Counter-Strike : Global Offensive

Counter-Strike : Global Offensive

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (often abbreviated as CS:GO) is an online tactical first-person shooter developed by Valve Corporation and Hidden Path Entertainment. It is the fourth game in the main Counter-Strike franchise.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released on August 21, 2012, and made available for Microsoft Windows and OS X on Steam,Xbox Live Arcade, and a US-only version on PlayStation Network. The Linux version was released in September 2014. It features classic content, such as revamped versions of classic maps, as well as brand new maps, characters and game modes. Cross-platform multiplayer was planned between Windows, OS X, Linux, and PSN players, but was ultimately limited to Windows, OS X, and Linux because of the differences in update-frequency between systems. The PSN version offers three input control methods, which include using either the DualShock 3 controller, PlayStation Move or USB keyboard/mouse.

Gameplay

Like the previous games in the series, Global Offensive is an objective-based multiplayer first-person shooter. Each player joins either the Terrorist or Counter-Terrorist team and attempts to complete objectives or eliminate the enemy team. The game operates in short rounds that end when all players on one side are dead or a team's objective is completed. For most game modes, once a player dies, they must wait until the round ends to respawn.

Players purchase weapons and equipment at the beginning of every round with money awarded based on their performance. Completing objectives or killing enemies earns the player money while negative actions, like killing a teammate or hostage, takes money away from the player. In addition, when a round ends all players receive some amount of money, with players on the winning team receiving substantially more.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive adds new weapons and equipment not seen in previous installments, most notably the firebomb for each side. These temporarily cover a small area in fire, dealing damage to anyone passing through.

Cosmetic items, such as weapon finishes, were added post-release.

Game Modes

Currently, Global Offensive features five game modes for online play:

• Classic Casual and Competitive: Counter-Strike‍ '​s most well-known game mode, both involving Bomb Scenario and Hostage Scenario missions. At the start of each round, players can purchase weapons and gear with money earned from various actions, from assisting on kills to completing objectives. Regardless of mission type, a round ends when one team completes an objective, eliminates the other team, or lets the timer run out. If the timer runs out before one of these objectives are completed, the team which did not need to complete an objective wins.
  • Bomb Scenario: the Terrorists must plant a C4 explosive at one of two designated bombsites and protect it until its countdown finishes and detonates; the Counter-Terrorists must prevent the bomb from exploding, either ensuring that the terrorist team does not plant it or defusing it once it is planted.
  • Hostage Scenario: the Counter-Terrorists must rescue hostages from the Terrorists, and bring them to an extraction point; the Terrorists must prevent the hostages from escaping. If a Terrorist or Counter-Terrorist attempts to kill hostage, they will suffer a heavy cash penalty. An update later changed how Counter-Terrorists rescue hostages: instead of leading them around, players must carry one hostage at a time to the extraction point.
• Arms Race: a deathmatch-based mode where each player is rewarded for each kill with a new weapon, with the first player to get a kill with every weapon in a predetermined set winning the game.
• Demolition: a round-based mode that removes weapon and equipment purchasing, instead rewarding players who manage at least one kill by giving the next weapon in a predetermined set of weapons. After a second kill with that weapon the players are also rewarded a grenade along with their new weapon for the next round.
• Deathmatch (added on November 12, 2012): a mode consisting of 10-minute matches.^[18] Players must gain the highest possible score by earning kills with different weapons or desired weapons. The number of points from a kill depend on the weapon. Players may also take advantage of bonus timers for different weapons, using them to score extra points. Like in Arms Race, players automatically respawn after getting killed, but also when they choose to respawn with bonus weapons.

Global Offensive also offers two offline modes: Offline with Bots, which offers the same game modes with AI-controlled bots; and a Weapons Course, a single player map serving as a tutorial and a training mode.

Online Play

Global Offensive supports matchmaking and leaderboards for all online game modes, provided by Steam. The provided online service offers the ability to filter by game modes, maps and a built-in Steam friend system. Valve also employs Valve Anti-Cheat, which can automatically remove and ban players from the Valve online network. To match players of similar skill levels for an enjoyable experience, the game uses a heavily modified version of Elo rating system. The PC version of Global Offensive also supports private dedicated servers that the player may connect to through the community server menu in-game. These servers may be heavily modified and can be completely different from the base game.

Development

Global Offensive began as a port of Counter-Strike: Source to Xbox Live Arcade by Hidden Path Entertainment. During the development Valve saw the opportunity to turn the port into a full game and expand on Counter-Strike‍ '​s gameplay. Global Offensive began development in March 2010 and was revealed to the public on August 12, 2011.

