Video Games: PC, PSP, PS3, xBox, and Wii Gaming News

Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved has come a long way from its initial release as a minigame.  Since, it’s been amped up into a fully developed Xbox 360 console game, and now it’s coming to Vista users everywhere.  Apparently, both Geometry Wars and Uno appeared in Microsoft’s CES keynote video.  So if you have a Vista, get ready for some cross-platform competition in these awesome games!  Check out the video here.

With a lot of new tweaks in place, including listed cooldown times for all the items and abilities, a couple more heroes, and some creep-blocking issues, DotA Allstars 6.39 (not AI) and DotA 6.39b (not AI) are available for download.  You can download the beta version here.  DotA 6.38b with AI version 1.93 is also now available for download here.  The changelog is as follows:

6.39b Changelog
===============
* Fixed a very serious Mac bug
* Shallow Grave cooldown from 300/150/75 to 300/200/100
* Fixed Lycan’s icon on scoreboard
* Fixed a bug with the last nerf to shadow word (it wasn’t actually nerfedas i said it was in the code, thx malle)
* Changed Infernal HP from 900/1400/1900 to 900/1200/1500
* Allowed swaphero to be used after the -rd draft
* If you don’t pick a hero in -rd, one will be randomed for you (for the same gold cost)

Please note: If you downloaded the 6.39b that was up for an hour the other day, please make sure to delete it.
Delete any 6.39b you may have, as duplicate copies may cause you issues. Download a fresh copy from getdota.com

 

6.39 Changelog
===============

* Listed all the cooldowns for items and abilities
* Added -rd (-randomdraft, similar to the style of play in a few inhouse leagues)
* Added two new Scourge heroes
* Added new functionality to replay files for leagues to more easily calculate and process game data
* Added -showdeny/-hidedeny
* Added new host commands “-weather snow”, “-weather rain” and for everyone “-weather off” (if it is turned off, it can’t be turned on again, to prevent spam and abuses)
* -ma now shows hero level next to the name
* Improved first middle Scourge tower area
* Added a new endgame scoreboard to replace the inaccurate one that Warcraft 3 generates
* Improved death text presentation
* Added floating text to show you all the gold you get (including bonuses, not just the 100) from hero kills as well as tower kills. Please note that there has been no change to the gold you get, it is just being displayed as an added effect now.
* Improved some ward vision areas for the Scourge team (thx Wedge[p])
* Sentinel and Scourge hero kills now share the gold with the team instead of it being lost
* Rewrote a lot of internals coding to allow for cleaner AI version implementation (in near future, the bot capability will be part of the regular map, useable in the every release)
* Added Snowman after Roshan (just a temp for the season)
* Added hero icons to the multiboard
* Fixed the creep blocking issues on the left Sent side
* Added an observer scoreboard display for better information when watching live games
* Improved AI on the siege units. They spawn every 7 waves now instead of every 6

* Reduced Overpower and Enrage cooldowns
* Reduced Time Lapse mana cost at higher levels
* Paralyzing Casks now does a little more damage to creeps
* Upgraded ghouls now have a bigger model like the treants do when upgraded
* Alchemist movement speed from 290 to 300
* Increased Spirit Bear’s Base Attack Time from 1.75/1.6/1.45/1.3 to 1.75/1.65/1.55/1.45
* Improved AOE on Aftershock by 30
* Chaos damage now does 40% damage to fortified (down from 50%)
* You now have more time to repick (120 from 60)
* Added -disablehelp support for sprout
* Unstable Concoction now deals damage
* Added Lucifer to Aghanim’s Scepter
* Increased Troll Warlord’s movement speed by 5
* Reduced mana cost and slightly increase AOE on Shadowraze
* Lowered Warlock’s movement speed by 10
* Gnoll Assassin creep is slightly stronger and give a little more bounty as well
* Improved Lightning Storm a bit
* Undid small part of the previous Dark Ritual nerf (was nerfed from 45 second cooldown to 60/55/50/45 before, and now to 55/50/45/40)
* Improved Kraken Shell leveling slightly
* Cannot use Aphotic Shield on Doomed hero anymore
* Nerfed Shadow Word casting range, increase cooldown and lowered damage per second
* Shukuchi deals more damage per level
* Geminate Attack level 4 cooldown down from 4 seconds to 3.5 seconds
* Fixed a graphical glitch with the spawn direction of Elune’s Arrow
* Reduced Strygwyr’s Thirst HP detection from 50% to 40%
* Improved the Liberated Souls with Ignis Fatuus Scepter Upgrade
* Increased Rain of Chaos cooldown
* Lowered Viper’s base damage a little
* Spin Web regeneration now improves with levels
* Lowered Neutral Taskmaster’s HP/Armor/Movespeed

