Dota 2 overload! Last night, Valve's Dota 2 beta got leaked. All of it. A Vietnamese tester just went ahead and dumped the files on the internet without a care in the world. We predict that his/her Valve account is in a sorry state today, but the info is already out, thanks to a post on teamliquid .
You probably saw your first glimpse of Dota 2 at the Gamescom tournament, previously streamed live , but not that much of the modes, characters, sound files, 3D models and spells. You probably didn't notice the hints at Episode 3 hidden within the code either.
Oh didn't you hear? The Dota 2 client also contained the first bit of new Episode 3 info since 2007. Let's go!
The leak has been extremely fruitful so far. Here's what we've got:
Arguably most interesting for Episode 3 fans is the slightly cryptic raw code pulled from the leak. As pointed out on the Team Liquid forums , lots of these words make us think of Episode 3. Specifically the "ep3" bits.
Iceguns? Weaponizers of multiple varieties? We're intrigued.
/src/game/server/ep3/weapon_icegun.cpp
/src/game/server/ep3/weaponizer_concrete.cpp
/src/game/server/ep3/weaponizer_liquid.cpp
/src/game/server/ep3/weaponizer_metal.cpp/src/matchmaking/matchmaking_cstrike
But there's a lot more. Every hero in the game has the capacity to say "Shitty Wizard," which is almost definitely in reference to the last regular episode of the sorely missed Idle Thumbs podcast (they discuss how one of Torchlight's NPC wizards is shitty in Episode 50).
Your hero will probably say it when you pwn a Wizard who plays a bit shit, though this is not confirmed. CyborgMatt has even created a YouTube video that plays through every character saying it. This video is longer than you're expecting.
There's even a dedicated youTube channel called Dota2sounds . If you class sounds as spoilers, we recommend you stay away.
The placeholder icons for the spells have also been released. We don't know how much these will change before Dota 2 goes gold, but they're definitely worth checking out regardless.
There's also, as Tim would describe it , a loregasm going on. Every backstory for every character can be read here. Again, obvious spoilers within.
A bunch of in-game models, including one for a hat, have also been released. You can view those here .
Could these be possible themed playing fields? We really, really hope so. We'd take a guess at a Dota, Half-Life, Portal 2, Alien Swarm, and Team Fortress 2 skinned arenas. It could be an interesting touch. After all, Blizzard are embracing their heritage in their upcoming Starcraft II Dota mod.
/src/matchmaking/matchmaking_dota
/src/matchmaking/matchmaking_episodic
/src/matchmaking/matchmaking_portal2
/src/matchmaking/matchmaking_swarm
/src/matchmaking/matchmaking_tf
There's also hints at some upcoming modes hidden away. Considering League of Legends is only just patching in an alternate game mode, Dota 2 could feel refreshingly diverse come release.
"dota_game_mode_0" "ALL PICK"
"dota_game_mode_1" "SINGLE DRAFT"
"dota_game_mode_2" "ALL RANDOM"
"dota_game_mode_3" "RANDOM DRAFT"
"dota_game_mode_4" "CAPTAINS DRAFT"
"dota_game_mode_5" "CAPTAINS MODE"
"dota_game_mode_6" "DEATH MODE"
"dota_game_mode_7" "EASY MODE"
The following text implies that Valve are priorising a matchmaking system within Dota 2. This piece of code makes us think hero restrictions and auto balancing will feature, to ease the learning curve for new players.
"DOTA_NewPlayerQuestion_Title" "WELCOME TO DOTA 2!"
"DOTA_NewPlayerQuestion_Question" "PLEASE SELECT YOUR LEVEL OF FAMILIARITY WITH DOTA:"
"DOTA_NewPlayerQuestion_NewbieButton" "New"
"DOTA_NewPlayerQuestion_NewbieText" "You have a limited understanding of games like Dota. In your games players will be restricted to playing only those heroes that are easiest to understand, and levels will be auto-balanced."
"DOTA_NewPlayerQuestion_FamiliarButton" "Familiar"
"DOTA_NewPlayerQuestion_FamiliarText" "You have a good idea how Dota works - you might be a little rusty but are ready to jump in."
"DOTA_NewPlayerQuestion_ExperiencedButton" "Experienced"
"DOTA_NewPlayerQuestion_ExperiencedText" "You play games like Dota regularly and don't need any instruction. Selecting this will make you less likely to be in hero restricted games with auto-balancing."
At present this is still all rumour, but it looks pretty convincing to us. It's got us pretty damn excited too. If Valves's Dota 2 is half as feature-packed as these details imply we're in for a huge MOBA-shaped treat when it finally hits.
More info soon.
