I have to agree with what a few others said... this is Forge in Halo, not some kind of World Creator Sim. I mean, a lot of these ideas would be nice, I'm not saying they wouldnt be; but it's just so impractical. Some of you sound like you should go into game design, where you would have near complete freedom.
I can't imagine it being any more difficult than adding to a list of an object's position every time it's released, and then reverting to the previous position on undo. On release -> Save current position to variable 1 -> On release -> Save current position to variable 2 -> On release -> Save current position to variable 3 -> Undo -> Set object position to variable 2 -> On release -> Save current position to variable 3 -> Undo -> Set object position to variable 2 -> Undo -> Set object position to variable 1. Of course it would get a little more complex than that, but it really wouldn't be that hard to do. Bungie saying that they couldn't implement it, and their "Christmas light code" makes me really wonder how they even managed to make a game.
What is ridiculous is that I have retrofitted redo/undo features into software programs a number of times. It isn't difficult. Unless they really screwed up the software architecture from the start. [br][/br]Edited by merge: Understood, but its software. Software is expensive the first time you write it, and free to replicate. Making it dirt cheap. The processors in the XBOX are more than capable of handling the task.
This one's not so much a feature as a texture change... I wish Fusion Coils still looked like Forerunner objects. Propane tanks should be the only human-styled explosive. :s The main reason I don't include explosives on my Tempest map for now is that they don't look Forerunner and thus don't fit properly into the story.
Undo and copy/paste are definitely possible. Far Cry 2 pulled it off quite well and it actually had more to deal with than forge does. Full terrain editing, a much larger brush/object library and dynamic lighting. Not to mention it also had a multi-select feature that was super awesome. You could build entire structures and then drag the cursor to select the whole thing and then PASTE IT across themap for symmetrical maps. Honestly, other than the game engine mechanics, mode editing and coordinates, forge 2.0 has nothing on far crys editor. That being said, I think Halo has much superior gameplay. Bungie could have done it but they prolly just ran out of time.
That being said I'm pretty sure Far Cry 2 and Halo have to completely different game engines. I believe Far Cry 2 runs off of Havok and Halo Reach uses the Unreal engine. However I could be wrong...
Havok is not an ENGINE per say. It powers physics. Far Cry 2 was built on DUNIA, an Ubisoft-developed engine specifically for Far Cry 2. Avatar uses it in the film-game. Halo Reach runs on Bungies' in-house engine. Both teams knew they would have editors so there is no real excuse to me OTHER than time. Bungie had different priorities than undo so it didn't get it. We almost didnt get coordinate editing believe it or not. THey threw that idea in at the last minute.
I am assuming Forge is strictly a coordinate editor for sake of small file sizes, X, Y, Z, rotational coordinates and time parameter can all be saved as a number. (Compare the DLC filesize to three custom ForgeWorld maps.) When you get into full terrain editing, dynamic lighting and some of the things Far Cry had to offer the filesize goes through the roof, which would be costly for Bungie's servers, and would be much more of a hassle for us to upload and download. I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice, but I can see why they didn't include it.
OOh OOh I have one no-one said yet. This is entirely dependent on server structure and load capacity BUT how awesome would a map version checker be?! For those of you who have used the Galaxy editor for Starcraft 2 you will know that you start your map at version 0.1. You are forced to up the number each time you edit and publish. You can control what the number says but you could manage your maps version number and it could queue to everyone who "owns" a copy of your map. Imagine if I wanted to update my map, every user who has a copy on their xbox could PROMPT (It would not be mandatory but could be automated) an update checker to sync map versions with the latest on the creators fileshare! It would work just like syncing apps on iPhone or version checking on steam only with MUCH smaller files. That way the perfection freaks who put out 6 version of Embassy..err...their maps wont get their fanbase fragmented.
Reverting isn't that hard if you accurately logged the starting position for each object effected by the change(for the most part it'll be one but there can be more than one object effected if you run into normal physics objects...one must accurately log this, not a problem if the system is well designed) and then moving them back on the revert. If this isn't possible, a quick fix would be to fix it in the data and reload. Heck, only being able to undo one action would save a lot of time(Like when you accidently delete the wrong piece or you accidently move something that has been meticulously placed with precision far greater than editing coordinates). It should also be completely patchable, again if their system is well designed. I've got a feeling it's not though>.<
Right now, I want the ability for cameras to be Globally Unlocked. It is local. Local gives it that feeling of pitch and yaw movement. But Global allows the camera to rotate in full 360 pitch. This means that the option lets you keep turning upwards and eventually do a 360 roll. Then again, this idea sucks... NEEDS LOAD-OUT ATTRIBUTES!
Yeah, I've thought this would be useful for lining stuff up on the ceiling. It turns out its easier to assemble and line it up above then phase it down to location. It might be useful for doing that when you can't go above your ceiling though.
no budget/ item limet: I dont think it would hurt (i could be wrong...) but I always run out of walls and things like that. also put down trees, grass, water, ect. and clones.
I DO wish there was no specific item limit. I run out of platforms FAST because they have SO much aesthetic variety AND utility. I run out of blocks ridiculously fast too but I'm fine with that limit, really. Walls... again, I run out because of the variety withing. Not as varied as platforms but still quite a bit you can do with the items. I just wish the XBOX could handle what that would bring.
I would like to see a few switches(one push , on/off, floor or area switch) which have a channel link (like teleporters do) controlling the state of selected doors and gadgets. It would be totally sick and would create the possibility of more dynamic maps. You don't just use the map as a battleground and it's weapons to fight with but actually change the map Itself and wield the game environment against your foes