



"At launch, Forge will allow you to bookmark and share maps created by players on your active roster. This requires you to follow the player you want to grab a map from. From the player details page, you’ll be able to view a player’s files. To grab a map or mode, bookmark the file and it’ll be ready to play in custom games or Forge. We’ll be making updates to expand File Browser functionality over future updates, based on your feedback." - Halo Community Update One of the greatest benefits of building in forge is the ability to immediately share and play our creations with others. Easy access to file shares (console + web) and stability within custom games is a top priority. The forge community noticeably declined when these essential features were removed from the launch of both Halo 4 and MCC. Based the recent community update, downloading maps via console will be possible yet impractical as it requires you to follow the person you would like to retrieve files from.

Thankfully, 343 has plans to support online file sharing in the future but it will not be available at launch. While we wait until an online file sharing system is built with cloud support, 343 is asking for feedback and taking suggestions from the community. Lets take this opportunity to band together and help shape the best file sharing system to date. Please provide your suggestions below and we will make sure to include them in the feedback we provide back to the team.



SUGGESTIONS:



FOLDER / ALBUM CREATION

Providing an ability to save and group maps together in folders will not only organize the content we save / generate, it will make custom games faster and easier to host. From beginners to prolific forge veterans whether you have a few or many projects, the ability to save and organize them in a visually simple way will make it both easy to store and access your content. The most dedicated and involved forgers tend to store hundreds upon hundreds of maps, players sitting in custom game lobbies grow impatient waiting for the host to make their selections. Similar to how “game modes” are filed and organized, I believe the same treatment should be given to maps.



Use Case Examples:

“My Maps” 12 files “HCS” 9 files “Contest Submissions” 160 files “Infection” 19 files “Mini-Games” 12 files “Favorites” 34 files





LINK CUSTOM GAMETYPES TO MAP FILES

Map files and gametypes are traditionally downloaded and shared independently from one another. Attaching compatible game-types to map files will streamline the process of downloading and playing content while ensuring that the correct / intended gametypes are being played. Game-types are commonly named differently than the map title, so it is often times hard to remember which one to load if you have hundreds to sort through.

When players are invited to custom game lobbies, they often save maps via recent map history and neglect to grab the corresponding gametype because they often fail to realize the necessity.



Users can attach a single game-type to their map file called the “primary game-type”, one that they believe is the primary intended experience. This will automatically download with the map file when shared and the choice for selecting the primary game-type in custom games.



STORAGE

Cloud storage and dedicated servers are great tools and resources however to fully maximize the their potential, we will need more space or reallocate existing space. With local storage available in Halo Reach, forgers saved around 300 maps.



MCC Cloud Storage: Map files and gametypes are traditionally downloaded and shared independently from one another. Attaching compatible game-types to map files will streamline the process of downloading and playing content while ensuring that the correct / intended gametypes are being played. Game-types are commonly named differently than the map title, so it is often times hard to remember which one to load if you have hundreds to sort through.When players are invited to custom game lobbies, they often save maps via recent map history and neglect to grab the corresponding gametype because they often fail to realize the necessity.Users can attach a single game-type to their map file called the “primary game-type”, one that they believe is the primary intended experience. This will automatically download with the map file when shared and the choice for selecting the primary game-type in custom games.Cloud storage and dedicated servers are great tools and resources however to fully maximize the their potential, we will need more space or reallocate existing space. With local storage available in Halo Reach, forgers saved around 300 maps.MCC Cloud Storage:

50 - Local

50 - Recent Map History

50 - File Share

Allocation Suggestion:

80% - Local

0% - Recent Map History

20% - File Share

Local storage space is the most important as it is the main access point for users to retrieve and play content for custom games. It is also the primary location for saving works in progress. For this reason, it is prioritized as our main storage location, maximizing storage capacity here as much as possible would be beneficial.

Recent map history auto saved maps should only be saved to the local hard drive on the console.