Over the past week, mappers have been working to tweak and finalize their maps for final public judging. Now it's your turn to take part in the process and vote for your favorite maps. Below are all of the finalists for TLMC8 with a multitude of ways to view them.
The images you see on this page are those of the most updated maps.
Hover over the thumbnail for the "before" images of the original versions of these maps.
To get a larger overview, click on the map images.
Besides our display below, you can also view them all conveniently in this imgur album. We strongly recommend using this because it allows you to view the maps in high resolution very easily.
Remember that there is currently a battle.net bug that prevents players from searching for these maps directly. As such, we will link to each map on each of the three main battle.net servers if you want to check them out.
All official TLMC maps will be labeled with the [TLMC8] tag. Maps are uploaded on the NA, EU, and Korean servers.
Major changes in the geometry in the center to create better flow, clearer structure and more space:
Smaller part of each high ground cut and replaced with a ramp size 3
Decreased chasms in middle and towards gold
Small tower in big arena between gold and high ground expansion now structures the bigger open surface
Minor changes in the geometry at the two corner bases to create better flow and decrease map height for less air space:
Corner bases rotated slightly and moved towards center
Adapted terrain to new flow
Minor changes in the geometry at the 3/9 o'clock base:
Cliff tower with vent moved behind high ground expansion to open the choke up slightly
Major changes in the setup of rock towers and rocks at the gold base:
Rock tower between natural expansion high ground and gold high ground gone, because gold was too safe, also the corridor situation that could be generated here would hinder flow
Huge rock at gold base ramp changed to a pair of large rocks
Major changes in the setup of rock towers and rocks at the 'pocket third':
Rock tower now sits on a low instead of a high ground
no additional rocks block the path behind the gold base
Minor changes in the setup of rock towers and rocks at the high ground expansion:
Rock tower moved from ramp to high ground, where it no longer blocks movement up the ramp, but creates a choke on the platform, it now has potential for an attacker to slow down movement towards corner expansion
Rocks from the ramp toward the corner expansion moved away to the ramp size 3, this change makes is easier to take next expansions fast
Major change in the positioning of the watch towers, which are now stronger in any game situation:
Watch towers moved from center towards the outside
Watch towers are stronger for each side when utilized defensively
Occupation of both watch towers give even more visibility
Cleaned up doodads and doodad positioning as well as recreated foliage.
Several smaller texture changes to create better read-ability.
Vertical third base has been shifted closer to the natural, the natural has been rotated 45 degrees counter-clockwise.
Xel'Naga Watchtowers were moved Diagonally, North West and South East, to now cover the far reaches of the map, as well as a slight sliver of the high middleground.
4th base philosophy changed. Vertical 4th has a high mineral income, but little longevity, as well as only one geyser. The opposite 4th, has 10 minerals and 2 gas geysers, for longevity.
Lowground late-game bases have 5 mineral patches, but 3 geysers as a risky base option after the longevity base was taken.
Xel'Naga Rocks added to help defend the vertical base after taking the gold option.
The Gold base has 8 mineral patches, all of which at a 33% decreased value (1000 for near, 600 for far patches)
Removed the 'Narrow Path': Among the many feedbacks, it was often said that the 'Narrow Path' was complex and unintuitive, causing the players to be confused.
Created a new attack route. (Changed the third and the gold expansion's terrain.): It showed stable games, but the game was too boring due to the third and the fourth which is so easily secured. As a result, the third's expansion's terrain was changed, and the gold expansion was redesigned to create a new attack route.
Removed the diagonal rock between the third and the fourth: The diagonal rock was removed because players can defend enough the third.
Widened the central bridge and the central expansion's ramp: It was widened for smooth troop movement in the mid-late game.
Moved resource nodes of the main close to vertical borders.
Added a reaper cliff to the main.
Replaced a force field on the center of pocket island with a 4x4 rock.