The closed beta started on November 30, 2011, and was initially restricted to around ten thousand people who received a key at events Valve attended to showcase Global Offensive. After issues such as client and server stability were addressed the beta was opened up to progressively more and more people (approximately 100,000 beta keys were given out as of July 4, 2012), until the beta became open for anybody to join and play.^[25] Before the public beta Valve invited professional Counter-Strike and Counter-Strike: Source players to play-test the game and give feedback.^[9]

At E3 2012, Valve announced that Global Offensive would be released August 21, 2012 on all platforms, with an open beta starting roughly a month before that. It was never released on the PlayStation Network in Europe.

Post-release

Global Offensive initially launched with four game modes: Classic Casual, Competitive, Demolition, and Arms Race, and several official maps for each of the game modes. The Deathmatch game mode as well as more official maps, some user-made, were added post-release. The mechanics for the Hostage Scenario were revamped post-release. New weapons, such as the CZ-75 Auto, were added post release. The statistics for the weapons and the layout of the maps were modified post-release for competitive balance.

Cosmetic items, such as weapon finishes, were added on August 13, 2013 in a major update named the "Arms Deal" update. Most cosmetic items are received via game-end drops and opening virtual crates with keys that can be bought through microtransactions, similar to the item drop systems in Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2. These items can also be traded between players through the Steam trading system or the Steam Community Market.

Valve enabled Steam Workshop support for Global Offensive, allowing users to upload user-created content, such as maps, weapon finishes, and custom gameplay scenarios, and subscribe to user-uploaded maps to download them. In previous versions of Counter-Strike, players had to download maps through third party sites or while attempting to connect to a server. The Steam Workshop is controlled by Valve, and they reserve the right to remove content.

Valve supported community map-makers in the form of "operations", which act like expansion packs and require players purchase "operation passes" to play community made maps on Valve's official servers (this does not affect the map being played on community servers), with the exception of Operation Breakout which doesn't require the player to buy a pass. Each operation only lasts a certain amount of time before a new operation is released, requiring players to buy a new pass. A portion of the income generated through pass sales is given to the creators of the maps.

Popular user-created weapon finishes will have the chance to be added in the game as official cosmetic items in updates, where they can be received in virtual crates. A portion of the income generated through the sale of keys in order to receive these finishes is given to the creators of the weapon finishes.

An October 2014 update added "music kits", which replace the default in-game music with music from nine soundtrack artists commissioned by Valve. If a player with a music kit equipped becomes the round's most valuable player, their music will play for others at the end of the round. There is a feature to allow kits to be borrowed, and kits can be sold and exchanged through the Community Market.

A November 2014 update added 44 campaign multiplayer missions and a "journal" for tracking player statistics.

Tournaments

Swedish team Fnatic won the DreamHack SteelSeries Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Championship in December 2013, with an entire tournament prize pool of $250,000.Virtus.pro won the EMS One Katowice 2014 championship, with another prize pool of $250,000. Ninjas in Pyjamas won the ESL One Cologne tournament at Gamescom in 2014, with again another prize pool of $250,000. Team LDLC.com won Dreamhack Winter 2014. On March 15, 2015, Fnatic won their second major at ESL Katowice 2015, beating Ninjas in Pyjamas.

As of March 18, 2015, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments have awarded over $3.8 million in prize money, with over $1.3 million won by Swedish players.

Reception

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has been met with generally positive reviews from professional critics. Aggregate review websiteMetacritic assigned the PC version an overall score of 83 out of 100 based on 38 reviews from professional critics.

Evan Lahti from PC Gamer noted that the majority of new official maps in Global Offensive were only for Arms Race or Demolition game modes; while Classic maps were only given "smart adjustments" to minor details. GameSpy's Mike Sharkey pointed out that the game provides very little in the way of new content; and that the Elo rating system seems ineffective, what "with so many new players of various skill levels logging on for the first time this week". Destructoid gave the game a very positive review, awarding it 9.5/10, saying that it "delivers on the promise of a faithful, polished, and better looking Counter-Strike for anyone who wants it."GameSpot said in their positive review that this game "is a solid update to a classic shooter".

Dota 2 Reborn Beta Announcement

Valve Announces the Launching of Dota 2 Reborn Beta

After months of speculation, Valve has finally announced a massive technical overhaul toDota 2. Dubbed "Dota 2 Reborn," the developer is revamping and changing nearly every part of the game — starting with the engine itself.

While Valve simply makes reference in their news post on the Dota 2 blog to a "new engine," it's assumed that this refers to Source 2, the successor to Valve's legacy engine in use to varying degrees and through a number of updates since 2004's Half-Life 2.

