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Halo |OT10| The Calm Before The Storm

Tashi

343i Lead Esports Producer
I like this new Forge environment. The middle section with the pre built terrain is TBD but the griffball room and the large body of awesome are great. I think it looks cool too.
 
Can anyone recommend me a good monitor - I really need to upgrade - I have been using this default Dell monitor for a while now - I think its 17 inches lol.

Whats generally a nice size for gaming? I actually dont want to get something too big as its going to be my PC monitor and I dont want to have something huge taking up too much space.
21" to 23" is a nice size.
 

Raide

Member
I really hope performance issues are hammered out with this version of Forge. I'm not seeing a lot of really good, flat, open spaces for people to really get creative with. Having to work with or around existing geometry is a huge problem with creating even small and midsize maps, and pretty much killed the possibility of BTB Forge maps that didn't chug. Hell, Kynan mentions how the bottom of the Impact building would make a good 1v1 map because it's small and circular and has a lower level, but there's a giant damn rock in the way that every map there would have to contend with. I dunno. Performance is pretty much the make or break thing for me at this point.

*fistbump* Fellow ForgeGAF Member. I salute you!

But it could work? We're not sure what this version of forge can handle before dropping frame rate?

Sky maps worked fine but all that unused clutter around the floating map was having issues. Also, it gets really boring seeing grey maps and even more so if its grey and floating. :D
 
Perhaps the map packs are themed?
#CovieWinterWonderland
#FloodMapPackThatTotallyWontHaveMapLikeIsolationOrBackwash

Beaten by Hydranockz. Bawls.


Would prefer to pick it up at Midnight I'm guessing?
Yeah. I have to Catch a flight later that day so I'm hoping I'll still be able to get the package before I leave.
 
Can anyone recommend me a good monitor - I really need to upgrade - I have been using this default Dell monitor for a while now - I think its 17 inches lol.

Whats generally a nice size for gaming? I actually dont want to get something too big as its going to be my PC monitor and I dont want to have something huge taking up too much space.

I love my HP 2310m, but it looks like they don't make 'em anymore.
 
So no Covenant maps, eh? Just greys and browns?

iKl253PJ47olO.gif
 
Yup.

But don't worry, they've already got planned DLC; in about a year we should be golden, especially considering the stellar track record of DLC being incorporated into Matchmaking

Yea, 343 was awful at that with past Halo games....

edit: Is there a switch to turn off the ridiculous amount of useless sarcasm in this thread?
 
Yeah, the Forge piece decisions are.. questionable. Love to see what went on there.
Yeah. I have to Catch a flight later that day so I'm hoping I'll still be able to get the package before I leave.
Oof. Could always buy a normal edition copy on the day if things came to shove.*

*Putting food on Frankie's table since 1911
 

Overdoziz

Banned
But it could work? We're not sure what this version of forge can handle before dropping frame rate?
It's not only a problem with performance. If the only big flat objects look the same as the rest of the palette it will end up looking really bland and it will make it harder to orientate yourself.
 
Random story:

I was driving yesterday on the interstate to get into the city for class, and on my right was a truck. I noticed a sticker on the side of his back windows and it was the Noble team icon.

I immediately said aloud in my car to myself, "That guy is BAD ASS!", and followed that up with at least 7 Ric Flair WOOOOOOOOOOH's...

I have a problem. ; ;
I just imagine a dude involuntarily breaking into a spasm of WOOOOHs while driving and it puts the most hilarious image in my head. Reminds me a bit of the ghost blowjob comic strip.
 

bGanci

Banned
It's not only a problem with performance. If the only big flat objects look the same as the rest of the palette it will end up looking really bland and it will make it harder to orientate yourself.
Huh I see what you means its really unfortunate. I haven't seen all the forge maps yet. But I'm surprised they wouldn't add a space for this. :/
 
I certainly didn't see a large, open, flat area on any of the forge environments.
I'm fairly certain that NO ONE asked for fixed, undulating terrain when begging for a better Forge. All we really need is a flat space with a pretty skybox that can help differentiate sides. It's all about the pieces and how we use them to make interesting spaces, not how we can adapt our symmetrical design to some rolling terrain or a big base on the edge of an asteroid.

Everything in the video looks really pretty, but I feel like they missed the biggest thing that people wanted. BIG FLAT OPEN SPACES to do whatever we wanted. But instead we get partially complete, permanent structures to build around and Griffball court that will barely be used once the Griffball community starts building their own better maps. argh

Continuing on the UT theme, Impact would be perfect for a Facing Worlds remake. I just wish that structure wasn't permanent, because otherwise you'd put bases on either side of the stepping stones.
Why are there ANY permanent structures on any of these maps? My mind is blown; people who love to forge don't like to build shit off existing structures, this was proven back in Halo 3 once Sandbox arrived and we didn't have to adapt around Foundry's un-deletable wall and that damnable crane. Making a map like Facing Worlds would have been perfect, if only you could delete the useless building.

