AI will be Coming Next Week!

Dota 6.72f AI Plus - Dota-Allstars 6.72f AI Plus Map Download. After several months without any news, PBMN has just made an update on his blog about DotA 6.72 AI. He said that everything is working out good and he planned to release the first revision next week. Here's what he said:

Hi, guys. Long time no see. If things work out good we may release the map next week. Loads of things changed, so more incremental releases may follow in short time with bugfixes and new AI additions.

Wohooo, it's really a good news to those who waiting for the DotA 6.72 AI map. Stay tune on this blog and don't forget to subscribe our feed so we can immediately tell you if the map already released! :)

Updates : The map got delayed for better AI! Check out this post!

DotA 6.73 Will Come With More Than 1 New Heroes!

Lately, DotA 6.73 is somehow been overshadowed by the recent Dota 2 news and updates. Personally, i even a little worried that the map won't be coming at all. But rest assured! Today IceFrog has confirmed on his profile page that there will be more than one new heroes on the DotA 6.73.


Most people on the forums suggest that one of them will be the Gnoll. But about you? Do you have any hint about the upcoming heroes? Share your thought here! 

DotA 6.72f Map | Download DotA 6.72f Official Map and Changelogs

Dota 6.72f Map - Official Dota-Allstars 6.72f Download (Released!)

DotA 6.72f map is officially released. IceFrog has released yet another patch to correct to end the streak dominant bugs. Once again, it fixes a bug that the ability to return Syllabear Spiritbear that does not work properly. Hopefully DotA 6.72f remains bug free so as not to interrupt the further development of DotA 2.





Dota 6.72f Changelogs:
* Fixed a bug with Spirit Bear's Return

Dota 6.72f Download Link
Dota 6.72f Download - Hotfile Mirror
Dota 6.72f Download - MediaFire Mirror


IceFrog has apologized to the fans for the recent bug patches. This map is rumored to be the last version as DotA 2 is expected to be released in fall this year. You can catch the latest DOTA 2 News on DotA 2 Utilities.

DotA 6.72e Map | Download DotA 6.72e Official Map and Changelogs

DotA 6.72e Map | Download DotA 6.72e Official Map and Changelogs


Dota 6.72e Map is now released. IceFrog has released DotA 6.72e hotfix patch shortly after v6.72d due to a dysfunctional Batrider's Firefly when there are no observers/referees in the game, everything else remains the same. It is recommended to download the fixed version DotA 6.72e to avoid this bug.




Dota 6.72e Changelogs:
* Fixed a major bug with Firefly whenever there were no observers in the game

Dota 6.72e Download Link
Dota 6.72e Download - MediaFire Mirror
Dota 6.72e Download - GetDota Mirror


ps: Download the zip file and extract the map (.w3x file) in your "Warcraft 3\Maps\Download" sub-folder.

DotA 6.72d Map | Download DotA 6.72d Official Map and Changelogs

DotA 6.72d Map | Download DotA 6.72d Official Map and Changelogs

Dota 6.72d Map Download - Dota-Allstars 6.72d Official Map has just came out! This map doesn't contain many changes as IceFrog mention that DotA 6.72d is the new stable version recommended for tournament usage. You can see several slight reduction on skill stats and item price, many bug fixes and the melee model size is reverted. Here are the complete changelogs and download link:



Dota 6.72d Changelogs:

Axe
- Base HP regeneration from 1 to 1.25

Bane Elemental
- Enfeeble manacost rescaled from 125 to 95/105/115/125

Bristleback
- Quill Spray is no longer blocked by Vanguard, Stout Shield, etc

Centaur Warchief
- Return base damage increased from 10 to 16

Drow Ranger
- Frost Arrows no longer reduce attack speed
- Frost Arrows movement speed reduction from 10/20/30/40 to 11/24/37/50

Krobelus
- Armor increased by 1

Kunkka
- Base Intelligence from 16 to 18
- Ghost Ship cooldown from now scales 90 to 90/80/70

