I stopped working on my map near the end of the beta, once I realized I wasn't gonna get the game, because Blizzard fucked over the custom content system. I only started working on it again less then a week ago, and I'm making great strides. At my current pace and with the help of my partners, my map should be released in a month or so, if I had been working on it since the start, I'da released it a while ago. I mean granted, it's by no means the grandest, most complex map, but still.
I think you got it right, though. I bet you there's been a lot of "real" maps that have been made, they just haven't been released because battlenet's worthless. Why release a map that'll never be played? Because I just can't believe that after so many months, nobody's gotten a real map out there. I mean it doesn't take THAT long, so the only logical option is that people simply aren't releasing their maps. Which is a shame, fucking Blizzard ruinan custom content v.v
Well I don't entirely agree, regardless of what system they use, the popularity system or anything - with so many maps it's always going to be difficult. The fact of the matter is, there is lots of competition. If you want your map to do well you need to advertise it, make videos and whatnot. Once you do get popular the existing system may even favor you.
I know it's not ideal and needs ALOT of work, but it's certainly not going to stop me making and releasing a map. I'll at least give it a fair go.
Anyhow, I just prefer to try and be positive, there is too much negativity going around and it's unneccessary when blizzard actually puts in some effort and give us free stuff (by far more effort than any other game developer out there). They have taken feedback on the popularity system and said they are looking into it, so I am hopeful there as well.
Well I don't entirely agree, regardless of what system they use, the popularity system or anything - with so many maps it's always going to be difficult. The fact of the matter is, there is lots of competition. If you want your map to do well you need to advertise it, make videos and whatnot. Once you do get popular the existing system may even favor you.
I know it's not ideal and needs ALOT of work, but it's certainly not going to stop me making and releasing a map. I'll at least give it a fair go.
Anyhow, I just prefer to try and be positive, there is too much negativity going around and it's unneccessary when blizzard actually puts in some effort and give us free stuff (by far more effort than any other game developer out there). They have taken feedback on the popularity system and said they are looking into it, so I am hopeful there as well.
There's so much negativity because Blizzard's shown they DON'T care. They like to go around saying "oh! We love our community!" but then when EVERYONE bitches about the popularity system during the beta, what do they do? "Deal with it", yeah, they really give a shit about us. Their actions speak louder then their words, and their actions are screaming "fuck you, we're blizzard, we do what we want". If they actually fixed their shit, or hell atleast said they'd fix it, people wouldn't be as hostile. But they've flat out said that we just need to accept it, that's bullshit, so fuck them.
I'm excited to try the new Blizzard maps for a few reasons. Mainly because Blizzard maps are highly polished before they're released because they have different departments working on different sections (ie: art, models, sounds, terrain, data editing, etc) and because I can't wait to open them up. When you have a team of people working on maps like that cohesively (in a paid setting or at the very least in a LAN setting where they can communicate quickly) the maps tend to be far more well-rounded. Not to mention Blizzard as an organization has a lot more relative experience in game design than most people here... since that's literally all they do. They should be awesome, at least to look at. :)
Your replies in this thread have been pretty much tired and predictable.
On Battle.net there are no "real" maps as you say, because that isn't what the vast majority of players are playing. That seems obvious. If Desert Strike or Nexus Wars are popular maps, it's not for nothing. Instead of whining about the lack of substance in the maps, why not have a look at what's popular, try to understand why and then attempt to add those things into your maps?
Seems to me on average, if a game takes more than 40 minutes, it probably will not be played. If it is poorly explained or hard to pick up and play for first timers (as they explained in the video - you have about 2 minutes to give first timers the rundown before they ragequit your game), it won't be around very long. If it has very little replay value, or really any variation in gameplay or strategy, it won't be played twice. Say what you want about the most popular games on Battle.net, but these are things that all of those maps have.
