automatch/ladder map pool

[Mad`Mozart]

huh.... isnt selkie kinda too much for 1v1?

[Zock]

How have you gone about reviewing new maps for ladder?

Reading the thread for feedback and else looking around maps in the vault and maps i know that were not overplayed but not incredible unpopular either. My biggest criteria is that they add as much variety as possible to the pool, secondary are looks, general gameplay and possibilities, i try to be unbaised (i'm not really playing ladder anymore anyway, so that helps.) but some personal preference is probably impossible to rule out, but generally i try to pick maps that have nice gameplay over maps i'd like to play myself, there are a few examples of maps that i'd like to play but i wouldn't put them in the pool and opposite.

huh.... isnt selkie kinda too much for 1v1?

Most 20x20 maps are a bit much, this one is more extreme then others, its true, but having such a map once in a while should be ok imo, if too many people disagree this can be the last one.

We had similar maps before too like flooded tabula, and another map i don't remember the name of

It's adding varity at least, and is only one out of 15.

[Mad`Mozart]

Well other 20km maps are more compact and actually suitable for 1v1s, while this has more mexes and especially more distance. I havent played a 1v1 game there yet but i can imagine how with current balance it will go (surprise RAS + t3 air rush before you can deal any real damage). Still wanted to see some replays, too bad noone plays ladder now

[theeggroll]

Wow all the long term ones are insanely overplayed and super boring, might as well just keep them forever

[Sir Prize]

Someone asked me to do feedback:
- save Palms, total classic, can be played heaps of different ways.
- save Badlands cos while it can be a boring game between two ecowhores, that's the same for every map, rushing is actually REALLY effective as well (ok also partly cos I am, or used to be, pretty good there).
- save Syrtis, another classic, can also be won with a rush or with eco, and in my opinion the fact that everyone knows how to play it is a good thing - means you usually don't have a game decided by BO in 5 minutes. I know others want it out for exactly that reason, yay for opinions.
- Twin Rivers and Vya are the hardest to do anything other then an eco-race on, so probably should go, even thought I quite like both (I like pretty much the whole pool atm).
- one more 5x5 in the overall pool, possibly at the expense of a 20k map as there's actually a lot of interesting 5k maps out there worth trying but not so much 20k ones for 1v1. I'm going to suggest Esgaroth Ruins specifically.
- bring back Regor.

[Turinturambar]

out:
-Twin Rivers, because it has a very static, ecoheavy meta with little else (without taking a huge risk) possible and about 0 strategy involved. walls op.
-vya, plays same as rivers with the only difference that the heavy reclaim makes it about who can reclaim and tech better. walls op.
-roanoke, its an even worse ecofaest than rivers since the islands are so small that only some raiding is possible and land is,exept for over useless.
maybe out:
-coblat valley/theta, i dont like 5x5 so some one who likes 5x5 should say which 5x5 maps are too overplayed/boring and should be replaced
-sytris major, has still very static gameplay due to its chokepoints and is (in my mind) just too dependend on the midreclaim. After losing that there is little one can do to come back.
in:
-(a "new" 5x5 map?)
-desert planet 2, since there is not too much reclaim and there are not too many and nicely spread out mexes
-forbidden pass
-tripple T, looks good, i didnt play it much though so pls some who did comment if its a nice map
-emarald crater, because it is a 20x0 landmap without enormous amounts of mexes and reclaim, making t1 more effective and somewhat preventing ras+t3 decided games
(-point of reach/selkie (at least land can do sth on selkie))-are still far more interesting than roanoke
maps that should stay in the pool:
-eots, because it requires a good ecobalance (its very BO dependend so i guess is somewhat up for debate)
-loki, i cant think of a map that could replace it well
-palms, its very raidheavy and quite repetetive but heavy raiding is still way more fun than heavy ecoing

pls at least one landheavy 20x20 map-maybe with somewhat close spawns to make spam neccecary. (i dont count locket as landheavy because raiding is near impossible and it just ends up in spam vs spam+pds)

[NapSpan]

There are not 20x20 heavy land maps, by the time your T1 armies are reaching my base i have T2 PDs, T2 tanks and good air because ecoing instead of spamming T1.
Ecoing maps are not so bad, is part of the game and you can take advantage of it, if your enemy is just ecoing, make drops in him base.

[Inquisitor]

One question, does the 20x20 maps have an increased chance of being selected? It seems ~50% of the maps I get when searching ladder are 20x20s. Its really annoying because between the 20x20 (I quit those, i dont like them), getting matched against 0 rated and games stuck in the connection screen, playing ladder is a pain in the ass.

[Hawkei]

There are not 20x20 heavy land maps, by the time your T1 armies are reaching my base i have T2 PDs, T2 tanks and good air because ecoing instead of spamming T1.
Ecoing maps are not so bad, is part of the game and you can take advantage of it, if your enemy is just ecoing, make drops in him base.

Emerald Crater doesn't play out this way. Because of the low reclaim, and far flung mex concentrations, T1 plays a vial role. Opening with T2 on this map is really bad, because the T1 can go everywhere. This is one of those maps where the T1 bot comes into it own. Because, of it's speed, I can have raiding bands of LAB all over you. By the time you got T2 land out, I've already killed all your expanding engineers, and any isolated groups of units. Follow this up with some T1 and then T2 air attacks, and this is pretty much your end. Rushing T2 land on that map is a really bad choice my friend.

[Zock]

New pool (long term rotation, half of the pool gets replaced):

(Changes will apply once the maps are uploaded to the server)

5×5
Theta Passage
Ambush Pass
Moonlight Pass
Moonlight

10×10
Badlands
Loki
Syrtis Major
Eye of the Storm
Open Palms
Forbidden Pass
Desert Planet II
Regor VI Highlands
Haven Reef

20×20
Roanoke Abyss
Emerald Crater
Seraphim Glaciers


New rotation system:

-No more short/long term rotations
-(about) every month, the oldest maps in the pool will be replaced. Three 10x10, two 5x5 and one 20x20.
-The frequency and number of replacing maps might be adjusted if it is too fast.