Lina Inverse
- Fiery Soul movement bonus increased from 2/3/4/5% to 3/4/5/6%

Lone Druid
- Spirit Bear can no longer use Return if it has taken damage from a player unit in the last 3 seconds

Lycanthrope
- Feral Impulse AoE reduced from global to 900
- Shapeshift base attack rate changed to 1.5 (a nerf)
- Wolves HP reduced from 400/475/550/625 to 400/450/500/550

Naga Siren
- Song of the Siren duration increased from 6 to 7 seconds
- Rip Tide cooldown from 12 to 10 seconds

Phoenix
- Sun Ray damage increased from 4% to 6%
- Fire Spirits sub ability now launches all the spirits at once, rather than one at a time
- Fire Spirits min/max numbers rebalanced

Old:
====
Minimum heal per spirit: 10/15/20/25
Maximum heal per spirit: 40/60/80/100

New:
====
Minimum heal per spirit: 7.5/12.5/17.5/22.5
Maximum heal per spirit: 30/50/70/90

Pit Lord
- Armor reduced by 1

Rooftrellen
- Strength from 27 + 3.4 to 25 + 2.8
- Overgrowth cooldown increased from 100/95/90 to 115/105/95

Shadow Demon
- Disruption cast range decreased from 700 to 600

Shadow Priest
- Shadow Wave always heals you first before it jumps (so it won't jump back to you randomly during the bounce. This does not eat up one of your bounce limits either)

Spiritbreaker
- Strength growth decreased from 2.8 to 2.4
- Movement speed decreased from 295 to 290
- Charge of Darkness stun duration decreased from 1.4/1.8/2.2/2.6 to 1.2/1.6/2.0/2.4 seconds
- Nether Strike now hits a Greater Bash based on it's current level and not auto-lvl4

Storm Spirit
- Base Strength increased by 2

Tuskarr
- Warlus Punch normal critical strike restored from 2.25 to 2.5x

Items

Cranium Basher
- Recipe cost from 1150 to 1000

Khadgar's Pipe of Insight
- HP regeneration is now equal to the total of its components (10->11)

Cosmetics & Gameplay


• Undid melee hero collision change from 6.72c
• Runes now die to one attack

• Rescaled Neutral Auras to the standard 900 AoE (Command Aura was 500, Toughness Aura was 700, Unholy Aura was 1000)
• Harpy Storm's Chain Lightning manacost reduced from 120 to 90 and cooldown from 9 to 6
• Enraged Wildkin's Tornado no longer automatically wanders around
• Forest Troll High Priest's Heal cast range from 250 to 350

• Restored Phantom Lancer's old Quelling Blade attack animation
• Changed the Circle of Power's Freeze Hero hotkey to avoid a conflict with revive
• Recoded Chain Frost to jump when the projectile hits rather than after a fixed amount of time. Projectile speed rescaled accordingly to remain similar to before (487503)

