I’m sure that most of us that enjoy Custom Games have participated in the discussion that requests of 343 that they restore it to its former glory state, citing all of the fan favorite gametypes that are no longer possible because of the various exclusions and changes. With the wave of hype surrounding the event, it can whip up a sense of urgency about the situation that, upon closer examination, is quite unfitting. While I do agree that the custom game and forge options may be lacking, this circumstance is not as grim as it would seem.
Like others before me, I not only play custom games, I create them, along with the maps that support them, and instead of wallowing in tears in the corner, screaming “YOU RUINED IT 343!”, I put my hammer to hot steel in my Forge and started formulating effective workarounds to the new barriers inhibiting the recreation of Halo’s fan favorites. And for those of you that hunger for good Customs, I have compiled some of the most important tricks to know, that you may not have thought of yourself, that will allow greater customization within the Forge and your custom gametypes and will allow you to bring back the classic Customs spirit of olde.
Let’s get started. Major Workarounds will be marked by a star. Tricks that aren’t necessarily workarounds for gametype recreation but allow for new and creative Forging opportunities will be marked by an octothorpe (# <this guy).
DIFFERENT TRAITS FOR DIFFERENT TEAMS
This is an easy one. Set up a trait zone of your choosing (or several) and expand it (or them) in order to cover an entire map. Once you’ve chosen the special traits that you wish to apply, select the target team in the “Options” for the trait zone item. Repeat if needed for the opposite team. This allows for gametypes that require different traits (they would have been infection-based in H3 and Reach) but also require both sides to have guns, a setting not possible in Flood.
Gametypes/Maps now possible to make include:
-Cops & Robbers
-Desert Storm
-Teacher & Student
-Tremors
-Zombie Ghosts
RACE IN HALO 4
Start your Forge session in King of the Hill mode, locate the area that you want to be the “finish line” of the race track and place a hill there. Ensure that it remains wide and long enough that the race vehicle can remain within the hill for at least one second. To make the gametype, in the custom game options, set the “Score to win” to one, and make sure that the hill is non-dynamic (does not move randomly) and tweak the remaining settings to your choosing.
- NOTE: Lap-based racetracks will still not work. Sorry, guy who made INDY500.
Gametypes/Maps now possible to make include:
-Race
-Rocket Race
-Rocket Hog Race
-Rocket Schmocket HogMog Race
-[Insert Race gametype of choice here]
"PROGRESSIVE" MAPS
In Reach, Invasion allowed map makers to separate a map into segments, blocking off a certain area until a certain objective had been completed. To replicate this in Halo 4 (to a degree), use the gametype Extraction (Note: I will not detail the complexities of Extraction setup here, please refer to Certain Affinity’s tutorial for this). Use the Extraction Crate items to block off an area or seal a doorway, and then bind them to a nearby Extraction Target. When the target is extracted, the blockage will be removed, revealing whatever it is you’ve built behind it.
Gametypes/Maps now possible to make include:
-Invasion (To a degree)
ONE-SIDED CTF
This one’s a cinch. It’s all in objective marker placement on the map. To make a map one-sided, take your “Attacker” team’s flag and place it an area out of reach by the defending team, or perhaps by any player at all. Extend the capture zone into the playable space and you have a situation in which only one team can earn points. There will be no end-of-round role-swapping, though, so an organized team change will have to be arranged by the party leader.
Gametypes/Maps now possible to make include:
-(Obviously) One-Flag CTF
-Capture the Booty
-Imbalanced Fort
FINE ADJUSTMENTS
“Whilst holding the object you want to nudge, tilt the camera all the way to the top so you’re looking straight down at the object - then move the object pushing lightly and briefly on the movement stick.” - Bvenged
This does not directly allow any new gametypes or maps, but does make the Forging process a boatload less frustrating, and beyond that enables adjustments of a much finer degree than a coordinate unit, which in turn enables more complex structures and decorations.
## SENTRY GUNS IN NOT-DOMINION ##
Dominion items offer a whole new world of fun, and strangely a lot of that fun occurs outside of Dominion itself. If you’d like to have Dominion’s base turrets for use in gametypes such as Flood or Capture the Flag, you have a right to! Simply select the turret item, grant it to a certain team, and ensure that the particular instance of the item is not exclusive to Dominion. Like in Dominion, the sentry still requires manual activation and may not be activated nor converted by another team. And yes, Flood player may use them if given by the map.
Some fun ideas:
-Enhance a fort-defense map with turrets!
-Create additional fortification opportunities in Flood!
-Grant an otherwise disadvantaged team a bit of extra firepower!
## REVERSE-GRAVITY ZONES ##
Those of you that seldom work with gravity zones may be unfamiliar with this trick. Stack two gravity volumes, of any size or visibility, so that, at some point, the two volumes coincide. Within that volume, airborne entities, including both players and vehicles, will be pulled upward. This also works directionally (cardinal directions) to create wind-tunnels or mock “currents”.
- NOTE: Players and vehicles will only be affected by this antigravity upon losing contact with the ground. Since Ghosts and Wraiths hover, they disregard this rule. A workaround for this problem would be to cover a floor with a one-way shield, as the “bouncing” effect will force players to lose contact with the ground below.
Some fun ideas:
-Create a mini-game based around airborne Covenant craft!
-Build a large gravity well that will suck players into a high area!
-Confuse and confound players who will ask “Who turned off gravity?”
## TEAM SPECIFIC AREAS ##
To make a specific area, be it the location of a vehicle, a power weapon stash, or a certain defensive position exclusive to one team, one must select a “Base Shield” item from the Dominion category and grant it to a team of choice. The shield will still be destructible as in Dominion, so a scaling-down of damage tables (10% damage / 10% shield strength, for example) or an instant-respawn setting on the shield will be needed.
This OP will be periodically updated. Readers are encouraged to submit workarounds to gametype flaws that they have found or been shown by a friend, along with any neat tricks that will enable neat new gametypes once considered impossible. Lastly, this thread is one of troubleshooting and problem solving, not a hub for complaints and scorn for 343’s ill care of the Customs community. Such behavior is discouraged.
With love on behalf of the Forgers and the Custom Gamers,
Antaeus Brutus