Replaced force fields on the main ramp with 'new' force fields. New force fields can be seen in the fog of war and can be spotted on minimap. These changes do not influence original force fields made by sentries.
Connected the pocket island and natural. A huge rock was added to block the passage.
Adjusted the natural to leave spaces for passage to pocket island.
Placed a 4x4 rock on the entrance of natural. Ramp close to it was also moved farther.
Moved the third base closer to the main.
Redesigned the ramps in the middle with force fields. Ramps became two times wider than before and force fields were replaced with huge destructible rocks.
Replaced force fields on the outer bases with two 4x4 destructible rocks.
All 4x4 destructible rock have 1 armor and 1200 HP in order to be vulnerable to early armies of all races.
"Pocket" base philosophy changed from less economy, to less gas but more minerals.
Natural Choke made slightly smaller, and backdoor ramp into natural is now a size 1 ramp.
Pocket "Natural" rocks moved from the main to the ramp towards the natural.
Base met by three down-ramps changed into an 8 gold 2 geyser base.
Xel'Naga Tower position adjusted slightly.
Exposed Fourth Base mineral line rotated 45 degrees. It is still exposed, but not as much as it was previously.
Prizing
While Blizzard has the final say on which maps go on the ladder, this is your chance to send Blizzard a message as to which maps you want to see in the ladder pool next season.
And let's not forget; not only are the maps competing for ladder consideration, but the top five maps will be awarded with cash prizes - all provided by Blizzard.
First - $1,000 Second - $500 Third - $250 Fourth - $150 Fifth - $100
Vote!
Please note that your vote must contain exactly five maps or it will not count. Additionally, you must comment in this thread for your vote to count. A simple "voted" will do. Of course, we encourage you to post which maps you voted for and to have a discussion about which maps you like best as well!
You have until Friday, Mar 10 4:59am GMT (GMT+00:00) to cast your votes for your favorite TLMC maps, after which the winners will be announced.
Voted for Paradise Lost and Blood Boil as a primary choice. I'm absolutely amazed by the amount of work which was put in Paradise and I love the idea. The newest version of Blood Boil seems also really interesting for me in terms of macro decisions. Other 3 were just the ones which I liked as a player.
Almost impossible to vote for 5, didn't really think there were many good maps in there.
Acolyte and Keres Passage seemed like the best ones, with Hwangsan also being decent. Had Blood Boil and Maxwell Platform as two somewhat interesting fillers.
On March 08 2017 08:02 StraKo wrote: Guys please vote for macro maps, i would like to have an enjoyable mappool, instead of a "looks cool" mappool :/
Just because they are voted high doesn't mean they make it onto the ladder just look at last TLMC Dasan Station made it and it wasn't top voted. It really up to Blizzard and what they want so keep that in mind.
Remember, as it says in the OP "While Blizzard has the final say on which maps go on the ladder, this is your chance to send Blizzard a message as to which maps you want to see in the ladder pool next season."
These are maps you believe should be on ladder. You think they will produce good interesting games and won't have too many imba features.
Obviously I just have to vote for my two maps because let's be honest, it'd be stupid of me not too! Especially in a contest where every vote will count. I also believe Ascension to Aiur is about as standard of a macro map you can get that still has plenty of choices as a 3rd base so it will for the most part produce normal games but still have some choice in the matter. Paradisia, although I don't like it as much, can still produce a lot of interesting games with the type of symmetry, many attack paths, and ease of bases. So..
Ascension to Aiur Paradisia
Will be my first and second votes...
Next three votes, are basically the next 3 maps I believe would do well on ladder.
Hwangsan - Choice of thirds, easy to understand layout, not super overly huge. I believe this should do better than Windwalker.
Sequencer - Although I'm still not the greatest fan, it's still one of the better maps in this tournament that I could actually see myself enjoying on ladder. His changes were nice.
Keres Passage - Easy enough main/nat/third. Choice of golds could lead to some interesting (or cheesy) play. The changes he did were good to open the map up a little bit more.
