DotA 2’s Reborn Update: Part 3

In the last 4 days we have received news about DotA 2’s “reborn” update. On the 13th I covered the new dashboard and user interface, and on the 16th we got news about custom games and the Hammer Level Designer. Today Valve has officially released the beta of DotA 2: Reborn.

As promised, Valve’s Source 2 engine will be used for DotA 2’s latest update. According to Valve, this new platform will “[include] technology for rendering improvements, performance optimizations, higher fidelity content, and richer, more dynamic games.”

As always, here are the highlights of this new list of updates:

• More Responsive Input: Source 2 supposedly lowers latency between issuing commands and heroes reacting to said commands.
• Tiled Map System: Valve has changed DotA 2 to use a tile system for map editing, allowing for easier map authoring and terrain mods.
• Enhanced Performance: Source 2 has been developed to run better on both older systems, as well as newer ones. Basically it allows for a higher system requirement ceiling, but also a lower requirement floor.
• Multithreading and Streaming: Source 2 now uses all available CPU cores. Also, putting Source 2 applications in the background will still allow them to be fully responsive upon re-opening.
• Better Audio: Source 2’s sound system has better voice processing, and better threading to avoid sound sometimes cutting out.
• Rendering: More detail, more lighting effects, better rendering and graphics in general.
• Physics: Better cloth simulation, more stable animations, and so-on.
• Multiplatform Compatibility: Works with PC, Linux, and iOS systems.

But that’s not all. Valve will also be bringing Source 2 to their Source Filmmaker application as well, adding many new features while updating others. This includes integrating Filmmaker with the DotA 2 Steam Workshop, gameplay recording and editing, 64-bit compatibility, and many other features.

Valve also states that the new update to their servers will allow for better relay protocols which will allow for less latency issues during online play, better IP routing to lower ping and packet loss, as well as better DDOS protection for their servers – something that many other MOBA developers have yet to do.

If you want to try the DotA 2: Reborn beta for yourself, or read more on the subject you can find the update page here. Valve states that not all beta features are functional yet, but they will be constantly updating the client over the next few weeks and are planning to have a stable build ready for public use by the end of the 2015 International event.