source2
Latest
'Dota 2' is the first title running on Valve's new game engine
If you want a look at just how much PC gaming powerhouse Valve (and gaming as a whole) has changed consider this: When the company launched the original Source Engine back in 2004 it did so with a beta for a new version of Counter-Strike (Counter-Strike: Source) and then went wide a few months later with Half-life 2. The first game running on Valve's follow-up engine, Source 2? Dota 2. Specifically, Dota 2 Reborn. As Eurogamer points out, the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) has been running in Source 2 in beta since June, but now the game's sporting a new UI and more game modes on Source 2, including support for 20-person matches.
Valve opens up 'Dota 2 Reborn' to beta testers
Dota 2 Reborn is now open for beta testing like Valve promised, and just in time for the weekend. You will need to install Dota 2 if you haven't yet, so you can access the Reborn tab and download the game. The two versions share your match history, MMR, cosmetic items and friends, but Ranked Matchmaking isn't available in the beta yet, as the game developers want to focus on testing and improving the basic features first. Reborn runs on Valve's new Source 2 game engine, which makes it easy for people to create user-generated content. According to PC Gamer, it has a stunning UI, and it feels like a brand new game instead of an update to Dota 2 -- plus, the Custom Games tab made possible by Source 2 looks promising. The only bad news? Like many other betas (and far too many commercial releases) your worst enemy at this point in time is serious connectivity issues.
'Dota 2 Reborn' will make playing or just watching easier next week
E3 isn't even under way yet, but Valve (which will not be presenting at the event) is starting things early by revealing a new client for its massively popular PC game Dota 2. Dota 2 Reborn is being revealed in three blog updates before it launches in a beta test later next week, but what we can see so far should impress both fans and those still trying to get into these types of games (check out our primer here for a heads up). The dashboard players use to enter games is completely redesigned, with buttons to launch a session from anywhere, and easier ways to join up and play with friends. It's all running on a new engine (not specified, but presumably Source 2), and also adds support for Custom Games, which Valve will talk more about next week.
Valve's new 'Source 2' game engine has the low price of $0
Half-Life 2. Counterstrike: Source. Team Fortress 2. Left 4 Dead. Portal. Besides being developed by Valve, what else do those games share? They all run on the company's Source Engine that's been used since the first two released 11 years ago. Well, Valve has a new engine coming, officially, and it's aptly dubbed Source 2. Valve says that the focus of the engine this time 'round is "increasing creator productivity." The idea is to democratize game development and make it easier for amateurs (and budding indies) to use the toolset and enable them to, as Valve tells it, participate in the creation and development of their favorite games. In fact, the company specifically calls out the importance of user-generated content as a reason for making the engine easier to work with, which, undoubtedly plays into the millions of dollars its paying out to Steam Workshop creators.
Valve's Gabe Newell confirms work on new game engine, still won't answer your Half-Life 3 queries
"So what do you wanna know about that's not Half-Life 3?" Valve president Gabe Newell, laughing, asks a crowd of 4chan members who recently visited the Washington-based studio. The group's first question, however, was just as worthwhile. What's up with that supposed new game engine? "We've been working on new engine stuff for awhile," Newell says. It's tough to hear what he says next, but it sounds like, "We'll probably just roll it out in one of our games" (subtitles of the video read: "We've just been waiting for a game to roll it out with"). Thankfully, a followup question directly addresses Newell's ambiguity. "Is it going to be more than just an update to Source [Valve's first game engine]? Is it an entirely new engine?" the 4chan member asks, which Newell directly (and concisely) responds to with a simple, "Yeah." See the full back-and-forth beyond the break. Newell doesn't directly refer to the in-development engine as "Source Engine 2," so it's possible (albeit unlikely) that he's referring to a separate engine altogether, or (even more unlikely) Valve has more than one game engine being created. We've yet to hear back from Valve for clarification. Oh, and if you want an update on Half-Life 3, Newell re-confirms that "Ricochet 2" is being worked on, so take that as you will.
