i dont know who the rickdagless dude is
but i know i like his map
& REED!
I have to agree with Jits on this one, BUT I think the ranking system would've been more susceptible to manipulation as people would rank their choice at the top, and the closest rival at the bottom, regardless of their actual opinion of the maps. I feel that aesthetics is the only one that should go out to public vote, gameplay should require a few small teams to play the maps and give their opinions. Perhaps people could volunteer to playtest the maps and then the mapmakers as a group can decide who out of those volunteers will give an honest evaluation. The technical should certainly be judged by a panel of consistent and competent map makers, which there are about 7 of.
I think we all expect a little pushing by the participants, but i don't want people to think that me and Dag have been forcing the issue, or that we are the most popular people in the competition (we're not). I like to think that the majority of our votes are based on the merits of our map, although i know this wont always be the case. I think atmays highlights the former; he doesnt know who we are, but he likes the map. Even people who we have a strong affiliation with don't necessarily vote for our map (Pureblood). Also, in our defence, we never asked CC to put that on their channel, and I have encouraged people to download the maps before they vote for them.
Most importantly I dont want this to take the focus away from the maps themselves, the biggest gain is we've made is 4 new, good quality maps for the community, and we've brought a bit more attention to the mapping arena. Regardless of who wins and why, this should be the primary focus of the tournament.
Reed