How VR could change Dota 2 forever (but probably won't)

Three Lane Highway
Every week, Chris documents his complex ongoing relationship with Dota 2, Smite, and wizards in general.

Virtual reality is coming. Again. It was coming in 2012, and then in many ways it came in 2012, but then it wandered off again, resurfaced in 2014, got sold to Facebook, vanished, and now it's back. Virtual reality! The announcement of HTC's Vive marks a fresh beginning for both the wearable tech industry and the desperately optimistic tech op-ed industry.

It looks like a robot spider's face and sounds like an off-brand tropical juice drink that you might buy from a roadside van in the early hours of a Saturday morning. It will require you to carve out hitherto unheard-off leagues of floorspace, a volume of territory alien to anybody this side of North America's cavernous suburbs. It will smartly account for the possibility that you might wander into a bookshelf, but you will nontheless eventually wander into a bookshelf. None of this matters. Virtual reality is coming, and this time Valve are making it, and everything is going to be fine. You would walk into any number of bookshelves if it meant seeing Alyx Vance's face again.

What, though, does all of this mean for Dota 2? Valve's most popular game is also its most resistant to new technologies. Dota is a hard kernel of old-school PC design, rooted in the medium's past and utterly resistant to change. Its durability is key to its global appeal: you can play it on almost anything. It is Valve (and Steam's) ambassador to gaming markets that will be slower to adopt something as exorbitant as VR: Russia, South East Asia, South America.

Any application of VR to Dota 2 will always be a matter of luxury, not necessity. The game doesn't need it. But it could make use of it, and here is how.

Experience a replay in first person

You're never going to actually play Dota 2 in the first person. Even something simple, like changing your point-of-view using the minimap, wouldn't work. Dota 2's design piles complexity on top of the already-complex isometric RTS, and you can't just strip out those foundations and expect a playable game.

However! Going on a tour of the map in first person would work, and would be of interest to anybody who has ever wondered how their heroes actually experience that space. Extrapolate that out a little further and you've got a novel (if ultimately limited) new spectator mode. Witness your own best plays from the perspective of somebody who was hiding behind a nearby tree. Run into a bookshelf in your living room while trying to get the best possible angle on a pro teamfight.

Perhaps VR spectators could see each other inside the game, rendered as ghosts or perhaps as the little frogs and birds that already hop around the map. You could turn to the guy next to you and exclaim "did you see that?", pointing excitedly at a dynamically-intercepted Roshan attempt and/or a nearby bookshelf. Imagine sharing the experience of live sport with other people within the game itself, feeling the swell of the crowd with every play and encountering, for the first time in a digital context, the uniquely immersive inconvenience of not being able to see very well.

Pretend that Dota 2 is a living board game

Imagine if you could project an entire Dota 2 match—running in real time—onto a flat surface, either simulated or in your actual house. Imagine peering over it, like a god or a terrarium owner, watching these little animated miniatures run about and cast magic spells and yell at each other.

Imagine tracing the course of the river with your finger, seeing where it tumbles off the edge of the map—off the edge of the table—and down to the floor below. Imagine catching the water in your cupped hands and casting it into the air, letting it rain down onto your virtual face, laughing and laughing.

I am stretching this because I suspect that virtual boardgame Dota would actually work. It is not, in and of itself, totally ridiculous, and therefore I would both like it to happen and find it to be of limited utility to this column.

Endure the terrifying life of a creep

Here's a better one: an on-rails melee combat game like those arcade games you sometimes find where you wave a foam bat (see also: 'sword') at skeletons until you run out of money or dignity. Imagine something like that, but you're an actual creep in an actual game of Dota 2. You spawn in a barracks and run with your little brothers and sisters down a long lane, mighty heroes striding to either side. You encounter vile enemy creeps coming in the opposite direction and—swing! swing!—begin to chop at them in immersive first person.

The chaos of battle. The odds stacked against you. A tower at your back, a tower ahead. All of your kills are stolen by colourful characters with more power than you could ever hope to have. Then, as the battle looks won, as you surge forward, low on health but vitally, desperately alive, blooded in battle but never bowed, a shadow looms over you. You turn. There she is. Crystal Maiden. An ally, You think. She swings her staff: there is a bolt of blue light, and then there is nothing. Denied!

