PlanetPhillip

About
These maps have a very simple objective: Search the secret base and save the Vortigaunt. There are plenty of images for this mod.
Important Note:
I have downloaded this file for three locations and they all have the third .bsp file corrupted. The author has been notified. When he releases a working version I will [...]

About
I can’t tell you much about this map. Looks like the Combine have built a “Mega Weapon” and I presume you have to destroy it. What are you waiting for? Go to it!
Reader Recommendations2 recommendations, average score: 4.5 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.25

About
This is one of the very early SP releases that is almost a complete waste of time. The Author says “Fall like the best of them! Discover the secret and land safely!”
Reader Recommendations2 recommendations, average score: 3 (out of 5), standard deviation: 4

About
“This is a relaxation, exploration, enjoy the music, button pushing, flying, floating and skating with and saving the Zombies. It’s a break from the typical kill the crap out of everything, everywhere, all the time, get your blood pressure up game.
Reader RecommendationsCurrently there are no recommendations

This week’s poll asks a question that is probably too complex to have in a simple poll, but I thought I would ask it anyway. I’ve tried to give you choices that I think reflect the possible reason but I am sure you will need to comment.

Why do you play Single Player FPS Games?

To clarify, it’s not the FPS part that matters but the Single Player part.

About
I can’t remember where I found the image and pdf file but it certainly looks interesting. I wrote about something similar here: Could this replace the gaming mouse? You need to open the larger image to appreciate the full concept. I’d be willing to give it a long-term test. How about you? [...]

What?
Ok, a little over dramatic but I liked the title and the associated image. Three games are scheduled for release on 30th March 2007. (yes I know the Ides of March is the 15th, read the first sentence!)

About
This mod contains an arcade campaign (Trial of Gordon) and a chapter of the story campaign Jagged working on (Entrapment Starts) and also two other maps that Jagged made (Alcatraz and Garrison).
Reader Recommendations13 recommendations, average score: 3.69 (out of 5), standard deviation: 2.37

It’s Friday evening and you receive a phone call from your friend telling you that “Unfortunately they are unable to attend you dinner party tonight. They are terribly sorry to let you down at such short notice. What now! Who can you call? Luckily you live quite near City 17 and you address book is brimming with possible replacements. Allow me to help you select.

Introduction
Following on from a discussion that started about Poll Question 013 but moved onto “Fancy Dress Parties” I want to talk about licensed products. The idea was that Valve license the design of the major costumes in Half-Life 2 to be made into costumes that people can wear. Personally I would love to [...]

Introduction
Next year, 2008, sees the tenth anniversary of the release of Half-life. Since we live in a decimal system it only seems fitting that it is commemorated in some special way. I’ve been thinking about how to do that here on PlanetPhillip but still have plenty of time to play with ideas. [...]

Introduction
I estimate that 99.99% of readers will disagree with this post, but hey let’s at least discuss it! I think “Booth Babes” are bad for the long-term image of the gaming industry.

About
Short map inside a very tall secret Combine prison. Work your way up and down the levels to find the exit into sunshine and fresh air.
Apparently the second map isn’t finished yet.
Reader Recommendations5 recommendations, average score: 3.6 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.64

For this Poll Question I have used the style of a courtroom. Just like other poll questions you should read the whole post before voting. Today I will be taking the position of Prosecutor.

Author’s Note
“This map is just a short map I’ve created that will be the first in a series of maps I have planned out. It still needs some tweaks here and there but for the most part this is the finished version of the first map in the series.”
Story
You’re part of one the first [...]

This week’s poll could be very divisive amongst my readers. “Should anything be taboo in FPS games?” The question doesn’t really have to be specifically about FPS games but since that is what PP is all about it only seems natural. Also it is always the FPS genre that is blamed for effecting the teenage population.

Update
This post is old and the name of the mod has changed to ArrangeMent. This new post includes all the latest information and features. Please visit this for news of a PlanetPhillip Exclusive Demo, due out soon. The comments system on this post has been closed.
Reader RecommendationsCurrently there are no recommendations

Everybody loves the movies, right? Well most people anyway, so this week’s Poll Question is:

“Which Game I.P. (intellectual Property) would you like to see made into a full-budget movie?”

Now, I am guessing that most of my readers will shout Half-life!, but I urge you to think about it first.

About
When ragdoll physics were introduced into FPS games, I, like most people, was impressed. However, as time has gone one I have become disillusioned. Surely the force needed to throw bodies around like that would probably rip them apart? Anyway, it seems to me that rag dolls are the new clipart.

About
When I was knee-high to a grasshopper I remember watching Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly and many others in what are called Musicals. I loved them, in fact I could probably still watch them now.

About
I found this video of Batman and Robin and laughed at the chessiness. I couldn’t help but think about the cheesy moments in gaming.

VALVE TO MAKE A HARDWARE CONSOLE.
Could this be a real headline one day? Who knows? This week’s Poll Question is this:

Should Valve make a hardware console?

and Perhaps more importantly Would you buy one?
Let’s take a closer look at this question….

Introduction
One area that really interests me is research. I’m sure that there are plenty of potential research projects that could yield valuable data. How cool would it be if PlanetPhillip readers could participate with some universities that are conducting research into video gaming.

