New forge features suggestions

[ExDeuce]

For forge world I always thought that after a while the monochrome buildings and repetetive terrain theme got boring, even with FX globes. I have found that the grey metalic colour scheme makes it hard to make themed buildings. I think that what they really need to do is to put in a changable theme if they have a forgeworld like map. I always got bored with the basic grey buildings, white cliffs, blue ocean and green grassland. I spent months designing 6 alternitive themes where the structure of blocks and terrain stays the same but ambience such as light, time of day, weather and background noises and the colour/patterns of items, terrain, ocean, sky and background change. There should be three possible variations for each block that you can switch between using the block settings menu. The first variation is the default block but edited slightly to reflect the theme and the second and third variations have the exact same shape and dimensions as the default block but has a theme dependent material and colour as well as unique effects such as cracking, staining and plant growth. This was designed for halo reach but could easily be re-purposed for halo 4 if it has a forge world-esque forge map (I personaly think there will judging on forge worlds popularity but I may be wrong)

 

The 6 themes I worked on are:

Desert

Arctic

Forest

Cavern

Volcanic

Haunted

 

More details on each theme-

 

Desert:

• Blocks: pretty much the same theme as sandbox, Egyption style carved stone with engravings and sandy/dusty default
  
• Terrain: desert-ish coloured sandstone (if that makes any sense) and sand instead of grass.
  
• Ocean: either a deep blue oasis or quicksand (clear water in the lagoon)
  
• Weather: dusty orange sky with the occasional small sandstorm
  
• Ambience: faint scurryingfrom small creatures and distant vulture/buzzard calls
  
• Hemmorhage water cave: a small underground spring
  
• The colleseum: A chamber similar to the crypt from sandbox
  
• Background: Barren desert mountains
  
• Trees: Palm trees
  

Arctic:

• Blocks: ice walls, alaskan/log cabin and snowy/ice encrusted default
  
• Terrain: blueish grey stone with snow instead of grass and ice patches over the small streams and pools of water
  
• Ocean: Light blue with ice over shallow areas and small non-solid chunks of ice floating around
  
• Weather: Bright white sky with light snowfall
  
• Ambience: Bright white light with the occasional faint wind
  
• Hemmorhage water cave: Frozen over
  
• The colleseum: Large Ice cave
  
• Background: Snowy mountains
  
• Trees: Snow covered pine trees
  

Forest:

• Blocks: Wooden plank walls/treehouse, Aztec ruins and overgrown/mossy default
  
• Terrain:Mossy stone with undergrowth and long grass instead of normal grassland, Alaska and montana are one large fallen tree cracked in half with the roots at alaska and top at montana. pinnacle is one huge dead tree trunk, same with the rock above the hemmorhage water cave and the area below the quarry
  
• Ocean: Deep swamp with branches and dead trees sticking up out of (clearer water in lagoon)
  
• Weather: Foliage covering the sky and light leaf fall
  
• Ambience: Green gloom with shafts of light shining through holes in the canopy and loud bird calls
  
• Hemmorhage water cave: hollow tree stump with water dripping through
  
• The colleseum: An aztec chamber filled with carvings
  
• Background: Massive trees with canopies spreading overhead to block the sky from view
  
• Trees: None
  

Cavern:

• Blocks: Subterrainian ruins, old mineshaft/wooden supports and moss covered default
  
• Terrain: A giant underground cavern where the cliffs spread up to the height limit to form a ceiling that extends into the distance as far as you can see. The island is a large shattered column with a large spike hanging from the ceiling where it used to meet and the pinnicle is a massive flat topped stalagmite. Bare dark grey stone with a few mushrooms in the cracks in rocks
  
• Ocean: Shallow water is replaced with crumbling ledges and the ocean is replaced by endless drop into darkness. the waterfall drops into the void as well.
  
• Weather: a couple of small stones and dust every now and then
  
• Ambience: Mist rising from the bottomless hole and fog in the distance to prevent you from seeing too far. Slight rumbling occasionaly and VERY faint wispers/growling coming from the bottomless hole (dont ask, it felt appropriate)
  
• Hemmorhage water cave: An underground spring
  
• The colleseum: Abandoned mine with supports around the edges
  
• Background: Continuous misty cavern on the ocean side of the island and cliff leading up to the ceiling on the lagoon side of the island
  
• Trees: Stalagmites
  

Volcanic:

• Blocks: Dark granite like stone, A pale coloured ruins (stands out and fits the theme well for some reason) and Scorched/charred default
  
• Terrain: Blackened stone with lots of small cracks in the stone. No vegetation to speak of but small steam vents scattered around
  
• Ocean: Shallow water is now heated cracked stone with tiny lava veins in the cracks and the ocean is now lava, yep a sea of lava, I had to fit an old gaming cliche in here somewhere. the waterfall is now made of lava as well.
  
