uh, there was also an issue was a rounding error in the data file format, not connections with other players. I can't imagine they didn't fix this with the new system, new file system, etc. But do you know if they did?
No. Every aspect of Terrain is VERY much improved over H2A. You should be able to reasonably recreate Valhalla, and have it look good. There was a map built (you can see pieces of it in the latest video) which they used to demonstrate the new Forge to us on our first day. We thought the entire map was natural terrain, but approx. one third of the ground was forge pieces. They had to point out where the built up ground started because it was certainly not obvious. They said it was addressed and the object storage system is completely different this time around. Not sure if that means the issue was completely eliminated, but at least they knew it was an issue which needed to be fixed. Not that it mattered to me since i always found methods to use the rounding error to my advantage.
Well Goat as always its impressive. You need someone to force you to finish a map. I am liking this one a lot. Cant wait to see if its possible
Do you guys know if we will be able to take map thumbnails for our maps instead of the default canvas picture? I really think we should be able to now.
Ha ha. All this hype and community involvement, and still no properly functioning fileshare. : Hey, at least we gave you guys access to the player stat API. But seriously, I doubt there will be a problem.
We raised all of these concerns including the thumbnail issue, and at least one of us repeated it in every day's followup survey. If they do manage to get thumbnails working it would be nothing short of a miracle. They explained how difficult it would be from a technical standpoint. The short version. The game sees your map as numbers in a file. What you see on screen (your map) is generated by the graphics card. When you take a screen shot the xbox grabs the graphics card's frame buffer which is a built-in function of the card. In order to take a snapshot of your map in-game they would have to build the equivalent of a graphics card emulator, run the map in-engine until the lighting was generated, take the screen shot with a new type of camera forge piece, then propagate the pic to the UI. This would be a herculean effort which would require weeks/months of coordinated programming from almost every development team at 343i. It's not likely to happen but we did suggest alternate possible methods like allowing us to swap the default thumbnail with a screen shot thumbnail within the IU.
Well, this is what I thought they would let us do. We don't need a loadout camera to take a picture and save it as a thumbnail. Granted, the screenshot swap can be abused, so maybe there could be an approval system.
@NOKYARD . I think they geeked out too hard. Any screenshot captured in game should be able to be set as a map screenshot. The Worst thing someone could do is create a naked image out of forge items, or post a shot of an entirely different map. Lets not pass on an incredibly important feature just because there is fear that it could be abused. I can completely understand why they wouldn't allow outside images though. The screenshot doesn't even need to be applied during the in Forge map save. Basically once you are in your standard map list, you should be able to just highlight a map ("any" map) and in the list of existing map options there should be a "Set Thumbnail" option. This thumbnail gets added directly to the file package, so that no matter where the file goes, it goes with it. Now part of the reason I made a point of saying "Any" map, is because if someone takes a crap screenshot that we feels doesn't properly convey the map to us, we should be able to change that into something that does. Also on the topic of "file package" I'm really hoping they have made it so any custom game types are able to be added to the shared map, or at least show as a option for download. For example, say you create and upload what Bungie called a File Set with 3 custom game types, (Doom, COD, and Flying Monkeys with Hammers). What I would like to see happen, at the least, is when selecting the file to download, a screen pops up and asks if we would like to download the associated File Set items. This saves users from searching for the correct gametype to download, to play the map as intended by the Forger. It would also be handy if the File Set association existed within our Multiplayer match setup as to not have to search it out when trying to configure our next map. Coders geek hard and miss the simple solutions. Find the way that complete's the task first. If you figure out a better way later, do that then.
Random question here, but are the color of lights as varying as the color palette we now have for objects?
I'm still trying to wrap my head around map design. I feel like I've learned so much, but I'm having trouble applying it all. It's like I was given a bunch of jigsaw pieces but can't put them together. As of right now, I have a very rough idea for the beginning of a map for Halo 5. Aesthetically, think damnation with snow. Now imagine a rectangular room with no floor. There is an entrance on each side of the room. They are facing each other and the only thing connecting them is a small platform moving back and forth between them. I'm thinking about putting a rocket launcher on this platform. I think this might provide an interesting battle for the rockets. Think about The Pit and how rocket hall connects the two bases, and how risky it is to charge those rockets. I'm wanting to do something similar, but this map isn't going to be symmetrical because symmetrical maps bore me, personally. I imagine it will be almost like tug-of-war, with the rocket moving back and forth between each side. In the middle of the room/death pit, I'm considering placing a platform against the wall with a teleporter on it, providing an escape for whomever was ballsy enough to step onto the rocket platform. Also in the middle, but on the other side of the death pit, I want to place a structure similar to the one on damnation that leads up to the sniper (the one on the highest point of the map). If you're not familiar with this structure, imagine three or four narrow ramps leading up to a single bridge-like walkway. This would be placed slightly lower than the moving platform, which is slightly lower than the platform attached to the wall. This way, the only way to get to the wall platform from here would be to jump onto the moving platform as it comes across and then jump onto the wall platform. However, if you were to come out of the teleporter on the wall platform, you could sprint and jump onto the damnation style structure. My thinking here is that there is a tremendous amount of power here, especially if you just grabbed rockets or managed to get here with a sniper, but at the same time, you have no cover and the only way to escape a gunfight is to either jump onto the moving platform when it comes across or run down the narrow ramps to safety. This is also risky because the ramps are so narrow and the death pit is still below. I really hope this makes sense, but unfortunately, I'm terrible at explaining things. I'll probably end up having to draw it out for you guys. EDIT: I also want to somehow segmentate the map so that you can't look down on the rest of the map from the wall-platform or moving platform, but you CAN from the damnation structure. I'm not entirely sure how to do this yet.
Do objects that are grouped together and movable cast shadows? For instance: a 'golf ball' in H2A does not cast a shadow while rolling around (neither while it's fixed or phased for that matter). If I were to make a ball out of cones or pallets, group it as one big object, and then use gravity lifts, or volumes to make it float above the map- would the combined shadows of the cones and/or pallets be cast over the map? In other words, does everything cast shadows, whether it be fixed, phased, normal, scenery object, floating object, toggling in-and-out object, ect. the same way everything in real life casts a shadow, no matter its properties?
When scripting, can we spawn/de-spawn trait zones? Also, can we make an object move one way then once it reaches a certain point stop and start moving the other way? One way I can think to do this is using timers and setting then to the time an object stops moving (or reaches its destination) then using the timers to de-spawn the object and spawn in a object moving in the opposite direction. Would something like that be possible? Are vehicles able to be set to "unusable" so that they can be used as purely aesthetic pieces without the risk of gameplay exploits? (In the past I used trait zones to prevent entering the vehicles but it was tedious to get right)
Not sure about shadows since we did not have access to custom games for testing. Trait zones were not in the build we were using. I believe you can script an object to follow a path, then have it move back along the same path, but i could be mistaken since none of us had time to fully test scripting. Not sure about scripting vehicles.
I have a few questions, haven't forged since reach but h5 looks like I can build what's in my head, instead of a toned down version Does scenery still move, ever so slightly, when saving? (if placed at the "wrong" angle) Roughly, how many of each scenery piece can you use? ie, 1600 pieces sounds great but not if it's 1500 blocks (ok 1500 blocks would still be impressive!) Are there destructible objects? wooden palettes, concrete barriers etc. Cheers
Scenery should stay put this time but i can not backup that statement with proof. There are no hard limits other than the 1600 upper limit. You could place 1599 Space Whales. I saw concrete barriers but did not test to see if they were still breakable.