Try on cosmetic items before you buy them

Somebody once wrote a desperately optimistic op-ed about how we may one day use augmented reality technology to dress ourselves in the clothes we aspire to buy. I haven't actually read it: I assume that it exists. Nonetheless, I think this may form the basis of a fun addition to Dota 2's item store.

Imagine that you've got a modest sum of Steam-bucks to spend and you're not sure what to splash out on. At present you can preview new sets and you can cycle couriers through their various forms: you can rotate them and look at them and make a decision based on something as mundane as 'what the item actually looks like, on the character that it is designed for'. Yawn.

I'd like to try the items on myself: to be placed in a virtual store with a big mirror and parade around in the latest sets for my own amusement. I would like to attempt to wear some Broodmother armour and experience what it might be like to don Crystal Maiden's arcana cape, floating around with a dog and terrible frostbite. I'd like to try out Legion Commander's Arcana swords, and find out—once and for all—if it is actually possible to see anything when your eyes are on fire.

I'd like to pet the couriers before I buy one, and perhaps go for a ride on their flying variants. Having made my purchasing decision, I'd like to hand over virtual money to the shopkeeper himself, and take my items back to an actual Armory: this may, at last, provide a reason for me to interact with my shelves.

Stand in the player booths at The International

Let's assume that is possible to use a lot of combined camera feeds to place a virtual participant inside a different room in real time. Should this be the case, the natural next step is to give Dota 2 fans unprecedented access to the competitive scene. Valve have been slow to deliver their promise of International 2014 booth audio, so why not overcompensate with the technically unsound and deeply invasive application of VR?

Imagine how muted and awkward the players would feel, knowing that their every word and gesture was being picked apart by thousands of invisible, intangible spectators. Imagine hovering eerily behind your favourite players, listening to them alternately yell the words 'back' and 'nice'. Imagine seeing yourself as their equal despite staggering mounting evidence to the contrary. You think you know back-seat Dota? Not like this. Not like this.

Experience the life of the guy you're about to report

Let's get ambitious, here. Virtual reality could provide new perspectives on Dota 2—allow you to explore your hobby from a different angle. But what if it could make the community itself a better place? What if—and there are no bad ideas in this space, people, this is the future we're talking about—virtual reality could fix people.

I'm going to hypothesise a scenario. You are in a pub game. You are this ready to report somebody. Your mid has no gank. No gank at all! He has feed. For fuck's sake and so on. You type 'nooooooooooooob', and hold down the 'o' key just that little bit longer than you need to, grinding out your frustration like a pointless cigarette stub in the manky ashtray of your personality. You right click the player in question and select report.

But then! Your VR headset flips into a new mode. You are given a vision—a strange sensation, at first—of the same game from the reportee's perspective. You see, vividly, the lack of wards that meant that they could not realibly roam. You see that their opponent in mid was simply really good, better than you could deal with, and that they did their best but found themselves outmatched. I've been there too, you think.

Then, the headset takes you deeper. You see a scene from earlier the same day, because presumably everybody wears cameras on their faces all the time in the future or something. Your midlaner's boss is a total dick. There's a line at the bus stop. The post has been delivered to a neighbour. The pizza they were saving is missing from the fridge. The goldfish is dead.

All this, and all they wanted was a single good game of Dota. Instead, they got you—and all you did was add to the number of things they had to deal with that day. You are experiencing It's A Wonderful Life for the post-social age, if It's A Wonderful Life was a movie where Jimmy Stewart is repeatedly told to kill himself by a chorus of moronic teenagers. You do not get to descend the stairs to a town full of people who love you, in this scenario, but you may experience a moment of separation from the people whose lack of self-awareness, empathy or decency places them a few taxonomic rungs short of that sad, lost, incompetent baby seal whose only recourse is to honk stupidly into a vast empty wilderness that it will never understand. This is, presently, the best that you can hope for.

