The latest patch update brought a new UI for replays. Unfortunately, it did more harm than good.
Well, it’s a day into the new update in preparation for TI and one video editor in particular is not happy. With the new update, Valve added some fun new features to the game. One, for example, was a new aegis timer that shows when the aegis will be reclaimed. Another feature, however, was a remake of the Dota 2 replay system. User and video editor on YouTube, elwono, had some gripes with this new system.
Replays Are Now Trickier
According to elwono, the timer system on the Dota 2 replay is now incredible short. Furthermore, Valve removed the timestamps from the mouse. This means that when you hover over the timer of the game, it doesn’t show you the amount of time passed. Thus, it is a lot of guess work to figure out where in a replay that you want to go.
"It's a big step back because there are countless of bugs related to different status (stun, silence, root...)"
"It's a big step back because there are countless of bugs related to different status (stun, silence, root...), if you click the timeline too close to where you want to see the action, you'll get people perma stunned/silence/root or infinite sandstorm, infinite OD astral etc..," said elwono on Reddit. "Whatever the status is, because basically, if you jump in a middle of one of these status, I believe the code behind doesn't detect when it starts and when it ends"
It Takes Forever to Find the Right Moments
Because of the timer issue now, it also makes another issue worse. Now the Dota 2 replay speeds have also been adjusted so that they are in a drop-down menu rather than all displayed on the same bar. Combined with the removal of the timer on the cursor, it makes it so that you have to constantly click the drop-down menu to change speeds. This means that you have to constantly be on the lookout for the play on a high speed in order to stop yourself from getting a replay bug.
Now to the average Dota fan, these problems might seem minor. Gamers sit down to play the game, not necessarily to watch replays. Unless, perhaps they are really focused on improving. But this effects another large part of the Dota community: the editors. Elwono is just one creator on YouTube.
There are also the people who edit the videos for esports organizations, whom these changes inconvenience greatly. And what about all the replay review that talent does during tournaments and the DPC? Its extra time spent during the game trying to find the exact right moment. Then they'll have to pray they do not encounter a bug that destroys the segment.
There are a lot of elements that go into making a great esports Dota broadcast. And one of those things are replays, allowing move teams and viewers to see what went wrong, and what went right. Hopefully Valve resolves the issues in a way that makes it simpler for all parties to continue helping Dota esports look clean and polished!
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Dota 2 news and updates.