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Lately there has been a burst of discussion on the topic of 'balance', and not without cause. The top players of recent tournaments have been predominantly Terran, giving us spectators many unpopular Terran vs Terran matches. While the outcries of “IMBA!” and “OP!” have been blessedly quieter than those of yesteryear, doubts regarding an even playing field have arisen. In a reasonable, logical manner (for the most part) that does our community justice, I would note. However, thousands strong, we continue to fall back on the old “Blizzard, fix it!” mantra when the answer is right in front of us, its application swift and easy. From an entertainment standpoint spectators are the best critics, and in eSports, the voice of our community is heard.
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One of the things lost in the transition between StarCraft: Brood War and StarCraft 2 is the utterly crucial role of maps in both balancing the game and making StarCraft an eSport. In Brood War, maps are the topic of debate, speculation, gossip and news. Proleague, the year-long GSTL of Brood War, is constantly switching out old maps and keeping tournaments fresh. Most pertinently, a new set of maps gives rise to new strategies, tactics and exciting challenges for pros. Will the current TvP builds still be viable once X map is replaced? And how will Protoss deal with Mutalisk harass? These are the kinds of questions that fans ask, and even the pros weigh in. The Brood War Protoss player Bisu is infamous for discrediting maps, but also for being outspoken about their critical role in the balance of the game. In a recent, exclusive interview with the E-Sports superstar, the interviewer asked for Bisu's thoughts on the maps currently being tested for the upcoming season. Bisu responded that the maps might prove to be a serious hindrance to his tournament performance and prevent him from taking first place in the OSL, his progaming dream. The nice thing about the Brood War scene, however, is that while awful maps do slip into professional play, they are immediately treated as such and purged.
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If a StarCraft player is a painter, the map he plays on is his canvas. As both a Brood War and StarCraft 2 fan, the vocalization of subtle, detailed map concerns is both refreshing in the Brood War community and grimly absent from the StarCraft 2 limelight. It took months of horrible games before we managed to organize, beat off and kill the monster that was Steppes of War. It is embarrassing that it took so long for such a map to be cut from the professional scene. Yet even still we have Blizzard maps, let alone remnants of Beta, at the forefront of our largest tournaments. Why we, who had the long history of Brood War to refer to, decided to use the default Blizzard maps for money tournaments with talented players, is unfathomable. But we have learned, and will not repeat mistakes of the past as tournaments become more adept at creating exciting, balanced maps and start a trend towards map customization.
More than any other StarCraft 2 organization, the GSL has pioneered the use of custom maps in professional play. Blistering Sands and Desert Oasis gave way to maps like Tal'Darim Altar and Crevasse, and the future looked a little brighter. While we currently have a number of fairly exciting, balanced maps, despite their success, the longer we keep them around the staler they and the eSports scene becomes. As the spectators and players in the eSports community it is up to use to have the standards and acumen to both intelligently discern this problem and create a solution. Blizzard has given us an incredibly powerful resource to manifest the ridges, chokes and natural expansions that we wish we could see in tournament play. All we have to do is put it to work.
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The obstacles new maps face are daunting. For obvious reasons the pros won't play anything outside of ladder and the most major tournaments. As professionals, nothing less is expected, though more vocal opinions from them on the current map selection would be most welcomed and would play a large role in revolutionizing the role of maps in tournaments and balance management. ESports is a risky business and without being pressured there is little justification for tournament organizers to risk a new map pool that could ruin their reputation and spurn traffic generating players. Yet, when changes are made, the effect can be astounding. The difference between Terminus SE and Terminus RE, for example, is a 59% win-rate versus a 49% win-rate in ZvP.
Blizzard defers to us, the eSports community, to set the standards and manage these types of concerns. If you are tired of watching the same build over and over again, or all-ins working every time in such-and-such positions, rather than simply post about the balance of the game, take into consideration the map pool and think of how a different terrain could manipulate the viability of strategies. Blizzard's map pool has been a phenomenal success on ladder. As they boasted at Blizzcon, there is nearly a 50-50 win-loss ratio between races across the board. But as Dustin Browder said in a recent interview with Reddit, “the pros are so much above the ladder that it's ridiculous.” As any StarCraft 2 eSport fan knows, there is not a 50-50 ratio in the professional echelon, and the maps that might be balanced for the general population can be exploited by professionals and limit rather than facilitate their abilities and the games that we want to see.
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Brood War has the luxury of KeSPA forcing new maps to be both tested by the best players and cyclically implemented into the scene. StarCraft 2 does not have a KeSPA. We do not have this luxury. Right now StarCraft 2 eSports is like the Wild West, with tournaments and organizations competing for players, spectators and staff and only now beginning to stabilize. The tweaks that the GSL made for their November tournament, like modifying their own maps, creating new ones and acting on judgements against Blizzard map inventions, like gold minerals, is one of the best things they could be doing right now. Hopefully, others like MLG will follow suite and further push pros to prepare for custom maps. But herein lies another problem.
A different map pool for every major tournament would be detrimental as all but the most dedicated spectators would be lost and the pros would be less than accustomed to the intricacies of each terrain, frustrated with having to practice on a unique set of maps for a single tournament. Rather than having a confusing and disjointed map pool, ideally, major tournaments like MLG and GSL, already working in close collaboration, will create a system for creating and implementing maps that can be adopted by all tournaments. With such a system in place a 'standard' map pool for professional StarCraft 2 could be created and a cycle of replacement accepted.
Tournaments, spectators and players would all benefit from new, custom maps tailored for eSports being cycled into the scene throughout the season. Having experienced the wide range of diversity and interest that new maps bring to Brood War and the spectator value of Tal'Darim Altar over Steppes of War, the credence that new eSports maps would bring to the scene is painfully obvious. Entertainment value aside, if a truly severe balance issue did arise, the map pool could be adjusted to soften the problem while waiting for a patch from Blizzard, thus decreasing our deus ex machina dependence. A trend towards custom maps has already begun and is growing stronger, but for it to continue and receive the attention it deserves you the spectator need to voice an opinion. Start caring about maps, because they can make the difference between a boring mirror-fest of all-ins and the most epic tournament you've ever seen.
All map statistics taken from the StarCraft 2 International Map Index for the larger number of games played and number of players involved.
