



General

CaptainLx

"Some early exploration (concept) was being worked in while we were still finishing Howling Abyss. Myself and some others joined right after that and the team has been growing ever since. There were a lot of discussions and prototypes created to make sure we hit the right time, enhance clarity, and keep gameplay the same."

Nome

"Both Howling Abyss and SR started initial development simultaneously. We began with a small team, focusing on concept and direction, and as everything fleshed out we added more members to the team. Getting SR right was super important, because in a lot of ways Summoner's Rift *is* League of Legends"

The new blue nexus and red nexus!

RiotForScience

"It improves clarity for our colorblind players and creates a much more consistent colorization system for our HUD. It is still something we are looking at, but we are really happy with the direction we are moving in."

Nome

"If you recall, we recently changed allied health bars from green to blue, which meant that in game space, the only color-blind mode difference is between your own health bar. We're hoping to eventually phase out color-blind mode altogether and unify color schemes--though a lot of this project isn't related to this update to Summoner's Rift."

RiotForScience

"I want to touch on this a bit. This update is built on the exact gameplay foundation of the map you are used to. It will play just like SR. We are updating the visuals and resolving a few bugs. It will feel very familiar when you actually get in and run around in it"

"The camera angle is actually not the same. We have implemented a focal length similar to what we are using on Howling abyss. It should help skillshots, but does not correct the problem you bring up. We determined that the solution to that problem is out of the scope of the visual update of Summoner's Rift."

"The skillshot issue is being mitigated a little by adopting a camera with a flatter field of view. The Blue/Red balance issue is something that is being looked at seperately from the VU of Summoner's rift."

Nome

"For the most part, no. The only area where we're changing wall widths is around the base walls, and that's because there were some big inconsistencies between Blue and Red team walls. Rather, walls all around will be accurately depicted (no "glass walling"), so if it looks like you can jump over it, you should be able to."

CaptainLx

"Walls will finally match the underlying navigation mesh that players have been playing on for years. We filled in so called glass walls which would make you run into an empty nothing beforehand. What you see now is actually representing the game map you've been playing on for years. We hope that this will make the game even better."

Nome

"We've got a lot of details and Easter Eggs that haven't made it in yet. Really excited to start working on that stuff :)"

"Some of the stuff we're discussing might go a few steps past that -_- There will be some absurd stuff"

Nome

"I don't think anyone will kill me if I say that yes, it'll hit PBE this year :P"





Environment

RiotForScience commented on the map's new color palette,

"We really carefully clamped the color saturation range and values of the ground plane in order to make teamfights more readable. Great feedback though! Adding more color without distracting from gameplay is something that we are still looking into." commented on the map's new color palette, saying

"The map is more "hand crafted" than the current SR. Every texture you see is unique - you may encounter 3 or 4 of the same tree model in the same place currently. So in some ways, it is MORE detailed - there are more thematically cohesive elements in suitable places. On top of this, as I mentioned before, clarity is a super important reason that this update is happening. Busying the map takes away from the action, and vice versa."





Baron and other regions of the map, RiotForScience noted: As for the differences between the area aroundand other regions of the map,

"This was to help players orient themselves around the map. The areas closest to Baron are more "Shattered" and areas distant from Baron are much more overgrown and lush. This video doesn't highlight it, but there are very overgrown areas in the map."

"The Baron area definitely does feel a little purple. We made several choices like that throughout the map to help players orient themselves around major points of interest on the map, and of course Baron is a huge point of interest on the map."





Nome also replied to a comment that Summoner's Rift had lost it's vibrant colors with this update, also replied to a comment that Summoner's Rift had lost it's vibrant colors with this update, saying

"It's disingenuous to say that the update to SR is getting rid of vibrant colors. It's not entirely an art decision either; in many ways, it's as much--or more--about gameplay clarity as it is about art. We specifically chose this direction to create a visual hierarchy: particles > characters > environment. All of the recent VUs, champions, and skins have been designed with this update and hierarchy ind mind, so we hope you'll be pleasantly surprised to see how well they pop off the map--and of course, this applies retroactively to older assets as well.

Of course, the map IS still in progress--we haven't done a lighting pass yet, for example; and plenty of features and assets have even yet begun being worked on. So just hang tight--and we do appreciate the feedback!"





Ever since the massive visual overhaul of Summoner's Rift was announced , Rioters have been flocking to the forums to chat about the beautiful new map and all the hard work that's gone in to it. From revealing the names of the new jungle camps to reassuring players their computers will run the new map just as well as the current map, this morning's red post collection is dedicated toContinue reading for more information.Before we get started, be sure you've looked over the following posts to get yourself better acquainted with what's in store forYou'll also probably want to give the Update to Summoner's Rift -Pre Beta Footage video another whirl, just so everything is fresh in your mind for the discussion!Now let's get on to the show! I've sorted out all the posts and information in to similar categories and tried to provide in-video references for the topic at hand. All posts come from Reddit, the LoL forums, or Twitter.Enjoy!When asked how long theupdate has been in the works, commented both it and Howling Abyss started at the same time:Most noticeably, the map is now Red vs Blue instead of Blue vs Purple. explained this decision as:also commented on this, explaining also commented on concern that the map will "feel" different gameplay wise, saying:He continued , noting the camera angle is a little different:He continued also noted that nearly all the walls widths will be unchanged in the update: expanded on this, noting the walls are more clear:In response to a comment about being able to see dragons flying around ( ~1:28 ) in the background of Summoner's Rift,When asked if one of these might include an Urf the Manatee reference, he noted As for a tentative date we can expect this to all hit the PBE,