Detailed Forge 3.0 List [Work in progress]

Community General Discussion
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NOTE: All these ideas assume that the game comes on two disks. This would allow for exponentially greater space for Campaign and Forge and Multiplayer.

Disk One:
Campaign (Big, and I mean BIG. 18+ hours at least)
campaign Matchmaking
Firefight
Firefight Matchmaking

Disk Two:
Multiplayer
Multiplayer Matchmaking
Forge
Forgeworld (upgraded; see below)

This setup would allow for a much better Forge, Campaign, and Multiplayer system. Also, it would be great if we could play both installed disks from just Disk One (and only Disk One).

The Next Forge should have:

  • Terrain Cubes (That’s 6 sides) (Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large (With different terrain geometry on each side (flat, wavy, hill, indented, etc.) There would be multiple cube textures (Grass, Sand, Mountain, etc)))

  • Different Forge Object Textures ((Each in its own category) Halo: CE, Halo 2 (ruins), Halo 2 (regular (forerunner)), Halo 3, Human, Covenant)

  • Open-able Doors using channels (alpha, bravo, Charlie, etc (this includes gates, such as on Zanzibar, Containment, Highground)Open-able doors which can either bet set to “normal” (which would make them automatically open for a player and close behind him/her), or set to a specific ‘channel’, like the teleporters (alpha, bravo, charlie, …, x-ray, yankee, zulu, etc.). If the door was set to a channel, you would then place a ‘panel’ and set it to the same channel. During a game, a player would go up to the panel and it would say “Press X to use Panel”. The door would then open.

The beauty of this is that you could place the door at one spot, and the panel wherever you want. Since both are linked through the channel setting, it wouldn’t matter where either was located. Also, by using the channel system, you can have multiple doors open with one switch, or multiple switches open one door.

You could even have a setting for the switch which would allow it to be used to open AND close doors, such as an option like:

SWITCH PROPERTIES: “Open”, “Close”, “Both”

You should be able to set it’s reuse time, or the time between uses:

REACTIVATION TIME: “Instant”, “Never”, “5 seconds”, “10 seconds”, “1 minute”, etc.

Include multiple “door” sizes: “Small” (like a door in any hallway), “Medium” (such as those gates on Zanzibar/Last resort), “Large” (Like those big base gates on Containment), “Extra Large” (Use your imagination).

Also, some sort of correlation between switches and teleporters would be cool, like on Relic: How you had to hit a switch to activate the teleporters.

  • Automatic Doors (Like in campaign; doors that open as you approach and close as you move away.)

  • Different Sky-Box options (Nighttime, Daytime, Sunset, Stormy, etc) This would replace lighting-effects.You could have multiple different Sky-box options:
    Regular
    Morning
    Night
    Evening
    Stormy
    et.
    You would just select one while Forging your map and it would switch to it. The beauty of having the sky-box swap is that it’s just one less thing to constantly bog-down the server during gameplay. The lighting effects used currently are just filters, and can affect gameplay. We should at least have the option to Forge on different Forgeworlds with these different Sky-Boxes before we even start the game:
    Forgeworld
    Forgeworld (Night)
    Forgeworld (Stormy)
    Forgeworld (Sunset)
    etc.

  • Forgeable Water (Using ‘Objective’ area shape (cylinder, box) with water surface at top; anything inside the boundaries but below the surface will be ‘underwater’ (Option to have it ‘flow’ (fast for rapids (and waterfalls (when turned sideways)), slow for creeks and such, and an ‘ocean’ option; one default ‘flow’ direction only)))

  • FIX THE “EDIT COORDINATES” and “ROTATION SNAP”! (Sometimes objects don’t align, especially when flipped upside down. Also, what the heck is up with rotation snap?)

  • Mirrored Objects (This is A MUST! Either an option to mirror a selected object, or pre-mirrored objects)

  • More Window-like Objects that are more versatile. (Perhaps just window pane objects with no frame (small, medium, large))

  • At least 26 Different Teleporter Pairs, one pair for each channel (That’s 52 total teleporter placements. A little extreme, but it is definitely needed. Also, this could possibly have a correlation between this and the open-able doors system (Key a switch to activate a teleporter).)

