-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Heroes of the Storm Technical Alpha Thread: [Artifacts Removed]
- Thread starter fluffydelusions
- Start date
- Status
InsaneElite
Member
I don't work in the media nor do I have connections to Blizzard, but I didn't get in. They're doing the same thing they always do with their alphas and betas by inviting press and popular streamers in first for exposure. Hearthstone's handling stuck out because it was the first time Blizzard handed out keys via code rather than flagging accounts in years, so it came off poorly to people.
No, I haven't played a Blizz game in about a year. I thought it was a scam at first. Maybe I should use this as a chance to become a youtube superstar!
RedHotChimiChanga
Banned
Turdburger
Member
To everyone who's in so far... I envy you. Lucky. Enjoy it!!
This game looks absolutely nothing like DOTA 2 or LoL and that's awesome. I played the actual "original" DOTA by Eul on Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (before Dota Allstars ever existed) and it actually resembles that a lot more than LoL or DOTA 2.
The presence of siege heroes, full support heroes, and map objectives changes a lot of things in how the game functions relative to those other games. There are so many ways that competitive teams could build a team and tons of different strategies that could be executed.
I don't think it's going to be inferior or less competitive in comparison to LoL or DOTA 2 in any way. It's just going to be different.
This game looks absolutely nothing like DOTA 2 or LoL and that's awesome. I played the actual "original" DOTA by Eul on Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (before Dota Allstars ever existed) and it actually resembles that a lot more than LoL or DOTA 2.
The presence of siege heroes, full support heroes, and map objectives changes a lot of things in how the game functions relative to those other games. There are so many ways that competitive teams could build a team and tons of different strategies that could be executed.
I don't think it's going to be inferior or less competitive in comparison to LoL or DOTA 2 in any way. It's just going to be different.
theMrCravens
Member
Good to know alpha isn't press or streamers only.
Some nice GAF dude once got me into Diablo 3 beta.
Hopefully someone pops up for HotS account flagging.
Some nice GAF dude once got me into Diablo 3 beta.
Hopefully someone pops up for HotS account flagging.
Crimsonlink
Member
Get me an invite and we will talk. ;b
Lactose_Intolerant
Member
Game has really fallen off in popularity on twitch. I don't think we have another hearthstone on our hands
I think it's too early to judge, it could gain traction once more people start playing.
Turdburger
Member
I'm in. Turdburger#1474
As for the twitch streams, give the game time. Apparently there is supposed to be a wipe and a massive update with 8 new heroes next week, or so is the rumor.
takeablake
Member
Regarding Twitch, I had also noticed the sharp falling off in streaming, but yeah, I don't think this early phase of the alpha is really a great judge of future game success or failure at this point. And, maybe I'm just hearing what I want to hear, but all reports I've heard from random streamers have been to the effect of "the game is very fun."
Still, encouraging to hear that an update is coming...should keep the hype levels up!
No beta key contests, no viewers.
Will be interesting to see how it goes when it enters the actual beta. Blizzard really seems to try to keep a low profile after the inital streamer wave on this for now.
Still, it was odd to see it down to 11 viewers.
theMrCravens
Member
Thought D3:RoS release was to blame for low HotS streams.
Also, does the alpha show up on the launcher if you're accepted, or you gotta check b.net account site ?
Also, does the alpha show up on the launcher if you're accepted, or you gotta check b.net account site ?
I play a ton of Dota 2 and I am very interested in this game. I've watched a bunch of streams and it seems like a game that is very much just a quick and casual time, but can require decent teamwork to be successful. Come on Blizzard, send out more invites!
seems to just show up in the launcher.
seems to just show up in the launcher.
I got an invite to this Alpha about a week or so ago having no interest in it at all considering I greatly dislike MOBA's. I guess being a loyal Blizzard customer since the original Warcraft finally has me receiving a single beta/alpha key for something. Nonetheless, I'd like to share some of my initial impressions from the perspective of someone who doesn't like the genre, and would be considered a casual player at best.
First thing I'd like to point out is I really like that you can try heroes out before you use them. You choose your character and they stick you on a map with some options for testing them out, like resetting your cooldowns, level, buildings. It's really easy to tell if you will like a character this way before you decide to buy them.
