(plural: atria)
What is an atrium? I hear some of you ask.
Let me explain.
An atrium is a Latin term for a court, an open central place to which multiple rooms and corridors connect, often with a basin to catch rainwater.
In modern architecture an atrium is typically an open space (or vide) inside a building that mostly starts at ground level, spans several floors and is roofed with glass, letting sunlight in.
Thus an atrium, in both olden but even more so in modern days, is a space that create a vertical connection between (all) the floors of the structure, letting light and possibly water in.
Here's one example of an atrium in modern architecture:
There are plenty of pretty pictures out there, but I don't want to cloud your creativity with examples.
Challenge
This results in a challenge to create a structure that incorporates an atrium and in which that atrium is the center of attraction/activity/focus/etc. Create an atrium in an environment of your choosing, while keeping the key vertical aspect in mind (don't overdo that though)
The catch
What about the (stage 1) bit in the title of the thread?
Inspired by a succesfull NASA launch earlier this week, I imagined doing a battle in stages. This challenge is stage 1.
The winning map(s) of this stage will function as the base map for stage 2. And I do not want to get into detail about that too much, but it has to do with gameplay...
This also means that I will request the .vmfs and possibly other (custom) assets once we're into the voting round.
Deadline
The deadline for this battle is set on Wednesday November 25th, giving you three and a half weeks to cough up an entry. The battle will be closed at 22:00 GMT that day. For a conversion of the the closing time to your own location, check this.
Basic Rules
- Three final screenshots max
- You should use an official Valve Source engine game
- No need to create a full map
Full rules
You can find the full rules here. If you've got any questions about the theme, the rules or the battles in general, either post in this thread or PM me (904).
Good luck!
Please post W.I.P. shots and don't forget to mark your final screenshots. - not clearly marked shots will not be included for voting.
Voting will commence 1 day after this battle finishes and will run for ~3 (!) days, giving me time to prepare the next battle, which will start december 1st. That will be the 2nd stage of the atrium challenge and will end on december 25th, after which an extended voting period will follow.