Dota 2 adds a cheering system to simulate a live audience in a crowdless TI 10

The International 10, the biggest Dota 2 event, kicked off today in grand style. But this highly anticipated event had to grapple with a crucial factor - the lack of an in-person audience. Valve developed a cheering system that factors in digital engagement to simulate in-person cheers to address part of the issue.

The first TI after a year of lockdown was an ordeal to organize. Valve was denied their original venue in Stockholm when the Swedish Sports Federation refused to acknowledge the caliber of Dota 2 as a major international sport. With a few months left to relocate, the Dota 2 event was relocated to Bucharest, Romania. Valve had their familiar PGL studio ready.

Ironically, CS:GO will be holding perhaps the most significant event in Stockholm, while TI 10 is writhing without a crowd to echo the spectacle of tier-1 Dota 2. Valve had to cancel tickets and refund the audience a week before the group stage kicked off. The move was a result of surging COVID cases in Romania.

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Twitch integration of Dota 2 tooltips have been expanded

The news of the crowdless event understandably disheartened the Dota 2 community because the chants and roars of the spectators contribute significantly to the atmosphere of a high-profile sports event. Dota is no exception.

Some community members proposed an augmented virtual crowd roar. This method has been employed successfully in other sporting events.

Developers took on that suggestion, and Valve hit the perfect middle ground between authentic and virtual crowd noises with its new cheer system.

To cheer along, viewers have to watch the game live from the Dota 2 client. The HUD displays the team logos next to the ten hero portraits and game timer at the top of the screen. Cheering for the team is as simple as clicking on the respective team's logo there.

You do not need to purchase a supporter bundle for a team to cheer for them, but being a supporter adds a golden cheer. Individual cheers will accumulate in real-time to simulate the magnitude of a crowd chant as faithfully as possible. The cheering feature will soon be implemented on Twitch too.

Meanwhile, the existing Twitch integration for Dota 2 has been expanded in anticipation of the TI group stage. Valve has reportedly worked with Aleksander "bukka" Bukurecki and Shannon "SUNSfan" Scotten, the creators of DotaCinema. Together, they overhauled the Twitch integration of the game to further display all heroes, abilities, and item tooltips.