Will 343 be adding community maps into matchmaking regularly? How easy/difficult is that to do?
We want to do this as soon as possible but it will take a bit of time. It first requires content to be created by the community. Then, 343 needs to identify that content and work with the author(s) to make sure that content meets our functional requirements (works as expected, performs well, etc). Once the content has been finalized, we then need to add it to a playlist.
We do have plans for a Forge playlist that highlights only community created content. We’re eager to see how the community embraces Forge and will look for opportunities to continue evolving our approach to Forge content in Matchmaking as warranted.
When does The Pit hit matchmaking?
The Pit remake is targeted to land in Matchmaking before the end of the year, with other official legacy map remakes planned for further down the road. We’ll have more details to share later, but in the meantime, we expect no shortage of awesome throwback community-creations that could also make their way into Matchmaking (per the question above).
When do you think you’ll consider Forge out of Beta? Is it based on performance or the amount of content in the mode?
For the most part, the Beta label means that we still want to apply more polish and bug fixing to some aspects of the experience in addition to seeing what new issues and opportunities may arise as we release Forge into the wild at massive scale. Forge is an incredibly robust and ambitious feature, and while the team has spent years developing and iterating on it, nothing can truly equal the level of feedback and data we’ll get from players around the world.
There is also some work that just missed the November 8 Forge launch that we’d like to add before we consider removing the Beta tag. There’s a lot to dig into here—exponentially more so than any prior Forge—but we have more we want to get to including functionality to allow editing on dev maps (at launch, the Forge Beta functionality is centered around the 6 shipping canvases), audio acoustic fidelity improvements, and of course more content (including additional palettes).
Is it possible to add campaign AI in Forge? Are y'all working on it?
It’s possible and we are working on how to best bring those features from our internal tools into Forge at a later date. We see a lot of potential in allowing players to create experiences that lean into the cooperative/PVE space. Good news is that with the addition of Nav Mesh and the support of AI controlled Bots, we’ve already got a head start on pushing further into this area.
We’re not announcing anything today and this is long lead work, but it’s definitely an opportunity we’re interested in and excited to pursue.
How can I download maps from other people?
Players can use the Community tab to find custom content to play. 343 will also be featuring cool community content in the “Recommended” menu and popular maps, modes, and prefabs will show up in their respective menus. You can then set up a custom game with that content to play with friends, etc.
Once Season 3 lands, you will also be able to find active games in progress via a Custom Game Browser. And, as noted up above, we’ll also be working to integrate suitable Forge content into Matchmaking over time.
Will we ever get Banished/Covenant structures en masse like Forerunner/Human pieces?
We are currently adding more objects to the Forerunner object set and will then move to creating the Banished palette. Other design palettes (Flood, Covenant) are top of mind, but we have not finalized plans for those yet. We understand how much variety and flexibility these sets bring to Forge creations and will add more as fast as we can!
Can we make Custom Power Ups?
Yes! In Node Graph players can place an "On Custom Powerup Used" event node and hookup any scripts they want to it. When someone uses that custom equipment, it'll fire whatever scripts they have attached. So, players could apply a Trait Set that boosts movement speed and reload times. Or they could refill 50% of the player's ammo. Players could make Fusion Coils fall from the sky at a point 20 feet in front of where the player is looking. The sky's the limit. Players can also define weapon combos (like an AR that shoots Skewer ammo!) to really spice things up!
You say you’ll add more features once Forge is released. What features do you plan to add later on?
Right now, the team is focused on supporting the Forge Beta launch. Once we go live, here are the highly requested features we will be diving deeper into:
- Editing on dev maps
- Minigame game mode
- AI spawning tools
We will also be continuing our dialogue with the Forge community and integrating bug fixes, quality of life updates, content drops, and feature work based on that feedback. And, as noted above, we’re also actively working on additional palette offerings for future updates.
What are the team’s future plans for audio features in Forge? Are there plans to include triggering music or VO from the Campaign?
In terms of audio, we are currently focused on improving acoustic fidelity in Forge. In an effort to reduce the amount of manual work on players when creating Forge maps, we employ a simplified version of the acoustics system. Because of these differences, audio traveling between different rooms will not be as muffled as in dev maps. Improvements in this area are in the works for a future update.
The ability to trigger VO lines in Forge is something we have discussed though and is definitely on our wishlist—it’s easy to see how cool it would be to create your own mode and trigger iconic Steitzer lines! Music trigger functionality is in a similar situation—no current plans but also something we know would be cool and it’s on our wishlist.
Do you plan to add water features at some point?
Yes, we are currently discussing the best way to bring placeable water into Forge. No other details to share at the moment but it’s clear that this functionality is very important to the Forge community!
I noticed you refer to Forge as a game engine rather than a map editor. When did it become clear that the next evolution of Forge would have to be the development of a game engine?
From the start, our goal was to create a version of Forge that was as close as possible to our internal tools. Early on in Forge’s development, we had this Tom French quote guiding our vision.
“If you give them a toy, they’ll make toys. If you give them a tool, they’ll make experiences.”
Based on what we’ve seen of the community and Forge Council creations so far, we feel like we are well on our way to delivering on that promise!
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