Jump to content

DotA Allstars

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 194.239.133.38 (talk) at 14:24, 17 November 2006 (→‎DotA Allstars AI versions). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the game modification called DotA Allstars. For the game concept, see Defense of the Ancients.

File:DotA.jpg
Fan-made DotA title poster with in-game items.

DotA Allstars is a variant of the custom map Defense of the Ancients for Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne by Blizzard Entertainment. It is a team strategy game. The objective is to destroy the opponent's base (World Tree if one is affiliated with the Sentinel side or opponent Frozen Throne if one is affiliated with the Scourge) using one's heroes along with allied heroes and allied AI controlled fighters called "creeps".


History

DotA Allstars is based on the concept Aeon of Strife which originated from StarCraft, by Blizzard Entertainment. Although not the first map to have custom skills (that honor goes to the map Valley of Dissent), it was one of the earlier ones with custom skills to become widely popular (after FMVH, Tides of Blood, and others).

One of the first AoS style maps in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos was done by a map maker named Eul. However, after the release of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Eul did not port the game into the new expansion set. DotA did make it into W3:FT however, but due to Eul unprotecting the map file after he stopped development, a number of spinoffs emerged. One of them was DotA Allstars, a compilation of the most popular heroes from the DotA series. There may have been a number of developers who only contributed a single version or two, including Syl-la-ble during the early 5.x series. The first well-known Allstars developer, however, was named Guinsoo. Allstars gained popularity, becoming the most played version of DotA, as well as one of the most popular custom games on Battle.net.

Guinsoo released a number of versions during his time as map developer, but handed the reins over to IceFrog after the 6.x series had been released. IceFrog has been accredited with fixing a number of the bugs that were present in the game during Guinsoo's development, and is the current lead map developer.

Gameplay / Basic Premise

The basic game consists of 2 teams - the Scourge and the Sentinel. Each team has a computer controlled base on 2 opposing corners of the map. The objective of the game is to destroy the other teams' main structure, buried deep within their base, which is protected by many towers. Unlike a traditional RTS, players do not get to control buildings or create units, rather, a player selects (or depending on the game mode, randomly gets assigned) a single powerful unit, known as a 'hero'. There are over 80 heroes in the game, each with unique abilities. DotA allows for a maximum of 10 players (5 vs. 5). An unofficial maps allow 12 players. It was announced that only 10 slots were allowed because 2 slots are for referees during tournament games. A typical game lasts anywhere between 30 and 90 minutes. There are a variety of game modes which dictate whether people can choose their own hero, get one randomly assigned to them, etc.

Throughout the game, heroes can kill other heroes, creeps (small, less-powerful units belonging to each team, which come in waves of gradually increasing size), and neutral creeps (not belonging to one of the 2 teams) in order to gain experience and money. As experience is gained, the hero advances in levels (to a maximum level of 25), thereby unlocking new abilities and becoming naturally more powerful. All heroes have 3 main abilities plus one 'ultimate' ability which gets unlocked at level 6, and subsequently upgraded at level 11 and 16. The abilities range from basic spells which do a specified amount of damage, spells which amplify existing damage, stuns, etc.

DotA also incorporates a money system into the game, whereby each hero earns money by killing creeps and other heroes, by getting the last hits, in addition to 8 gold gained every 6.5 to 13 seconds (depending on the game mode), and can subsequently buy items from various item shops and vendors across the map. These items can make the hero more powerful in many ways (adding damage, adding hit-points, or adding special abilities). Certain items can be combined together (in pre-defined 'recipes') to make even more powerful items. Buying the right items for the right heroes is an important part of the game and a vital strategy for success. Although any hero can benefit from virtually any item or recipe, certain combinations can make a hero far more deadly than one might expect.

