It shouldn't be that hard getting a new community going. I would use a modified vBulletin forum with the Apple IOS options and I am pretty sure you can still use the assets from this site on your new web site. The community should pick up with the new HOTS editor and level creation assets. The way Dustin Browder talks about staying in contact with the design community you would think there would be a official blizzard dedicated web site for map design, custom map uploading etc. directly connected with battle net. Or maybe even a community forum about map editing within the client. I suppose you could create a custom group for map editing in the HOTS release. Good luck with you're new website. I will be more then happy to assist you or support you're new community if they are going to let this web site die. Look at things this way you have an opportunity to make a self sufficient website where any income from advertising can go to you. You can stream custom map spot lights on twitch as well as try to become partnered with youtube creating custom mapping content. You could perhaps even grow a greater community. I would pitch a custom map spotlight to machinima realms in which you put out 2 or 3 20 minute high quality content shows a month.
Good luck in your endeavors. Shameless plug your new web site on these forums!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for being so optimistic, much appreciated, I may have to shoot you a PM! :).
Analogy of raising a child for years and then get taken custody from you. Tears commence...
This is sad news but at least we can be sure that the site is not going down in the near future. Since the new admin is going to run multiple sites at once, there's no reason not to keep the mod team (including Sixen) around. Optimistically, everything will run like usual. Things might get slower than it already were (bug fix, respond etc...) We might get shutdown at any moment (after HoTS or after LotV).... etc. There's no need to panic.
Or we could just start a slow transition to a new site.
It seems as if I may be able to stick around after all, but we'll see? I'm not entirely certain.
I was recently informed by Curse that because Mapster was not making enough profit, it would be more cost-effective (they paid me just enough to cover my $225/month car payment) to remove me from the website and put in place someone else: this means I am no longer the head honcho here. It's a real shame, as launching this site was my idea to begin with; it's been my baby since before it went live (just before the WoL beta began). I had a great time creating the community from absolutely nothing and watching it grow over the last 3+ years to what it is now. I remember staying up late trying to plan things with vjeux, and how excited I was when we first got 1000 uniques, such good memories. Obviously I haven't been in this for the money (sup Fockewulf), it was just a great plus on top of having the opportunity to create/maintain Mapster all this time.
Unfortunately, I had a feeling this would happen at some point. Who exactly will be replacing me, I have absolutely no idea. Whether or not they'll let the site die? Also cannot be said. Perhaps I'll make a new mapping community, and of course, host it myself to prevent this from ever happening again, but we shall see what happens with Mapster.
You'll all see me around, this was, again, my baby. I've been a part of the SC mapping scene for over a decade, so I won't be going anywhere, I'll just be a normal user like you guys (unless they decide to let me stay as a Moderator). Regardless, I'm sure most of you also know, I'm supporting Blizzard All-Stars on my own YouTube channel, so I suppose I'll be pushing that more and hoping for the best!
Cya around everyone, *tear.*
EDIT: Not sure when this will all be happening, but we'll get some sort of warning ahead of time, so for the time being, everything is cool. If Mapster is taken down, we'll have some time to prep before-hand and move to some new site I make. Otherwise, someone else will be brought in.
UPDATE: Thanks for all your kind comments guys (and gals?). I've still got some figuring out to do, but it looks as if Molster is going to be my "Curse Liasion," and I'll continue running the show here.
For the time being, I suppose there's no need to panic, nothing to see here... But know that my hard work is for my love of the community, ;).
Good bye, I've had a nice run ever since 2001 when I started doing retarded bounds and became a staredit.net member. All the way through become a master modder of SC1, one of the few people that cared for the dying modding community of SC1 and basically revived it to it's 2nd golden era (right after camsys) with our Clan [MM].
Hey now, Bounds weren't retarded, they were awesome, and still my favorite map genre, :D.
And finishing with so little stuff in SC2 but not easy, though, I did many many things before we even had an editor to work with, back in the WoL Beta, I remember that, Sixen, I will be foreever thankful for that CDKey which allowed me to keep up with my name of corbo doing things before everybody could.
I think they should put in some Infested Terran Hero, as well as Gabriel Tosh, Maar, and Duran.
