Hi all, recently been getting into the forge myself, and as such, felt I needed somewhere to discuss this new found obsession. Forge Hub will, quite happily, fill this gap I should think. My background on Halo only started about 9 months ago, when I was introduced to Halo 3 by a friend - I'd never had an Xbox 1, thus never played 1 or 2. Since then, it has become my primary entertainment when I can't get out and about - quite often, as even though I do drive, the weather here in Blightey is...poor most of the time. I only begun playing ranked about 2 months ago, and have played very few custom games - largely because I really really dislike Infection I enjoy Halo 3 greatly, but the choice of maps becomes repititive once you know exactly what people will do from the go and exactly how your grenade bounces off every surface etc etc. It tempted me into the forge, where, I think at least, my first project has been quite successful - I shall post it up soon in the Casual Maps section. Now, in reference to my continued membership here, I think I should be alright. I'm an active member on a graphics forum, where I'm often found lurking, giving critique and advice to people for their art. Comments like "very nice good composition" drive me mental. Nothing is ever perfect for one thing. Everything can be improved and you can be more specific when giving positive feedback. So, I hope, I can translate that level of feedback to here - I will need time to learn what does and does not justify comment or criticism, and will need more practice myself - my first map only has very minor interlocking, and could, in fairness, be neater. Versey1989 is also my Gamertag, hit me up if you want, just leave a message with your request - "FH" or something. Thanks for reading, bit of a monster intro, and hope you can all tolerate my horrendous saracasm from time to time
Hey there Versey1989 and welcome to forge hub. Seems you're pretty familiar with forum use and whatnot else. I'm sure you already have done the basic requirements here and visited a few key locations such as the rules and other points of interest. Since you're getting into forge there are a few places I would recommend to you, and they are as follows. For the forging itself, the whole process can be a little overwhelming. I always recommend checking out other peoples maps, and see what people liked or didn't like about those particular maps. In the forging community it's considered pretty important that you know how to interlock objects and geomerge. Here's a link to a video tutorial for each if the text tutorials are a little confusing: interlocking, geomerging with the wall, and lastly geomerging with the floor However since you mentioned that you've done interlocking before, I'm sure all of this is familiar territory. If you wanted to check out some more advanced techniques, not just for interlocking/geomerging, but a host of other forge tricks such as switches or the unlimited budget glitch then be sure to check out the forging 101 section of the forums. Lastly it is important that you understand how to post your maps. Correctly that is. When you're posting your map you're trying to get peoples attention, make your map appear desirable and appealing, and giving the players a good idea of what they're getting into. Check out this thread before you do any posting. This thread can also be helpful. If you want to check out some maps for ideas feel free (of course) to hit any of the maps listed in my sig, or try a database such as the FH Standard Gametype Map Database. Feel free to message myself if you have any forging questions or need assistance, or feel free to ask openly here on the forums! Remember to use your extremely handy search tool, and PM mods or admins if you need help pertaining to the forums themselves. All in all, welcome to Forgehub and happy forging!
Thanks for the warm welcome and the heads up on the map posting requirements - nothing I wouldn't expect in having a clear title, intro, screenshots and the correct links, but always good to clear. Geomerging is foreign territory to me. Interlocking, I know HOW, I'm just not that good at it yet - lack of patience sometimes, so I'll be sure to read up and have a look at the vids. Switches also interest me - a map with the odd trap or two does appeal, especially as my last attempt failed so miserably - double block meant to fall on to a man cannon as it doesn't gain "fixed" status till it's still, but ended up with both frozen in place and undeletable (is that a word?). Forging is going to be something I spend a lot of time on, so your assistance is much appreciated - nice to have a contact as well. Just starting on my second map - an assymetrical map built for slayer and objective games, so I'll be implementing my new knowledge as I go. First up - filling the hole in the middle of Sandtrap's middle floor!
When filling up that gap, be creative! I often build up a structure based on that hole. What I would recommend is to create a hollow version of the map but don't delete that one block. Save the hollow map and use that as your base template for all future maps. That way in a future map you can choose right off the start whether you want the hole open or not. Also I'm always willing to help with geomerging and interlocking. A fair warning as well, if you're on live, do one of two things. 1. Set to friends or invite only. or 2. set it so only you can edit in game settings. Last night I unfortunately did neither, and ended up having two hours of work deleted by some idiot who thought that was hilarious. Also note that Geomerging into the crypt (basement on sandbox) floor does not work. Lastly remember that switches have far more uses than traps. Use them to make back doors in CTF maps, with a switch to open that door situated in the base. (This really works depending on the type of map, if your using a minmax switch it'd only work on One Flag maps). This allows the attacking team to greatly alter the flow of combat in a match that's going downhill for them.
Filled in the hole with a block, forced that bloody thing in with some minor geomerging. Having some trouble with the map though, as I find I'm running out of the blocks I need - Have used Block, Huge for the main stucture as the Walls seems too thin for the look of what I wanted. I'll probably go back and start from scratch again, sloppy in parts, but I really want the idea to work. Can have a look in my fileshare if you want to see what I've done previously to this map - you won't be blown away, but it'll give you an idea where I am in terms of familiarity with the forge. Can't link my fileshare at the moment though, bungie.net's signin server seems to be kaput.
Good to hear from you versey and glad you're doing well. I will stop for your map sometime in the coming week to see how it's going. Best of luck on your future forging!