Development

Currently, in most versions of Allstars, the map contains many more heroes and items than the original DotA map. The heroes and items are updated frequently, which may explain its ongoing popularity. However, this popularity sparked a controversy over who ought to be credited for its fame. For instance, a number of Classic players resent Guinsoo for having 'stolen' their game, especially since he has similarly stolen most of his triggers, spells, heroes and items from other people; Guinsoo, for his part, maintains that the map was created from scratch and based only spiritually on Eul's work (Guinsoo has only admitted to taking the terrain and the idea for some heroes: everything else is his own, he claims). Regardless, Allstars remains widely played, and is a very popular Warcraft 3 custom map.

5.xx Series

Bugs in version 5 of Allstars prompted many to offer fixes to Guinsoo but the development of the code was opaque and release schedules were discretionary. As such, the map forked in version 5.84c with Guinsoo releasing version 6.

Guinsoo ended the version 5 series with the creation of DotA Allstars 5.84, which added new heroes and a few bug fixes. Still, several errors and imbalances were overlooked in 5.84 leading to the release of a corrected version immediately, known as 5.84b. A developer named True.Rus (from Russia) developed an unofficial fork named 5.84c and then 5.84d. The version created (or rather modified) by True.Rus did not feature any new functionality or heroes which were the focus of all previous versions, but he did fix several skills that were functioning improperly due to a recent Battle.net patch and optimised the loading time of the map, reducing it from 6-10 minutes to 30 seconds-2 minutes.

The tool that allowed such optimization can be found here

6.xx Series

On February 28th 2005, a new era of Allstars began. Massive changes including new heroes, new items and a new icy terrain were released in version 6.0, though the terrain was later changed back to almost match that of the 5.84 series. The original changes in 6.0 were quite drastic at first, causing some players to resist and stick with the 5.84c version.

The major changes involved:

  • Inclusion of several brand new heroes, items, and item recipes.
  • Changes to some of the existing items and recipes.
  • Changes to the abilities of existing heroes either due to balance issues or lack of cohesion. In many cases heroes (some of which were popular in spite of their evident flaws) were drastically revamped, forcing players to devise new strategies in order to be successful. This is a major factor which caused a number of DotA players to stick to version 5.84.
  • Icy terrain and redesign of the map layout. (This layout was found inferior and was later reverted to a modified version of the 5.84 series.)

Shortly after the release of 6.01, Guinsoo went missing (unconfirmed rumors are that he now devotes his time to World of Warcraft). During Guinsoo's absence, IceFrog stepped up along with Neichus. IceFrog is now the main programmer for the map, doing anything from implementation and balancing to debugging. With each consecutive version released by the team in the 6 series, bug fixes, new heroes and additional spells have been introduced.

6.27b onwards

On October 31, 2005, yet another era of Allstars began. With the newfound endorsement from Blizzard Entertainment themselves and a Cyberathlete Amateur League division dedicated to Defense of the Ancients opening up, the new version took another drastic step forward which included many changes. The map has undergone continued updates and is currently at v6.38b, but the exact map that is used in league matches is usually several versions behind, depending on which is considered the "stable map". With the introduction of DotA into league play came a new wave of strategy that evolved out of the normal public play; whereas normally the game was generally comprised of running around the map trying to get the most hero kills resulting in the best items, league-play was based on team synergies which focus around teams picking heroes whose skills could compliment if not supplement each other. Throughout the seasons of CAL, league strategies have become more and more advanced as new balances have been introduced and tactics have been discovered. Where in season 1 the norm was to find a balance flaw (perhaps most notably the item Necronomicon) and aggressively exploit it, new strategies in season 2 required split second timing and team synchronization. Many look forward to the new strategies that will be implemented in season 3 and have high hopes for the development of the DotA branch of CAL. Lane control has taken a dominant role in competitive play, forcing players to abandon many late-game oriented heroes in favor of those that can satisfactorily hold a lane. Lane control is the idea of establishing dominance early in a lane through superior micromanagement and aggressively attacking and subduing the enemy if their hero choice is inadequate. However, the release of a recent version put less emphasis on experience denial and is the first step taken to bring back heroes that have been deemed unsuitable for league play. The latest version of the map is 6.38b.