Bugs

• Fixed a bug that would cause towers to sometimes ignore Batrider
• Fixed a vision bug when Skeleton King reincarnates
• Fixed a bug with The Swarm on invisible units
• Fixed a rare bug with Borrowed Time that could let it double cast
• Fixed a rare bug with Shackle based spells being stuck on Ezalor when he is channeling Illuminate
• Fixed a rare bug with Morph Replicate allowing you to endlessly teleport to the middle of the map
• Fixed a potential bug with spell steal projectile arriving to you while you die
• Fixed incorrect icons for Mana Void and Bloodrage
• Fixed the recent Hand of Midas reworking not working Mud Golems
• Fixed Goblin's Greed sometimes causing texttags to fail to appear overhead
• Fixed Focus Fire sometimes causing your attack speed to drop in very rare situations
• Fixed temporary hero vision bug after Aegis respawn with Faceless Void, Magina, Dragon Knight
• Fixed Charge of Darkness interaction with Aegis
• Fixed Snowball visual direction when rolling
• Fixed an exploit possible with Devour against Infested Naix
• Fixed Culling Blade being unable to kill Ethereal units
• Fixed Ice Blast being unable to kill Ethereal units
• Fixed a rare bug with some items registering as multiple spell events with some abilities
• Fixed some minor timing issues with CM mode
• Fixed a rare bug with The Swarm that could cause heroes to attach to each other
• Fixed some issues with Nightstalker Aghanim and Switch
• Fixed a rare bug with Thundergod's Wrath that could cause it to do the wrong damage
• Fixed Spell Steal cooldown not appearing on scoreboard
• Fixed Meepo buyback not fully restoring the mana of his other clones (484729)
• Fixed Static Remnant triggering on things like Spin Web (484157)
• Fixed various -swap exploits
• Fixed duration of Anchor Smash debuff on enemy not always lasting the right amount of time when hitting the same target in a short period of time
• Fixed lots of other misc bugs



Dota 6.72d Download Link
Dota 6.72d Download - GameWebZ Mirror
Dota 6.72d Download - GetDota Mirror

DotA 6.72c Map | Download DotA 6.72c Official Map and Changelogs

DotA 6.72c Map | Download DotA 6.72c Official Map and Changelogs

Dota 6.72c Map Download - Dota-Allstars 6.72c Official Map just released! map is out guys and i'm surprised with the amount of changes in this map. Usually IceFrog only fix some vital bugs when released the b/c/d version of a map. But heck, you will find many balance and some cosmetic changes in this map, including the addition of Filipino language(!). Maybe he want to make a new stable map as soon as possible. Anyway, let's check out the new map!

Dota 6.72c Changelogs:
Heroes

Bounty Hunter
- Base intelligence increased from 16 to 19

Broodmother
- Base movement speed reduced from 310 to 295
- Spin Web cooldown reduced from 90/70/50/30 to 30
- Spin Web AoE increased from 500 to 650
- Spin Web movement bonus increased from 20/23/26/29% to 20/25/30/35%
- Spawn Spiderlings spawn count decreased from 1/2/3/4 to 1/2/3/3
- Spawn Spiderlings Manacost rebalanced from 80/100/120/140 to 120
- Spiderlings & Spiderites are now affected by Spin Web
- Spiderlings Model size increase slightly
- Spiderlings & Spiderites they now take more damage from towers (50%-125%)
- Spiderlings now do more damage to heroes (75%->100%) and less damage to towers (70%-40%)

Chaos Knight
- Phantasm manacost reduced from 175/225/275 to 125/200/275
- Phantasm cooldown reduced from 180/160/140 to 140

Crystal Maiden
- Freezing Field hotkey changed from Z to F

Dirge
- Tombstone no longer generates usable corpses

Furion
- Base strength increased by 2

Grand Magus
- Fade Bolt bounce AoE reduced from 600 to 500

Huskar
- Life Break cast range reduced to 550

Jakiro
- Macropyre damage interval is now smoother (same overall damage, more intervals)

Naga Siren
- Intelligence growth increased from 1.65 to 1.95

Pandaren Brewmaster
- Base HP regeneration increased to 0.75

Phantom Lancer
- Base HP regeneration increased to 0.75
- Juxtapose rebalanced to have a 12% creation chance at all levels with a max of 2/3/4/5 illusions

Pit Lord
- Expulsion cooldown increased from 10 to 18 seconds
- Expulsion manacost increased from 75 to 125
- Expulsion corpse AoE and heal/damage AoE reduced from 600 to 575
- Expulsion interval increased from 1 to 1.25 seconds

Rooftrellen
- Added a 2 second fade time to Nature's Guise
- Overgrowth AOE reduced from 725 to 625
- Living Armor regeneration reduced from 2/3/4/5 to 1/2/3/4

Spectre
- Haunt/Reality now only moves your camera if you are targeting an area away from where your screen is currently looking