You are abruptly returned to the report screen. Your finger hovers over the 'submit' button. You close the window. Crestfallen, contrite but wiser than you have ever been, you wander into a bookshelf.
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DOTA 2 GAMEPLAY UPDATE 6.83

GENERAL

• Ranked All Pick initial planning phase reduced from 40 to 30 seconds
• 
  
• First rune spawns are now both Bounty Runes that are twice as effective (50/50 gold/xp to 100/100)
• All Illusions now deal 25% less damage to structures
• 
  
• Melee and Ranged Barracks bounty reduced from 352-370 to 100-150
• Melee and Ranged Barracks now give 125 and 75 gold to each player, respectively
• 
  
• Ward location to the right of Roshan is now pathable
• Fixed a ward location near the Dire ancients that could not be easily seen
• 
  
• Ancient Granite Golem health reduced from 2000 to 1700
• Ancient Granite Golem now has an aura which grants 15% bonus health to its allies
• 
  
• Private Lobby games now use the Captain's Mode creep spawn timer when in All Pick
• 
  
• Maximum Attack Speed increased from 500 to 600 (the primary impact of this is on abilities like Windranger's Focus Fire and Ursa's Overpower)
• The following abilities no longer have restrictions when cast on Spell Immune Allies: Kunkka's X Marks The Spot, Magnus's Empower, Treant Protector's Living Armor, and Warlock's Shadow Word
• The tooltips for Vanguard, Stout Shield, Poor Man's Shield and Crimson Guard now reflect their internal proc chance instead of their legacy representation (no actual balance change)
• Vision and Fog of War can now be any numerical value, rather than specific intervals (previously it was 0, 64, 192, 320, 448, 576, 704, 800, 832, 960, 1088, 1216, 1344, 1472, 1600, 1728) [?] More Information for Update please visit here http://www.dota2.com/shiftingsnows/

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Dota 2 Update - October 30th, 2014

The current item drop system doesn't function well as a reward mechanism. It drops many items on players who aren't interested in them (the items are extremely common, or they're for a hero the player doesn't play), and in the process dilutes the value of the items. We'd like to get to a place where dramatically fewer uninteresting items enter the economy. We don't have a complete solution yet, so we're going to move forward step by step, taking feedback from you as we go.

- Item drops are now entirely time based instead of level based.
Drop list now includes full sets, treasures, bundles and Arcanas at a rare rate instead of frequently dropping common items
- Battle boosters have been removed from the game entirely (we actually removed them from the store in September).
Players with an active battle booster will receive a free Treasure of the Rotted Gallows.
Players who had an unused purchased battle booster in their armory will receive a free Treasure Redemption Token.

- A new treasure, the "Treasure of the Rotted Gallows" has been added to the game.
Treasure Redemption Tokens and other items that can be redeemed for treasures can select this new treasure.
International 2013 Treasure Keys may now be redeemed for treasures.
The items in this treasure can be traded/marketed in 3 months (February 1, 2015).
The rare rewards from this treasure are not subject to the trade or marketing restriction.

Bug fixes:
- Fixed custom Pudge chains not appearing on both sides.
- Fixed unusual Greevils not having their particle effects.
- Fixed alternate hero icons not showing consistently in the UI
- Buyback button now only accepts left clicks.
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The Rekindling Soul Update

The long awaited metamorphosis of Shadow Fiend arrives at last. In addition to a completely new look for his form and effects, the update also contains the Demon Eater Arcana. This Arcana provides a fiery reimagining of Shadow Fiend, complete with new effects, sounds, animations, icons, and an altered voice. We also thought it’d be fun to allow you to show off your skill at triple-razing enemies to the ground, so with the Arcana equipped you’ll be see a fiery celebration of your skill. Finally, if you buy the Demon Eater set before October 31st, it will come with an ‘Exalted’ quality.

Yet Shadow Fiend isn’t the only one receiving special treatment – this update also contains the much-anticipated 6.82 balance update, which introduces an arsenal of additions and tweaks affecting every part of the game. Major systems have been overhauled, and heroes have been retooled and reworked. Bloodseeker and Phantom Lancer both now sport new abilities, you’ll find a new rune in the river, a new item in the shop – the list goes on and on. And for the first time in years, the Dota 2 map itself has changed, with significant layout changes to Roshan’s lair, base fountains, and more.

What are you waiting for? Head over to The Rekindling Soul Update Page.

