Forge Overview | Season 5
For the first time ever, players will be able to add Campaign AI to their creations with the addition of the AI Toolkit and its accompanying suite of features. That revolutionary new feature, alongside two new canvases, 200+ new objects, object collision toggle, lighting improvements, additional quality of life updates, and more – Forge will reach new heights when Season 5: Reckoning lands on Tuesday, October 17.
Let’s dive in for a closer look at all the updates coming to Forge next week!
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[h2]Forge AI Toolkit[/h2]
The most notable update coming to Forge in Season 5 is the introduction of the AI Toolkit, which will allow you to create thrilling experiences using Campaign AI.
To see how powerful the new Forge AI Toolkit is, be sure to check out the Forge Fundamentals episode from the Community Stage at the HaloWC.
While we highly recommend giving the video above a watch, we also wanted to lay most of it out in writing as well. Let’s take a look at the tools you’ll have at your disposal with the launch of Season 5: Reckoning.
At a high level, the new AI Toolkit will place the following options in the hands of the players:
[h3]AI Units & Spawning[/h3]
Now, let’s diver deeper, starting with spawning AI into your creation.
To kick off your creation with Campaign AI, you’ll need to start by spawning them into the map. You can do this just like how you’d expect them to appear in combat on Zeta Halo. They can simply appear in the playable with a default AI Spawner, drop from the sky via an AI Drop Pod Spawner, or have a drop ship insertion courtesy of the AI Phantom Spawner.
In addition to dropping off normal ground units, the AI Phantom Spawner can also drop a Chopper, Ghost, or Wraith, and those vehicles can be set to spawn in unoccupied or with a pilot.
The 43 types of Campaign units that can be spawned in with the AI Toolkit are:
And, if you’d like to have the Spartan Bots from Multiplayer join the fight as well, they’ll have no issue joining the fray. In total, you can have up to a whopping 32 AI units present on the map at one time.
[h3]AI Weapon Selection[/h3]
Once you’ve decided on a set composition of AI units, you can then dive into their settings and choose which weapon you’d like them to be holding when they spawn. The AI units can hold any weapon they used in Campaign, plus a few instances of increased functionality where possible. For example, Jackals can hold Stalker Rifles, so we’ve added the ability for them to carry S7 Snipers and Bandits.
[h3]AI Move Zone[/h3]
From there, you can even lay out a path that you’d like them to follow by placing an AI Move Zone on the map. When linked, this will tell the specified AI units to go to the zone’s set location. Fortunately, the AI Toolkit functionality can use the pre-existing nav mesh data, so you don’t need to rebuild nav mesh data unless you add new geometry to a play space.
If you place multiple move zones, you can dictate where the AI units will move – essentially allowing you to make a squad of patrol units that will scout out a certain area of the map.
[h3]AI Difficulty[/h3]
To provide more control around the experience, players can also select the AI difficulty.
Easy/Normal/Heroic/Legendary – you know them well. This makes enemies tougher, smarter, and deadlier. You can set it on each Custom Game, or you can use a node graph script to change it mid-match and keep players on their toes.
There is also a Player Count Difficulty Multiplier setting, which is the way co-op campaign scales up health based on how many players are there. Just like the Campaign difficulty above, we’ve enabled it as a global Custom Game option, or players can use a node graph script to change it mid-match.
[h3]AI Behavior Modifiers[/h3]
Beyond just selecting the difficulty, there are also behavior settings for AI units that can add flavor to your experience.
All of these settings can be dynamically changed on a per-squad basis using the nodes in the AI Modifiers section.
[h3]AI Allegiance[/h3]
One of the most unique aspects of this new toolkit is that it’s also possible to set AI allegiances in the match. With up to 8 different team allegiances, the Campaign AI can be told to work with you, against you (even alongside an enemy team of real people working against you), and the one setting we’d all expect – against everyone.
[h3]AI Nodegraph Scripting[/h3]
As part of the 100+ new nodes being added to Forge this season, more than 75 of them are focused on the AI Toolkit.
For example, with scripting, you can set it up so that AI units spawn whenever a player enters a trigger volume or presses a switch. We tried to make this as simple as possible, so you can make this happen with only three steps. All you do is pick an Event like “On Gameplay Start”, place the “Trigger AI Spawner” node, and link an Object Reference to the spawner you like to trigger. When the event happens, you’ll see the AI units appear.
But, that’s just the beginning. With just a few nodes and a spawner, more advanced scripters could make a button that spawns friendly Hunters for whoever can reach it.
The Forge team went all out on quality-of-life nodes so that you can make custom events out of various things like an AI changing combat state, a squad arriving at a certain move zone, or whether a squad came from a spawner with a specific label. We also created nodes that will manage waves of enemies so you can build Firefight-like experiences or avoid the hassle of triggering spawns yourself. We can’t wait to see what the community comes up with all these tools.
Besides managing spawns, you can also do things like kill all the squads on a map, set health bars visible with a single node, make a squad follow an object or player or set up an object as something the AI can target. Finally, we also took some player-specific nodes that shipped in the Winter Update and made updated copies that will work on AI units.
[h3]AI Toolkit Settings[/h3]
We also wanted to provide additional settings to help Forgers test their AI creations:
We’re constantly delighted with the creativity of our players, so we tried to create as many building blocks as possible.
Whether you decide to recreate
Let’s dive in for a closer look at all the updates coming to Forge next week!
[hr][/hr]
[hr][/hr]
[h2]Forge AI Toolkit[/h2]
The most notable update coming to Forge in Season 5 is the introduction of the AI Toolkit, which will allow you to create thrilling experiences using Campaign AI.
To see how powerful the new Forge AI Toolkit is, be sure to check out the Forge Fundamentals episode from the Community Stage at the HaloWC.
