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Halo Infinite Forge Overview

Table of Contents

What is Forge?

Forge mode is a suite of in-game tools that allows players to create new multiplayer maps and modes. When creating a map with Forge, players can place and modify items, effects, and sounds to build all-new experiences. Players can publish their map to share with others or even publish an object, called a Prefab, that other players can place in their own Forge map.

Player-created Forge maps can be played with others via Custom Games. Two Forge maps created by the 343 Industries development team, Detachment and Argyle, will be added to various matchmaking playlists as well.

The entire Forge experience is included for free as part of the free-to-play Halo Infinite multiplayer experience.

Forge mode in Halo Infinite is currently in a beta state, meaning that additional improvements are planned. The Forge Beta will support canvas maps and not developer-made maps made outside of Forge (such as Live Fire, Recharge, Fragmentation, etc.). Argyle and Detachment were made by developers in Forge so they can be opened and edited in the Forge beta. Support for non-Forge developer maps will be implemented in a future update.

To learn more about this beta and the development team’s plans for future improvements, visit the “Halo Infinite | Forge Beta FAQ” blog on Halo Waypoint.

What’s new in Halo Infinite Forge?

Forge in Halo Infinite includes dozens of technical and quality-of-life improvements since the last iteration of Forge in Halo 5: Guardians. These changes include, but are not limited to:

  • Increased budget: in Halo 5: Guardians, the Forge budget allowed for about 1,600 objects per map. In Halo Infinite, the Forge budget will allow about 7,000 objects per map.
  • Increased map size: the canvas maps in Halo Infinite are about twice the size of the maps in Halo 5: Guardians.
  • Undo and redo: in solo Forge sessions, players quickly revert recently made changes or restore them. This feature is unavailable in co-op Forge sessions.
  • Object scaling: make static objects taller, wider, or deeper.
  • Object naming: objects placed on the map can now be renamed so they are easier to find in lists.
  • Material swapping and editing: a single object can now be switched between different materials, such as dirt, corrugated metal, or Forerunner metal. Aspects like the reflectiveness, color, and the amount of grime or scratches on an object can also be edited.
  • Visual scripting: scripting allows players to modify how objects, players, weapons, and more interact in their map. In a Forge map, place the Script Brain object then enter the Node Graph visual scripting menu to design new game logic. For example, make an MA-40 Assault Rifle fire rockets or create on-screen objective messaging that appears to all players during the match.
  • Bots: Forge in Halo Infinite allows players to add AI bots to their map for quick testing or use in Custom Games. AI Bots use a “nav mesh” to know how they can navigate a map. This nav mesh is generated automatically for player-created Forge maps, but players can also place nav objects that help inform bots how to navigate areas that the auto-generated nav mesh may have missed.
  • Adjustable time of day and atmospheric lighting: the position and intensity of the sun can be adjusted on all Forge canvases.
  • Lighting debug tools: lighting probes and heatmaps can now be viewed while creating a map, allowing players to better understand their lighting conditions and potential performance optimizations.
  • Ambient sound settings: players can now select what type of ambient sounds will play in their map. Options range from a distant busy city to calm winds in a grassland, or players can disable ambient sound altogether. Secondary ambient sounds such as rainfall or thunderstorms can also be selected.
  • Collaborators: add another player in a Forge map’s Manage Collaborators menu to co-Forge with them. Collaborators can edit and save a Forge file, while the file’s Admin and Co-Owners will have more control over the map. To add another player as a Collaborator, both players must be Friends on the Xbox network.
  • Test and Play modes: when building a map, players can go into Edit Mode and will appear as a Forerunner Monitor flying around the environment. Players can enter Test Mode to quickly jump into their current position as a Spartan and test jumps or clamber spots on their map. Play Mode, however, will run player-made scripts, enable full physics, and will have players spawn in at their map's intended spawn points. Switching between Test and Edit mode will not affect other players in the session, but when one player enters Play Mode then all other players in the session will enter it with them.
  • Copy Protection: creators can now enable Copy Protection on their files to prevent other players from cloning their work.
  • Credits: all Collaborators who save a file or are present when another Collaborator saves the file will be listed in the map’s Credits menu. Cloned map files will also show their original collaborators in the Credits menu.