This new engine should bring considerable performance improvements to Dota 2, but the upgrades aren't stopping there. There are even bigger changes coming to the game's user interface, which is seeing top-to-bottom revisions designed to make it easier to find friends, communicate between games, and spectate friends, other players and organized tournaments via in-game streaming and stat-tracking.

Valve is also looking to address Dota 2's increasing reputation as a game with a significant learning curve via greatly enhanced training tools, including guided bot games, instant hero tryouts and more.

Valve plans to release more information about Dota 2 Reborn's new custom game system early next week, with plans to launch the Dota 2 Reborn beta client late next week. The announcement suggests that the upcoming International Dota 2 Championships will be played on the current stable client, however, as Valve works with the fanbase to iron out the kinks in the new version of the game's tech.

Kuroky Techies | Team Secret vs Fnatic (Team Malaysia) Highlights ESL One Frankfurt 2015 Game 2

►Kuroky Techies | Team Secret vs Fnatic (Team Malaysia) Highlights ESL One Frankfurt 2015 Dota 2 Game 2 + kuroky moment
Game 1:https://youtu.be/qWqmAQmz6KA
Game 2:https://youtu.be/K8EgyD3UPFE
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Dota 2 Tournament Team :
- Team Secret : Puppey, s4, zai. kuroky, Arteezy
- Vici Gaming : Super, Hao, iceiceice, Fenrir, Fy
- Team Empire : Resolution, Alwayswannafly, alohadance, silent, yoky
- EG : fear, sumail, ppd, aui_2000,universe
- Cloud9 : Enternal Envy, bigdaddynotail, misery, fata,bone7
- IG : burning,chuan,faith,luo Xi,ferrari_430
- LGD gaming: sylar,maybe,mmy,xiao8,yao
- Team Tinker/Mousesport : black,qojqva, wayto, bullba,pieliedie
- Burden united: Singsing, mynuts,neqroman,comewithme,paris
- Team Malaysia : Mushi,JoHnNy,KyxY,Ohiyo,Kecik Imba
- The Alliance : 7ckngMad,Loda,Akke,AdmiralBulldog,Pajkat­t
- Navi: dendi , xboct, soneiko, arstyle, funnik

Team Secret beat EG 3-1, win ESL One

Evil Genuises and Team Secret share one of the best rivalries in all of eSports at this moment and this was their most important meeting. ESL One Frankfurt 2015 was the last event before the International and a chance for the teams to establish dominance and become favorites for the International 5. 

Both teams dominated their opponents in the semi finals and it was very hard to call the winner. Even the analyst desk split the descision, although the odds were 2:1 in the favor of Secret but they were not the favorites by any stretch of the imagination. 

Evil Genuises have been playing out of their mind so far into the tournament, SumaiL has become a lot more calculated player. There have been questions surrounding Syed and whether or not he'll be able to sustain his performances and he definitely has. Aui_2000 is becoming on of the best supports in the world. The other three are always very solid and you simply don't see them ununderperforming.

Team Secret on the other hand are the most consistent team right now, coming in they were 3-0 finals winning Red Bull Battlegrounds, the Summit 3 and the MarsTV DotA2 League. They've been rock solid as a team and just seem to win even when the odds are stacked against them. 

Game One : The first game was one of the best of this year; EG had a slight lead in the draft and it felt like EG had them cornered. But Arteezy's Sven had a lot of space and it became strong. However, Aui_2000 on his Winter Wyvern saved his teammates time and time again. The game featured amazing team fights and some amazing defensive plays by the supports. The Americans won all the key fights on the back on SumaiL's Leshrac and Fear's Razer. They gained a huge networth lead very fast and just threw bodies at Secret to secure themselves the victory. 

Game Two : The second game featured an amazing draft by EG's captain Peter 'ppd' Dager. He first picked Leshrac, everyone assumed it was going to be a SumaiL Leshrac but ppd surprised everyone with a fifth pick Storm Spirit. Secret had no counters for the hero, SumaiL had an amazing start as well; picking up four kills by minute four. But Team Secret still managed to win fights because of great positioning and itemizations. They mitigated all of Storm's jumps by using Glimmer Capes and saved their team-mates.  Team Secret won a key fight a roshan and EG just gave up, called "GG" 32 minutes in. 

Game Three : The third game's draft was interesting, EG drafted a cheeky Tinker but Secret came right back at them with a direct counter Anti Mage. The game was close untill 10 minutes, but since EG didn't pressure Arteezy he got a early battlefury and completely took over the game. Secret took a fight inside EG's base and won the game even after multiple buy backs from the Americans. 

