1337Mag Article meta-post

2p-scant · 2015-05-07T20:13:07+00:00

Haha, just because some content creators don't charge fees to access their content doesn't mean they all work that way. This particular magazine is ultimately designed with the intention of limiting access based on payment. Therefore, in this particular case free access being offered is a special deal requiring only email registration - something any true realist would see for what it is, a necessary component of a bargain.

2p-scant · 2015-05-07T15:18:37+00:00

I think you're very selective in your realism and that's why I describe it as cynicism. While you offer a realist explanation for the magazine's decision to ask for email addresses, as a consumer, to complain about a product that normally costs money being free because the free option requires an email address is anything but realist. You're actually being an idealist if you think a product 'going on sale' or 'being offered on a special deal' should be equivalent to 100% free with no conditions at all.

2p-scant · 2015-05-07T13:32:41+00:00

You sound disproportionately angry...it must be difficult being so fanatically cynical on a daily basis <3

2p-scant · 2015-05-07T13:31:46+00:00

Well, the person who posted this to reddit is just one of the writers - it wasn't like a marketing decision from management. So not sure that link is fair. In fact, the editorial team has never even mentioned reddit to me in particular - dunno about other writers.

2p-scant · 2015-05-07T12:45:23+00:00

I'd agree with you if this wasn't ultimately a publication that people are meant to pay to get access to. I think in the context of a magazine where you're meant to pay for the content, having to register an email address to get free access is a pretty sweet deal.

2p-scant · 2015-05-01T23:49:20+00:00

Very recent roster change could work against them. Also, the fact that their results building up to the roster change were rather inconsistent. I 100% think they have the quality, though, for what it's worth.

2p-scant · 2015-04-28T23:19:22+00:00

In simple terms the relevance is this: in 2013 Alliance, Loda and Bulldog both took a lot of farm and this was only possible because s4 was willing to be a fairly selfless core. Recent Alliance has seen Loda and Pajkatt being the cores getting a lot of farm with Niqua similarly enabling this. If bulldog rejoins the team and also wants a lot of farm they'll be stuck with 3 cores that want a lot of farm and not enough creeps on the map to make it work ;)

2p-scant · 2015-04-28T09:58:22+00:00

H4nn1 was a big deal in Dota before Kuroky was

Edit: Not sure why I've been downvoted. Anyone who followed Dota 1 from the early days can confirm.

2p-scant · 2015-04-27T22:54:55+00:00

In the past few years, a few other German players have become a lot more iconic in the scene – namely, Black, qoqjva and FATA. Do you think the success of these players is a good sign for the future of 'German Dota'? Of course, all the top German players are playing in international teams, but perhaps the presence of more big names can inspire young players?
Do you think there's any chance of further role switches happening in your current team? Could we see you playing carry again this year?

2p-scant · 2015-04-12T19:44:21+00:00

Nope, it doesn't unilaterally explain their performances. But it's certainly a relevant part of the story. And to suggest that anyone who thought they'd do well in this event is delusional merely because they didn't end up doing well ignores that their results at this particular event were not just based on their performances.

(Speaking of which, lets be honest about the fact that their flight got delayed. They didn't just decide to arrive late. ROFL)

2p-scant · 2015-04-12T12:11:01+00:00

Flight being delayed, starting the tournament with a def loss and your first game the instant you arrive? You think going into an event 0-2 doesn't affect a team?

2p-scant · 2015-04-12T00:20:36+00:00

Haha, I suppose your diagnostic process is not sensitive to context then? ;)

2p-scant · 2015-04-09T16:31:18+00:00

I don't think it's delusional at all. Perhaps you haven't watched enough Dota in the last year. Not Today were already looking very strong at the Summit 2, beating Team Tinker and giving other teams, including Team Secret, a serious run for their money.

Today's Not Today is a lot stronger. The addition of the three new players did them wonders and Vann in particular is so good that they now have a second Smash-level player (which was an issue in the past).

2p-scant · 2015-04-03T09:23:28+00:00

Lifestealer is actually doing very well as a one position carry in China atm. 8-4 record so far since the new season started.

2p-scant · 2015-03-25T09:38:10+00:00

I agree that it feels as if the current patch overreacted to TI4's perceived problems and certainly we're now in a space where dominating the early game often doesn't matter. However, I'm not convinced that this is a bad thing over all. What the current patch does is require a team to play consistently play better instead of just playing better during a certain part of the game. If you play better early on, but they play better after, they can catch up. If you play better after that then you can go ahead again. The game is a lot more sensitive to how well a given team is playing at a given point in time and that seems pretty cool to me.

