Editing Games:Halo 5: Guardians/Forge/Scripting/5. Scripting Gameplay Elements (section)

==Scripting Objective Objects (Flag, Ball, Skull, Strongholds==

===General Game Modes Information===

You can enter scripts into the Ball [only] and Flag [only] objects. You can prevent players from picking them up by using Traits in minigame with no weapon pickup. but applying the trait once players have picked them up won't make them drop these objects. You can also set some objects and players as objective spawns or returns using mods.

The generated ball and flag that spawn on the sportsball:spawn and flag:spawn plates only in those modes in custom games can still be affected by some scripts using the sportsball: object and flag: object mods. These "generated" objects will also take on the team property of whichever team is carrying them, so Team mods will apply when carried (Team[include]1/2 etc, TeamTHIS[include], etc). Strongholds also get the team property of whichever team has control of them. Keep in mind attempts to add or remove navs from these objects can result in ALL navs breaking in these game modes.

See a detailed breakdown of game mode options in the Halo 5 Scripting Reference Game Mode tab:
[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vNcpgv4Ime2no1cy8vLqUWzU08qXqqKq0TLRyjOR5yQ/edit#gid=1448283153&range=A296:AG296 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vNcpgv4Ime2no1cy8vLqUWzU08qXqqKq0TLRyjOR5yQ/edit#gid=1448283153&range=A296:AG296]


===Ball General Information===

*Players don’t drop the ball when interacting with objects like switches
*The ball has a whopping 1,000,000 health at 100%, which only seems affected by Damage Ratio scripts, not player damage such as shooting it, Fire FX, or explosions. (thanks SirScoundrel!)
*When a ball is not held, it receives damage from Damage Ratio and is destroyed when its health reaches zero

*Any damage done with the Damage Ratio action (even 0.10, which is 1,000 health) while the ball is held seems to kill the player, but the ball remains, seemingly undamaged

*The built-in ball scoring explosion FX occurs where the ball is when it's destroyed or despawned (the Assault mode area damage does not occur)
*<span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Currently there is no known way to remove the ball from a player's hands other than them dropping it, scoring it, or by killing the player</span>


===Game-Generated Ball - sportsball:spawn===

*Will not display scripted navs
*Like the Ball [only] object, this ball can be selected using the sportsball:surprise:bject label in mods, for TRACKING, changing spawn order, labels, etc. even before it's picked up off spawn plate
*In the Assault game mode, this ball takes on the Team property of the carrier who holds it, selectable in mods (not so with Ball [only] object)
*Does not respond to "Despawn" (Ball [only] object does)
*Instantly respawns (no explosion) when dropped in a Kill Zone or Timed Kill Zone (this doesn't work for Ball [only])
*Kill Zone also despawns the "Ghost Ball" on spawn plate, but doesn't stop "Incoming" nav
*When thrown point settings are on (as in Ricochet settings), the "Ghost Ball" over a Ball Spawn Plate will arm if it's placed in a Ball Return score zone but not explode. Then it will crash the game!
*You can script the game-generated ball to Phased, but it returns to its Normal behavior after a few ticks. If you script it to Phased repeatedly, you can keep it in a Phased condition. You can still pick it up.
*<span style="color: #0080ff">The game-generated Ball can be removed from a player & despawned by teleporting the carrier to an out-of-bounds region of a map.  Some maps have out-of-bounds regions that cause players to respawn instead of killing them.  This forced player respawn technique (affectionately named the YEET technique) can be used to despawn a game-generated ball without killing the carrier.</span>

*This solves the GOTCHA for multi-round ball game modes (especially Grifball) by despawning the ball just before time runs out so that the current ball doesn't interfere with the next round's ball spawning process



===Ball/Skull [only] Forge Objects===

*Automatically has the sportsball:surprise:bject label in object properties when added in Forge (the generated ball responds to this label, as well)
*Will despawn remotely when this label is used (the game-generated ball will not)
*Unlike the generated ball, this one does ''NOT'' get a team property when picked up
*This one will stay Phased when you script it, until it's picked up, then it acts like normal physics
*A standard Ball Return (with the sportsball:include & sportsball:return labels) doesn’t score the Ball/Skull [only] or any built-in game mode events when a player carries the ball into its zone
*Explodes when you despawn it with scripts
*If a Ball/Skull [only] object is despawned during a ball mode match, it will respawn whenever a game-generated ball spawns in, even if you've removed its sportsball:surprise:bject label
*Damage Ratio scripts destroy the ball, but if a player is holding it this kills the player, even at the lowest setting. If carrier has Deathless trait (invincible), Damage Ratio does nothing to the ball and player.


