Clearly, Microsoft is aiming to make Halo 4 the biggest Halo game yet. And with 343 Industries handling the main game and its multiplayer modes, Halo 4's Forge Mode that enables players to build their own maps, will be developed by Austin-based studio Certain Affinity, whose previous work includes Crimson Alliance and a bunch of Halo map packs.

Revealed at the Rooster Teeth Expo, Halo 4's Forge Mode comes with a range of new features including the ability to lock items into place (we're sure you could do this in Halo: Reach anyway), a cursor that highlights the names of objects to make sorting through jumbled piles of bits much easier and the ability to quickly duplicate items.

You can also now magnetise objects, which should make building structures infinitely easier and far more seamless than before. There'll be no cracks in our bridges anymore! There'll also be a new lighting system with improved shadows and stuff.

Best of all though, is the ability to assign 'Player Trait Zones', where certain parameters are altered when you enter them. You could set zones for instance, where running speed, jump height, damage reduction and a host of other factors are impacted. Finally, there's the addition of 'The Grav Volume' that augments or reverses gravity when you step into its designated area.

Sounds pretty good so far. Halo 4 is out on November 6th, 2012.

[Via Polygon]