‘Halo 2’ Forge Mode For ‘The Master Chief Collection’ On Xbox One Unveiled

One of the big questions surrounding Halo: The Master Chief Collection for the Xbox One is how 343 Industries will handle the Forge mode for Halo 2: Anniversary. The developers gave the first glimpse and some details during a panel at PAX Prime broadcast via Twitch Saturday.

The original Halo 2 for the Xbox did not have a Forge mode. What 343 Industries showed at PAX Prime resembled the Halo 4 forge mode as a result, but there are some notable improvements in terms of features and what you can start building with.

The big news is that there are three Skybox-Only maps that will allow players to create their own maps from scratch. Since Forge was introduced in Halo 3, builders have worked with one or more base maps to work around for their creations. An empty map with only a skybox has been a big request from the fan base over the years.

Another requested feature that can be marked as filled is additional Natural and Terrain building options. This is a natural outgrowth of the Skybox-Only maps. What these additional options are were not revealed, however.

The Precision Editing tool introduced in Halo: Reach is back as well, along with the ability zoom in as a Monitor.

Interestingly, the Forge budget has been removed for the Halo 2 Forge mode. 343 Industries is replacing it with a universal object count and a performance meter instead. The meter will let builders keep tab on how well their map will run and if it will run into any frame-rate drops. This should allow builders more freedom with the understanding that it could come at a cost.

343 Industries previously confirmed that Forge mode would return for Halo 3 and Halo 4 at the Rooster Teeth Expo earlier this year, as The Inquisitr reported. There’s no information on how Forge for those two games has been improved beyond just an upgrade in graphics and lightning. Halo 2 Anniversary was mentioned as well but, there were not any details on how the creative mode would be used.

There’s still some more details to be shared, and it looks like the developers are going to hold on to those for a more detailed reveal prior to Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s release to the Xbox One on November 11.

What do you think of the improvements to Forge for Halo 2 Anniversary? Are you excited or waiting for more information? Sound off in the comments below.

[Images via 343 Industries Twitch stream captured by TrulyExclusive]