DOTA2

[K9]

First Wild Card game for Ti3 is starting up in like 5 mins:

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=423215

Pick your stream of choice or watch in game!

The BTS guys are definitely watchable.

[NiX]

I played with this guy in your team and had a terrible game.  I'm pretty sure he wanted to rape my mother when we were finished.

Well, at least I think I remember him saying that. 

I can't blame you, because as soon as the people become pricks DotA2 becomes unfun.

You played with Hylian, I think. In terms of negative experiences while playing with my group of friends, he's one of the calmer ones and I think that's pretty sad.

The last break I took from Dota 2 was for 3 months. We'll see if this goes longer. If I do come back I'll probably play alone or try to create a friendly 5-stack with you and some new people.

[Bann]

I recently figured out how to gamble for items on dota matches over at dota2lounge. It makes watching pro matches way more interesting to me.

[Fordel]

How soon before you shout: "MY RARES    "

[Samprimary]

I can't blame you, because as soon as the people become pricks DotA2 becomes unfun.

My idea for when I give this game a fair shake, ... eventually, ... is to have a name which implies I will quit if you give me shit.

And in every game I play, I will quit if someone on my team gives me shit.

Enemy team may be muted by default.

[Hoax]

If you are betting on TI3 games, DK looks like the class of the first group. Fnatic is the surprise so far beating Navi but who knows with Navi.

I'd say DK over LGD will be the best bet to make in round 2, LGD seems to be a favorite of bettors but to my eyes they look ripe to be picked off. If the odds are at 65%+ for LGD that'd be an exciting place to put some rares. Any of the other matches I'd consider taking any large underdogs I saw because none of them seem like obvious stomps.

*edit* correction: I wouldn't take Zenith over Fnatic at anything but crazy (like 20% to win) odds. They look so fucking sloppy its unbelievable. Superior Chinese ricing but horrible individual plays.

-------

I'm liking TL over Orange and iG over [A] best coming up at 40% to win for both if those odds hold.

[Bann]

Sort of a moot point as tens of thousands of people seem to be overloading d2l's bots/server, but Zenith did look pretty awful up against Mouseports. I really like Mouseports as a team, caught them at the end of whatever tournament was before this one with the crazy 96 minute game. I'll be rootin' for them going forward.

[Megrim]

Razor being picked, Timbersaw being picked, Bloodseeker being picked, jesus christ, what the hell is going on?!

[cmlancas]

Razor being picked, Timbersaw being picked, Bloodseeker being picked, jesus christ, what the hell is going on?!

Get on my meta?  :)

[Fordel]

Timbersaw has always been awesome in Dota2, it just took people awhile to accept it. So many broken ankles. 

[Ice Cream Emperor]

When I started playing, I tended to just pick what I thought looked cool and was fun to play. Every other consideration - not so much.

Yeah. The importance of picking for positions or team comp is really not very high, when you are learning the game -- by which I mean, in the 'what the heck is going on?' stage, which is going to last at least a few dozen games. It is far, far more important to have an idea what your hero does, and what the other heros do. At low skill levels good mechanics and basic decision making (can I win this fight? should I be fighting or running away? etc.)  are more important than whether or not you are in line with the meta.

Moreover, even though those things might win you games, statistically, they aren't what you need to be focusing on in terms of enjoying the game or getting better at playing it. Being able to last hit, avoid dying in lane, etc. is far more important than picking a support so you can run that tri-lane you saw on a pro stream. None of that shit works if you don't have basic competence, and that takes awhile to build up.

[K9]

The LGD.int vs TongFu games were both really fun to watch I thought.

Game 1

Game 2

[Fordel]

It Begins!

 
http://www.teamliquid.net/video/streams/The%20International

http://www.dota2.com/international/mainevent/watch/

[MrHat]

I've put a few more hours into DOTA2 now and as a long time LoL player all I wish is the camera was pulled back a slight bit or the UI was reduced just a bit.

I can barely see anything.

[K9]

The DOTA2 UI is pretty terrible. I'm still baffled why games companies persist in making these bloated UIs. FPS devs figured out about 15 years ago and now most UIs are minimal and transparent. RPG and MOBA's seem stuck in the mindset that uninteractive graphical elements somehow add value.

Also, Imbasaw:

[Ingmar]

Pwning FLAKY WHITE STUFF.

I don't find the UI terrible, except for a feeling that I'm always zoomed in juuuuust a little bit farther than I want to be.

[K9]

It's terrible for the same reason that the Diablo3 UI/HUD was terrible. You have a lot of elements that are nothing but static window dressing, taking up space that could be used for the actual game. It just seems anachronistic. It takes me back to wow, where people (myself included) spent a lot of time trying to remove as much as possible that wasn't needed from the HUD; the default there was bloody terrible.

