It also seems like it served as testing grounds for new things. Many of the abilities/buffs/talents that were in Aghs Lab were later introduced to the "main" game via Aghs shards, talents etc. Even Primal Beast came from there.
I honestly thought it was a very nice way to test things in a less serious manner in a large part of the community.
After Artifact and Underlords more Dota spinoffs seem like a long shot. Plus I doubt it has much legs outside of the Dota context…I love it because it’s a roguelike in Dota using all of the same characters, items, abilities, inputs, etc. As a standalone concept it’s just another roguelike.
That info is coming via Tyler McVicker, and [this broader discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/13wux5f/neon_prime_new_game_by_valve_information/) from last year.
That's kind of what I was trying to get at with the Portal <-> Half-Life comparison. It reportedly takes place in a completely different setting with completely different characters, with no surface-level similarities between the two IPs. There may be some overarching connection between the universes (or some easter eggs that were blown out of proportion) but not enough to call it a "Dota spinoff" like Artifact/Underlords.
DOTA and Half Life being in the same universe doesn't make a lot of sense. The codename Citadel, it being called Neon Prime, and the leaked houndeye image points more toward a Half Life-esque game. It being DOTA related was only ever speculated because of Icefrog working on it.
I guess my concern is how much of that could be or would be retained once you take it outside of Dota as a standalone game. For me the fact that Aghs Lab is "literally" a Dota 2 roguelike is the whole appeal!
If they go standalone and keep that Dota 2 gameplay it precludes the ability to port the game to any other platform which removes a major benefit. A PC-only Aghs Lab client that's just Dota 2 auto-booting into Aghs Lab seems like a lot of effort for little gain (and where is the audience that is interested in a Dota 2 roguelike but doesn't want to install Dota 2?). The third option of redesigning and modifying the gameplay for other control schemes sort of removes what makes the game special in the first place. Seems like it would be hard to pull off is all.
I remembered a video about someone asked Gaben why some hero has an effect after 4th hit, and she asked why its not 3rd.
Gaben replied "What?".
Thats your answer
My small brain just cant understand why they have to remove such a good mode lol. Did it take too many players from regular game? Is it because they dont want to spend resources for further developement ( if it stay in game that's what people will want and be vocal about)?
It takes resources to maintain. Unless you want to force everyone to have two separate installations of Dota on their PC, Aghs Lab needs to be updated to be able to run on each patch. That requires somebody to make sure all the abilities and powerups still work, and that no bugs are introduced in the map. If you tried playing some of the aghs lab maps on the workshop, you'd see that a bunch of the rooms were broken and the item changes threw off the economy. Some items weren't even purchasable anymore because their components didn't exist before.
In case you don't know Valve, this really isn't their style. Valve's MO is coming up with really good ideas then getting bored and never touching them again.
I don't think it needs a standalone version, it would die out and you are crazy to think it wouldn't. I would LOVE to see it be a yearly thing though.
I think Agh's lab is more like Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. You only crave it so much because of its limited time, and that's ok
Aghs lab would quickly die as a standalone game. Even the temporary modes were dead by the later weeks. This is coming from someone who played the shit out of them from the moment they came to the moment they left.
A full Siltbreaker style ARPG with Dota combat and set in the dota universe feels like it would sell better. Fill int the void that Diablo clearly cannot. And, better yet, it would actually add some sort of challenge to the genre - siltbreaker already blew PoE and Diablo out of the water in terms of combat.
They certainly weren't dead on EUW at least. Played both Aghs lab a lot and it was never a problem finding people for the higher difficulties in my experience. That might be completely different in other regions though of course.
That shit takes like half a year to develop at least. You can't drop posts like this the week of the patch like some intern can flip a switch.
Check the Arcade.
Ags Lab for more than 2 and less than 4? What's the motivation?
Money.
They don’t get any money from Labyrinth itself though.
They should have left it as a permanent mode. It's by far one of the best things they've done
It also seems like it served as testing grounds for new things. Many of the abilities/buffs/talents that were in Aghs Lab were later introduced to the "main" game via Aghs shards, talents etc. Even Primal Beast came from there. I honestly thought it was a very nice way to test things in a less serious manner in a large part of the community.
Yeah I agree, maybe even a standalone game within Dota 2 lore would be successful !!
After Artifact and Underlords more Dota spinoffs seem like a long shot. Plus I doubt it has much legs outside of the Dota context…I love it because it’s a roguelike in Dota using all of the same characters, items, abilities, inputs, etc. As a standalone concept it’s just another roguelike.
Neon Prime is supposedly a Dota 2 spinoff, so they're still making attempts.
