Forge

Forge is a Halo 3 gameplay mode that allows for both playing and designing multiplayer maps.

Background
Forge allows players to customize maps for custom game (online or off-line) use. Options include changing and resetting spawn points, weapon spawns, weapon timers, vehicle spawns and timers, vehicle spawn points, and add existing geometry to the map’s existing structure in the form of crates, boxes, fusion coils, gravity lifts, teleporters, turrets, etc. However, you can only use certain weapons, vehicles, power-ups, scenery, and equipment on certain maps, so this way you can't spawn a Hornet or a Scorpion in The Pit, for example.

The amount of items you can drop is regulated by an economy budget system. Different objects are assigned to different values. This is to keep you from overloading a map and using an excessive amount of memory. By deleting existing things off of a given map, you can actually place more things. The spending limit is merely a counter to help the player gauge how much they can place on the map at a given time; no real currency is used. Players can modify and create their versions of maps, save them and share them with their friends, but that’s only half or so of what Forge allows.

In addition to functioning as creation-driven tool, Forge is also a play space. Up to eight players can be on a given map at a time, shifting back and forth between their chosen multiplayer model and the Forge model: a Monitor, much like 343 Guilty Spark. Players can play actual games in Forge, goof around, kill each other, play Slayer where each team designates a Monitor to supply weapons, vehicles, equipment and cover on the fly. While in Forge mode, the player can press up on the D-Pad to cycle through Monitor or Player modes. Note this feature can be changed so only the party leader is able to become a Monitor and edit the map. Once you're done with the editing you can start a party over System Link or Xbox Live and test it for flaws.

As revealed in Bungie's 8/27/07 Podcast, you can add items in Forge that aren't available in a regular match. One example is the Custom Powerup, the alternative to the Overshield or the Active Camouflage. The Yellow Power up is completely customizable in its effects; it can cause the interacting player to run faster, jump higher, grow an overshield/active camouflage, and even change the player's color. Effects aren't limited to one or two at a time, but rather a number of effects can occur simultaneously. The hosts described it as equivalent to an "instant juggernaut." You can only change the actual properties of this custom power up via game settings.

While playing as a Monitor, a health bar is shown at the top, having about the same amount as a Spartan or Elite's. This can be tweaked as well to allow the Monitor to have damage resistance, Overshields or be invulnerable.

Forge Filters
Main Article: Forge Filters

Forge filters are objects placed in the new Legendary Map Pack maps that changes the camera settings. Some effects may make it black and white, or blurry.

Unlimited Money Glitch
Buy one of every object you're going to use and set it aside, press X on each object and set the run time maximum to the highest. When you run out of budget and you still need to set more items' run time higher, save your map, quit, start it up again and you'll have more money, then set the run time as high as you can on the object, then repeat until you have it at its highest.

Notes: Your budget will start going negative once you use your whole 'normal' budget, so once you've gone over that, DO NOT DELETE ANYTHING OFF, YOU'LL LOSE THE OBJECT, then you'll have to redo the whole process of setting the run time to its highest and to do that you would have to delete objects to get your budget back, because when you delete an item you delete it out of the run time, so if you had 24 max boxes and you delete one, you'll have 23. So if you don't need the item SET IT ASIDE until you're finished with your map and you know you wont need it anymore, then delete it.

Once you're over the 'normal' budget, every time you place an object you'll lose money, so say you have $0 normal budget, but still have $33 with the save, quit budget, every time you spawn an item that you have the run time at its highest, it will take it out of your save, quit budget. So, before you start placing your objects, set all the run times to the highest.

Do not delete all of one object after you've set the run time to its maximum, or you'll lose all your run time settings for that object and you'll lose the object from your list if you're over your budget.

Download the Unlimited Money Canvas Map

Teleporters of Death
On some levels, you can put teleporters in certain places that are out of bounds without them being deleted. This allows an instant death. If you really want to be a mastermind, or the Godfather of the Big Team Battle, you can put a teleporter as far out of bounds on Sandtrap as you can, and a chain of explosives so the Guardians can explode them to death. This is really fun, especially when using this trick on newcomers.