Differentiating DotA Allstars versions

The 5.84b-5.84d versions can be easily distiguished from the version 6.00-6.19 series due to the fact that the 5.84 series has a grassy terrain (similar to those of the lands of Lordaeron in Warcraft III). On the other hand, the version 6.0-6.19b series have an icy terrain (similar to the lands of Northrend in Warcraft III). Versions 6.20+ have changed back to grassy terrain.

DotA Allstars AI versions

In the more recent versions of DotA Allstars, AI versions have been made for the official stable maps. Although normally DotA is meant to be played between human players, Cloud_Str has written AI scripts to allow the computer to play against you. Its purpose was to help human players train and to improve their skills. Recently, more features have been added to allow players to control the actions of the "bots", namely to defend the base when necessary. Bots play adequately, but their item builds and skill builds never vary from game to game. Also it is not very hard to kill bots since they are not programmed to be able to use complex strategies like teaming up on heroes.

Newer AI versions have been coming out recently. The newer versions provide a better challenge to players as the bots have better tactics and strategies compared to the older versions. A 1 versus 5 match up would seemingly be impossible to overcome with the latest AI versions. The AI maps provide a good practice for players.

The latest AI map that is Version 6.38b and is available at www.getdota.com/ai, where you can choose between the current version, or the ladder version.

Currently, DotA Allstars is popular among many players around the world, as observed on the Battle.net servers . Players of DotA Allstars, particularly in the Asian region, normally go to cybercafés for friendly matches and cash tournaments. The internationally recognized competetive team-based league is the Cyberathlete Amateur League (CAL) which showcases the world's best teams. The new CEVO is another international league that has included DotA in their game lineup.

Dota Allstars was also featured in the Malaysia and Singapore World Cyber Games 2005, 2006, and the World Cyber Games Asian Championships 2006. Version 6.37b is currently the official version for league and tournament play. Team Apex, formerly Fang and Gang, overcame coL (Complexity) and took the CAL season 1 championship title. Team coL defeated tPD (Team Pandemic) to win season 2 in late August 2006.

Blizzard has officially recognized DotA Allstars as its first Spotlight Map entry in the Battle.net Hall of Fame. It was also an independent tournament item at the debut of Blizzard's BlizzCon convention in 2005.

The popularity of the map even inspired many authors to create songs about DotA. One of the most complete and famous songs about DotA is the song from BassHunter - "Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA" (english: 'We are sitting here on Ventrilo, playing some DotA') . However, there are many other amateur songs, often in Hip-Hop genre, known in the circles of DotA players. Another well known song is entitled "DotA Rap by Devils Urethra"

Official Clan: Team DotA Allstars

Clan Team DotA Allstars (TDA) of Battle.net's U.S. East "Azeroth" gateway is the clan officially associated with DotA Allstars. The current developer of Allstars is a leader of the clan. The clan channel, "Clan TDA", has bots that are used for arranging matches between players and keeping the channel clear of idle and banned players.

The bots in the channel ban anyone who has a Warcraft III Battle.net "peon" icon, which is the default icon that all Warcraft III accounts start with. A new icon is received after a player gets 25 wins in ladder play. A player can also be safelisted by following the rules at dota-allstars.com/safelist. Players can submit replays of suspected leavers from TDA games to www.tdabots.com, and a TDA replay analyzer makes a decision to ban based on the evidence. Players can also appeal bans at the same website.

Strategy

Due to the large number of items, skills, and heroes available in the map (80 as of version 6.38b), the learning curve for DotA is extremely high. New players are often heavily criticized since the repeated death of one player (known as feeding) can often lead to a greater advantage for the opposing team due to the extra experience and gold gained from the kills. To avoid such difference in skill levels, begining players are highly advised to first practice with an A.I map (http://www.getdota.com/ai) to familiarize themselves with the mechanics and heroes of the game. Dummy guides, such as one written by Tichondrius (http://forums.dota-allstars.com/index.php?showtopic=34783), can also dramatically speed up the learning process. Also The Hitchhikers Guide to DotA written by ZeLink is a great guide for newer players of DotA.