Mythonian
05-19-2012, 04:53 PM
This thread is all about what I hope Halo 4 brings. It includes improvements, changes, additions, etc. that I am hoping 343i includes in the game. These are not just things I've seen others ask for, this is my own list that I've been thinking of for awhile.
Custom Games & Customizability
This does not touch on anything possible with Forge, which is discussed later.
In terms of custom games and the ability to customize the game, the following is a general list that I want:
Loadouts
Since people can make personalized loadouts, I want the option to enable personalized loadouts or force everyone to use a standard set of loadouts.
If personalized loadouts are available, I want the option to add restrictions (such as disallowing specific weapons).
Game Mechanics
In Halo: Reach, we were forced to deal with Bloom, no bleedthrough, and sword-blocking for a long time, until the TU happened.
343i has said multiple times that they have "adjustable knobs" for the settings, but weren't able to add in an actual in-game option to edit these options.
I want to be able to control the settings for each individual weapon or game mechanic. Including adjusting bloom settings for each weapon, how the weapons affect bleedthrough, etc.
I also want the ability to adjust armor abilities individually. Such as giving the jetpack a slight buff or nerfing one of the others, etc.
Objective Settings
Halo: Reach had many limitations for customizing objectives. While they did let you do a wide variety of things with hills and such, gametypes like Territories, CTF, Assault, and Stockpile still suffered.
Territories was limited to 5 maximum plots (unless you did a specific exploit to get 6). I see no reason for the limit.
CTF is limited to a single flag spawn (and combined capture point) per team, and only up to 4 teams. Maybe I want to have a team's flag spawn in one place, but they capture opposing flags in another place. Or maybe have a team defend multiple flags simultaneously. I am unable to do so in Reach.
Assault has the same limitations, except the bomb spawn can be separately adjusted. However, you cannot have the bomb spawn in a variety of locations which changes throughout the game, or give them multiple bombs.
Stockpile locations that overlap do not count as multiple locations. Instead, the "first" team (i.e., red>blue>etc) is the only one that counts and scores flags, and each team can only have a single location. Also, there is no option for instantly capturing flags without an exploit (minimum timer is 15 seconds).
There were numerous other issues I was unappreciative of as well...
Custom Powerup
Want more than just a single custom powerup, and customize their colors/appearances.
Want to be able to give multiple custom powerups different settings.
No longer have them limited at 3 minute durations.
Scoring Options
343i added in Flag-Slayer and such, where you get a lot of points for flags and only a few points for kills, but I want this extended further.
If you go to a Slayer gametype and view Scoring Options or something, you see a list of like 20 or so possible ways to get points. I want these options in all gametypes.
Also, I want the option to give fractions of points. Some actions shouldn't give you a whole point, and I feel the option to give a half point, or 0.1 points would be nice.
Forge 3.0
A lot of people want the ability to customize terrain. I want much, much more...
In terms of the capability and power of the Forge system, I want the following:
Object Manipulation
Halo: Reach was definitely a big improvement over Halo 3, but there is still room for improvement.
Currently, you can move objects by tenths of meters/yards. However, sometimes smaller increments are needed.
When trying to move objects faster, an option for accelerated movement (maybe by holding RT or something) would be nice.
Adjusting the orientation of an object can use major improvements. The current system uses "global" directions that don't change based on the orientation. I want a "relative" system also (both of which could be switched between), which would allow for better angles.
Snap-To/Merging/Inversion
Having a "Snap-To" capability would be amazing. What it would do is snap an object so that it is perfectly angled and positioned along the edge of the nearest object. This would make creating perfectly smooth transitions extremely easy.
Merging two objects together. Put a block inside another object, merge them together, and be able to move them around or adjust orientation as if they were the same object, and later unmerge them if need be.
Inversion on any asymmetric object would be awesome. In Reach, some objects are asymmetric. Being able to invert them so that you have a symmetric equivalent of it would give symmetric maps a bit more freedom for structures.