What is a canvas?

Forge canvases are the starting point for all Forge maps. When loading a canvas for the first time, all essential elements used for core game modes and the minimum number of spawn points are already placed on the map. These essential elements can be moved or deleted. Deleting the essential elements without replacing them may result in the map becoming incompatible with core multiplayer game modes like Capture the Flag, Stockpile, and more. 

The large diamonds floating at the far ends of the canvas mark the boundaries of the Forgeable area.

Each canvas has a uniquely themed ground texture and skybox. The Forge Beta has 6 available canvases:

  • Arid: a desert environment on the surface of a Halo ring, similar to the Behemoth multiplayer map.
  • Ecliptic: an outer space environment with no ground terrain and multiple planets in the skybox.
  • Institute: similar to the environment featured in the Halo Infinite Academy mode and the Live Fire multiplayer map, this canvas features snow-capped mountains and nearby forests.
  • Mires: a marshy, wetland environment with shallow pools of water scattered across the ground.
  • Seafloor: this canvas is set on the bottom of a deep ocean, surrounded by large cliffs and underwater flora.
  • Void: similar to the Ecliptic canvas, this “blank” environment has no ground terr However, the Void canvas features horizon and atmospheric effects similar to a planet's surface.

How do I make a map?

To start a Forge session, follow the steps below:

  1. Navigate to the Play tab on the main menu. This is the default tab after launching Halo Infinite.
  2. Select Forge to start a Forge lobby.
    1. Forge lobbies are hosted on dedicated servers and require an online connection.
  3. In the Forge lobby, select your preferred Forge canvas or load an existing Forge map to edit.
    1. Canvases, Detachment, and Argyle are listed in the 343 Industries map list.
    2. Saved maps are listed in the My Files map list.
  4. When ready, press the Play button to launch the session.

To see map creation in action, visit the Forge Fundamentals blog on Halo Waypoint to view videos of the Forge development team explaining key Forge features.

The Halo Support team is unable to provide assistance with creating maps or visual scripting via our ticketing system. To discuss Forge map creation with others, visit the Halo Discord server.

Can I make Forge maps with friends?

Forge can be played with eight players in a single session via the Xbox network and multiple players can be added as Collaborators. Collaborators will be able to edit Forge maps on their own without the owner or creator present in the session.

Forge cannot be played with two players via split-screen on a single Xbox console or PC.

To invite a friend to an online Forge session, follow the steps below prior to starting a Forge session:

  1. On the main menu or in the Forge lobby, open the Social menu.
    1. If using the default control scheme, the Social menu can be accessed by pressing the Tab key on a keyboard or pressing the View button on an Xbox controller.
  2. Switch to the Friends or Recent tab to view players you can invite to your Fireteam.
  3. Select the Gamertag of the player you would like to invite to your Fireteam.
  4. In that player’s Player Options menu, select Invite.
  5. If the player accepts your invitation, they will be added to your Fireteam and will appear under the Fireteam tab of the Social menu.
  6. Close the Social menu.

Follow the steps below to add friends as Collaborators on a map so that they can edit it on their own:

  1. On the main menu, navigate to the Community tab.
  2. Select the My Files option on the left side of the Community tab.
  3. From the grid of Forge files, select the file to view its Details menu.
  4. Scroll down to the Owner section of the Details menu and select Manage Collaborators.
  5. Select the Add Collaborators button.
  6. The Edit Collaborators menu will have three tabs: Fireteam, Friends, and Recent. Select the desired Collaborator(s) here then press Confirm Players.
    1. To add another player as a Collaborator, both players must be Friends on the Xbox network.
  7. After confirming, scroll to each Collaborator and verify which role they should have: Editor, Co-Owner, or Admin. Each role has a different set of permissions for the file.
    1. Note: the owner of a file is responsible for its content, whether added by themselves or by Collaborators. Inappropriate content being added to a map by a Collaborator may result in it being removed from the game. One exception to this rule is when another player copies a Forge map. Players who create a copy of another creator's map are responsible for content in the copied file. 

