Dota 2 Reborn: new engine and user interface. IMG Source: dota2.com
This week, after months of speculation, Valve finally unveiled Dota 2 Reborn - a significant overhaul of the game's interface and engine. The company plans to launch an open beta late next week.
Dota 2 Reborn is stated to feature an entirely new engine. While Valve didn't specify the name of the engine they'll be using for the overhaul, it's a reasonable guess that the game will be running on Source 2 - the successor to the original Source engine, which powered hits such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or Half-Life 2.
Alongside the engine upgrade, Dota 2 will also undergo a serious revamp of its user interface. Players can expect to see changes that will make finding and joining friends, managing parties, chatting, launching sessions, and spectating much easier.
Another welcome change are the adjustment to the hero browser. Valve will add a number of filters to make it easier to search and sort heroes. For example, players will be able to search for Carry or Support heroes and then narrow the results down further to look for specific roles, such as Nuker or Jungler. What's more, players will now be able to demo their hero's abilities in a safe place before heading into real battle.
Dota 2 Reborn will also introduce a revamped DotaTV experience. Changes include access to detailed stats and graphs during a stream, a featured section for tournaments, and the ability to bookmark a game to watch it later.
Valve is also looking into making it easier for new players to get into the game by improving the tutorial system. To that end, the company is introducing guided bot matches, which will ease newcomers into the game by explaining the game's mechanics. Valve explains those tutorials as:
Striking a careful balance between providing enough information to be interesting, and not so much as to be overwhelming, these tutorials should be fun and educational for any beginning player, and give them a taste of what it's like to play a full game of Dota.”
We can expect to see more information on Dota 2 Reborn early next week, and an open beta is scheduled to launch later that week.
