You've waited, stewing about for months, vehemently awaiting this moment. You've already scrolled down to view the results without reading this intro. You probably aren't reading this at all. What are you? You're a ForgeHub member, and it's award season.

Regardless if you read this or not, I'm still here to usher in the results of yet another ForgeHub contest. I'm ConnieCat and with me here is contest curator, judge and philanthropist, Sethiroth. It's been a hefty number of months since I penned the announcement of the 2v2 Contest Boogaloo, which means it's been months since I cursed everyone with that name. Love it or hate it, it's given us a plethora of new maps to comb through. I'll hand the reigns off to Sethiroth now to delve into the nitty-gritty of the judging process as well as announce the winners you already scrolled down to see!

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Hello Forgehub, Sethiroth here! After many months of you building your maps and us going over each of them. We have finally arrived at the end of the road. This 2v2 contest, in my opinion, featured some of our community's best work; but there's only 3 that will take home the cheddar. Before we show the final results, here is each judge's personal picks for their top 4 maps in order.

Sethiroth

1. With Love
2. Maar Dun
3. Concrete Jungle
4. Iceworm

Max Extra

1. Maar Dun
2. Uncomfortable Silence
3. With Love
4. Iceworm

Whos Blaze

1. Node to Joy
2. With Love
3. Iceworm
4. Concrete Jungle

Soul Flame

1. Iceworm
2. Node to Joy
3. Night Flight
4. Cynopolis

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As you can see, each judge had different ideas on what the final order of the maps should look like. It was a stiff competition. Many times throughout the contest, several different maps had potential to top the others. We decided to use a point system to put the maps in their final resting order. We assigned 4 points for 1st, 3 points of 2nd, 2 points for 3rd, and 1 point for 4th in each judge's list. Even with the point system, it was still too close to call. Our final 4th and 3rd place maps initially tied with points. After collaborating and discussing the maps in more depth, we reached our final results. Here are your final placings!

4th Place: 'Maar Dun' by MartianMallCop
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Sethiroth: "Maar Dun is a map with an awesome theme; an ancient wraith city where evil slumbers. Supposedly, if you traverse this realm for too long, you may become a demon yourself. Maar Dun offers uniquely rich gameplay with a unique take on lifts. These lifts don't simply take you from point A to point B in a straight vertical path. Instead, Maar Dun's lift takes you on a journey, flying and spiraling through the air. This system allows you to travel in an interesting way and get a different angle on the enemy. Maar Dun is a smaller map with emphasis on vertical segmentation around the map. The map's design allows players to either play grounded, running through the caves like a sneaky beaver, or fly through the air raining bullets down acrobatically. There is truly something for everyone on this map. The weapon spawns are Rockets, Damage Boost, and Sentinel Beam. When one of these power weapons spawns, you can hear a faint lightning strike in the distant. It's a small detail, but it really pulls the theme into Maar Dun's gameplay impressively."

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3rd Place: 'Node to Joy' by Xzamples & WyvernZu
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Sethiroth: "If there was ever a single map to show off forge's visual fidelity, this is a prime xzample (Pun intended). WyvernZu strikes again with beautiful aesthetics and some cleaver object usage. As always, everything she works on just oozes with detail. But it doesnt stop at simply looking pretty, Node to Joy is a map that try's to take a simple idea and push it to it's limit. This map features three semi-symmetrical spaces where the only direct/hard route connection is in the middle of the map. On the outer perimeter, there is a teleporter system that allows you to travel between each room. Each room is fairly large, but thanks to the teleporter system, the action is fast-paced despite it's size. This map is all about going fast. While there are moment where encounters can slow down, it's primary speed is go-go-go! The map also features 3 power-ups; Damage Boost, Speed Boost and Overshield all with a delayed start spawn. Turst me when I say this, you REALLY want to control that speed boost. If you're someone who likes to be constantly shooting, testing your 5-shots and controlling power-ups, Node to Joy was made for you."

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2nd Place: 'Iceworm' by Box Knows
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Sethiroth: "Man, is it me or is it cold in here..? Okay yeah, that was bad. Iceworm is a map where you fight up an icy hill towards a highly-guarded base. This map really sells the frigid atmosphere well, and there's some stone cold gameplay to match it. This map is all about controlling the upper-side bases while trying to establish control over the lower areas. Iceworm offers well-designed linear fights where you'll spend a lot of time trying to squeeze any advantage you can to take control of the hill. On the surface, the map seems simple, but there are plenty of nooks and crannies along the upward journey to push players off of those higher areas. There are two main weapons on the map, Rockets and Hydra Launcher. The Hydra Launcher is surprisingly useful on this map due to it's spawning location at the bottom of the hill. The team controlling the top side can't get to it easily, so if you're finding the player on the pipes is bullying you, just grab that sucker and let 'er rip. To succeded on this map, teamwork is essential in order to controlling the dominant positions or pushing your enemies off of them, however you can."

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1st Place: 'With Love' by Xandrith
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Sethiroth: "With Love is a map set along a French riviera and I love exploring and taking in the theme. Seeing the towering houses and markets scattered throughout the map really makes With Love feel like a town that was lived in. However, it's not just a map with a nice story. This map really has something for everyone. Do you prefer jumping around and using your movement skills to destroy your enemy? CHECK. Do you like setting up control and holding specific areas? CHECK. Do you like to run-and-gun or brute force your way to victory? CHECK. There isn't anything this map's gameplay doesn't offer. The design really allows each player and team to play the map the way they want. With Love gives you all the tools you need in order to find a style that works best for you. My favorite thing about With Love is that it never plays the same way twice. The map evolves each time you play it, even when playing with the same teams. With Love features both Overshields and Damage Boost with a delayed-start spawn, so it's integral to hold down one of those positions before the power-ups spawn. No matter what type of player you are, With love has something for you. If you love using your creativity to take control of encounters, this is a must-play."

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So there you have it, our final four maps! I just want to say thank you to the community for all the amazing maps everyone made. Until next time, this is Sethiroth signing off.

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And there you have it; another chapter in our community's decade-plus legacy closed! As we move on from this contest, we'll do so with oodles of enticing new battlegrounds for all you terrible twosomes to throw down on! In that regard, we're all winners. We may not all be walking away with a pocket full of community cash, but what we do have is also pretty good probably! Thank you to everyone who participated in this contest, and as always, keep it crisp.

Happy Landings,
ConnieCat
ForgeHub Community Coordinator

Sethiroth
Contest Curator and Judge​