Game Four : The fourth game was a roller coaster, the lead changed a multiple number of times. Secret had a lead early game but EG came back because of Fear's Anti Mage and some key pick offs. They bulit a big lead and were in control of the game. But Team Secret had other plans and weren't going to let it go to a fifth game. Secret then had an amazing fight in front of their tier three towers and got huge amounts of gold. The went on to kill Fear once again and headed for EG's base. EG didn't fight with a complete roster and died one by one. Fear ultimately died back and EG were forced to call "GG". 

Evil Genuises may have lost the series but it was still a good result for them. Their second consecutive second place finish and also their second consecutive lost to Team Secret; with the same score of 1-3. Anyway, the ppd led squad will definitely be one of the best teams at this year's International. 
This is the fourth consecutive title for Team Secret and this one was definitely the most important one. They lost just three games and they beat, their prime rival in the finals three games to one. Team Secret are definitely going to be glad with the result and with this they've become TI favorites and easily the best team in the world.

League of Legends

League of Legends

League of Legends (LoL) is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is a free-to-play game supported by micro-transactions and inspired by the mod Defense of the Ancients for the video game Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

In League of Legends, players assume the role of a "champion" with unique abilities and battles against a team of other players or computer-controlled champions. In the most popular game modes, the goal is to destroy the opposing team's "nexus", a building which lies at the heart of a base protected by defensive structures. Each League of Legends game is discrete, with all champions starting off each game fairly weak and progressing by accumulating gold and experience over the course of the game.

League of Legends was generally well received at release, and it has grown in popularity in the years since. By July 2012, League of Legends was the most played PC game in North America and Europe in terms of the number of hours played. As of January 2014, over 67 million people play League of Legends per month, 27 million per day, and over 7.5 million concurrently during peak hours.

League of Legends has a large, active competitive scene. In North America and Europe, Riot Games organizes the League of Legends Championship Series, which consists of 10 professional teams in each continent. Similar regional competitions exist inChina, South Korea, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. These regional competitions culminate with the annual League of Legends World Championship, which in 2013 had a grand prize of $1 million and attracted 32 million viewers online. The 2014 tournament had the fifth largest prize pool in esports history, sitting at 2.3 million dollars.

League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena where players control a "champion" within short PvP or bot battles. As of April 1, 2015, there are 124 different champions from which to choose, all of which are classified by type (assassin, tank, support, etc.), which indicates the champion's gameplay style.

Players gain levels from killing the opposing team's champions, controlled by other players or bots, and minions that regularly spawn and attack the other team's turrets, minions, and champions. In the classic game mode, the map is typically divided into three "lanes", which are paths that spawned minions take; the "jungle", an area between lanes where neutral monsters spawn; and "bases", where players spawn and can purchase items. The three lanes are composed of the bottom, mid, and top lanes, which different champions tend to battle on based on their respective types. The jungle is sometimes considered a lane, where some champions tend to roam in order to collect buffs and assist in the other lanes freely. The player earns a small amount of gold every second passively but can earn more by getting the last hit on minions, destroying enemy towers (referred to as turrets) that guard the lanes, killing neutral monsters located in the jungle, and killing enemy champions. With this gold, users can buy a variety of items to strengthen their champion for the remaining duration of the game. On the classic Summoners Rift, Twisted Treeline, and Howling Abyss maps, the game is ended by destroying the enemy team's last structure on the map, called the "Nexus", from which minions spawn. Other maps have variations of rules and objectives, such as Dominion on the Crystal Scar map, where each team's Nexus loses health if the opposing team controls at least three of the five towers located around the map.

The League of Legends Store allows players to purchase additional options through "Riot Points" (RP) and "Influence Points" (IP). Riot Points must be bought using real money, while Influence Points are earned by playing the game.

The player is identified as a "summoner" and acts as the persistent element in the game. A summoner's statistics and scores are tracked and are accessible to the player. Summoners gain experience points and Influence Points for each battle they participate in. Experience points lead to persistent level gains for the summoner, up to a maximum level of 30. The benefit of gaining levels is unlocking Mastery Points and Rune Page slots (below) which improve the overall strength of the summoner's chosen champion during battles. The summoner can also choose two "summoner spells", which significantly impact gameplay and have a high cooldown rate while costing no mana. Previously in Season 3, Summoner Spells could be enhanced with specific masteries, but those masteries have been removed since the start of Season 4. The only enhancements that remain deal with lower cooldowns. All of the masteries are passive effects, although some augment items which can be activated. They are grouped into offensive, defensive, and utility categories. Masteries can be re-distributed at will between battles.