Ravine looks just as bad; no large flat areas to just build what you want. I almost laughed out loud at the "little nook that you could...do some stuff" comment. I feel like they're trying to sell all three maps to people who have never forged before, but somehow have felt too intimidated to try it. I feel like none of these three spaces were designed for people like me.

Maybe it's a perspective thing, where I'm not getting a sense of the scale on these maps and what we'll actually be able to do with them. But after watching these two videos, I'm pretty disheartened as a forger.
 
I watched the Gamespot video on mute during a meeting. So I had to look away now and then. But what I saw really bummed me out.

All I want in a Forge map is a big open space to build a map on. Basically a space like this:

1000px-Sandbox_msblog.jpg


Only about 3x the size. Toss in some rounded terrain objects to add hills, and bam. The perfect Forge space.

Did I miss this spot? From what I did see, I couldn't find a single place I wanted to make a map. What I want to do is build an understanding of Halo 4's combat sandbox. Then I want to look at the Forge objects. And then sit down with a pencil and pad of graph paper, dream up a map, and build it. That's what I did with Halo 3's Forge, and I built a number of maps that played pretty well and that I was quite proud of.

75379332-Full.jpg


Overview.jpg


14.jpg
.


I poured dozens of hours into these maps, and loved doing so, despite the crude tool set, because I could build what I wanted to build, limited only by the object budget. I didn't see anywhere on any of the three Forge maps shown on the Gamespot video that's just a blank slate. They were all very detailed, undulating, busy spaces like Forge World (except for the Grifball court).

Please tell me I missed it. Or that's it's not shown yet.

It's not flat though, and doesn't seem that big. Honestly even something like the Quarry on Forge World where Asylum is build isn't flat enough. I guess 343 wants the Forge maps to look 'realistic' so they make add a bunch of hills but that only hinders Forgers in creating maps.

Problem with this is that it requires more objects which is more taxing on the engine and if there's no flat natural terrain Forge pieces it will make the map look really bland like in Reach where it's just gray on gray.

I completely agree. Sandbox had a great flat area with ground that looked natural. The combination of sand and stone made the ground bearable. These forge maps look really small. I doubt we will see many BTB maps on them. In fact I'm worried about the amount of space there is for floating maps. Is there enough room for something the size of uncaged or lockout? This definitely just killed peoples dreams of huge race tracks like in Reach.

One other thing that annoyed me is the interior areas look too small and awkward to work with; the remind me of foundry and some of them actually look smaller than that.
 

IHaveIce

Banned
Hypertrooper destroying german game show moderators and a interview with Frankie: GameOne: Halo 4 press event recap

Only the interview with Frankie @ 12:39 is in english, everything else is in german, but the interview is quite long (10 minutes).

And yeah, there are some spoilers, for those who are curious.

Lol Hyper destroyed them both. Really cool video


Forge maps look interesting, but they lack Covenant themes :(


So... did the SPanish guy leak anything for now?
 
21" to 23" is a nice size.

I love my HP 2310m, but it looks like they don't make 'em anymore.


Thanks!

Anything to watch out for in terms of input lag and so on? I know it can really cripple some monitors - but I have no idea what I should be looking for/ aiming to avoid.

Btw Dax - cant wait to go back and read some of the spoilers for The Thursday War when I finish it - seems like some interesting discussion already happened regarding it.
 
Looking back to Halo 3, Sandbox was a glorious level from a geometric view. The Crypt was flat and enclosed. The ground was flat with sand walls for more open maps. The Sky was pretty damn flat too :p

Future DLC? That'd be a shame.
 
So is the Halo 4 leak legit?

From here.

Read the article, MS are going all out.

So...Awesome. Bring it on.

halo_4_live_action_launch.jpg


Looks pretty sweet.

That looks awkward as hell, but I like the visor. :lol


I like the visuals of the cave map a lot, the geometry pieces also seems to have some rust on em so they won't look as sterile.. That said..there is no good terrain to build on like sandbox! I really just feel like Forge is a huge let down this time around.. Why not have terrain pieces that we can place? Blah. Also, Ravine looks like a slightly better looking Forge World, but it really isn't doing it for me. So visually bland.
 
I don't necessarily agree. I think the scale when floating above them in monitor mode is very misleading. I hope I'm wrong, but the moonbase doors on Impact look like tiny crouch spaces from above.

I'm not even sure if there is enough room for a floating map like uncaged or lockout.
 

Louis Wu

Member
Didn't Shishka make Paradiso? And doesn't Shishka work at 343 now? lol
No... and no.

Look at how team strategy has evolved. It started in Halo 1 as an incredibly dynamic thing, where teams would prioritze powerups and choose how to allocate their resources and move around maps. Individual players would each be working on a different objective and playing off their teammates.

Halo 2 moved to a static-setup from of strategy, where an initial coordinated rush was followed by attempting to hold a ceratin power position. Individual players who struck out on their own would find they couldn't realisitically take on more than one enemy at a time, and quickly found that sticking to one area with teammates was the best way to succeed.