Weather/Time/Lighting Control
Having the option to adjust these things would be nice.
Changing weather, such as adding rain, snow, wind strength, number of clouds, etc. (doing this by region of the map would also be awesome).
Changing time, such as morning, midday, evening, night, etc.
Adjusting light levels by region would also be cool. Maybe having one region darker than another or something.
Vehicles
I want more vehicles. All vehicles from all halo games. To want to be able to place them, customize them, etc.
Add in Choppers, Prowlers, Shadows, Spectres, Scarabs, Elephants, Pelicans, Phantoms, Hornets, etc., etc.
Having variations on vehicles would also be cool. Instead of choosing the type of warthog in the menu, you place a default warthog, go into the options, and then are able to change the type to Gauss, Transport, etc. Having this for all vehicles would be cool.
Undo/Redo & Copy/Paste
Currently, if you delete something accidentally, you have to manually put it back. Having a simple Undo function would be amazing. Redo would be nice, but it wouldn't be used much compared with Undo.
Creating mirrored maps is sometimes quite time consuming. Having the option to "copy" all the objects in a portion of the map and "paste" them down in a mirrored or rotated orientation would be sweet.
These are for pure convenience, but would be awesome to have.
Canvas Map
In Halo 3, they gave us Foundry and then Sandbox. They were nearly blank maps where pretty much the only terrain was what Forges placed themselves.
In Reach, they gave us Forge World. It's great and all, but I want a true canvas map.
A pure blank map. Very similar to the Sky Box on Sandbox.
The advantage of this is that there would not be any default terrain to load/render. The entirety of the map would be forge-placed objects or custom terrain (see below).
Custom Terrain
It might seem that this would be too much for the Xbox to handle. Well, while it might be a bit intensive during the forging process, the combination of Forge and Rendering/Exporting would make playing games on custom terrain fine and run without issues.
There would likely be a separate mode for terrain (similar to changing gametypes to do objectives). This mode would be exclusively for modifying terrain. Therefore, the processor and limited memory on the Xbox would not be preoccupied with other activities, and therefore the terrain modifications wouldn't cause undue stress on the system.
I view this as likely being something along the lines of you constructing a polygonic surface, smoothing it using tools, and then selecting a texture for it.
Following that, adding dynamic objects like grass/trees can be done separately. However, even if they didn't let us add grass/trees, simply creating terrain with a simple texture would give forgers much, much more control than we currently have.
Texture Packs
This is something that would solve the problem of people getting bored with the Forge World textures and objects, or with disliking the plain, dull colors of the objects.
343i could give DLC Texture Packs, which would contain new textures for all objects. In the Advanced options for modifying that object, you would be able to change the texture.
For example, for "Block, 4x4" we might be given a "Forerunner" texture similar to what is in Reach, a "Human" texture, a "Rock" texture, a "Grass" texture, etc., etc. for every single object in the game.
Firefight / Spartan Ops / Campaign
Having the capability to forge maps where multiplayer is not the only goal. Since ODST came out, I've wanted the capability to forge aspects from Firefight onto maps.
Instead of only placing player spawns, having spawn points where Firefight enemies spawn would be fine. Imagine a huge, gigantic fortress built in Forge that you have to defend against a continual swarm of Covenant, Flood, or the new enemies...
Being able to go onto a Campaign or Spartan Ops level, explore it in forge, and maybe make adjustments to the level, either increasing difficulty, adjusting checkpoints, changing encounters, adding alternate paths/areas. This would be a great way to expand the replayability of the Campaign and also add some unique challenges to the game.
Dynamic Objects
This includes doors and such that can change throughout the game.
One Flag on Halo 3's High Ground is a great example of the capabilities of how dynamic objects can improve gameplay. Having to defend the gate and prevent it from being opened was fantastic.
Being able to implement similar things would vastly improve objective and invasion games. Would also be cool for firefight.
Rendering Maps
This is the biggest thing I think can improve Forge. However, it's probably the least likely to happen.