Instant respawn
To set an object to instantly respawn without any wait time, set the objects minimum and maximum counts (under the object summary page) to the same number. The minimum count must be as high as it can go for this to work. The object will now instantly respawn when disturbed. Weapons are an exception, for when you pick them up, they still exist on the map. You can make an infinite fusion coil shower using this technique, or a massive pile of Trip Mines.

Remote control of fusion core bombs
With the infinite respawn tool comes a trick that allows you to remotely turn on and off fusion coil bombs, which are groups of fusion coils set to continually explode. When you have one running on infinite respawn, and it keeps blowing up, if you wish to turn it off, select the fusion coils in the scenery object list, hit X, and then set the minimum number to 0. The infinite respawn will be turned off.

Teleporter Maze
1. Make eight rooms that look as similar to each other as possible (the looks of First and Last rooms don't matter.)

2. Place teleporters and channels in all rooms in this order: (R - Receiver Node || S - Sender Node || T - Two-way Node || Numbers - Channel)


 * First room: R8 S4 T4 S1
 * Second room: R1 T2 S4
 * Third room: R2 R2 T3 S4
 * Fourth room: R3 T4 S4
 * Fifth room: R4 T8 S5
 * Sixth room: R5 T6 S4
 * Seventh room: R6 T4 S7
 * Last room: T7

3. Last room can be a good place to shoot each other, contain power weapons / power-ups / equipment, or anything that puts anyone controlling it in a powerful position.

Floating Objects
In Heroic Map Pack maps, many objects will stay in air when placed there, but in other maps they need a teleporter under to not fall. (Weapon holders will also stay in air, but they aren't greatest to be used for making massive floating bases or stuff) So teleporters aren't always needed in Heroic Map Pack maps. Placing objects to form bases over the cliffs of Standoff can make for a fun rumble with your friends... just watch your step.

4 ways to make a things float:

Floating objects, type 1:

 * Stack objects up to the point where you want it to float
 * Then delete everything underneath
 * Voila, the object floats!
 * Note that some objects will fall even if they're just touched and when they respawn they drop instantly.

Floating objects, type 2:

 * Hold a teleporter in air as high as you want.
 * Save the map (while still holding it.)
 * Come back to the map and the teleporter floats where you left it!

Floating objects, type 3:

 * Stack any objects to make as high a tower as you want.
 * Place a teleporter on top of it.
 * Delete the tower below it and the teleporter floats where you put it!

Floating objects, type 4:
Once you have placed a teleporter in the air, place whatever you want on top of it. There you go! Floating objects!
 * Have your friend keep an object that is larger than a teleporter in air.
 * Place a teleporter on it.
 * When you have placed the teleporter, have your friend delete the object below.
 * Now the teleporter floats where you placed it!

Cool Things to Try

 * Flying Elephants - By placing and setting large numbers of Fusion Coils and Plasma Batterys and other explosives to instant respawn inside of Elephants, it is possible to have them fly into the air, dropping explosives at random as they travel high above the map. You will need a little luck to get the explosives to continually explode. Try driving over some trip mines.


 * Kamikaze Warthog - Get any type of warthog and put a fusion coil in the passenger seat and in the bed by the turret. Have someone in the driver seat. Next cover the warthog with trip mines. A fun way to get rid of enemy tanks.


 * Man-Cannon anywhere - On maps with man-cannons, go into a man-cannon. Immediately after you've entered it, go into Editor mode. Fly around anywhere you want. And when you're done, go into Player mode. The game will think you're still in the man-cannon, so you'll go flying!


 * Warthog Launch - [[Image:447190-Full.jpg|thumb|A Warthog sitting on a large pile of explosives, awaiting launch.]] (See Picture) Piled like this, with Fusion Coils and Plasma Batteries under it, a Warthog can be launched across Sandtrap. You may want to make the vehicles indestructible first. You can also try making yourself invulnerable and sitting in the vehicle while someone else detonates the explosives.