While we highly recommend giving the video above a watch, we also wanted to lay most of it out in writing as well. Let’s take a look at the tools you’ll have at your disposal with the launch of Season 5: Reckoning.
At a high level, the new AI Toolkit will place the following options in the hands of the players:
- Campaign AI character units (43 variants)
- How they deploy on map (Spawn, Drop Pod, or Phantom)
- The weapons they spawn with
- Guide their movement path
- Difficulty level
- Behavior modifiers
- Nodegraph scripting logic
- Allegiance (will they fight with you or against you)
[h3]AI Units & Spawning[/h3]
Now, let’s diver deeper, starting with spawning AI into your creation.
To kick off your creation with Campaign AI, you’ll need to start by spawning them into the map. You can do this just like how you’d expect them to appear in combat on Zeta Halo. They can simply appear in the playable with a default AI Spawner, drop from the sky via an AI Drop Pod Spawner, or have a drop ship insertion courtesy of the AI Phantom Spawner.
In addition to dropping off normal ground units, the AI Phantom Spawner can also drop a Chopper, Ghost, or Wraith, and those vehicles can be set to spawn in unoccupied or with a pilot.
The 43 types of Campaign units that can be spawned in with the AI Toolkit are:
- Grunt (5 variants)
- Jackals (4 variants)
- Skimmers (3 variants)
- Elites (5 variants)
- Brutes (16 variants)
- Hunters (2 variants)
- Marines (6 variants)
- Bosses (2 variants)
And, if you’d like to have the Spartan Bots from Multiplayer join the fight as well, they’ll have no issue joining the fray. In total, you can have up to a whopping 32 AI units present on the map at one time.
[h3]AI Weapon Selection[/h3]
Once you’ve decided on a set composition of AI units, you can then dive into their settings and choose which weapon you’d like them to be holding when they spawn. The AI units can hold any weapon they used in Campaign, plus a few instances of increased functionality where possible. For example, Jackals can hold Stalker Rifles, so we’ve added the ability for them to carry S7 Snipers and Bandits.
[h3]AI Move Zone[/h3]
From there, you can even lay out a path that you’d like them to follow by placing an AI Move Zone on the map. When linked, this will tell the specified AI units to go to the zone’s set location. Fortunately, the AI Toolkit functionality can use the pre-existing nav mesh data, so you don’t need to rebuild nav mesh data unless you add new geometry to a play space.
If you place multiple move zones, you can dictate where the AI units will move – essentially allowing you to make a squad of patrol units that will scout out a certain area of the map.
[h3]AI Difficulty[/h3]
To provide more control around the experience, players can also select the AI difficulty.
Easy/Normal/Heroic/Legendary – you know them well. This makes enemies tougher, smarter, and deadlier. You can set it on each Custom Game, or you can use a node graph script to change it mid-match and keep players on their toes.
There is also a Player Count Difficulty Multiplier setting, which is the way co-op campaign scales up health based on how many players are there. Just like the Campaign difficulty above, we’ve enabled it as a global Custom Game option, or players can use a node graph script to change it mid-match.
[h3]AI Behavior Modifiers[/h3]
Beyond just selecting the difficulty, there are also behavior settings for AI units that can add flavor to your experience.
- Deaf – AI Units will not perceive audio cues such as gunfire
- Blind – AI Units will not perceive visual cues
- Inactive – AI units will not make any behavior decisions or be active
- Magic Sight – AI Units will be able to see enemies through walls and terrain
All of these settings can be dynamically changed on a per-squad basis using the nodes in the AI Modifiers section.
[h3]AI Allegiance[/h3]
One of the most unique aspects of this new toolkit is that it’s also possible to set AI allegiances in the match. With up to 8 different team allegiances, the Campaign AI can be told to work with you, against you (even alongside an enemy team of real people working against you), and the one setting we’d all expect – against everyone.
[h3]AI Nodegraph Scripting[/h3]
As part of the 100+ new nodes being added to Forge this season, more than 75 of them are focused on the AI Toolkit.
For example, with scripting, you can set it up so that AI units spawn whenever a player enters a trigger volume or presses a switch. We tried to make this as simple as possible, so you can make this happen with only three steps. All you do is pick an Event like “On Gameplay Start”, place the “Trigger AI Spawner” node, and link an Object Reference to the spawner you like to trigger. When the event happens, you’ll see the AI units appear.
But, that’s just the beginning. With just a few nodes and a spawner, more advanced scripters could make a button that spawns friendly Hunters for whoever can reach it.
The Forge team went all out on quality-of-life nodes so that you can make custom events out of various things like an AI changing combat state, a squad arriving at a certain move zone, or whether a squad came from a spawner with a specific label. We also created nodes that will manage waves of enemies so you can build Firefight-like experiences or avoid the hassle of triggering spawns yourself. We can’t wait to see what the community comes up with all these tools.
Besides managing spawns, you can also do things like kill all the squads on a map, set health bars visible with a single node, make a squad follow an object or player or set up an object as something the AI can target. Finally, we also took some player-specific nodes that shipped in the Winter Update and made updated copies that will work on AI units.
[h3]AI Toolkit Settings[/h3]
We also wanted to provide additional settings to help Forgers test their AI creations:
- Deathless: prevents the player from dying to AI-inflicted damage
- Valhalla: prevents the player and all AI from dying
- Undetectable to AI: AI units cannot detect players
- Squad Information: prints debug information over an AI unit’s head giving insight into its behavior
- Pathfinding information: draws debug arrows on screen showing where the AI is trying to navigate so you can diagnose navmesh errors more easily
We’re constantly delighted with the creativity of our players, so we tried to create as many building blocks as possible.
Whether you decide to recreate