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Saturday, October 30, 2010

Memory leaks or why maps probably crash on older hardware

As i promised, i coded a little tool to see what is the situation of the local variables which are not nulled. The tool was coded in 2-3 hours tops and it doesn`t do miracles but shows an estimated count of the memory leaks in a JASS script. I will probably need to walk manually trough every leaking function and see if nulling is needed. I can do that automatically ofc, but the outcome will be unknown... so i prefer manual editing. Also some of the found leaks are not actually leaks, hence the manual editing. Extremely painful, boring and tough job :(
But i guess (and hope) that fixing 90% of the memory leaks will fix most of the crashes caused on computers with obsolete hardware (less RAM for example). I have people who reported to me that after upgrading their PCs they have a lot less crashes than before.

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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Quick update

Hello, guys.
Just a quick update on the status of the AI map.
The item builds for 6.68 series are ready. The AITeam are testing them. As you know in 6.69 there are changes in some items and recipes and that will need another item build overhaul. There is a new mode called -ld (Low Dodge Mode). Some users complained how AI (Normal and Hard) are dodging almost always Pudge`s Hooks and some other skills. The mode will compensate that problem... it will be available as a command from the hosting player. Writing -old once will enable that mode and writing it again will disable it. You`ll see a message with the current status of the mode.
That mode affects Meat Hook but also Nerubian Assassin's Impale, Demon Witch's Impale, Fissure, and Ice Path.

There are some weird bugs which we will address. Also i started renaming and deobfuscating a lot of functions and variables... i hope that will make the work on the script easier.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

DotA 6.69 Secret, Hidden Quest and Easter Egg Guide & Solution

If you didn`t know yet, DotA 6.69 contains a hidden secret which will allow you to fight Icarus the Phoenix. To fight him, you must destroy the PreRune, the Red Runes and then kill all the IceFrogs on the map. Then you will get a nice reward for your efforts. The quest is removed in 6.69b, so i`m uploading 6.69 map here:

==>>> DOWNLOAD 6.69 MAP <<<==


Here is the guide:

To start the Quest you have to find the PreRune:



After you destroyed the PreRune, 2 Red Runes will appear on the map.



Both of the runes need to be destroyed. After that you need to find the IceFrogs which spawn on the map. They are invisible and you`ll need a gem to find them. Also they are unkillable by Physical attack and only magical attacks are available. So you can use Dagon for the purpose.
Here are the spots where you can find the IceFrogs:




After you killed all the IceFrogs, suddenly you will be killed and a message will appear: "Player has been killed by Phoenix". Well done, if that message appears, the Phoenix will appear at the boss spot on the right bottom of the map. Prepare before the battle, because the boss is very powerful:



The Phoenix got 20,000 HP and very fast regeneration. He has a special skill, summons a Super Nova. When the Super Nova is falling, all units will be stunned globally for 10 seconds. After you killed him, he will transform into an egg. But you didn`t win YET. The Phoenix reborns even more powerful!! Here you`ll probably need a cheat to kill him! EDIT: in the comments Timo says that using Guinsoo before killing the first Phoenix... will prevent him from spawning again.
After killing the Reborn Phoenix you`ll get 5 of those nice presents:

Ancient Medallion gives you +75 all stats, 9 illusions (active), 3x critical and some evasions.

WOW!

==>>> DOWNLOAD 6.69 MAP <<<==

Friday, October 15, 2010

DotA Allstars 6.68c AI Test of -alldagons (-ad) mode

I decided to upload a video from the new -ad (AllDagons) mode. In that video you can see how the AI gets random level Dagon and use it at the enemies. Then if there was another item at that slot it swaps back that item. If the temporary Dagon is not used in fight, the moment AI decides to teleport back or enters fountain area, the Dagon will be removed and the old item (if there is any) will be put back. That way i`m trying to keep the item`s build in integrity. Also you can see another "feature"... instead of editing 100+ item builds (AGAIN) so the AI have space for Scrolls of Teleport (which will make the release of the map impossible in the near future) i made a check if there is an empty space or salves, a TP scroll will spawn near that AI player and he will pick it up and teleport to the fountain. That way i also kinda fix the bug with the Teleport cancelling out of fountain because the skill will be in a cool down at the time when the AI player will head out off the fountain area.

DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO: >>>AllDagonsMode.avi<<<


Edit: Adding some pictures:



DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO: >>>AllDagonsMode.avi<<<

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Regarding 6.68c AI

Just a note.. there is NO working version of 6.68c AI yet. Please stop spamming and making new threads on playdota... nobody can upload you something which is not existent!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Valve presents: Dota 2

Valve's New Game Announced, Detailed: Dota 2

CLICK FOR THE ARTICLE

It`s HARD to load so here is the most important:

"The rumors and speculation can cease. Valve is making Dota 2, we've played it, and it's already amazing even though it's not coming out until next year. And we haven't yet laid eyes on Dota 2's biggest innovation: a radical approach to integrating the game's community back into the gameplay itself."

