14 DAY TRIAL // DotA 2 will be launched next year, as the original DotA developer, IceFrog, has partnered up with Valve and will release a whole new experience, unlike the original game which was just a mod for WarCraft III.
Considering the huge fanbase of the original DotA, lots of question appeared about the new game, ranging from reconnect support, hardware requirements, the AI that will be used by the game and if global matchmaking will be present.
Luckily for you, IceFrog decided to launch a special Q&A section on the new DotA 2 blog, answering a pretty big number of questions.
Here are some of the most important ones regarding the upcoming DotA 2.
Q: Is there reconnect support for DotA 2?
A: This was actually one of the very first things we added early on, before the game was stable, in order to help with testing. You’ll also be able to have a friend of similar skill level substitute for you in case you have to leave. Players that want to improve their reputation in the game and community will also be able to help out by joining ongoing games that are missing players.
Q: Can I still play with my friends from America even though I am European?
A: Yes, a lot of people have friends in different regions and we want to allow them to easily interact. One of the things that makes DotA special is how big the community is, so we will do our best to make it easy to connect and communicate with one another.
Q: What kind of hardware requirements will the game have?
A: We don’t have an official minimum spec just yet. The goal is to make sure that people with older computers and the PCs at LAN centers will be able to support the game, while also allowing for newer computers to scale well.
Q: Will there be anything like the AI maps in DotA or a “training mode” with difficulty levels? A: Yes there will be bot support if you just want to play by yourself, or you can create a party of friends and fill the rest of the slots with bots. There are a variety of different settings you can use in order to configure the bots, ranging from selectable difficulty levels to specific behaviors that you want to practice against.
Q: Will I be able to help test DotA 2?
A: There will certainly be an opportunity to get involved with beta testing DotA 2 and help us with your feedback. We’ll release more information about how to sign up in the future.
Most importantly, IceFrog revealed that he and Valve consider DotA 2 a long term project, similar to how Team Fortress 2 has been continuously updated ever since its initial release as part of The Orange Box.
Q: Are you going to work on DotA after DotA 2 is released?
A: I plan to keep DotA updated for as long as the community wants. That being said though, I think that DotA 2 represents the long term future for the game.
For the full list of questions and answers from the developer of the game, check out the DotA 2 blog.