If you’ve never watched Dota 2 played live, you’re missing out. The sword swings, the ancient explodes, and the crowd roars. It’s amazing, but don’t take our word for it. There are two upcoming events for you to check out: if you’re near New York City, check out ESL One in Madison Square Garden on October 9th and 10th. Or, if you’ll be in Yinchuan, China next month, the World Cyber Arena will be holding their LAN finals at the Yinchuan International Convention Centre from October 2nd through the 5th.

One more thing: we on the Dota 2 team have a number of updates in the works right now that we’re really excited about, some for the rest of this year, and a big update for early next year. But we’re pretty sure we won’t be able to make enough progress on the larger update if we put it down to work on Diretide – so we’ve decided that we’re not going to ship a Diretide event this year. We know that last year we weren’t clear enough in our communication about this, so this year we wanted to be up front about it early. Next year will bring monumental changes to Dota 2, and we’re confident that when you’ve seen what we’ve been working on, you’ll agree it was worth it.

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Cara Menampilkan Box Ping, Transfer Data, dan Framerate Dota 2

Ping adalah fitur yang sering sekali diakses oleh pemain Dota 2, entah kenapa rasanya tidak afdol kalau tidak cek ping :D. Nah dengan Box Net Graph bawaan dari Dota 2, kita bisa melihat ping, transfer data, dan fps Dota 2 kita secara realtime (terus terupdate) tanpa harus mengetikkan -ping setiap ingin melihat. Untuk mengaktifkan Net Graph, kita harus mengaktifkan Console terlebih dahulu. Bagi yang belum mengaktifkan Console Dota 2, bisa di cek postingan ini. cara-mudah-aktifkan-dota-2-console
Aktifkan dengan Console

Setelah console telah aktif, Net Graph bisa ditampilkan dengan code command berikut :

net_graph 1

Dengan command diatas, akan muncul angka-angka baru yang mungkin menutupi beberapa bagian penting layar Dota 2 kita, untuk itu perlu dilakukan beberapa pengaturan posisi angka-angka tersebut. Berikut adalah command yang digunakan untuk merapikan Box Net Graph:

• net_graphheight x – Mengatur tinggi box 
• net_graphinsetbottom x – Posisi box dari bawah layar.
• net_graphinsetleft x – Posisi box dari kiri layar.
• net_graphinsetright x – Posisi box dari kanan layar.
• net_graphinsettop x – Posisi box dari atas layar.
• net_graphpos x – Aktifkan pengaturan posisi (0 atau 1)
• net_graphproportionalfont x – Aktifkan pengaturan font (0 atau 1)
• net_graphtext x – Aktifkan teks pada Net Graph (0 atau 1)

Untuk resolusi layar 1366 x 768 masukan command pengaturan seperti berikut dalam Console Dota 2:

net_graphheight 64
net_graphinsetbottom 422
net_graphinsetleft 0
net_graphinsetright -130
net_graphpos 1
net_graphproportionalfont 0
net_graphtext 1

Aktifkan dengan autoexec.cfg

Command diatas tidak menampilkan box secara permanen, jadi ketika Dota 2 ditutup box akan hilang kembali dan perlu diaktifkan dengan console dari awal. Untuk membuat box Net Graph tampil secara permanen, kita perlu melakukan perubahan pada file berikut di folder dota 2 (jika tidak ada, bisa dibuat sendiri dengan notepad dan di Save As - All Files - nama filenya --> autoexec.cfg)

C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\dota 2 beta\dota\cfg\autoexec.cfg

Kemudian tambahkan command berikut kedalam file autoexec.cfg:

net_graph 1
net_graphheight 64
net_graphinsetbottom 422
net_graphinsetleft 0
net_graphinsetright -130
net_graphpos 1
net_graphproportionalfont 0
net_graphtext 1

dan simpan file tersebut. Restart Dota 2.

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Resolve Error creating Direct Sound buffer on your PC

sometime you have problem with your PC audio like me.

here story and solve how to fixed Error creating Direct Sound buffer from soundcard.

They worked yesterday. I didn't change anything. Now they don't work.
Volume is ok. (100% computer, on a good step at the button too)
They are plugged in.
I have the good drivers.
All wires are in their place.
Did they burn out or something?
In control panel they say they work properly, but it fails to play the test tune. (I get that message)

Update : I tried playing something in winamp and it says
" Error creating Direct Sound buffer. Error code 88780096 "

Solve : 

1. Update your sound card

2. if not happen restart your PC, maybe some people will get this eror again after restart. and have to restart again to resolve this problem.