For WarCraft Heroes: Cairne Bloodhoof Jaina Proudmoore Kael'Thas Deathwing (what what how) Maiev Shadowsong Furion Stormrage Illidan (do they have him already?) Nyan Cat (Just cause) Mal'Ganis or some other Dreadlord
Illidan will be in the game at some point, a few of the heroes on your list are possibilities as well... Nyancat would be epic, :D.
I actually really like this new system as well, aside from what you've mentioned, someone like Dazzle in DOTA will do a ton of healing and not even get an assist, because he didn't do any damage to the enemy, so this takedown system should be great.
@Sixen: Go
I highly prefer shared rewards over the k/d/a system (As for score, it'd be nice if they kept k/d/a, but made the person who dealt the most damage get the kill point. No extra reward included, or just a little, like 20-30% more gold)
IMO, worst case scenario, they could just do takedowns (which is a combination of kills and assists) and deaths in a scoreboard... That'd be ideal, ;).
@Sixen: Go
I also really like the idea of gold per team on scoreboard instead of just a simple kills comparison - It's far more accurate. Its easy to have more kills than the enemy team but less money.
I actually wasn't a big fan of this to begin with, but after I thought some more about it, I actually came to a very similar conclusion.
@Sixen: Go
Maybe they could just make you get +5 gold on each last hit in addition to what you usually get, maybe limit it to once per 5 seconds or 2-3 times per minion wave, so that there is a bit of incentive to actually hit the minions.
If they did this, there's still a bonus (and thus an advantage) for those who are last hitting, which means the skill curve remains the same.
@Sixen: Go
I can't remember how the health globe system works though, it might be a good replacement. Maybe make last hits increase health globe drop chance?
Basically: you kill the flagbearer minion and it drops a health globe 100% of the time, which gives you health/mana.
@Sixen: Go
I want to see this in action though. I'm not entirely sure whether I like it that minions can just be ignored completely - There's a battle going on, and you just ignore it.
Possibly toward the end-game, this may happen, but it also happens in games like DOTA. Regardless, minions (specifically the flagbearer) can turn the tide of battle, let's say you kill him in the middle of your fight, you can then gain an advantage via the globe.
Did Blizzard really say they were thinking of adding collectible items too? Like the leoric's crown and stuff. This is the first I've heard of that, but if it's true it sounds pretty awesome.
Yup! This is how hero customization will work, that being a great example. Let's say there's a Leoric hero (which there isn't, at least not yet), if you win X games with him, you unlock a different looking crown, etc. Perhaps you'll be able to purchase these customizations as well, instead.
I believe they will release it. My question is: Will they release the unused assets? The game has change a whole lot since it was first annouced, and many assets aren't there anymore, such as the modified structures (merc compound with a sword above it; barracks with medieval towers) and doodads and all kinds of stuff.
At BlizzCon they said they'd allow it to be published unlocked so mappers could learn from it... Now this was originally the goal because it was just going to be a cool custom mod, whether or not they'll keep it this way is going to have to be seen, although I have to imagine it will be unlocked (and assets will be available).
Hey Sixen, pretty nice doing so far with the whole Blizzard All-Stars(DotA) series. ;) They said they want quality over quantity, do you think they will go for like 20-40 Heroes? I personally think with that "less" Heroes they cant compete with the other DotA/AoS styled games. But if they go for like 60 Heroes at the beginning (not all of them unlocked) That would be a pretty good start if they continue to realease some ;)
So tell me, what do you know or think they will be doing. :) Thanks
-Hamburger252
Yeah, eventually I think we'll see a ton more heroes, for sure, :). This game is going to be a large work in progress, it's going to balanced for eSports, as well as receive content updates. It'll be epic.
Still cant believe they removed K/D/A's just so the losers wouldnt Whine... That really Irritates me, they did that same crap on SC2 Quick Matches... Now I cant see if My Ratio is getting better or not... and it is REALLY irritating, and all because little jimmy is a bitch...
I was a bit skeptical at first as well, but think about it a little further. When you're playing in a game of DOTA2, you're all about playing for yourself if you're in a pub. You engage the enemy, someone else runs in and steals your kill by getting the last hit... Now you're angry. If you're on a pre-made team, getting takedowns is almost the same as just getting an assist, so what are we looking at here? Encouraging more teamwork for pubs and keeping the same amount of teamwork for pre-mades. Seems like a pretty solid system imo, ;).
blizzard is going for so casual, you can set all spells to autocast
Not necessarily, they're just giving the game their traditional "easy to learn, difficult to master" approach. They are adding some features to the game that will help shrink the learning curve, but at the same time, there is still complex strategy involved, like: team composition, ganking, laning, pushing, teamwork, stats, etc, :).