Spirit Breaker
- Charge of Darkness indicator AoE increased from 2500 to 3000
- Charge of Darkness manacost increased from 75 to 100

Shadow Priest
- Poison Touch is no longer blocked by damage block items like Vanguard

Sven
- Warcry AoE increased from 450 to 700

Terrorblade
- Metamorphosis illusion extra damage taken increased from 250% to 350%

Troll Warlord
- Ranged Whirling Axes now does 75 damage
- Fervor AS bonus rebalanced

Old:
====
5/10/15/20 AS per attack with a max of 100

New
====
20 AS per attack max of 40/60/80/100

Warlock
- Shadow Word cooldown reduced from 24 to 20

Zeus
- Lightning Bolt/Thundergod's Wrath now reveals the same area at night as during the day (1000/750 to 1000/1000)

Items

Necronomicon
- Cooldown reduced from 90 to 80

Veil of Discord
- Discord AoE increased by 25 and cast range by 75

Vladmir's Offering
- Aura AoE decreased from 1100 to the standard 900
- Now includes the regeneration from its components in the final item

Gameplay and Cosmetics

• Melee hero collision size now reduced from 24 to 12
• Added support for the Filipino language
• Added a visual effect for Bloodstone's heal (469212)
• Pitlord is now in CM restriction list
• Wildkin's Tornado cooldown reduced from 120 to 70
• Charge of Darkness now displays a minimap signal for allies when it is used (464281)
• EMP is now an AoE targeting cursor (296622)
• Added a new attack projectile for QoP (461897)
• Changed Sniper's projectile arc (274494)
• New attack projectile for Eredar (459608)
• Added an Aghanim visual effect for Beastmaster (459402)
• Added a new Phantom Strike visual effect (463160)
• Added a new visual effect to Furion's Teleportation (450559)
• Added a new Icon for Telekinesis (280720)
• Added a new Icon for Spell Steal (280720)
• Added a new test command -dummy that creates a level 10 enemy hero in the middle of the map
• Improved Haunt visual effect (370706)
• Infest allied only visual effects are now visible to observers

Bugs

• Fixed Icarus Dive sometimes affecting Magic Immune units for a short duration
• Fixed a bug with how Warpath stack count works when it is at max power (new stacks don't count towards incrementing the timer)
• Fixed a couple of areas that you could still get stuck in with Telekinesis
• Fixed a bug with Neutral spawning and Goo
• Fixed Remote Mines explosion to keep the vision while it is exploding (382646)
• Fixed Hookshot having inconsistent behavior on magic immune units
• Fixed some bugs with Infest
• Fixed some bugs with Whirling Axes and Spell Steal
• Fixed Echo Slam tooltip to make it more accurate
• Fixed some exploits with Ravage, Thundergod's Wrath, Requiem of Souls, Slithereen Crush and Reverse Polarity

Yeah! Great changes from IceFrog.

Dota 6.72c Download Link
Dota 6.72c Download - GameWebZ Mirror
Dota 6.72c Download - GetDota Mirror

DotA 6.72b Map | Download DotA 6.72b Official Map and Changelogs

DotA 6.72b Map | Download DotA 6.72b Official Map and Changelogs

Dota 6.72b Map Download - Dota Allstars 6.72b Official Map-out now! IceFrog made some fix for Mac PPC bug that could crash thing and also made several adjustments. See the changelog and download link below!

