We have released a Beta update for Half-Life 2 and associated games.
Changes in this update are:

• Improved Russian audio localization
  
• Fixed crash under Linux when playing the Episode 2 teaser at the end of Episode 1
  
• Fixed gates in d2_coast_03 not opening if a stray piece of debris was behind them
  
• Fixed in game text language to follow Steam language on Mac OS X and Linux, mirroring Windows behavior
  
• Fixed being able to open door in d2_prison_03 before killing Antlion
  
• Fixed being able to rotate light bridges in ep1_citadel_03
  
• Fixed missing texture in Judith Mossman transmission in ep1_citadel_03
  
• Fixed music not continuing after save game load in d2_coast_08
  
• Fixed crash when using custom hud settings under Linux

We have released a Beta update for Half-Life 2 and associated games.
Changes in this update are:

• Improved Russian audio localization
  
• Fixed crash under Linux when playing the Episode 2 teaser at the end of Episode 1
  
• Fixed gates in d2_coast_03 not opening if a stray piece of debris was behind them
  
• Fixed in game text language to follow Steam language on Mac OS X and Linux, mirroring Windows behavior
  
• Fixed being able to open door in d2_prison_03 before killing Antlion
  
• Fixed being able to rotate light bridges in ep1_citadel_03
  
• Fixed missing texture in Judith Mossman transmission in ep1_citadel_03
  
• Fixed music not continuing after save game load in d2_coast_08
  
• Fixed crash when using custom hud settings under Linux

<img src="http://media.steampowered.com/apps/dota2/images/blogfiles/inline_communication_reports.jpg" width="100%">

One goal we have for Dota 2 is to have as many people playing and enjoying the game as possible. To do so, we suspected we'd need to encourage behaviors that have positive effects on the game and community and discourage behaviors that have the opposite effect- like causing other players to play less or not at all or to discourage them from trying out the game in the first place. One of the things we also suspected was that we wouldn't be able to tackle that kind of problem without releasing the game - it's the sort of thing where you need a lot of data to know whether or not your changes are having any effect.

Now that Dota 2 has been out for a while, and gathering a nice mix of new and original Dota 1 players, we're able to gather data to find answers. One of the first things we dug into were the factors that contributed to a player quitting. While it might seem obvious that someone is more likely to quit if they have a negative experience in a game, we've learned in the past that we really need to test our assumptions to make sure we're not fixing the wrong thing. Interestingly, some of the factors we assumed would affect leaving didn't - for instance, the outcome of matches doesn't correlate at all to the likelihood of quitting. Losing a bunch of Dota 2 games doesn't seem to cause people to quit. But one thing that did stand out in the data was the amount of negative communication between players. Put simply, you are more likely to quit if there is abusive chat going on in your games.

So, further investment in discouraging negative communications seemed like it would be valuable. But where to draw the line? Should we allow all (potentially) abusive behavior in-game, or should we work to diminish it and push players more towards the positive and collaborative side of things? We don't want to restrict anyone's speech nor prevent anyone from speaking their mind, but for everyone who feels slighted by their inability to say exactly what they want to their teammates or opponents in-game, there is someone on the receiving end of that criticism who is having just as bad an experience (or worse).

After some discussion internally, we reached the decision that it seemed in the best interest of the Dota community to not push away players who actually enjoyed the game. As a consequence, this meant restricting the ability for some members of the community to say whatever they want. To put it another way, we only want people to quit playing if they actually just don't like the game. That thinking led us to the current communication ban system. Its goal is to reduce the toxicity that occurs verbally or via text chat, and as a result, to avoid causing players to quit the game solely due to negative communication experiences.

Now that it's been live for over a month, we're able to see some of the effects it's having, and the conversation the community is having around it, and we felt we should answer some of the questions we're seeing out there and pass on some of the data we have.

First, a couple of notes on the implementation:
<ul>
<li>Multiple people ganging up on you to report you in the same game has no effect on whether or not you are banned. We are looking at patterns of behavior over time only.</li>
<li>If you are currently communication banned, any communication reports you receive in that time period do not contribute towards, nor result in additional bans.</li>
</ul>The system is not yet ideal, but we felt it was better to gather data on this first step before trying to complicate it with extra nuance. We've changed the algorithm several times already, and we'll continue to update it in response to the community's feedback, and the data we're gathering.

Read the rest of the post on the <a href="http://blog.dota2.com/2013/05/communication-reports/">Dota 2 blog</a>.

One goal we have for Dota 2 is to have as many people playing and enjoying the game as possible. To do so, we suspected we'd need to encourage behaviors that have positive effects on the game and community and discourage behaviors that have the opposite effect- like causing other players to play less or not at all or to discourage them from trying out the game in the first place. One of the things we also suspected was that we wouldn't be able to tackle that kind of problem without releasing the game - it's the sort of thing where you need a lot of data to know whether or not your changes are having any effect.

