EPT
The judging is complete and the sixteen finalist maps for Team Liquid Map Contest #16 have been determined!
Voting will be open from February 2nd to February 8th. Also make sure to check out the TLMC Tournament hosted by Wardi, where progamers will test out the sixteen finalist maps. The TLMC tournament will run throughout the voting period.
Some notes as we unveil the maps:
This map has four high ground expansions with respectable chokepoints, but securing a fifth and a sixth base will pose a challenge to players. Destroying the rocks will be crucial for mobile armies to gain control over the middle part of the map.
Some distinctive features of the map:
Control the three bridges in the middle or go a long way around the sides through bushes.
Features:
This is a very standard map. Expansions are relatively easy to secure, as each of them except for the forward low ground base only adds one additional choke to defend. The direct route passes through the smallest chokes, while the outer paths are wider.
Features:
Standard Map with a direct lowground path to the opponent partially obscured by debris and line of sight blockers which is surrounded by high ground areas. Bases are not difficult to take and hold but have some air space to be harassed from.
Features: No unusual features, Overlord pillar at the natural can't see gases and natural ramp only barely. Comfortable sized reaper ledge and slightly more airspace around the main.
A map with 8 bases per player, furthest expansion have one rich vespene geyser. There's a small mineral wall between forward base and triangle 3rd to provide optional pathway.
Features:
A diagonal symetry battlefield with a direct path from natural to natural. Winding paths break up expansions and attack routes as the game progresses.
Description: This map is small and has a short rush distance. To help compensate, the direct path to your opponent passes along three narrow bridges that the defender can use to help hold off early attacks. Pairs of rocks can be destroyed to open up wider paths later in the game, but doing so will also reduce the attack distance to your own expansions.
Features
Two protoss factions are cohabiting in this small rush map. A stream divides the map in two but there are 3 ford passages and 2 bridges that let players move across it.
Features:
The direct path between the two players is overlooked by two Xel'Naga towers. Controlling both these towers is difficult so the gameplay around these areas is dynamic.
Two watchtowers oversee the main path. It is not possible to control both towers at the same time.
Main and natural are exposed to air harrass, but the initial 4 bases are easy to secure, with a winding path to the opponent through the lowground, that can be shortened by destroying rocks. On the sides there are watchtower above a rich gas base, that help against proxy tactics, but don't cover too much of the map.
Rocks break up the more direct paths on a map that allows for a variety of expansion patterns. Technological growth has finally become uncontrollable and irreversible.
Moondance is a map with a lot of bases but a short rush distance. A pocket third offers players a safe expansion but it has less mineral nodes than a regular base and only one gas geyser
Features: 9 bases per player, pocket base has 6 mineral nodes and one gas, other bases are standard. Rush distance is short. There are rocks on some of the ramps and los blockers on the lowground areas. No fancy features.
While early bases are easy to take, it will get considerably more difficult to take further bases, The Rocks in the middle block a quick path across.
Features: 2 large rocks near the center block pathways with acelleration zones. Once destroyed the path to the other side of the map is quicker. reaper ledge(s) and Overlord pillar allow good but not too easy scouting. This way early game is safe, but the midgame gets accelerated.
Description: There was a thriving megalopolis here, before the Dominion decided to annihilate it.
This map has a major twist: A second entrance to the starting base can be opened by mining the triangle third base. The triangle third base has two additional mineral fields with a value of
Features:
-Aftermath is a mixed up map you might want to play because it doesn't have certain rules on how to set up the third.
Features:
Stargazers offers the opportunity to either play standard games or make things a bit more spicy by opening up the path through the pocket natural.
Features:
Public voting via TL.net determines the final rankings in TLMC #16. All sixteen finalists, as selected by the judges, receive $200 per winning entry. The top five entrants, as determined by public vote, will be awarded additional winnings as follows:
Maps that place high in TLMC #16 are not guaranteed to be added to the competitive ladder. ESL and Blizzard will reference TLMC #16 and other map-making competitions, and choose which maps to add at their own discretion.
Prize money has been provided by Shopify and ESL, and we thank them for their support of the map making community.
Voting is open for
Voting will be open from February 2nd to February 8th. Also make sure to check out the TLMC Tournament hosted by Wardi, where progamers will test out the sixteen finalist maps. The TLMC tournament will run throughout the voting period.
Some notes as we unveil the maps:
- All maps are accompanied by comments from the map-maker.
- The maps are listed in random order and do not reflect their score in judge voting.
- First, three maps were selected per category, Then, four "judges picks" selections were given to the remaining maps with the highest scores.
Standard
+3 Judges' picks
- Guidelines: Medium sized map. Players tend to have more flexibility on these maps to open with a wider variety of strategies and/or builds.
