Where is the effort overall when releasing CS or FC?

[Statyk]

I think you're just looking into the wrong ones. Well-developed custom stories take much longer to create compared to the quick, less detailed ones, which is why you see less of the "good stuff". I suggest looking up Subconscious Trials by Kman. I've helped a bit on it and saw the quality of map design and it was pretty damn good. Don't average out the community based on some of the lower tier stories. There are plenty of great ones out there.