Squally DaBeanz

I just flew around this in Forge. I'm liking what I see for the most part. The only real problems I could see right off the bat is some clutter throughout the map making things feel a little cramped, and the spawns could be laid out better. I'm gonna try to get some games on it later, so don't be surprised if you get an invite from me sometime ;P

Stigma just got an aesthetic makeover (sorta). I've been hearing from a lot of people that the map was "ugly" and "messy looking", so I took to cleaning things up and making it prettier. This includes flipping the blocks over to the cleaner sides, replacing some ugly pieces with cleaner ones, adding a dark banner across the top of the main building, adding color indicators over Green and Gold, making some walls thicker, adding consistency to some areas, etc.

Ya, it happens to everyone. The reason they shift slightly is so the object ID location is different than what it says inside the code, so people can't tamper with the codes and mod things into Forge that aren't supposed to be there (character models, Pelicans, etc) like they could in past Halos. I've found the best way to limit shifting is to use coordinate at some point when placing the piece, and to always lock them. The bigger pieces are more likely to shift (Large Brace, Colliseum Wall, etc). When that happens, leave rotation snap off, and nudge them by hand to realign the edges, That way, the shift stays and your map plays the way it's supposed to.

Very enlightening interview. Glad you're able to get some words out there to the general public Redemption. So.... Do the other winners get interviews too? XD

I just updated the pictures for the latest version. I've also added a top down view that includes callouts for all the major areas of the map.

Surplus Surplus is an inverse symmetrical map set on a UNSC storage unit. This map was inspirde by the atmosphere and hallways based combat of Adrift. My goal was to make a map with segmented atriums of combat circling around a large central atrium that worked well for 5-Cap CTF. Each base was designed with the concept in mind of the flag being on the low ground with various perches looking down on it and very defined exit routes. Depending on where the enemy team is holding out or spawning, you're forced to make quick decisions of where to take the flag once picked up, while coordinating with your team to safely traverse the map. The adjacent atriums (Green and Gold) provide quick access to each base, the middle atrium, and a lift leading to the top level of enemy territory. This tends to be the most used exit route, though it usually ends up being the most risky, as this is a high traffice combat area. The other two exits lead to the top level. The one on the right faces more toward the top entrance into the middle, while the left one leads toward the lift landing, which has a small ridge to walk across to the other side. Supported Gametypes: Slayer, Regicide, 5-Cap CTF, KotH, SWAT Best Gametypes: Slayer, 5-Cap CTF Team Size: 4V4, 6 Player FFA Link: http://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/players/squally%20dabeanz/halo4/fileshare#!/?section=GameMap&SearchDate=7&SortBy=2&view-select=Tile&startIndex=0 Screenshots: Red Base Blue Base Top Blue Middle Atrium Red Stairwell Gold Atrium Gold Lift

That would be impossible with Forge maps. The reason it works in CoD and other games is because they are on prebuilt maps. The AI in the bots have been programmed to know the maps layout through hardcoding and creating paths for them to travel on. Unless they add a full suite of proffessional AI programming into Forge, we won't see bots.

Actually, I know the reason map files do that. If you load up a map in forge (map A), and dont save it before you exit (maybe you were just checking something), then load another one (map and DO save it, map B has now overwrittn the file for map A. So now whenever you try to load map A, it brings up the file for map B. I avoid this by reselecting the map I want to work on every time I'm in the forge lobby, and save the map EVERY time I'm editing it.

I've limited myself to only have five in testing at any one time. Once on is published, Ill add weapons and spawns and boundaries and stuff on one of the new maps and add it into the testing group.

Well... Right now I'm testing a more "professional" version of one of my Guardian style maps called Warden, as well as an inverse pseudo-symmetrical big team map. After that, I've planned out a "Terminal" styled map, an oil refinary, an urban highway environment, a circular arena styled map, an abandoned subway system, a giant hydro dam, a cargo dock, a Lockout style map under the overhang of the big island, and a secret idea for a dreamscape type map inside of the large island. All competetive maps. And this is all on top of the ten maps in testing, under construction, planned out, or conceptualized on the other three canvases.... Ya, I'm busy in the world of Forge XD

WAT

That third one may be a little too much for the Halo engine.