* Implemented hero descriptions by Deathknight6034(Bloodseeker,Ryali,DK), Aconite_Vyper(Sniper), KingReaper(Lancer), Volcove(Keeper of the Light), Bowstaff(Omniknight), SteveGarbage(Furion), theAlice(Panda,Vol’Jin), prawnstar(Antimage), skipperme(Chen), redrooster(Fletcher), Tikiboi(Raigor). Good job guys.
* Fixed Decrepify tooltip
* Reworked status buff placements on Shadow Word, Mjolnir and Fatal Bonds icon to display properly on Illusions
* Fixed a big exploit reported by UKI-TZAR
* Storm Seeker no longer draws Roshan out
* Fixed typo on Bristleback damage autospray (did not buff him, just a typo fix)
* Fixed Mjolnir tooltip
* New animation for Bottle (thx Ro-Coco)
* Fixed last 2 towers not giving gold to team
* Necromancer now properly grows in size
* Fixed the initial delay on Luna’s Eclipse
* Fixed Clinkz’s Windwalk buff tooltip
* Cannot repick if you don’t have full hp and mana (to prevent some abuses)
* Changed Elune’s Arrow animation
* Fixed a bug with spiderlings’ poison reducing attack speed instead of movement speed (thx ZerielDRK)
* Fixed a few bugs on level 4 abilities with Witchcraft
* Fixed POTM endgame icon
* Many other countless tooltip fixes and improvements
Big thanks to all the beta testers that stayed up late with me to get this out for New Years day

A 22-man team has been working on a project to revamp the Nintendo 64 hit with Valve’s Source Engine, and has decided to spread the Holiday cheer by releasing a public Beta version that is a testimony to their progess.  To run this Beta, which has “already garnered much attention over the years for the level of detail in its stage design and weaponry,” you will need a source-based game.  “All information, including known bugs, can be found on the developer Wiki. Here are some suggestions, via the mod’s main website, on how to stabilize the game”:

• Check for and download latest video card drivers
• A server with 10 people seems to work better
• Have the Base SDK installed
• Download the mod again on another mirror and reinstall the mod.
• Turn HDR off
• Turn shadow detail on low

A patch is to be expected, but there is no word on when development will begin.

With a lot of new tweaks in place, including a new hero and 4 new recipe items, DotA Allstars 6.38 and DotA Allstars 6.38b are available for download.  You can download the beta version here.  DotA 6.38b with AI version 1.93 is also now available for download here.  The changelog is as follows:

6.38b
=====
Fixed a bunch of bugs from the last version

6.38
=====
* 4 New Recipe items
* 1 New Hero
* Added -reverse (-rv) mode
* Every 6 waves, a glaive thrower/meat wagon comes out with the creeps

* Bottle with Rune now returns a Full Bottle after being used instead of an Empty Bottle
* Reduced mana cost on Earthshock
* Improved how Vendetta levels a little
* Increased str/level on Ogre Magi
* Slightly improved leveling of Eyes In The Forest
* Faceless Void base damage increased a bit
* Buffed maximum Watchers
* Desolator damage increased from 50 to 60
* Slightly improved the range on Shockwave
* Hyperstone from 2450 to 2300
* Weaver attack range from 400 to 425
* Wraith recipe from 150 to 125 gold
* Increased Shadow Word cooldown
* Increased mana cost on Dual Breath

* Added an ability to disassemble certain items in the circle of power
* Map preview is now colored
* Added new SA Perm Invis icon by Axidos
* Improved mana regen on Bottle
* Melee heroes get denied less xp than range heroes do
* WTF Mode no longer requires voting
* Fixed the -ar -random exploit (again!)
* Fixed Vendetta not listing the movement speed it gave before (10%)
* Fixed a bug with 2 daggers on disallowed heroes in order to keep 1
* Tower regeneration reduced
* Fixed a minor bug that would sometimes cause the level up animation to not play
* Improved the Wrath of Nature icon based on snork’s suggestion
* Added disablehelp/enablehelp for Astral Imprisonment
* Roshan now drops Cheese!
* Added a set of single player only commands to help people in their hero tests
* Various tooltip fixes
* Replaced “Upkeep” text with the version number
* Tango buying cooldown set to the same as the rest of the items
* Fixed various other minor bugs and typos

G-Frce-Elite of Clan pV gets an amazing quintuple kill with the Witch Doctor.  I’ve never seen anything like it! The quality of this video could be a lot better, but it’s still amazing!  Enjoy!