Ask S2 Games Series 3

The much awaited 3rd batch of the Ask S2 series is here.

It's from S2 with much much love.

Let's get it on.

How will the 1TB+ of replays a day in a closed beta affect how S2 handles replays and storage? (awowa)

From KingKtulu:
Beta allows us to test at a high volume and estimate our needs for future capacity requirements. We currently plan to keep all replays after release and will extend our capacity as needed.

Are there any plans to introduce new, original gametypes (think capture the flag, etc) into the mainstream scene? (Tritan`)

From Idejder:
At this time, no, there are no plans to introduce these sorts of maps into the main game. This is very subject to change and a lot of things change when the map editor/SDK eventually get out there.

With the sucess of the 'Write a Voice Script' contest, will there be another? (Zejety)

From Idejder:
Deadwood's script was actually written by people in IRC over a weekend a while ago. I still make sure to involve people with the writing of them. I might or might not do another huge forum post but I went the IRC route again to get help on version 2 of Panda's script (done soon). Stick around in there to get in on that in the future.

Random note: I can actually think of one good hero we have planned I could do the forum contest for. Might happen!

What's the most important thing you've learned since making Savage 1 and Savage 2? While both games have a cult following their existence is unknown to most in the PC gaming community. Meanwhile, HoN, while still in closed beta, is already more popular than both games ever were combined. (Tomed)

From Jesse and Fielding:
The success of HoN isn't due to something new we've learned since making savage 1 and 2 but something we learned from the process of making savage 1 and 2 themselves. Taking the time to do things right and to constantly look back at what we've done and be willing to improve on our work is probably the most impactful change we've made. While we love savage 1 & 2 we were willing to let a lot of things slide as "good enough". In HoN we've done a much better job at isolating what is simply "good enough" and trying to make it be as good as it can be. This is where features like reconnecting to dropped games and polished, functional interfaces come in - there's always something more to be done, and always things that can be done better.

Are you going to implement something for players who want to play as a team, but only are 2-4 people? I heard about the "team ranked match" but I was also told it is only for teams of 5? (AwesomeAL)

From Idejder:
We can't release plans of this yet but as soon as we can we will let you all know. Sorry.

In the final/retail version will there be a Single Player Campaign or at least some more epic background information on the story of Heroes of Newerth? (Nebelfuchs)

From Idejder:
There are no plans for a Single Player Campaign but you might see some more lore/background story based stuff coming after release or in future products. We love the world we have created overall so more to come.

Will the new heroes to be added in the future be distributed into Legion and Hellbourne or will there be a Neutral side? (The_Choob)

From Idejder:
All heroes will be on either the Legion of the Hellbourne. It is much simpler overall and keeps our nice balanced interface look. Balance is important.

It's been a long time since runes in DotA were added. Do you have any future plans to possibly tweak or add anything to them? (Unnatural)

From Idejder:
It's always an option to tweak or add more runes, but right now we are happy with how they work and what options there are. Good ideas are never passed up, though.

Which was the first fully developed hero? What did you learn about your system by implementing it? (Dendo)

From Fielding:
The first 10 heroes or so were actually developed together at the same time. If we had to pick one as the first 'completed' one, it was the first version of Pyromancer. The learning wasn't so much as it was a trial. The code and engine was built up to the point we could do everything we planned with these 10 heroes from the moment we started on them. It was discovering how exactly things worked, figuring out interactions between mechanics, and sorting out the bugs.

The recent 1.63 patch gave the impression that you guys are trying to shift the metagame away from the current turtle favored metagame and push it more towards a gank oriented game. Is this the case and if so can we expect more balances that favor ganking and pushing in the future? (Senatic)

From Idejder:
We don't want to push the meta so far that only ganking strats are used. Ideally pushing, ganking, and turtle strats all have a place and we want to strike a good balance where it comes down to how you play it, not what strat you picked. Some lineups will give you advantages, but nothing should be unbeatable ever. We will say that we do feel the turtle idea is better than it should be right now and we are correcting that. You should see heroes and patches that try to get the game into a good balance between the three as time goes by.

Does S2 plan to release more new maps that feature games exceeding that of 10 people? If not, what are some of the innovations we can expect in future maps released by S2? (Raven206)

From Idejder:
We have a few cool ideas for upcoming experimental maps but official HoN maps that are for more than 10 people is something you won't see until a while after release if ever. Our servers are set up to handle a specific number of people and letting that go up a lot (cough, 14v14) makes servers cry. Crying servers are bad. They short out from the tears.

Will HoN support in-game stats display on the popular Logitech G15/G19 keyboards? (PhyzX)

From Idejder:
Very possible, but I don't think this is in our initial plans at all. It is something we could add in the future for sure but it's more so if we have the time to do it with everything else we want to do. Time is key and we spend our time directly adding to the ingame features more than anything.

Is there a reason you can't sell back a logger's axe if you bought one on mistake? I know you can't sell logger's axe back period, but there should be a grace period on EVERY item if something went foul. (kainen)

From Idejder:
Mechanically, it's because the grace only works when you can sell the item at all. When the item is set to not let you sell it back, the grace does not apply.

It's something we want to change for sure so you can have the sellback grace for ALL items. It just takes some code and as before really comes down to time. This will get done eventually though.

What is the biggest bottleneck in pushing out new content (heroes, items, neut creeps, etc.)? Is it the artwork? Sound effects? Balance considerations? Functional coding? Something else? I'm interested to know. (HClCaSaT)

From Idejder:
It's probably the artwork. This includes sounds effects, model, animations, concept, and final tweaks. The balance and design side is usually much quicker although there have been times where the art is waiting on the design decisions. Most of the time, though, it is a hangup on the art. We do it pretty quick and high quality. The team is good. (FALSE)

Will you make a mode called "Multiplayer Practice" or something? (Sephinator)

From Idejder:
Eventually down the line this will be very easily possible. Not right now though, sorry.

BONUS HoN Stuff:

Why the Gorilla head as a logo and and now the Boss in Heroes of Newerth? (RumpleMints)

From Idejder:
This is our secret. Only the few, the proud, the monkeys, will ever figure it out.

Are you a monkey?

What kinds of music do you guys listen to while you work? (RumpleMints)

From Idejder:
All kinds. Rap, Daft Punk, Epic Ballads, Rock, random Anime music, or whatever people link us off IRC/forums.

Or Bruce and Shippy singing. That is good too.

How much does S2 end up actually playing HoN for fun? What other games eat up their time? (Sabre)

From Idejder:
We play every day usually more than once in the office together. Random Steam games eat up our time as well depending on the deals available. We are bad compulsive buyers sometimes. We ARE buying video games, though, so it's worth it.

Ask S2 about their latest release in the DBG genre on the HoN forums.