Aiur Chef
This is a whimsical eight-player free-for-all in which you control a chef and must scour the map for ingredients to create succulent dishes. Each round has a secret theme ingredient and three recipes to complete. Completing recipes grant you different rewards such as points, powers, or items. The chef with the most points at the end of three rounds is named the next Aiur Chef!
Blizzard DOTA
This is a 5v5 team game inspired by the popular archetype from Warcraft III, Defense of the Ancients. Blizzard’s greatest heroes have been drawn from their respective universes to do battle on a chess-themed battleground. You control a hero and must level up, buy items, and work together with your teammates to defeat waves of units and ultimately destroy the opposing team’s King Tower.
Left 2 Die
This is an evolution of the “Outbreak” Wings of Liberty Campaign mission, where the colonists on Meinhoff were infested by a zerg virus. In this cooperative mission, you and a friend will unlock, purchase, and use new technologies necessary to survive nighttime assaults by unique zerg units, repel their attacks, and purge the infestation.
StarJeweled
StarJeweled combines two distinct game types into a unique 2v2 experience. The right side of the game is a match-three style puzzle game. Matching jewels and clearing them away generates energy. Energy is then used to spawn special units and activate abilities; defeat the enemy base to win.
Q: Will Blizzard release other custom maps for Wings of Liberty aside from the four showcased at BlizzCon 2010?
A: Yes, we're committed to supporting the StarCraft II community with new content. In September we released Burning Tide, a 3v3 map that requires players to race for resources while dodging a surging lava tide. In addition to the four maps we're previewing here at BlizzCon, we have plans to create other official custom maps as well as new ladder maps, which will be released over Battle.net.
Q: What is Blizzard DOTA™?
A: Blizzard DOTA™ is a new official custom game for StarCraft® II, inspired by the Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) custom map for Warcraft® III. Much like other DOTA-style games, Blizzard DOTA is a team-based competitive game in which each player controls a powerful hero with unique abilities, and works with his or her team to invade and destroy the enemy team's base. We're taking a fun approach to Blizzard DOTA and hope that players enjoy battling each other with heroes from across the various Blizzard universes.
Over the course of a match, waves of computer-controlled creatures for each team advance automatically across the map along different pathways. Players fight alongside these creatures to advance the battlefront, destroy enemy towers, and eventually push into the enemy base. Other points of interest are guarded by neutral hostile creatures; capturing and controlling these points grants bonuses to your team.
As your team kills computer-controlled creatures and other players, your hero will gain experience and levels to strengthen his or her special abilities. You'll also earn gold which you can use to purchase upgrades and items to customize and improve your hero over the course of a match.
Q: What makes Blizzard DOTA stand apart from other DOTA-style games?
A: We've always enjoyed the original DOTA and other DOTA-style games, as they're known for deep and compelling team-based gameplay. One thing they're also known for, however, is a demanding learning curve. We're excited to do our own take on the genre, with the goal of applying Blizzard’s "easy-to-learn, difficult-to-master" philosophy to the overall design. We're also adding gameplay elements to encourage more aggressive, fast-paced gameplay, as well as team fights all over the map.
One example of how Blizzard DOTA handles things differently is how towers work. The towers in the lanes are powerful entities that can quickly decimate enemy heroes that wander into their range. But unlike many other DOTA-style games, the towers in Blizzard DOTA have a limited amount of energy that slowly recharges over time. This means that a team making a concerted push against a tower can force that tower to run out of ammo, making it easier to overrun the position. This encourages more team-based aggression and reduces the amount of defensive, tower-hugging play in the early-mid game.
The "jungle" (the neutral area between lanes) is also handled a little differently in Blizzard DOTA. Many traditional DOTA-style games offer neutral creep camps that confer individual bonuses to players that clear out these camps. In Blizzard DOTA, the primary features of the jungle are power nodes, guarded by neutral creeps. Teams that take control of these nodes will add strength to their team's creatures in the lanes. This means that gaining control of the jungle will push the battlefront in the lanes into your team's favor, thus making the jungle nodes key points of interest on the map, ripe for team fights.
