If you’ve been following Halo 3 over the last few months, there’s a good chance that you’ve heard more than a bit about Forge. The robust in-game editor actually takes its name from Bungie’s codename for their map editor in Marathon, a subtle nod to their longtime fans. Forge was one of the features we wanted to try most when we finally got our hands on the game, and it may very well give players a reason to stick with Halo 3 for years to come. In an effort to get your creative juices flowing (after all, you will be the ones creating Halo 3 content from here on out), we decided that we should whip up a little Forge primer to give you some pointers. The first thing you’ll need to do (well, aside from selecting a map to edit) is determine who will have the ability to edit the map. The party leader can set it so that only he or she is able to fly around and edit objects while the other players in the party simply run around killing each other or otherwise messing around. This gives Forge sort of a “god game” feel, as the editor can do things like drop a Scorpion tank on one side of the map or shower the players with deadly fusion coils (always fun). Or, if you want to make the creation of a new game or map variant a collaborative process, you can allow every player the power to edit. This is also a lot of fun, as players can switch between playing and editing on-the-fly.
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