April Fools Map
Submitted by IceFrog on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 09:02

I traditionally do custom maps each year for this day but I've decided to skip it this time. I know some of you look forward to it. There is a lot of demand to get 6.60 ready asap, so I felt that it would be more appropriate to focus all my effort on that instead. I'll make it up to you guys next year

A lot of players always ask me why I don't publish release dates ahead of time. I don't do it to build suspense or to keep players waiting, the main reason I don't is because it is hard to actually be sure of a date and if it is missed players become upset.

I will make sure to post here more often in the near future to keep you guys in the loop on the development and maybe give a sneak preview or two. While I can't give an exact date like I said above, I will try to let you guys know when it is a couple of days away from release and is in final translation mode.

My main focus is the quality of the changed or added content and to make sure that the gameplay overall is taking a step forward and not backwards. Sometimes things need to be redone multiple times to achieve those goals which is why it is hard to predict. That being said, 6.60 has the a very large number of changes and improvements to the game. I think it will be worth the wait.

Update: Some people emailed confused what my post meant. April 1st is a day where some people post fake things on the net for fun. The last few years I did fake maps for this that people liked playing. I didn't do a fake map this year.

Recipe Shops

Hey guys. I apologize for the delay since my last post. I've been focused on the next update. It has a huge change log with many things that need playtesting.
One issue I've been trying to tackle in this patch is the organization of recipes. Most would agree that they are pretty disorganized right now, especially the 5th shop. With the addition of some items in 6.60 and the overdue need to organize the shops, I've been working on sorting them. I'm looking for input on organization approaches, as well as thoughts on the matter in general, so feel free to drop me a line. I might post a few screenshots of the shop layouts here.
Another extra tidbit of information, regarding Linken's Sphere: many abilities have now been rewritten to provide better compatibility. This has been one of the most requested items to fix, so I have given it some much needed attention. While there are still some spells that do not interact well with it, there are many more that do now.
This update has been taking much longer than I had originally hoped for, but rest assured I won't take a minute longer than absolutely necessary.

As a result of some differences, I am no longer affiliated with the dota-allstars.com website. I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone over there the best of luck in the future.

I still plan on continuing DotA development for a long time, a couple years at the very least. The next update, 6.60, is nearing the end of its design and testing phase. The translation phase will also be starting shortly. There is still a little bit more work to do on fixing some specific content, but it's finally approaching completion. I will post another update here in the near future.

As of today, I am starting a new community site for DotA. I think it is more valuable to the players though if I focus most of my time on developing and improving the game, so I'm here to reach out and ask for help on this. I believe that with some organization, the community has some very talented people that can help build a site to serve their interests and needs. Help can come in many different forms: programming, design, technical support, content contributions, etc. My goal is to have a format where everyone that wants to help can contribute in a productive way. If you are interested in being involved, please send me an email at IceFrog@gmail.com

Notes: I am updating the website to add some code for new languages. If you see it offline throughout the day, its not a bug so no need to report it.

Here it comes
Submitted by IceFrog on Wed, 06/10/2009 - 01:39

Hey guys. I plan on uploading 6.60 tonight or early tomorrow unless a critical issue occurs, but right now it looks very likely.

I'll edit this post here with another update in a few hours

Update

Submitted by IceFrog on Mon, 06/29/2009 - 21:00
Thanks for all the feedback from everyone, I appreciate it. I've gotten lots of constructive comments about what you liked and disliked. I'm actively working on 6.61 right now. Some of the balance changes on the table will happen in 6.61 and some others (that need more time to settle in before changing) will happen in a version or two afterward so we don't act too hastily. Not much else to say in this post, just wanted to keep you guys updated.

New Release

Submitted by IceFrog on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 01:19
I'm in the process of uploading 6.61. Let me know what you guys think after you've had a chance to play with it for a bit.
Update: Released

Beta Testing New Map Code

Submitted by IceFrog on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 20:51
I am working on lots of code updates for DotA to support the upcoming warcraft 3 patch. Because of the nature of this update and the amount of code that will be changed, it will require a large amount of beta test games to find any new glitches that come up. If you are interested in taking part of this when the map is ready, either respond to this topic with your email address or post in this thread. In addition, please provide your timezone and where you usually play.

twoplay schrieb:

Semiopen Beta? Klingt ganz lustig. Bin gespannt wie sich der neue Patch bzw Code auf DotA auswirkt (oder Ladezeiten).