So far, I have never seen another person talk about this possibility, but this is something that I think would be FUCKING AMAZING to have.
What this does is very similar to what happens when you render a video file.
After you make a map and are done with you, you "export" or "render" (can be called either) the map. This is separate from Saving the map, and creates a separate file.
What it would solve: (1) frame-rate issues from a lot of objects on screen at once, (2) people stealing a map and claiming it as their own, (3) load times of the map would be extremely low, and (4) no need for budget/object limits.
What would happen: (1) on export/render, it would save the map, (2) it would remove all portions of objects that are invisible or obscured, (3) distant or unused portions of the background or terrain are removed, (4) removes possibility of editing the newly created file.
So, what are some opinions you guys have?
Addendum:
File Menus and File Sharing
Some more things I believe would be improvements over Reach:
Sort By
In Reach, all the files in a specific listing are alphabetized.
I would like to be given an option to sort the list by other possibilties.
Sorting by "Last Modified", "Date Created", "Author/Creator", "File Size", etc. would be sweet.
Also, sorting by Tags would be nice.
Custom Folders/Groupings
In Reach, all files are grouped into pre-made folders. Gametype files are in folders by their parent gametype (all CTF gametypes are under the "Capture the Flag" folder, etc.)
Map variants are in folders based on what map that are based off of. This ended up causing Forge World to have a huge number of maps.
Being able to create different folders would help organize files. For example, I would want to create an "FC" folder. And in that folder, have subfolders for each war. That way, all the files are organize in a way that makes it extremely easy to find what you need.
This would work similarly to the File Sets that Bungie had on their site, except it would be incorporated into the game itself and fully customizable.
Sharing Folders/Groupings
Currently, you are able to "Recommend" a file, which adds it to a giant list of other "recommended" files that others are able to browse.
I want an option to "share" an entire folder. This would work similarly to the current FileShares, and would probably replace it.
For example, if I was able to create the FC folder that I mentioned above, I would "Share" the folder so that anyone is able to have access to it. This would mean that whenever I save a file into that folder, it would also be automatically shared.
This would save me the trouble of having to remove old files and upload new files to my fileshare every single time I make a change. :)
Custom Games & Customizability
This does not touch on anything possible with Forge, which is discussed later.
In terms of custom games and the ability to customize the game, the following is a general list that I want:
Loadouts
Since people can make personalized loadouts, I want the option to enable personalized loadouts or force everyone to use a standard set of loadouts.
If personalized loadouts are available, I want the option to add restrictions (such as disallowing specific weapons).
Game Mechanics
In Halo: Reach, we were forced to deal with Bloom, no bleedthrough, and sword-blocking for a long time, until the TU happened.
343i has said multiple times that they have "adjustable knobs" for the settings, but weren't able to add in an actual in-game option to edit these options.
I want to be able to control the settings for each individual weapon or game mechanic. Including adjusting bloom settings for each weapon, how the weapons affect bleedthrough, etc.
I also want the ability to adjust armor abilities individually. Such as giving the jetpack a slight buff or nerfing one of the others, etc.
Objective Settings
Halo: Reach had many limitations for customizing objectives. While they did let you do a wide variety of things with hills and such, gametypes like Territories, CTF, Assault, and Stockpile still suffered.
Territories was limited to 5 maximum plots (unless you did a specific exploit to get 6). I see no reason for the limit.
CTF is limited to a single flag spawn (and combined capture point) per team, and only up to 4 teams. Maybe I want to have a team's flag spawn in one place, but they capture opposing flags in another place. Or maybe have a team defend multiple flags simultaneously. I am unable to do so in Reach.
Assault has the same limitations, except the bomb spawn can be separately adjusted. However, you cannot have the bomb spawn in a variety of locations which changes throughout the game, or give them multiple bombs.
Stockpile locations that overlap do not count as multiple locations. Instead, the "first" team (i.e., red>blue>etc) is the only one that counts and scores flags, and each team can only have a single location. Also, there is no option for instantly capturing flags without an exploit (minimum timer is 15 seconds).