I think my final HUD in WoW looked something like this:


WoW places much greater demands on screen real estate than a game like DOTA2. If you can play WoW with that minimal a UI, you can do far more for DOTA2 I suspect.

[Fordel]

It's pretty much the exact same UI and Camera from War3. I have no issues with it.


I pretty much used the default UI in WoW the entire time, outside of a threat meter or whatever.



It's not a FPS where seeing that half pixel in the bottom left corner of the screen half a second quicker will mean life or death. Especially in WoW where everyone played 500x zoomed out. 

[MrHat]

feeling that I'm always zoomed in juuuuust a little bit farther than I want to be.

Exactly that.  I find myself constantly scrolling out.  I just want like 8% more game space.

LoL eventually dropped the blank space in the UI that was left over when you take WC3 and put it in higher resolution.

[Fordel]

Timbersaw! 


First lower backet game, Dignitas vs Rattlesnake. Fun game!

[HaemishM]

It's not a FPS where seeing that half pixel in the bottom left corner of the screen half a second quicker will mean life or death. Especially in WoW where everyone played 500x zoomed out. 

Yes it is. DOTA2 may not be an FPS but those extra pixels can mean a lot. Hell, even with LoL's minimalist UI, I still find myself not having enough viewing area. And DOTA2's is really honking big. 1/4 of the screen does not need to used on stone textures with no buttons on it, nor does that whole thing at the bottom need to be that big.

[Yegolev]

It's going to look pretty sweet when you're playing it on your console.

[Malakili]

It's not a FPS where seeing that half pixel in the bottom left corner of the screen half a second quicker will mean life or death. Especially in WoW where everyone played 500x zoomed out. 

Yes it is. DOTA2 may not be an FPS but those extra pixels can mean a lot. Hell, even with LoL's minimalist UI, I still find myself not having enough viewing area. And DOTA2's is really honking big. 1/4 of the screen does not need to used on stone textures with no buttons on it, nor does that whole thing at the bottom need to be that big.

I am pretty sure they have tried to recreate the warcraft 3 feeling intentionally.  Dota 2 is not really a sequel, it is just stand alone dota with costume loots.  Given how stupidly popular dota is I can understand why they would not want to risk alienating their playerbase.  They could not attract a single new player and still make bank.

[Rasix]

Alliance v. LGD.  Game 1.

Woah.  Shit.

[Fordel]

Game 1 is why you don't GG early.

[Fordel]

 

[Megrim]

Game 1 is why you don't GG early.

B-B-BUT THE SURENDER FUNCTION IS NECESSARY TO MY ENJOYMENT

 

[Rasix]

Game 1 is why you don't GG early.

There was never a moment really where you'd GG out of that game, at least in a tournament setting.  I'm not a seasoned DOTA2 tournament watcher, but it always felt like they could turn that around with how fed the Alchemist was and how many disables they had.  

edit: That's one thing about competitive DOTA2 that's nice, it seems like the gold differences swing a lot more easily.  Early game snowballs in LoL are just a lot harder to climb out of.

Game 1 is why you don't GG early.

B-B-BUT THE SURENDER FUNCTION IS NECESSARY TO MY ENJOYMENT

 

Eh, there have been plenty of surrenders.  The lack of surrender is never about tournament play. Ohh wait, you're just being a dick.

[Megrim]

 

[Fordel]

Game 1 is why you don't GG early.

There was never a moment really where you'd GG out of that game, at least in a tournament setting.  I'm not a seasoned DOTA2 tournament watcher, but it always felt like they could turn that around with how fed the Alchemist was and how many disables they had.  

edit: That's one thing about competitive DOTA2 that's nice, it seems like the gold differences swing a lot more easily.  Early game snowballs in LoL are just a lot harder to climb out of.

After like the like 45-50 minute mark, the gold becomes utterly moot. It's about buyback timers, rax and teamfights. There are entire lineups built around that idea, just hunkering down until the game reaches that point then getting that one teamwipe for instant rax/throne. It's also why when the game gets that long, teams get SUPER skittish and safe, fully willing to wait for the next Aegis and buyback timers. Too much to lose with one mistake at that point.

Game-spoilers:

[Malakili]

Yeah, that game was a great example of why I think dota 2 is a better esport than LoL.

[K9]

That game was pretty awesome, ye

[Samprimary]

I'm giving this a shot now, and it's quite, quite different from when I last played way long 'go in beta. And all for the better.

The things which the game and the playerbase did as a matter of habit before which sunk me into that field of 'welp' mental resignation about the game seem abnormally nonpresent.

[cmlancas]

I'm giving this a shot now, and it's quite, quite different from when I last played way long 'go in beta. And all for the better.

The things which the game and the playerbase did as a matter of habit before which sunk me into that field of 'welp' mental resignation about the game seem abnormally nonpresent.

I run into a toolbag once every five or so games.  For a MOBA?  Yes, please.

[K9]

Alliance vs DK Game 2 was really great to watch.