• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 18:19
CEST 00:19
KST 07:19
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Power Rank - Esports World Cup 202552RSL Season 1 - Final Week9[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall15HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview18Classic wins Code S Season 2 (2025)16
Community News
BSL Team Wars - Bonyth, Dewalt, Hawk & Sziky teams7Weekly Cups (July 14-20): Final Check-up0Esports World Cup 2025 - Brackets Revealed19Weekly Cups (July 7-13): Classic continues to roll8Team TLMC #5 - Submission re-extension4
StarCraft 2
General
The GOAT ranking of GOAT rankings Power Rank - Esports World Cup 2025 RSL Revival patreon money discussion thread Jim claims he and Firefly were involved in match-fixing RSL Season 1 - Final Week
Tourneys
Esports World Cup 2025 Master Swan Open (Global Bronze-Master 2) Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond) FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event
Strategy
How did i lose this ZvP, whats the proper response
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation #239 Bad Weather Mutation # 483 Kill Bot Wars Mutation # 482 Wheel of Misfortune Mutation # 481 Fear and Lava
Brood War
General
BSL Team Wars - Bonyth, Dewalt, Hawk & Sziky teams BW General Discussion [Update] ShieldBattery: 2025 Redesign BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Ginuda's JaeDong Interview Series
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues CSL Xiamen International Invitational [CSLPRO] It's CSLAN Season! - Last Chance [BSL 2v2] ProLeague Season 3 - Friday 21:00 CET
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers I am doing this better than progamers do.
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread [MMORPG] Tree of Savior (Successor of Ragnarok) Path of Exile CCLP - Command & Conquer League Project
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Post Pic of your Favorite Food! Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Russo-Ukrainian War Thread The Games Industry And ATVI
Fan Clubs
SKT1 Classic Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[\m/] Heavy Metal Thread Anime Discussion Thread Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece Korean Music Discussion
Sports
Formula 1 Discussion 2024 - 2025 Football Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NBA General Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Installation of Windows 10 suck at "just a moment" Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Ping To Win? Pings And Their…
TrAiDoS
momentary artworks from des…
tankgirl
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Socialism Anyone?
GreenHorizons
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 720 users

Suggestion: minimap with no textures

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
1 2 3 Next All
aQuaSC
Profile Joined August 2011
717 Posts
Last Edited: 2016-11-07 11:22:58
November 05 2016 16:45 GMT
#1
Cross-post from battle.net forums/reddit
+ Show Spoiler +
http://us.battle.net/forums/en/sc2/topic/20751675305
https://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/5basdv/suggestion_minimap_with_no_textures/


I came up with an idea for UI improvement.

TL;DR: remove textures from the minimap

By adding an option for the mini-map to show just the map layout, units/buildings and vision overall players' map awareness could be improved. Frozen Temple may be the best example for that due to its range of textures from dark to light:

[image loading]

I believe that reducing the amount of visual states on the minimap from a wide range of textures dependent on art style of the map to just three important to gameplay:

- you have vision there
- you've been there, but the state of it could have changed (fog of war)
- you haven't been there yet

may be a great quality of life improvement due to how fast-paced and attention dependent the game is. Of course the screenshot with original map and modified with a single texture on it is a rough quickly made example, it can be done much better, shadows can be toned down to show high/low ground better etc.

In the end I think that map wireframe + vision state mini-map would be an excellent default or just an alternative option for it, the other one that we have now that displays units/resources on black is not helpful, I don't know why I would ever use it.

Map awareness through mini-map is affecting several things. Being able to see what is happening on the map within the area of vision that you create for yourself is critical for either your survival, or dictates your success or failure with an attack with a part or parts of your army not being your "main" that gets most of your attention. And by being able to see I don't mean that the game should just provide you with that information by sole existence of the mini-map, but the game should have it as more of a part of the UI that is intuitive, natural and even simpler than it is now.

I personally believe that coupled with map design direction that would concentrate even more on spread-out gameplay (maybe even vision buffs as well?) the overall game could change from basing less on element of surprise but more on unit interactions (that's a bold speculation, but it makes sense in my head at least thinking in the long run). Element of surprise has been a problem and a daunting thing for beginners for years and making it easier to just see everything quicker with less attention and eye-strain required would in my opinion be better for the game. For example you may be able to miss drops less often letting you just play against the attack itself, not just instantly losing because of the fact that you missed it, it's your fault and should have kept more attention.

