What to do in halo 4? Hopefully make the most amazing aesthetic playable maps and perhaps bring back some of the game types from halo 3 with new maps improved graphics and way better perks / upgrades. O and am i the only one excited about all the new player / weapon skins? Finally from the days of modding halo 2 i can have awesome looking weapons and not get in trouble for it. =)
I'm gonna make H3 style maps(movable objects, fast pace, mostly scenery instead of grey blocks) if possible.
I am pretty sure nobody will be saying "I'm gonna make a Halo Reach style map! Poor quality and gameplay slow as [redacted]!" I know what you mean though, I too look forward to new elements to play with and create new creations and tricks.
LOL. You know somebody will inevitably try remaking some of Reachs maps. Trying to capture "all those good times" from Reachs "awesome maps". After complaining about them to no end. The same way they did with H2 and H3. Sweet nostalgia. My plans will initially be to just mess around with all the new stuff possibly rebuild some of my old designs to get the feel for everything then do something new.
I'll probably make some maps that I had planned out for Reach but never had the motivation to start or complete. Hopefully Forge 3.0 has everything Reach Forge had, but with a flat default map that you can choose the texture of (grass, gravel, rock, snow, asphault, Covenant, Forerunner, Human style, etc). Personally I think that the Forge playspace should be just the flat map I said above, but about 2 Sandtrap Lenths long, and 2 Sandtrap Lengths wide. I think that's about enough space to do just about anything within reason.
Last week's 343 bulletin gives hope; it stated that Forge will have significant improvements, although they also cautioned people not to expect 100% freedom. They said it would be in the same overall scope, and continue the tradition of being easy to use (I interpret this to mean that we won't get anything like a Far Cry editor, but I suppose something like it is still within the realm of possibility). The Halo Bulletin: 6.13.12 Will Halo 4's Forge have themed forge maps with a greater forge palette as to prevent the problem that Halo: Reach had with all of its maps looking like gray Forerunner buildings? –Majatek Halo 4 Forge, like all aspects of the game, will have significant improvements, changes and/or overhauls. We will be talking about those later this summer. I will, however, ask people to retain some semblance of dignity when imagining infinite tools that allow them to build a universe from scratch. To be clear, this will be a significant improvement in functionality and results, but it will continue the tradition of Forge’s ease of use, scale and scope. But I also won’t be a buzzkill. It will be cool. Odd thing is some people really do expect 100% freedom (as in, practically cramming something like Maya or 3D Studio Max into Forge), at least seeing some of the more ridiculous posts in Waypoint. I wouldn't want that, personally. It would just be too complicated to use. And can you imagine trying to make an interface that complicated work on a console, with a gamepad as the sole interface? Yeah, I don't think so. I don't want to have to spend months creating even the simplest map. At least a Far Cry-like editor is simplified enough to work on a console (although from what I hear, even it has a steep learning curve, which is why I don't think 343 will make H4 Forge anything like it; wouldn't fit very well with their "easy-to-use" philosophy).
Here's what I think they should do with Forge in Halo 4: Of course, if this would take up too much space and cause problems, then it would be a terrible idea. Instead of allowing players to forge on every map (such as Haven, Adrift, Longbow) and then have a "Forge World 2" that 95% of maps are built on...why not have one canvas map where at the beginning of your initial forge session, you get to choose between 5-10 holographiclly simulated terrains? Think of it like this. You select Forge from the main menu, then you start a session on the only map available called something like " Infinity Ship". When you spawn in the ship for the first time on a new creation, a screen pops up asking you to select your virtual terrain. You can either choose "None" and forge inside this big open room in the ship, or select one of many unique terrains with very different atmospheres. These could be like "Snow Theme", "Jungle Theme", "Urban Theme", "Desert Theme"...ect.
I think/hope that the canvas map (or maps) should include a few features, and not just be an open space. Make the majority of the map a wide open space, sure. I agree entirely. But off to the sides of the map, possibly include a river/coast, a cliffside with a large open cave inside of it, a hollow pillar, etc. Put those things off to the side as to allow for increased variety without hindering map construction. Some people used the natural terrain successfully in Reach. It did impair a lot of people, but putting it off to the side as a secondary feature in Halo 4 would allow for those kind of maps to still be built without any loss to the rest.
