Riot's Project L - Developer Update, Gameplay, & Netcode showcase

[Dahbomb]

Showing a fighting game at non 60FPS is a big own goal.

But it does look nice artistically, characters pop out and are clean. I love that this is tag based 2v2. Team based fighter was always more suited for LoL IP since you want to mix and match combinations, just like with Legends of Runeterra (which also uses champion pairings).

Right now the sound effects/hit stop stuff looks muted but that should be polished by release.

Ekko looks really really cool mechanically and very high skill cap.

 

[Mentosrock]

It looks good but I wish they didn't turn it into a tag fighter.. I hate tag fighters :(.

Actually I can't tell if it's a tag fighter, or if it's just you press like L1 and jinx comes out for five seconds. If it's the latter that is way better for me

 

[Lulu]

Looks amazing. The slow fast was to show you the Mix lol. Come on

 

[FSLink]

It's unfair I guess, but I don't see any reasons not to compare art styles. Arcane is also like the *only* League of Legends thing I'm familiar with lol.

And yea encoding this footage at 24fps just wasn't the smartest thing to do, and it sure ain't my fault they aren't putting their game on the best light.

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I mean even still, hoping that it'd look as good as their CGI series was always gonna be unrealistic even if they had the best showing here. I know it's Riot money, but there was no world where that was going happen with current technologies and game development. The scopes are completely different

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

It looks good but I wish they didn't turn it into a tag fighter.. I hate tag fighters :(.

Actually I can't tell if it's a tag fighter, or if it's just you press like L1 and jinx comes out for five seconds. If it's the latter that is way better for me

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They said Assists so its probably not tag.

 

[Arta]

Looks good so far. I know they have a lot more work to do still.

As far as the complaints about it being a tag fighter, framerate, etc, I'm not sure the true audiance (mass market League of Legends fans) give a damn. The FGC can be left entirely out in the cold and this game will still sell.

Looking forward to news on DNF Fighters next.

 

[AhiKuma]

Looks fun

 

[Giga Man]

Tag team fighter has me very interested. I know nothing about LoL, but the characters look cool.

 

[Kreim]

I think Seth left Riot a few years back. He's been at Epic since 2019.

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That's shocking, I had no idea. I was under the assumption this was his baby. The dream of fighting games reaching a larger audience was his passion, so it's hard to understand. The game is looking good here, so I wonder what his departure meant, if anything. Additionally what could epic games offer in that regard.... a fortnite... brawler? Confusing.

 

[Mentosrock]

They said Assists so its probably not tag.

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After watching the video, I think it's just straight up 2 v 2. There's a period in the video where Ekko tags in Ahri and she takes over. Bleh I hate tag fighters lol

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

After watching the video, I think it's just straight up 2 v 2. There's a period in the video where Ekko tags in Ahri and she takes over. Bleh I hate tag fighters lol

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Huh, you might be right, but it does look like an edit there and isn't shown again. Just weird they call it "assist based fighter".

 

[Sylvee]

They said Assists so its probably not tag.

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One of the first clips they show is Ekko starting a combo and then doing a launcher that tags Ahri in and she finishes it and stays around while Ekko goes off screen. As of right now that's the only footage we have of them changing characters, but that's enough to show that at least as of right now you are able to have full control of both:





That does beg the question though. Maybe the reason why they are a little mixed on the wording is because maybe there's some characters you can pick that only perform assists and provide buffs so you can choose to basically play one character with some buffs to make it balanced. There's some popular characters in League who it would be hard to come up a full kit for because they're largely built around assisting allies, this could be a way to feature a character like Soraka whose whole focus in League is on healing allies and debuffing enemies while not having to come up with a whole fighting game kit for them.

 

[OrangePulp]

That's shocking, I had no idea. I was under the assumption this was his baby. The dream of fighting games reaching a larger audience was his passion, so it's hard to understand. The game is looking good here, so I wonder what his departure meant, if anything. Additionally what could epic games offer in that regard.... a fortnite... brawler? Confusing.

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It's always been the Cannons' project, to my knowledge; Riot bought their company, Radiant Entertainment, when their own fighting game Rising Thunder was still in alpha.

Stoked to see this is looking kinda like Marvel vs Capcom Infinite: League of Legends edition. That game deserved better.

Also, they're going to have to add Vi, after the success of Arcane, right? The gauntlets and her fighting style in the show seem too perfect for this. Vi/Jinx main incoming.

 

[Sylvee]

Also, they're going to have to add Vi, after the success of Arcane, right? The gauntlets and her fighting style in the show seem too perfect for this. Vi/Jinx main incoming.

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This was a picture taken of the Project L devs at their studio. The character on the left is Jinx, and you can see Vi's gauntlets on the right. The game being a team fighter means that the initial roster has to be a bit bigger, which means that I think Vi's odds (which were already pretty high) are almost guaranteed. It would be kinda weird for them to make a mural that features her while having not intending to add her in too.