3. disable HW acceleration in the DirectSound Output plugin in WinAmp if you use winamp.

4. if doesn't work all, then use this trick :

Windows Audio services may have crashed. Run 'services.msc' from the Start button. Select 'Windows Audio' in the right-hand pane. Then stop and start the service.

5. if doesn't useful at all then you have to buy another souncard. :D

Selengkapnya...

Arti kata-kata CMIIW,LOL,FYI dan lain-lainnya

Kadang pas menjelajah dan berselancar di web atau di forum, kita menemukan singkatan yang aneh.. cmiiw apaan yah itu maksudnya?? Nah, judul tulisan ini pun kalo nggak disingkat jadinya, “By The Way, Apa Sih Artinya Correct Me If I’m Wrong, For Your Information, In My Humble Opinion?” di-Indonesiakan artinya, “Omong-omong, Apa Sih Artinya Koreksi Jika Saya Salah Untuk Informasi, Menurut Pendapat Saya? Hehe… sudah jelas kan Selengkapnya boleh dilihat

ADN = Any Day Now
AFAIK = As Far As I Know
AFK = Away From Keyboard
AKA = Also Known As
ASAP = As Soon As Possible
ATM = According To Me
ATTN = Attention

BAK = Back At the Keyboard
BBIAB = Be Back In A Bit
BBL = Be Back Later
BBS = Be Back Soon
BFN = Bye For Now
BIF = Basis In Fact
BION = Believe It Or Not
BL = Belly Laughing
BRB = Be Right Back
BTA = But Then Again
BTT = Back To Topic
BTW = By The Way

CMIIW = Correct Me If I’m Wrong
CU = see you
CUA = Common User Access
CUL = see you Later
CWYL = Chat With Ya Later
CYO = See You Online

DBA = Doing Business As
DIKU? = Do I Know You?
DITYID? = Did I Tell You I’m Distressed?
DIY = Do It Yourself
DTRT = Do The Right Thing

EMFBI = Excuse Me For Butting In
EOM = End Of Message
EOS = End Of Show
EOT = End Of Thread

FTF = Face To Face
FAQ = Frequently Asked Question(s)
FISH = First In, Still Here
FOMCL = Falling Off My Chair Laughing
FUD = Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt
FWIW = For What It’s Worth
FYA = For Your Amusement
FYEO = For Your Eyes Only
FYI = For Your Information

GA = Go Ahead
GAL = Get A Life
GIGO = Garbage In, Garbage Out
GIWIST = Gee, I Wish I’d Said That
GMTA = Great Minds Think Alike
GOL = Giggling Out Loud
GRD = Grinning, Running & Ducking
GTG = Got to Go
GWS = Get Well Soon
GTRM = Going To Read Mail

HHOK = Ha Ha, Only Kidding
HHOS = Ha Ha, Only Serious
HNG = Horny Net Geek
HTD = Have To Disagree
HTH = Hope This Helps
HTHBE = Hope This Has Been Enlightening

IAC = In Any Case
IAG = I’m A Genius
IAE = In Any Event
IANAL = I Am Not A Lawyer
IC = I see
ICAM = I Couldn’t Agree More
ID = I Disagree
IHA = I Hate Acronyms
IIRC = If I Remember Correctly
ILY or ILU = I Love You
IMAO = In My Arrogant Opinion
IMCO = In My Considered Opinion
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
IMNSHO = In My Not So Humble Opinion
IMO = In My Opinion
IOW = In Other Words
IPN = I’m Posting Naked
IRL = In Real Life
IRT = In Real Time
ITA = I Totally Agree
ITD = I Totally Disagree
ITRW = In The Real World
IOW = In Other Words

JAT = Just A Thought
JAPRI = Jalur Pribadi
JFU = Just For You
JIC = Just In Case
JK = Just Kidding (or Joke)
JMHO = Just My Humble Opinion
JMO = Just My Opinion

KWIM? = Know What I Mean?