While those are just a couple features of Blizzard DOTA that we hope will encourage more aggressive gameplay and more team-based play styles, we also have an eye to making the learning curve easier. We don't think players should feel compelled to spend an inordinate amount of time researching game guides and item builds before they're even comfortable trying a different hero. Primarily, we're interested in adding clarity by eliminating redundancies in hero abilities and items, and we think players will find this reflected in the design of the heroes and in-game item shop.
Q: How many heroes are included in Blizzard DOTA, and what roles do they play?
A: The version we're showing at BlizzCon includes 12 different heroes that fall into one of four different class types: tank, damage-dealer, support, and siege. Tanks function as advertised; they tend to be heavily armored and are designed to soak up damage as they initiate battle and try to control fights. Damage-dealers are the hardest-hitting heroes, but they tend to be more fragile; teams will need to keep them protected. Support heroes have abilities that can do a wide range of different functions in team fights such as healing, stuns, and other methods of crowd control. Siege heroes have a unique role. They can attack from long range, making them ideal for destroying enemy towers. They also tend to have abilities that affect a wide area, making them useful for controlling space in team fights.
We plan to add more heroes before we officially release Blizzard DOTA. One thing to keep in mind is that we want to ensure every hero and ability feels truly unique; we want quality over quantity. One of the pillars of our design philosophy with Blizzard DOTA is that the heroes should fit their roles very strongly and contribute from a team perspective. Not every hero needs to be a high-damage killing machine to be valuable to the team, and our game design is informed by that philosophy.
Q: What kind of achievements and rewards will be included?
A: When Blizzard DOTA launches, you'll get access to a small group of heroes to start with. As you play matches, more heroes will unlock. When you’ve earned all of the heroes, you can begin unlocking cosmetic "prestige" items by winning games with specific heroes. Prestige items can include alternate weapons, crowns, and other accessories.
Q: Will there be stat-tracking of any kind, such as ladders, skill ratings, and so on?
A: Initially Blizzard DOTA will include an automated matchmaker based on skill, similar to the regular StarCraft II ladder. We'll also track various stats such as number of player takedowns, towers destroyed, and average gold and experience gained per match.
Q: Will it cost money to play? Will Wings of Liberty™ or Heart of the Swarm™ be required?
A: Currently we plan to offer a way to play Blizzard DOTA for free, possibly by including it as part of the StarCraft II: Starter Edition. However, we have not yet determined what type of content restrictions would be placed on those playing for free. We're also discussing the possibility of offering exclusive content to players, such as special heroes for owners of Wings of Liberty™ and Heart of the Swarm™ (in regions with standard box business models, just for example), but this is also still to be determined. We'll announce more details once those decisions have been finalized.
Q: What kind of post-launch support is planned? Will there be additional skins and heroes available for purchase or unlocked in some other way?
A: We haven't made any decisions at this time about what types of content and updates we will provide post-launch or how those would be made available. Right now we're focusing on creating the best game we possibly can, and we’re looking forward to seeing what players think.
Q: Will there be a beta test? When will it start? How can I apply for the beta?
A: Yes, we do intend to run a beta test for Blizzard DOTA sometime within the next few months. We'll announce more details about how to participate at a later date.
Q: When will Blizzard DOTA be released?
A: We don't have a release date we can share at this time. We'll have a better idea for a release window after we start beta testing.
Over the last few weeks I've done a ton of research (aside from actually sitting in at the BlizzCon panels over the years and playing the game myself) and brushing up on my Blizzard All-Stars knowledge, and finally decided to begin my informational series for the game. I've been playing a lot of DOTA2 recently, which is what sparked my renewed interest in All-Stars. Sure, the game isn't out quite yet, but why should this stop us from hyping it up?
If you want to learn about Blizzard All-Stars, watch my series! I released the first episode today (9/19) and will be following it up with more episodes I've already planned out, covering known gameplay mechanics, heroes, items, and then of course, some speculation and suggestions.
0
<3.
Thanks for being so optimistic, much appreciated, I may have to shoot you a PM! :).
I did my best, the problem with consolidating is that it'd break any/all previous links, which I tried to avoid.
It seems as if I may be able to stick around after all, but we'll see? I'm not entirely certain.
