Game Recap: Mouz vs. coL -- The Defense Final Game 4

Yeah, yeah, I'm a little late on this but hopefully you'll be interested on what I've been working on. I put together a variety of graphs, stats, and summaries which should be ready in time for the International. I'm still trying to work the kinks out but my various programs should be up and running just in time for the International. You can overdose on VoDs and also come here and check out some info on some of the matches you may have missed. Here's what I have in store for you:

Dota 2: 2012 Team Earnings

Here is an updated list of the top earners this year in Dota 2. This is current through August 19th, 2012. After the International, we'll see some big changes in the Team Earnings.

Updated Event Log and Combat Summary Tables

I added more to the tables and upgraded my coding. New additions:

• added kill score and towers remaining columns to the event log ( so you can get a sense of who is winning )
• added event for courier kill
• added event for tower deny
• event log now distinguishes between position of tower (top, bot, mid)
• event log now distinguishes between which barracks was destroyed
• if target killed has Aegis, no longer says target killed but that Aegis was removed
• further refined Game Time

To do:

• I would like better formatting. There is a package in R that I am going to learn that would help with this.
• Kills that are split by team may have to be coded a little differently. I need to find and analyze more of these types of kills.

Pub game example after the jump.

The Defense: PotM Bottom vs. Na'Vi -- Game 2 Recap

I started writing about Dota because I want to do some analysis of the professional scene and hopefully add something to the Dota community. My first minor project consists of three things, two of which are shown below.

After the jump there is some information from the game two PotM Bottom vs. Na'Vi match up in the Defense. My third item is more about gold and farming. When I have these three things complete (and after I get back from my vacation in a couple of weeks), I'll turn my attention back to using these tools to analyse more Dota 2 games and regularly updating the blog. Let me know if you would like any changers or additional info

Dota 2 Match Recap: Na'Vi vs. Quantic

Na'Vi and Quantic squared off on Saturday, July 21st in the Defense: Season 2 upper bracket to play a best of three. I summarized the matches after the jump.

Dota 2 Matches: Sunday, July 22nd

See below for more information on upcoming matches in the professional Dota 2 scene.

Tournament: The Defense: Season 2

Caster: TobiWan
Match Stream

Match Recap: DK vs. mousesports

Teams: DK vs. mousesports
Tournament: BTS World Tour - Group Stage Game 2
VOD:

Dota 2 Matches: Saturday, July 21st

Dota 2 action for Saturday, July 21st. The Defense upper bracket continues with three great matches and up to 9 total games. Pace yourself Tobi...


[UPDATED: Looks like mouz vs. M5 has been postponed]

Teams: Orange.eSports vs. DK
Tournament: IG Monthly Madness Asia #1 - Quarter Final
Time: 10:30 AM EST
Stream: Match Stream


The winner plays Zenith, who advanced over World Elite, in next week's semi-finals (tentatively scheduled for July 28th). This is a best of three. DK is favored 68% to 32% in GosuGamer.net's betting.


Teams: mousesports vs. Moscow 5
Tournament: The Defense -- Season #2
Time: 1 PM EST
Stream: Match Stream


This is an upper bracket, first round match in the Defense. The winner goes on to play the winner of mTw vs. CLG while the loser drops into the lower bracket. This is a best of three. Can M5 avenge its defeat in the StarLadder finals in Kiev? Will we get to see more of Bamboe's Templar Assassin? M5 is favored 58% to 42%.


Teams: mTw vs. CLG
Tournament: The Defense -- Season #2
Time: 4 PM EST
Stream: Match Stream


This is an upper bracket, first round match in the Defense. The winner goes on to play the winner of mousesports vs. M5 while the loser drops into the lower bracket. This is a best of three. CLG is favored 76% to 24%.


Teams: Quantic vs. Na'Vi
Tournament: The Defense -- Season #2
Time: 6 PM EST
Stream: Match Stream


I am not too confident in the time, as this only allows 2 hours for mTw vs. CLG to finish a best of three. Regardless this another upper bracket, first round match in the Defense. The winner goes on to play Complexity Gaming while the loser drops into the lower bracket. This is a best of three. Looks like TobiWan is going overtime with the casting tomorrow. Na'Vi is favored 87% to 13%.

How to Improve The International

The International is a great tournament. The $1,600,000 prize pool in 2011 made for some entertaining high-stakes matches. As a Dota 2 fan, I am looking forward to the 2012 version. I appreciate Valve running and sponsoring such a great tournament. However there is some room for improvement. The main problems with The International are how teams are selected, the short time frame of the event, and the relative dominance of The International's prize pool. A few minor changes in the event could greatly help improve the competitive Dota 2 scene.

Dota 2 Matches: 7-20-12

Dota 2 action for Friday July 20th.


Teams: World Elite vs. Zenith
Tournament: IG Monthly Madness Asia #1 - Quarter Final
Time: 8 AM EST
Stream: Match Stream

Monthly Madness Asia continues with Zenith versus World Elite. This is a best of three. The winner goes on to play the winner of DK vs. Orange eSports on July 28th. GosuGamers.net betters are heavily betting Zenith--98% to 2%.


Teams: Mousesports vs. MUFC
Tournament: BTS World Tour - Group Stage
Time: 9 AM EST
Stream: Match Stream

This is the first match in Group D. The BTS World Tour is a tournament to keep an eye on. Despite only having a $1,000 total prize purse the tournament has 14 of the 16 teams scheduled to appear at the International (mTw and Na'Vi are the two teams not participating). GosuGamers.net betters are favoring Mousesports at 81% to 19%. This is a best of three.