And if Blizzard didn't care about their community, they wouldn't have taken 10 years to put out a sequel, or another year and a half to put out the expansion to the sequel. If they wanted money, they would be churning them out like Microsoft and patching up the mistakes as they go. I think the fact that they have things like BlizzCon and map contests and constant patches and online moderation and periodic account bans for cheaters, etc etc shows that they pay attention to the community. True, they ignored the friction that the popularity system created, but you can't win every battle...
Just because they make money and choose to take their game in the direction that they think is best doesn't mean that they're an evil corporation out to fuck over the customers. If you have such a problem with them, the best way to express that is to stop buying their product, stop using their product, stop producing maps for their product. But please stop bitching about how bad they are because no one wants to constantly hear the rants of one bitter individual, least of all, Blizzard.
EDIT: Oh, and also, why make maps? There are massive communities outside of Battle.net (as some of the designers said) that will play, test or critique your map... you can circumvent the popularity system that way. Battle.net 2.0 is not really designed for massive RPG or storytelling maps... for the reasons listed above. So why make these kinds of maps? I dunno, cause the process is fun? Because if you were just doing it to get famous or whatever that is, you're ...psychologically damaged?
Your replies in this thread have been pretty much tired and predictable. On Battle.net there are no "real" maps as you say, because that isn't what the vast majority of players are playing. That seems obvious. If Desert Strike or Nexus Wars are popular maps, it's not for nothing. Instead of whining about the lack of substance in the maps, why not have a look at what's popular, try to understand why and then attempt to add those things into your maps?
I know why those maps are popular, because they were the first ones published and have bots boosting them to the top. That doesn't make them good, it simply makes them the only option. I mean what am I suppose to do? I can't simply go and play a different map, because no-one will join it because they think it's empty, as the popularity system doesn't show how many people are playing the map. So I can either sit in a map by myself, or play one of the top-ranking tug maps. That doesn't make them good maps, though.
Seems to me on average, if a game takes more than 40 minutes, it probably will not be played. If it is poorly explained or hard to pick up and play for first timers (as they explained in the video - you have about 2 minutes to give first timers the rundown before they ragequit your game), it won't be around very long. If it has very little replay value, or really any variation in gameplay or strategy, it won't be played twice. Say what you want about the most popular games on Battle.net, but these are things that all of those maps have.
That's only because of the absolutely atrocious popularity system. On WC3 you'd have absolutely no trouble playing hour-long maps, if they were well-made. But with the current system such maps get bumped down to the bottom, regardless of quality. This is just another reason why the system NEEDS to go, it forces map makers to stop making good, quality maps, and just produce short as hell minigame maps. It's bullshit.
And if Blizzard didn't care about their community, they wouldn't have taken 10 years to put out a sequel, or another year and a half to put out the expansion to the sequel. If they wanted money, they would be churning them out like Microsoft and patching up the mistakes as they go. I think the fact that they have things like BlizzCon and map contests and constant patches and online moderation and periodic account bans for cheaters, etc etc shows that they pay attention to the community. True, they ignored the friction that the popularity system created, but you can't win every battle...
Blizzard doesn't care, if they cared they get their fucking hands off my game. They can show they care by providing us with patches, by dealing with cheaters, and by providing us with content. Micro-managing what we can and can not play isn't caring, it's them being neo-nazi assholes. The game's rated T, any teenager is more then capable of deciding what they find offensive, and is capable of avoiding it. They managed to do this for twelve years, we don't need blizzard holding our hands now. Not to mention the fact that they blatantly ignore the community on multiple occassions. They don't care, they're just trying to maintain the image that they do.
Just because they make money and choose to take their game in the direction that they think is best doesn't mean that they're an evil corporation out to fuck over the customers. If you have such a problem with them, the best way to express that is to stop buying their product, stop using their product, stop producing maps for their product. But please stop bitching about how bad they are because no one wants to constantly hear the rants of one bitter individual, least of all, Blizzard.
