Enterprising map makers and modders will have a handful of new toys to play with in Halo 3's Forge creation tool when the Legendary Map Pack ships. And while new scaffolding and tweaked shipping containers may get you moist, it's the new suite of visual filters that may excite Halo fans most. The latest Bungie weekly update reveals the latest Forge improvements, including funky and fresh filters that will give your map a "juicy", "gloomy" or "old timey" look. That's great and all, Bungie boys, but what we need is the ability to generate lens flare under any lighting condition. We require massive amounts of lens flare!

Bungie Weekly Update: 4/04/08 [Bungie.net]

Asking your girlfriend to join you in wedded bliss via the Halo 3 Forge tool is sweet and all, but it's cloyingly so to one who has zero faith in the institution of marriage. We're far more impressed by more egocentric endeavors, like spending the hours necessary to create a self-portrait in Forge, especially one that looks as challenging as the one above. The creator writes: "I was thinking that an image could be created if objects were placed in the foreground, middle ground and background and then viewed from a specific area that would converge the objects to make the image. If done correctly, the image would appear vertical and 3D as opposed to lying on the ground." Done correctly indeed!

Halo 3 Forge: Illusion Self Portrait [Flickr via Ozymandias]