Kevin, while it may not be the "ideal" forge invironment for everyone, it IS what people asked for. Literally. And not that big? The large island is massive, not to mention the skybox with absolutely NOTHING obstructing it. This is a step in the right direction for 343. No, it's not Forgeworld (which couldn't be done with Halo 4 graphics on the current system), but it's something. Something FREE. Take it for what it is and look forward to the future

There are a lot of thing's I'd like to see, but some are just too far out there to ever make it into Forge and keep it as "Forge". I have, however, made a thread on things I think could be implemented without breaking the integrity of what Forge is. http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/27356-what-we-need-in-forge-within-reason/

Things I would like to see in future titles that can actually BE DONE with the Halo engine (terrain editors and cutting pieces wouldn't work): Precision editing returning: 'Nuf said. Interchangable palettes: Give us an option in the menu of which palette we would like to work with. In Halo 4 context, when you hit X, you'll see "Impact, Erosion, Ravine." Selecting one of these will lead you to the normal item menu, except eveything in there will have the skins of the selected palette. And not only three palettes from three maps. There are multiple themes we could use: Human Civilian, Human Slums, Human Military, Covenant, Forerunner, stone, etc. Weather Effects/ Time of day Effects: Easy to understand. In the gadgets menu, have a "Weather" menu. This will be similar to the visual filters. You place an orb on the map that will change the time of day and weather. Examples: Morning, Noon, Sunset, Night, Rain, Lightning Storm, Snow, Blizzard, Windy, Dusty, Light Rain, Cloudy. Environment Pieces: Also simple. Give us pieces that can change the environment around us. Trees, more rocks, shrubs, and terrain editing pieces. This wouldn't be a terrain editor exactly. Think of it like this: People already use rocks and tin cups to change the environment. Expand upon this idea, and give us smooth pieces with terrain skins of varying shapes and sizes to create smooth flat ground, or create rolling hills. They will still be made of individual pieces that can be placed on the existing terrain. Bulk pieces: We're almost there already with Coliseum Walls and the silo pieces on Impact. Give us large pieces with a low polygon count that can be used to create large environments at little cost on the engine. Large coliseum walls, entire ground structures (like the environment pieces), giant pillars, bigger ramps, that sort of thing. Better coordinates and rotational points: Think back to Reach. If you lined up a piece inside of anothe of the same dimensions and rotated it, it would still be inside the dimensions. This has been changed on some pieces in Halo 4, like the ramp 2X2 and corner 4X4. If you line them up then rotate them, they are off center. 343 needs to find the EXACT center of the pieces to set a rotation point. HOWEVER, they should not do this on pieces that are not an exact coordinate, like the 1X1 Tall and Thin and the Coliseum Wall. More on that here: http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/27355-colliseum-wall-problems-and-fixes/ More/Better canvases: Duh. Everyone complains about the current canvases. Now, they're not AS bad as everyone is making them out to be, but it would be nice to have some more user friendly canvses. Thank you 343 for listening to us and giving us Forge Island, but please do better with the default maps in the future. We don't want half finished "templates" to finish, but blank canvases to fully utilize. One example that I've talked about a lot is a snow canvas that would use the same texture mapping as the rocks on Ravine. They could make it so the pollar top of every piece that is exposed to the sky has snow on it. Scenery: We're getting closer with the inclusion of Dominion pieces as aesthetics, but there really should be more. Think of some of the maps in Halo 3. The first one that comes to my mind with aesthetic pieces is High Ground. That map had shelves, tables, radios, and laptops lying around. I'd like to see the inclusion of more practical aesthetic pieces like this in future titles. Dynamic Objects: Basically, give us stuff that moves. It's doesn't need to be anything crazy like custom moving pieces, but things like the Station Core on Impact. For example, give us a U shaped metal frame with movable gates attached to either side like in the back of High Ground. Nothing special, just a single piece that isn't stagnant. I'm probably missing some things, but I'll leave it open to you guys. What do you think? I'm trying to think of things they could add in that wouldn't disrupt the current engine or way the game handles. Forge is and always will be a map editor at heart, simply for easy of use. There are still many things that could be improved, and I want to hear if you guys have any ideas that could be implemented SIMPLY and stay true to what Forge is.