I didn't buy the game, because I can't stand what they've done to Bnet. That doesn't mean I'll just sit quietly and twiddle my thumbs, though. I'll speak out against their bullshit, and argue with people like you who defend them while they ruin half of their fucking game. SC2 has so much potential, and it's all being choked because Blizzard has to control every little fucking aspect, fuck that, and fuck them :\
If Desert Strike or Nexus Wars are popular maps, it's not for nothing. Instead of whining about the lack of substance in the maps, why not have a look at what's popular, try to understand why and then attempt to add those things into your maps?
To be honest, you are the only one here who doesn't understand why those maps are so popular.
It's okay if you think tug games are the best SC2 can offer, we won't judge you.
To be honest, you are the only one here who doesn't understand why those maps are so popular.
It's okay if you think tug games are the best SC2 can offer, we won't judge you.
To be honest, you are the only one here who doesn't understand why those maps are so popular.
It's okay if you think tug games are the best SC2 can offer, we won't judge you.
The best thing is that while they are creating these 4 maps, the are running into the same issues we have so it gives them more of a reason to fix them. They specifically mentioned lobby teams as an issue for them.
You're not "speaking out against this shit", you're annoying people on a forum. Why don't you protest at BlizzCon, or write them emails, or do something productive. How is irritating a dozen or so people on a web forum helping your cause? You're just a negative person, far as I can tell.
lol Tug games are certainly not the best SC2 can offer, but there's more to the SC2 community than some of the elitists around here. On this website alone there are dozens of really well made maps, which may never make it to the top of the popularity system but that's to be expected... I'm saying that of the million people who play daily, it's not surprising that on average, tug games are at the top... or any game which is short, easy to pick up, and easy to play again.
I have no stats to go on, but I would guess there are many many more casual gamers who just want to sit down for a 30 minute game and not have to be immersed in a mind numbing story, or complicated rules or whatever. This is not WC3, this does not have the exact same market as WC3, it will probably never have SC1 or WC3's battle.net system. Get off it.
EDIT: You know what, I'm out. lol It's self-defeating to sit here and argue about this. I'm not trying to say the system doesn't have its flaws... but they've been bitched about ad nauseum. We get it. Let's talk about it when/if it changes.
You're not "speaking out against this shit", you're annoying people on a forum. Why don't you protest at BlizzCon, or write them emails, or do something productive. How is irritating a dozen or so people on a web forum helping your cause? You're just a negative person, far as I can tell.
I'm not sitting on a forum irritating a dozen people, I'm posting in threads with like-minded individuals all expressing our anger towards a system that completely ruins the entire custom-gaming experience. Besides, Blizzards PROVEN they don't give a shit what the community wants, spamming them emails they'll never read wont work. And I aint about to pay god knows how much to go to blizzcon, just to tell them something they'll ignore anyways. Find me a reasonable way to convey to them just how horrible their system is, and have them fix it. And I'll be all over it, but since such a method doesn't exist I'll resign myself to agreeing with everyone about how shitty the popularity system is. If you don't like it, don't join the thread.
Blizzards PROVEN they don't give a shit what the community wants
This is completely uncalled for if you ask me. They have already addressed community complains, increased published size limits, increase the number of published maps, improvements to banks, big editor improvements coming in 1.2.
I know there are lots of people that dislike the popularity system, but believe it or not, there are actually people posting that don't mind it. Just don't expect a fix overnight, you should know blizzard by now, they like to analyze and take their time coming up with things.
@QMJ3: Go
Find me a reasonable way to convey to them just how horrible their system is, and have them fix it. And I'll be all over it, but since such a method doesn't exist I'll resign myself to agreeing with everyone about how shitty the popularity system is.
Some of you are way to negative and dramatic. "Spoilt little kids" keeps coming into my mind when reading some of these posts. Some people like to say they are appreciative of the awesome tools blizzard gives us, but then they will backflip in a heartbeat and produce their pitchforks against blizzard.