0
I was recently informed by Curse that because Mapster was not making enough profit, it would be more cost-effective (they paid me just enough to cover my $225/month car payment) to remove me from the website and put in place someone else: this means I am no longer the head honcho here. It's a real shame, as launching this site was my idea to begin with; it's been my baby since before it went live (just before the WoL beta began). I had a great time creating the community from absolutely nothing and watching it grow over the last 3+ years to what it is now. I remember staying up late trying to plan things with vjeux, and how excited I was when we first got 1000 uniques, such good memories. Obviously I haven't been in this for the money (sup Fockewulf), it was just a great plus on top of having the opportunity to create/maintain Mapster all this time.
Unfortunately, I had a feeling this would happen at some point. Who exactly will be replacing me, I have absolutely no idea. Whether or not they'll let the site die? Also cannot be said. Perhaps I'll make a new mapping community, and of course, host it myself to prevent this from ever happening again, but we shall see what happens with Mapster.
You'll all see me around, this was, again, my baby. I've been a part of the SC mapping scene for over a decade, so I won't be going anywhere, I'll just be a normal user like you guys (unless they decide to let me stay as a Moderator). Regardless, I'm sure most of you also know, I'm supporting Blizzard All-Stars on my own YouTube channel, so I suppose I'll be pushing that more and hoping for the best!
Cya around everyone, *tear.*
EDIT: Not sure when this will all be happening, but we'll get some sort of warning ahead of time, so for the time being, everything is cool. If Mapster is taken down, we'll have some time to prep before-hand and move to some new site I make. Otherwise, someone else will be brought in.
UPDATE: Thanks for all your kind comments guys (and gals?). I've still got some figuring out to do, but it looks as if Molster is going to be my "Curse Liasion," and I'll continue running the show here.
For the time being, I suppose there's no need to panic, nothing to see here... But know that my hard work is for my love of the community, ;).
0
Hey, this is really cool, thanks for sharing, :D.
0
Yeah man, that was a sick series... Leenock is only what... 17 now?
0
:(.
Hey now, Bounds weren't retarded, they were awesome, and still my favorite map genre, :D.
<3.
0
Hrm, you sure? There's only four skills, ;).
Each hero, in addition to four skills, has the mount skill as well as what appears to be a "teleport to town" skill.
0
Illidan will be in the game at some point, a few of the heroes on your list are possibilities as well... Nyancat would be epic, :D.
0
Whew, sorry about the late response, but I finally got it done, :).
Truth, although I feel like this was an obvious one since they also removed your losses from the stats screen in Melee, :(.
I actually really like this new system as well, aside from what you've mentioned, someone like Dazzle in DOTA will do a ton of healing and not even get an assist, because he didn't do any damage to the enemy, so this takedown system should be great.
IMO, worst case scenario, they could just do takedowns (which is a combination of kills and assists) and deaths in a scoreboard... That'd be ideal, ;).
I actually wasn't a big fan of this to begin with, but after I thought some more about it, I actually came to a very similar conclusion.
If they did this, there's still a bonus (and thus an advantage) for those who are last hitting, which means the skill curve remains the same.
Basically: you kill the flagbearer minion and it drops a health globe 100% of the time, which gives you health/mana.
Possibly toward the end-game, this may happen, but it also happens in games like DOTA. Regardless, minions (specifically the flagbearer) can turn the tide of battle, let's say you kill him in the middle of your fight, you can then gain an advantage via the globe.
Yup! This is how hero customization will work, that being a great example. Let's say there's a Leoric hero (which there isn't, at least not yet), if you win X games with him, you unlock a different looking crown, etc. Perhaps you'll be able to purchase these customizations as well, instead.
I just put up the fourth episode as well, I'll consider putting up the full list, we'll see, ;).
0
The game is definitely coming out, Mike Morhaime just commented on it in an interview today saying they'll be supporting it as an eSport.
At BlizzCon they said they'd allow it to be published unlocked so mappers could learn from it... Now this was originally the goal because it was just going to be a cool custom mod, whether or not they'll keep it this way is going to have to be seen, although I have to imagine it will be unlocked (and assets will be available).
0
Blackthorne would indeed be epic, :D. Some Lost Vikings hero would be sick too (like the Pandaren Brewmaster in DOTA, he splits off into 3).
0
Yeah, eventually I think we'll see a ton more heroes, for sure, :). This game is going to be a large work in progress, it's going to balanced for eSports, as well as receive content updates. It'll be epic.