As for the actual game, I played a few maps with a few different heroes and thought it was decently enjoyable. The first thing I noticed was none of the buildings were trying to sell me items for gold, and my hero was slow. Considering my limited experience with LoL and DOTA in Warcraft III, I was 100% happy with this. I hated managing gold and items in these games, I always felt like it took me out of the game to go stare at stats I wouldn't understand the full benefit of unless I extensively researched everything beforehand. Also, I like the skill system they use when you level up. I understand why people like the old system but I rather have something new at this point. Other than the maps having some unique objectives in them, everything else felt kinda samey about it with the other MOBA's to me.
Unfortunately, I can't play this game too much. Either because it's an Alpha or my PC can't handle it, but the loading times even on the lowest settings are abysmal for me, and when it does finally load, it stutters badly for a few minutes until it becomes playable. I hope with a few patches it will be optimized better, but I don't know, it doesn't seem like a game my PC would struggle with.
Also, I'm probably a little biased because I really like Blizzard games, so the heroes mean more to me than whatever generic character the competition makes up.
First thing I'd like to point out is I really like that you can try heroes out before you use them. You choose your character and they stick you on a map with some options for testing them out, like resetting your cooldowns, level, buildings. It's really easy to tell if you will like a character this way before you decide to buy them.
As for the actual game, I played a few maps with a few different heroes and thought it was decently enjoyable. The first thing I noticed was none of the buildings were trying to sell me items for gold, and my hero was slow. Considering my limited experience with LoL and DOTA in Warcraft III, I was 100% happy with this. I hated managing gold and items in these games, I always felt like it took me out of the game to go stare at stats I wouldn't understand the full benefit of unless I extensively researched everything beforehand. Also, I like the skill system they use when you level up. I understand why people like the old system but I rather have something new at this point. Other than the maps having some unique objectives in them, everything else felt kinda samey about it with the other MOBA's to me.
Unfortunately, I can't play this game too much. Either because it's an Alpha or my PC can't handle it, but the loading times even on the lowest settings are abysmal for me, and when it does finally load, it stutters badly for a few minutes until it becomes playable. I hope with a few patches it will be optimized better, but I don't know, it doesn't seem like a game my PC would struggle with.
Also, I'm probably a little biased because I really like Blizzard games, so the heroes mean more to me than whatever generic character the competition makes up.
KojiKnight
Member
I don't think the game has any real hype associated with it yet and I don't think Blizzard is trying to hype it yet either. That said, if they wanted to get more attention to the game they'd release a lot more keys.
dave is ok
aztek is ok
Tee ball also does less in viewership numbers than Major League Baseball
TheContact
Member
Once you hit 10 and can do hero quests it gives you a lot more to do, and a lot more exp income
This almost feels like a MOBA for people who hate MOBAs. LoL and DotA 2 are both incredibly boring to me. I hate the early grind to become effective, and constant dancing between town and my lane to keep my item build up to date. Last hits and denial are both garbage mechanics, and I despise how games can stall and take an hour and a half to finish.
This game though? Games finish in 20 minutes because there are actual mechanics that progress the state of the map. I start the game as an effective player with access to 3-4 skills. Only skip back to town to heal up in rare cases, and mounts help me get back to town (unless I'm the Siege Tank).
Actually having a lot of fun with this.
This game though? Games finish in 20 minutes because there are actual mechanics that progress the state of the map. I start the game as an effective player with access to 3-4 skills. Only skip back to town to heal up in rare cases, and mounts help me get back to town (unless I'm the Siege Tank).
Actually having a lot of fun with this.
I'm gonna voice my unpopular opinion here and say it's because the audience for this game is really really small.
Basically no one playing LoL or Dota 2 regularly, is gonna start playing HotS, simply because it offers far less than any of those 2 games. Yes, it's somewhat different, has different objectives on the map, but in the end they are too similar.
Most people don't go from a mechanichally more challenging game, too are simpler one. Why would you? It feels like the skills you learned are going to waste.
The audience are Blizzard fans, and people who think Arts/Moba games are too difficult, but somehow still want to play them (?!)