===Skull [only] Specifics===

Skull ball seems to move slower than other objects, regardless of set Move:Offset time, and can fail to reach end destination, stopping partway there. Therefore, longer move times will probably be necessary on longer moves. Keep this in mind also if they keep getting stuck under ground in normal physics, when moving them into a position through landscapes.

In Forge, Skull Ball successfully reverts back to original label and physics property when despawned then spawned. Keep in mind once physics are made normal, wherever it is at that point becomes it's new "default position", and it will respawn there instead of back at it's original spawn location. A workaround is to create a TARGET at the original spawn and just use a terminal with Message Send to trigger it to return to it's default position while building your map.


===Additional Ball Information===

Any objects set to be ball returns are defended by the team they're assigned to & all enemies can arm + score. Anyone can score on a neutral ball return. Ball return objects won't spawn if no members of its team are there to defend it. (Some lights from a scorpion welded group did spawn without the rest of it and I collided with stuff there, so that could be checked out.) Only tested for teams 1 & 2. Guessing if more teams are allowed, then players can score on any goal that's not their own.

There's only one ball at a time, so it's always a neutral element. If there are multiple objects set to spawn balls (add sportsball:include and sportsball:spawn to the object's Game Mode Labels), the ball spawn location will cycle thru the spawn objects starting with the oldest one (verify). Ball Spawn object Team colors change to white when the ball spawns on them, as if they become neutral.

Kill zones are made visible (including symbols) by making them a ball return. They have a "Defend" or "Attack" waypoint. The ball resets when thrown into it (timed kill zones were used), which could be an interesting dynamic as throwing scores wouldn't work and drops in the enemy zone would cause an instant reset which usually would be a disaster. Other zones might work as well. They can be used as waypoints or interesting decorations.

Scorpion didn't seem to work as ball return zone. Vehicles display a waypoint, and the ball spawns below the vehicle, but the boundaries don't seem to show up on the map. Vehicles do seem to act as ball spawns. They tend to carry the ball placeholder under them.

When the Mantis is a ball spawn, it protects the ball between its feet like a male penguin. Players can't reach the ball while the Mantis squats over it. If players from opposite teams got to the Mantis at the same time, they'd have to choose between getting in the Mantis, or waiting for another player take the Mantis and either grabbing the ball as it stands up or attacking it.
[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo-5-guardians/xbox-one/game-clips?page=1&gamertag=Yumudas%20Beegbut#ugc_halo-5-guardians_xbox-one_gameclip_Yumudas%20Beegbut_96669ed8-831b-4465-8c16-302ab45a6fcc https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo-5-guardians/xbox-one/game-clips?page=1&gamertag=Yumudas%20Beegbut#ugc_halo-5-guardians_xbox-one_gameclip_Yumudas%20Beegbut_96669ed8-831b-4465-8c16-302ab45a6fcc]

If a weapon is given the sportsball:spawn label it will spawn the ball in ball modes. If a player is holding the weapon and the ball is spawned at the weapon but not picked up, the ball (placeholder) spawns over the player's head and stays there if the player moves (''it then keeps bouncing down to the ground, likely an example of local xbox showing gravity then resetting the position after an update from the server, after the Xbox checks in with server when collision with ground happens''). Doesn't matter if the player holds the weapon-ball-spawn or if it's swapped. If the ball spawn is a weapon a player is holding while in a vehicle and the ball spawns, the ball placeholder spawns at the player's position and stays there (and bounces!). ''This hasn't been tested much''.

Looks like if the placeholder is inside any return zone, it repeatedly acts as though it fills the timer then scores & explodes. It resets to the same current spawn object. Could provide for some startling amusement. [https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo-5-guardians/xbox-one/game-clips?page=1&gamertag=Yumudas%20Beegbut#ugc_halo-5-guardians_xbox-one_gameclip_Yumudas%20Beegbut_3b264b5d-1bee-43be-bc69-3cabef63fc92 https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo-5-guardians/xbox-one/game-clips?page=1&gamertag=Yumudas%20Beegbut#ugc_halo-5-guardians_xbox-one_gameclip_Yumudas%20Beegbut_3b264b5d-1bee-43be-bc69-3cabef63fc92]