How do I share a map I made with others?

After creating a map in Forge and saving it, the file will become available for publishing. Once published, the map will become available for other players to bookmark, play, and clone. To prevent players from cloning a published map, the owner or co-owner must enable the Copy Protection setting in the file’s Details menu.

Follow the steps below to locate saved Forge maps in-game and publish them:

  1. On the main menu, navigate to the Community tab.
  2. Select the My Files option on the left side of the Community tab.
  3. From the grid of Forge files, select the file that’s ready to be published.
  4. In the Details menu, select Version History.
    1. If the Version Details section of the Details menu is not visible, confirm that the account is listed as an Admin or Co-Owner for the selected file.
  5. In the Version History menu, select the version of the map to be published then select the Publish option on the right side of the screen.
    1. Only one version of a file can be published at a time. If new changes are made on a map, they will not be visible to others until the new version is published.

When publishing a Forge map, file Admins and Co-Owners will be able to manage the following elements of the map’s details:

  • Name
  • Description
  • Tags
  • Screenshots
    • At launch, uploading screenshots for a published Forge file is only available on Xbox consoles. To upload images for Forge files created on a PC, an owner or co-owner can upload screenshots on an Xbox console.
  • Delete file
  • Enable/disable Copy Protection
  • Manage Collaborators

Note: all user-generated content (UGC) must abide by the Xbox Community Standards and the Halo Spartan Code. Content that violates either of these is subject to enforcement action by the Halo Safety team.

How do I play someone else’s map?

To discover popular Forge maps, modes, and Prefabs, navigate to the Community tab in the main menu and use the Community File Share tiles. These tiles include:

  • Recommended: shows a selection of files that the development team here at Halo Studios has selected to highlight.
  • Popular Maps: the most played Forge maps in the last 7 days.
  • Popular Modes: the most played modes in the last 7 days.
  • Popular Prefabs: the most bookmarked Prefabs in the last 7 days.
  • Browse All: search for specific file names, tags, or keywords.

Forge files can also be browsed via the Content Browser on HaloWaypoint.com. Visit the "Halo Waypoint | Content Browser" article for more information on Halo Waypoint’s Content Browser.

A Custom Game Browser is currently in-development and is planned to be included in the Season 3 update in 2023. For more information on Season 3, please visit the Halo Infinite Update – September 2022 article.

What can I do if I find inappropriate content in Halo Infinite Forge?

If a Forge file contains inappropriate content, there are two methods for reporting the file to the Halo Safety team: the in-game Report button or the Halo Support site.

  • To report a Forge file with inappropriate content in-game, navigate to the file’s Details menu then select the Report button found under the File header.
  • For reporting Forge files outside of the game, sign into the Halo Support site and submit a Player Report ticket. Be sure to include the file creator’s Gamertag and the name of the file. This reporting method may also be used to link to social media posts showing Forge files with inappropriate content.

What can I do if I’m experiencing technical issues in Halo Infinite Forge?

Visit the Halo Infinite Forge Known Issues article for a list of issues affecting the creation toolset that the development team is currently aware of and working to resolve. For issues affecting Forge maps during multiplayer gameplay (such as matchmaking or Custom Games), visit the Halo Infinite Multiplayer Known Issues article. For a full list of known issues in Halo Infinite, go to our Known Issues section.

If you are experiencing issues with the Forge toolset that is not listed in the Known Issues articles, please submit a Forge Creation Tools bug report. The Halo Support team reviews all submitted bug reports and will work with the development team to investigate issues submitted by players.

For questions or assistance with map design or visual scripting, visit the Halo Discord server to discuss Forge with other players.

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