Halo 3, team strategy resembled Halo 2's, but more like a swarm of zerglings, where success primarily came from having more players shooting at the same thing.
Wow. See... this is the part I have real trouble with. I remember folks, in Reach's early days, lamenting how they had no way to handle back-to-back encounters with a DMR they way they did with Halo 2's BR - they'd be too low on health to handle the second (or third) enemy. This implies an ability to dominate, as an individual, that went away between Halo 2 and Reach.

And I have no clue at all what you're talking about when you mention zerglings - most of the high-level Halo 3 play I remember watching involved setups that spread team members AROUND THE MAPS - setting up spawntraps on Guardian, or The Pit, or Narrows. You couldn't do that if everyone was in one place, or focused on one shooting location.

Clearly, we have different memories of how older games played out. And I really don't feel competent to argue the finer points of high-level strategy, since all I know of it is what I've watched; I don't play at that level, and I don't study it. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I'd hoped to understand where you were coming from - but I just don't get it.
 

Raide

Member
Don't you guys think Erosion's rusty pieces will look a bit out of place inside that coliseum looking zone?

It depends if all of the Forge Pallet stuff for that map is all rusted up. Would be nice to have some broken up platforms and walls etc.

The space stuff is UNSC, so it is bound to be clean and shiny. I was hoping the cave stuff would be rusted/slimy and the outdoor stuff being grassed over with plants sprouting up.

If only they would add the option to make maps and then when it pre-bakes all the shadows etc, it also adds map options to age things or change their style.
 

Woorloog

Banned
You can create a smooth surface in the air can't you? Build it above the map?
V V
1) Requires all surfaces to be flat.

2) Requies all surfaces to be Forge objects, impacting budget/frame rate.

Exactly. I'd prefer if i could have differently colored floor, gray and gray is not exactly ideal.

Now i don't actually have much use for superflats so it won't be much of an issue in the end for me, i just hate not having the option for it.
The Coliseum in Halo Reach FW doesn't count, it was an inside area, all gray and had poor lighting.

EDIT oh and i hate building above ground level. No one of my tries turned out to be working, takes way too many pieces.
 

willow ve

Member
I'm not even sure if there is enough room for a floating map like uncaged or lockout.

I think we're missing the scale of these maps. It looked like the middle building on the asteroid forge environment was at least 2 full stories tall. That would make the bottom openings taller than a spartan and the side "windows" which the monitor flies through in the video would be another full spartan tall.

Would be great to see some video of a few spartans running around these spaces - even if it was just players jumping around, not necessarily fighting - for the sake of scale.
 
I'm not even sure if there is enough room for a floating map like uncaged or lockout.

I just remembered that one clip of man cannon from the forerunner forge area I guess the maps are big enough for floating maps. I am gong to miss the scale of Forge World and the flat area from Sandbox.

Still not thrilled about the prebuilt structures.
 
I don't necessarily agree. I think the scale when floating above them in monitor mode is very misleading. I hope I'm wrong, but the moonbase doors on Impact look like tiny crouch spaces from above.
What really gets me is that all these permanent structures seem half-assed in implementation. They could have created three more fixed, matchmaking-ready maps in those spots, while offering the rest of the space up for forging on each of the maps. Instead we get partial, non-deletable items that hamper any ability to forge an original creation in its place.

I'm sure "performance issue" is the logical quick response, but I just don't understand the logic behind what I'm seeing so far.
 

Raide

Member
I just remembered that one clip of man cannon from the forerunner forge area I guess the maps are big enough for floating maps. I am gong to miss the scale of Forge World and the flat area from Sandbox.

Just give us Sandbox but then give us Snowbox, Spacebox and GrassBox. :p Cannto take that much more work to have an open area. They do all this fancy terrain modelling and that is not what Forgers just want. Save yourself the time and put that time into making more objects or features that Forgers want.
 
What really gets me is that all these permanent structures are half-assed in implementation. They could have just created three more fixed, matchmaking-ready maps, while offering the rest of the space up for forging on each of the maps. Instead we get partial, non-deletable items that hamper any ability to forge an original creation in its place.

I'm sure "performance issue" is the logical quick response, but I just don't understand the logic behind what I'm seeing so far.

Yep. The prefect forge area would be the size of forge world and would have one giant "grifball" area, one large flat area ala Sandbox, one blood gulch/containment/sidewinder sized area, and a big open sky area for floating maps.
 
Just give us Sandbox but then give us Snowbox, Spacebox and GrassBox. :p Cannto take that much more work to have an open area. They do all this fancy terrain modelling and that is not what Forgers just want. Save yourself the time and put that time into making more objects or features that Forgers want.

Here is to hoping that Halo 5 lets us build custom BSPs
 
I think forge for Halo 4 was a huge swing and a miss.

Don't you guys think Erosion's rusty pieces will look a bit out of place inside that coliseum looking zone?

Yup. Also, since the griffball arena was built in, couldn't they have made it look a little better? I mean it looks like it was made in Forge anyways.
 
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