- Average rush distance (main ramp to main ramp): 33-38 seconds. (Note: Not a hard restriction. Could be more or less)
- Playable map dimensions guidelines (not full map dimensions): Map playable area should be approximately between 15,000 and 17,000. (Note: Not a hard restriction. Could be more or less)
Cosmic Sapphire
By: MiloOnFire
This map has four high ground expansions with respectable chokepoints, but securing a fifth and a sixth base will pose a challenge to players. Destroying the rocks will be crucial for mobile armies to gain control over the middle part of the map.Some distinctive features of the map:
- Safe and secure four initial expansion, but very vulnerable 5th and a 6th base.
- Gold Base in the corner.
- Destroying rocks in front of the natural expansions opens a straight path to the enemy.
- Xel'Naga spots the army heading towards the triangle 3rd.
Tropical Sacrifice
By: Legan
Control the three bridges in the middle or go a long way around the sides through bushes.Features:
- Three bridges at the middle are chokey but give direct attack paths between two sides. Controlling them forces the enemy to use a longer route.
- There are LOS blockers in two more open areas to break vision.
- There are two rows of LOS blockers on the direct low ground path to base at 10/4 o’clock.
- There are chuke rocks on the ramp straight in front of the linear third bas. Removing them opens a more direct attack path to the base from the side.
- There are 6x6 rocks on the ramp in front of the triangular third base. They increase the defensiveness of the base.
Sunforge
By: -NegativeZero-
This is a very standard map. Expansions are relatively easy to secure, as each of them except for the forward low ground base only adds one additional choke to defend. The direct route passes through the smallest chokes, while the outer paths are wider.Features:
- Standard expansion layout with easy to defend bases
- Three narrow chokes along the rush path, surrounded by more open areas
Lost Facility
By: Skypirinha1
Standard Map with a direct lowground path to the opponent partially obscured by debris and line of sight blockers which is surrounded by high ground areas. Bases are not difficult to take and hold but have some air space to be harassed from.Features: No unusual features, Overlord pillar at the natural can't see gases and natural ramp only barely. Comfortable sized reaper ledge and slightly more airspace around the main.
Rejuvenation
By: volumin
A map with 8 bases per player, furthest expansion have one rich vespene geyser. There's a small mineral wall between forward base and triangle 3rd to provide optional pathway.Features:
- forward base very close to the natural, but with vulnerable mineral line
- small mineral wall between forward base and triangle 3rd to provide optional pathway, additionally at forward base one mineral node is moved to let bigger units pass
- Xel'Naga Tower between forward and rich vespene bases hidden behind LOS blockers
Nemesis
By: themusic246
A diagonal symetry battlefield with a direct path from natural to natural. Winding paths break up expansions and attack routes as the game progresses.Rush
- Guidelines: Map favors early aggression and offensive play.
- Average rush distance (main ramp to main ramp): 33 seconds or less. (Note: Not a hard restriction. Could be more or less)
- Playable map dimensions guidelines (not full map dimensions): Map playable area should be approximately between 14,000 and 16,000. (Note: Not a hard restriction. Could be more or less)
Frost Giant
By: -NegativeZero-
Description: This map is small and has a short rush distance. To help compensate, the direct path to your opponent passes along three narrow bridges that the defender can use to help hold off early attacks. Pairs of rocks can be destroyed to open up wider paths later in the game, but doing so will also reduce the attack distance to your own expansions.Features
- Small map size, low base count
- Narrow bridges along direct attack path
- Rocks must be destroyed to open late-game attack routes.
Waterfall
By: Superouman
Two protoss factions are cohabiting in this small rush map. A stream divides the map in two but there are 3 ford passages and 2 bridges that let players move across it.Features:
- While being a small rush map, the first few expansions are reasonably defendable.
- During the lategame, because there are only 6.5 bases per player, both player will expand close to each other.
- For the decoration, there is a small stream that runs across the map and ends with a nice waterfall. There are 3 ford passages and two transparent bridges over the stream where units can move across.
Cryogenian
By: Superouman
The direct path between the two players is overlooked by two Xel'Naga towers. Controlling both these towers is difficult so the gameplay around these areas is dynamic.Two watchtowers oversee the main path. It is not possible to control both towers at the same time.
Macro
+1 Judges' pick
- Guidelines: A map that favors defensive play and encourages players to reach end game unit compositions.