I know it's only because everyone is passionate about it, but there is no need to take it over the top.
This is completely uncalled for if you ask me. They have already addressed community complains, increased published size limits, increase the number of published maps, improvements to banks, big editor improvements coming in 1.2. I know there are lots of people that dislike the popularity system, but believe it or not, there are actually people posting that don't mind it. Just don't expect a fix overnight, you should know blizzard by now, they like to analyze and take their time coming up with things.
Tell me how any of those improvements make one bit of difference if we can't use them? Oh, that's right, they don't. It doesn't matter if they increase the size limit by a MB or two, it doesn't matter if they add in a couple new features to the editor. NONE of that fucking matters if none of our maps can be played. Like I've said, they've proven they don't give a shit about us, they just like to maintain the image that they do. If they DID care they'd admit they were wrong, that they fucked up, and they'd fix the fucking hosting system. The fact that they've flat out refused to do so shows they don't care.
They can make the best editor ever to grace gods green earth, means jack all of the only maps that can be played are tug maps, and maps boosted by bots.
Edit: The sad thing is, fanboys like you hinder any chance of progress. You defend blizzard, why? They fucked up MAJORLY and instead of fixing it, they go "lrn2advertise". Only a blind fanboy would defend them after they completely raped and killed the custom content system. I was a major blizzard fan, got all their games, played the fuck outta WC3 and SC. But I'm not gonna let that blind me to the truth. Blizzard's sold out, in the past they would have fixed such absolutely monsterous screw-ups, but now they play it off like we're the ones doing it wrong. Fuck them, and frankly, fuck anyone who'd defend them. Because by defending them, you're basically saying they're in the right, that it's ok for them to shit all over the map-makers, and those who like to play custom maps. How anyone on these forums could defend a company who's doing everything in their power to ruin our ability to create and play maps, is beyond me. Any map-maker not absolutely disgusted by the way Blizzard is handling Bnet isn't a map-maker in my book.
Personally I think you should just move on to something else, you sound like someone who would complain regardless of what they did, and your attitude is just poison in these types of communities. If you had a really good map that wasn't a TUG, there is still nothing stopping it from becoming popular if you advertise it etc.
The fact of the matter is, if people hear about your game, see videos and want to play it, they will put in some effort to find it. As far as I know the search feature works regardless of how popular your map currently is?
Obviously map boosting is a problem, but I wouldn't be surprised if they look into ways to stop it. If they don't fix it, you can always boost your own map to level the playing field I guess.
@KratsAU: Go
Edit: The sad thing is, fanboys like you hinder any chance of progress
The only thing in the way of your progess is yourself and your attitude by the sounds of it. Go make a good map and then complain if you can't make it popular. I haven't noticed any awesome maps that deserve to be popular and aren't thus far.
Any map-maker not absolutely disgusted by the way Blizzard is handling Bnet isn't a map-maker in my book.
It's people that complain about everything instead of actually making maps that aren't map-makers in my book. Because, you know, the definition of a map-maker is actually pretty straight forward.
The only thing in the way of your progess is yourself and your attitude by the sounds of it. Go make a good map and then complain if you can't make it popular. I haven't noticed any awesome maps that deserve to be popular and aren't thus far.
It's people that complain about everything instead of actually making maps that aren't map-makers in my book. Because, you know, the definition of a map-maker is actually pretty straight forward.
I think you need a new book :)
I am making maps, that's WHY I hate blizzard for ruining the custom content. But whatever man, if you wanna defend them WHILE they shit on you, go ahead. No different then any other fanboy. I'm willing to call them out on their shit, and if you wanna ignore the facts and just go "hurr u has bad attitude", then again, whatever. I have a bad attitude because Blizzard's fucking me over, only I'm not blind and can realize it.
