Teamliquid Map Contest #9 Voting Text by TL.net ESPORTS Graphics by Shiroiusagi







The images you see on this page are those of the pre-iteration maps.



Hover over the thumbnail for the images of these maps after iteration.



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. 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 TLMC9.



FINALISTS



Macro Maps



Backwater | AVEX

Backwater was my last attempt into creating a 'pocket-third' concept, and I think the games we had showed that it works out well. I asked around and it seems that the ease of scouting this base as well as the middle ground of harassing it seems to work out in most of the matchups, even in ZvZ. The map is easy to read, the linear expansion pattern and open field makes for surprisingly interesting engagements outside of the base locations rather than on the base itself. This map is a good bet to vote on if you are fan of three-base games that aren't necessarily turtle-y like Acolyte.



Changelog:

Backdoor third slightly moved and is no longer siegeable from the low ground



Fixed a reaper cliff being pathed over by the base hugging the main.



Re-done middle ground textures to be more legible.



Added water on the lowest ground, 'cause why not.



Made some non-pathable areas more clear.



Blackpink | AVEX Blackpink was a strong inspiration for me as a music group, and happens to be a part of my motivation to continue mapping, and I feel like the map aptly named Blackpink is showing that my progress as a mapper is going strong. During the contest it showed some aggressive games, but showed itself as having ample room for awesome macro games as we saw between ByuN and Serral. This is a safe contender for a solid macro map where you can play the way you want on the ladder. If you like that, I think you should spend one of your votes with it.



Changelog:

Main adjusted, mineral line tucked horizontally by one cell relative to their spawn. Weird square on the side removed.



Re-designed triangular third base, removed pillar and opened the area up, moved the 'behind' ramp to be more direct, rocks added to the most direct path's ramp. Mineral line made diagonal Rock tower removed.



Vertical third rock tower removed.



Many of the main pathways have been expanded and widened for more open engagements.



Many of the lit-up decals and lights were toned back a little.



Defender's Resort | Youngrustler Defender's Resort in the map tournament had very different 3rd bases taken which was very interesting to see what players would prefer in their 3rd choice. The map itself could end up being a unique twist to standard maps with the base set up on the map. Final comment who doesn't like beach maps!



Changelog:

Reduced main base sizes slightly to lower open space.



Fixed mineral patches that were off.



Added 6x6 rocks for the ramps leading to the middle 3rd bases.



NEO TROPICANA | IeZaeL Lately there's been a lack of 4p maps in the ladder. Tropicana is a good choice, providing a safe layout with a few twists and a striking color palette, sure to be well liked by the majority of the players.



Changelog:

Siege tanks will no longer be able to hit the mineral lines of the main.



Main vespene geysers moved to the outer side to allow zerg slightly easier scouting.



Natural is now wallable with 3x gateway or 2x gateway+pylon+zealot



Widened the lowground areas around the 3/9oclock bases



Removed Line of Sight blockers in the middle.



Reworked the rock clusters in the middle. Now the Xel'naga towers are takeable right from the start, while players still need to destroy the adjacent rocks to open up the path.



Sky Garden | NewSunshine The features of the map are simultaneously standard and familiar, but combined into a map like we haven't yet seen in Legacy of the Void. This map's strong point is one that no other finalist can share - 3 different possible spawn positions between you and your opponent. The changes made have been simple, and seek to address the power of the gold bases, and possible air-based openings in close spawns. The result should be a relatively balanced map, with a style we haven't seen since Wings of Liberty, with maps such as Shattered Temple and Metalopolis, that manages to offer an interesting variety in possible games.



Changelog:

No-fly zones between upper-right/lower-left main bases expanded.



Rock towers on the ramps to the high ground gold bases removed.



A single destructible debris added to the gold bases, blocking them from being taken early.



Low ground gold bases changed into normal blue bases.



Standard Maps

Acid Plant | nesta-kun I made the map play out pretty much as standard as possible, it does get a little aggressive in the later stages of the midgame due to the destructible debris opening up a very direct path, but you can expand away from that area too. The games we saw on it in the tournament were really solid and we saw a ton of different styles being viable - And for that reason I have decided only to make aesthetic improvements to the map. Vote for Acid Plant if you like a solid map with room for variety.



Changelog:

Scaled down and changed some doodads to avoid air units flying through them.



Changed the playable boundaries to 148x136 down from 152x136 to eliminate dead air space around the edges.



Removed some visual effects on top of the low ground geysers.



Made a few aesthetic touch ups. (Mainly doodads)



EASTWATCH | IeZaeL Play the game the way you want, be it macro or rush or standard, with the various rock towers providing exciting ways to shape the gameplay in never-seen-before ways. Now with even more meaningful choices due to the changes made during the iteration phase.



Changelog:

Moved back the vertical third by two squares;



Removed two set of rocks;



Moved the vertical third's rock tower a little bit closer to the mineral lines;



Added a base at 10/16 o'clock;



Widened a few paths in the middle areas;



Added reaper path into the main.



Grime | Fatam "Grime" is a macro-friendly map that favors good positional play. Give Grime a vote if you enjoy those things!



Changelog:

Removed rocks from ramp inbetween nat and third



Added overlord spot near natural



Moved the ramp in front of the third forward



Moved the 12/6 o'clock bases slightly closer to your nat/third area



Slightly increased size of overlord spot inbetween nat and third



Moved main mineral line 1 square closer to nat



Minor aesthetics adjustments



CATALYST | NegativeZero This map is a composite of some of my best standard map ideas dating back to HotS. The flexible expansion layout allows you to tailor your expansion pattern to your own play style, and the combination of chokes and high grounds create a variety of interesting attack paths and defensive positions. Changes from the original mainly help fix a couple potentially abusable areas around the 3rd - widening a chokey area along the high ground attack path, and reducing the vulnerability of the path between the nat and 3rd to tanks on the low ground.



