Personally I prefer not having the forge locked by RNG but I get that others prefer it. I'm fine with minibike, auger, etc. being RNG but not the forge. Just personal preference I guess.
I'm a bit ambivalent about it. It seems you have to eat a lot now, but being able to counter that with a perk works for me.
What I don't like is the max stamina damage you take. Max stamina going down as you get hungry, fine, but why not start it at 75% hunger instead of 100%. Tie that into...
Not offering an opinion one way or the other, but to answer your question, yes the crucible is unlocked at rank 3 of Hammer and Forge (checked the xml and tested in game).