Introduction
Here is a research idea that would simply require the collection of data, which is then presented in a graphical manner. This data and presentation would then form the basis of a number of questions to be further investigated. Interested? Then read on.

Introduction
Here is a story I have written with the idea of a mod in mind. As with most of my stories I will set the scene and then explain the thinking and planning behind it.

This week’s poll question is about cheat codes and was suggested by Goddess Alyria.

Does using Cheat Codes spoil a game?

Author’s Note
“My first Mod/Mappack di Half-life2 (single player) that it has cost to me more than 1 year and means of job (to intermittenza) It tells the history of 1 customer who scale the board until arriving to Admin (than ambiguous history) the Mod/Mappack is dedicated completely to the forum of Hw-upgrade (w*w.hwupgrade.it)”
Reader Recommendations9 [...]

About
After three months of civil war, the Combine Forces together with the Civil Protection controls City-17 once again. They now rule the city with an iron hand, crushing everyone who opposes them. Only a few citizens has yet the courage to confront them. You are one of them…
Reader Recommendations10 recommendations, average score: 4 [...]

About
This is a four-level single player mod from a first-time author. Some of the buildings and open spaces have been taken from the original game.
Basic Details

Title: Next
File Name: hl2-sp-next.rar
Size : 16.04Mb
Author: Dmitry Voropay
Date Released: 29 November 2006

PlanetPhillip Download Servers
Linking directly to the PlanetPhillip, Modsite and GamesModding Direct Downloads will not work, please link to [...]

Following on from last week’s poll question about using cheat codes, here is this week’s question:

Is Using A Walkthrough Cheating?

The mod community is probably the biggest difference between PC and console games, for me anyway. As the mod community has grown in size so has the quality of mods being produced and released. This is, no doubt, in part due to the fact that the games themselves have improved in all areas, most noticeably in graphics.

Introduction
As many of you know I plan to start making my own maps soon and feel that the resources available are not as good as they should be. I have discussed it many times before and won’t bore you again today. However I do want to talk about Hammer.

I have just finished watching an episode of Stargate Atlantis entitled The Game. It will be unavoidable for me to discuss this episode without spoiling the plot for you, so if you haven’t already seen it and would like to watch it without my biased opinion I suggest you stop reading now!

Author’s Note
A short but sweet single player experience for Half Life 2. Since this is the first part of a longer map, the ending may seem abrupt.”
Reader Recommendations1 recommendation, average score: 2 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0

There’s little doubt that Black Mesa is the best known SP mod under development. I think we all agree that SP development for FPS games is a little flat at the moment. In a recent discussion about why the HL1 modding scene was more vibrant than HL2, it was suggested that the textures, enemies and weapons allowed HL1 developers more possibilities and scope.

About
A re-creation of the author’s school, including sewers, underground areas and secret Combine labs.
Geez, I wish my school had been as cool as this one sounds. Enjoy!
Reader Recommendations5 recommendations, average score: 3.8 (out of 5), standard deviation: 2.56

Author’s Note
“This single player story is set in the ruins of an “ancient South American civilization” (a mix of some of them to be precise). The story is quite simple. Scientists have detected a strong energy signal coming from those ruins and have established themselves there to investigate.
Unfortunately they are not alone, and things [...]

About
It’s a comical adventure about a Russian scientist – Ravil Unisovich, who unwittingly unleashes a plague of monsters after an unsuccessful experiment. The story takes place between 1986 – 2007 with lots of new locations to visit and new characters to meet.
Basic Details

Title: Ispitatel 4
File Name: hl1-sp-ispitatel-4.rar
Size : 98.52Mb
Author: Twenty One
Date Released: [...]

About
A single player mod featuring 5 – 10 maps, a new hand skin,a gray colored HUD and new models. If anybody can tell me more about it I will add it to this page. I would also like some new screenshots – thanks!
Reader Recommendations7 recommendations, average score: 3.43 (out of 5), standard deviation: [...]

In 2003 a leaked beta version of HL2 was released onto the internet. It contained elements that were not seen in the final version. Also, the book “Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar“ contained many idea, models, weapons etc. that were not seen in the final released version. Perhaps some of these ideas may make it into other episodes or storylines but only Valve know, unless…

Would you pay for a Half-Life 2 Bonus Content Pack from Valve?

Author’s Notes
“Do the screenshots look familiar? They will do if you’re a gamer over a certain age. I’ve converted the entire first level of Wolfenstein 3D to Half-Life 2, with some texture modifications to “de-Nazify” the environment to make it publishable.”
Reader RecommendationsCurrently there are no recommendations

Author’s Note
“After successfully leading the Uprising against the Combine forces and obliterating the Citadel single-handedly, you have been chosen to be teleported into a strategic missile silo and infiltrate into the base.
Reader Recommendations3 recommendations, average score: 3.33 (out of 5), standard deviation: 2.89

Author’s Note
“There is a storyline not consider original game Half-Life 2 and addon Half-Life 2: Episode One. Gordon Freeman it appears in a building of which should find a way out. On a way various opponents as groups of combines and zombie will come across.”
Features

Animated Background Menu
HDR Support
Autosaves

Basic Details

Title: Slums
File Name: hl2-sp-slums.rar
Size : 40.29Mb
Author: Diolator
Date [...]

