EPT
It's time to announce the winners of TL.net Map Contest #17!
Before we announce the results, we'd like to extend our gratitude to all of the map-makers for their submissions, the judges for selecting the sixteen finalists, Wardi and TLMC tournament participants for trialing the new maps, and Shopify, ESL, and Blizzard for making the TLMC possible.
Mapmakers will receive $200 per map that finished in the top sixteen, and receive additional prize money for maps that finish in the top five as chosen by public vote:
We'd also like to remind the community that the top placing maps in TLMC #17 are not guaranteed to be added to the competitive ladder. ESL and Blizzard will reference TLMC #17 and choose which maps to add at their own discretion.
Key points:
Despite a short rush distance, this map provides a lot of safety early on by restricting movement of armies and allowing players to expand away from the main attack path. Bases are spread horizontally, and become harder to defend the longer the game goes.
Features:
Key features:
A brief analysis of non-standard resource bases:
A Macro map with a bit of a twist! Rich bases in the center are blocked by destructible Xel'Naga towers leaving 3 options:
Features:
Starchild is a standard map with 14 bases, two of which have double rich gasses. There’s also no Overlord pillars at the naturals. Like a typical standard map there are also two third base options, line of sight blockers and some rocks.
Read our finalists post for detailed views of all sixteen maps.
There are no explicit rules in TLMC regarding vote solicitation, and to some extent, it might be seen as an unavoidable side effect of having public voting. However, the abnormal voting patterns in TLMC #17 had a significant impact on the final standings, to the degree that we felt it went against the spirit of TLMC: StarCraft community members voting based on what they think are the best maps.
Thus, we've decided to discard all votes from TL.net accounts that were newly created during the 1-week voting period. While this is not an ideal or perfect solution, it is the most practical and realistic way to reach what we believe is a fair final ranking.
TL.net must take the blame for not having clearer rules regarding vote solicitation, and we apologize for not being better prepared for such a scenario. We will review our public voting system in future contests.
The map-makers who engaged in vote solicitation are deemed to have acted without malice, given the information they had about TLMC and public voting contests in general. TL.net will not penalize them nor disclose their identities. Their map submissions remain valid, and prize money will be awarded according to the adjusted standings in this post.
Before we announce the results, we'd like to extend our gratitude to all of the map-makers for their submissions, the judges for selecting the sixteen finalists, Wardi and TLMC tournament participants for trialing the new maps, and Shopify, ESL, and Blizzard for making the TLMC possible.
Mapmakers will receive $200 per map that finished in the top sixteen, and receive additional prize money for maps that finish in the top five as chosen by public vote:
- 1st place - $800
- 2nd place - $500
- 3rd place - $250
- 4th place - $150
- 5th place- $100
We'd also like to remind the community that the top placing maps in TLMC #17 are not guaranteed to be added to the competitive ladder. ESL and Blizzard will reference TLMC #17 and choose which maps to add at their own discretion.
5th place
"Cryolysis" by HyperONE
Key points:- Every base taken, except the triangle 4th, requires defending only one additional choke point.
- The triangle 3rd base has no forward ramp or choke to defend; rather, it has a ramp on the far side of the natural.
- Two narrow horizontal passages lie near the center. You can only feasibly defend one of them at a time. Position your army wisely.
- Although there are no Overlord pillars at the natural expansion, an Overlord can float out of reach of ground units in the dead space near the vespene geysers.
4th place
"Royal Blood" by MiloOnFire
Despite a short rush distance, this map provides a lot of safety early on by restricting movement of armies and allowing players to expand away from the main attack path. Bases are spread horizontally, and become harder to defend the longer the game goes.Features:
- Short rush distance.
- Two building wall-off at the natural expansion.
- Restricted movement due to destructible rocks.
- A forward aggressive option for an expansion.
- Two gold bases with exposed minerals.
3rd place
"Lazarus Wastes" by HyperONE
Key features:- The central terrain is inspired by Dreamcatcher. Tanks cannot siege behind a cliff such that they can attack either 3rd base, except near the entrances of that base.
- The first 4 bases for each player are standard, but the remaining 3 bases each have 2 extra mineral patches (10 total patches per base).
- To balance the ability to take these bases (especially considering the rate at which different races expand), they are slightly distant, and blocked by debris which must be cleared prior to taking them. Your army becomes a resource which must be used to clear expansions, in addition to the usual attacking and defending.
- If players do not wish to interact with the blocked expansions, they can simply play off the first 4 bases.
A brief analysis of non-standard resource bases:
- Compared to a standard 8-patch base, a 10-patch super-saturated base has no objective downsides.
- Compared to a 6-patch rich mineral base, a 10-patch super-saturated base provides more total resources and boasts ~14% higher income at full saturation. However, the rich base provides ~40% more income per worker and can be saturated more quickly.
2nd place
"Altitude" by CharactR
A Macro map with a bit of a twist! Rich bases in the center are blocked by destructible Xel'Naga towers leaving 3 options:- Destroy the tower to gain access to the rich minerals or to keep it from your opponent.
- Use the watchtower.
- Long distance mine the rich base at the risk of toppling towers.
Features:
- 16 bases total.
- 14 standard bases.
- 2 rich bases (8 patches 1 geyser) that are blocked by Xel'Naga towers.
- Killing the rock towers destroys the Xel'Naga towers, but allows the player to be able to place expansions at the gold bases.
- If you want to keep the Xel'Naga tower and long distance mine from an expansion placed slightly further away there you are able to. However, this allows your opponent can also block mining partially by toppling the 500hp towers.
1st place
"Starchild" by Marras
Starchild is a standard map with 14 bases, two of which have double rich gasses. There’s also no Overlord pillars at the naturals. Like a typical standard map there are also two third base options, line of sight blockers and some rocks.Full Results
Congratulations to all of the winners and finalists! We look forward to seeing your maps on the ladder in the near future.- 1st: Starchild
- 2nd: Altitude
- 3rd: Lazarus Wastes
- 4th: Royal Blood
- 5th: Cryolysis
- 6th: Silver Wall
- 7th: Taitalika
- 8th: Black Engine
- 9th: Babylon
- 10th: Armistice
- 11th: Pink Moon
- 12th: Ancient Cistern
- 13th: Gresvan
- 14th: Dragon Scales
- 15th: Erreholm
- 16th: Electron
Read our finalists post for detailed views of all sixteen maps.
Notice: Voting Adjustments
After examining voting patterns and interviewing the TLMC participants, we discovered that more than one participant engaged in direct or indirect vote solicitation.There are no explicit rules in TLMC regarding vote solicitation, and to some extent, it might be seen as an unavoidable side effect of having public voting. However, the abnormal voting patterns in TLMC #17 had a significant impact on the final standings, to the degree that we felt it went against the spirit of TLMC: StarCraft community members voting based on what they think are the best maps.
Thus, we've decided to discard all votes from TL.net accounts that were newly created during the 1-week voting period. While this is not an ideal or perfect solution, it is the most practical and realistic way to reach what we believe is a fair final ranking.
TL.net must take the blame for not having clearer rules regarding vote solicitation, and we apologize for not being better prepared for such a scenario. We will review our public voting system in future contests.
The map-makers who engaged in vote solicitation are deemed to have acted without malice, given the information they had about TLMC and public voting contests in general. TL.net will not penalize them nor disclose their identities. Their map submissions remain valid, and prize money will be awarded according to the adjusted standings in this post.