Thoughts?

EDIT: here's an extra small comparison of creep with potential simplified mini-map and current state:

[image loading]

Edited to make more sense after good points from CatZ.
TL+ Member
PinoKotsBeer
Profile Joined February 2014
Netherlands1385 Posts
November 05 2016 16:51 GMT
#2
I like your suggestion!
http://www.twitch.tv/pinokotsbeer
pieroog
Profile Joined June 2010
Poland146 Posts
November 05 2016 17:02 GMT
#3
This is beyond cool!
ThunderJunk
Profile Joined December 2015
United States677 Posts
November 05 2016 17:08 GMT
#4
Excellent improvement suggestion. Would become the standard quickly.
I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.
TwiggyWan
Profile Blog Joined December 2013
France329 Posts
November 05 2016 17:19 GMT
#5
You could also request the BW style minimap : all black with only units/buildings colored dots.
No bad days
aQuaSC
Profile Joined August 2011
717 Posts
Last Edited: 2016-11-05 17:26:31
November 05 2016 17:24 GMT
#6
-- nvm --
TL+ Member
eviltomahawk
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States11135 Posts
November 05 2016 17:25 GMT
#7
On November 06 2016 02:19 TwiggyWan wrote:
You could also request the BW style minimap : all black with only units/buildings colored dots.

They already have that in SC2. You can toggle it with the button on the side of the minimap that's just below the ping button.
ㅇㅅㅌㅅ
Probe1
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States17920 Posts
November 05 2016 17:33 GMT
#8
Yeah that's definitely much cleaner and better.

On November 06 2016 02:25 eviltomahawk wrote:
Show nested quote +
On November 06 2016 02:19 TwiggyWan wrote:
You could also request the BW style minimap : all black with only units/buildings colored dots.

They already have that in SC2. You can toggle it with the button on the side of the minimap that's just below the ping button.

That was my first thought but pure black has always been a detriment. You don't see where you have vision, where you've been, the basic terrain (is this walkable or flying only). It's not useful and it's a carry over from the 90s.

Replace it with this suggestion.

우정호 KT_VIOLET 1988 - 2012 While we are postponing, life speeds by
True_Spike
Profile Joined July 2004
Poland3422 Posts
Last Edited: 2016-11-05 17:38:57
November 05 2016 17:38 GMT
#9
I would love that SO much. I hate the way mini maps look in modern games - too much clutter, they're supposed to be useful.
PinoKotsBeer
Profile Joined February 2014
Netherlands1385 Posts
November 05 2016 17:44 GMT
#10
Post it as well on the blizzard forum, hope blizzard will read it and use your suggestion.
http://www.twitch.tv/pinokotsbeer
aQuaSC
Profile Joined August 2011
717 Posts
November 05 2016 17:46 GMT
#11
On November 06 2016 02:44 PinoKotsBeer wrote:
Post it as well on the blizzard forum, hope blizzard will read it and use your suggestion.

Yeah I posted it on tl/reddit and battle.net since Blizzard checks out all three, let's see what happens
TL+ Member
NutriaKaiN
Profile Joined June 2016
88 Posts
November 05 2016 17:46 GMT
#12
thats really nice
Liquid`Snute
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Norway839 Posts
November 05 2016 17:58 GMT
#13
1) great post!! the simplified minimap looks great
2) no reason not to implement something like this, adding a 'minimap style' option to the Gameplay tab (or wherever) and maybe removing the terrain button entirely. Compared to everything else terrain button in particular is a really annoying mis-click
Team Liquid
Dumbledore
Profile Joined April 2011
Sweden725 Posts
November 05 2016 18:00 GMT
#14
Looks beautiful, blizzard pls
Have a nice day ;)
opisska
Profile Blog Joined February 2011
Poland8852 Posts
November 05 2016 18:16 GMT
#15
And the simplified map images already exist, SC2 shows them to me most of the time on the loading screen, so less work for Blizzard!
"Jeez, that's far from ideal." - Serral, the king of mild trashtalk
TL+ Member
Randomaccount#77123
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United States5003 Posts
Last Edited: 2016-11-05 18:21:07
November 05 2016 18:19 GMT
#16
--- Nuked ---
aQuaSC
Profile Joined August 2011
717 Posts
Last Edited: 2016-11-05 18:28:35
November 05 2016 18:25 GMT
#17
On November 06 2016 03:19 Barrin wrote:
Looks good on Frozen Temple, but I should warn that the improvement might not always be so great depending on how cliffs are used in the art style.

