343industries today has finally shown the public what there is to expect with Halo 5's Forge mode. Announced in a post via Halo Waypoint, one of the first things that's admitted is that no one ever expected Forge to get as big as it did. They were pleased because people were using it and it could make multiplayer a whole new kind of fun.
For Halo 5: Guardians, they aim to take a big step forward with Forge. This is going to be achieved by removing constraints and allowing people to create better maps than even the ones the game ships with. Cartographers (Forgers) got to get their hands on the new Forge mode for a week last month. After each visit, feedback and feature request was then provided after a nightly update. Forge mode will be coming to Halo 5 in December and 343i has also released a short preview of what to expect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDltTQiZMmw The power of Forge comes from Halo 5: Guardians being the first Halo game in a long time to be entirely build from the ground up for the Xbox One. Instead of just adding on features and calling it a day, 343industries is examining every element of Forge. To do this, the team has scoured the internet and community forums for suggestions and wish lists. Using ideas from professional editing tools, the core system was redesigned so you can build faster than ever before.
Some new features that will be coming to forge include the following:
- Improved Control Scheme to welcome new Forgers, but that are easy enough for old Forgers to get used to.
- Multi-Select/Edit where you can select and manipulate up to 64 different objects at any time.
- Free Camera so that you can move the camera without having to let go of an object you're holding onto.
- Many more
You are also able to group objects so that while they are separate objects, they will act as if they are one. This could be used to create a cube out of walls and then not have to worry about re-positioning each wall individually.
There will be over 1600 different objects that you will be able to use in Forge mode, and this is incredible compared to other iterations that only have hundreds. There will be objects from primitive shapes to weapons and power-ups. There will also be new types of objects: FX emitters, decals, invisible blockers, chroma screens, and even objects for building map intros/outros. Apparently there is also a large adorable whale toy.
The new Forge also has a different budgeting system where each of the different categories will have their own budgets. This also means that if you place multiples of an object that when the texture is loaded in once, that it won't need to be loaded again. This will allow you to put more in your forge world.
The lighting that you can use in Forge has been upgraded as well. Lighting effects now have different properties including point and spot lights, light color/distance/fallout, and even "gobos" (The pattern from the light). Fixtures like beacon lights and light posts will also be added, allowing you to tailor everything to your will.
On top of the blank Arena/Breakout map there are also three large maps that have been designed specifically for Forge. They include the Alpine, Glacier and Space (name TBD) maps. They will work like Forge World did in previous games, giving you plenty of space and variety to make the game mode you want.
There are all these and even a few more changes coming to Forge mode with Halo 5: Guardians. If you want to check out the full post then you can head to Halo Waypoint. Halo 5: Guardians will be releasing on the 27th of October and Forge mode will be arriving in December.
What do you think of all the new changes being added to Forge mode? Are you a big forger? Do you think these tools will help you want to create a map for you and your friends?
