Forge mode is more than a map creator

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

To me, I hardly ever use Forge as an actual map creator/editor. Sure, I’ll make maps for little minigames and Infection modes, but I usually do more than that.

I love absolutely love world-building. I could take a game where an editor is made as an afterthought, and go the extra mile and challenge myself to see how much detail I can add. I usually tie in some little mode or objective to what I’m making, but it’s more as a proof-of-concept than anything; no one but me will really ever play these maps I make. This is for almost any game with a map maker. Examples include:

Timesplitters 2 (My favorite game of all time.)
Farcry 3-4
Roller Coaster Tycoon (Although there are entire RCT communities dedicated to world-building that I can’t even dream of being a part of.)
Age of Empires
Previous Halo games
Blender (Not a game, but still counts)
Etc…

But then Halo 5 forge comes out. Immediately, I’m taken by the lighting engine. Any game where you can play with lighting is amazing to me. Scripting added a whole new level of fun and challenget to me. I remember the first two months after Forge came out, I couldn’t focus at work because I was coming up with cool ideas to mess around with. Halo 5 had effectively turned into an open-ended puzzle game for me, by making me figure out how to build these grand creations from my head.

After so many content updates, and more levels of detail opening themselves up, I can get lost in the countless object menus, manipulating each little piece to make natural, machined, simple, complex, grounded, alien masterpieces. The option to also explore it all in first-person is icing on the cake.

I’ve also found it as a lovely way of listening to new music and so forth. This is gonna be a bit off-topic and weird, but bear with me…

I like to collect music albums, and playing Forge is a great way to “break them in”, so to speak. It’s how I associate a positive, relaxing memory to new albums I’ve yet to really sit down and listen to. It’s also fun to see how I translate the mood of each song into what I’m Forging. Solving these puzzles I create while jamming out to a well-crafted album is one of the most positively relaxing and rewarding things ever. Forge has even taken “meh” albums and made them my favorites, because I didn’t really “get” it the first time listening. (I sometimes listen to some weird -Yoink-.)

Anyways, I don’t really know what the point of this is. I just really wanted to talk about how much I love Halo 5’s Forge. It’s really what makes the whole game for me. To make a world that, down to the last detail, is of my creation, is my favorite thing to do. Maybe I should go into movie set design…lol

Does anyone here relate to what I’m saying? Also, maybe share a pic of your proudest creations?

2

I’m horrible at making things on forge, but I enjoy seeing what other people can create. Maybe you want to check out the community creations section, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of fellow forgers there, as well as their creations. :slight_smile:

3

I like making aesthetic maps or just screwing around in Forge seeing what random crap I can think up. But I have released my first map recently, it’s an Infection map made on The Rig.

4

Forge is a portal to your imagination. You can create virtually anything and everything. It’s the best feature of halo 5 imo.

5

From what I hear H5 forge is great but I am not afraid to admit it’s to complicated for me. I just never have taken the time to try and figure it out. I used to forge stuff, or attempt to at least, back in the H3 days. all I ever made was rifle ranges though to help with sniping. basically they were just some man cannons strategically placed and I had stuff like fusion coils spawn in just the right place to send them flying so you could shoot them.

6

I do the exact same thing. Make maps with stories behind them. Spend tiring hours working on them, annnd… only I play on them. I’ve been working on a map for months now. I know that no one will play on it, but Forge is just that damn fun. Props to 343’s Forge Team.

7

> 2533274939961451;6:
> I do the exact same thing. Make maps with stories behind them. Spend tiring hours working on them, annnd… only I play on them. I’ve been working on a map for months now. I know that no one will play on it, but Forge is just that damn fun. Props to 343’s Forge Team.

I’ve got some maps down that I just wanted to make one particular piece/setting and that’s it. I suppose now that prefabs are out, I can begin making more out of them.

Maybe I could see your maps sometime?

8

I want to recreate some maps from Counter-Strike and Goldeneye 007, but my skills are horrendous. :\

9

> 2535429593088083;8:
> I want to recreate some maps from Counter-Strike and Goldeneye 007, but my skills are horrendous. :\

You know, theres only one way to get better…

10

> 2533274808210415;9:
> > 2535429593088083;8:
> > I want to recreate some maps from Counter-Strike and Goldeneye 007, but my skills are horrendous. :
>
> You know, theres only one way to get better…

“Practice makes perfect.” Yep, it’s gonna take me a while.