Also note that in the example given, the textured side is asymmetrically revealed while the untextured side is more symmetrically revealed.

I do expect that it will look better on most maps, even better than the given example sometimes, but again it might not always look that way depending on how cliffs are used in the art style. Mapmakers can learn not to confuse people with it though; they're probably familiar with what I'm talking about.

I give it a thumbs up.

Yeah I mentioned that a lot of things can be made really well like clear low/high ground separation and ramps as you are saying, I never said that the way I did it as you see on the screenshots is the way it should be. I'm just pointing out a direction and I think the less hard-on-eyes mini-map idea is just a correct way to go on improving the game.

And I tried to keep in mind that it's not only about how pretty it looks, it could also potentially minimize the number of games that end for unsatisfying reasons like missed drops or not seeing a unit coming your way when you are scouting.
TL+ Member
Haukinger
Profile Joined June 2012
Germany131 Posts
November 05 2016 18:50 GMT
#18
Can we have that Style for the main-view, too? For the player only, of course, the observer keeps Regularien graphics.
Ansibled
Profile Joined November 2014
United Kingdom9872 Posts
November 05 2016 19:06 GMT
#19
There's currently an option to make it black but this looks way better.
'StarCraft is just a fairy tale told to scare children actually.'
TL+ Member
Dangermousecatdog
Profile Joined December 2010
United Kingdom7084 Posts
November 05 2016 19:11 GMT
#20
This is a good solid suggestion. I would hope that it would get impemented. By implemented, I mean that it isn't deliberately done with blurry textures like map preview was.
1 2 3 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 12h 42m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Nathanias 215
StarCraft: Brood War
ivOry 10
Dota 2
monkeys_forever809
League of Legends
Dendi917
syndereN152
Counter-Strike
Fnx 1537
Stewie2K1005
Super Smash Bros
Liquid`Ken54
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu598
Other Games
summit1g8099
FrodaN3245
tarik_tv1803
C9.Mang0208
PPMD37
ViBE10
Organizations
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 17 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Hupsaiya 56
• davetesta49
• musti20045 39
• Kozan
• Migwel
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• sooper7s
• intothetv
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
StarCraft: Brood War
• blackmanpl 48
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
League of Legends
• TFBlade579
Other Games
• imaqtpie1592
• Shiphtur408
Upcoming Events
Esports World Cup
12h 42m
Serral vs Cure
Solar vs Classic
OSC
15h 42m
CranKy Ducklings
1d 11h
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
1d 15h
CSO Cup
1d 17h
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
1d 19h
Bonyth vs Sziky
Dewalt vs Hawk
Hawk vs QiaoGege
Sziky vs Dewalt
Mihu vs Bonyth
Zhanhun vs QiaoGege
QiaoGege vs Fengzi
FEL
2 days
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
2 days
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
2 days
Bonyth vs Zhanhun
Dewalt vs Mihu
Hawk vs Sziky
Sziky vs QiaoGege
Mihu vs Hawk
Zhanhun vs Dewalt
Fengzi vs Bonyth
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
[ Show More ]
Online Event
4 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
5 days
The PondCast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSL Xiamen Invitational
Championship of Russia 2025
Murky Cup #2

Ongoing

Copa Latinoamericana 4
Jiahua Invitational
BSL20 Non-Korean Championship
Esports World Cup 2025
CC Div. A S7
Underdog Cup #2
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25

Upcoming

CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
ASL Season 20: Qualifier #1
ASL Season 20: Qualifier #2
ASL Season 20
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
BSL Season 21
RSL Revival: Season 2
Maestros of the Game
SEL Season 2 Championship
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
FEL Cracov 2025
HCC Europe
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.