As we all know, newer versions of DotA since 6.85k do not work on W3 patch after 1.26. That is a shame and I think we should find a way to support version 6.88 when it finally comes out of beta (maybe this summer?). This would bring some excitement to DotA community on this server.
I have an idea which I will start working on over the summer. The goal is to:
1. Keep updating w3 when Blizzard releases new patches.
2. At the same time, support w3 1.26 and DotA 6.88
How would this work?
In our client, I would add a third gateway option, so gateways would be:
Normal (w3 1.28+) | Gproxy (w3 1.28+) | Dota 6.88 (w3 1.26)
SS, BR and Lagabuse DotA ladder would be switched to DotA 6.88. The rule is that players with different W3 versions must not join the same game due to desync issues. That would mean that:
-with third gateway you could only join la/ss/br official dota games and nothing else
-with first two gateways you can't join la/ss/br dota games
So all DotA enthusiasts would choose third gateway, the rest of players use first two as normal.
From technical side, client would switch your w3 version instantly depending on which gateway you click on. Game version enforcement would be done at gproxy level.
The only negative side of this system is, that once you choose third gateway you can only play DotA, if you want something else you need to restart w3. Same goes for other direction.
This system would be introduced on secondary server first for testing.
Opinions?