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[continued]

  • Bigger Forge World with different biomes (desert, Artic, mountain, Cave, etc.)They should take the existing Forgeworld and expand upon it. All those areas we can’t currently get to should be altered so as to offer better playability (Flattening land and such). This would include the large out of bounds area above the Canyon and the Area with that large Forerunner Tower-Structure-Thing.

Then, they should at least quadruple the size of Forgeworld, spanning it out in multiple directions. You should be able to fly to those distant shores you see in the distance and forge there (as viewed from the shores of the canyon, and island). Even further away should be a DESERT AREA. If you go to the CANYON’s shore and look out in the distance to the right, you’ll see what appears to be a desert. You should be able to fly over to it and forge there.

From the ISLAND, you can look out across a big sea and see a distant shore that looks snowy. That should be a SNOW AREA. On the far side of the Snow area should be an Ice-Shelf Cliff that drops into another ocean-like area, only arctic themed (with ice floating in it, etc).

There should also be a very, VERY LARGE CAVE (Bigger than Waterworks) inside a mountain which is accessible via a hole in the ceiling (like in Waterworks) and by a hole in one of the walls that is very easily concealed with a Forgeable rock. Likewise, the hole in the ceiling is concealable.

From the PILLAR you can see a valley between that ‘Skull Mountain’ and the main area of Forgeworld. You should be able to fly through that valley and emerge into an area suited for Forging URBAN ENVIRONMENTS. Perhaps this would be an exposed part of the Halo superstructure (like an uncovered part, as seen in Halo 3), or something like a collection of Forerunner structures in an urban setup. This area should also contain an entrance to an even larger “inside” area (such as the COLISEUM).

Each one of these ‘biomes’ should be at least the size of the current Forgeworld (hopefully bigger) and offer as much if not more terrain diversity suited for each area individually. Also, the areas in-between each biome should be populated by diverse and suitable terrain that illustrates the changing climate and ecosystem with transitional textures (i.e. the closer you get to the desert, the more dry the land becomes, the less green the grass is, more sandy patches appear, etc… As you approach the SNOW area, snowy patches in the grass should become more and more common, etc.)

I realize that this seems like a lot to fit on one disk that also has Campaign, Multiplayer, firefight, etc. This is why I’ve been pushing for a Two Disk game:

  • Weather Control (Possibly in conjunction with Sky-Box; rain, snow, etc.)

  • Light Bridges (like in Halo: CE (Not crucial, but very, very useful) Small (Like the ones on the flood level), and Large (Like the vehicle one on the Halo level). Length adjustment. The large one should have those moving beams underneath it. The Light bridges would be under the same area as open-able doors and use the same ‘channel’ system).

  • Animated Objects (Such as the big Fan on Zanzibar, The spinning array on Ascension, or the pile-driver thingy on Waterworks. They are decorative pieces).

  • Civilian Vehicles? (Maybe? Doesn’t really matter, but it would be nice)

  • Mega-Structures (BIG, detailed objects such as large Forerunner Structures or human Buildings. These would be very, very large (such as the Spire, or that Forerunner structure on Forgeworld, or those weather-control things on Tempest))

  • More Rocks, bigger rocks (HUGE, to be used to wall-off areas; possible texture Cubes option) There should be a rock dedicated to walling-off areas, such as the CAVE Biome mentioned above.

  • Forgeable Trees? (Maybe? Not as big a deal, but still extremely useful and very wanted by the
    community.)

  • Forgeable Invisible Walls (With adjustable dimensions (This is needed. Kill-Boundaries aren’t good. Especially Soft Kill-Boundaries; Regular ‘death barrier’ Kill-Boundaries are still needed).)

  • A ‘Despawn Time’ option (The opposite of ‘Spawn Time’. Similar to the ‘Invasion Gate’ option currently available while forging Invasion Maps in Halo Reach)

  • More accurate time settings for ‘Spawn Time’, ‘Despawn Time’, ‘Respawn Time’. (Just add a ‘minutes’ option AND a ‘seconds’ option.)

  • CRUCIAL: An Extreme Increase to ‘Budget’ and the number of objects able to be placed at one time. An EXTREME INCREASE. MUCH, MUCH MORE (like, over 10x as much).

