At the Rooster Teeth Expo, Halo 4 developers 343 Industries revealed Forge mode is returning to Halo 4, the map editor introduced in Halo 3. There will be 3 different environments for use - only the Forerunner palette was shown, thhough - and new features such as dynamic lighting aim to remove all items in the Forerunner environment being one shade of grey.

There wasn't a huge amount of revealed information, but dynamic lighting meant that shadows and light is cast from and on objects to create variety in how Forerunner maps look. In Halo: Reach especially, where a lot of fan-made maps are implemented, it's difficult to differentiate sections of the map because every area is the same color.

Magnets were also revealed, which is self-explanatory: objects snap together. A problem in past versions of Forge is that the lack of ultra precise input from a controller, which a mouse would offer, means lining up objects is done by the shoulder buttons or the analog stick which can move objects too much. Magnets literally snap two objects together, which won't suddenly move out of position.

Player traits are also new, which allow select sections of the map to change player elements. 343 Industries showed an example where someone could be jumping off a big cliff edge, and a trait would remove fall damage in the landing area. Another was to activate an overshield, to protect users from explosions, and the ability to increase jump height.

The shotgun was also unveiled, which looked like a longer version of Halo: Reach's counterparts with the traditional all-black aesthetic.

Three matches against Rooster Teeth also took place, two against the community and the other against a selection of female Halo players (some, at least, were professional). All 3 matches took place on Longbow, the Big Team Battle map 343 Industries is showing set in a snow environment. As a result it's emphasis is on vehicular combat with Warthogs and Ghosts featuring, with anti-vehicle weapons such as the Rocket Launcher and Sniper Rifle available.

Below is a video of the Forge reveal, along with a match on Longbow.

Halo 4 release November 6.