Champions Quinn and Jinx (bottom) face off against Taric (top) in the bottom lane of Summoner's Rift

Similar to masteries, runes affect gameplay in minor ways. Runes are categorized into Marks (offensive), Seals (defensive), Glyphs (magic), and Quintessences (utility). They must be unlocked in the store. To benefit from runes, summoners can arrange them in their Runebooks, which has a limited number of slots for each rune type. However, more rune pages can be purchased from either Influence Points or Riot Points.

Moderation is conducted through a democratic system known as the Tribunal. In this system, player-submitted reports are reviewed by other players on a case-by-case basis. The reviewing players then submit their opinions on the legality of the behavior demonstrated. A consensus renders the decision official. It is notable that players are unable to be permanently banned through this system since "all permanent bans are distributed manually." Reviewers receive a Justice Rating based on their accuracy to encourage thorough analysis of cases. As of May 2014, the Tribunal is unavailable in favor of an automated system that hands out restrictions and short-term bans. Riot Games has stated that the Tribunal is being upgraded.

Game modes and matchmaking

League of Legends is a session-based game. Matchmaking creates teams with even average Matchmaking Rating (MMR) of the constituent players. MMR uses the Elo formulawith proprietary adjustments.^[17]

• Tutorial mode is a set of two introductory sessions that teach the basics of the game. It is intended to help new players learn concepts such as the controls and the game'sHUD.
• Custom mode allows players to create games that players manually join rather than relying on the game's matchmaking system to create the teams. In custom matches, the teams can be uneven and may include a mix of players and bots (computer-controlled champions).
• Classic mode is a normal or ranked match in which a team wins by destroying the enemy team's Nexus, which can only be attacked if all lane turrets and the inhibitor in at least one lane and all base turrets are destroyed. Classic mode is played in two different styles: 1. 5 vs. 5 on a three-lane map, each team's side having three lane turrets and an inhibitor per lane, as well as two base turrets and a Nexus; and 2. 3 vs. 3 on a two-lane map, each team's side having two lane turrets and an inhibitor per lane, as well as one base turret and a Nexus. The map also has three altars, two of which add bonuses to the players, while the last one heals the players. These altars are surrounded by a jungle. There are three types of matches in Classic mode:
  • Normal matches are player versus player. Before the beginning of the match, there are several ways for team players to select their champions. Blind pick matches allow both teams to pick champions at the same time, but each team does not learn what the opposing team has picked until all picks have been finalized; players may therefore incidentally choose the same champion as a player on the opposing team, but players may not choose the same champion as another player on their own team. Draft pick randomly assigns a team captain for each team, who then take turns banning three champions each, disallowing both teams from playing those six champions. Draft players then choose their champions in an ordered back-and-forth format. Because both teams can see which champion each player is picking, no player can pick a champion that has already been picked by another player.
  • Ranked matches are available to players that are level 30. Ranked uses a draft pick system exclusively, and players are seeded into a League system based on the outcome of their matches. Winning and losing games influences a player's MMR, which is intended to keep all players' skill levels in any given game as close as possible.
  • Co-op vs. AI mode matches players against a team of bots. Similar to the Tutorial mode, it is also intended mainly as a way for inexperienced players to learn.
  • Team Builder, released on March 27, 2014, is a normal classic mode queue that allows players to queue up as a specific champion and role of their choice. After submitting your selections to the team builder system, you can build your own balanced team or join an existing one. Team builder is intended to bring players together that complement each other's expectations and intentions the moment they enter the lobby. This allows for more cooperative play and communication between players who are playing a role and champion they want rather than something they are forced to do.
• Dominion mode is a normal match played 5v5 on Crystal Scar, a map with a single circular lane that has five neutral turrets arranged in a star pattern. A team wins by reducing the life total of the enemy team's Nexus, which only occurs if the opposing team controls at least three of the five neutral turrets, until it is zero.
• ARAM (All Random All Mid) mode randomly picks champions that the players are able to play, allowing up to 2 re-rolls if the player is unsatisfied with their pick. Players may also trade with teammates if both parties own the champions to be traded. The mode is played 5 vs. 5 on Howling Abyss, a one-lane map with each team's side having two lane turrets, an inhibitor, two base turrets, and a Nexus. A team wins by destroying the enemy team's Nexus, which can only be attacked if both lane turrets, the inhibitor, and both base turrets are destroyed.
