Aesthetics were not the separating factor between those maps. There were literally less than a handful of maps that had their aesthetics hold them back, and Heads Up wasn't one of them. Heads Up is a really good map, and I had some of my most 'fun' matches on it. Both maps have strong points and weak points in their design. I just personally found that the weak points in the design of Heads up were more easily exploitable, and had a greater impact on the overall experience. The difference between them wasn't gargantuan by any means though. I'm obviously biased, but this isn't a case of 'Flawed Judging Parameters'. It's just a difference of opinion on which map plays better.
I have been playing a bunch of 2v2s lately and I have to say great work on all the winning maps! You guys have definitely driven me to try and improve my maps further as you continue to push what the forge is capable of. Shameless self promotion here but me and karbyy gave Heads Up a visual update along with a bunch of tweaks and refinements if anybody is interested in checking it out. http://www.forgehub.com/maps/heads-up.1732/
Goat literally suggested people recommend good 2v2 maps in this post - http://www.forgehub.com/threads/2-v-2-matchmaking-maps-discussion.152476/page-4#post-1646765 While I'm assuming he was referring to maps that weren't submitted to the contest, there's no real harm to be done by anyone posting a map from the contest if it's been improved considerably since it was originally submitted.
Absolutely. We realize that the delay in the posting of the results may have also delayed updates to some of the maps. As we mentioned before, several maps could use simple aesthetic improvements - we've acquired hundreds of new items since the contest ended - while others just need geometry or weapon tweaks. The contest stimulated the community to produce quality content and now it's time to polish that content for the public.
If your map doesn't end up in matchmaking then will you help me write an essay on why my preferences are better than everyone elses?
Thanks I appreciate it! The reason I have two accounts here is a stupid story involving me creating an account, forgetting the account then creating a new account to then remember the old account. There is more to it than that but it sums it up.
I'd like to put Cavern foward again for 2v2 - it's symmetrical, which would make it pretty unique in the playlist. It's currently still a Work In Progress right now though, so "soon".