 * Elephant Flipping - Use all possible explosives on 1 side of an elephant and blow them up. Alternatively, you can simply push a Scorpion tank, Hornet, or Drop Pod into the Elephant and lift it up, but the latter method can get a little frustrating. Let's face it, Elephant flipping isn't easy. It will, however, give you the bonus of viewing an easter egg from Bungie: when you walk up to it to flip it back, you will see the message: "Hold RB to flip... wait, what? How did you do that?"


 * Magic Carpet Ride - Spawn a crate, and have another player ride on top as you move it around. Alternately, have the other player grab a Sniper Rifle, and use a pallet or something similar. And if someone boards it, you can simply spin them off.


 * Explosion Mania - Create a never ending explosion of fusion coils all over the map, then play the map against some friends and see how long you can survive. You do this by putting many fusion coils and other explosives in one spot at one time. Then make one explosive float above all the others by using tricks in this article. Then click on one fusion coil with X and then X again and set the run time minimum to the same thing as the run time maximum.


 * Monitor of Death - Be the monitor and deploy a tank, then throw it around the level and try to splatter the other players. This can also be done by spawning a radio antennae and using it like a bat. This can provide hours of amusement (or, if you're getting whacked with stuff, hours of frustration.)


 * Grenade Hold - While not in monitor mode throw a grenade, but right after pressing the left trigger press up on the D-pad to go into Monitor mode. If done correctly, the grenade shouldn't have been thrown. Then, when you see an opponent, go back into Player mode and the grenade will be thrown. It works really well with Plasma/Spike grenades, but any kind works. If you're just trying to be funny, use an Incendiary grenade. If you are stuck with a grenade, you will die, but you can delay it by turning into the monitor before the grenade explodes. When you turn into human form, the grenade will explode, but if you are near enough to someone, that person will die and the person who threw the grenade originally will get a double-kill. This sometimes works with firebomb grenades.
 * Drive a vehicle while a monitor is still holding it - Normally if a player is driving a vehicle and a Monitor picks it up, the player is removed, but if you(human)and a friend (monitor) both grab it at the same time(this may take a few tries)you will be driving the vehicle while the monitor is still holding it. Have fun!

Note: You can delete people if you delete the vehicle/turret! It does not count as a kill, but they respawn as if they died. Also, the infinite turret glitch can be achieved this way.
 * Flying Vehicles - Normally if a player is driving a vehicle and a Monitor picks it up, the player is removed, but if the player is in the side/passenger/gunner seat of the vehicle they will stay in it, able to shoot as usual as the vehicle is moved around the map. This can also be done with machine gun turrets and Plasma Cannons.


 * Unreachable Items - It is easy to place items in places where players cannot normally reach. This makes taunt "power weapons," power-ups, equipment and vehicles an easy and fun thing to place.


 * Picture Making - If you plan well enough you can make a picture out of the weapons you place on a map.


 * Obstacle Course - If you have good (cooperative) friends, it's fun to make obstacle courses. Simply construct a path that requires teamwork to travel through (like steps that require stacking to get on top of, objects that need to be in one place and need to be moved to another along a narrow path, a wall of objects that needs the force of multiple players to move, etc.) and make the starting area a bomb spawn point and the ending area a bomb plant pad. This can easily be turned into a two team race.


 * Obstruct the Windmill on Last Resort - This can be done by simply flooding the trench with large items, although it is impossible to stop the mill, the result is entertaining more often than not. If you want to get a bunch of stuff into place at once, try spawning it next to the trench and then using gravity lifts to move it into place. Use the instant respawn technique that was mentioned earlier and place some propane tanks. The mill will send them raining down, and when they hit the ground, they go berserk for a few seconds and explode. This makes the mill an extremely dangerous place.
 * Environment Battles - By making a game variant where the players' damage is 0%, "environment battles" become strategic war games. Since players can still affect the environment (such as blowing up fusion coils, lighting propane tanks, flipping large objects, etc.,) the environment is a viable weapon.