About
I have no idea what this map is about, so basically it’s a “load it and play it” situation. If anybody can give me a basic premise and description then I will add it here and I can replace this rubbish I am typing!
Reader RecommendationsCurrently there are no recommendations

About
The game starts at a remote area of the black mesa facility where scientists have been experimenting with headcrabs. The miltary have set up blockades at the entrances to make sure nobody gets in or out.
Reader Recommendations4 recommendations, average score: 1.5 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.25

I don’t spend as long playing games as I used to, partly because my eyes get tired (Yes I have the correct glasses!) and partly because I get a little bored. Gone are the days of whole afternoons and evening passing in running and shooting. But what about you?

How long do your normal SP gaming sessions last?

About
You start in a room with a sleeping Barney and work you way through a linear series of environments. The end is signified by a text message from the author.
Reader Recommendations2 recommendations, average score: 4 (out of 5), standard deviation: 1

About
This map was specifically constructed to display unused content for Half-Life: Source and as such requires Half-Life: Source to be viewed. There are no enemies to fight against, it’s just a museum-type map. There is a Gman who speaks, and I don’t recall hearing those words.
Reader Recommendations4 recommendations, average score: 4.5 (out of [...]

I’m a little embarrassed because this week’s poll is very, very similar to the one currently on ModDB.com! In my defense the actual poll was decided on a while ago. Anyway, onto this week’s question.

What the most important aspect in a great Single Player Game?

About
Zombie stress is a Half Life 2 Single Player modification, which instead of giving you some complicated story or long winded puzzles to over come gives you what you want… zombies!
Reader Recommendations6 recommendations, average score: 3.83 (out of 5), standard deviation: 2.14

Introduction
It’s happened to me many times before but yesterday it really annoyed me. Put simply I wasn’t smart enough to save some bullets for a particular gun. My fault you say, I agree but here’s what I want…..

I’ve been thinking about the different types of environments and settings for single player levels. Which one I like, which ones I don’t and why etc. And I was specifically thinking about which ones have been over used. This week’s poll is about levels in single player games, specifically the setting.

What environmental setting has been over used the most in SP levels?

About
This is a single player Half-Life 2 mod, being made by just one person. His name is Thomas “Stadric Gonzalez” Kelley and there are currently two beta maps available for you to test. As always the author is looking for some insightful and intelligent feedback, so please play the maps and post your [...]

Intro
“Good morning, Agent Freeman. You”ve been ordered here because for days we have received no word from our scientific colleagues. Our company placed 21 top-class physics specialists at the government’’s disposal to work on a highly secret research project. For days now, all our efforts to get in contact with them have been blocked.
As [...]

Author’s Note:t
“Shoot-em-up map, no plot, just guns and zombies and stuff. Put a bit of detail into it. Name comes from the zombies being in the kitchen. There’s a toaster and cool doors and stuff. NEW CUSTOM TEXTURES!!! ALL MADE WITH MSPAINT AND WALLY WOO!!!”
Reader Recommendations2 recommendations, average score: 3 (out of [...]

The Story So Far:
You’re Gordon Freeman (surprise!). You got captured and the combine imprisoned you in a re-education centre. They have been putting you through reality simulations for the past few weeks. At first these were relatively benign. But on Day 13 things hotted up when you were placed into a violent combat trial, and [...]

I’ve been trying to upload some music for Alpha Prime but have been having trouble. It got me thinking about my favourite game music. I decided to limit the poll choices to the most popular modded games. My personal favourites are Chaser and Unreal Tournament , and I play them in the car all the time.

What is your favourite game music?

About
This is a story of a citizen who escapes a few cops. He runs to an alley and finds a hole in the ground that leads to the drainage. The cops doesn’t follow him but now he’s trapped in the drainage and have to find a way out.
Reader Recommendations9 recommendations, average score: 4.67 (out of [...]

About
This is a single player map for Half-Life (published in Joystick n°128) It was the author’s first finalized and completed map. It is short but interesting, it is not a succession of rooms with monsters in each; moreover there is little combat. It is from this map that the desire to create Mad crabs [...]

Valve and its content form a big part of PlanetPhillip.com’s content. We, generally speaking anyway, love what they do. There are many things I dislike about they way they have done things in the past (and probably will dislike in the future!) but you have got to admit they do a fantastic job. So, here is this weeks question:

Would you prefer Valve continue making Half-Life-related games or create a completely new and fresh I.P.?

Introduction
I think it was Asimov that wrote a short story that featured a scientist who used a multi-vac super computer (Cool name, huh?) to research jokes. I’m sorry to spoil the story for you but the outcome was that jokes were an alien experiment on humankind.

About
I’m fascinated by chase scenes in movies and real life. My fascination comes from the decision making process. I used to imagine myself as a film director and saying to the actors: “Okay, this is the chase scene. I want you to just flee. The camera will follow you where ever [...]

I believe Unreal Tournament featured something called adaptive difficulty (Not sure if that’s the correct name). Instead of setting a difficulty level the game itself would adjust the skill level of the bots to ensure that the player encountered enemies that almost matched his or her skill. So this weeks question is this:

Do you prefer having a pre-defined or adaptive difficulty setting?