Spoiler: Picture is gigantic

 

[Smoshow]

I've been excited to hear more about this. Glad they went with Tag mechanics on this. A league fighter being one on one wouldn't be right.

 

[s y]

Looks good but it being a tag fighter kills any interest I had.

 

[Hyun Sai]

Can't wait to see the network features so it can kick the nest of many fighting games developpers out there. 2023 can't come soon enough.

 

[JusDoIt]

This was a picture taken of the Project L devs at their studio. The character on the left is Jinx, and you can see Vi's gauntlets on the right. The game being a team fighter means that the initial roster has to be a bit bigger, which means that I think Vi's odds (which were already pretty high) are almost guaranteed. It would be kinda weird for them to make a mural that features her while having not intending to add her in too.

Spoiler: Picture is gigantic

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Glad to see Patrick Miller is still there.

Also, Vi is a boxer right? I NEED DAT

 

[Giga Man]

I doubt it's the final title, but "Project L - RiotX Arcane: Epilogue" sounds like an Arc System game title. lol

 

[OrangePulp]

This was a picture taken of the Project L devs at their studio. The character on the left is Jinx, and you can see Vi's gauntlets on the right. The game being a team fighter means that the initial roster has to be a bit bigger, which means that I think Vi's odds (which were already pretty high) are almost guaranteed. It would be kinda weird for them to make a mural that features her while having not intending to add her in too.

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Yeah, good catch, and good point. Honestly, after getting back to playing League due to watching Arcane, the game has a ton of cool characters that could make interesting fighters. What I'm really wondering is what's the criteria they're going to use for adding new characters? There are a fair number of characters that could fill the 'swordsman' archetype, for example, but I'd probably expect them to take Yasuo due to his popularity, rather than Master Yi (or Garen or Fiora or Yone).

 

[Kalentan]

Glad to see Patrick Miller is still there.

Also, Vi is a boxer right? I NEED DAT

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Eh, Vi is more of a brawler. (Or maybe I'm not familiar enough with boxing lol)

Spoiler: Here is a fight scene from Arcane, Warning spoilers if you care, though stop before the 1:50 min mark

 

[JusDoIt]

Eh, Vi is more of a brawler. (Or maybe I'm not familiar enough with boxing lol)

Spoiler: Here is a fight scene from Arcane, Warning spoilers if you care, though stop before the 1:50 min mark

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I was finna say, that looks plenty boxery to me, fam! haha

Whatever you call it, I'm down for that.

 

[Protoman200X]

gotta get that "it looks like a cartoon" vibe that Arc Systems got down

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Is that necessarily a bad thing? I think the game is shaping up in the visual department, & both DBFZ & GG:S we're rock-solid games.

 

[SDBurton]

Game looks so sick. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Jobbs]

this looks incredible. might be the thing that gets me to play a fighting game

 

[thetrin]

Why is this dropping now all of a sudden?

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Riot is putting out a lot of updates on its games since Arcane came out. They just did a Switch Direct showing off all their indie developed titles a couple days ago.

 

[Qvoth]

footage looked good and seems like it arguably already has more depth than gg strive lol
just realized they're the rising thunder devs though which isn't the best indication
good luck though if it's good i'll check it out

 

[vixolus]

kinda on topic but I kinda dig Ekko's new hair from Arcane. It still gives the OG punk mohawk vibe, while being more realistic

 

[Kreim]

Wonder what their approach to the soundtrack will be. Fighting games have had some legendarily good soundtracks and I think it's so important for the genre. It sets the tone for the characters, the world and the match itself. It feeds into the energy the players and spectators have. Not anyone can play a fighting game, but everyone likes Guile's Theme. Be a big missed opportunity if care isn't taken there.

 

[Jobbs]

every one of the characters looks amazing, I think ekko's execution is particularly impressive

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

footage looked good and seems like it arguably already has more depth than gg strive lol

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What are you basing that on? They didn't show much of anything. Already not a fan of simplified inputs. I want to know how the universal mechanics and defensive tools work. Maybe someone's done a breakdown of the video already.

 

[Command & Conker]

No motion inputs is just about the worst thing they could say.

 

[Arsic]

What are you basing that on? They didn't show much of anything. Already not a fan of simplified inputs.

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combo length and ways things link to other things in the footage seems more than strive, especially if you look at footage of strive in a similar development state .

I wouldn't worry about simplified inputs either. The prior game this studio gave us to tool with was wonderful, and the reason Riot bought them. The game had a lot of depth and skill without worrying about shoryu motion etc.

 

[ILikeFeet]

Is that necessarily a bad thing? I think the game is shaping up in the visual department, & both DBFZ & GG:S we're rock-solid games.

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no, it's just that when you get it wrong, it looks like shit. and I've seen a lot get it wrong. hell, I think Arc Sys's games look better interpolated

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

combo length and ways things link to other things in the footage seems more than strive, especially if you look at footage of strive in a similar development state .

