With regards to map testing, Luc is absolutely spot on.
The NA 6v6 community is absolutely awful to try and support as far as mapmaking goes. Almost nobody is willing to help with testing / design these days. There were times in the past when we had new map sundays - as well as mixchamp running new maps, etc. that would see some attention - though I can recall running my maps in the new map groups and getting told the very helpful feedback of "This shouldn't be a barrel, it should be a box. Actually, you should just kill yourself."
Nice stuff, as always.
It's a stark contrast to rest of the world - ETF2L and Ozfortress have been incredible in working through new maps. The most development Logjam ever got was when I was working on it daily with the ETF2L prem guys running through it every day as well - and they were willing to give the map a shot in season. Sure, that version ended up being a pile of crap, but that was the point - you can theorycraft all day long what will make a map great, but you won't really get it there until you actually play it with some amount of seriousness (Logjam was beloved in doublemixes / PUGS before it got put into ETF2L, but once it was serious and not messing around errors came to light).
Ozfortress has been more than excellent as well - giving Logjam another chance out of the blue. And, perhaps a shock to NA, they like it. If I recall correctly, Logjam had a higher approval rating by their players than Prolands did, and it sounds like they will be keeping Logjam in next season (it replaced Granary, last season).
Both ETF2L and Ozfortress have organized numerous map test cups and worked with devs to keep things going. I recognize that that won't ever really be the case with ESEA as it's not as community / grassroots run as they are, but that said, we could seriously be doing a lot more.
I can honestly say it's endlessly frustrating trying to work on maps for the NA scene. I enjoy doing it, which is why I started and kept at it. I would honestly say that without the support that I've received from Ozfortress, ETF2L, and pretty much just Lucrative and b4nny I would have stopped for good a while ago. I think about quitting mapping altogether pretty regular still because of this, and maybe I should - but I won't yet because of these groups and people.
-end rant-