Hate to say this but his right!
Sure no one likes being told their maps are rubbish but I got that a lot until I really sat down and looked at maps that were popular!
Sometimes maps are scrapped after 3 months of work on it (heh heh) and it's not a loss as each map made means you learnt something!
Heck I learnt how to use cameras in one map and how to make traps in another.
(By the way i've been told I make a good speaker :D)
I can see you really wanna make this mod but look at Black Mesa Source!
Could you really make something like that as not many people will play anything less than that good quality sadly!
If I was you I would do what some of us call a map pack like 'Day 13' which is a few maps tied together with a short story
Think it over! I made a mod for HL1 and boy did I get harrassed
But now I look at it and boy it's worse than I remembered
But I mainly started experimenting then making cool new stuff and wanting to share it with others but mapping does not work like that and if you think something looks good then change it as it normally means others will dislike it