I stopped working on my map near the end of the beta, once I realized I wasn't gonna get the game, because Blizzard fucked over the custom content system. I only started working on it again less then a week ago, and I'm making great strides. At my current pace and with the help of my partners, my map should be released in a month or so, if I had been working on it since the start, I'da released it a while ago. I mean granted, it's by no means the grandest, most complex map, but still.
I think you got it right, though. I bet you there's been a lot of "real" maps that have been made, they just haven't been released because battlenet's worthless. Why release a map that'll never be played? Because I just can't believe that after so many months, nobody's gotten a real map out there. I mean it doesn't take THAT long, so the only logical option is that people simply aren't releasing their maps. Which is a shame, fucking Blizzard ruinan custom content v.v
Well I don't entirely agree, regardless of what system they use, the popularity system or anything - with so many maps it's always going to be difficult. The fact of the matter is, there is lots of competition. If you want your map to do well you need to advertise it, make videos and whatnot. Once you do get popular the existing system may even favor you.
I know it's not ideal and needs ALOT of work, but it's certainly not going to stop me making and releasing a map. I'll at least give it a fair go.
Anyhow, I just prefer to try and be positive, there is too much negativity going around and it's unneccessary when blizzard actually puts in some effort and give us free stuff (by far more effort than any other game developer out there). They have taken feedback on the popularity system and said they are looking into it, so I am hopeful there as well.
want back battle 1.0? XD
100000000 maps created on every seconds. Gl.
There's so much negativity because Blizzard's shown they DON'T care. They like to go around saying "oh! We love our community!" but then when EVERYONE bitches about the popularity system during the beta, what do they do? "Deal with it", yeah, they really give a shit about us. Their actions speak louder then their words, and their actions are screaming "fuck you, we're blizzard, we do what we want". If they actually fixed their shit, or hell atleast said they'd fix it, people wouldn't be as hostile. But they've flat out said that we just need to accept it, that's bullshit, so fuck them.
@zeldarules28: Go
I'm excited to try the new Blizzard maps for a few reasons. Mainly because Blizzard maps are highly polished before they're released because they have different departments working on different sections (ie: art, models, sounds, terrain, data editing, etc) and because I can't wait to open them up. When you have a team of people working on maps like that cohesively (in a paid setting or at the very least in a LAN setting where they can communicate quickly) the maps tend to be far more well-rounded. Not to mention Blizzard as an organization has a lot more relative experience in game design than most people here... since that's literally all they do. They should be awesome, at least to look at. :)
@Colt556: Go
Your replies in this thread have been pretty much tired and predictable.
On Battle.net there are no "real" maps as you say, because that isn't what the vast majority of players are playing. That seems obvious. If Desert Strike or Nexus Wars are popular maps, it's not for nothing. Instead of whining about the lack of substance in the maps, why not have a look at what's popular, try to understand why and then attempt to add those things into your maps?
Seems to me on average, if a game takes more than 40 minutes, it probably will not be played. If it is poorly explained or hard to pick up and play for first timers (as they explained in the video - you have about 2 minutes to give first timers the rundown before they ragequit your game), it won't be around very long. If it has very little replay value, or really any variation in gameplay or strategy, it won't be played twice. Say what you want about the most popular games on Battle.net, but these are things that all of those maps have.
And if Blizzard didn't care about their community, they wouldn't have taken 10 years to put out a sequel, or another year and a half to put out the expansion to the sequel. If they wanted money, they would be churning them out like Microsoft and patching up the mistakes as they go. I think the fact that they have things like BlizzCon and map contests and constant patches and online moderation and periodic account bans for cheaters, etc etc shows that they pay attention to the community. True, they ignored the friction that the popularity system created, but you can't win every battle...
Just because they make money and choose to take their game in the direction that they think is best doesn't mean that they're an evil corporation out to fuck over the customers. If you have such a problem with them, the best way to express that is to stop buying their product, stop using their product, stop producing maps for their product. But please stop bitching about how bad they are because no one wants to constantly hear the rants of one bitter individual, least of all, Blizzard.