---
So,
Ascension to Aiur Paradisia Hwangan Sequencer Keres Passsage
Unfortunately Paradise Lost will be #1 due to Hype from Basetrade & Nathanias, super sick "air blocker wall" and the love of being able to turtle. Just remember, you're voting for maps you want on ladder. Air blockers are annoying as shit to play with and even though the changes Jacky did are great, you can still fairly easily turtle on 5 bases so unless it gets to a giant 8 base vs 8 base game what's the point of ever taking the islands?
Sorry Jacky, your map gets a ton of love, but I absolutely do not like it and think unless it gets even more massive changes it's going to be very frustrating to play on ladder.
gogogo Geumgangsan absolutly love the design of this map this is really rare. Blood boil is so special in layout this map needs to be on the ladder mappool which is macro oriented very nicely. Acolyte aswell really solid layout would love to play this map all the time. Paradisia easy layout relaxing to play and no eye burner nice summer map. Ascension to Aiur same, really cool summer map i really dont want to miss that map in this pool but please dont sequenzer or windwaker. Sequenzer is boring as hell and has way to many ramps like a ramp city which is a dream for burrowed zergs you can never really take a propper engangement cause of ups and downs everywhere. Windwaker is a nice map but not as good as ascension to aiur and the other maps i have choosen. Windwaker would be a good map for hots but not for lotv cause of the open spaces and the distances and the paths of attacking aswell.
LETS HOPE FOR THE BEST POOL EVER. GG MAPMAKERS WELL DONE.
I am a bit disappointed to see that all SC2 maps follow the same design philosophy. Remember when BW had tricky maps such as 815? There were also island maps (Paradoxxx 2, Hall of Valhalla), or maps with bases closed behind destructibles. I believe a little craziness would do SC2 good, while considering race balance of course. Players would have to adapt completely new playstyles = more fun.
I clearly choosed in priority the lighter maps, not liking the dark maps. I had only 3 real picks and 2 fill in though, I would be sad if one if these 2 is chosed
Would have liked to be able to make a top 5 (with the order being taken into account).
Also, the imgur album is not in the same order as the TL post AND the name of the maps are not written on it...
I think the slight openess of that mineral line on Blood boil is a thing that should be in more maps. Allow more units to be able to harass and the harass units won't need to be as effective. I like Maxwell Plattform as a ladder map, but not as a tournament map. It can give me, as a player, some fun games but won't be a fair map in a professional setting (though it will be fun to watch). I like the idea of the resource shortage on Bandarlog Ruins. I dislike the multitude of ramps, which also is a reason why I won't enjoy playing on Sequenser. Both of them will probably be good tournament maps. Keres Passage is my favourite out of these maps. It will probably be a bit unbalanced in tournaments, but it doesn't matter. I like the multitude of choices too much.
Voted. I appreciate the work that has been put into the maps and organization, but I feel like being forced to vote for at least 3 maps I did not really like, just to meet the 5 vote requirement.
the NA version of [TLMC8] Blood Boil seems to be missing a watchtower. It is either missing the northeastern one, or has an extra one in the south west. In any event, it is currently asymmetrical :/
1. Ascension to Aiur 2. Hwangsan 3. Paradisia 4. Asteroid Barricade 5. Acolyte
What I'm wondering is if Blizzard is actually considering using experimental resources or force fields on the ladder.
Experimental resources definitely. They made an entire category for them this contest. Neutral force fields... who knows. They have the problem that they aren't immediately intuitive. When Basetrade first cast Geumgangsan, they were wondering if the force fields disappeared after a time, if they could be destroyed in the same way as normal force fields etc. At least they now appear through the FOW and on the minimap.
Voted for Hunger Game, Paradise Lost, Sequencer, Keres Passage and Blood Boil!