Teams: Mousesports vs. DK
Tournament: BTS World Tour - Group Stage
Time: 12 PM EST
Stream: Match Stream

Mousesports plays its second game in Group D while DK plays its first. The fourth team in this group is iG. GosuGamers.net betting is relatively even with Mousesports getting a slight 54% to 46% edge. This is a best of three.


Teams: PotM Bottom vs. Empire
Tournament: The Defense Season 2 - Loserbracket Preliminary
Time: 3 PM EST
Stream: Match Stream

The Defense Season 2 elimination phase continues with this best of three. The loser of this match is eliminated from the tournament while the winner goes on to face one of the losing teams from the winner's bracket (the rules on The Defense website do not make the clear which team this is). Empire is heavily favored in the betting at 94% to 6%. What unique build will PotM Bottom's Aui come up with for this match?

Dota 2: Money Leaders

Edit: updated list: http://costaguanan.blogspot.com/2012/08/dota-2-2012-earnings.html

I compiled the information on dota2wiki.com's tournament information into some team money leaders tables. Some caveats: I only looked at the tournaments and leagues that have a first place prize of $1,000 or more, I converted all non-US dollar prizes into USD, and the dota2wiki.com page may be missing some tournaments so this list may not be complete. I'll try to update this periodically and check to see if I missed any tournaments.

Dota 2: The Defense Season 2 Drafts

For those interested in Dota 2 and in particular joinDOTA.com's The Defense: Season 2 tournament, here is some info on the hero drafts. I charted the drafts from the Defense Group Stage. I was able to get complete draft data on 56 of the 60 matches. I believe 2 matches were forfeits (EG vs. Infused and Hydra vs. 4FC). The other two did not have any record of a recorded draft on Dota TV or on the video replay (coL vs. Hydra and POTM Bottom vs. CLG).

FanGraphs.com 2012 Org Rankings

FanGraphs.com is doing its annual ranking of the organizations in Major League Baseball. I thought I would make some star plots. This year I'm going to try doing the plots a little differently.

Final Fantasy Tactics Version .75

New version available here for download. This basic C++ version of Final Fantasy Tactics tries to faithfully follow the game's mechanics using minimal graphics.

-- Tips on How to Play --

• Three text files will be generated in the folder that you keep the game. Open these text files to see the map, the Active Turn Menu, and the Player Stats menu. The game will update these files after/during every turn but you cannot see changes until you close them and open them up again.
• To play against someone, you'll have to use the share screen feature on Skype (free to use) or some other screen sharing service.
• For further understanding of the game's abilities use Aerostar's Battle Mechanics Guide.

3/13/12 Game Notes:

• Added quick start feature for faster character selection.
• Tested and refined reaction, support, and movement abilities.
• Added weapon status effects and elemental effects.
• Added collision effects to ranged weapons, throw etc.
• Players can no longer move past enemies.
• Added Berserk and Confusion AI.

New Final Fantasy Tactics Version

Updated version available here. 

Notes:

• All classes implemented
• Most class abilities tested
• All reaction/support/movement abilities implemented
• All equipment in the game
• 2 vs. 2

Final Fantasy Tactics in C++

I learned how to program in C++ recently. I thought it would be interesting to try to recreate the PlayStation game Final Fantasy Tactics in its most basic form. Click here to download it to give the beta version a try.

The graphics are incredibly basic but the mechanics are solid and faithfully try to follow the game's mechanics. I have most of the classes and abilities implemented but still need to do a lot of testing on them.

2011 NFL Playoffs: Are the Patriots Better Off as a #1 or #2 Seed?

I'm a fan of the New England Patriots. During the past few weeks it became clear that the Patriots were going to be in the NFL playoffs as either the #1 or #2 seed. I've heard opinions expressed both ways as to which seed is preferable. Some argued that the #1 seed is better as it means home field advantage throughout the playoffs while others argued that the #2 seed was preferable as the Patriots would likely avoid playing the strong #5 seed in the 2nd round (Baltimore or Pittsburgh) followed by playing the #2 seed in the 3rd round (Baltimore or Pittsburgh). So do the Patriots have a better chance of making the Super Bowl being the #1 or #2 seed?

NBA Amnesty Clause: Best Amnesty Targets

The rules of the new CBA make my prior analysis of the amnesty clause mostly moot. As detailed in my last post, the new rules place a greater emphasis on saving the amnesty cut rather than using it right away. The amnesty provision is best used in order to either (1) clear cap space to make a free agent signing or (2) get under the luxury tax line--thus saving money and taking advantage of the rules favorable to teams under the tax line. Enough of the theorizing, what decision should each team make?

NBA Amnesty Clause Revisited

With the outline of the new NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement agreed to here's another look at which teams should amnesty which players. The new amnesty rules are:

• Each team can waive one player currently on the team and under contract prior to any season. It can be used only one time but can be used in any of the next six years of the CBA. The player must have been on that team's roster when the CBA was agreed to (ie you cannot trade for a player and then amnesty him or sign a new player and then amnesty him in a few years).
• The amnesty'd player's entire salary does not count against the Luxury Tax or the Salary Cap. The team still must pay the player's entire salary.

In my next post I will get into which teams should cut which players and which teams should save their amnesty option for a later date. This post will discuss why teams would want to amnesty a player. Reasons to amnesty a player:

Survivor Odds

The TV show Survivor: South Pacific had a probability problem last night. The two tribes merged, meaning that the game shifted from two separate tribes into one individual tribe. However the tribes each had six members at the merge and appeared to be headed to a tie vote. The six members of Savaii tribe would vote for one of the Upolu members to leave the game and vice versa. The problem gets a little more interesting when the threat of hidden immunity idols, challenge idols, and the tie breaking rules of Survivor are considered.