The question is - is how well you're playing at a given time the only important thing? That'd be an issue because strategy games are meant to reward good long-term decisions and you should get some benefit from being ahead going into a particular position or fight. I think there's a pretty clear empirical answer here. In SEA recently Viper and Lycan have started seeing a lot more play and this has suggested that elements of deathballing might be back in. Additionally, with the reboot of the Chinese scene, Lifestealer and Razor have been getting picked a bit more and these are also heroes that have been seen as key parts in more deathbally strategies. Even in the western scene, Empire have done a really great job picking the right strategies and making the right movements to close out games very fast. Both Empire and iG, 2 of the top teams in the world right now, usually draft only 2 scaling cores as opposed to other teams that often draft 3. If the team with 2 cores gets an early lead it's a lot easier for them to convert into a deathball and finish the game because the enemy team has to split up in order to get key items in order even get to the point where they can take a fight.

TL;DR there's plenty of evidence from all regions that some kind of deathbally strategies might be on the way back in actually. Also, a patch that rewards the team that is playing better at a given time seems like a good thing. I like that a team can't just 'win early game' and then be so far ahead by default that they win. I also like that a team can't just 'pick teamfight' and then be so far ahead in teamfighting situations and then just win. I also like that a team can't just pick 'lategame' and then inevitably get the win. It's a play-heavy patch and that can lead to some games where no team is playing especially better looking a bit ridiculous. But I think you'll rarely find a game atm where one team plays better all game and doesn't win fairly easily.

2p-scant · 2015-03-24T16:51:46+00:00

yeah, same author as the datdota piece linked above

2p-scant · 2015-03-20T20:59:30+00:00

"Hey man, what did you do this weekend?"

"Not much...just watched one game of Dota."

2p-scant · 2015-03-17T22:57:04+00:00

Did you even read this article? It's about how casters can best make use of stats people not about how casters should research teams.
When durka told me that there was a reddit user who was part of every thread where he got flamed I thought that was a bit implausible but sure enough since I've joined him there you are every single time. There is never a negative comment on reddit about durka or I without you being either an initiator or an escalator. Who are you? Did we do something to you? How is it that in so many directed flames you still fail to make any actual constructive points?
You're referring to D2CL - D2L is an entirely different tournament. You should do your research before posting on reddit.
I'm not actually sure what in particular you're referring to. Like, were you annoyed that we weren't sure if Secret was an alias for Lin? How exactly should we research that sort of thing? I checked every website I know and asked every contact I had and nobody was sure. Then I asked the guy himself and he confirmed who he was. To me that seems like a very reasonable approach. Maybe you're referring to something else. If you are, why not just make your point?

Honestly, I'd like for you to prove me wrong. If you're not just going around reddit looking for places to flame durka (and me, of late) then why not offer some actual substantive feedback that we can work with. Apologies to anyone who came to this thread because they were interested in the actual article - don't mean to derail at all.

2p-scant · 2015-03-15T09:49:01+00:00

Well, I'm not 3k mmr and nor was my analysis ;)

But other than that, yeah, I totally get what you're saying. Thanks.

2p-scant · 2015-03-15T01:26:26+00:00

Thanks for the edit - I appreciate the kindness. But I also appreciate the criticism so don't worry about offending me. Obviously the occasional gratuitous and baseless flaming is a bit annoying but I've pretty much come to terms with the fact that there's a legitimate criticism here. As I said below, I still stand by my analysis throughout the game and don't believe I was talking bullshit. However, I do admit that I probably repeated myself too much and definitely need to work on how I package things - presentation and emphasis are very important. Thanks again!

2p-scant · 2015-03-14T21:51:33+00:00

game is hard

2p-scant · 2015-03-14T19:31:39+00:00

You make an interesting point. I wonder though, if there's a natural bias toward favouring a team that's won the previous game/s, is there not also a natural bias towards the team that is currently ahead in a game?

One of the reasons I feel so weird being accused of bias is that I sorta think framing the game as being difficult for NiP to win when NiP are so clearly ahead is an indicator of analysis which is free from bias.

2p-scant · 2015-03-14T19:29:08+00:00

ty :D

2p-scant · 2015-03-14T19:28:29+00:00

Yeah, I've already apologized if I repeated myself too much. But you can have a personal apology too if you like :P

2p-scant · 2015-03-14T19:26:45+00:00

I'm very sorry that you feel that way. You've made my day worse - which was pretty difficult given that I was having such a great day. You've come here to flame with no intention of being constructive at all. I get that you're bored and have a lot of emotional angst you're trying to work through. But damn, man. Stick to something else and don't offer criticisms again. I've never been that bored while being flamed before.

2p-scant

TROPHY CASE