I'm a little sad the Mineral Field was removed from Hunger Game in favour of Forcefields, mostly since it has more messy pathing, there's now a bit too few Mineral Fields on the map and no one is gonna bring Massive units to go cancel them, the way they were implemented on this map. On the same note I feel the same with Geumgangsan, where many force fields was removed. I mean the pathing is now better, but then this is something you will be prepared for if the entire map is force field themed.
On March 09 2017 06:38 Musicus wrote: I find it kinda weird that we don't see every single pro or GM player voting tbh. And then we get a ton of complainig again next season.
I now Blizz has the final say anyway, but still.
Ah yeah I totally feel the same way. If Elazer came out and said X map was really bad because of A,B and C it would carry a lot of weight...
but think about what they risk if they come out. If they endorse a map, say this map is good or I voted for this, then it ends up being really bad for their race or then end up losing important games on it... they wouldn't have a back door to say that it was the maps fault or blizzard's fault, which is always nice to have.
Maybe i'm doing something wrong, but bandarlog ruins is kinda unplayable. Your mainbase is literally mined out after 5-6 minutes, but at the same time the map has macro size.
OMG. Voted for Hunger Game because it was one of my favorites before realizing they added force fields in the newest version. Seriously, get that weird shit out.
On March 09 2017 10:16 paralleluniverse wrote: OMG. Voted for Hunger Game because it was one of my favorites before realizing they added force fields in the newest version. Seriously, get that weird shit out.
Now I hope it doesn't win.
what's wrong with weird shit? we'll never know if it'll work or not unless people try it out
I really love the design texture used for Paradise lost. It is one of the most creative, unique and beautiful maps I have ever played in starcraft 2 and I would love for it to be the newest map that is played on the starcraft 2 ladder. It is vibrant and really outgoing it just looks relaxing, It really is a paradise lost.
On March 09 2017 10:16 paralleluniverse wrote: OMG. Voted for Hunger Game because it was one of my favorites before realizing they added force fields in the newest version. Seriously, get that weird shit out.
Now I hope it doesn't win.
what's wrong with weird shit? we'll never know if it'll work or not unless people try it out
It's unintuitive, doesn't make sense, doesn't appear on the minimap and fog of war, messes up pathing, looks strange, and is extremely inelegant.
This isn't even in the same league as changing minerals, because that falls within basic gameplay rules: a 450 mineral patch works exactly how a 450 mineral patch is suppose to work. Infinite forcefields from nowhere are outside of basic gameplay rules.
On March 09 2017 10:16 paralleluniverse wrote: OMG. Voted for Hunger Game because it was one of my favorites before realizing they added force fields in the newest version. Seriously, get that weird shit out.
Now I hope it doesn't win.
what's wrong with weird shit? we'll never know if it'll work or not unless people try it out
It's unintuitive, doesn't make sense, doesn't appear on the minimap and fog of war, messes up pathing, looks strange, and is extremely inelegant.
This isn't even in the same league as changing minerals, because that falls within basic gameplay rules: a 450 mineral patch works exactly how a 450 mineral patch is suppose to work. Infinite forcefields from nowhere are outside of basic gameplay rules.
I pretty much agree; if you're going to add something new it needs to be super super intuitive with no way for things to break or mess up, such as pathing. Two maps in the contest ended up breaking those rules initially, but with the edits I think both maps made some strides in the right direction (on the forcefield map the forcefields are now visible through fog of war, and the island map got rid of the hard to see/hard to target mineral wall) Not sure if the added force fields on Hunger Game are visible through fog, though. Pathing is definitely still an issue with neutral forcefields, though.
imo with stuff like neutral forcefields, it really only takes 1 game on the map to learn where they are and how they work, and that's ok with me.
I really like janky stuff like this, but it should be one of the main features of the map, on Hunger Game it was just patched in willy nilly and willl honestly just serve more as an annoyance than anything. I like neutral Force Fields as a concept.
Voted: Acolyte: Very good looking map and solid design. Paradisia: Big map that will have interesting late game Maxwell Platform: Unique design that looks like it can work. Paradise Lost: Metigated about it but feels like this could be interesting. Sequencer: Unique interesting design that will force player to think alot about positionning.