Steam certainly made aI change the way we think about buying games. Plenty of people, including many PP readers, are not too happy with the concept as it is currently implemented.

To keep the question a little simpler imagine that you want to buy a game and it is the same price vis an online distribution system or through normal retail.

Do you prefer online distribution systems or normal retail?

I don’t often talk about other game genres here on PlanetPhillip.com, but today’s Poll Question is exactly about that. Defining exactly what is and isn’t a game genre is interesting but out of the scope of this post, so for now:

How many other game genres do you regularly play?

Story
You are a mad scientist, whose mission is to save your colleague in Xen. That has been captured by the U.S. Army , he is hidden some where out there , you will have to find him and he better be alive !!! You have a rendezvous at the last teleport center on [...]

Many hobbies change a person’s life, some good, some bad. I want you to think carefully before voting this week. Take a day to really consider the question and its implications.

This week’s question:
Has Gaming Changed You?

About
Your objective is seemly simple; run to the sewers. You will face a number of obstacles on the way, including fences, a sniper, fire and Antlions. Phew! if you make it you are a good player. This is a beta release and the author is looking for feedback, so keep it useful!
Reader [...]

About
You are Adrian Shepard, in stasis since the debacle at Black Mesa. But fortunately for you, a situation occurs where you come of use again. And so the G-man comes back to bring you out of stasis. The events in this game happen a bit before Gordon arrives in City 17, the player [...]

What’s the first thing you often learn about a mod? Probably its name. The name should instill anticipation and desire. It could also explain a little of the story or objective. This week’s poll question is simple:

Is the name of a mod important?

About
This is a collection of Doom/Quake-style maps. There is no story and the objectives are to simply move onto the next room. The maps were originally released separately but I have collected them into one file. Play time is around 5 to 10 minutes for each map.
Reader Recommendations24 recommendations, average score: [...]

The first SP FPS game I played from start to finish was Unreal and the default playing character as prisoner 849 is female. This never bothered me and I didn’t change it to a male, but as Single Player games get more and more storyline-complex and the cut-scenes become more and more realistic will there come a time when it does make a difference? This week’s (late!- Sorry) poll question is:

Is the gender of the playing character important?

About
A series of simple rooms linked via lifts where, with the help of Combine soldiers, you need to clear the rooms. There’s very little else to say about it except that the author is building a second version and wants feedback.
Reader Recommendations7 recommendations, average score: 1.43 (out of 5), standard deviation: 1.1

There are a few types of health systems available and they all have their advantages and disadvantages. I don’t believe that one particular system is clearly better than the others and the context is very important. However, as with all the polls you have to make one choice!

Which type of health system do you prefer?

Author’s Note
“Operation Crimson Dragons is a stand alone mission for Half Life 2. The player must find four missing pieces of a bomb scattered over the level, construct the bomb and blow up a Combine lab making a deadly virus, the Crimson Dragon Virus. The level takes place on an abandoned mining facility set against [...]

Author’s Note
“Reclamation is a single player level created using Half-Life 2 that I made during my final two terms at The Guildhall. We had to create a level design document detailing our plan for the level and then do a presentation of the level to our faculty and other students every milestone (once a month).
Reader [...]

Author’s Notes
“Infiltration bases technically on the original game Half Life² from valve. The modification continues the story of the Shooter and offers an alternative action strand. You can integrate Infiltration in the HL²-storyline but it does not start at a certain point in the known story. Because the Mod is designed by hobby-designers, it will [...]

There are a few types of save systems available and they all have their advantages and disadvantages. I don’t believe that one particular system is clearly better than the others and the context is very important. However, as with all the p

olls you have to make one choice!

What kind of Save System do you prefer?

About
In 1942, the prototype battleship, the HMS Defiance, went mysteriously missing without a trace. It is now 2018 and the HMS Defiance has been located and an expedition cruiser sent.
Reader Recommendations9 recommendations, average score: 3.22 (out of 5), standard deviation: 1.51

I consider myself quite a stupid player! I can move and shoot quite well but I often think about how thoughtless I was after I have completed a level. I rarely use the item in my inventory very effectively. I think that when I played Unreal I hardly ever used the cool things.

What kind of Inventory System do you prefer?

Introduction
One of the reasons I love computer games is because I truly believe they are the next form in story telling. First there were cave paintings, then oral stories, next came the printing press and after that the moving picture. Now we have games.

Author’s Note
“The project name was assigned by the module lecturer, the prerequisites were, to use the source engine, create interesting game content, including level(s), world assets, models and to sustaining gameplay as well as game flow. I created the level based on ideas set down by the whole team, after some research i found relevant [...]

Back in Poll Question 008 I asked whether you preferred playing alone or with a squad. The results were quite conclusive (75% preferred to play alone) and I thought perhaps it was time to dig a little deeper. This week’s poll question is:

Why exactly do you prefer to play alone?

Update
Version 2.1 has been released! The updated version of the game has improved graphics at the start of the game and some bugs that were reported have been fixed.
Story
You are Maxine Squire, an undergrad scientist and part-time urban explorer. You are on the tube home after a night out in the West End. It’s late, [...]

