First off, 343i, Thanks for Halo 4. It is an amazing game. Amazing, but it can get even better.
People, including myself, have been posting their own ideas about Halo 4 Forge in various threads so I decided to make a place to gather them all together.
I doubt much of this, will get changed, but I do think that changes will be made, especially if people continue to be as outspoken about them as they are right now. Now, Forge is definitely not on the top of 343i’s to-do list, as it is probably focused on matchmaking, level glitches, and the current uproar about custom playlist restriction, but like BOTH Halo3 AND Reach, I believe that Halo 4’s Forge will be added to as the game progresses. It just won’t be yet. It’s for hopes of this that I keep this going.
So here we go:
disclaimer Not all these ideas are mine. Most are generalizations of what I’ve seen in posts from other users.
MISSING
1.) Zoom function to help with precision
2.) Pressing the thumb-stick down for precision moving of objects. Right now we only have looking down vertically. That does nothing for elevation change or rotation, and the coordinates function is not always accurate.
3.) Missing vehicles from previous halo installments, namely the UNSC aircraft. Even the brute vehicles would be welcomed despite having no relevance to story.
4.) Missing weaponry from former Halo installments. That goes for all Covy and Brute weapons.
5.) Forge World or an large, open map like it. We only have 3 small maps. Not much for making race tracks or vehicle maps.
6.) Custom Power-ups. Why were these ever removed?
7.) Colored effects like the green, orange, etc. from Reach. Just don’t make them as strong, darkening the map like Reach’s did.
8.) Bring back covenant scenery.
9.) You don’t keep momentum when switching from oracle to Spartan anymore. No, it’s not THAT important, but it was a hell of a lot of fun, despite the occasional accidental deaths (which is probably why it was removed).
10.) Being able to place the classic active camo that kept you cloaked despite motion and did not give away that you are there with blue dots all over the radar. Aren’t you supposed to be stealthy, no raise alarm?
IMPROVEMENTS
1.) Magnets are by far one of the best new additions to forge. They make map editing a lot faster. They are not, however, as accurate as could be, and many objects have too few or lack them all together (shield walls for example).
2.) Gravity zones are amazing. Their is so much you can do with them including reversing gravity with 50% gravity player trait zones added, but the sizes are too restricted. Make Gravity zones like player trait zones. Why were their borders ever set to 10x10x10 or 5x5x5? Why only boxes? Why not cylinders? Let us specify their shape and size, because 10x10x10 boxes with only 8 of them does not cover much ground on larger maps.
3.)Let us control the strength of gravity zones.
4.) Upping the light count was good, but with dynamic lighting, some areas of your map will be poorly lit, especially on impact. The light should be increased from 4 to possibly 32. I would even take 12.
5.) Give weapons placed on map function in actual games. We should not have to resort to initial and random ordinance drops that advertise themselves to everyone when playing.
6.) Remove the base on Impact and give it to us as buyable pieces in forge.
7.) Make structure items available on ALL maps, not just the 3 forge world maps.
8.) Make level specific structures available on all forge maps. I’ve wanted to use the pipes from Erosion on Impact for multiple reasons.
9.) Remove map soft and hard borders. On ravine, for example, you can’t build on the back sides of either rock formation. Why not? Erosion is a completely enclosed map. Do you really need to keep us from building on top of the base or in the columns on the far side of the water? There is so much potential for creativity if we were not restricted by level boundaries. If 343i used their map boundary items already in place in forge, they can still have their boundaries but we can delete them in forge if we see fit.
10.) Let us build at water level without hitting the kill barrier. One of the best aspects of Forge World was being able to make partially submerged maps.
11.) Change it so that when you clone an object, it clones in the EXACT location or at least elevation the original was. Do not move it. This prevents continual fine tuning of elevation.
12.) The sound of the monitor is like nails on a chalkboard. The whine was even described as migraine-inducing. It would be nice if it could be muffled or disabled.
SUGGESTIONS
1.) Larger structures and building blocks. Not pre-built complicated buildings and rooms, but more aesthetic structures to make a map looks good and use as barriers or obstacles. An example would be a large forerunner spire or structure. They can be expensive, but it would be worth it.
2.) More variety in natural objects. Rocks are too small for doing much and there is only so much you can do with seastacks without starting to look ugly. We could use boulders, larger rock spires, columns, arches, land bridges, rock walls, dirt patches (to change the ground to something more natural if desired), and more. There is also the possibility of adding biologic items such as trees or other plants. You can even just steal the models already used in other maps.
3.) Increase the scenery pallet to add more than just crates, pallets, and cones to a map.
4.) Lights that actually remove light from a room to make it darker (darker than the dynamic lighting’s shadows.
5.) An undo button for solo forging. (because their stated reason for not including it was how to manage it when forging with friends or over live)
6.) Mirror asymmetrical object option or have mirrored versions of the objects in the pallet.
7.) Select/move/copy groups of objects. Or possibly add a variant of the “Lock” function that glues objects together that they can me all moved at once.
8.) No clipping through placed objects option when in oracle form. This would allow you to freely move around your map without having to maneuver around objects. Would also help when placing so that you don’t get backed up against things either.
9.) When objects come between you and the object you are trying to move, make the object in-between 75% transparent so that you can see what you are doing.
10.) Prop or non-drivable vehicles like pelicans,raptors, etc. to add realism or flavor to your map.
11.) Add a “Lock All” option to go along with the Unlock all.
BUGS\ERRORS
1.) One of the magnets in the center of an edge of the 3x3 flat building blocks is off-center
2.) A glitch where objects placed on map do not render. They remain selectable and must be moved to show again.
