Hi! I've just signed up to this forum and I have always loved custom games and forge in halo, and I've generally only used forge for throwing together basic games for me and some friends, and I have decided to try to make some maps in Halo 5, and I was wondering if anyone had some tips for me, a beginner in Halo 5's forge? Thanks!
WELCOME TO FORGEHUB Video Tutorials of Halo 5 Forge basic and advanced features https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkapP6UrQTQSghyDoshnrPNq7KIP5w8xU Forge Fundamentals http://www.forgehub.com/threads/forge-fundamentals.147829/ A Different way to look at map design http://www.forgehub.com/threads/how-to-design-a-halo-map.149161/
1. Learn the controls and items. Just spend a bit of time messing around, putting stuff together, seeing how things look. Try out the different features like fog, lighting, etc. Do some discovery. 2. Think of what kind of map you want to make. Or don't. Start with some unique structure or idea and then just go from there. 3. I personally like starting with a room, getting it shaped up, and then go from there 4. Constantly check how big things actually are. Shift to Spartan mode (tap down on the D-Pad) and see if that doorway is actually built for giants, or maybe that platform can only fit a loaf of bread. 5. Utilize the extra settings. Lights. Fire. Dust. Steam. Sparks. The Fog settings. The skybox choices. Change the colors of stuff. 6. Make sure the map is playable at some point. Weapons, Initial Spawns, Spawn Points, and make sure players can't break out of your map (use invisible blockers, high walls, killzones, etc.
Thanks! I've had a bit of a mess around, looking at all the map settings and it looks like you can really get the fine details into maps now, I'll be sure to take all of these suggestions into account!
The absolute key is to realize that like in any creative endeavor, you will be terrible at first, and will go through "phases" on the way to mastery. As you make more maps and get progressively better, your design skill and taste will improve - likely quicker than your actual Forge ability. If you stick with it for some time, you'll doubtlessly reach a point where you'll get a serious feeling of "imposter syndrome" - where you think you can't ever hope to match some of the things that get posted around these parts. The truth is you can - it's just takes less time to learn how to be critical of maps than it does to actually design them. Stick with it and know that everyone goes through phases like these, and you'll be in good shape in the long run. As far as speeding up your "onboarding" into the world of Forge, do your best to play custom games on Forge maps with other people, and load up other maps in Forge to reverse-engineer any cool things you like. Keep a close eye on the Maps section of this site - and don't hesitate to ask questions of literally anyone here. We're all here to help and support one another, so make sure to leverage that. Cheers - and welcome to ForgeHub!
Thanks! I've been downloading tons of maps recently so I'll take on this advice and load some up in forge to see how it all works!
Like Debo said, play tons of custom games with maps. Check out cool maps on here, bring them up in forge, and rip them up. You see a cool structure? Pull the pieces apart to see what it is made of. Take note of their fog settings if you like the atmosphere. And even just play on the map with people, but pay a bit more attention to the map details
Must say I'm thoroughly impressed by the amount of help I've received! It's a great welcome to ForgeHub!
Tips for forging: Read the menu, and take the time to learn things like duplicating, multi-selecting, grouping, moving increments, and angle snap adjustments. All of these tools are incredibly useful, no matter what you're forging. Tips for map design: Geometry: Make sure your map has interesting and intuitive geometry (floors, stairs, catwalks, platforms, etc). Remember, players will generally go to the highest position, as it is usually the most advantageous. Take the necessary precautions to ensure the positions are balanced. Structure: Make sure the structure of the map (walls, pillars, etc) provide lines of sight that compliment the geometry, and cuts off any potentially exploitable line of sight (like a large line of sight that hinders movement in an area).
Take a look at all the maps from Halo 1-5 and Reach and listen to what people have to say about them. Then ignore everyone and make something you enjoy.
I've been having a bit of a play with forge and I'm going to start working on something that'll hopefully improve as my skill in forge does. I've made a start and got the skybox, fog etc settings done, I got the settings from 'Halvalla' and made adjustments to suit what I want to make, and I'll get started with the land tomorrow!
I would HIGHLY recommend making sure that when you start placing blocks that u work off of a whole number coordinate point (ex. 20.00x20.00x10.00) it will make it easier to place the pieces u want in exactly the right spot. especially for symmetrical maps.
First build a map you know, like something you have done before or something you can look at. this will help you keep a vision in mind as you find tons of new toys to play with. Build maps. the only way to really learn is to build maps, and not just start one but finish it. there are lot of steps between the end and the beginning that you will need refine as you strive to get better at forge.