• One for All mode was the first limited-time game mode that was available during the 2013 Harrowing, and it is no longer available. In this game mode, each team was randomly assigned a captain, who then took turns banning three champions each, disallowing both teams from playing those six champions. Players on each team would then select champions at the same time. Each player was only aware of their own team's choices until all picks are finalized, as with blind pick. However, there was no restriction on choosing a champion that had already been picked. Once all players had been chosen, each team was assigned the champion that was picked by the most players on that team, and all players had to play as that champion. In the event of a tie, the game randomly selected the champion. One for All could be played 5 vs. 5 on either the Summoner's Rift or Howling Abyss maps. This game mode later returned at the end of May 2014, with a new twist - both teams were assigned the same champion. This version, called One For All: Mirror Mode took place only on the Howling Abyss (ARAM) map.
• Showdown was the second limited-time game mode, available during the 2013 Snowdown Showdown. Showdown was played either 1 vs. 1 or 2 vs. 2 on the Howling Abyss map. Each team played until one team achieved one of three goals: taking down an enemy turret, reaching 100 team minion kills, or killing the enemy player (or two in 2 vs. 2 matches).
• Hexakill mode was the third limited time game mode. Taking place on Summoners Rift, each team had six players instead of the typical five. Hexakill returned onto the Twisted Treeline Map, in October 24, 2014, as the seventh limited time game mode.
• Ultra Rapid Fire mode was introduced on April 1, 2014 as the fourth limited-time game mode. It was a Classic Draft game, except that all champions had their movement speed increased, gained gold quicker, used abilities without using mana or energy, and had more powerful ranged attacks, among other changes. Several champions were unavailable in this mode.^[18][19]
• Doom Bots of Doom was the fifth limited time game mode, released on July 17, 2014. It took place on Summoner's Rift, where five actual players would play against five AI enemies with extremely modified abilities, making them extremely dangerous. Players won by destroying the enemy nexus, per normal game rules, and they lost if their own nexus was destroyed. There were three difficulty modes available, "1 Bomb", the easiest, "2 Bombs", a medium-difficulty mode, and "5 Bombs", an extremely difficult and hardcore version of the mode.
• Ascension was the sixth limited time game mode and was released as part of the Shurima event on September 10, 2014. It was available only on the Crystal Scar and was held as a 5 v.s. 5 draft pick mode. Similar to the Dominion mode, each team's Nexus could only be destroyed by accruing points, which takes down the HP from the enemy Nexus. Points could be accrued in numerous ways, by killing enemy champions, by capturing Relics of Shurima, or by killing the Ascended. The Crystal Scar map was also modified so that the outermost area of the map was engulfed in a sandstorm, blocking players from entering or exiting the spawning platforms. Players could only exit those spawning platforms via a teleportation item available to everyone, but players could not reenter them unless they die and respawn. The gold and experience gain was modified so that every player gained the same amount of gold and experience, regardless of kills or assists accrued (unless players had gold generation items or perks equipped). In the middle of the map, a neutral monster called an Ascended will spawn, and whomever lands the final hit on the monster will grant their team points while granting the killer a self-buff, which makes them stronger. If the player with this buff is killed, then extra points will be granted, however, while the buff is active, kills accrued by the player with the buff will grant more points.
• Legend of the Poro King was the eighth limited time game mode. It was released alongside the Winter Season for League of Legends. The main characteristics for this game mode is for both teams to throw Poros and successfully hit the enemy champions. Each hit equals 1 point. Once either side has reached 10 points, the Poro King is spawned to push lanes, while the scoreboard is disabled, the Poro King stays alive till dispelled and then the scoreboard will return. The mode ended on January 6, 2015.

Report: More than 70 million people watch eSports worldwide

Report: More than 70 million people watch eSports worldwide 

Super Data Research, who released research earlier this year stating that Riot Games made $624 million in revenue for League of Legends in 2013 and that Dota 2 made around $80 Million, has put out a new report centered on eSports in collaboration with Newzoo. The report states that viewership across all eSports titles has doubled within the last year, peaking to over 71 million by the end of 2013. Almost half of those viewers, 31.4 million, come from the United States where males account for 70% of frequent viewers and participants. The report finds that the majority of U.S. viewers are males between 21 and 34 years old. The average eSports viewer watches 19 times a month, with a session length of 2.2 hours. While men represent the majority of the viewership, the report finds that 34% of viewers are women. These statistics contradict an earlier survey held in February showing a huge gender gap, stating that 90-94% of viewership was from men. “Large companies like Riot Games, Valve, Wargaming and Ubisoft are placing bets on the growing success of eSports worldwide", said SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen. "And with the booming popularity of streaming services like Twitch, ESL and MLG, it is becoming easier than ever for gamers to connect with other players and form communities that culminate in competitive gaming.” (Ed note: ESL does not have its own streaming service.)

