FFA Masters League

General => News => Topic started by: FML|Mage on August 15, 2013, 04:27:10 pm

Title: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: FML|Mage on August 15, 2013, 04:27:10 pm
:FMLN:

Well ladies and gentlemen, we’re 10 days out from one of the biggest tournaments to grace the FFA scene ever!  Within two weeks of signups we have managed to get 100 participants signed up on the dot.  The support has been overwhelmingly positive so far, but we have spots left and want to fill them up.  They are limited though, so make sure to sign up now! 

We have FFA greats like Renaud, DarknessCalls, Magadansky, Lightweight, and Worpex himself!  In addition we have a ton of great solo players looking to make their mark on the FFA scene as well.  Rain, Ente, Inclnerator, Foggy, Calypso, Starshaped, and more have already signed up!  These mixes of players guarantee some great games and will certainly provide an exciting event!

The round 1 map will be Dealock.
:DL:
The round 2 map will be Twilight Ruins
:TR:
The round 3 map will be FML Emerald Shores : Download (http://www.mediafire.com/?wc1tq1tqlog448p)
:ES:
The final map will be Death Rose
:DR:

We plan to have a ton of different players and casters streaming the tournament throughout the entire day.  You can follow the FML Twitch.TV account here (http://www.twitch.tv/ffamastersleague/profile).

So what are you waiting for, signup now! (http://ffamasters.net/index.php?topic=1254.0)
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: GM on August 18, 2013, 05:33:06 am
you really should consider to replace Emerald with something else

TM FML version will do much better
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: Lightweight on August 18, 2013, 06:32:26 am
I agree with GM, but not about TM. Come on its ffa cup, put ffa maps in.
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: GM on August 18, 2013, 07:31:23 am
I agree with GM, but not about TM. Come on its ffa cup, put ffa maps in.

I picked TM b/c it's relatively small, as is Emerald

Otherwise Murgul will do fine

Or any other small/mid map
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: Peregrine on August 20, 2013, 06:50:48 pm
replace emerald with market square

a proven great ffa map that offers so many of the variables that make FFA a unique gametype. some of the greatest ffa games ever are on that map. emerald often results in unfair spawns, weird short games, and lots of flailing around. would be great to play on market and emerald is sure to cause trouble

or if a small map is such a necessity, move deathrose to 3 and market to 4!
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: FML|Mage on August 20, 2013, 08:10:53 pm
It's FML Emerald which has fixed spawns in the corners.

Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: FML|Renaud on August 20, 2013, 08:24:58 pm
Market is a terribly unbalanced map (imo) mainly because of the huge difference it makes if you are sharing a corner or not (or even worst, if you are surround!  Absolutely the worst map to be surrounded on)
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: Meeds on August 21, 2013, 04:54:45 am
Yeah, and Market is unbalanced for elf since they don't have to fight for wood
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: Seksi on August 21, 2013, 06:24:13 am
The big missing map is Silverpine! It is one of the top three FFA maps, creating action and many creeps and items to be had.  The 4 red creeps are highly contested and games are usually quick and eventful. 

I would suggest replacing Emerald Shores with Silverpine Forest if still able.  I think this would be the best lineup without Market with standard maps. 

r1: Deadlock
r2: Twilight
r3: Silverpine
r4: Deathrose
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: GM on August 21, 2013, 10:38:09 am
agree about silverpine
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: Persuade on August 21, 2013, 11:25:48 am
Since so many people are requesting, I will post an explanation as to why we picked the maps.

First and foremost, the maps are not changing.

Keep in mind that this is the biggest ffa tournament ever held, and if you want the crown, you better be the best.  The best at being able to win on any map, in any circumstance, overcoming players with better macro, micro, and manipulation.

That said, we wanted two relatively known maps, one action packed map, and a final  map that provided a 100% even chance to all players to represent the four rounds.

Round 1 we wanted the most commonly played map, naturally this represents a few, namely Silverpine and Twilight.  Between these two maps, Twilight is more balanced, it doesn't hurt you as badly when you are surrounded, and there is an even number of shredders for a more balanced game. 

Round 2 we wanted another commonly played map, but not the same type, so this naturally led us to decide between Market, Deadlock, or Northshire.  Many people dislike Market, as it can also hurt you badly if surrounded, and the map itself is quite racially unbalanced.  Between the remaining maps we liked Deadlock the most.

Round 3 was going to be the action packed map, we wanted to either choose a map no one has played that is relatively small as well.  The options were going to be Bayou, FML-Emerald, and FML-Twisted Meadows.  Only like 10 players have played Bayou, so that was out, leaving a tossup between TM and Emerald.  We decided with Emerald because it has given us more quality games in the past, and if the FML cup is to have the best of the best, we think it will continue to give us amazing games.