There were numerous other issues I was unappreciative of as well...
Custom Powerup
Want more than just a single custom powerup, and customize their colors/appearances.
Want to be able to give multiple custom powerups different settings.
No longer have them limited at 3 minute durations.
Scoring Options
343i added in Flag-Slayer and such, where you get a lot of points for flags and only a few points for kills, but I want this extended further.
If you go to a Slayer gametype and view Scoring Options or something, you see a list of like 20 or so possible ways to get points. I want these options in all gametypes.
Also, I want the option to give fractions of points. Some actions shouldn't give you a whole point, and I feel the option to give a half point, or 0.1 points would be nice.
Forge 3.0
A lot of people want the ability to customize terrain. I want much, much more...
In terms of the capability and power of the Forge system, I want the following:
Object Manipulation
Halo: Reach was definitely a big improvement over Halo 3, but there is still room for improvement.
Currently, you can move objects by tenths of meters/yards. However, sometimes smaller increments are needed.
When trying to move objects faster, an option for accelerated movement (maybe by holding RT or something) would be nice.
Adjusting the orientation of an object can use major improvements. The current system uses "global" directions that don't change based on the orientation. I want a "relative" system also (both of which could be switched between), which would allow for better angles.
Snap-To/Merging/Inversion
Having a "Snap-To" capability would be amazing. What it would do is snap an object so that it is perfectly angled and positioned along the edge of the nearest object. This would make creating perfectly smooth transitions extremely easy.
Merging two objects together. Put a block inside another object, merge them together, and be able to move them around or adjust orientation as if they were the same object, and later unmerge them if need be.
Inversion on any asymmetric object would be awesome. In Reach, some objects are asymmetric. Being able to invert them so that you have a symmetric equivalent of it would give symmetric maps a bit more freedom for structures.
Weather/Time/Lighting Control
Having the option to adjust these things would be nice.
Changing weather, such as adding rain, snow, wind strength, number of clouds, etc. (doing this by region of the map would also be awesome).
Changing time, such as morning, midday, evening, night, etc.
Adjusting light levels by region would also be cool. Maybe having one region darker than another or something.
Vehicles
I want more vehicles. All vehicles from all halo games. To want to be able to place them, customize them, etc.
Add in Choppers, Prowlers, Shadows, Spectres, Scarabs, Elephants, Pelicans, Phantoms, Hornets, etc., etc.
Having variations on vehicles would also be cool. Instead of choosing the type of warthog in the menu, you place a default warthog, go into the options, and then are able to change the type to Gauss, Transport, etc. Having this for all vehicles would be cool.
Undo/Redo & Copy/Paste
Currently, if you delete something accidentally, you have to manually put it back. Having a simple Undo function would be amazing. Redo would be nice, but it wouldn't be used much compared with Undo.
Creating mirrored maps is sometimes quite time consuming. Having the option to "copy" all the objects in a portion of the map and "paste" them down in a mirrored or rotated orientation would be sweet.
These are for pure convenience, but would be awesome to have.
Canvas Map
In Halo 3, they gave us Foundry and then Sandbox. They were nearly blank maps where pretty much the only terrain was what Forges placed themselves.
In Reach, they gave us Forge World. It's great and all, but I want a true canvas map.
A pure blank map. Very similar to the Sky Box on Sandbox.
The advantage of this is that there would not be any default terrain to load/render. The entirety of the map would be forge-placed objects or custom terrain (see below).
Custom Terrain
It might seem that this would be too much for the Xbox to handle. Well, while it might be a bit intensive during the forging process, the combination of Forge and Rendering/Exporting would make playing games on custom terrain fine and run without issues.
There would likely be a separate mode for terrain (similar to changing gametypes to do objectives). This mode would be exclusively for modifying terrain. Therefore, the processor and limited memory on the Xbox would not be preoccupied with other activities, and therefore the terrain modifications wouldn't cause undue stress on the system.