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Additional Details added 07/04/2011

  • An additional idea for the Forgeable Water is that the sides of the “Water Cylinder/Box” would be different depending on the “Flow Speed”. For ‘Slow’ moving water, the sides will be calm, almost like looking into a fish-tank (Useful for aesthetics, possibly behind glass to create an underwater window). On the “Rapid” setting, the sides of the “Water Cylinder/Box” would simply look like a waterfall, such as the ones already visible on Forgeworld, and throughout Halo. This would make forging waterfalls easier, and also allow for “Forgeable Water” to be ‘hard-coded’ as a leveled object which cannot be tilted. [NOTE: If a player were to enter a free-standing cylinder/box of water, as soon as the player crosses the boundary, the view changes to the ‘underwater’ view, as do all other gameplay aspects].

  • Object Group Selection . The ability to select multiple objects at the same time. The Cursor/Reticule would turn into a cylinder or box (at the players choice) with adjustable dimensions and a zoom-able view. Every object inside the cylinder/box would be able to be selected all at the same time and edited as a group.

  • Object Combining into a single object. While multiple objects are selected, players should have the ability to connect all selected objects together into one object. For instance: Multiple objects have been forged to form a ‘base’. Using the “Combine” options, players can turn on “Object Combination” and the multiple objects are now considered a single object by the system. To turn off this mode, players would simply select the “single” object and turn off “Object Combination”, which would allow for the individual objects that make up the base to be selectable again.

  • Prefabricated Structures . These would be prefabricated objects made from multiple smaller objects put together by 343i to make up what are listed as “Buildings” in Forge 2.0. At any time after they are placed, a player can “Turn Off” the grouping option and remove individual pieces to, for instance, open up a new doorway or remove a railing. These would be listed under the “Prefab” or “Prefabricated” Object option.

  • Current Structures broken down into multiple pieces . Take the “Tower 2 Story” for example (The one on Ascension). Rather than having that entire thing as a solid object, make everything on it individual objects: Railings, doorways, ramps, walls; all of that would be individually available as separate objects. This utilizes the “Object Merge” tool, as well as the “Group Select” tool, and even the “Prefabricated Structures” option.

  • Savable “Templates” that are a group of individual objects selected at the same time and saved as a file to be used anytime. Players should be able to take any “Merged” structure they constructed and save it as a “Template” and give it a name. This saved structures would then be available under an Object option called “Saved Templates”. Can be uploaded to fileshare and downloaded by other players for use and edit.

  • Object Cloning. A simple feature that clones whatever you have selected (grouped or otherwise). For example: You have stacked two blocks on top of one another. By using the “Group Selection” tool mentioned above, you can select them both. Once selected, you can use the “Clone Selected Object(s)” tool. This will leave an exact copy (Deselected) of whatever you have selected in the exact location where you enabled the “Cloning” tool and will keep the original selected and movable. Or vise versa.

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[Reserved]

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Q&A
There have been several questions and responses and I have done my best to address them:

> Posted by: bloodpixel
> I would like individual weapon editing.
> I.e. damage, fire rate etc.
> I would also like drop pods cause those would be hilarious.

We tried to steer away from “gimmicky” ideas such as those and focus more on what could actually be done and achieved by 343 if they worked towards this as their final goal from day-one of production.

> Posted by: II R3D II
> I think alot of work/expansion needs to be done in regards to forgeworld. However i do’t think having one huge forgeworld is a good idea.
>
> This is because of
> a. the map performance would be seriously questionable.
>
> b. the amount of time which it would take to taverse this incredibly large area of space would take forever. (monitor’s speed already feels incredibly slow)
>
> c. The background areas in the distance would most likely seem out of place. e.g. a snowy/ice area with a desert in the distance? or jungle? doesnt quite make sense.
>
> Also another thing i would like, this may be inluded in the “cavey” idea but lava/or a volcano or a large scale jungle map/area I believe would be quite interesting and offer a completely new spectrum of forging options whilst remaining fresh based on the fact it hasn’t been seen/done before.
>
> Otherwise I find the OP to be a good idea on how forgeworld or forging in general could be expanded. Although I still think that the level of detail expressed within this post is only scraping the top of the iceberg, although how much is feasible is another issue entirely…

AS far as Map performance:
That could be solved by loading each area as you approach it, similarly to the way Bethesda loads chunks of terrain in Oblivion, Fallout 3, and New Vegas. This would pseudo-deload previous areas, leaving them distant-looking, the same way the distant shores look in the current Forgeworld.