SuperData and Newzoo jointly view the increasing popularity of free-to-play games like League of Legends and Dota 2 to be a major factor in the sector’s growth and a point of opportunity for large advertisers to connect with young, affluent males. Research results also prove that eSports enthusiasts represent the big spenders, not only on PC and console games but also on smartphones and tablets

Newzoo’s report features results from recent nation-wide consumer research in the US and key EU countries. It profiles 31.4M US and 16.3M West-European eSports viewers. The report distinguishes different groups of eSports enthusiasts based on viewing behavior and level of active participation.

40% of eSports viewers can be seen as truly engaged eSports enthusiasts, participating in amateur tournaments and/or watching eSports content regularly. The other 60% illustrate the direct potential for continued growth of the eSports market.

ESports enthusiasts carry the biggest game wallets, with 22% of them being big spenders compared to 8% for all gamers. Contrary to expectation, eSports enthusiasts are more likely than the average gamer to be married, 52% versus 39%, and have a full-time job, 71% versus 50%.

“Long established in Asia, eSports and free-to-play, have now broken out of their niche and into Western markets", says Peter Warman, Newzoo CEO, on the relationship between free-to-play and eSports. "Does this prove there is a direct relationship between the two phenomena? At Newzoo, we believe so. Time spend and engagement have become equally important KPIs as money spend, and that is essentially what eSports delivers”.

The report estimates that League of Legends will see 42 million new players by 2015, topping out at 94 million monthly active users, with Wargaming's World of Tanks predicted to reach $590 Million in revenue by 2015.

Twitch released their own impressive report in January, which includes 12,000,000,000 minutes watched per month, over 45 million unique viewers per month, 1 million broadcasters per month and 6,000,000 total videos broadcast per month. 5,100 of those broadcasters are partners, and minutes watched and videos broadcasts have doubled since 2012, with unique viewers up from 20 million in 2012. Twitch users watch on average 106 minutes of content per day.

“When video game historians will look back on gaming a decade from now, 2013 will be the year they cite as the tipping point of streaming”, said Twitch's VP of Marketing Matthew DiPietro at the time. “Every major event, publisher, developer and media outlet in the gaming industry had a presence on Twitch, and streaming became an ever-present piece of the gaming experience. And it’s only going to get bigger."

Source:http://www.ongamers.com/articles/report-more-than-70-million-people-watch-esports-worldwide/1100-1157/

Dota 2 Basic Guide

OPINION

Dota 2 Basic Guide

Dota 2 doesn't seem to care whether you know how to play it or not.

Earlier this week I talked about how great sports coverage laid a foundation for my interest in MOBAs like Dota 2. Then I discussed how the aggressive DLC and annualization of AAA multiplayer has driven my friends toward free to play games, especially Dota 2.

But as I've been reminded in comments both here and on Twitter over and over, there's an elephant in the room: the biggest barrier to getting into Dota 2 is Dota 2 itself. It has over a hundred heroes, with more on the way. It has a complex item system. It carries over some of the more sophisticated level mechanics of real-time strategy games. Much of the audience is toxic, full of homophobia, racism, abusive language, and sometimes deliberate team sabotage.

There is a wall that many people see in front of Dota 2, and it can be hard to climb. Like many challenges, it's best to find some help to start.

PLAY THE TUTORIAL

You wouldn't play a sport with a bunch of strangers without knowing how it works. Dota 2 does have a tutorial and, while it offers a small taste of the game's depth, it's better than nothing. You'll learn a few heroes (including Sniper, a popular, incredibly annoying pick), and you'll learn about the kinds of abilities characters have and how to activate them.

This is all very intro-level, but it's incredibly important, especially if you don't have much experience with Warcraft 3, which is the evolutionary basis for the modern MOBA genre. You'll also get a very basic introduction to items. Learn what Tangos are. You'll be using them often.

FIND A COACH

This might seem premature, but my first experiences with Dota 2 skipped past the "playing with bots" stage and went straight to "playing with friends who knew how to play Dota 2."

I'm impatient. I started playing Dota 2 specifically because it was the only thing anyone I knew was playing with any regularity, and I wanted to play games with my friends. It was only later that I started playing without them.

This is what allowed me to find fun right away, as opposed to struggling against bots in a game I didn't understand. I asked a ton of questions as we played and, because these were people who wanted me to understand the game, no question was seen as stupid.