I view this as likely being something along the lines of you constructing a polygonic surface, smoothing it using tools, and then selecting a texture for it.
Following that, adding dynamic objects like grass/trees can be done separately. However, even if they didn't let us add grass/trees, simply creating terrain with a simple texture would give forgers much, much more control than we currently have.
Texture Packs
This is something that would solve the problem of people getting bored with the Forge World textures and objects, or with disliking the plain, dull colors of the objects.
343i could give DLC Texture Packs, which would contain new textures for all objects. In the Advanced options for modifying that object, you would be able to change the texture.
For example, for "Block, 4x4" we might be given a "Forerunner" texture similar to what is in Reach, a "Human" texture, a "Rock" texture, a "Grass" texture, etc., etc. for every single object in the game.
Firefight / Spartan Ops / Campaign
Having the capability to forge maps where multiplayer is not the only goal. Since ODST came out, I've wanted the capability to forge aspects from Firefight onto maps.
Instead of only placing player spawns, having spawn points where Firefight enemies spawn would be fine. Imagine a huge, gigantic fortress built in Forge that you have to defend against a continual swarm of Covenant, Flood, or the new enemies...
Being able to go onto a Campaign or Spartan Ops level, explore it in forge, and maybe make adjustments to the level, either increasing difficulty, adjusting checkpoints, changing encounters, adding alternate paths/areas. This would be a great way to expand the replayability of the Campaign and also add some unique challenges to the game.
Dynamic Objects
This includes doors and such that can change throughout the game.
One Flag on Halo 3's High Ground is a great example of the capabilities of how dynamic objects can improve gameplay. Having to defend the gate and prevent it from being opened was fantastic.
Being able to implement similar things would vastly improve objective and invasion games. Would also be cool for firefight.
Rendering Maps
This is the biggest thing I think can improve Forge. However, it's probably the least likely to happen.
So far, I have never seen another person talk about this possibility, but this is something that I think would be FUCKING AMAZING to have.
What this does is very similar to what happens when you render a video file.
After you make a map and are done with you, you "export" or "render" (can be called either) the map. This is separate from Saving the map, and creates a separate file.
What it would solve: (1) frame-rate issues from a lot of objects on screen at once, (2) people stealing a map and claiming it as their own, (3) load times of the map would be extremely low, and (4) no need for budget/object limits.
What would happen: (1) on export/render, it would save the map, (2) it would remove all portions of objects that are invisible or obscured, (3) distant or unused portions of the background or terrain are removed, (4) removes possibility of editing the newly created file.
So, what are some opinions you guys have?
Addendum:
File Menus and File Sharing
Some more things I believe would be improvements over Reach:
Sort By
In Reach, all the files in a specific listing are alphabetized.
I would like to be given an option to sort the list by other possibilties.
Sorting by "Last Modified", "Date Created", "Author/Creator", "File Size", etc. would be sweet.
Also, sorting by Tags would be nice.
Custom Folders/Groupings
In Reach, all files are grouped into pre-made folders. Gametype files are in folders by their parent gametype (all CTF gametypes are under the "Capture the Flag" folder, etc.)
Map variants are in folders based on what map that are based off of. This ended up causing Forge World to have a huge number of maps.
Being able to create different folders would help organize files. For example, I would want to create an "FC" folder. And in that folder, have subfolders for each war. That way, all the files are organize in a way that makes it extremely easy to find what you need.
This would work similarly to the File Sets that Bungie had on their site, except it would be incorporated into the game itself and fully customizable.
Sharing Folders/Groupings
Currently, you are able to "Recommend" a file, which adds it to a giant list of other "recommended" files that others are able to browse.
I want an option to "share" an entire folder. This would work similarly to the current FileShares, and would probably replace it.
For example, if I was able to create the FC folder that I mentioned above, I would "Share" the folder so that anyone is able to have access to it. This would mean that whenever I save a file into that folder, it would also be automatically shared.
This would save me the trouble of having to remove old files and upload new files to my fileshare every single time I make a change. :)