Voted, chose Ascension To Aiur, Hunger Game, Windwaker, Hwangsan & Bood Boil. I love the idea of having 10 mineral patches but only 1 gaket bases!s in those poc
My 5: Blood Boil Asteroid Barricade Sequencer Ascension to Aiur Eremita
I think most of these maps are unique, don't feel like old maps that we've already played. They are also visually pleasing and appear to offer strategic choices.
I voted for Sequencer, Asteroid Barricade, Paradisia, Keres Passage, and Ascension to Aiur. Hwangsan was number six for me.
Sequencer and Asteroid Barricade are my top picks. Keres Passage is probably imbalanced, but it has a great concept. Paradisia, Ascension to Aiur, and Hwangsan are decent, and I wasn't thrilled with the rest of the maps.
SidiantheBard did it again. Not making the best map, but using mostly white textures on Paradisia, therefore making it incompatible with certain graphic settings (hybrid settings). I tested the other maps for compatibility aswell, Windwaker gets iffy at the unbuildable lakes, paradise lost is too bright on the island bases, but Sidian still takes the cake by a mile.
Ascension to aiur however is beautiful no matter the settings
On March 10 2017 03:33 JWD[9] wrote: 1.BLOOD BOIL 2.ASCENSION TO AIUR
3.KERES PASSAGE 4.HWANGSAN 5.ACOLYTE
SidiantheBard did it again. Not making the best map, but using mostly white textures on Paradisia, therefore making it incompatible with certain graphic settings (hybrid settings). I tested the other maps for compatibility aswell, Windwaker gets iffy at the unbuildable lakes, paradise lost is too bright on the island bases, but Sidian still takes the cake by a mile.
Ascension to aiur however is beautiful no matter the settings
I really love Sequencer and Ascension to Aiur. I should have voted for Acolyte, lol. Whoops. Not really a fan of the maps which have mains that are so exposed towards the opponent.
Basically, all of my map evaluations come down to the question: "how much of a nightmare are Terran drops going to be?" I'm a Zerg and Terran player, but I (somehow) know that Protoss are traumatized by turbovacs too...
Almost all the maps I see:
a) Are too big or have proportions that are not "streamlined?" enough - seriously, big maps are just not meant for SC2 b) Have mains that are overly exposed towards the opponent or a main-nat-third formation that enables a whirlwind of Terran dropping (this is actually most annoying in TvT, oddly enough, but I think all races suffer from it)
I understand that there are categories. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the maps I have seen lately tend to lean too far towards either extreme, rather than go for that sweetspot in the middle, IE a hybrid rushmap & macro map...things of that sort.
Acolyte: ~ A common m/n/t formation with a twist - I really love how this map gives some love to defenders in TvT ~ Getting some Blue Storm vibes with the middle ~ Not too much airspace here, I really appreciate this ~ The non-middle attack paths are fairly well proportioned, Acolyte isn't really that convoluted ~ Gold bases are in a position where they are really only useful for ending games
Ascension to Aiur: ~ I love the return to the Daybreak base arc ~ Some extra airspace here, I suppose it's acceptable ~ Perfect base count for LOTV ~ All of Sidian's maps are beautifully textured (this is no brainer, lol) ~ The middle's dynamic is neutral (sort of?) except for the pods
Asteroid Barricade: ~ Super exposed main can be covered by third in the midgame, but leads to that awkward Terran bunnyhop from main to third that players see so much in ladder games ~ Parade pushes against southern 3rd/4th will be a nightmare in ZvT ~ Not a fan of corner airspace pockets ~ Glad to see a return to a classical tileset
Hwangsan: ~ Not sure how much airspace is actually clipped in game bounds? Hopefully not the full extent ~ Texturing feels a bit irritating, the colors don't quite match ~ Daybreak arc isn't quite as well executed as on AtA ~ Middle feels very convoluted ~ I'm tired of this m/n/t pattern (assuming you don't take your third at the far third) ~ Gap between 3rd and 4th in the Daybreak arc feels too big
Paradisia: ~ Definitely not a fan of the large airspace gaps next to the main, this is way too abusable ~ Texturing is gorgeous ~ Nice effect of the m/n/t is it pushes you forward onto the map without putting you into a too awkward position (not sure how well this works with the airspace, though)
Windwaker: ~ Very well proportioned, love the design of the middle: rather than deign to do too much, it does something simple, well ~ Not a fan of this m/n/t formation ~ Glad to see a well thought approach about helping Zergs hold a 5th base in the late game against parade pushes ~ Sixth base seems hard to hold on to (strange we have to think about this)
...TBC
A return to simple, well blocked out maps that make very efficient use of space and try to hit that "sweetspot" that everyone loves to see in a macro map, while at the same time veering away from all of the "triangular" main-nat-third formations we have been seeing lately (yet pay careful attention to airspace and drop abuse) would be really appreciated in the next iteration of the contest.