About
Let’s think about this question carefully. How many adult theme parks are there?
(By adult I don’t mean connected with sex)
There are plenty for children but none for adults. Sure you can go karting or paint ball with your mates but nothing on the scale of Disney World. That is until now!!

About
I have a request to make to the Half-Life 2 modding community……
Please would somebody be kind enough to build a mod that allows me to play other HL2 mods with very, very large hands.

I have different viewing habits to most people. I record whole complete seasons’ of shows and watch them all at once. In some cases, the Sopranos, the whole series. This year I have finished about 5 shows, from beginning to end. The ending were very important to me because I based almost my whole memory of the show on the last episode.
So, this week’s poll questions is:

How important is the end of a game?

About
Inspired by the Hero’s Journey, The Heist puts the player in the shoes of a Resistance commando on a mission to steal a weapon prototype from the Combine. Gameplay features include sneaking past enemy guards and hurling cars at an enemy strider.
Reader Recommendations3 recommendations, average score: 4.33 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.89

I found these images of the dam on some website and then starting searching for more.

The whole project is incredible and would make a perfect location for a game.

There are so many various locations that could be included, underwater sections, open air vistas, engine rooms etc etc. Anyway, enough effusing, here are the images and links.

About
This is another mod made by a group of students. These mods, and I will be adding one-a day for the next few days, are appearing more and more. As with many of these types of mods, the “feel” is more about experimenting and testing than actual gameplay.
Reader Recommendations10 recommendations, average score: [...]

About
This mod offers you a couple of differences from most other Half-Life 2 mods. Firstly, you are a monk in a temple and your weapon is your hand, strangely it has similar power to a gravity gun. The second difference is the ability to pole-vault. Yes, that’s right, pole vault.
Reader Recommendations8 recommendations, [...]

Back in Poll Question 039 I asked how important is the end of a game.

Thankfully nearly everybody said “Very Important”. But what if you never get to the end?

This week’s poll question is:

What’s the most important part of a game?

About
This is a mod I presume is based on Nosferatu The Vampyre. It’s a partial conversion and has new weapons and enemies.
Notes
This mod has been made by a Czech team and the homepage is in Czech.
Reader Recommendations10 recommendations, average score: 1.7 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.81

This poll is directly mainly at Half-Life players but don’t let that stop you from voting.

The G-man is a mysterious character and in some ways is more important than Gordon Freeman. Everybody has their ideas and opinions about him and now is the time to share them.

This week’s poll question is:

Who does the G-Man work for?

In this Single Player mod you play the role of Jamil Lee, who is a young member of the civilian resistance, taken by the Combine and currently imprisoned in Nova Prospekt.

About
As a citizen of one of many Combine occupied cities, you are a member of the city Rebellion (CR) organization. Your numbers are small, but you all have a dream of a free city. It is your job to electronically spy on the Combine, to relay the information you gain back to the CR HQ.
Reader [...]

About
As a citizen of one of many Combine occupied cities, you are a member of the city Rebellion (CR) organization. Your numbers are small, but you all have a dream of a free city. It is your job to electronically spy on the Combine, to relay the information you gain back to the CR HQ.
Reader [...]

The quality of some SP mods is incredibly good and then some are incredibly bad! Even though I haven’t ever released a map I know that SP maps take more effort than MP maps. I’m sure we all have our pet peeve when it comes to SP releases and now is the time to express them!

This week’s poll question is:

What is your pet peeve regarding Single Player mods?

I have a feeling that this week’s poll will divide PP readers. Without wanting to predjudice the comments and votes I have a feeling that the younger readers will say No and the older readers will say yes.
This week’s poll question is:

Are Single Player FPS games too violent?

I remember reading a preview about the soon-to-be released Bioshock. It seems that the player has some moral and ethical choices to make regarding his escape from Rapture and inhabitants of the underwater city. This inspired this week’s poll question.

Have any FPS games managed to create moral dilemmas from which you learnt something?

Me

Personally I don’t recall any FPS games that made me seriously consider morals but I have quite a bad memory.

What about you?

Author’s Notes
“Dawn’s Early Light is a single-player map pack for Half-Life 2, spanning three continuous maps. My map is the first, and involves a member of the human resistance assaulting a Combine facility, only to be part of an event that releases hordes of zombies into the Combine-controlled city. We stuck with the Half-Life 2 [...]

I generally play on Easy when I play games. I am probably good enough to play on Medium but I have got into the habit of not wanting to be too stressed. However, when I think about it, the best levels for me are the ones that are quite hard to finish.
This week’s poll question is:

Would you buy and play a game that only had one difficulty setting?

The Right Question!
In Poll Question 045 I asked “Would you buy and play a game that only had one difficulty setting?”. It was a badly worded question because I meant that the only level available was the HARD setting. Whilst posting a reply comment I had a flash idea….

Author’s Notes
“Instinct is my first level for Half-Life, but don’t get me wrong; I didn’t just start mapping yesterday… It has been a long and hard road of learning and development with the gold source engine spanning 10 years to bring you this piece of work, and I hope you enjoy it. I’m [...]

Please don’t vote until you have read the whole of this post. The reason is that the question itself needs some clarification.