11

> 2535429593088083;10:
> > 2533274808210415;9:
> > > 2535429593088083;8:
> > > I want to recreate some maps from Counter-Strike and Goldeneye 007, but my skills are horrendous. :
> >
> > You know, theres only one way to get better…
>
> “Practice makes perfect.” Yep, it’s gonna take me a while.

A good way to start with the controls is to find a piece you like, and make an object or environment around it. Doesn’t have to be big, and it doesn’t have to be part of something larger. Have a map where you just test out concepts and experiment with different themes.

For example, if you take a particular liking to a Trapezoid piece, make a little skate park with it, or turn it into an abstract sculpture with some other pieces.

12

Agreed, I mostly use it to find mechanics of the game, or get weapon glitches. I’m thinking about creating a Warzone game(based off of Strongholds), my main fear however, is reqs, and if it work, then I will try to make Warzone in Halo 4… I like to use scripts, and welding to make things. My favorite thing I have made out of welding is either Pelican(Wasp(vehicle)-Mongoose x 2(vehicle)-Pelican open(prop) (the mongooses make it so you can sit down btw), or the “Falcon”(it doesn’t even fly, it barely hovers)made with a Wasp, and 2 Warthogs.

13

No way! I loved Time Splitters 2 map creator too!
Had so much fun using that as a kid. I also loved making things on Tony Hawks games, especially Underground, I didn’t even make skate parks, I was making cities (Atleast they felt like it at the time lol).

I remember the first time I used Forge on H3 at a friends house, I had the game for sometime and didn’t even know what the forge option was.

Ever since I was just hooked on it, seeing what has become is nothing short of amazing to me. In an similar fashion to you OP I don’t even build maps when I do use forge, I usally just try to create these beautiful enviroments I have in my head. Most never get finished, but it’s absolutely amazing the fun one can have just sitting putting pieces together.

14

I’ll take your advice my friend, and I’ll start with the simplest map yet. In that case, it would be fy_snow from Counter-Strike.

Map images:

15

> 2533274808210415;7:
> > 2533274939961451;6:
> > I do the exact same thing. Make maps with stories behind them. Spend tiring hours working on them, annnd… only I play on them. I’ve been working on a map for months now. I know that no one will play on it, but Forge is just that damn fun. Props to 343’s Forge Team.
>
> I’ve got some maps down that I just wanted to make one particular piece/setting and that’s it. I suppose now that prefabs are out, I can begin making more out of them.
>
> Maybe I could see your maps sometime?

Sure! They’re quite unfinished though… They should be in my content browser. Echo is the closest to being finished.

16

> 2535462333594080;13:
> No way! I loved Time Splitters 2 map creator too!
> Had so much fun using that as a kid. I also loved making things on Tony Hawks games, especially Underground, I didn’t even make skate parks, I was making cities (Atleast they felt like it at the time lol).
>
> I remember the first time I used Forge on H3 at a friends house, I had the game for sometime and didn’t even know what the forge option was.
>
> Ever since I was just hooked on it, seeing what has become is nothing short of amazing to me. In an similar fashion to you OP I don’t even build maps when I do use forge, I usally just try to create these beautiful enviroments I have in my head. Most never get finished, but it’s absolutely amazing the fun one can have just sitting putting pieces together.

Ah, I’ve got a ton of unfinished maps, one of them even being a remake of Scrapyard from Timesplitters 2.

17

> 2535429593088083;14:
> I’ll take your advice my friend, and I’ll start with the simplest map yet. In that case, it would be fy_snow from Counter-Strike.
>
> Map images:
> - Image 1 - Image 2 - Image 3

Seems like a good start! The first hurdle is learning the controls. Once you get them, they become second nature and you’ll be pumping stuff out at record speeds.

18

> 2533274939961451;15:
> > 2533274808210415;7:
> > > 2533274939961451;6:
> > > I do the exact same thing. Make maps with stories behind them. Spend tiring hours working on them, annnd… only I play on them. I’ve been working on a map for months now. I know that no one will play on it, but Forge is just that damn fun. Props to 343’s Forge Team.
> >
> > I’ve got some maps down that I just wanted to make one particular piece/setting and that’s it. I suppose now that prefabs are out, I can begin making more out of them.
> >
> > Maybe I could see your maps sometime?
>
> Sure! They’re quite unfinished though… They should be in my content browser. Echo is the closest to being finished.

I know that a triple-post is a big no-no, but oh well.

Echo made me yearn for a Halo mode that’ll never be: one with huge, open-ended maps that have various locales and interesting places scattered throughout. Where the exploration of the map is as crucial and fun as the combat.

19

Timesplitters 2 was brilliant!