Valve quietly releases Source 2 engine, Source 2 version of Dota 2, and new Hammer map editor

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In true Valve fashion, Gaben & Co. have just launched the long-awaited Source 2 engine… as part of the new Dota 2 Workshop Tools. Oddly, Valve isn’t confirming that this is actually Source 2 — but the Steam and Dota 2 communities are confident that this is it. You can also run an alpha version of Dota 2 in the new Source 2 engine, making it unofficially the first Source 2 game. Officially, we hope that Valve is still holding out for Half-Life 3 as the first real Source 2 game — the math checks out: Source 1 + Source 2 = Half-Life 3. Read on for our early impressions of the Source 2 engine, and how to try it out yourself.

Visually, Source 2 currently looks very similar to Source 1. It appears that some Dota 2 spells have different particle effects in Source 2 and lighting seems a bit fancier, indicating there’s been some underlying tweaks to the engine, but that’s about it. I wouldn’t worry too much, though — as far as I can tell, the Source 2 version of Dota 2 is using the exact same assets as the Source 1 version (yes, this means Source 2 appears to be backwards compatible with Source 1 games). We won’t see any significant visual differences until developers/games target Source 2′s new features. [Read: With a $10 million prize fund, Dota 2 is now one of the world’s biggest sports.]

Dota 2, Source 2: Shadowfiend’s Raze, with more particles

Dota 2, Source 1: Shadowfiend’s Raze, no particles

As for whether Source 2 uses DirectX/Direct3D, or OpenGL, the jury is still out. Historically, Source is a multi-platform engine that uses a variety of low-level graphics APIs. There are some new DLLs in the Dota 2/Source 2 directory that suggest D3D10 and D3D11 are both available. Personally, given Valve’s focus on cross-platform compatibility, the impending SteamOS/Steam Machines, and its declaration that OpenGL is faster than DirectX, I wouldn’t be surprised if Source 2 primarily targets OpenGL. (Though, given the Xbox One’s use of DirectX/Direct3D, there will certainly be a D3D version of Source 2 at some point.)

One other thing worth noting: The Source 2 version of Dota 2 loads much, much faster than the Source 1 version. It also feels snappier. I don’t know if this is entirely due to Source 2 (it could be down to some other changes in this alpha build of Dota 2), but it would make sense if that was the case. I also noticed, by looking at the Windows Task Manager, that this version of Dota 2 uses a 64-bit binary. Source has historically always been 32-bit. 64-bit Source 2 could partly explain why the game feels so snappy.

New Source 2 console, VConsole2, in its own window

The new Hammer map editor in Source 2

Beyond the game engine itself, this soft-launch of Source 2 also includes a brand new console called VConsole2, and a new version of the Hammer map/game editor. Curiously, VConsole2 appears to be a separate program with its own window — rather than Source 1′s in-game console. Hammer, which has gone virtually unchanged for a long, long time, has also been overhauled for Dota 2/Source 2.

Dota 2 Source 2 folder path. Note the ‘engine2.dll’ file, too.

How to run Dota 2 in the Source 2 engine

If you want to take Source 2 for a run, follow these instructions:

1. Install Dota 2 via Steam.
2. Right click Dota 2 in your Steam Library and click “View Downloadable Content.”
3. Put a tick in the “Dota 2 Workshop Tools DLC” checkbox. This will trigger a 5GB download.
4. Open up Explorer and navigate to wherever Dota 2 is installed. Then navigate toSteamApps > common > dota 2 beta > dota_ugc > game > bin > win64 (pictured above).
5. Run dota2.exe.

That’s all there is to it. Now I’m going to play around with some DLLs and see if it’s possible to run other games in the Source 2 engine.

So, where’s Half-Life 3?

By this point you’re probably wondering why Valve chose Dota 2 as the stage for Source 2′s debut, rather than Half-Life 3. Well, for a start, it’s important to note that this is definitely asoft launch. We probably won’t see a lot of fanfare or an “official” launch until there’s a new triple-A game that uses the Source 2 engine and all of its glorious new features. This first official Source 2 game might well be Half-Life 3, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it was TF3, L4D3, Portal 3, or some other game entirely.

The other possibility is that, believe it or not, producing a big, pretty Source 2 game just isn’t a priority for Valve. As Gabe Newell noted in a Reddit AMA earlier this year, “The biggest improvements [in Source 2] will be in increasing productivity of content creation.” User-generated content from the Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 Workshops have been a massive success story for Valve, both in terms of financial rewards and user engagement. I’m sure Half-Life 3 would make a lot of money, too — but rather than sinking hundreds of developers and millions of hours into a triple-A game, it’s probably much more efficient to just make more hats.

Link: Extremetech.com