Currently I'm at a University and I can't connect my Xbox to Live because of restrictions on the console, but I want to build a design that I've drawn up recently. I know forge comes out for Windows 10 pretty soon, but I don't think that my laptop would be able to handle it with a decent framerate and without crashing. Does anybody know of a free app that I could use to create a blockout for a map?
Sketchup is a really popular choice. Lots of good tutorials, pretty low system requirements, and people in the forge community are familiar with it. Official site and download here: http://www.sketchup.com/ @Blaze was telling me about another really good tool a few months back... Reflex I think it was? Edit: The Sketchup I linked is put out by Trimble. If you want the free version, grab SketchupMake.
If it's a connecting issue by device, you may be able to get around it. It is possible to clone your mac address for another device and use it to sign on the internet on the Xbox One. If you are allowed to sign onto the Wifi with a different device you don't use often, sign on with it, obtain a Mac Address (write it down), turn that devices Wifi off, turn on the Xbox one and manually assign the Xbox One's Mac address as that other device. I think there is also a way to connect the Xbox One to the Laptop to obtain an internet connection that way, but I haven't done that one. If they just straight blocked the IP Addresses to connect to Xbox Live, that's dirty and I don't know how you would get around that other than possibly connect through the laptop and use a proxy server that redirects the connection first.
I tried using an ethernet cable to connect to the xbox and my laptop, but it never works for more than a minute, probably because of dips in internet speeds. From what I've seen of Sketchup so far, it seems pretty hard to leard. I think I'm going to see what Reflex is now.
Worst case scenario, sketch it up on a grid paper and share it here. Someone may be able to adopt it and forge it into existence for you.
@Matt has Soul Sketchup is actually not very hard to learn for what you need for Forge. Learn to make squares with the square tool, and then push pull it into a cube, then make it a component and then duplicate all day long. Sketchup for blockouts is really easy. Draw a shape and pull it into a 3D shape, then save it as a "prefab" using the Make Component option. Sketchup is probably the easiest tool and most powerful tool on the PC. If you want to try something else there is actually Qubism on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jquinn.qubism.android&hl=en
I stand by the reflex editor. It only adds to it that it is apart of an already amazing and passionate game. It's very easy to use and to learn and is getting consistent updates. Nearly every steam sale you can pick it up for $5! You can't beat that for what it is!
Learn to use the grid paper as a scale. I usually use one square as a 16x16 or 8x8, depending on the location of the scale.
The SDK/Hammer editor are also super easy to use and are provided free with steam. It can be used to build for portal, CS, TF2, and L4D if you're interested in that. And UDK/unreal editor is free too, I believe.