• Weather: The sky is a constant red but is usualy obscured by dark swirling clouds of smoke and ash with small fireballs raining down every now and then
  
• Ambience: Frequent rumbling with the occasional distant explosion of an eruption
  
• Hemmorhage water cave: A large steam vent
  
• The colleseum: A large are of ruins with odd symbols around the walls
  
• Background: Distant volcanoes and rivers of lava
  
• Trees: Steam vent
  

Haunted:

• Blocks: Gothic mausoleum/crypt style ruins, abandoned/haunted mansion and neglected/overgrown default
  
• Terrain: Grey dull stone with dark/dead grass with bones scatered around (rarely) and perhaps the odd gravestone here and there
  
• Ocean: Shallow water is murky marsh with long marsh grass and the ocean is now grey and stormy
  
• Weather: Always misty with thick fog at about waist height and a constant thunderstorm with short periods of rain every 10-20 minutes. Dark shifting clouds and the occasional lightning bolt with a sharp loud crack of thunder that briefly illuminates the area
  
• Ambience: It is always night with a huge full moon and a grey ambient light, frequent howling wind and rare distant screams and howls. very rarely a shape will rise out of the water in random locations briefly before disappearing with a splash
  
• Hemmorhage water cave: A small patch of slowly bubbling marsh
  
• The colleseum: An ossuary lined with crypt doors some of which are damaged or cracked but not enought to fit even a monitor through
  
• Background: Dark mountains with swirling clouds and covered with dead trees and broken pillars/ruins
  
• Trees: Twisted and dead
  

[DoctorB77]

You should make some actual designs for ya. A picture is worth a thousand words ;D

 

Good ideas though. I agree. But they should still have a unsc and covies and forerunner design too.

[ExDeuce]

You should make some actual designs for ya. A picture is worth a thousand words ;D

 

Good ideas though. I agree. But they should still have a unsc and covies and forerunner design too.

 

I meant for these to be there as well as the normal forgeworld theme, sort of like something you can switch to if you want to make something with a theme like a haunted house for infection or an egyptian pyramid in a desert because I have noticed how loads of people try to make themed buildings and use FX but FX is limited in its possible effects and it is usualy far to overpowering, plus they dont always have much of an effect other than to make it hard to see where your going.

 

As for the human and covenant ideas, they are already there as scenery and im not saying that should change, just structure pieces such as walls and blocks, but you are right, it would be a good idea to have a covenant and UNSC variations as well as the three I have suggested. The forerunner bit i may not have originaly been very clear on, I meant that for each theme the normal forerunner design you get on the current forgeworld is still there but slighty altered to reflect the theme, such as the desert, where it is dusty and has small patches of sand on it and the Volcanic theme where parts of it a slightly blackened by ash.

 

I did try to make some sketches of a few blocks but I am terrible at drawing and a five year old could have done a better job at it, however a few of my friends are artists and do graphical designs so I might be able to get them to do some concepts for me. No promises but I might have some pictures up within the next few weeks. (im kinda busy with GCSE exams currently so it could be slow)

[Spectrum]

Volcanic:

• Blocks: Dark granite like stone, A pale coloured ruins (stands out and fits the theme well for some reason) and Scorched/charred default
  
• Terrain: Blackened stone with lots of small cracks in the stone. No vegetation to speak of but small steam vents scattered around
  
• Ocean: Shallow water is now heated cracked stone with tiny lava veins in the cracks and the ocean is now lava, yep a sea of lava, I had to fit an old gaming cliche in here somewhere. the waterfall is now made of lava as well.
  
• Weather: The sky is a constant red but is usualy obscured by dark swirling clouds of smoke and ash with small fireballs raining down every now and then
  
• Ambience: Frequent rumbling with the occasional distant explosion of an eruption
  
• Hemmorhage water cave: A large steam vent
  
• The colleseum: A large are of ruins with odd symbols around the walls
  
• Background: Distant volcanoes and rivers of lava
  
• Trees: Steam vent
  

 

 

Finally, we need more volcanos on Halo maps.

 

Oh and good luck in your GCSEs.

[shado12 lol]

great ideas.

[conkermon]

an undo button :left: for the person that is creating the map :unworthy: and if they want to give or make and undo button :left: for those who join or allow an undo button :left: it should be done unlimited budget more items and unlimted items and a ton more space and how i say forge can be improved like farcry 2 or farcry 3's map editing system except maybe a little more simpler like halo reachs oh yeah have it where you can test your map in the forge so you dont always have to back out.... :thumbdown: go to custom games see how you failed then go back and fix it it should be like you just press start and try out map easy as that boom i know i would like that oh yeah and ai that would be cool and weather but that goes back to farcry bigger world and space most def and i want halo 4 forge to be epic!!!! spectacular!!!!! unbelievable!!!!! because when i heard at the halo conference in 2011 that halo 4 forge would be a big part of halo 4 i knew they would not and are not gonna let the forgers down when the servers are down we make the game fun besides spartan ops and campaign so lets hope that 343 industries doesn't let us down!!!!!!!!!