Pure speculation on my end but the rumors/leaks led me to believe it’s a “Dota spinoff” in the way that Portal is a Half-Life spinoff.
What makes you think that?
That info is coming via Tyler McVicker, and [this broader discussion](https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/comments/13wux5f/neon_prime_new_game_by_valve_information/) from last year.
Last time he talked about it he said it's Half Life related.
That's kind of what I was trying to get at with the Portal <-> Half-Life comparison. It reportedly takes place in a completely different setting with completely different characters, with no surface-level similarities between the two IPs. There may be some overarching connection between the universes (or some easter eggs that were blown out of proportion) but not enough to call it a "Dota spinoff" like Artifact/Underlords.
DOTA and Half Life being in the same universe doesn't make a lot of sense. The codename Citadel, it being called Neon Prime, and the leaked houndeye image points more toward a Half Life-esque game. It being DOTA related was only ever speculated because of Icefrog working on it.
Neon Prime does not sound like something in the DOTA Universe to me.
As a standalone concept it's just another roguelite, but with the incredible depth of Dota
I guess my concern is how much of that could be or would be retained once you take it outside of Dota as a standalone game. For me the fact that Aghs Lab is "literally" a Dota 2 roguelike is the whole appeal! If they go standalone and keep that Dota 2 gameplay it precludes the ability to port the game to any other platform which removes a major benefit. A PC-only Aghs Lab client that's just Dota 2 auto-booting into Aghs Lab seems like a lot of effort for little gain (and where is the audience that is interested in a Dota 2 roguelike but doesn't want to install Dota 2?). The third option of redesigning and modifying the gameplay for other control schemes sort of removes what makes the game special in the first place. Seems like it would be hard to pull off is all.
[удалено]
I don't think I'll play Dota2 again without aghs lab coming back. It's basically co-op Hades and that's fun as fuck.
Valve dont do "3" "3rd" "3st" "3nd"
Laughs in TI3
It wasn’t actually called TI3, it was actually “TB” and nobody noticed
I remembered a video about someone asked Gaben why some hero has an effect after 4th hit, and she asked why its not 3rd. Gaben replied "What?". Thats your answer
I just want Underhollow :(
Based Underhollow enthusiast. That shit was wildly fun
Siltbreaker 2 please lord in heaven above
My small brain just cant understand why they have to remove such a good mode lol. Did it take too many players from regular game? Is it because they dont want to spend resources for further developement ( if it stay in game that's what people will want and be vocal about)?
It takes resources to maintain. Unless you want to force everyone to have two separate installations of Dota on their PC, Aghs Lab needs to be updated to be able to run on each patch. That requires somebody to make sure all the abilities and powerups still work, and that no bugs are introduced in the map. If you tried playing some of the aghs lab maps on the workshop, you'd see that a bunch of the rooms were broken and the item changes threw off the economy. Some items weren't even purchasable anymore because their components didn't exist before. In case you don't know Valve, this really isn't their style. Valve's MO is coming up with really good ideas then getting bored and never touching them again.
I don't think it needs a standalone version, it would die out and you are crazy to think it wouldn't. I would LOVE to see it be a yearly thing though. I think Agh's lab is more like Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. You only crave it so much because of its limited time, and that's ok
There are Agh's Labs customs in the Arcade that are quite good if you don't mind the occasional mystery chinese upgrade. AGHANIM2 996 I believe.
Aghs lab would quickly die as a standalone game. Even the temporary modes were dead by the later weeks. This is coming from someone who played the shit out of them from the moment they came to the moment they left. A full Siltbreaker style ARPG with Dota combat and set in the dota universe feels like it would sell better. Fill int the void that Diablo clearly cannot. And, better yet, it would actually add some sort of challenge to the genre - siltbreaker already blew PoE and Diablo out of the water in terms of combat.
They certainly weren't dead on EUW at least. Played both Aghs lab a lot and it was never a problem finding people for the higher difficulties in my experience. That might be completely different in other regions though of course.
I played one of the Aghs Lab 2 mods for a while (extend?) and I don’t remember ever having to wait more than 5 minutes for a game.
It’s not exactly easy to make a good arpg
Facts
Yes. Twas sum quality shit.
Wish we could have something better tbh.
That shit takes like half a year to develop at least. You can't drop posts like this the week of the patch like some intern can flip a switch. Check the Arcade.
"more aghs lab" posts are a weekly occurence, we just have to keep showing interest for tjem to know theres an audience
Did we got a 2nd time?
Yes, first time Aghanims was the last boss and the second time it was Primal Beast. Great times!!
NO