Forge in Halo: Reach is, quite simply, looking immense. As well as offering more objects per level, the new tools and abilities at your disposal will hopefully let you re-create maps of old, as faithful to the originals as you can possibly imagine. It’s been occupying my thoughts a lot recently, so I thought I’d write up a “List Of Maps I’m Going To Make In Forge World” when Halo: Reach hits in less than two weeks.
Headlong
Well, I’m going to give it a go. The hardest thing will be to make sure it’s the right size overall, and constructing all those inner stairways could be a pain. Will probably switch teleporters for Man-cannons.
Coagulation
Blood Gulch with basements for Banshees, basically. Shouldn’t be too hard, just raise the existing bases and tweak the insides.
Beaver Creek
It’s a classic, I’ve got to do it. The real problem will be to find an area the right size, I don’t want to have to have big Forerunner walls enclosing it.
Colossus
I loved that map. Two bases that are so near, yet so far. It shouldn’t pose too much trouble, what with the theme of the level and the building materials both being Forerunner. It’s just deciding on a location within Forge World really.
Relic
I also loved this map. I’d need to seriously tweak the height of the elevated base so people can’t just Jetpack up there though. Could probably make it an island out in the waters of Forge World.
Burial Mounds
I loved the subtle tiers on this map. It’s easy to navigate down to the low base, but it can be a long-winded trek going up to the base in the building. This would be the hardest one to do, I think, given that it’s a mostly curved environment. Maybe an angular re-imagination would be better and easier than a straight-up conversion.
Monday Night Combat
For the lols. Loads of see-through walls, grav lifts and maybe a flag/bomb spot that is obscured by a construction built with fusion cores and you have to blow it up (remove the shields) before you can get flag/arm bomb. I could even make it so the Loadouts roughly correspond to the classes in MNC – Assassin has a Sword and Stealth AA, Tank has Focus Rifle and a Hammer, Assault has Jetpack and Assault Rifle, you know, stupid stuff.
Room 4
For Infection gametypes – Foundation was my favourite all time Dawn of the Dead map. Inspired by the best bit of Foundation: Room 4. I tried making this in Halo 3’s Forge and it was a bit pants. I’ll make Room 4 itself, and the two other “Rooms” along the walkways, maybe connect them with tight, easily barricaded corridors and have the zombies spawn in a “Room” on ground level across from Room 4.
Island Map
Like the Silent Cartographer level in Halo: CE Campaign. You could get to the other base by running round the beach either way, or go through the buildings in the middle. I’m sure I saw an island just right for it in a Forge World video.
Bridge Map
A bit like a cross between those bridges in the Halo: CE Campaign and Narrows or Longest. Just a vague idea in my head at the moment.
I fully expect there to be DLC maps which are as big as Forge World but have Covenant and Earth themed building materials, instead of Forerunner. Maybe I’ll save some of the ideas that don’t suit the Forerunner theme until then.
How much time are you planning to put into this! 🙂
I’d like a Silent Cartographer style level too, an island with a main focal point to attack and a few ways to get there. Can you put the landing scene in too? I doubt it 🙁
Room 4 was awesome 🙂 Great memories from that room! The tension, the horror and the realisation that you were about to get rushed and were probably going to die 🙂
I was thinking a while back about a few of these idea you mentioned, maybe it’d best to leave it to the master 8)
I think my ultimate goal would be to get a map of mine into proper, official Bungie-sanctioned Halo: Reach Matchmaking. That’d be so cool.
Hey, Forge can be a co-operative experience, maybe we’ll have to make some maps together! 🙂