Halo 5: Guardians' Forge mode is one of the best map building tools available to the gaming community. It's filled with impressive features, and they're all easily accessible thanks to the mode's intuitive controls. However, with Halo Infinite, 343 Industries has a chance to take Forge to even greater heights. Here are three features that we would love to see in Halo Infinite's Forge.
Read: 5 helpful steps for making a map in Halo 5
The ability to spawn AI enemies
Spawning in Covenant soldiers, Flood forms, or Promethean hordes has been something that the entire Forge community has been requesting since Halo 3, and I believe that this is something we should get in Halo Infinite. The possibilities with this are endless; for example, you could design a map that creates a three-way war between your team, the enemy team, and AI, similar to Halo 5's Warzone. Another thing you could do is create your very own Firefight maps.
The main issue that I see with this feature being added is that I'm not sure if Halo's enemies would be able to navigate a player-created map like they do in campaign levels. That being said, we already have dynamic pathfinding in games like Fallout 4, so it's entirely doable.
Dynamic terrain editing
Halo 5 introduced terrain to Forge, but it would be sweet to see it taken a step further and so that we can change various things about pieces of land, such as shape, height, and depth. This would give the map-maker the ability to create foxholes to mountain ranges, and everything between. We can (sort of) do this in Halo 5, but it doesn't look that great because each terrain object is prefabricated.
This would probably be a tough task for the engine to handle, but thankfully, Halo Infinite is being built on the brand new Slipspace Engine. Because of this, I believe dynamic terrain editing is a possibility.
Read: 10 amazing Forge maps in Halo 5
Timed weather effects
Unlike the previous two features, this idea probably wouldn't take much effort from the developer. Halo 5 already has weather effects, as well as scripting that lets you create "events" (like explosive crates dropping from the sky) that activate during a match after a set amount of time. With Halo Infinite, I'd like to see the ability to create these "events", but with weather.
For how simple of a change this is, it would have an incredible impact on Forge's potential. Imagine playing on a snowy map that suddenly becomes engulfed in a blizzard halfway through the match, or trying to traverse a desert map through the occasional sandstorm. Things like this could drastically change how a map plays during gameplay and would encourage players to use new strategies, leading to more fun overall.
Your thoughts
What do you think of these ideas? What are some things you'd like to see in Halo Infinite's Forge mode? Let me know.
Halo 5 is available now on Xbox One for $19.99. Make sure to check out everything we know about Halo Infinite, as well as a look at the story hints found in the game's trailer.
Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. You'll find him doing reviews, editorials, and general coverage on everything Xbox and PC. Follow him on Twitter.