Changelog:

Widened the area outside the 3rd



Moved center bases slightly inwards



Slightly enlarged mains



Minor decorative changes



Octane | Meavis During the tournament this map displayed a lot of early aggressive builds. This was true for most maps, but Octane displayed particularly many compared to other standard maps. After further discussion, the suspected cause for players opting for more aggressive builds is the nature of the map putting emphasis on difficult yet straightforward expanding. Changes made are mostly about easier expanding, and aesthetics. With this, Octane will display more standardized gameplay as the map is supposed to function.



Changelog:

Moved clockwise third base 2 tiles closer to the natural



One of the entry points to the clockwise 3rd had it's size reduced by 2 tiles



Lowered some doodads blocking vision of air units



Vounterclockwise 3rd and clockwise 4th had their ramps adjusted to 2 size



Reworked some large objects into more detailed artwork



Lighting changed to be slightly brighter



Recoloured edges of pathable area to be more in line with the maps colour palette



Rush Maps

ABIOGENESIS | NegativeZero Abiogenesis is a rush map which, despite its small size, is also designed to be capable of standard play. The short rush distance allows for aggressive builds, but the narrow forward chokes and tucked-away 3rd give an edge to the defender. Changes from the original serve to improve large army movement by opening up the map slightly in key central areas, and to give the defender an extra tool to help hold off early attacks.



Changelog:

Widened 4 more centrally-located ramps from 3 to 4



Narrowed ramps leading counterclockwise from the nat from 3 to 2, and added collapsible rocks to block them



BATTLE ON THE BOARDWALK | SidianTheBard Battle on the Boardwalk is an early game aggressive map that can turn into end game macro games fairly easily if aggression is held off. Vote for the map because it's a smaller map that does offer that type of aggression early which has been lacking in many of the maps we've recently have had yet can also easily transition to longer games. The backdoor boardwalk leading to the in-base gold is new and the many tight choked off rush paths can provide interesting and dynamic gameplay. Nothing was changed during the iteration phase.



Changelog:

No changes



GOD'S GARDEN | IeZaeL A map truly worthy of the favour of the Gods! Attack your enemy early using the central pathway, yet be careful, for your opponent has ways to shut you down. Explore the map, don't lose yourself amidst the plethora of fruits, and you shall prevail.



Changelog:

Every ramp has been brought back to standard 45° degrees



Streamlined and simplified the central pathway pathing.



Lots of very small changes in the cliffs structure and shape.



Swapped a few geysers position.



New Maps

ANOMALY | NegativeZero This map is an anomaly in the SC2 meta. Will it end up a turtlefest, or will it produce interesting, strategic, positional games? How will each race adapt to the late-game lack of mobility? The best way to find out is to vote for it...



Changelog:

Altered resource placement at the nat to make scouting the geysers easier.



ARCH OF JANUS | Enekh Changelog:

Changed type of rock beside to mainbase for to increase the backyard use. (1500hp -> 400hp)



Changed type of Natural's mineral for to increase the backyard use. (front yard 6 Gold Mineral -> 8 Mineral)

(backyard 8 Mineral -> 8 Gold Mineral)



NEON VIOLET SQUARE | RQM Neon Violet was a highly experimental map. It had many extreme features, not just one or two. Of course, it have received a lot of feedback during the tournament phase. Considering the comments, I picked acceptable ones out from those features. Now squares are only on the middle. As inevitable block lines were removed, players can bypass blocks and choose more routes than before. Safer main, more geysers on pocket base and new gold base let players to take different choices. Hence, the map now gives more possibilities. My attempt was to relax its forced gameplays. I hope you enjoy this map which now allows various aspects.



Changelog:

Increased size of the main base.



Shifted mineral line and vespene of main to enable defenses.



Pocket third has now 4M+2G.



Removed all 1x1 block lines on pocket third, middle and high ground bases. Block matrices still exist.



Reduced the size of high ground pods in front of bases on 8:30 and 2:30. LoS blockers were added instead.



Four 6x6 rocks on middle were replaced with two giant rocks. Removed one of two slivers of high ground next to them.



Low ground bases in 11:30 and 5:30 are now gold bases. Reduced the high grounds above them.



Darkened 1x1 block doodads and fogs. Brightened the lighting.



Decoration fixes.



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.



The authors of all sixteen finalists have already earned $100 each for their hard work just for placing as a finalist. But in addition,the top five maps will be awarded with additional cash prizes - all provided by Blizzard:



First - $500

Second - $250

Third - $125

Fourth - $75

Fifth - $50



Vote!

This season, we'll be doing voting slightly differently. Instead of just selecting your favorite five maps, we'll be asking you to order/rank them as well. Your favorite map will receive 5 points, your second favorite map will receive 4 points, etc... Thus, the map that has the most points, not the most votes at the end of voting will win TLMC9.



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, Oct 06 6:59am GMT (GMT+00:00) to cast your votes for your favorite TLMC maps, after which the winners will be announced.



Click here to vote



Voting closes in .

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.The authors of all sixteen finalists have already earned $100 each for their hard work just for placing as a finalist. But in addition,the top five maps will be awarded with additional cash prizes - all provided by Blizzard:This season, we'll be doing voting slightly differently. Instead of just selecting your favorite five maps, we'll be asking you to order/rank them as well. Your favorite map will receive 5 points, your second favorite map will receive 4 points, etc... Thus, the map that has the most points, not the most votes at the end of voting will win TLMC9.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 untilto cast your votes for your favorite TLMC maps, after which the winners will be announced.Voting closes in