The final round was chosen early as Deathrose, and it's going to stay as Deathrose.  It has never been used as a final, it's one of the few if not only large map that is 100% balanced, which we felt was the appropriate as a final map.

Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: GM on August 21, 2013, 11:29:34 am
TM is more balanced than Emerald that's for sure

Anyhow it's fine by me, bc I won't be playing  :icon_mrgreen:
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: Persuade on August 21, 2013, 11:36:09 am
What is not balanced about emerald?
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: GM on August 21, 2013, 11:43:28 am
1. not quite about balance - but no shredder and retarded lumber placement gives advantage to NE
2. top spawned players experience certain difficulties reaching fountain and. naturally this spot goes to one of bottom players
3. this map is designed the way which promote two 1v1's - one on the each side, I don't think this is right
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: GM on August 21, 2013, 11:50:33 am
@pers, about wrong expanding on TM - on emerald someone can easily try to get 2 central expands, so that's not really in a favor of emerald
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: Persuade on August 21, 2013, 11:53:30 am
1. not quite about balance - but no shredder and retarded lumber placement gives advantage to NE
2. top spawned players experience certain difficulties reaching fountain and. naturally this stop goes to one of bottom players
3. this map is designed the way which promote two 1v1's - one on the each side, I don't think this is right


1.  There is no shredder on many maps, including market/deathrose/deadlock as some big ones.  Macro is another skill FFA players need to utilize. 
2.  This is the only point I will agree with, in the past I have thought about editing the map to include a fountain at the top, or putting it in the center with an entrance on top/bottom. 
3.  Who says this is only a top vs bottom map?  Any player can decide to attack left vs right instead of top vs bottom, seeing as the fountain and best creeps are dictated this way.

Still, we feel it's more balanced than TM.  One of TM's biggest flaws is that there is no "true" natural expansion, and the game can often be decided early, in an unbalanced favor, if someone decides to expand the other way.  It also gives an advantage to players who spawn at the shop (bottom left and top right) as opposed to people who spawn at the merc camps.

We also have to take in ignorance as a factor.  Many players will not be aware that the maps are edited, despite our warnings and the map being available before the match, resulting in many players who will not know TM has no islands, which while small, can lead to some unfavorable scenarios where certain races can creep the corners easier.
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: Persuade on August 21, 2013, 11:54:46 am
@pers, about wrong expanding on TM - on emerald someone can easily try to get 2 central expands, so that's not really in a favor of emerald

Then that player will be teamed because he has more expansions.  This was a really bad argument, as I could use this excuse on every map.
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: GM on August 21, 2013, 12:05:14 pm
1.  There is no shredder on many maps, including market/deathrose/deadlock as some big ones.  Macro is another skill FFA players need to utilize. 

agree, still it's more about retarded lumber placement, not about shredder - on emerald you need more lumbermills then on market or deadlock

3.  Who says this is only a top vs bottom map?  Any player can decide to attack left vs right instead of top vs bottom, seeing as the fountain and best creeps are dictated this way.

not quite, bc in the end it all comes down to the third expand and it's way easily to fight for it top-bottom - bc it's located closer to one's main and other expands

Still, we feel it's more balanced than TM.  One of TM's biggest flaws is that there is no "true" natural expansion, and the game can often be decided early, in an unbalanced favor, if someone decides to expand the other way.

wait, what about deathrose then?

anybody who played his fair share of FFA knows about "clockwise/counterclockwise agreement" concept

and who does not - well he can harras or be trying to take wrong expand on emerald as well

We also have to take in ignorance as a factor.  Many players will not be aware that the maps are edited, despite our warnings and the map being available before the match, resulting in many players who will not know TM has no islands, which while small, can lead to some unfavorable scenarios where certain races can creep the corners easier.

how do you mean?
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: GM on August 21, 2013, 12:12:21 pm
it's not like I'm judging your decision or anything
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: Persuade on August 21, 2013, 12:12:24 pm

Quote
not quite, bc in the end it all comes down to the third expand and it's way easily to fight for it top-bottom - bc it's located closer to one's main and other expands

By that point in the game people will be teaming the strongest anyways, all we're saying is that there is no "set" way to play the map.


Quote
wait, what about deathrose then?

anybody who played his fair share of FFA knows about "clockwise/counterclockwise agreement" concept

and who does not - well he can harras or be trying to take wrong expand on emerald as well

On deathrose and emerald you still get a natural.   There is no "natural" expansion on TM and sometimes a player can die without getting a single expansion up. 



Quote
how do you mean?