DotA 6.72b Changelogs:

• Living Armor now regenerates buildings only in a 900 aoe
• Leech Seed cooldown rescaled from 12 to 18/16/14/12
• Treant Protector base armor reduced by 1
• Essence Shift no longer permanently steals attributes
• Restored Shadowraze's original visual effect
• Recolored Spiritbreaker during Charge of Darkness to make it clear that he is no longer magic immune since 6.72

• Fixed a PPC Mac only bug that caused crashes on map selection

Make sure to delete the old map and restart

• Fixed a bug that caused saving and reloading to crash
• Fixed a bug with Infest and -switch
• Fixed a bug with Living Armor and -switch
• Fixed a possible fatal error with Whirling Axes on map edges
• Fixed Troll's bash not getting leveled up properly
• Fixed the lowest level of bkb and cheese being stealable
• Fixed Dragon Knight Elder Form interaction with Telekinesis causing the model to be stuck on the ground
• Fixed Wisp appearing in -randomint
• Fixed a bug with Whirling Axes and -swap
• Fixed some problems with Timewalk that caused it to drag performance down a lot
• Fixed a few other misc bugs


Download Dota MAP 6.72b Download Link
Dota 6.72b Download - GetDota Mirror

DotA 6.72 Coming Out This Week?

IceFrog posted something great about DotA 6.72 on his PlayDota profile page. On April  23th , he said that the map is already on translation process and he expect that it will be complete within a week. So, cross your finger guys and hope the map released really soon ;)

DotA 6.72 Update: Meepo Got Aghanim Upgrade?

IceFrog has just posted this picture on his profile page at PlayDotA. It's the picture of the current bug that he's been working at on the DotA 6.72 Beta. Cool! I can only assume that he will added Meepo's Aghanim Scepter upgrade in the next version. Hope Ice will post another update, it's been a while since we get any official update about DotA 6.72 :)

PS: Did you notice that the picture is using Germany?

Warcraft 3 TFT 1.24f Patch Download

Warcraft 3 TFT 1.24f Patch Download. This is a good news to all Dota gamers, to warn them from spreading of virus in Warcraft 3. Now here's the story according to the source, the Warcraft 3 1.24e patch has been hacked by the group of gang hackers for them to easily get in to the system of your computer. For your safety, you need to download the patch, updates and maps from trusted websites.

The group of gang hackers might plant some virus when you download the patch and run it to your computer which you might get infected by that. To prevent this, always update your Warcraft game and download the latest patch and maps.

Warcraft 3 TFT 1.24f Patch (after release)

This update is going to be available very very soon guys. Just keep coming back here for the latest updates and have fun playing Warcraft 3 and Dota Allstars.

Dota 6.70d Map | Official Dota 6.70 Map Download

We are now informing you that the release of Dota 6.70d map is near. The previous sentence was said because some bugs have already showed up in the Dota 6.70c map. Dota 6.70c map was released in a hurry and that was clear chance that there could be some bugs & errors which were left to remove. So the release of Dota 6.70d map is expected within few days.

DotA 6.70d Map Download:
Dota 6.70d.w3x (Coming Soon)

DotA 6.70d Map Changelogs:
Coming Soon

Give Your Suggestion for DotA 6.72!

IceFrog has just made a new blog post today. Currently he is working on DotA 6.72 and he want some feedback & suggestion from us. So, if you got something new on your mind or simply want some change in the current version (DotA 6.71b), don't wait any further. Send him a mail on IceFrog@gmail.com or give comment on this post :)

Let's keep DotA alive by giving out fresh ideas ;)

DotA 6.71b is Now Stable Map!

DotA 6.71b now is the stable map on the GetDota. Personally, i think this can be considered as a good news. Why? Because usually IceFrog will add some new contents after a new stable map declared. So, will it be a new hero? Maybe some new items? Or many of hero remakes? Time will tell :) Until then, let's enjoy our new stable map ;)

DotA 6.69c is Now the Stable Map!

I didn't see a thunder or storm today, but DotA 6.69c finally has been put as the stable map on GetDota. Is this a sign that DotA 6.70 will emerge very soon? I surely hope so! ;)

Dota 6.68 AI Entering the Second Beta Stage Soon!

PleaseBugMeNot (PBMN) has just posted a great news on his blog! It seems he succeed to fix the crucial bug on the AI map. And, he will release the DotA 6.68c AI beta into the public if no more critical bug appear.. Wow, nice! It's been a while since there's an update in the AI development. Check out what he said!

