Sandbox SketchUp (plan your map before you forge)

If you've been wanting to plan your assault on Sandbox and graph paper isn't cutting it, why not check out WhtButterflyLiz's awesome Sandbox SketchUp model, detailed below. You have to download both the application, the template, and wrap your mind around some basic 3D modeling concepts, but hey, the mind is maleable. Scroll down to check out the wall-o-text and links to everything you need to get started.

"We at Halo 3 In The WorkPLace were some of the lucky few to receive early access to the Mythic map pack two weeks ago. I got a sweet present from Bungie out of the blue. And I figured the best way to pay that forward into the community at large was to spend my hours replicating Sandbox in SketchUp for map-making purposes.

For those who don't have the maps yet, it's only a morsel of what it's really like to be standing in Sandbox, but it's something. And you've got XXXX days until they show up on the DLC marketplace to use this to plan your perfect Sandbox creations.

For those of you who DO have the maps already and like to forge, this is a great way of quickly throwing your ideas together in 3d to see how they look, see if you really can get five of those blocks in this space, etc. =) "

V1 of Sandbox in SketchUp is complete - Download Here

Download Sketchup 7 here. It's a FREE 3d modeling program.

It's a rather large file because all the components are textured with screenshots of the actual object in Halo 3. By default I have the sand dunes turned off because they're a massive memory hog. They are on layer "Terrain" if you'd like to see them or render shots with them in. =)

All of the components are accurate size in relation to the grid and one another. Whether the grid is actually 10' x 10' squares I can't guarantee.... but the only thing that is a gross approximate is the sand dune terrain itself.

The large blue rectangles you see in the model represent the soft ceiling heights for the ground floor and the skybox above.

To get into the crypt you can double click on it to open the "skybox" component. Then click again and you should get a group of three walls. Right click and select hide and you will be able to work unhindered in the crypt space.

One thing that's a bit of a pain but I think is worth it : the skyline cylinder is invisible if you look at it from the outside (inside shows the panorama), but it is still selectable. So make sure you're actually inside the cylinder while trying to manipulate things or else you may inadvertently be changing the whole skybox component. The easiest way to do that is to orbit to the top and scroll in from there.

For those of you newer to SketchUp - all of the Forgeable scenery is already IN the file, you just can't see it automatically. You need to go to Window -> Components. Click that and a small window will pop up with a picture of a cube at the top, a few tabs under that, and a big white-space list under that. If you click the button that looks like a house just underneath the tabs, it will display all components in the model. At that point you should have a big list of items with pictures on the left and titles on the right. Titles match the ones in the game."