Would you prefer a new game or a new mod for you favorite game to be released every month?

Introduction
In this short article I want to discuss my ideal save system. I don’t claim it would be easy to implement, practical or even desired by others, it’s just how I want it. I’ve divided it into sections. Some of the ideas have been included in games before but not all. Read [...]

About
Genetic Research Facility is a single player map, which has you fighting your way through a facility intended to create and research life forms that could prove useful in military action.
Reader Recommendations5 recommendations, average score: 3.4 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.64

With so many games and mods available to play choosing can be difficult. If, unlike me, you play multiplayer games and mods then the choice can be even harder. So this week’s question focuses on how you make that choice.

What is the deciding factor when choosing which mod or map to play?

Story
Once again you are Gordon Freedman. You just made it out alive as the military was taking over the Black Mesa compound. They are now using the compound to engineer a hideous monster capable of mass destruction. As a member of a new organization, intent on thwarting the military’s evil plans for [...]

September 2007 Update
I have a very big public apology to make: “ToTac kindly created a PlanetPhillip version of this mod, which contains Englsih subtitles and is Steam compatible, and I forgot to upload it and promote it. For this I am truely sorry. I wish I had a good explanation but I don’t.”
If [...]

Unreal Tournament featured a great gametype called Instagib. Put simply it was one shot, one kill! Assuming you hit the enemy that is! I loved playing that, partly because I always played on the easier difficulty settings. I was thinking how it could be adapted for SP games.

Would you like to see a one shot, one kill gametype in SP games?

Introduction
I have a pipe dream I want to share with you. I think big, always have and always will. I almost always have grand ideas that I am unable, for various reasons, to bring to fruition. This is another one of them and I offer it to the community in the hope [...]

Story
In the year 2017 a small scientific research laboratory was secretly working to advance cloning technology, eventually inventing a true cloning process. There were four experiments which marked the greatest stages of innovation.
Experiment 01 was conducted in the 1990s, but was ultimately a failure. A rabbit had been successfully cloned, but quickly died due to [...]

About
A simple linear map where you simply have to follow the instructions on the screen. The design document seems much more detailed than the released level. I’m guessing that it was part of a larger plan.
Reader Recommendations3 recommendations, average score: 2.33 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.89

Before you go rushing off voting for the Latest Releases, take some time to think about it.

Read the rest of the post and allow me to present both sides of the argument.

Which do you prefer: Old Classics or Latest Releases?

About
I believe this mod was never finished and ToTac decided to release it. There’s no story and you just have to fight you way until the second map finishes. There’s plenty of variety in environments, but not much outdoor action.
Basic Details

Title: Black Mesa Sideline
File Name: hl1-sp-bm-sideline.rar
Size : 1.34Mb
Author: ToTac
Date Released: 22 September 2007

PlanetPhillip [...]

About
Escape 2 continues the story and events started in Escape by DMC Interactive. It’s quite a large mod and contains lots of new levels (Obviously!), new sounds and textures. The homepage is in German
Reader Recommendations14 recommendations, average score: 4.5 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.68

About
You start in a small storage room and have to work you way out. There is a large area where you battle Combine soliders and a hunter-chopper, that takes a lot of hits to bring it down. After that you are off for a jump puzzle.
Reader Recommendations11 recommendations, average score: 3.55 (out of [...]

The Mansion 3: Freeman Residence is a single player mod that takes place in Gorden Freeman’s Mansion. Gordan has just come back from the Black Mesa incident and is welcomed home by strange unwitting anomalies.
Basic Details

Title: The Mansion 3: Freeman’s Residence
File Name: hl2-sp-the-mansion-3.rar
Size : 47.79Mb
Author: IMUS TEAM
Date Released: 09 July 2007

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Screenshots
Click on the [...]

Set the Scene
It took a long time to finally download this demo. Three times it got to 99% and froze. Normally that’s not a big deal but at 1.06GB it’s quite annoying. Of course that’s not the demo’s fault but it doesn’t help. I then had a bit of trouble running [...]

It’s hard for designers not to repeats certain gameplay scenes in single player games. In fact it’s desirable to repeat some types of scenes. Imagine action movies without a car chase (More on that another time)! However, there is a big difference in repeating scenes because they are needed and repeating scenes because designers can’t think of anything else to add.

What gameplay scene has been over used the most in SP maps and mods?

About
This mod continues the story of Terrorist Attack 1. You seem to be part of an organization called SSO, which cryptically stands for Special Secret Organization. Your job? Save the world, probably.
Reader Recommendations3 recommendations, average score: 2.33 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.89

Story
“Mankind found an entrance to XEN world and an investigation team met with the uncanny aliens in there world. Then, mankind succeeded in becoming allies with them. Later, a scientist team built a joint laboratory in the world of XEN. But, something bad was approaching…”
Reader Recommendations9 recommendations, average score: 4.67 (out of 5), standard deviation: [...]

As the name suggests Minerva: Metastasis : Parts 1, 2 and 3 contains all 3 parts of the Metastasis trilogy. I am writing this introduction without having found time to play the third part, so I can’t really add any useful information. If you are new this series I highly recommend playing it now.

