I've noticed that increasingly, people will instantly say a map is bad if it does not have aesthetic pieces to it and will completely ignore it. Also, why do some people do the same thing if walls are not interlocked? Does it really matter? I know people say that if "you do not interlock i assume you rushed the map and therefore the map is not good" but i don't understand how you can judge a map based off of something like that. It may be just my opinion, but i don't care if walls and ceilings are interlocked and i don't care if the map has aesthetics to it. The floor being a different story though. Can you guys give me your opinion? I really want to see what the majority of forge hub says.
Well that's because forging techniques have advances far enough so that it's not that hard to make a pretty aesthetic map. It doesn't have to be perfect, but people should at least make it look like they took their time to make it. Think of it this way. Back in the day, it would be nice to see a dirt road in a city or town. But then after technology and construction advanced, people started making streets made out of cement. Now do you think now-a-days shitty old dirt roads are going to compare to the nice, clean pavements that modern technology has allowed us to have? No, right? Same goes for forging. If you have the techniques to make a pretty nice map, people aren't going to fall in love with your map if you do the minimum work. Well idk at least that's what I think.
It sets you're map apart from other maps, if two maps play exactly the same but one has interlocking and what not, you are more likely to choose it. It is just that extra effort to try and get you're map more downloads or just being better then other maps.
With halo's life dwindling down to the last drop there really isn't very many people willing to accept a map with shoddy forging. There are so many forge techniques out there that it only takes a moment or so longer to get that piece perfectly aligned. Most people see a nice looking map and know they won't have problems with things that shouldn't have problems (floors, spawns, walls, weapon layout).
The aesthetics and unique pieces draw people to your map, and the gameplay keeps the map on their hard drive. If you want a map that will be featured and continued to get downloaded even a year after its release, then you need to have both. Don't be fooled by the people who comment on aesthetic maps that play poorly talking about how great the map is. Usually they're the kind of people who look at the screenshots, comment to rate the map, and never download it.
You basically said it in your initial post. If someone sees a properly interlocked map in regards to the walls and celings it shows the builder put that much more time into the map. Which can then be translated to more time = more quality and nowadays, people simply want quality maps. Plus, not interlocking a wall for example may cause gameplay issues. If someone throws a grenade at a corner and it is not interlocked or you have a raised floor but a wall not interlocked with the floor and a grenade goes between the cracks, it messes up the gameplay and it will upset the players. So, basically, its a show of quality and dedication to the map. If people can see that you took the time to do it right, you will get more downloads because they assume the quality of the map, and the gameplay on said map, is on par with the forging itself. Same can be said for making a good thread for your map. The prettier it is, the higher quality people will think the map is.