EDIT: Oh, and also, why make maps? There are massive communities outside of Battle.net (as some of the designers said) that will play, test or critique your map... you can circumvent the popularity system that way. Battle.net 2.0 is not really designed for massive RPG or storytelling maps... for the reasons listed above. So why make these kinds of maps? I dunno, cause the process is fun? Because if you were just doing it to get famous or whatever that is, you're ...psychologically damaged?
I know why those maps are popular, because they were the first ones published and have bots boosting them to the top. That doesn't make them good, it simply makes them the only option. I mean what am I suppose to do? I can't simply go and play a different map, because no-one will join it because they think it's empty, as the popularity system doesn't show how many people are playing the map. So I can either sit in a map by myself, or play one of the top-ranking tug maps. That doesn't make them good maps, though.
That's only because of the absolutely atrocious popularity system. On WC3 you'd have absolutely no trouble playing hour-long maps, if they were well-made. But with the current system such maps get bumped down to the bottom, regardless of quality. This is just another reason why the system NEEDS to go, it forces map makers to stop making good, quality maps, and just produce short as hell minigame maps. It's bullshit.
Blizzard doesn't care, if they cared they get their fucking hands off my game. They can show they care by providing us with patches, by dealing with cheaters, and by providing us with content. Micro-managing what we can and can not play isn't caring, it's them being neo-nazi assholes. The game's rated T, any teenager is more then capable of deciding what they find offensive, and is capable of avoiding it. They managed to do this for twelve years, we don't need blizzard holding our hands now. Not to mention the fact that they blatantly ignore the community on multiple occassions. They don't care, they're just trying to maintain the image that they do.
I didn't buy the game, because I can't stand what they've done to Bnet. That doesn't mean I'll just sit quietly and twiddle my thumbs, though. I'll speak out against their bullshit, and argue with people like you who defend them while they ruin half of their fucking game. SC2 has so much potential, and it's all being choked because Blizzard has to control every little fucking aspect, fuck that, and fuck them :\
Negative Nancy imo :)
Just cuz it's negative don't mean it aint true :(
To be honest, you are the only one here who doesn't understand why those maps are so popular.
It's okay if you think tug games are the best SC2 can offer, we won't judge you.
+1
+2
The best thing is that while they are creating these 4 maps, the are running into the same issues we have so it gives them more of a reason to fix them. They specifically mentioned lobby teams as an issue for them.
@Colt556: Go
qq
You're not "speaking out against this shit", you're annoying people on a forum. Why don't you protest at BlizzCon, or write them emails, or do something productive. How is irritating a dozen or so people on a web forum helping your cause? You're just a negative person, far as I can tell.
@zenx1: Go
lol Tug games are certainly not the best SC2 can offer, but there's more to the SC2 community than some of the elitists around here. On this website alone there are dozens of really well made maps, which may never make it to the top of the popularity system but that's to be expected... I'm saying that of the million people who play daily, it's not surprising that on average, tug games are at the top... or any game which is short, easy to pick up, and easy to play again.
I have no stats to go on, but I would guess there are many many more casual gamers who just want to sit down for a 30 minute game and not have to be immersed in a mind numbing story, or complicated rules or whatever. This is not WC3, this does not have the exact same market as WC3, it will probably never have SC1 or WC3's battle.net system. Get off it.
EDIT: You know what, I'm out. lol It's self-defeating to sit here and argue about this. I'm not trying to say the system doesn't have its flaws... but they've been bitched about ad nauseum. We get it. Let's talk about it when/if it changes.
I'm not sitting on a forum irritating a dozen people, I'm posting in threads with like-minded individuals all expressing our anger towards a system that completely ruins the entire custom-gaming experience. Besides, Blizzards PROVEN they don't give a shit what the community wants, spamming them emails they'll never read wont work. And I aint about to pay god knows how much to go to blizzcon, just to tell them something they'll ignore anyways. Find me a reasonable way to convey to them just how horrible their system is, and have them fix it. And I'll be all over it, but since such a method doesn't exist I'll resign myself to agreeing with everyone about how shitty the popularity system is. If you don't like it, don't join the thread.
