MY FAVORITES: ALL ABOUT DOTA

Interview with Icefrog (Dota map developer)

noreply@blogger.com (Euan) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 06:51:58 PST

I got a peek at icefrog's blog..He had this Q & A thing..
Here's some of the interview..
enjoy! I bow to you icefrog for a job well done!

Q: Is IceFrog a person or a clan? Is DotA really just a one-man-code-all game? How did you come up with the name IceFrog?

A: I actually thought this was a joke the first time someone asked me, but I've been asked many times since, so I guess not. I'm just a person, 25 years old. While I am the only person that edits the map, I don't really consider it a one-man job. I have many beta testers that help out with testing and feedback. I'll save the story about how I picked the name IceFrog for another day though.

Q: What is the most annoying thing about developing DotA?

A: Some type of bugs take up so much time to fix that it can become very tiresome. An example would be in my most recent updates (6.58-6.59) which was resolved in 6.59b. As a result of some of the new code rewrites aimed at improving performance, a few rare but critical bugs appeared. You would get things like permanently invulnerable heroes, broken abilities or fatal errors and the game would be ruined completely. Although I know that many players find it annoying to continually re-download the map, it is necessary to fix these kind of bugs asap. I consider this the most annoying part because it results in many long boring nights of debugging replays when compared with the more exciting aspect of working on improving gameplay or content. It comes with the territory though, so I don't really mind.

Q: You have stated that you are going to have Tauren Cheiftain for 6.60, is there anything you can tell us about him?

A: It is too early to say really. He is one of my favorite hero models in Warcraft III though, so I certainly hope he turns out well.

Q: Why do you remake heroes? How do you decide which ones?

A: Remaking heroes is always a controversial thing because players often get attached them, so when those heroes change for better or worse, the players that liked them are disappointed. That being said, the primary requirement for a hero to be remade is if players don't enjoy playing with that hero. I try to balance out the fun factor while keeping as much of the core feeling of the original hero the same (when possible) in order to keep the existing fans of that hero satisfied. Often I ask non-beta testers, who have told me via email that they enjoy a certain hero, to review the new version and to make sure they are still satisfied with it.

My New Fave Hero

noreply@blogger.com (Euan) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 07:35:03 PST

Hey guys, it has been quite a while since I last posted.

Its just that I'm busy. Busy not on playing, but busy

passing requirements for graduation. I know you

wanna congratulate me! ^^ Well, thank you. Anyways,

I posted this because I want to express my greatest

excitement to play Storm Spirit in 6.59c. I watched

a replay of Storm played by MYM|H4nn1. Storm got

nerf. Congrats to Icefrog for the transformation of

Storm. I expect Storm Spirit being "ban" in tournaments.

Well, that's it for now. GG

What team do you think will win!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Euan) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:18:00 PST

Team A:
TIDEHUNTER . TINKER . CHEN . PUCK . AXE

VS

Team B:
MORPHLING . LINA . KUNKA . SAND KING . EARTHSHAKER

The result will be posted soon..comment!

Dota Trailer II

noreply@blogger.com (Euan) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 01:50:49 PST

Another video from youtube..enjoy!

Heroes' introduction...

Win Teamfights

noreply@blogger.com (Euan) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:50:49 PST

Dota playing is about winning the game - obviously from submission or destroying the Tree of Life as what I called it. When I say winning it should initiate massive killings to convince your opponents to surrender. Being effective players, one should consider many things on picking a hero for that match. I'll list some aspect of heroes you should remember.

1. Area of Effect (Aoe)

Skills that have wide Aoe are very useful in team fights or clashing. Stunning skills of tidehunter, wrath of zeus, massive healing of chen, illusory orb of puck, epicenter of SK, reverse of magnus, smoke of rikimaru, golem of warlock,rylai ulti etc.

2. Hero Type (Agility, Intillegence, Strength)

Int heroes are frequently used because of its high damage skills. Heroes like zeus, death prophet, lina, lion, etc. are good example of insane skills. Fast killing heroes in short game. If you like to end the game right away these heroes are the best.

Str heroes are more of a carry hero like tidehunter, lifestealer, bristleback, sven, earthshaker, magnus, etc. However, the last two heroes are more useful in stunning purposes that’s why it is justifiable to have an int build for these heroes.

Agi heroes are the attackers like mercurial, priestess of the moon, mortrid, swapper, rikimaru, strygyr, nevermore, etc. These heroes are best in long games. Its damage per second (dps) is insane and can pawn you with just an agi treads, butterfly and 3 wraiths.

3. Disablers (Hex)
Int heroes are the best disablers. Disabling one opponent can turn a game into a nighmare. Hex on broodmother (without bkb), nervermore, centaur, etc. is very effective in clashes. Winning teamfights are dependent on combos. Disable hero is very easy to pawn leaving the opponent into a disadvantage.

Priestess of the Moon (Potm) - Skilled Arrows

noreply@blogger.com (Euan) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 23:52:01 PST

Another video from youtube. Potm great arrows, cool..enjoy

Pudge - Scary Hooks

noreply@blogger.com (Euan) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:49:56 PST

I've downloaded a video from youtube. It's Pudge pawning, hooking and owning.
Pudge is unstoppable..GG

Re-map Inventory Keys

noreply@blogger.com (Euan) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:49:12 PST

hey guys, Dota gamers..I've read a thread in dota allstars forum where you can utilize a software to remap your inventory keys to QWASZX. Cool right? Well it's much easy to play with shortcuts. GG. Dota-Allstars HP Bar viewer A.zip.. here's the link. Enjoy.!!