 * Block Gravity Lifts - Blocking gravity lifts such as the one on Guardian with large objects like crates is hilarious. Whether the map is used for King of the Hill or Slayer, the obstruction is either a dangerous way point or a trap.


 * Disable Door Shields and Turrets on Snowbound - Load the big underground entrance (the one near the Shotgun) with all the explosives on the map (use a canvas version of the map preferably) then set instant respawning Trip Mines (with minimum runtime maxed out) near the pile, throw a bunch on and let it rip, it should disable the entire shield network and even shut off the turrets! Don't linger out there too long, for they are prone to reactivating themselves.


 * Trip Mine Launch - Make instant respawning trip mines near a vehicle (within Trip Mine throwing range) have a friend sit in the vehicle and not move. Plant as many trip mines as possible (when the game cant handle any more, the first ones you place will disappear in a small flash of blue light). After setting all the mines you can, blow them up. This is a quick way to launch something without a difficult-to-build explosives pile.


 * Race Track - Create a race track on any map, set the way points sequentially and add interesting obstacles, some cool things to do include making a way point in midair and a Grav-lift jump leading to it, and making a run through a wall of explosives.


 * Target Practice - set up Fusion Coils above a man-cannon and have them fall at set intervals, works well on Valhalla when the trainee stands in the middle of the map with a sniper.


 * Mid-air spawning - Stack crates, or spawn an especially tall object to reach the desired height, place any objects you want to spawn in mid-air on top of the pile, then delete the objects underneath. Works perfectly to create an artillery effect on D-day maps


 * Secret Rooms - Block off a section with a tall sturdy wall, add a teleporter inside and place another one in some difficult to reach place on the map. Normally these rooms contain power weapons or multiple power ups making it a valuable room to control.


 * Outside of Last Resort - In the main room of the power plant (the biggest one) fly up to the invisible barrier and force the monitor onto a ledge high above the power drainer spawn, once up there fly towards the turbine in the back of the base, once you cannot move anymore, lower yourself off the ledge and you should be behind the fence separating the main base from the turbine. USE BOOST THE ENTIRE TIME it makes the process a lot easier. It also helps to add a teleporter back there so that other players can get to it without any hassle.


 * Party Hog - It is possible to drive the transport warthog in The Pit by using forge. First set up a teleporter on the other side of the fence (if you set it on the ground it will disappear, so set it on one of the support bars on the fence) and then move the transport warthog against the fence with a large object (barriers work well) and then blow it up. When it respawns it will be drivable. It is possible to get the warthog across the fence. Be careful while in player mode on the outside of the fence since standing on the ground here for 5 seconds will cause you to suicide, this does not include standing on top of objects like the warthog, although it does include being in a vehicle on the ground.


 * Outside of all maps - Fly to the barrier and spawn a receiver or two way node, once you get it placed where it stays put, spawn another two way node inside the map and go through it in monitor mode to avoid deadly falls


 * Rocket Racing - Spawn each 2-man team near a mongoose and a Rocket launcher on Sandtrap. Make the gametype king of the hill where the hill moves (or territories, whichever you prefer) and have fun blowing each-other up!


 * Pirate ships - have each team spawn on a different elephants on Sandtrap. Put 3-4 Portable Gravity Lifts on each elephant. Have the two teams parallel each other's elephants and use the grav-lifts to board each other's elephants.


 * Baseball - have a player make as many Rockets as possible and a gravity hammer not too far away (this works best on Valhalla), then have 1 player get a rocket and the other get the gravity hammer. Now shoot a rocket at the player with the gravity hammer and at the last second get the player with the hammer to hit the rocket and after a few attempts you should get it out of the map.


 * Death pits - meaning placing all the explosive scenery in one spot and put it on unlimited respawns and place a respawn point over it and set it off. The result, big boom and instant death (it works best in the back of High Ground). HAVE LOTS OF FUN!!!