When you select “Forgeworld” from the map list in the lobby, you’d be able to choose which biome to start in:

Forgeworld Location:
Desert
Snow Area
Temperate Area
Cave
etc.

As far as Monitor speed goes, perhaps by holding down both triggers, you go even faster than just holding down left trigger.

> Posted by: tsassi2
> I read that all and I must to say only suggestion I didn’t like was that super huge Forge World idea. I would much more like different Forge Worlds with different enviroments: Snow, desert, like the current Forge World, urban.
>
> The reasons I would like this are simple.
>
> 1. It looks pretty stupid and boring when you’re in the middle of a desert but can see non-desert terrain just few kilometers from your position.
>
> 2. Having a bigger map lowers it’s performance. I would much more like a map with detailed textures than a map where some textures just a little bit outside of boundaries are very low resolution.
>
> 3. Smaller map means better performance. Better performance means more objects.

The different biomes would be separated by the seas and just as far away as they seem from the current Forgeworld. But Your argument of separate Forgeworlds is almmost as popular with the group that I Forge with for the very reasons you list. However, keep in mind that I do not discuss the whole “Networking” and “Loading” issues in this post. If you would like to hear a few of the possible solutions to these problems that the group came up with, PM me and I’ll send the details your way.

However, the Bigger Forgeworld Idea was definitely the most popular.

> Posted by: BronzeOregon
> All of these are also possible, just put an in-game editor into the second disk, and encourage modding, because changing the damage, RoF, and projectiles is modding, beautiful, beautiful modding.

While I do agree that modding has a place in all video games, these ideas focus more on giving players and Forgers capabilities, tools and abilities that enable us to truly craft “good” maps that don’t have to sacrifice aesthetics for gameplay and performance or vice-versa.

Remember:
At it’s heart, the FORGE is still just an object editor. It’s not a true “Map Maker”. These tools will give players the ability to rival most map makers, though, while still staying true to the nature of the Forge.

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[Q&A continued]

> Posted by: NekoNoodle
> -I would add the Elephant from Halo 3’s Sandtrap.
> -Switches that activate other things. (Spawns items, despawns items, etc.)
> -Undo button.
> -Destructible objects.
> -The ability to use Night Vision.
> -All items from Foundry. (Halo 3)
> -Adding the Pelican.
> -Dead bodies. This would be a scenery object. (Covenate, Civilians, Spartans, UNSC, ODST etc.) (Great for Infection.)
> -More scenery objects.

The Elephant was a vehicle which had a lot of potential, but was underutilized and seemed out-of-place in the role Bungie had it serving in Sandtrap. We would like to see it return as a forgeable vehicle, but not without an overhaul.

Hitting a button to spawn an object feels a little ‘gimmicky’. However, a great workaround would be to hit a switch that activated a teleporter that led to a room with said item.

The “undo” feature and the “redo” are hotly debated topics for us. On the one hand, YES PLEASE!!! On the other, logic. The variable nature of the Forge would make this a very, very hard feature to code and implement. What we came up with was a compromise: A feature that would “bring back” the last object you just deleted. It would come back in the exact coordinates that it was in before it’s removal. However, this would only be available for the last object you deleted. Any more would be too stressful on the system.

Destructible objects are another debated topic. They would make for very compelling games and maps, but is the trade-off worth it? They stress the system, cause lag, and rely heavily on the “object respawn” system. We’re still talking about this one.

Nightvision is a subject dealing with the entire next Halo Game, not the next Forgeworld. If 343 puts it in, then great. If not, it doesn’t really affect Forgeworld.

There would be an entire section devoted to UNSC, Covenant, Halo: CE, Halo 2 (ruins/regular), and Halo 3 (The Ark) themed structures and objects, which could be mixed and matched in the same map.

