Halo 4

343 Industries claims that you can create just about anything your brain can muster in Halo 4‘s Forge mode. Is it all talk, or is this map editing tool really that powerful?

“There will be some aesthetic variety we’ll talk about later – as well as the obvious inclusion of aesthetics and Forgeable objects from specific maps (Forerunner vs. UNSC objects, depending on the content of the environment),”the developer said in a recent Q&A session. “The environments will be large enough to accommodate just about any design you can think of, from a Lockout remake to a sprawling racetrack, there will be rolling hills, flat, sterile spaces, big, flat indoor areas and everything in between. The difference is that we’ll use more than one environment – an aesthetic – rather than a giant contiguous space like Forge World.”

“There will also be HUGE FLAT JUMBO Coliseum ‘walls’ that you can instantly place as enormous floor tiles (or walls). All the spaces are being designed with flexibility and performance in mind. The inclusion of a new lighting engine and some unique palettes will make things look more varied and connected. Some simple examples – you can make Lockout and The Pit with relative ease and plenty of room. If you want to do something giant and meandering, you’ll have to incorporate some of the environments existing features (hills, cliffs etc).”

343 also mentioned that Forge mode maps will be kept separate from developer-made maps, at first. “We won’t be putting Forge creations in the “main” matchmaking areas initially, at least,” it said. “Certainly Forged variants may go in (rules, the odd object placement) eventually, but we’re still discussing how to promote and enable Forge creations in a way that maintains a separation of that kind of content from the main mix.”

If this map editing tool is really as powerful as 343 claims then I can’t wait to get my hands on it.

Are you looking forward to trying out the improved Forge mode? Let us know in the comments below.