For people who have questions or are new to DOTA 2 LAN settings, have a look at this article.
Source: Dota 2 Local Play – FAQ » Cyborgmatt's BlogContents
- Dota 2 Local Play FAQ
- What is local play?
- Who is local play for?
- Do I need to be connected to the Dota 2 network to use local play?
- How do I create my own local server?
- Which lobby slot should the lobby host take?
- How do I join a local server?
- Is it possible to modify any of the game settings on my local server?
- How do I find the replay for a match I played on a local server?
- Can I watch my friends play on a local server via Dota TV?
- If I lose connection to the server can I reconnect?
- Can I customise any elements of my locally hosted Dota 2 server?
- Further Questions
One of the newest features recently added into Dota 2 thanks to the First Blood patch was the addition of local server support. This post is a quick FAQ on the new feature covering some questions that a lot of you have been asking me.
[h=3]Dota 2 Local Play FAQ[/h]Engage in close quarters combat with nine of your nearest friends. Now you can create a local lobby and use your computer to host a rousing round of Dota 2 through your home or café network!
[h=5]What is local play?[/h]Local play allows players on the same physical network to connect to a locally hosted Dota 2 private lobby game.
[h=5]Who is local play for?[/h]The local play feature was added in to help accommodate the rising use of Dota 2 in cybercafés around the world. It can also be used by people wanting to play a locally hosted match on their home’s local network or even their work’s local network (if you’re lucky).
[h=5]Do I need to be connected to the Dota 2 network to use local play?[/h]Yes. In order for the Dota 2 servers to keep track of your match, allow you to make use of the existing private lobby system and integrate future Dota TV support you are required to be connected to the Dota 2 network in order to make use of the local play feature. As mentioned above this feature has been introduced as a feature to be used on a live network such as one in a cybercafé.
[h=5]How do I create my own local server?[/h]By selecting “Create Local Lobby”, the leader of the lobby will become the host for a match by running a local server, the lobby leader can either take part in the match as a player, broadcaster or spectator.
[h=5]Which lobby slot should the lobby host take?[/h]Due to the increase requirements that the server will put on the system it is recommended that the lobby is hosted by someone such as your tournament admin or a caster/dedicated broadcaster.
[h=5]How do I join a local server?[/h]Players can see Local lobbies available on their physical network by going to “FIND A LOBBY” and selecting the “LOCAL LOBBIES” tab.
[h=5]Is it possible to modify any of the game settings on my local server?[/h]Yes. The lobby leader will have full access to the lobby settings UI allowing them to change a number of options including the game mode.
[h=5]How do I find the replay for a match I played on a local server?[/h]The full match replay will be stored on the lobby host’s PC, you will be able to find the replay in your “dota 2 beta\dota\replays\<match-id>.dem” folder and from there it can be shared over email, a file host or other media.
As a player, broadcaster or spectator you can also manually record your own match replay by using the command:
record filenamehere[h=5]Can I watch my friends play on a local server via Dota TV?[/h]Currently Dota TV is not supported by the local servers. This feature is pipelined to be introduced at a later stage.
In the mean time it is possible to have a number of spectators and broadcasters in your local server which can be used by any one wanting to spectate from in game.
[h=5]If I lose connection to the server can I reconnect?[/h]Yes. Due to the fact that the server is communicating with the Dota 2 servers it is possible to reconnect to the game just like you would in a normal matchmaking match.
[h=5]Can I customise any elements of my locally hosted Dota 2 server?[/h]For the adventurous hosts you can custom the Dota 2 script files which control the heroes, abilities, items and more by extracting the script folder from the Dota 2 VPK, placing this folder into your “dota 2 beta\dota” folder and using the launch option “-override_vpk” to use the local version of the script files. You can then change and explore the values in the text files located in the “dota 2 beta\dota\scripts\npc” folder.
These modifications are only required on the lobby host’s system and not the clients who are joining. It’s also an unsupported modification so use at your own risk.
[h=5]Further Questions[/h]If you have any further questions regarding the local play system feel free to leave me a comment below or via the contact me form on the site.