This is completely uncalled for if you ask me. They have already addressed community complains, increased published size limits, increase the number of published maps, improvements to banks, big editor improvements coming in 1.2.
I know there are lots of people that dislike the popularity system, but believe it or not, there are actually people posting that don't mind it. Just don't expect a fix overnight, you should know blizzard by now, they like to analyze and take their time coming up with things.
http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/forum/topic/248107291
Some of you are way to negative and dramatic. "Spoilt little kids" keeps coming into my mind when reading some of these posts. Some people like to say they are appreciative of the awesome tools blizzard gives us, but then they will backflip in a heartbeat and produce their pitchforks against blizzard.
I know it's only because everyone is passionate about it, but there is no need to take it over the top.
Tell me how any of those improvements make one bit of difference if we can't use them? Oh, that's right, they don't. It doesn't matter if they increase the size limit by a MB or two, it doesn't matter if they add in a couple new features to the editor. NONE of that fucking matters if none of our maps can be played. Like I've said, they've proven they don't give a shit about us, they just like to maintain the image that they do. If they DID care they'd admit they were wrong, that they fucked up, and they'd fix the fucking hosting system. The fact that they've flat out refused to do so shows they don't care.
They can make the best editor ever to grace gods green earth, means jack all of the only maps that can be played are tug maps, and maps boosted by bots.
Edit: The sad thing is, fanboys like you hinder any chance of progress. You defend blizzard, why? They fucked up MAJORLY and instead of fixing it, they go "lrn2advertise". Only a blind fanboy would defend them after they completely raped and killed the custom content system. I was a major blizzard fan, got all their games, played the fuck outta WC3 and SC. But I'm not gonna let that blind me to the truth. Blizzard's sold out, in the past they would have fixed such absolutely monsterous screw-ups, but now they play it off like we're the ones doing it wrong. Fuck them, and frankly, fuck anyone who'd defend them. Because by defending them, you're basically saying they're in the right, that it's ok for them to shit all over the map-makers, and those who like to play custom maps. How anyone on these forums could defend a company who's doing everything in their power to ruin our ability to create and play maps, is beyond me. Any map-maker not absolutely disgusted by the way Blizzard is handling Bnet isn't a map-maker in my book.
Personally I think you should just move on to something else, you sound like someone who would complain regardless of what they did, and your attitude is just poison in these types of communities. If you had a really good map that wasn't a TUG, there is still nothing stopping it from becoming popular if you advertise it etc.
The fact of the matter is, if people hear about your game, see videos and want to play it, they will put in some effort to find it. As far as I know the search feature works regardless of how popular your map currently is?
Obviously map boosting is a problem, but I wouldn't be surprised if they look into ways to stop it. If they don't fix it, you can always boost your own map to level the playing field I guess.
The only thing in the way of your progess is yourself and your attitude by the sounds of it. Go make a good map and then complain if you can't make it popular. I haven't noticed any awesome maps that deserve to be popular and aren't thus far.
It's people that complain about everything instead of actually making maps that aren't map-makers in my book. Because, you know, the definition of a map-maker is actually pretty straight forward.
I think you need a new book :)
I am making maps, that's WHY I hate blizzard for ruining the custom content. But whatever man, if you wanna defend them WHILE they shit on you, go ahead. No different then any other fanboy. I'm willing to call them out on their shit, and if you wanna ignore the facts and just go "hurr u has bad attitude", then again, whatever. I have a bad attitude because Blizzard's fucking me over, only I'm not blind and can realize it.
You haven't even purchased the game, are using their map editor, and think they are fucking you over? Oh please. Cry me a river.