 * Overloading a map - Place 2 Trip mines at your feet and set it so it respawns instantly. Next, get an SMG and a pistol (no dual wield) and press X and Y very fast. You will keep throwing Trip Mines. You know the map is overloaded when the Gravity Lifts don't work, certain things like the main gate on High Ground begin to disappear and the mines on Sandtrap and the cannons on Snowbound are not working either. Weird stuff begins to happen when you overload a map...


 * Kamikaze Chief - when in Player Mode have someone stick you with either a plasma grenade or a spike grenade. Quickly turn into Monitor Mode and the grenade will disappear. While being a monitor, fly next to a player you want to give your nasty surprise to and turn back into Player mode again. The grenade will reappear with just as much time left on the fuse. NOTE: this trick does NOT work in reverse as the monitor when stuck and you change into a human and back the grenade is gone forever... Have fun with this trick.


 * Turrets and Vehicles- On Sandtrap put all the turrets and really good weapons (Spartan Lasers, Snipers, Shotguns, etc.) on one end and all the vehicles on the other end with only a few weapons. Then make all the respawn times 10 seconds.


 * Laser Tag- Delete all the weapons, respawn places, scenery, and vehicles and put in only Spartan Lasers.


 * Mazes- Easier to do in Foundry than any other map, due to the amount of tangible objects at your disposal, Its fun to make hugely complicated mazes that, on the outside, may seem like an unimaginable amount of objects stacked randomly, but once inside, they can be quite impressive and some of the more well done mazes can go on for hours. However, to make a maze, you must have at least a basic understanding of floating objects, stability and direction, or else your map might all fall apart if someone throws a grenade out of frustration.


 * Secret Cache- As the Monitor, go the the large yellow hologram on Epitaph. Just behind it outside is a natural hiding place to put a teleporter and a cache of power weapons.


 * Sky Bases- Patience and an understanding of floating objects is required in order to construct vast aerial fortresses. You can use all those ways of floating objects explained above in "Tips and Tricks." When done enough, you should have a floating fortress.  Try making multiple sky bases and add turrets, weapons, and even vehicles. Make cover ports for players to exchange fire from.  This could add up to become a supreme multiplayer match if given enough effort.


 * Flying Frenzy- Using teleporters and Grav-lifts, create an aerial array of objects scattered across open skies. If made correctly, a player could boost off of a Grav-lift, hitting a floating Teleporter in mid air.  Then he could be teleported high above the map, overlooking a series of floating lifts and nodes.  You and your friends could spend hours soaring above the clouds. It would also be entertaining to delete a key Grav-lift directly before a player uses it, sending him hurtling towards the ground.  Some may call this "sky diving", as you can instantly dive from the highest point of an open map.


 * Reverse the Field on High Ground- Start by taking the turret that sits atop the bridge and place it so that it faces the other direction. Then complete the process by adding various crates and walls inside the base.  This may change the flow so that it may seem the outsiders are holding the defenders prisoner, controlling the outdoors and terrorizing the base.


 * Sandtrap mosaics - Go on Sandtrap and put weapons in places on the sand when you think its time, go straight up and look down on your creation. (note this takes extraordinary skill and precision)


 * Put yourself in a loop- on Narrows, put a gravity lift in front of each man cannon and get in one. You'll be able to attack the bridge from the air or have jousts in mid air with energy swords, shotguns, gravity hammers, maulers, or any weapons with a melee attack.
 * Trap players- on sand trap, put a sender node in the middle of the map and put the receiver node somewhere in the minefield, preferably somewhere far away so players don't see it. It's assured to make people hate you.


 * Automatic warthog launch-do warthog launch, only with infinite respawns


 * Elephant Rodeo- After you've loaded your Elephant with spawning explosives, (Flying Elephant) put a receiving node (teleporter) in the cockpit. Then put a sending node (teleporter) somewhere on the ground. After that, shoot the explosives that make the Elephant fly, and climb in the sending node. How long can you survive?


 * Big bucket of sunshine- Go to a map that supports Fusion Coils (this works best on Last Resort or The Pit, because they have a lot of them) and delete every one of them from the map. Then, spawn an open cargo container, and place it on its side so the opening faces up. Pile every one of the fusion coils in there, and throw a plasma grenade. You will get blown probably 300 feet in the air. Fun to watch, fun to do.