Coordinates: I'd like to compare the Colliseum Wall to the Block 1X1 Tall and Thin. These pieces are exactly 0.5 width. Half of 0.5 does not line up correctly on a coordinate system that uses tenths. The 1X1 Tall and Thin does the right thing and offsets the rotational point. If you line up it's longer edge with another piece then flip it, it's suddenly 0.1 higher than the other piece, but still on the coordinate grid. You can just move it down by 0.1 and boom, problem solved. The Colliseum Wall doesn't do this. The rotational point of the Colliseum Wall is exactly in its center, which is 0.25. It needs to be offset like the 1X1 Tall and Thin. That way, it will line up with other pieces without needing fine editing, nudging tricks, or magnets. Invisible Barriers: Why are these here? It's especially bad on Erosion, where the ENTIRE piece has an invisible barrier on it. The edges of the Colliseum wall on all canvases are not needed. This is where the invisible barrier becomes most annoying. In order to make a smooth transition to other pieces, you need to line up the invisible barrier with that piece instead of where the visual geometry is. This makes for sloppy looking transitions that LOOK like they'll be bumpy. The Geometry: Has anyone noticed the Colliseum Walls in Halo 4 are actually slightly smaller than in Reach? In Reach, they were exactly 10X12. In Halo 4, they're 10X11.8. You can imagine how annoying this becomes when using them in repetition or when trying to cover a large but specifically sized gap. Not only that, but the holes in them (as well as all the other pieces) are pretty annoying too. 343, please... DON'T SCREW UP THE COLLISEUM WALL IN HALO 5! Please!! D:

They won't. 343 said they have no planned updates for Forge mechanics at this time and they're going to focus on improving the Halo 5 forge experience. So, no fine editing in Halo 4

I'm hoping that it's some darker pieces. The stark white pieces looks pretty bad in some lighting situations. At least tone down the white and cleanliness of the pieces. Mute them down a bit to a dirty greyish white with moss on them or something

Ya, Forge Island. NOT FORGEWORLD! Thank you 343 for not catering to all the whiners wanting Forgeworld back! Something new is much more appreciated. Now I can say with confidence to all the people saying Forge World will return: I TOLD YOU IT WOULDN'T HAPPEN! XD

Not so sure if this would work. You need to think about the way the Halo engine handles meshing and collision. Not to mention the textures of the piece would look awful. Forge is supposed to be very simple and user friendly, a map "editor" at its heart.

The rounded edges have their uses, like when on the outside of a structure. Some pieces are a little extreme though, like the 4X4. The 2X4 does it right.

Rampart By Squally DaBeanz Rampart is a medium sized asymmetrical map set outside of the cave on Ravine. Despite its feel of "seperate" structures, the entire map is actually one big building with various rooms, walkways, and divider walls. There are also small clusters of rocks around the edges of each "courtyard" to provide infantry quick cover from the two ghosts on the map. The map itself was designed around the idea of a balanced asymmetrical map that would work well with CTF. While very different in design, each base has equal defensive measure and ways to flank and get in. Supported Gametypes: Slayer, Regicide, CTF, KotH, Oddball Best Gametypes: Slayer, CTF, KotH Player Count: 4V4, 5V5 Link: https://www.halowayp...le&startIndex=0 Screenshots: Red courtyard Gold courtyard Gold building and red flank Red base Inside red base The cave Blue flank Blue courtyard Inside blue base Inside blue base again Overview Walkthrough: http://youtu.be/KzkosukUw7k Enjoy!

A little excessive in some areas (individual ammo, bodies, massive amounts of weapons and vehicles), but I would definitely like to see some of these, especially the scenery bits like ammo crates and rubble.

Or the return of fine editing. Or some bug fixes. Or some canvas patches. Or new pieces. Or new piece skins. Or new forge tools. Or new canvases. Or new mechanics. It could be a number of different things. Personally, I'm hoping for fine editing coming back, and some NEW canvases (not Forgeworld) with some new palettes.

Exactly what I was thinking. http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/25935-new-environments-the-easy-way/