We just want to avoid any complications with the maps in case new players are not aware of the changes.  TM changes are more impactful.
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: Persuade on August 21, 2013, 12:13:17 pm
it's not like I'm judging your decision or anything

I know, I just want people to understand the reasoning why we choose certain maps, and there is a LOT of debate going on behind the scenes.

It takes us a long time to settle on a decision.
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: GM on August 21, 2013, 12:20:27 pm
By that point in the game people will be teaming the strongest anyways, all we're saying is that there is no "set" way to play the map.

after getting second expand up there are no more creeps left in like 2 minutes and by this time you can't say who is the strongest and it's likely 4way still

it's not much left besides fighting for a third exp, which is more convenient to do on the same side you spawned

no really, after second exps are up - only creeps left is red spots and they will be gone quickly

On deathrose and emerald you still get a natural.   There is no "natural" expansion on TM and sometimes a player can die without getting a single expansion up. 

deathrose's "natural" not much easily crept than island on TM

and in a vast majority of games on deathrose natural is side exp, bc it's easier to get, you can't deny that


We just want to avoid any complications with the maps in case new players are not aware of the changes.  TM changes are more impactful.

I think TM even with these changes are far far more familiar to players than emerald

everybody played TM many times if not FFA then solo or 2x2
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: Persuade on August 21, 2013, 12:32:13 pm
Quote

after getting second expand up there are no more creeps left in like 2 minutes and by this time you can't say who is the strongest and it's likely 4way still

it's not much left besides fighting for a third exp, which is more convenient to do on the same side you spawned

no really, after second exps are up - only creeps left is red spots and they will be gone quickly

I'd rather see people fight for a 3rd expansion than fight for their 2nd, which happens a lot on TM.


Quote
deathrose's "natural" not much easily crept that island on TM

and in a vast majority of game on deathrose natural is side exp, bc it's easier to get, you can't deny that


Human can creep it with level 1 am, 2 foots and 4 militia...?

Fiends/archers also creep this relatively easy, it's probably one of the easiest camps on the map.




Quote
I think TM even with these changes are far far more familiar to players than emerald

everybody played TM many times if not FFA than solo or 2x2


One would think.   But then we admins watch these games and make note.  A lot of players in the round 3 of season 16 did not know TM had a pathway to the islands, and they are ffa players...

Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: GM on August 21, 2013, 12:43:55 pm
I'd rather see people fight for a 3rd expansion than fight for their 2nd, which happens a lot on TM.

if someone is fighting for 2nd it means other guy is fighting for 3rd  :icon_rolleyes:


Human can creep it with level 1 am, 2 foots and 4 militia...?

Fiends/archers also creep this relatively easy, it's probably one of the easiest camps on the map.

only to find out that both of your side exps are taken

deathrose is not that different from FML-TM
Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: Persuade on August 21, 2013, 12:55:56 pm
Quote

if someone is fighting for 2nd it means other guy is fighting for 3rd  :icon_rolleyes:

I will explain this simply.

On twisted meadows, you are not guaranteed an expansion, on emerald you are.  This means the players have a better chance in the long run.  On Twisted meadows you can lose if someone wins an early skirmish and you have no expo while they do.  On Emerald shores you can STILL WIN if you lose an early skirmish due to a guaranteed expo


Quote
only to find out that both of your side exps are taken

deathrose is not that different from FML-TM

This makes absolutely no sense.

On Deathrose, you are 100% guaranteed an expo, the lizard camp is easy and can be creeped when your hero pops out.   Guess what, if both your "mid" expos are taken, you already have a secured expo at your natural.  You can then put pressure on someones "middle expo", seeing as it was their "first" expo they will constantly be under pressure while you get free gold uncontested.

If someone also expands the "wrong" way on Deathrose, they get teamed for having more expos.  The map is large and easy to make comebacks, hard to win fast.  TM is the opposite, if someone is aggressive enough they can secure two expos and try to win before people get a chance to team. 

Title: Re: FML Cup: 10 Days Out!
Post by: FML|Renaud on August 21, 2013, 01:17:29 pm
I will have to partly disagree with the two forced 1v1

For a map to force a 1v1, there must be an uneven number of expo, and so the players are forced to fight for control over it. 

However, on emerald shore, it's pretty simple to agree to share the expansions, and hoard 3 mines at 50, while the others are quickly draining their gold trying to get a 4th mine at 80
3*10 = 30
4*7 = 28
30 > 28
yay for peace!

Of course, that hoarding time is filled with scouting the other side (for a chance to steal easy xp) and your "peaceful" neighbor (because he will stab you as soon as you are not looking, and you should be looking for a chance to stab him when he's not looking)