 * Flying Scorpions- On a map supporting Scorpions, spawn two and turn one upside-down. Next, drive the other one on top of the upside-down one's treads like a ramp. Then,(now for the fun part) get out and flip the bottom Scorpion. The top one will go flying! This is especially fun with two players, since you can see from the top one's point of view.


 * Flashing boxes- Go into Foundry, and build a tower to the roof with double boxes, and use up all the boxes in the map, and if this is done right, the map will be overloaded, and the box tower will begin to flash randomly.


 * Shoving Teleporters- When you're not host push a teleporter through ANYTHING by pressing "A" a few times for the bottom of the 2 way node to go through any surface.


 * Da Real Military- This mode works well on Standoff, Foundry (but you can't spawn Banshees), Sandtrap (because you can't spawn Elephants), and Valhalla. Go into Forge and spawn lots of weapons and ammo for each team. Then spawn lots of vehicles, and make sure you have a lot of players. Have each player charge into battle. Make sure you are Invulnerable, and then watch the battles unfold! Follow the same steps if you are on Sandtrap, but spawn everything near, or preferably, in or on the Elephant that one team possesses.


 * The Escape Pod- Spawn an Open Container anywhere they are allowed. Go inside and drop a Deployable Cover. Next, grab a Grav Lift and drop it inside (while your inside as well) the box should begin to rise. Fun to do as a trick, your about to die and have a grav lift with a deployable cover nearby and you drop the grav lift and cover and fly away as the enemy was about to kill you, or to reach new heights. Best done on a level where you can go pretty high without restrictions or on Last Resorts beach.


 * Warthog, scorpion, prowler, and wraith with no turret. See Turretless vehicle glitch.


 * Bomb Room- In Foundry, make a box made with two corner walls. Make another one on top of the one you just made. Fill it with all the Fusion Coils and Propane Tanks you have. Put a Receiver mode Teleporter in. Then put a gate wall on top of the tower. Use two staircases to make a path to the top (use floating glitch). Make a Sender mode near where people go often. When you catch someone in the tower, shoot a fusion coil inside. It will allow this because of the holes in the gate wall. Then watch your friend get blown up. You will see some of the explosion outside but NONE of it will harm you because all of the walls are indestructible.

Restrictions

 * You have object limit that varies from map to map, but highest encountered budget is located on Foundry, with a Grand total of 800 credits.

Trivia

 * If you fire your weapon and then turn to monitor mode right away and turn back into human form you will not have lost any ammo. (Spartan laser: 60%, "fired", 40%,  switched to monitor right away, back to human, 60%).
 * You take the form of a Monitor (like 343 Guilty Spark) while you are in Forge mode. The popular machinima series Red vs. Blue makes a comic reference to this resemblance in a video titled "D.I.Y."
 * The Elephant can not be spawned due to its size and specific purpose on the maps.
 * Forge keeps track of stats and kills.
 * Created map variants can be saved and shared with the community. Also, if your creation is liked by Bungie, they will put it up to be downloaded by other players for use.
 * You are able to create teleporters with more than one destination portal; where an "IN" portal could send you to either a power-weapon spawn or a bottomless pit.
 * The idea of Forge was taken from Marathon:Infinity, which also has a map editor named Forge.
 * In the monitor form you can become invincible or almost invincible and so kill players by spawning weapons and using your human form or using the object spawning and grappling to splatter players. A player can also change into the monitor form and be used as a mobile resupplying dock or super weapon, making forge an amusing combat game. Another odd feature, if in SPARTAN/Elite and are low on shields, change to Monitor mode and it instantly recharges.
 * Some weapons may be purchased at no cost if they were originally on the map and are not deleted. However this will leave you with a penalty making it so that you need to sell the same amount you have spent under zero to reach zero again and make money again.
 * Even when the editing mode is set to "Party Leader Only", other players may enter forge mode through the start menu.

Related Articles

 * Forge Objects