"Valve's approach to Dota 2 is unusual in that the gameplay itself is remaining almost entirely untouched. "Our first reaction is to assume that [design elements are] there for a reason," project lead Erik Johnson explains. "IceFrog is one of the smartest designers we've ever met. He's made so many good decisions over the years in building the product. He virtually never makes a decision that doesn't have some reasoning behind it and a way to pick apart the logic behind it." This approach means that Dota 2 basically is DotA-Allstars with new technology.

DotA-Allstars' roster of 100+ heroes is being brought over in its entirety. The single map games take place on is functionally identical to the one that you can download for free today in the Warcraft III mod. Items, skills, and upgrade paths are unchanged. Some hero skills work slightly better due to being freed from the now-ancient Warcraft III engine, but Dota 2 will be instantly familiar to any DotA player.

A few things will make significant differences to players making the transition. Dota 2 uses Valve's Source engine, so the game is much prettier. Source itself is getting a few upgrades, including improved global lighting and true cloth simulation. Dota 2's integrated voice chat is a huge step up from having to set up your own Ventrilo server, and the speed of voice communication is very nearly a requirement for a game as team-focused as DotA.

AI bots will take over for disconnected players, and will be available to play against in unranked training matches as well. However, don't get your hopes up for a full-fledged single-player game, though. Johnson says, "Our goal with the AI is just that their experience isn't destroyed just because one person couldn't finish the game.

The visual style is remarkable for retaining the somewhat cartoony feel that the Warcraft III version of DotA-Allstars is built around, while going in a few different directions. "I think there are functional aspects to the art that are pretty significant to the players," Johnson muses. The environment, particularly in the forests that fill in the map between the three lanes that the NPC armies follow, uses a desaturated color scheme to give the colorful heroes and abilities some visual pop. The sizable art team is putting a lot of work into making the shapes and animations of each hero distinct to the point that players will be able to instantly identify any hero they see and quickly gauge the threat level of any situation.

The game will also feature a ton of custom voice work. You'll get amusing lines from heroes as they deny the enemy team last hits on creeps, and champions who have backstory connections will trade quips when nearby.

The bulk of innovation in Dota 2, however, is ancillary to the gameplay itself. Valve is upgrading Steamworks (the company's backend technologies for matchmaking and other gameplay and community-related things) to allow them to create in-game rewards for participating in the Dota 2 community. The idea is to have everything a player does in or out of game tie back into their online identity. Like the improvements to Source, the Steamworks upgrades will be available to third-party developers who choose to use Valve's tools when Dota 2 launches in 2011.

At a basic level, posting useful feedback or participating in constructive discussions on the forums will contribute to your standing in the community in a visible way. Valve doesn't have the specifics on how this will work nailed down yet. Will you get points that contribute to a visible ranking, like a Gamerscore? Will your posts need to be recommended by other community members to count for anything? What counts as a constructive discussion? These questions are all being actively explored at the moment. Valve assures us that the designers have a slew of awesome ideas for how to implement rewards in a way that’s visible to the rest of the community, but there are no details to announce yet. "When we talk about this identity that exists inside and outside the game, we don't think we're anywhere near it with what exists on Steam right now," Johnson admits.

If this was just about getting points for posting comments, though, we wouldn't waste your time by telling you about it. Dota 2 goes much farther than that. Everything from unlocking new skins for your favorite hero to getting a unique title for writing a strategy guide is on the table. Valve has ambitious plans (for which, again, there are no specifics to share) to host everything themselves and provide the best framework for the community to interact with each other. The idea is to reduce the social friction inherent in having to dig around a bunch of different fansites and wikis to find what you're looking for.

Ultimately, two things will make Dota 2 stand out: the coaching system and interactive guides. "

Here some Valve art work:



  

Monday, October 11, 2010

DotA Allstars v6.69 was released

Yes, that was fast :) and some of the changes are harder than the others... and the changes are a lot. After releasing of a 6.68c AI BETA, i`ll start looking at 6.69`s changes.
I also may add some of the 6.69`s bug fixes to the current version. Fixes like:

* Fixed Charge of Darkness showing a dummy unit with HP bar
* Fixed a fatal error possible with Skewer

or

Axe
- Battle Hunger slow increased to 10%
- Cooldown on Aghanim's Culling Blade reduced from 15 to 10 seconds

The only "bad" things are.. the item recipes changes. That means loads of the item builds will be broken... after the major overhaul in 6.68 AI item builds. Those builds (6.68) are almost ready and testing which is the reason i`ll release 6.68 AI first.