- Average rush distance (main ramp to main ramp): 38-43 seconds. (Note: Not a hard restriction. Could be more or less)
- Playable map dimensions (not full map dimensions): Map playable area should be approximately between 16,000 and 18,000. (Note: Not a hard restriction. Could be more or less)
Data-C
By: KillerSmileMain and natural are exposed to air harrass, but the initial 4 bases are easy to secure, with a winding path to the opponent through the lowground, that can be shortened by destroying rocks. On the sides there are watchtower above a rich gas base, that help against proxy tactics, but don't cover too much of the map.Singularity
By: themusic246
Rocks break up the more direct paths on a map that allows for a variety of expansion patterns. Technological growth has finally become uncontrollable and irreversible.Moondance
By: Marras
Moondance is a map with a lot of bases but a short rush distance. A pocket third offers players a safe expansion but it has less mineral nodes than a regular base and only one gas geyserFeatures: 9 bases per player, pocket base has 6 mineral nodes and one gas, other bases are standard. Rush distance is short. There are rocks on some of the ramps and los blockers on the lowground areas. No fancy features.
Emerald Princess
By: Skypirinha1
While early bases are easy to take, it will get considerably more difficult to take further bases, The Rocks in the middle block a quick path across.Features: 2 large rocks near the center block pathways with acelleration zones. Once destroyed the path to the other side of the map is quicker. reaper ledge(s) and Overlord pillar allow good but not too easy scouting. This way early game is safe, but the midgame gets accelerated.
Freestyle
- Guidelines: Maps in this category explore new ideas for how StarCraft II can be played. This category is intended for unorthodox, outside-the-box maps.
- Examples of features that might be included in this category:
- Heavy or atypical usage of backdoor entrances with Mineral Walls/Reduced Mineral Patches.
- Usage of Vespene Geysers as potential gates.
- Inhibitor and Accelerator Zones.
- Non-standard numbers of Mineral nodes or Vespene geysers at bases (Restriction: Values of each individual resource node cannot be adjusted)
- Other strongly non-standard map designs.
- Heavy or atypical usage of backdoor entrances with Mineral Walls/Reduced Mineral Patches.
- Playable map dimensions guidelines (not full map dimensions): Map playable area should be approximately between 14,000 and 18,000. (Note: Not a hard restriction)
Centuries Later
By: Superouman
Description: There was a thriving megalopolis here, before the Dominion decided to annihilate it.This map has a major twist: A second entrance to the starting base can be opened by mining the triangle third base. The triangle third base has two additional mineral fields with a value of
Features:
- The main base has a backdoor that is blocked by the minerals of the triangle third
- The triangle third has 2 additional mineral fields that have a value of 200.
Aftermath
By: depressed1
-Aftermath is a mixed up map you might want to play because it doesn't have certain rules on how to set up the third.Features:
- 4 levels
- Golden base
- Low-ground base with large acceleration zone
- A Mineral line like a front line to separate players from each other
- Definitely (possibly) a way not to take the triangle third and take the bottom corner base (or golden base)
- The rocks were used to organize the passage through the gold. Kinda neat.
Stargazers
By: Marras
Stargazers offers the opportunity to either play standard games or make things a bit more spicy by opening up the path through the pocket natural.Features:
- There are 12 blue maps in total plus one gold base at the 6 o'clock position
- The pocket naturals have a standard amount of minerals and gas but the base is blocked by two mineral nodes with the value of 10 per each
- The minerals blocking the ramp leading from the pocket natural have a value of 40 each making opening up that path a big commitment if done by the attacker
- Line of sight blockers are situated in the middle area and the bottom of the map
- The Xelnaga Tower at the 12 o'clock position can see a little bit of the outermost parts of the pocket natural mineral lines.
Voting
TLMC uses a voting system where voters assign points to their top five maps in order of preference. Please follow these instructions when voting:- You may only vote for a total of FIVE (5) maps.
- Among your top five maps picks, assign your points/votes as follows:
- Highest rated map: 5 points
- Second highest rated map: 4 points
- Third highest rated map: 3 points
- Fourth highest rated map: 2 points
- Fifth highest rated map: 1 point
- Highest rated map: 5 points
- You may only assign each specific point value once (only one map can be awarded 5 points, etc).
Vote Now!
Public voting via TL.net determines the final rankings in TLMC #16. All sixteen finalists, as selected by the judges, receive $200 per winning entry. The top five entrants, as determined by public vote, will be awarded additional winnings as follows:
First - $800
Second - $500
Third - $250
Fourth - $150
Fifth - $100
Second - $500
Third - $250
Fourth - $150
Fifth - $100
Maps that place high in TLMC #16 are not guaranteed to be added to the competitive ladder. ESL and Blizzard will reference TLMC #16 and other map-making competitions, and choose which maps to add at their own discretion.
Prize money has been provided by Shopify and ESL, and we thank them for their support of the map making community.
Voting is open for