I had the same idea when I heard them explain how the infinity works. It makes perfect sense if they want to tie all the game modes together like they are talking about. You could just be the "engineer" or whatever aboard the infinity that designs the maps You could pick from pre-made skyboxes, terrains, and theme(or skin) for the terrain and for pieces
That does seem like a good idea. Forge World was limated to just one type of enviroment. It should alongside the 'themes' have weather conditions or timeframes, like a proper night or something, alongside the SFXs and lights. LOL, maybe even a special 'theme' for screenshots!
I like the idea of choosing between different weather and/or terrain presets, especially if you could change the skybox as well. That way, if people want to make entirely self-enclosed structures, they don't need to load up any unnecessary terrain. I would personally prefer that over a Far Cry-style terrain editor, unless they could make it a fairly easy process. That, or else provide some built-in presets to choose from in addition to the ability to generate custom terrain, or even a terrain randomizer. It would be especially awesome if one of those skyboxes was an empty space background (though some distant planets, suns, nebulae, etc would be cool), so you could make aesthetic spaceship maps that actually look like they're in space (purple fx on forgeworld = terrible for a space look). In this case, while editing there should be some sort of grid to mark the boundaries (one you can walk on), since without a grid you would have a hard time telling where you were (should still have a user placeable grid, but the boundary grid should be permanent). Then, in customs, that area could just become a bottomless pit/death zone. If they don't go the route of customizable terrain and/or skyboxes, I would still love it if they made a discreet space canvas.
the "holo-terrain" idea sounds great. the only problem with it is that although there are few people who forge on other maps, they do exist, and messing with the map design slightly on other maps can be pretty cool; one of my favorite games in H3 was in sandtrap. besides that, though, it sounds great. I would love to have a hollow pillar with tunnels running through to the center, or an island that is actually round instead of the one in reach that is shaped like pac-man. To refine your idea even further: A sandtrap-sized rectangle. you choose a setting and a terrain preset: for settings, think: normal, winter/snow, rain, desert, empty space. for terrain: flat (plains), flat (smooth surface), hilly, canyon, island, pillar, hollow pillar, cliff face, interior. the difference between flat plains and flat surface would be the difference between the surface of the quarry and the coliseum; grass vs. flat metal. hilly would be like the plains, except the kind of height variation found in the canyon in reach. Canyon would be similar to the canyon in reach. island would be like the island in reach,except rounded completely instead of with a random notch cut out of the side. pillar would be taller and wider than the pillar in reach, ideally about twice as tall and 3x as thick, with tunnels running through the middle. hollow pillar would be the same, except an area in the center the thickness of the current pillar cut out from the middle. cliff face would be like the cliff outside the coliseum or above the canyon, with an area up above the cliff face similar to the one above the canyon. interior would be like foundry or the underground box in H3 or the coliseum in reach. if you chose the empty space preset, the terrain would not be an option. flat plains and hilly plains would have an oasis present somewhere to build maps around. the canyon would also be built inland, although the rest of the land would not be accessible. the rest would be situated in a desert on desert setting, and above an ocean on other settings. TL;DR: specific options that would be very cool for H4 terrain.
Sad I only just saw this, but glad someone else sees this happening. I love/hate people. That said, remakes of Zealot, Powerhouse etc. would be welcome in my book. I've never had a problem admitting that some of Reach's maps are awesome.
All I have planned for Halo 4 is something I planned for Reach way back in the old Halo 3 days. My idea was for a type of VIP map, which couldn't be made in 3 due to me extremely lacking forge skills. The gametype was all ready for an early test, and all I needed to do was try and build the map in Reach and transfer the gametype over. Then I realized they removed VIP for Reach, which deeply saddened me. The game involves one-sided VIP, where the attackers have to set out and stealthily kill the leader of the defenders without being completely eliminated. The defenders must not allow the attackers to take the base, and the leader(VIP) must complete rounds around the perimeter defense lines to score points. Simply, the VIP's team gets one point for every station/waypoint successfully reached. As you can imagine, the attackers can easily destroy a VIP if he is constantly on the move. It is at the discretion of the defenders if they want to try and quickly run through objectives or carefully as a team go one-by-one. Players only have one life per round, and weapon and damage settings were changed to allow weapons like the pistol and smg to be regular assault weapons, with the BR as a very powerful weapon.
Sounds kinda similar to the new gametype regicide, except I'm not sure if that's teams or not. Plus I guess your gametype has an objective too. Making it better. I love the idea.