This takes place within a blink of an eye durring the slow teleport from nova prospect to Dr. Kleiner’s lab.

You can’t remember if you succeeded or failed, it doesn’t really matter.

If you failed, the universe ceased to exist and this new one was recreated in its place, easy to explain if you have a million years free and can understand mind boggling complicated mathematics concerning time and the frabric of the universe.

Introduction
I’ve discussed my objections to episodic content in the past but recent events have brought these feelings to the surface again and I have decided the best thing for me to do is rant about it.

Introduction
Back in April 2005 I wrote an article entitled A Unique SP/MP Gameplay Idea. The basic concept was to merge SP and MP gameplay modes. In February 2007 Arkane Studios and Valve announced The Crossing: Fusing single player and multiplayer.
I’ve been thinking about this a little more and it ties in with this [...]

We buy games and play them. There is a one-off cost and we play it as many times as we want or as little as we want. There are other financial models within video games, but none for Single Player.

This week’s poll question is:
Would you consider paying a monthly fee to play single player games?

Author’s Note
“One of my first HL2 maps. I never released it mainly because it was just to big back then, in file size that is. Anyway I decide to release it since I’m not going to finish Dawn of Terror anytime soon. You should be able to turn your graphic settings up and probably the [...]

Author’s Note
“A HL2 SP map where Freeman has been dropped in to pick up an artifact of importance. The Combine are also after it and they follow you to it. I’m always looking to improve my mapping so comment. Enjoy”
Reader Recommendations6 recommendations, average score: 3 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0

This is a mod made by a Korean mapper. The read me is almost empty. It seems to be a remake of Half-Life! It starts with a ram ride, followed by collecting your hazard suit, then pushing the material into the test chamber and watch things go wrong.
Basic Details

Title: Residual Point
File Name: [...]

Caught by the remaining Combine, Gordon Freeman must escape to rescue his imprisoned rebel allies. Aided by the resourceful Dawn and her insurgents, you are sprung from captivity in order to spearhead a staged breakout from the notorious Port Halen Prison.

But before you can get there you must loose your Combine pursuers and make your way through a wilderness long since overrun by the zombified.

The Poll Question is one year old today! Your birthday is a normal time to ask questions about life, the universe and everything. SO today’s questions tries to do that!

This week’s poll question is:
What’s the meaning of life for SP FPS gamers?

Author’s Note
“The Lighthouse is my single player project I did for HL2. I wanted to break out into some larger, more expansive enviroments as well as work in a more realistic environment for a change. The map features a mix of going at it alone as well as working with a small “squad”.”
Reader Recommendations25 recommendations, [...]

About
This is a PlanetPhillip Exclusive! This mod has never been released to the public until now. It was designed as more of an engine test than a mod to be released. However, I believe you will be pleasantly surprised. It offers a variety of enemies and some very well executed scripts. [...]

Radiohead have made a bold move regarding selling their latest album. The BBC reports that “Radiohead’s plan to let fans choose how much to pay for their new album.”

This week’s poll question is:
Would an “Honesty” payment system work for PC Games?

Author’s Notes
“This mod takes place in a researchs center called “White gate researches center”. This center is similar to black mesa, it is under the ground, and it has security officers etc.. You play as an HECU soldier in this mod and you should search&destroy this center. This center is not filled with zombies [...]

Introduction
This page lists and briefly explains the various features available on the site. Some features have their own page and this is linked to after the explanation.
Current features are always being improved and new ones introduced. If you have ideas or suggestions for new features please use the comment system at the bottom [...]

Update
I have posted 5 new exclusive screenshots today. The ArrangeMent Team are hard at working preparing a PlanetPhillip Exclusive Demo for your to enjoy. Stay Tuned for more details soon. Thanks to SysOps for agreeing to work with PlanetPhillip.com to bring you the best Half-Life related mods.
Reader Recommendations8 recommendations, average score: 4.5 (out [...]

Author’s Note
“A map i made during my spare time. The objective is very simple, help your squad get to the last stage. The only weapons you get are the crowbar and the pistol. Have fun! [and i mean it]“
Reader Recommendations4 recommendations, average score: 3.5 (out of 5), standard deviation: 2.75

I’ve been quite vocal in my opposition to episodes in their current form, especially from Valve but I realized yesterday that I haven’t asked you your opinion!

This week’s poll question is:
Would you have preferred Half-Life 3 as a full game or as episodes?

About
Gordon has fallen into a Combine trap. He was walking through some alleyways of the city until he realised something wasn’t quite right. The Combine had sectioned off a part of an abandoned courtyard which he was walking through. Fellow miltia men received forward intelligence of the plan but by this time it was too [...]

Introduction
I was thinking this morning about all the new features that have ben introduced into Half-Life via maps and mods and thought that it may make an interesting projects for somebody. Don’t worry I’m not going to try and do it and then lose focus on the site.

Introduction
I’m fascinated by the Roman Empire. Over the last few weeks I have been pondering how cool it would be to play an FPS game where the Roman Empire survived to the present day. Here I present some ideas to discuss.

City 7: Toronto Conflict, is an action packed Half-Life 2 mod with a variety of unique levels and game play. Explore what has become of City 7 in areas like Dundas Square, Eaton Center , Mel Lastman square, St. Michael’s Hospital and TTC system under the Combine rule.

