I had already made this account before. I'm sorry that I deleted my Discord account. Always when I hope I'm done, I have more on my heart.
I spent some time thinking about what happened to the mapping culture over the years that have gone. I'm not a mapper, so maybe what I say is not true.
But I'm worried about a balanced map pool and the diversity of map styles.
What I'm worried about is too much community influence and beta-testing actually. It seems like an ideal that all people can give their inputs. But for me, it is communism and destroys individuality. I'm sincerely worried about this because I think it will make maps more homogenous and destroy the spontaneity of map styles. Mappers and surfers have increasingly been intermingled imo, as so far they have not, mappers have made themself surfers thanks to saveloc where they can imitate good surfing (especially on lengthy maps) and figure out "the flow" (tech/unit(spinny), which is the high variance of oldschool style distilled in two directions) and adjust their maps accordingly. I think saveloccing, betatesting, and the cross between mappers and surfers have made maps too homogenous and destroyed the spontaiounty of mapping styles.
In old days, we didn't understand the smooth strafe, the flows, not even the pro's. So especially not the mappers (that were just casual surfers I guess). This created exceptional maps. I'm worried that we force mappers to pass some entry barrier, and this entry barrier is closely connected to understand the surfers and the flows - and will thus increase homogeneousity.
I'm not against mappers understanding surfers or mappers and surfers be intermingled. It's great. It's great. But well, we can have space for both. It's not either-or. I want mappers to be able to create maps in their own private worlds.
I want to comment the term "aids mapping". Aids mapping is a term invented by elitist mappers. You can surf anything and make fun out of it. surf_classics2 were made by mappers who had absolutely no understanding of smooth flows. It was aids mapping. But these surf_classics2 runs attract many views on Youtube. I think you can run anything and make fun of it. You can put any triangles on row and make fun out of it. I'm sorry, that's how it is, mappers, it is not rocket science, it is not solving a crazy equation.
The elite mappers don't like that idea. They like to impose these professional standards on every mapper to boost their social identity. They like to create this entry barrier: being a mapper takes professionalism, it's not a task for anyone! Thus they can see themself as professional. Essentially, it's a way to increase their social status - mostly subconsciously (no mappers conciously lay strats for boosting their social status haha). Understanding the flow became a part of passing this entry barrier sadly. I think professional mapping exists, but it has more to do with optimization (that's the fundamental one), design, atmosphere, and so on, creating a map with CHARACTER. But that thing ... professional mapping according to a surf style .... I don't recognize. And I don't buy into that good surfers are in some special position to give good feedback; they are if it is about the flow though. Some surf styles are preferred over others, yes. The pro mappers are best in touch with these preferences and they are most productive and will make it to the map pool most frequently, so there will already be a natural weighing.
surf_y s3 is the most awkward surf stage that exists. There are also no stages that resemble it, so it is weighed already, I'm sorry.
I like diversity, so when I made a bonus for surf_froots (my only mapping ever which is not beautiful xD), I wanted to make something that isn't made often, so I made one that resembled surf_y s3 a bit. It was not because of meming or because I purposefully wanted to create "aids" ... a stupid term used by elitists imo.
And please, don't say, you can play any map you want on Momentum! You can play any map you want on on CS:S even.
There is huge symbolic value of a map being ranked or not being ranked. Just like Coca-Cola tastes just as most other colas I guess. But its brand is outstanding.
But you have to discriminate maps for the pool of ranked maps. How to do that fairly? I don't know exactly. It's difficult. But this was something I had on my heart, something that could inspire people, inspire thoughts perhaps, inspire the way the future is going to add maps to the pool of ranked maps, and so on.