L8R = Later
LBAY = Laughing Back At You
LD = Later Dude
LDR = Long=Distance Relationship
LLTA = Lots and Lots of Thunderous Applause
LMAO = Lauging My Ass Off
LOL = Laughing Out Loud or Lots Of Luck
LOLBAY = Laughing Out Loud Back At You
LTM = Laugh To Myself
LTNS = Long Time No See

M/F? = Male or Female?
MEGO = My Eyes Glazed Over
MHOTY = My Hat’s Off To You
MINK = Multiple Income No Kids
MMHA2U = My Most Humble Apologies to you
MOOS or MOTOS = Member Of The Opposite Sex
MOSS or MOTSS = Member Of The Same Sex
MOTD = Message Of The Day
MOTO = Member Of The Opposant
MUD = Multi=User Dungeon (or Dimension)

NBIF = No Basis In Fact
NBIR = No Basis In Reality
NW = No Way
NP = No Problem
NRN = No Reply Necessary

OIC = Oh, I see
OLL = On=Line Love
OMG = Oh My God
OOT = Out Of Topic
OOTB = Out Of The Box
OPM = Other People’s Money
OTF = On The Floor
OTOH = On The Other Hand
OTOOH = On The Other, Other Hand
OTP = On The Phone
OTTH = On The Third Hand
OTTOMH = Off The Top Of My Head
OTW = On the Way

PANS = Pretty Awesome New Stuff
PC = Politically Correct or Personal Computer
PDA = Public Display of Affection
PDQ = Pretty Darn Quick
PEBCAK = Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard
PGB = Pengertiannya Gitu Bang
PI or PIC = Politically Incorrect
PITA = Pain In The Ass
PMFJI = Pardon Me For Jumping In
PMJI = Pardon My Jumping In
POTS = Plain Old Telephone Service (or Pretty Old Tired Stuff)
POV = Point Of View
PPL = Peed Pants Laughing or People

RL = Real Life
ROAR = laughing as loud as a lion
ROFL = Rolling On Floor Laughing
RP = Romantic Partner
RPG = Role Playing Games
RSN = Real Soon Now
RTM = Read The Manual or Message
RW = Real World
RYO = Roll Your Own

SINK = Single Income No Kids
SITD = Still In The Dark
SO = Significant Other
SOL = Smiling Out Loud
SOMY? = Sick Of Me Yet?
SOS = Someone On Shoulder
STD = Sick To Death
STS = Sorry To Say

TAF = That’s All Folks
TAFN = That’s All For Now
TANSTAAFL = There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
TBH = To Be Honest
TCN = Take Care Now
TFH = Thread From Hell
TFI = The Fact Is
TFM = Thanks From Me
TFMT = Thanks From Me Too
TFS = Thank For Sharing
TGIF = Thank God It’s Friday
TGTBT = Too Good To Be True
TFRM = Thanks For Remind Me
THX = Thanks
TIA = Thanks In Advance
TIC = Tongue In Cheek
TIG = This Is Great
TIIC = The Idiots In Charge
TLA = Three=Letter Acronym
TPTB = The Powers That Be
TTFN = Ta Ta For Now
TTYL = Talk To You Later
TQ or TX or TXS or THX = Thanks (or Thank You)
TYSM = Thank You So Much
TYVM = Thank You Very Much

UAPITA or YAPITA = You’re A Pain In The Ass
USTM or YSTM = You Should Thanks Me

VWP = Very Well Put

W4W = Word for Word
WAGS = What A Great Story
WAI = What An Inspiration!
WB = Welcome Back
WDALYIC? = Who Died And Left You In Charge?
WFM = Works For Me
WIBNI = Wouldn’t It Be Nice If
WP = Well Put
WT? = What/Who The?
WTH? = What The Hell?
WTG = Way To Go
WTGP? = Want To Go Private?
WTS = With That Said
WU? = What’s Up?
WUF? = Where are you From?
WYSIWYG = What You See Is What You Get

XOXO = kisses and hugs
XX = kisses

YAAG = You Are A Genius
YABR = You Are Being Replaced
YGBSM = You’ve Gotta Be Shittin’ Me
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary
YRR = You ‘R’ Right
YVMW = You’re Very Much Welcome  Selengkapnya...