I wouldn't worry about simplified inputs either. The prior game this studio gave us to tool with was wonderful, and the reason Riot bought them. The game had a lot of depth and skill without worrying about shoryu motion etc.

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That depends. There's no combo break mechanics so if they're long and easy to execute count me out. What's the gameplay hook here? like generally a game has universal mechanics that sell them.

 

[StrangeRoboMemory]

Looks really cool!

 

[lucebuce]

Man this game looks SICK.

 

[Mecha]

I liked what I saw. I hope they succeed.

 

[Protoman200X]

no, it's just that when you get it wrong, it looks like shit. and I've seen a lot get it wrong. hell, I think Arc Sys's games look better interpolated

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Care to share some examples of when a developer "gets it wrong"? Because the 2.5D approach seems to be ARC System Works thing for their fighting games, and outside of developers using their propriety game engine (A+ Games with Kill La Kill: IF), I haven't seen any other developers take a swing at it.

 

[Digital Dinosaur]

One of the first clips they show is Ekko starting a combo and then doing a launcher that tags Ahri in and she finishes it and stays around while Ekko goes off screen. As of right now that's the only footage we have of them changing characters, but that's enough to show that at least as of right now you are able to have full control of both:





That does beg the question though. Maybe the reason why they are a little mixed on the wording is because maybe there's some characters you can pick that only perform assists and provide buffs so you can choose to basically play one character with some buffs to make it balanced. There's some popular characters in League who it would be hard to come up a full kit for because they're largely built around assisting allies, this could be a way to feature a character like Soraka whose whole focus in League is on healing allies and debuffing enemies while not having to come up with a whole fighting game kit for them.

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I wouldn't be surprised to see a return of the Marvel vs Capcom 1 system of tag team + dedicated assists.

When there's so many League characters, it would take years to add them all as playable fighters. A big appeal of such a game has to be seeing the whole world / cast represented so assists make sense to get all those guys in there.

 

[katsu044]

looks cool,now to watch Maxx lol

 

[JusDoIt]

One of the first clips they show is Ekko starting a combo and then doing a launcher that tags Ahri in and she finishes it and stays around while Ekko goes off screen. As of right now that's the only footage we have of them changing characters, but that's enough to show that at least as of right now you are able to have full control of both:





That does beg the question though. Maybe the reason why they are a little mixed on the wording is because maybe there's some characters you can pick that only perform assists and provide buffs so you can choose to basically play one character with some buffs to make it balanced. There's some popular characters in League who it would be hard to come up a full kit for because they're largely built around assisting allies, this could be a way to feature a character like Soraka whose whole focus in League is on healing allies and debuffing enemies while not having to come up with a whole fighting game kit for them.

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I doubt they'll complicate the character select screen like that, by having some characters that are assist only.

We have two crucial facts right now:

1. All of the characters we've seen as assists we've also seen as point characters.

2. As you've already mentioned, we've seen one instance of a character calling an assist and tagging out.

It's a tag game. Why they're calling it an assist game is anyone's guess. But my guess is that they're just using the terms interchangeably.

 

[Pundere]

It's not a huge thing, but I really hope there are unique voice lines/intros for specific teams or matchups. Jayce and Viktor, Vi and Jinx, Garen and Katalina, etc.

Team games are the perfect spot for unique interactions like that.

 

[Filipus]

Very weird to show this at 30fps but apart from that it looks great. I would like to see some features that Killer Instinct has, like great tutorials and something to break combos. I hate how some fighting games you are constantly stuck in massive combos, it isn't even enjoyable to watch.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

Very weird to show this at 30fps but apart from that it looks great. I would like to see some features that Killer Instinct has, like great tutorials and something to break combos. I hate how some fighting games you are constantly stuck in massive combos, it isn't even enjoyable to watch.

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One thing they're doing well from the footage is how short the supers are at least (Darius super only goes for 3 seconds). If the combos are long and easy to do that's going to be a huge drag though.
Like maybe they thought the Ahri air combos were cool enough to show twice but with specials being single button inputs that could very easily be braindead (or it could be hard to do consistently! who knows).

 

[Kalentan]

So what do you guys think is more likely?

Runeterra Fighters?

or

Fighters of Runeterra?

 

[lucebuce]

 

[Luigi87]

So what do you guys think is more likely?

Runeterra Fighters?

or

Fighters of Runeterra?

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Going with a dark horse pick...

Champions Showdown

Edit: Better make it Runeterra Champions Showdown
Forgot there used to be a game called Champions Online!

 

[Neoxon]

According to Max, a lot of the Project L devs are MvCI fans. So that may explain the direction the game is taking mechanically.

 

[JusDoIt]

So what do you guys think is more likely?

Runeterra Fighters?

or

Fighters of Runeterra?

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Something with Arcane in the title.