We’re still debating the Pelican and Phantom and Spirit, but as of now it seems the majority are in favor of a Falcon-type vehicle that can hold passenger as well as gunners.

We’ve decided that “body objects” would not be a good addition because they stress the system and would look out-of-place without the ability to paint blood on objects and textures (And before you ask, the blood-painting is a no-no).

> Posted by: BronzeOregon
> But in an even farther reaching idea, AI allys and enemys. Put them on a team, restrict them in certain gametypes to only kill not capture in CTF, or so many other things you could do with AI in Halo. Halo:Reach : $60 X-port:$25 Launching marines?: Priceless.

Forging AI would not be applicable with the system we have suggested. Our suggested system utilizes a Campaign Disk and separate Multiplayer Disk. The campaign disk (disk 1) would contain all the code and elements for AI, and would be able to expand greatly upon that due to the freed-up space of having Forgeworld and Multiplayer on Disk 2. This system allows for each disk to specialize in its respective field, and allows for much greater content.

All AI data would be on disk 1. Disk 2 is what contains Forgeworld. However, you touched on another iffy subject for us:

Forging Firefight. … and that’s all I’m saying about it here.

> Posted by: Chromification
> No - I would need to change disks constantly.
>
> All on one disk or no thanks.

Do you spend most of your time in Matchmaking, or Campaign?

The Majority of players usually commit to one or the other for extended periods of time before swapping back to the other.

The 2-Disk system actually encourages players to spend more dedicated time in different aspects of the game. Plus, with all the space freed up on each disk by splitting Campaign and Firefight from Multiplayer and Forgeworld, we’d be ensured a much longer, better campaign in which to devote more of our time.

I also mentioned that it would be awesome if we could install both disks and play both from Disk 1 only (The campaign disk). We know that this system would still be open to abuse, but it would allow for a better overall experience.

We’ve also tossed around the idea of “Hot Swapping” disks. This entails selecting an option from the game’s main menu to swap disks. The Disk Tray would open and you could then swap disks without ever leaving the Game Menu (You wouldn’t be forced to go back to the 360 Dashboard).

> Posted by: Apocalypse265
> Another good idea would be to have the ability to select something that you have built (Lets say I make a stair way for example)and then duplicate it in its entirety or move the entire thing as if it were one object. Sort of like a copy/delete/paste kinda thing.

That kinda falls under the subject of “Object Grouping”. This is A MUST. The ability to select multiple objects at once and move/delete them as one. The “Clone Object(s)” tool could be useful, but we all decided that if it was a toss-up between that and a “Mirror Object(s)”, we’d rather have the option to mirror the object(s) in order to create better bases and structures.

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You sir are a genius!
343, don’t repeat history. Unlike Bungie, LISTEN TO THE COMMUNITY. Listen to this guy, this is what we want 343.

8

> You sir are a genius!
> 343, don’t repeat history. Unlike Bungie, LISTEN TO THE COMMUNITY. Listen to this guy, this is what we want 343.

9

I agree with most of this. It would be a very cool and useful expansion of Forge, and I’m sure much of the community would love such an addition.

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I’m sure it’s nice and all, but even that won’t satisfy my inner map making demons. What I’d like is a Worldcraft type program on the PC. We would then create maps on the PC, using a mouse and keyboard, and once the map is finished you’d save it and export it to a USB. You’d then transfer it to your xbox’s HDD via that USB. Presto! Professional looking content :3

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One other feature I would like is the ability to take screenshots of your maps so you can easily locate and identify them. Basically, when you save the map variant, the game takes a screenshot of wherever you are as though you were in theater mode, and then uses that screenshot as the map picture. That way, people always know what map thay are getting when they download “Super Awesome Fort” when it turns out to be a bunch of Tower (Tall)s stacked on top of eachother.

If would also be useful for remebering what map is which when you are scrolling though you map variant list (I have around 50) so you never have those moments of “Wait, ‘Purgatory’… Is that the Infection map or the Slayer one with the big bridge…?”

Finally, you can only take the screenshot in Single Player, (to avoid maps with close ups of Spartan Crotch as thier picture) and you must wait for three second for the screenshot to take.