They are not catching the audience of people who already play such a game, but want something different.
And my very personal frustration I have with Blizzard is that they are trying to make everything far too easy and simple, which inhibits them from trying daring and interesting mechanics. See Hearthstone. I play the game, but I still dislike how super simple it is.
How are last hits and denies 'garbage' mechanics?
Got in earlier this week, finally had time to play this weekend. A few thoughts:
1) This has that "Blizzard polish" even at alpha stage. Animations are great, levels look fantastic with lots of little touches, there's banter between characters, and it's just cool to fight Kerrigan with Arthas.
2) It's very easy to get into. If you've played any other MOBA, you'll feel right at home (though you'll wonder where items and last hitting went). If you haven't, it does a good job of introducing you to the genre, and has you play through a series of AI matches to get up to speed.
3) Try a hero. Love this feature. Lets you play any hero on a simple 1 lane map, so you can determine if you want to buy someone, or just want to learn one of the F2P guys before you jump into a game.
4) Map variety. Every map is different, and each has mini objectives that open as the game progresses. While control of them isn't absolutely necessary, they're VERY helpful to your team and it's a good way to gather everyone together for some team fights. These events can also help a team that's behind get a bit of a comeback.
5) As has been mentioned, movement feels a bit slow. This may be due to the fact that the maps are kinda small. It's not terrible, but it's noticeable.
I think the best way to describe this game would be to call it the "Serious Sam" of MOBA's. By that I mean, it dispenses with almost all the typical genre trappings (items, last hitting, grinding early levels) and just dumps you straight into the fun, right from the start.This isn't going to convert any DOTA or LoL players, but I don't think it's meant to. It seems like the game will draw in fans of Blizzard games, and those that want to try a MOBA but aren't willing to try DOTA or LoL because of stories they've heard about the difficulty.
1) This has that "Blizzard polish" even at alpha stage. Animations are great, levels look fantastic with lots of little touches, there's banter between characters, and it's just cool to fight Kerrigan with Arthas.
2) It's very easy to get into. If you've played any other MOBA, you'll feel right at home (though you'll wonder where items and last hitting went). If you haven't, it does a good job of introducing you to the genre, and has you play through a series of AI matches to get up to speed.
3) Try a hero. Love this feature. Lets you play any hero on a simple 1 lane map, so you can determine if you want to buy someone, or just want to learn one of the F2P guys before you jump into a game.
4) Map variety. Every map is different, and each has mini objectives that open as the game progresses. While control of them isn't absolutely necessary, they're VERY helpful to your team and it's a good way to gather everyone together for some team fights. These events can also help a team that's behind get a bit of a comeback.
5) As has been mentioned, movement feels a bit slow. This may be due to the fact that the maps are kinda small. It's not terrible, but it's noticeable.
I think the best way to describe this game would be to call it the "Serious Sam" of MOBA's. By that I mean, it dispenses with almost all the typical genre trappings (items, last hitting, grinding early levels) and just dumps you straight into the fun, right from the start.This isn't going to convert any DOTA or LoL players, but I don't think it's meant to. It seems like the game will draw in fans of Blizzard games, and those that want to try a MOBA but aren't willing to try DOTA or LoL because of stories they've heard about the difficulty.
//ARCANUM
Member
hey all, I recently got into the Heroes alpha and it has me interested in getting into streaming my gameplay for those interested. However I have no idea really where to start. I use a Mac for my gaming and twitch's site only links to software that costs $500 for mac.... is there a cheap/free way to start streaming? I'm just looking to experiment around with it and don't want to dump a bunch of money in it.
thanks!
thanks!
Lactose_Intolerant
Member
You won't want to hear this, but your best bet is probably going to be a Boot Camp install of Windows with OBS.
Before that though, you should probably list your Mac specs and Speedtest results. Streaming modern games at decent quality and framerate is not a trivial thing performance-wise.
//ARCANUM
Member
this will probably be the best bet i think. i'm currently on a macbook pro with pretty basic specs (integrated graphics, so not amazing by any stretch), but next month I'm upgrading to the top of the line MBP with 2gb graphics card and I am definitely going to boot camp it. i'll probably just try OBS then and do it on the windows side.
