Scripting

This information was compiled for your use as a reference and learning resource. Please keep in mind that Halo 5 Forge updates over the years, including but not limited to the huge Monitor's Bounty update, means you may find information that is no longer relevant or was modified in an update. We're working to get this info up-to-date. Feel free to contact staff if you find deprecated information, when they can forward your concern to the appropriate team for correction.


Scripting is a type of user level object manipulation, first featured in 'Halo 2: Anniversary', and included with Forge in the Infinity's Armory update to 'Halo 5: Guardians'. It reappeared in the Windows 10 release of Forge, 'Halo 5: Forge'.

Scripting In Halo 5: Guardians(top)

In Halo 5: Guardians, scripting is used by Forgers to manipulate objects. Much like the game dev counterpart, scripting involves sequences of "When" (Conditions) and "Do" (Actions). With the scripting interface, players input "When" Condition(s), which upon validation, triggers "Do" Action(s). Scripts allow Forgers to make their maps function dynamically by tracking events, moving and rotating object(s), sending message(s), and more.

Most of the objects in Forge can be given scripts, up to 8. Each Script is created with one Condition and one Action, and additional Actions can be added, up to four. The Conditions check if certain events occur in the game. Some events are specific to the object, such as spawning or taking damage. Other events are observed by all objects in the game, such as message broadcasts or timer events.

When the Condition of a Script is met, it executes its Actions. Some Actions are universal (sending messages or power changes), but most are object specific and do things like move the object or change its color.

Scripts seem to be processed for every game cycle, which is each round of calculations and graphics generation done by the game. In testing, scripts ran 60 times a second (which matches Halo 5's targeted frame rate), though it might vary a little.

Script Execution Order(top)

During game play, events happen: objects spawn, timers occur, objects take damage, players interact with switches, etc. When these happen, the game “broadcasts” events that our script Conditions listen for. In each cycle, the Conditions are first checked to see if their events happened, and the Actions of those scripts are run one script at a time in a fixed order.

Scripts are evaluated in order by earliest to latest(top)

Generally, the first/earliest scripts added to the map are evaluated first*. It seems to actually have an array that contains the scripts and the lowest numbered available slot is where a new script gets added. Think of the scripts as having a hidden number (1 to max 512) that doesn't change & removing a script leaves its array slot open. If there are no open slots from deleted scripts, a new script gets the number = the current script count +1.


Scripts with Conditions that pass their test then have their Actions executed.

Actions are executed in order(top)

Once a Script's Condition is triggered, its Actions are executed in the order they were created, so top #1 to bottom #4. If any Actions have a Time interval, later Actions are executed after the Timed one completes.

When Actions execute (or begin if they're timed) on the same object during the same game tick, it seems the conflict is handled by the following behavior:

• The highest number Power Set action wins
  
• The lowest number Move or Rotate action wins
  
• Damage: Ratio actions accumulate, so the assigned numbers don't matter
  
• The highest number Spawn or Despawn script wins

Message and Power Channels Intro(top)

Messages and Power State changes send broadcasts that all objects on your map can detect. This broadcast system is completely under your control and is the main way to have objects and their Scripts communicate with each other. (There are other ways to have some objects interact with each other, but these are workarounds that are difficult to use and less reliable.)

Forge provides us with 26 message and 26 power channels, both named like the NATO phonetic alphabet (alpha to zulu). Message and power channels of the same name don't affect each other.

Messages and Power State broadcasts are simply that: messages. They contain no information or options. When you use the Message: Send action, the broadcast is instantly sent for the selected channel and only lasts for that instant (one game tick). Every script that contains the Message: Received, Power: Check, or Message/Power: Multi Conditions will listen and activate their Actions when appropriate.

• These broadcasts are for your customization; the game doesn’t automatically create any broadcasts.
• There are 26 channels to send these broadcasts over. They are named like the NATO radio message standard for spelling the alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie… zulu.
• Both messages and power channel changes behave like events that will be detected by script conditions on the next script cycle check.

Messages(top)

Messages are simple events that you can broadcast from any object that can contain scripts. Any Script that has 'Message: Received' Conditions will listen for a message broadcast being sent over the channel it is listening to (alpha-zulu).

Power States(top)

You can use the Power: Set Action to attempt to set a State to On or Off or to Toggle it from whatever it's current value is. When a Script Action attempts to set a Channel that's On to On, or Off to Off, then no change occurs and no broadcast is sent. When Toggle is used, or anytime the State switches between On and Off in either direction, a broadcast is sent

At the start of a match or Forge session, every channel's Power state seems to behave as if it’s Off.

• Setting it to Off doesn't trigger any scripts.
• Using the Toggle or On options turn it On and conditions that listen for On events trigger.
• Conditions that listen for Off events don't trigger at match start, so the behavior doesn’t seem like the channels are switched to Off right when the game starts. It's like they were already turned Off before the game started.
• A Multi condition with an On Power condition set to Off, will trigger without changing that power state as long as it has another condition that broadcasts and causes it to be evaluated.

Message/Power: Multi(top)

The Message/Power: Multi Condition includes checks for the current States of Power channels. If a Condition checks for a power channel state to be On or Off, then that Condition is true even if the power was set previously. It doesn't have to act like an event that just triggered. Note that at least one of a Multi's conditions needs to be triggered during the previous cycle for the script to activate.

Additional Notes on Scripting in Halo 5(top)

Grouped objects have their own individual scripts. Scripts added to a group are added to each object within. Welding a group does not change this. Welding is, however, necessary to rotate an entire group as if it is a single object. Otherwise, each piece of the group will rotate on it's own axis.

General Script GOTCHAS!(top)

Following are some general scripting seeming glitches or Gotchas!. You will find other more specific Gotchas! in their respective sections.

• Normally, Conditions will run in the order they are created. However, deleting a script in one object (Timmy) can cause the next script added to another object (Olive) to run earlier than that (Olive) object's lower numbered scripts because that next added script will take the deleted script's place in the order Conditions run.
• Number Changes for a currently dirty number can affect any Number Checks for that number that run later (have a higher Map Script Slot number) Learn more about this behavior by following this link to the Numbers Miscellanious page.
• There are three known things that will cause pieces on your map to load crooked in Halo 5 custom games on the Xbox One (they'll work fine in Forge and on PC).
  1. Placing any label on the object, whether via it's Properties menu or via the Label Change Action, even if the Action hasn't ran. If the label is added via a script, simply removing the script fixes the crooked glitch, but if it was added directly to the piece in Properties the piece must be deleted.
  2. Setting a Spawn Order in the object's Properties menu.
  3. Putting any scripts on the piece.