When we first announced the Interactive Compendium, we hoped it would be something that Dota players would be interested in. Shortly afterwards, we were forced to admit we underestimated the community’s response to it. Upon reflection, we decided that the community was clearly sending us a message – so we spent the next two months adding more features to the Compendium.

With the International only three weeks away, we thought we’d cover some of the things we’ve added. If the last time you looked inside the Compendium was back when it first shipped, we hope you find some of these additions interesting.

THE INTERNATIONAL FANTASY CHALLENGE

Assemble a fantasy team of players from those attending The International. As they play in the tournament, your fantasy team will earn points. At the closing of the tournament, each of your fantasy teams will earn you an item based on its performance. The in-game UI tracks the points earned by your fantasy players, so that you can easily compare and compete with your friends. Leaderboards and highlights on fantasy teams will displayed at both the International web site and the event itself.

PLAYER CARDS

Collect trading cards of your favorite players at The International, and stamp them into the Compendium’s team pages. Collect an entire team and earn more customization options for your International Courier. Trade your extra player cards with your friends to complete the whole set, and bag yourself a mythical crab mount as well.

PREDICT THE FUTURE

Compete with your friends to make accurate predictions on many results in the tournament. With seven pages of predictions to make, there’s an endless amount of statistical analysis you can do to prove you knew what was going to happen all along.

SOLO CHAMPIONSHIP AND ALL-STAR MATCH

Vote on the players you’d like to see participate in a Solo Championship to determine who’s the greatest solo mid-lane player in the world. If you haven’t yet, don’t forget to also vote on the ten players you’d like to see in the All-Star Match.

NEW REWARDS

Along with your compendium itself, you also receive a number of extra bonuses: a limited edition 125% XP Battle Bonus that lasts until the International is over, an International Smeevil courier with customization capabilities, and new taunt animations for several Heroes.

If you’re interested in more in-depth details, check out the The International 2013 Interactive Compendium Guide that Jimo and Cyborgmatt put together.