Hydranockz
Member
Hoping to get into this soon(tm). I've been enamored with Hearthstone and I have really wanted to jump into a moba but LoL and Dota have such steep learning curves. After getting sucked into HS from my casual love of MtG and other card games, I have faith in Blizzard's ability to simplify the many systems at work and still keep a fun game.
New blog post up today about hero lethality.
http://www.heroesofthestorm.com/en-us/news/13720687/from-the-bullpen-hero-lethality
They basically talk about how they want "warrior" classes to be able to soak a reasonable amount of damage, and give teams the ability and time to make decisions in teamfights. This last bit sticks out, though:
Seems that there are no assurances on anything in the Alpha being sacred (which is interesting, since they're already taking money.)
http://www.heroesofthestorm.com/en-us/news/13720687/from-the-bullpen-hero-lethality
They basically talk about how they want "warrior" classes to be able to soak a reasonable amount of damage, and give teams the ability and time to make decisions in teamfights. This last bit sticks out, though:
Seems that there are no assurances on anything in the Alpha being sacred (which is interesting, since they're already taking money.)
I'm not sure if it's positive or negative that the issue is being recognized but seen as something that doesn't fit into the developers vision. Characters feel so weak in HotS, and battles are extremely protracted. HotS is an extremely confused game. They talk up this big game about how they want something objective focused, but every map is still based around lanes and the typical MOBA structure. The way HotS is set up doesn't really fit the set up of laning at all. The process is a total bore, and with players having little incentive to put themselves in a dangerous position outside of absorbing EXP the low hero lethality makes the threat of ganks almost non-existent.
Most deaths in the games I've participated in come from people committing to objectives on the map that they can't win, because in most other situations players always have this safety net of being able to walk away. Low hero lethality also has a tremendous impact on the speed of the game itself, and as a result the game feels very low risk/low reward.
Overall, the game looks way too slow, which makes it not fun to watch. Not a huge issue from a purely gameplay perspective, but if they want to esport this like LoL and Dota 2, they need to change that quick. There's a reason why no one is watching this on twitch after the initial burst.
While i havent played it yet, my opnions are the exact opposite of yours. Looks like a game for 10 year olds. Maybe thats what their looking for. Also it is fucking boring to watch, my god. I dont know why they want the direction they did.
CommandThrower
Member
This is a game that I really want to play. I signed up for beta access, but my account has not been chosen for beta access yet.
I do hope that I get in, because I am very eager to play this game. DOTA, and for that matter the "MOBA" genre as a whole is a genre that I want to like, but I haven't been able to really enjoy it so far. Blizzard's MOBA looks like the one that I will enjoy based on their mechanics. Perhaps it's a little too simplified, but I'll make that choice when I actually play it.
I do hope that I get in, because I am very eager to play this game. DOTA, and for that matter the "MOBA" genre as a whole is a genre that I want to like, but I haven't been able to really enjoy it so far. Blizzard's MOBA looks like the one that I will enjoy based on their mechanics. Perhaps it's a little too simplified, but I'll make that choice when I actually play it.
They're not fun.
sobaka770
Banned
New heroes announced at PAX panel!
http://www.heroesofthestorm.com/en-us/news/13733530/pax-east-day-1
Lili - pandaren support,
Brightwing - fariy dragon support
Zagara - Zerg Queen lane pusher
Murky - the murloc baby ???
Too bad the map they showed didn't have the murloc, it sounded like this hero will be another weird one.
As for the game speed, judging from leaked alpha build and streams, it's actually not that bad. There's a lot more action on the maps due to their size and objectives that make the game feel faster when playing.
http://www.heroesofthestorm.com/en-us/news/13733530/pax-east-day-1
Lili - pandaren support,
Brightwing - fariy dragon support
Zagara - Zerg Queen lane pusher
Murky - the murloc baby ???
Too bad the map they showed didn't have the murloc, it sounded like this hero will be another weird one.
As for the game speed, judging from leaked alpha build and streams, it's actually not that bad. There's a lot more action on the maps due to their size and objectives that make the game feel faster when playing.
Hydranockz
Member
The alpha is US only so far? Damn.
- Status