Now that Dota 2 has been out for a while, and gathering a nice mix of new and original Dota 1 players, we're able to gather data to find answers. One of the first things we dug into were the factors that contributed to a player quitting. While it might seem obvious that someone is more likely to quit if they have a negative experience in a game, we've learned in the past that we really need to test our assumptions to make sure we're not fixing the wrong thing. Interestingly, some of the factors we assumed would affect leaving didn't - for instance, the outcome of matches doesn't correlate at all to the likelihood of quitting. Losing a bunch of Dota 2 games doesn't seem to cause people to quit. But one thing that did stand out in the data was the amount of negative communication between players. Put simply, you are more likely to quit if there is abusive chat going on in your games.

So, further investment in discouraging negative communications seemed like it would be valuable. But where to draw the line? Should we allow all (potentially) abusive behavior in-game, or should we work to diminish it and push players more towards the positive and collaborative side of things? We don't want to restrict anyone's speech nor prevent anyone from speaking their mind, but for everyone who feels slighted by their inability to say exactly what they want to their teammates or opponents in-game, there is someone on the receiving end of that criticism who is having just as bad an experience (or worse).

After some discussion internally, we reached the decision that it seemed in the best interest of the Dota community to not push away players who actually enjoyed the game. As a consequence, this meant restricting the ability for some members of the community to say whatever they want. To put it another way, we only want people to quit playing if they actually just don't like the game. That thinking led us to the current communication ban system. Its goal is to reduce the toxicity that occurs verbally or via text chat, and as a result, to avoid causing players to quit the game solely due to negative communication experiences.

Now that it's been live for over a month, we're able to see some of the effects it's having, and the conversation the community is having around it, and we felt we should answer some of the questions we're seeing out there and pass on some of the data we have.

First, a couple of notes on the implementation:

• Multiple people ganging up on you to report you in the same game has no effect on whether or not you are banned. We are looking at patterns of behavior over time only.
• If you are currently communication banned, any communication reports you receive in that time period do not contribute towards, nor result in additional bans.

The system is not yet ideal, but we felt it was better to gather data on this first step before trying to complicate it with extra nuance. We've changed the algorithm several times already, and we'll continue to update it in response to the community's feedback, and the data we're gathering.

Read the rest of the post on the Dota 2 blog.

We have released a Beta update for Half-Life 2 and associated games.
Changes in this update are:

• Updated Russian localization
  
• Fixed NPC sentences not containing contextual information (like map location)
  
• Lock player input during the introduction sequence in Half-Life 2
  
• Fixed Episode 1 ep1_c17_00 so that Alex says the "Turret out of Bullets" line and the start of the air vent line
  
• Fixed the power plugin having a red light after you fix it in the teleport sequence in Half-Life 2
  
• Fixed video playback of the introduction movie and the Episode 2 recap not stretching to full screen
  
• Fixed joystick rumble effects not stopping sometimes under Linux

We have released a Beta update for Half-Life 2 and associated games.
Changes in this update are:

• Updated Russian localization
  
• Fixed NPC sentences not containing contextual information (like map location)
  
• Lock player input during the introduction sequence in Half-Life 2
  
• Fixed Episode 1 ep1_c17_00 so that Alex says the "Turret out of Bullets" line and the start of the air vent line
  
• Fixed the power plugin having a red light after you fix it in the teleport sequence in Half-Life 2
  
• Fixed video playback of the introduction movie and the Episode 2 recap not stretching to full screen
  
• Fixed joystick rumble effects not stopping sometimes under Linux

We have released a Beta update for Portal.
Changes in this update are:

• Fixed scenes in games very rarely not playing, preventing forward progress in a level
  
• Fixed advanced chambers not unlocking after finishing the game
  
• Fixed rendering issue when taking damage
  
• Updated in game localization
  
• Fixed background map when a non-standard FOV is selected

<i>Note - This update breaks any save games that were made DURING the beta, if you get an error on load of a save then you will need to manually restart that map, the command to type is shown in the console. </i>

We have released a Beta update for Portal.
Changes in this update are:

• Fixed scenes in games very rarely not playing, preventing forward progress in a level
  
• Fixed advanced chambers not unlocking after finishing the game
  
• Fixed rendering issue when taking damage
  
• Updated in game localization
  
• Fixed background map when a non-standard FOV is selected

Note - This update breaks any save games that were made DURING the beta, if you get an error on load of a save then you will need to manually restart that map, the command to type is shown in the console.

We have released a Beta update for Half-Life 2 and associated games.
Changes in this update are:

• Fixed scenes in games very rarely not playing, preventing forward progress in a level
  
• Fixed outdated materials on trees and fences
  
• Drawbridge sound reverted to lower-quality version
  
• Fixed red-tint on Half-Life 2 ending scene when running under Linux

We have released a Beta update for Half-Life 2 and associated games.
Changes in this update are:

• Fixed scenes in games very rarely not playing, preventing forward progress in a level
  
• Fixed outdated materials on trees and fences
  
• Drawbridge sound reverted to lower-quality version
  
• Fixed red-tint on Half-Life 2 ending scene when running under Linux