Second BETA stage
After some testing, the most crucial bug is not appearing. Now i`m starting to make some AI changes and another BETA will be rolling. If no crucial BUGs appear... we can release 6.68c BETA map to the public. I also got 6.69`s changes and i`ll begin working on moving the 6.69`s content into the AI map.

Keep up the good work PBMN! And let's help him by not throw any whining about the DotA AI map on the net :)

Dota 2 Q&A, IceFrog Answer Your Question!

Today, IceFrog has just post a new Q&A regarding DotA 2. Lots of questions answered, but some key points are that DotA 2 will support reconnection and more importantly, as long as the community want, IceFrog will continue update DotA map even though DotA 2 already launched! Yippeee! Check out the complete Q&A! :)

Dota 2 Q&A
November 1, 2010 - IceFrog

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.

What do you think guys? Do you think DotA is appealing? Share your thought here :)

Source

DotA 2 is Announced! Coming in 2011

Finally, after so many speculation and rumors, the DotA 2 is now officially announced! As the Game Informer mentioned, the game will be released next year on both PC and Mac platform.

Looking back a bit, IceFrog (the current DotA map developer on Warcraft III) is hired by Valve in 2009. Since then, many people starts wondering what kind of game they are working on. And as the curtain revealed, it appears they are bringing the DotA map into a full game based on the Valve's Source engine. That's mean many of the game limitation on Warcraft III is lifted. And with that, some new features are also introduced on the DotA 2.

Let's check it out!

In-Game Voice Chat

Ventrilo is no longer needed. Communication is the vital factor on the teamwork and typing sometime is not an option because our hand is already full controling the hero. The DotA 2 will cover that and have an integrated voice chat feature which will allow you to communicate during game easily.

Leaver AI Replacement

Awesome features. You will have less problem with the leaver. The disconnected players hero will be automatically taken control by an AI bots. However, don't get too excited and you decide to played it on a single-player game. Erik Johnson (the Project Leader) says, "Our goal with the AI is just that their experience isn't destroyed just because one person couldn't finish the game."

Cool Heroes Voice

The current DotA map is using the Warcraft III sound set which originally created for the Warcraft III campaign, not for DotA. The DotA 2 will have the heroes voice fit properly with the game. Amusing lines from heroes will coming out when you deny the enemy team last hits on creeps. Heroes who have related stories will trade quips when nearby. Maybe you will see Lina Inverse and Rylai teasing each other :p

Matchmaking System

Valve is using it's traditional Steamworks for the skill based matchmaking which will let you play comfortably.

In-Game Rewards

Valve is introducing a new system which will rewards you for participating in community forums.

Coaching System

Veteran players will be able to login as a coach and teach the newbies. The coach can see beginner's screen and can get private voice chat during the game. Still no words about how the trainer and trainee will be matched.

Wow, lots of amusing stuff there. I hope Valve can meet with our expectation. But i'm pretty disappointed with the fact that there's no screenshots of the game itself :( But hey, why ruin the surprise? Tell us what you think about DotA 2 on the comment box guys :)

Source: Game Informer

Valve's DotA Update, Preview Coming Tomorrow!

For those who are waiting for the Valve's version of DotA, we've just got a news from the IceFrog's blog. Check it out!

Hey guys, Game Informer dropped by the office last week to take a look at what I've been working on with the rest of the team over the last year.


They are going to post an article about it tomorrow on their website. I'll give you guys a link to it as soon as it is published.

Looking forward to seeing what you guys think!

Seems like we'll finally be able to take a peek on what IceFrog doing all this year. I hope the Game Informer will put some screenshots or maybe even a video :) Let's cross our fingers and hope it will be awesome :D

Until then, let's try the brand new DotA 6.69! And don't forget, DotA 6.69 have a Phoenix Hidden Quest inside, check out our guide for the details.

Update: It's officially announced, check it here.