0
I was a bit skeptical at first as well, but think about it a little further. When you're playing in a game of DOTA2, you're all about playing for yourself if you're in a pub. You engage the enemy, someone else runs in and steals your kill by getting the last hit... Now you're angry. If you're on a pre-made team, getting takedowns is almost the same as just getting an assist, so what are we looking at here? Encouraging more teamwork for pubs and keeping the same amount of teamwork for pre-mades. Seems like a pretty solid system imo, ;).
Not necessarily, they're just giving the game their traditional "easy to learn, difficult to master" approach. They are adding some features to the game that will help shrink the learning curve, but at the same time, there is still complex strategy involved, like: team composition, ganking, laning, pushing, teamwork, stats, etc, :).
0
Aiur Chef
This is a whimsical eight-player free-for-all in which you control a chef and must scour the map for ingredients to create succulent dishes. Each round has a secret theme ingredient and three recipes to complete. Completing recipes grant you different rewards such as points, powers, or items. The chef with the most points at the end of three rounds is named the next Aiur Chef!
Blizzard DOTA
This is a 5v5 team game inspired by the popular archetype from Warcraft III, Defense of the Ancients. Blizzard’s greatest heroes have been drawn from their respective universes to do battle on a chess-themed battleground. You control a hero and must level up, buy items, and work together with your teammates to defeat waves of units and ultimately destroy the opposing team’s King Tower.
Left 2 Die
This is an evolution of the “Outbreak” Wings of Liberty Campaign mission, where the colonists on Meinhoff were infested by a zerg virus. In this cooperative mission, you and a friend will unlock, purchase, and use new technologies necessary to survive nighttime assaults by unique zerg units, repel their attacks, and purge the infestation.
StarJeweled
StarJeweled combines two distinct game types into a unique 2v2 experience. The right side of the game is a match-three style puzzle game. Matching jewels and clearing them away generates energy. Energy is then used to spawn special units and activate abilities; defeat the enemy base to win.
Q: Will Blizzard release other custom maps for Wings of Liberty aside from the four showcased at BlizzCon 2010?
A: Yes, we're committed to supporting the StarCraft II community with new content. In September we released Burning Tide, a 3v3 map that requires players to race for resources while dodging a surging lava tide. In addition to the four maps we're previewing here at BlizzCon, we have plans to create other official custom maps as well as new ladder maps, which will be released over Battle.net.
Q: What is Blizzard DOTA™?
A: Blizzard DOTA™ is a new official custom game for StarCraft® II, inspired by the Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) custom map for Warcraft® III. Much like other DOTA-style games, Blizzard DOTA is a team-based competitive game in which each player controls a powerful hero with unique abilities, and works with his or her team to invade and destroy the enemy team's base. We're taking a fun approach to Blizzard DOTA and hope that players enjoy battling each other with heroes from across the various Blizzard universes.
Over the course of a match, waves of computer-controlled creatures for each team advance automatically across the map along different pathways. Players fight alongside these creatures to advance the battlefront, destroy enemy towers, and eventually push into the enemy base. Other points of interest are guarded by neutral hostile creatures; capturing and controlling these points grants bonuses to your team.
As your team kills computer-controlled creatures and other players, your hero will gain experience and levels to strengthen his or her special abilities. You'll also earn gold which you can use to purchase upgrades and items to customize and improve your hero over the course of a match.
Q: What makes Blizzard DOTA stand apart from other DOTA-style games?
A: We've always enjoyed the original DOTA and other DOTA-style games, as they're known for deep and compelling team-based gameplay. One thing they're also known for, however, is a demanding learning curve. We're excited to do our own take on the genre, with the goal of applying Blizzard’s "easy-to-learn, difficult-to-master" philosophy to the overall design. We're also adding gameplay elements to encourage more aggressive, fast-paced gameplay, as well as team fights all over the map.
One example of how Blizzard DOTA handles things differently is how towers work. The towers in the lanes are powerful entities that can quickly decimate enemy heroes that wander into their range. But unlike many other DOTA-style games, the towers in Blizzard DOTA have a limited amount of energy that slowly recharges over time. This means that a team making a concerted push against a tower can force that tower to run out of ammo, making it easier to overrun the position. This encourages more team-based aggression and reduces the amount of defensive, tower-hugging play in the early-mid game.