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I think you have a pretty good idea of what im looking for. the idea of unique spaces and switches for things I really want. I dont think having the game split into two disks is a good idea. it always bugs me to have to go back to the dashboard in Halo 3 to get out my campain disk and when someone I’m with has to. I wonder, would it be possible to have only one forge compatible map on its own disk with every other gametype on another? that wouldnt bug me as much. the saves of maps are to the xbox not the disc so if the map was on both it should work. there would probably be quite a few changes to the forge we know, but it would allow a lot more data on that disc to make forge more complex. Mabey even enough for firefight forge?

13

How about this for an addition to Forge:
1: an new section called Skulls (these will also effect effect when in forge)

1.a: Skull called Cowbell
1.a.a: every explosion in its area is multiplied by 3
1.a.b: max multiplier of x6 (2 overlapping)

1.b: Skull called Dumbbell
1.b.a every explosion in its area is reverted to x1 power
1.b.b: this allows you to have the outskirts of your map with x3 and the middle with x1. And only needing to place 2.

1.c Skull called Anti-Gravity
1.c.a. turns the gravity to space (without the sound effects of space)
1.c.b. 2 overlapping causes the space sound effect
1.c.c. 2 will not cause multiplied force
1.c.d (optional) if rotated it will cause the direction of gravity in that space. Example: if flipped upside down the player would float to the ceiling, if he jumps it will cause him to go to the floor, but his head will still be towards the ground.

1.d Earth Gravity
1.d.a Will override other gravity settings and place them to x1 gravity
1.d.b (optional) if rotated it will cause the direction of gravity in that space. Example: if flipped upside down the player would float to the ceiling, if he jumps it will cause him to go to the floor, but his head will still be towards the ground.

1.e Magnet Gravity
1.e.a. will set the gravity to opposite of the anti-gravity
1.e.b. no overlap effect
1.e.c (optional) if rotated it will cause the direction of gravity in that space. Example: if flipped upside down the player would float to the ceiling, if he jumps it will cause him to go to the floor, but his head will still be towards the ground.

1.f IWHBYD
1.f.a activates your firefight voice on that map (doesn’t need an area, it effect the whole map)

  1. Expanding the area allowed for the object on Forgeworld (and future xWorld Maps) to a least 219.8 (twice what is allowed now)

  2. “Mark all of these” Feature
    3.a When looking for where you place a tiny kill boundary (or anything), create a new one, hit “B” and hit mark all of these. It will place the red arrow above each of them that is spawn no matter the label.

(may add some later)

Updated 5/20/11*
4. Object Presets
4.a. Customizable object presets would allow you to Copy and paste all object settings (in the X menu) or all object coordinates (in the B menu) and and allow you to paste it on to any other object.
4.b. The game will have 3-6 of these presets. They will be accessible from the B menu under Copy and Paste. That window will have 4 rows of 3-6 (one for copy X, one for Copy B, one for paste, one for a preview of the setting saved)

5.Chat Pad support
5.a. When trying to place objects in exact locations/boundaries/rotations , I would like to have the ability to toggle over the field i want to change and just start typing in the numbers from my chat pad.
5.a.a. this would be done with OUT poping up the window for typing. The game will automatically recognize the chat pad numbers.
5.a.b The game will not allow you to enter values outside the map boundaries.
5.b.Quick button support for Object Presets above
5.b.a. Each of the 3-6 categories will will have a column on the chat pad and 3 rows. When coping it will copy which Whole tab you are in (X or B).
5.b.b. Preset 1 will have letters Copy present window= “W”, Paste = “S”, View = “Z” and other presets will work to the right keeping each in their own row.
5.c. Add and Subtract
5.c.a. If you are wanting to space out objects every few units, but do not want to do the math, you can hit “q” to subtract or “A” to add then the values you want and it will move the object that many units.

> check out my forging blog at http://awesomeguidetoforging.wordpress.com

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> I’m sure it’s nice and all, but even that won’t satisfy my inner map making demons. What I’d like is a Worldcraft type program on the PC. We would then create maps on the PC, using a mouse and keyboard, and once the map is finished you’d save it and export it to a USB. You’d then transfer it to your xbox’s HDD via that USB. Presto! Professional looking content :3

I second this. It would be so much better to have an actual map making program. We have seen how awsome maps there are in Halo custom edition, for example. If we could have the same endless supply of free maps the game would never get boring. That would also give 343i a chance to focus on other DLC. But these would mean that the next Halo should have very flexible coding in every aspect.