There are a number of resources online, but constant supportive communication early on was key in getting me involved and keeping me from fleeing in terror at the prospect ofDota 2's complexity. So, if you've got friends on your Steam list who play Dota 2, ask if they'd be willing to show you the ropes.

Also, get a mic. Voice communication is critical, especially when you're learning. This should be seen as mandatory.

ON THE OTHER HAND, PLAY AGAINST BOTS

My sister started playing Dota 2 months before I did, primarily learning the game by using online resources and, unlike me, playing against bots. She played matches against the AI hundreds of times to learn the game and, as Dota 2's bot AI tends to be very aggressive, it's not a bad primer on player behavior in public, unranked games.

The result after hundreds of games is that my sister has a better win-loss record in matches than I do. That's not indicative of skill necessarily — and my team beat her team when we were randomly matched against her and her new Dota 2 friends, thank you very much — but she's put in a ton of practice and has used the in-game guides to learn heroes and the game very well.

I also play bot matches occasionally, for a very specific purpose: I can try new heroes, and pause the game to search online for strategies on how best to employ their abilities. It's a test environment where you can screw around without hurting your team or embarrassing yourself, and with a game like Dota 2, that's really important.

The best way to avoid criticism from the community is to not be new, and the best way to not be new is to play against the AI.

USE IN-GAME GUIDES

You'll see an open book icon in the upper-left corner of Dota 2's in-game UI. This is the guide menu, which contains player-written and rated guides for every hero in Dota 2. I like guides written by Purge personally, but explore different builds for heroes in bot matches to find the ones that seem most tailored to your abilities and sensibilities.

Guides aren't static resources to look at and close. As you earn levels, the guide you've selected will highlight the next recommended skill/skill level to pick, while giving the guide writer's explanation as to what each skill/spell is good for. Guides are just as useful for Dota 2's item shop — they create customized lists of recommended items to buy.

Remember that guides aren't a rulebook, and that you can and should deviate based on what your team needs from you. But they're an excellent starting point to learning characters and the game.

LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO ARE BETTER THAN YOU AT DOTA 2

I'll add the caveat that you shouldn't put up with a ton of abuse from teammates, and I advise using the mute button in these cases; it's found by holding the "~" key in-game and clicking the speaker icon next to the offending player.

That said, the best way to learn how to play Dota 2 is to play with people who know more about it than you do. They can tell you where you should be, what hero best fits in the existing lineup, what items the team needs, etc. Also, people are more inclined to help you if you seem keen to help the team. Noobs aren't actually the worst teammates in Dota 2 — stubborn players who want to do their own thing are, and most people I've played with seem to know that. This segues nicely into my next suggestion, which is ...

PLAY SUPPORT HEROES

It's important to learn about hero roles in Dota 2 as quickly as possible, but as a beginner I gravitated towards support characters. Support heroes are self-explanatory - they act to help the more powerful damage-dealing characters survive and win the game.

They're also usually responsible for spending their gold on consumable items to help the team. If you want to get on your team's good side, offer to buy the courier before heroes are even picked. Tell them you're playing support. As you learn more heroes, let them know which supports you're capable with and ask how you can fit into the team lineup for the most success.

In my experience, this has had two effects. First, as I've gotten better about helping my team, rather than playing the character I arbitrarily want to play at any moment, I've had a better time. But also, I find that positive behavior in lobbies helps create a better environment in chat with random team members. Good vibes are often contagious. And when my team is working together, positively communicating with each other, I have more fun, even if we lose.

As you're learning the game, figure out what kinds of heroes you're best with. Maybe you won't need to roll support for long, and you'll be a better asset as a carry hero, focused on doing damage and winning team fights.

GO OUTSIDE THE GAME

You'll learn a lot about playing Dota 2 by playing Dota 2, but eventually you'll want to venture outside the game client into the greater community. Having more than eight million unique monthly players has the side effect of an enormous amount of community-generated content, and much of it is quite good. And if you're new, there's good news: you don't have to participate in it to benefit from it.

Outside of the community is the professional circuit, and this might be the most eye-opening experience you'll have with Dota 2. Professional competitions will show you ways to play heroes that you never imagined, and give primers on high level tactics and strategy on everything from map control to macro, which is the ways you handle your character moment to moment.

More importantly, it's fun to watch Dota 2 when you know what you're watching. It's exciting to see high-level play on a game that you understand, and in my experience, MOBAs are second only to fighting games in their readability. They move much more slowly than shooters and there's more action visible on screen at any given moment, making for something I've found much more entertaining to watch. The excitement is contagious.

Hell, the constant chatter this week about The International may be the whole reason you're reading this in the first place. Now it's time to take the next step and play the game.