[ExDeuce]

Another idea I randomly just thought up is to change the appearance of the monitors in forge. By this i mean to change the general look of them, as in damage, stains, colour of the eye etc.

Im short of time at the moment so I will edit them into the post in a few hours.

 

Desert:

• Markings: Worn and dusty
  
• Eye colour: Yellow
  

Arctic:

• Markings: Ice encrusted
  
• Eye colour: Light blue/bluish white
  

Forest:

• Markings: Moss and tiny weeds
  
• Eye colour: Leaf green
  

Cavern:

• Markings: Dents and scratches
  
• Eye colour: Dark green
  

Volcanic:

• Markings: Charring/ash marks
  
• Eye colour: Deep firey orange
  

Haunted:

• Markings: Algae stains and a slightly battered and neglected look
  
• Eye colour: Deep red
  

[TheDarkImmortal]

I've been composing ideas along this line for a while. Really glad to see I'm not the first one to have these thoughts, though almost disappointed in myself for not getting to posting it faster. Though, I'm glad it was you, ExDeuce. This is a very well written paice, and I can see you've put even more though it to it than even I have.

 

I really liked Reach's Forge World, but it seemed like such a waste of assests to me. If you were playing a game on, let's say Pinnacle, the game and servers still had had to render the land around every other area of FW, like that in the Hemorrhage Canyon. I've always thought, to break things up, smaller maps would be better. Not necessarily smaller work places (I do like coming up with BTB maps), but there is no need to have the shear amount of space Forge World had. The only eimes I ever saw it whole map used was in a few racetracks or horse competitions. While cool, these things never made it into multiplayer playlists, so they should take second seat to features that actually improve gameplay.

 

I'd like to think back for a second to the primitive level editor in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. The original series, before all that "Underground" crap. You could design your level however you wanted, and with a simple menu option, change the entire feel of the level by choosing a different theme. I think there were four themes, School, Park, Warehouse, and... I forget the last one. It's been, what, 12 to 15 years now? I'm lucky to have remembered as much as I did. lol.

 

Anyway, You could take a smaller level, something about the size of FW's canyon, and apply the same basic concept to it. You (and by "you", I mean 343i's programmers) wouldn't have to change the basic frame of the individual pieces, the physics, or anything insanely complicated. Just the external skins. And maybe the angle the dynamic lighting came from, if you really wanted to.

 

I really like your concepts as to what the themes could be, too. I had pretty much only though up:

 

Human (like Foundry)

Forerunner (like Forge World)

Standard Covenant (in the style of Heretic)

Brute Homeworld (Like Sandbox)

 

Now, on a note to 343i: I understand that this could potentially be a very hard task to undertake. It would take a lot of artists and a lot of time to fully render everything that would be required for such a feature, and time is getting short to get the game finished and shipped. However, I think those of us, like myself, that think Forge is one of the most impressive features about the game, would be willing to wait an extra month or two for some DLC that could feature this. I, as a so-broke-I'm-barely-scraping-by lower class citizen, would even be willing to find a way to produce an extra $20 bucks or so to purchase an whole separate program a few months after H4's release that could contain ALL these features, and possibly more. It would be a separate disc, sold stand alone to those interested in creating truly unique looking content. The support for other players would, of course, come as a free title update, adding in the ability to show the different skins. I mean, in the long run ( and I'm sorry for dropping a competitor's name in here), look at the support the gaming community showed Bethesda in releasing the Developer's Tool Kit for Skyrim, and look at the absolutely amazing stuff that has been made with it. Including Energy Swords. lol.

 

I don't know, I'm no programmer. But I think, with the amazing staff and team at 343i, something could be achieved. I think it would greatly increase player support for community made maps if we didn't have to look at the same old stuff on every one of them. And I'm also aware that the word "themes" has been floating around in a few different places related to H4's forge mode. So these ideas might already be underway. But again, i just don't know.

 

Please, if anyone can bring this little thread to the attention of someone important at 343, I really think we can greatly improve the quality of this under-used mode, and therefore overall customer satisfaction with the game.

[Complete Loser]

This is extremely good and might be added in Halo 5 and 6's Forge, but Halo 4's too far in development to be added in, although it's still extremely good I would love to see any sort of this in the newer Forge's of Halo 5 and 6

[Victory Element]

i had a different idea that is similar to yours. I think the layouts of the forge maps should be the same, but the terrain can be changed(grass, desert, snow,etc). You could be able to control the weather and time of day. and the final feature is changing the style of architecture. Instead of a new style of structure for each map, i think just having a few styles will make it easier for 343i. I think it should end up as simple as forerunner, human, and covenant styles for structures and such

[funnymongo]

im just gonna say id like to be abe to at least still play as a elite and i really want to be able to forge as a forerunner with forerunner dedicated armor kinda like the elites had theyre own armor well same concept with the forerunner

[Quail Checkers]

This sounds awesome, but also sound really hard to make come true. Keep coming up with these great ideas

[Mr Biggles]

that is really hard to implement for such a little Feature IMO.

 

 

not worth it.