League Map Editor. How Feasible?

RobTheTank·Jun 27, 2016·2 votes·574 views

Starcraft has map editors. And when people connect to a custom map, it automatically downloads it to their local machine. How feasible would it be for Riot to implement a map editor in League? No IP awarded for games played on such maps, of course (I imagine an IP farm would be created within SECONDS of a map editor being added to the game). I'm thinking of custom games like Hide and Seek and Ultimate Bravery.

I would actually love some feedback from Riot software engineers and technicians on this...

12 Comments

CrazFight Jun 27, 20163 votes

This will never happen. Riot isn't willing to make a sandbox mode they would never be willing to make this.

RobTheTankJun 27, 20161 votes

{quoted}

This will never happen. Riot isn't willing to make a sandbox mode they would never be willing to make this.

But why?

Some of the greatest advancements in gaming have come from player modifications. Its my understanding that the current Minecraft Redstone was originally a mod that got fully implemented into the game.

In case you don't know: Redstone is an item in Minecraft that functions as electrical wiring and circuitry. People have used it to (eventually, with great effort) create simple working computers in the game.

CrazFight Jun 27, 20162 votes

{quoted}

But why?

Some of the greatest advancements in gaming have come from player modifications. Its my understanding that the current Minecraft Redstone was originally a mod that got fully implemented into the game.

In case you don't know: Redstone is an item in Minecraft that functions as electrical wiring and circuitry. People have used it to create simple working computers in the game.

I agree, but riot doesn't. I can't speak to why they won't do it, but they just won't.

RobTheTankJun 27, 20161 votes

I guess the risk of exploitation is too damn high.

I work in I.T. and programming games has always been a hobby of mine. I'd LOVE a response from a Riot software engineer or level designer.

CrazFight Jun 27, 20162 votes

{quoted}

I guess the risk of exploitation is too damn high.

I work in I.T. and programming games has always been a hobby of mine. I'd LOVE a response from a Riot software engineer or level designer.

Exploitation? how so....

RobTheTankJun 27, 20161 votes

Well like I said an IP farm is probably the very first thing players will make if there were a map editor.

Maybe they'd also make a last-hitting practice arena or a jungle / dragon / baron farm practice arena. I main Blitzcrank so i might want to make a map where I can further practice leading my pulls.

Maybe people would spend too much time in these custom maps instead of the real game.

Hmmmmmmm..... I guess I can sort-of see why Riot won't create a Sandbox mode.

But then again, someone might make a League Chess map. Queen Ashe , King Tryndamere , Bishop Kayle , Knight Hecarim , Rook Malphite , and minions as pawns.

CrazFight Jun 27, 20161 votes

{quoted}

Well like I said an IP farm is probably the very first thing players will make if there were a map editor.

Maybe they'd also make a last-hitting practice arena or a jungle / dragon / baron farm practice arena. I main so i might want to make a map where I can further practice leading my pulls.

Maybe people would spend too much time in these custom maps instead of the real game.

Hmmmmmmm..... I guess I can sort-of see why Riot won't create a Sandbox mode.

?... what. So what if they want to make a last hitting arena map.. its practice lol. they would always remove IP from those kinda of custom matchs.

RobTheTankJun 27, 20161 votes

OF COURSE remove all IP / EXP / Champion Mastery from such maps!!!

RobTheTankJun 27, 20161 votes

I guess I'm not asking, "Will Riot ever do this?" so much as, "How hard would it be for Riot to do this?"

ModThe DjinnJun 27, 20163 votes

{quoted}

I guess I'm not asking, "Will Riot ever do this?" so much as, "How hard would it be for Riot to do this?"

To answer this one:

It might not be HARD, but it would take a huge amount of development time and manpower away from other projects, so it's unlikely that Riot will do this. Difficult of a project isn't hugely important -- Riot has skilled developers. What makes it "hard" is the amount of work, testing, balancing, asset creation, additional testing, etc. that such a mode would require.

RobTheTankJun 27, 20161 votes

You have a point.

ModThe DjinnJun 27, 20162 votes

{quoted}

You have a point.

It's also the reason we haven't seen a more robust customer game mode creator, I think: every project Riot does has to be weighed not only on its own merits, but on the merits of everything else the team could be doing instead. So an utterly fantastic idea that is still not QUITE as fantastic as three OTHER utterly fantastic ideas winds up #4 on the list...and may get pushed lower by other great ideas that come down the pipeline in the interim.

So you might have something that looks like this (just randomly filled out with vague approximations):

Client Rework: High effort, high value, high exposure. Allows us to do more interesting in-client features, is seen by everyone, updates an aging interface.

More Custom Game Options: High effort, low value, low exposure. Will be super fun for some players, but will take time to develop and test, will take players out of more popular game queues, and will probably only see use by a small fraction of the playerbase.

Custom Map Options: Extremely high effort, low value, low exposure. Same issues as More Custom Game Options, but with added testing, UI, and art assets.

Hextech Crafting: High effort, medium value, high exposure. Rewards players and creates more incentive to play. Only reason value isn't high is because this MIGHT cut into profits slightly -- unless key/chest buying proves rewarding.

Were I Riot, I'd organize these as Client Rework / Hextech Crafting / More Game Options / More Map Options in terms of the_ strength vs. feasibility_ of the ideas. As a result, you'd probably never see the last two until we have a complete lull in important development and have time to invest huge manpower in things that only a small fraction of the player base is statistically likely to use.