The brightness is fine but I agree about the purple colour. It does not fit very well. 

i only commented on brightness to explain why i hadn't bothered to comment. 

@necros/spirit, no need to say sorry, this is exactly the sort of feedback I want. Visual problems, things people don't like or like. (really interested in the stuff people don't like more)

I have switched out all the magenta stuff (these were the original ID textures). Toned down the reds and switch more to pastel blues and light yellows.

The blue stuff is really a visual clue/highlight thing for the player so they know exactly what they should be looking for. This is especially critical for the puzzles because the majority of the level has a brown/yellow palette.

This is not designed for bots, there is no bot file, no DM setup, no multiplayer weapons or item balance. This map is purely about puzzles (sadly a bit simple due to entity restrictions) and level exploration. There are 5 puzzle machines, based on timing and sequence order solving. There are 10 secrets and a small story (readme style) for anyone that cares to open the readme file. The map has a full ambient soundscape with alot of custom made sounds to fit the workings of the machines and environment.

I tried the screenshot settings you suggested and it was like glowing to me but I am on laptop in a room without no direct sunlight (not a bright office). I will produce two versions of the map, a light and dark version. One probably for me and other cave dwellers and one twice as bright for everyone else.

If anyone else has more visual feedback please say so, good or bad, but more bad if possible. 

my comment about screenshots being dark wasn't that you needed to make the map brighter. i was just explaining why i wasn't commenting (too much work to bring it in PS all the time).

in-game, we have gamma and brightness settings for that, so if it's dark, i can easily pump that up. no need for 2 map versions. sorry for the confusion. 

Comment before aobut having a chandelier type structure was to avoid the classic hex light textures you've got there. They don't look bad, but I've seen them so often that the make me think 'basic map' when the geometry you've got says exactly the opposite.

Maybe just changing the texture would work - how about Q1 runic ;) 

Just a quick update on the visuals, trying to reduce the overall brown/dark palette of the level with lighter stone and make the cables more obvious so that the player can hopefully realise they are a visual clue. The level is mostly finished at this point, just need to fix up all the cosmetic stuff before a public beta.

http://www.simonoc.com/images/design/maps_q3/moteof1cy1l_1024.jpg 

Brilliant. I like the contrast in texture and feel. 

Still looking great, but I think the wires are too thick. Maybe they're meant to be like huge thick bundles of wire or something but they look a bit odd. 

@zwiffle, I know you are going to groan but the cable size and the oversize giant machinery is all by design. I wanted to create something where the people that built the place have worked out high tech but not been able to shrink anything down to micro sizes. Door, switches, pipes are all crazy big and made of large amounts of wood!

@willem, thanks :D 

What, those wires transport some fuckton of energy. I guess you are just jealous seeing those thick lines. 

i can see everything clearly, whether it was intentional or not. :)

i have no problem with the thick cables and i'm a big fan of the sort of 'old stuff and someone built new stuff in it' type of theme.
great detailing on the bricks, having them broken up and different heights like that.
is that a cave under the wooden circular floor? 

@necros, yeah there is a cave like area below with broken walls, plants and a strange blue glow from a portal device at the far end... 

that new stone wall doesn't look right, you lost the brown wood feel. 

it looks great, you haven't lost the feel at all in my opinion, the thick chords look good - it would look dumb with skinny little wires.
And I totally hope that is a cave. 

as one of those that preferred the more wood feel. hmm, that didnt come out right. nor did that actually :) 

the barks don't touch! 

I'm trying a terrain map with dxf.mdl as hillows.
http://members.home.nl/gimli/terrain.jpg 

that definitely looks like a madfox map. 

http://homepages.manx.net/urtstats/images/null_c/shot0070.jpg 

Some changes in lighting and detail, I think the map still maintains a nice warm colour palette even with the white stone.

http://www.simonoc.com/images/design/maps_q3/moteof1da1l_1024.jpg 

Nice, sock! The broken floor is a nice effect. 

Trying a new art direction with some higher resolution photo sourced textures. Any good?

http://www.simonoc.com/images/design/maps_q3/moteof1db1l_1024.jpg 

wood is good
stone step texture is good
square stone floor texture is not. i felt that the orange floor was an integral part of the theme you had going. 

is good but not for this map IMHO. The standard one worked just fine. 

wish i lived there