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The launch of Dota 2 last week hasn't stopped Valve from continuing to update the game with a slew of new features and improvements. Alongside the regular host of bug fixes and gameplay modifications, Valve have introduced a brand new model for Earthshaker, with high quality particle effects to match his redesign. After several updates to the test client earlier this week, support for the Linux and Mac operating systems has been finalised and released to the main client as part of Valve's continued release efforts.
A wide series of new cosmetic items sets have been introduced, including pieces for Abaddon, Chaos Knight, Invoker, Kunkka, Lion, Nature's Prophet, Pudge, Queen of Pain, and Riki. Several changes have also been made to voice work, as Abaddon's entire vocal repertoire has been re-edited to reduce the amount of audio noise and improve the hero's general audibility. New announcer lines for the International 3 tournament have also been introduced, including comments for contextual picks or bans in captain's mode and announcements for the names of winning teams. Several new UI tweaks have also been applied, including a 45 second block for anyone who fails to ready-up for a game during matchmaking or abandons their previous match. A major new update to the chat wheel UI has also been introduced, bringing with it a new options tab which allows users to dynamically customise their quick chat wheel with a variety of new useful phrases including context specific commands related to locations, actions or abilities, and new 'flavor' options useful for praising and supporting teammates or apologising for your own mistakes.
Valve have also made significant fixes to the matchmaking system, such as altering the paired player skill of matched parties to also consider the minimum experience level rather than just the average and fixing an issue related to incorrectly segregating players based just on win count, rather than experience level or level rating. The team have also added functionality to appropriately match parties of equal or similar player size together to try and reduce unfair amounts of external communication found in teams stacked with a single group of partied individuals when placed against 2-3 separated groups who may make up the opposing team. For more information regarding this week's patch, head on over to the Dota 2 wiki for the official changelog, or read more about the behind the scenes changes over at CyborgMatt's patch analysis.
Earthshaker - Out with the old (left), in with the new (right).
A wide series of new cosmetic items sets have been introduced, including pieces for Abaddon, Chaos Knight, Invoker, Kunkka, Lion, Nature's Prophet, Pudge, Queen of Pain, and Riki. Several changes have also been made to voice work, as Abaddon's entire vocal repertoire has been re-edited to reduce the amount of audio noise and improve the hero's general audibility. New announcer lines for the International 3 tournament have also been introduced, including comments for contextual picks or bans in captain's mode and announcements for the names of winning teams. Several new UI tweaks have also been applied, including a 45 second block for anyone who fails to ready-up for a game during matchmaking or abandons their previous match. A major new update to the chat wheel UI has also been introduced, bringing with it a new options tab which allows users to dynamically customise their quick chat wheel with a variety of new useful phrases including context specific commands related to locations, actions or abilities, and new 'flavor' options useful for praising and supporting teammates or apologising for your own mistakes.
Valve have also made significant fixes to the matchmaking system, such as altering the paired player skill of matched parties to also consider the minimum experience level rather than just the average and fixing an issue related to incorrectly segregating players based just on win count, rather than experience level or level rating. The team have also added functionality to appropriately match parties of equal or similar player size together to try and reduce unfair amounts of external communication found in teams stacked with a single group of partied individuals when placed against 2-3 separated groups who may make up the opposing team. For more information regarding this week's patch, head on over to the Dota 2 wiki for the official changelog, or read more about the behind the scenes changes over at CyborgMatt's patch analysis.
