Visible Boundaries in Forge + More Ideas

Quick note: I realize it’s too late to add stuff to H4 if it’s not already there, so perhaps these ideas could be done in H5 (or perhaps even to H4 via a future TU).

I was thinking today about a feature I would like to see in Forge: visible boundaries. What I mean by that is, I want to be able to see where the outer edges & “ceiling” of the map are while Forging. If you don’t have visible boundaries, you might have a hard time being able to tell how much space you actually have to Forge with, especially in large, open areas (like over the ocean in Reach’s Forgeworld). You might find yourself running out of room in the middle of a build because you don’t have a clear idea of where the edge is.

Another idea I had was the ability to pull up a list of all the objects currently placed on the map, and to be able to select objects from there. You wouldn’t be able to hand-nudge the objects from this menu, but would be able to do coordinate nudging, change settings, delete, etc. As you go through the list, each object would be highlighted where ever it is, perhaps with a waypoint set.

Such a list would be helpful for a few things. One, it would help you to find objects you may have misplaced (especially when those objects are small, and hard to find until you’re right on top of them). Two, it would enable you to make quick changes to objects without having to fly over to them (like say if you’re making a symmetrical map, and you make a change to an object, you could apply the same/similar change to the object’s opposite without having to go back and forth).

This would also help during Forge contests. I’ve seen Forge contests on places like Forgehub where you’re only allowed to use 2x4 blocks (or some restriction like that). Such a list would help the builder to make sure they’ve only used what’s allowed, and more importantly, the judges would be able to judge it more easily (they would be able to quickly and easily verify that the builder didn’t cheat somewhere).

I like the second idea, but the boundary idea wouldn’t be needed, because with time you would get to know where they are anyway.

> I like the second idea, but the boundary idea wouldn’t be needed, because with time you would get to know where they are anyway.

Perhaps…but I still think it would help, especially for those who don’t quite have the depth perception and/or spatial awareness that others might have. For me, I think I would only ever have a sort of vague idea of where those boundaries are, at least when it comes to large, open areas, like being over an ocean that goes all the way out to the horizon. It’s just too…nebulous for me.

I’d like to be able to Forge hard invisible barriers rather than those useless and impractical kill boundaries.

I agree…for the most part. There are still times when you might want kill zones (like some kind of death trap). Casual maps, like Indiana Jones maps and Horse maps, would probably still need kill zones.

However, I agree that there are times when you just plain want an invisible wall.

Invisible barriers are extremely important for Forging maps. Soft kill zones are too exploitable and hard kill zones are too punishing. An invisible barrier is perfect; it tells you, “hey, you don’t belong here, so I’m not letting you in.”

So, 343i, please don’t let me down.