If the next Halo came on the next Xbox and not 360, these could be implemented a lot easier.

15

> > I’m sure it’s nice and all, but even that won’t satisfy my inner map making demons. What I’d like is a Worldcraft type program on the PC. We would then create maps on the PC, using a mouse and keyboard, and once the map is finished you’d save it and export it to a USB. You’d then transfer it to your xbox’s HDD via that USB. Presto! Professional looking content :3
>
> I second this. It would be so much better to have an actual map making program. We have seen how awsome maps there are in Halo custom edition, for example. If we could have the same endless supply of free maps the game would never get boring. That would also give 343i a chance to focus on other DLC. But these would mean that the next Halo should have very flexible coding in every aspect.
>
> If the next Halo came on the next Xbox and not 360, these could be implemented a lot easier.

The game wouldn’t need to have any more “flexibility” then it already has. In fact, it’s already doing what I’m suggesting. Only it’s loading maps that are stored on the disc, which were made and saved there by the dev team and whatever programs they used. Release those map making tools to the public and add in a new program into the game that searches for map files stored onto an external media device. Have the PC tool search for any errors in the map that may make the game crash before it even exports it. This way you can hopefully avoid people screwing up the game and making it unplayable. Fingers crossed on that one, though.

16

Shadows…

all solid objects (walls, crates, etc.) should cast shadows. I find it annoying that the only shadows come from the default terrain, and player models. why are all the sides of an object well lit?

17

Such dedication. I commend you all. They need to remake Sandbox and Foundry.

18

> You sir are a genius!
> 343, don’t repeat history. Unlike Bungie, LISTEN TO THE COMMUNITY. Listen to this guy, this is what we want 343.

:expressionless:

Anyway, the texture cube idea is a bit confusing to me. Is it still a cube or does it just have six sides with different terrain on it? In any case I agree that the natural side of things needs to be just as fleshed out as the geometric side.

Other things like giving us complete control of the map, well except stuff we can’t really control. Which if I’m thinking correctly the literal box that everything is contained in. I’m more speaking of the scenery and kinds of barriers. We should be able to do those ourselves.

Last things, we need a multi-select tool. Basically it’s an object and you set it’s area of effect, just like objectives and such. Whatever is inside of the boundry is selected, and whatever you do will effect all things in it. Select will need to be manually initiated, through the menu so it will only affect what you intended. Also you will have to interact with the tool itself to affect what is selected. On to the next being grav lifts. It would be nice to be able to literally control their trajectory.

EDIT

@mephlis: I think it’s how the game is built. I’m not sure if I’ll explain it correctly but I’ll give it a try. Basically shadows aren’t cast because the game doesn’t render real time shadows, except the player I think. The shadows you do see in game are built in, and I think they are called shadow maps. Anyway when you walk into or out of the shadow you’ll notice that there isn’t the fine line between the light and dark. Instead you fade from one to the other. I’m not sure this is done in every lighting situation but it is most apparent at club errera. Take the falcon and fly it right on top of the green bar of light and the whole thing turns that color. Real lighting doesn’t do this last I checked.

Anyway this is useful, as I think it keeps the game from having to run so much. Plus it’s a why not kind of situation because every lighting situation in the game doesn’t change so might as well be effeceint. This is assuming it is cheaper, because it’s that or real time could be equal and what not just not enough time to make it. Anyway this can be just as good done right, which for the most part is in reach. Sure you got the club errera one, but there’s also things like a chain linked fence that is simulated.

Anyway I’m rambling about things I probably know nothing about so I’ll stop.

19

> Such dedication. I commend you all. They need to remake Sandbox and Foundry.

Sandbox would be in the Desert Biome.

A ‘Foundry’ area would be the exposed super-structure of Forgeworld.

20

With all that water we need boats , like a few diff kinds transport, gunship , and a large elephant type ship, all drivable.