Get the map from:
http://www.getdota.com/

Just a small rant

Hi, people.
I`m getting all kinds of bug reports for versions which were released MONTHS ago. Some even still play some buggy BETAS with bugs as ancient as the dinosaurs. Bugs which are fixed and long forgotten. One guy showed me a screenshot and GUESS WHAT... I BET THAT THE FRIGGIN SITTING BULL WAS PLAYING THAT VERSION BACK THEN IN HIS SMELLY TENT LOL.
PLEASE, be sure you are playing the latest DotA map before trying to contact us for bug fixing.
Thank you!

This is the Sitting BULL if u`re wondering who is he lol... nice guy... i hope he didn`t complain much BECAUSE Kaldr bought only Ring and SALVES! rofl:

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Sniff, sniff

... sniff.
-apadhehgst <- that will be a challenging mode In -ad mode AI gets random level Dagon (if hero level 20-24 the Dagon is 4th or 5th level, if hero level is 25th the Dagon is 5th level). The hero gets a Dagon every time when there is no cooldown of the item and there is an enemy to attack. It gets it only for one attack and it vanishes. If there was an item on that slot it gets switched temporarily. If there is no attack there are conditions to change back to the switched item or keep the dagon until a use on enemy hero. It may sound a little confusing but it will be clear when you play it. Pretty funny when 2 harmless bots melt your HP in seconds with 2 Dagons lol... PS. HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL MODE... some bugs may occur.

 

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

DotA Allstars v6.68c AI Test

After some Dagon usage refinement i decided to test and record the performance.
Here is a test movie (scroll down and look for the SLOW DOWNLOAD button):

6.68cAI_TEST 126MB

Download the movie to see the monster Viper (still without Aghanim) and how the AIs use Dagon at certain conditions. If you have an AI with dagon closely... be fast with the killing! Or u`ll be left with an assist lol ;)

One thing i decided to show you from that movie... there is a moment where Ancient Apparition uses his ultimate Ice Blast on Drow Ranger. Then Drow Ranger is attacked by Nerubian Assasin... Nerubian first uses his stun on her... then uses Dagon. Apparently Drow has some HP left and survives the Dagon (u can see that on the screenshots below) but she met the Ice Blast "rule" of below 12% of the max HP and she got shattered by Ancient Apparition. I liked that lol... here are the shots.

PS. One more good news... ReliableGold System port status: 100% :)


  

Monday, October 4, 2010

Gyrocopter in action

Here is Gyrocopter in action. You can see also that the Reliable Gold system is "almost" finished. Just need to add some more lines. The AI Team is working hard on the new item builds, Bots are using Magic Wand nicely... everything is normal for now :)


Saturday, October 2, 2010

Magic Wand and Item Builds

With the introduction of a 2 new items in DotA 6.68c and changing the recipe of Eye of Skadi, the AI team is challenged to change many item builds which are broken as we speak. For example: there are AIs with Arcane Ring into their builds... now this is changed to Arcane Boots but Arcane Boots doesn`t stack with the other kinds of Boots or Threads. So it is important the decision to leave Arcane Boots or take something else later and selling the Arcane Boots along with that. We decided some heroes to get Arcane Boots and after some time to change them for Boots of Travel. We will see how that goes in the upcoming tests. The change of the Skadi recipe will need even more work...
Also there were suggestions we introduce to the AIs the Magic Wand item. Apparently it is an useful item for the beginning but they doesn`t know how to use it. So i had to test if AI can operate Magic Wand programmatically. Here is a screen of me executing the item Magic Wand with a simple command: -aa. So, Magic Wands, welcome to the AI world of DotA :)

This is 6.68c AI

Yay. Kaldr is a beast. My new DagonFinish check works pretty good... mwahhh. After release make sure u test a game... vs Demon Witch, Kaldr, NA, Pugna and maybe OD or anyone else with a Dagon :P
That`ll prolly rock your socks lol.
My friends will leave DotA after i introduce them to TEAM DAGON lol.

PS. Tell me what u think about Kaldr, Ancient Apparition and are you sorry that he got nerfed in 6.68c.
PS2. Btw that screen means i fixed the items and recipes assembling!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Eredar, Shadow Demon

And here is the test of the Eredar, Shadow Demon. All skills working.
Gyrocopter and Thrall are already working. I`ll post screenshots later. I can say the waiting for 6.68 was worth it.. very nice heroes. Congratz, IceFrog!
The next work on the list is... making item recipes work... Without that fix.. the map will be unplayable... sooo fingers crossed.