I am such a fan of Ascension to Aiur. I really love that sort of arc'd expansion pattern. I want the mapmaking community to put forward more maps along the sort of theme of Sequencer, AtA, and Acolyte in the next year. Taking a step back from funky, crazy technical maps and really trying to perfect the "ideal" LOTV macro map seems like a good goal. I think we're close.
Paradise Lost is definitely a bit too much, though...yet somehow I think we're going to see it in the pool next season...We're going to get very, very tired of carrier games.
On March 10 2017 03:31 Timmay wrote: I voted for Sequencer, Asteroid Barricade, Paradisia, Keres Passage, and Ascension to Aiur. Hwangsan was number six for me.
Sequencer and Asteroid Barricade are my top picks. Keres Passage is probably imbalanced, but it has a great concept. Paradisia, Ascension to Aiur, and Hwangsan are decent, and I wasn't thrilled with the rest of the maps.
Nice, sequencer and asteroid are also my top 2. I voted similarly for the others as well, except I think I had something else instead of ascension. I forget tbh, after sequencer and asteroid I'm fairly meh. Although it's too bad because some of the mapmakers who have finalists that I'm "meh" on had some other maps that were super good that didn't make finalist Opinions, man
Windwaker - Standard. Really nice visuals. Love the tileset. Open space.
Hwangsan - Standard.
Ascension to Aiur - Super standard. Awesome.
Keres Passage - I actually really like the map design. Lots of open space with choke points in the middle. There's even contested bases so it's not just split map. Not a fan of the experimental resource thing.
Hunger Games - My choice of the least terrible map. Don't like rush maps and force fields just seem way too toss favoured. However there's open space and I like 4th. It looks like the patches are far enough away from the edge that it will take lurkers or siege tanks to hit. This is a gimmicky map but I don't think the gimmicks are too big. Hopefully not anyways.
Maps I dislike: Sequencer - destructible rock hell. too many ramps. Would be awesome if topright bottomleft central highground squares were removed. Paradisia - 4th base... Asteroid Barricade - both potential 3rd base so choky Acolyte - My 6th choice. Map is solid but it's a solid pocket expo map. And it's pushed outwards so it's like inviting drops. Bandarlog Ruins - Messing with mineral patches. Blood Boil - Too gimmicky. Eremita - Too many rock towers.
Will Veto 100% Geumgangsan - Let's buff Dark Shrine opening! Edit: Forgot ravagers existed for a moment. But terrans.... Paradise Lost - What. Maxwell Platform - Spawn in middle. Win any game that goes longer than 5 minutes.
Voted. I really hope Blood Boil get's a chance. It's such a good show map aaaaand most tournaments use only the maps from the ladder pool sadly. Also a very big thank you to all map makers, your work I feel is essential to the development and continued existance of SC2. You have given me a lot of appreciated moments (of course alongside with the players, who played on your maps). <3
EPT