The "jungle" (the neutral area between lanes) is also handled a little differently in Blizzard DOTA. Many traditional DOTA-style games offer neutral creep camps that confer individual bonuses to players that clear out these camps. In Blizzard DOTA, the primary features of the jungle are power nodes, guarded by neutral creeps. Teams that take control of these nodes will add strength to their team's creatures in the lanes. This means that gaining control of the jungle will push the battlefront in the lanes into your team's favor, thus making the jungle nodes key points of interest on the map, ripe for team fights.
While those are just a couple features of Blizzard DOTA that we hope will encourage more aggressive gameplay and more team-based play styles, we also have an eye to making the learning curve easier. We don't think players should feel compelled to spend an inordinate amount of time researching game guides and item builds before they're even comfortable trying a different hero. Primarily, we're interested in adding clarity by eliminating redundancies in hero abilities and items, and we think players will find this reflected in the design of the heroes and in-game item shop.
Q: How many heroes are included in Blizzard DOTA, and what roles do they play?
A: The version we're showing at BlizzCon includes 12 different heroes that fall into one of four different class types: tank, damage-dealer, support, and siege. Tanks function as advertised; they tend to be heavily armored and are designed to soak up damage as they initiate battle and try to control fights. Damage-dealers are the hardest-hitting heroes, but they tend to be more fragile; teams will need to keep them protected. Support heroes have abilities that can do a wide range of different functions in team fights such as healing, stuns, and other methods of crowd control. Siege heroes have a unique role. They can attack from long range, making them ideal for destroying enemy towers. They also tend to have abilities that affect a wide area, making them useful for controlling space in team fights.
We plan to add more heroes before we officially release Blizzard DOTA. One thing to keep in mind is that we want to ensure every hero and ability feels truly unique; we want quality over quantity. One of the pillars of our design philosophy with Blizzard DOTA is that the heroes should fit their roles very strongly and contribute from a team perspective. Not every hero needs to be a high-damage killing machine to be valuable to the team, and our game design is informed by that philosophy.
Q: What kind of achievements and rewards will be included?
A: When Blizzard DOTA launches, you'll get access to a small group of heroes to start with. As you play matches, more heroes will unlock. When you’ve earned all of the heroes, you can begin unlocking cosmetic "prestige" items by winning games with specific heroes. Prestige items can include alternate weapons, crowns, and other accessories.
Q: Will there be stat-tracking of any kind, such as ladders, skill ratings, and so on?
A: Initially Blizzard DOTA will include an automated matchmaker based on skill, similar to the regular StarCraft II ladder. We'll also track various stats such as number of player takedowns, towers destroyed, and average gold and experience gained per match.
Q: Will it cost money to play? Will Wings of Liberty™ or Heart of the Swarm™ be required?
A: Currently we plan to offer a way to play Blizzard DOTA for free, possibly by including it as part of the StarCraft II: Starter Edition. However, we have not yet determined what type of content restrictions would be placed on those playing for free. We're also discussing the possibility of offering exclusive content to players, such as special heroes for owners of Wings of Liberty™ and Heart of the Swarm™ (in regions with standard box business models, just for example), but this is also still to be determined. We'll announce more details once those decisions have been finalized.
Q: What kind of post-launch support is planned? Will there be additional skins and heroes available for purchase or unlocked in some other way?
A: We haven't made any decisions at this time about what types of content and updates we will provide post-launch or how those would be made available. Right now we're focusing on creating the best game we possibly can, and we’re looking forward to seeing what players think.
Q: Will there be a beta test? When will it start? How can I apply for the beta?
A: Yes, we do intend to run a beta test for Blizzard DOTA sometime within the next few months. We'll announce more details about how to participate at a later date.
Q: When will Blizzard DOTA be released?
A: We don't have a release date we can share at this time. We'll have a better idea for a release window after we start beta testing.
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Over the last few weeks I've done a ton of research (aside from actually sitting in at the BlizzCon panels over the years and playing the game myself) and brushing up on my Blizzard All-Stars knowledge, and finally decided to begin my informational series for the game. I've been playing a lot of DOTA2 recently, which is what sparked my renewed interest in All-Stars. Sure, the game isn't out quite yet, but why should this stop us from hyping it up?
If you want to learn about Blizzard All-Stars, watch my series! I released the first episode today (9/19) and will be following it up with more episodes I've already planned out, covering known gameplay mechanics, heroes, items, and then of course, some speculation and suggestions.
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hahahaha, i'll have to tell him you're a mod here.