I am posting this poll in the ideas category as well. I have been vocal in my opposition to episodic gaming. However, this week I want to propose an idea that can benefit from it.

This week’s poll question is:

Should players control the storyline with an episode-ending vote?

About
There doesn’t seem to be a background story but the situation seems clear. Enter a secret base/lab and kill everything you find. Not very original but still fun.
Basic Details

Title: Operation Krautsalat
File Name: hl1-sp-operation-krautsalat-1.1.rar
Size : 26.97Mb
Author: Ragman
Date Released: 22 September 2007

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Linking directly to the PlanetPhillip, Modsite and GamesModding Direct Downloads will not [...]

About
There’s an interesting article on Gamasutra called The Gamasutra Quantum Leap Awards: First-Person Shooters. The article was published in September 2006, but is still relevant today. The site requires free registration but if you are interested in game development it’s well worth the effort.

About
We value freedom when playing games. That’s why if a developer can remove the illusion of a level being a linear game it is often considered good. (I disagree, but that’s for another post!). What if a game developer took a different approach and said “The player is going to have much [...]

About
You start the game with a group of survivors who have barricaded themselves in. Work your way through the corridors until you meet….
Wait and see.
Reader Recommendations15 recommendations, average score: 2.6 (out of 5), standard deviation: 1.44

I often see complaints that new mods don’t include new content, such as textures, modles, sounds etc. Personally I’m not too worried about those things because I prefer to have a great map and gameplay than new things just for the sack of it.

So, this week’s poll question is:

Would you prefer new enemies or new weapons in a new Half-Life 2 SP mod?

Having a mod delivered directly to your game folder and being able to simply start the game and play it is obviously a great selling point. Steam has done it for games and CrosuS is trying to do something similar with mods. Here’s this week’s question:

Do you think Mod Delivery Systems are a good idea?

A small to medium mod with the player in the role of a Metrocop. Your objective? Escape from the base after all the Combine turn against you. You start with a four-person squad and face mostly other Metrocops.

I’m a manhack lover. WAIT! That didn’t come out right. Allow me to rephrase that. I love fighting Manhacks. Of course not everybody does and I certainly prefer to have a projectile weapon to do it or the Gravity Gun. Here’s this week’s question:

What is your favourite type of Half-Life 2 enemy?

About
“The player begins in a hotel lobby looking out into a street filled with zombies. When playing Half-Life 2 I felt the most enjoyable gameplay was destroying zombies with various physics objects. In my final Directed Focus Study I designed a map with this gameplay as the entire focus.”
Reader Recommendations6 recommendations, average score: 3.33 (out [...]

Following last week’s question about favourite weapons I have decided to continue the theme. This time it’s locations.

Here’s this week’s question:

What is your favourite style of Half-Life series location?

A while ago a mod was released called Riot Act and it was warmly received.

I contacted the author and requested an interview. Like all people who are good at something, he was quite busy and we only recently found the time to chat about the mod and some other stuff.

Author’s Note
“As a single player, you will enter an alternate level in the Half Life 2 universe. Your objective is to reach the scientist that the Combine is holding. As the player, you will have to traverse through a zombie infested sewer and destroy the combine in order to get to [...]

About
Paranoia is a total conversion single player modification for Half-Life (GoldSrc engine). You will play the role of a Russian officer of the secret service. Your first impressions are that this mission will be just like any other, but you really have no idea what nightmares future events have in store for you…
Reader Recommendations90 [...]

Author’s Note
“Escape is a level created using Half-Life 2. The player attempts to recover the gravity gun, which has been stolen by the Combine forces, and then escape from the Combine facility where he has been trapped. It won’t be easy because puzzles must be solved and enemies must be defeated in order to [...]

After I had finished playing Half-Life, I couldn’t wait to play more. Fortunately I didn’t play HL until nearly 4 years after it was released, by which time Opposing Force and Blue Shift had been released. Valve seem to have decided not to outsource any HL2 games but if they did ….

Which class of character would you like to see as the player in an official HL2 expansion game?

The player starts the mod with no clear objective or goal. By trial and error the player eventually finds access to a suit room where they don a Combine Elite suit. Again, through trial and error testing doors and forcefields the player makes their way to the surface only to find Zombies, Combine AND rebels against them.

Introduction
Here is an idea for a gameplay mod for Half-Life 2. I propose that somebody create a new version of the HEV suit to include a number of new features. I’ve listed my ideas but would welcome yours.

The first SP FPS game I really become addicted to was Unreal. I loved it like a puppy. Then after playing hundreds of maps and mods and Return to Na Pali, Unreal 2 was finally released and while the concept art and visual were great I felt no connection with the original. For me the biggest mistake was not continuing the story somehow. So this weeks poll question is

Do you think there will ever be another single player Unreal game?

Exactly one year ago I wrote an article called 7 Questions For 2007 and I have decided to write a follow-up to them. Listed are the questions with the follow up below.

I presume that everybody who reads and visits this website has played (And finished?) Half-Life 2. If not, then you should, and I have some help for potential players early next year, but for now…

This week’s poll question is:

What is your favourite chapter from Half-Life 2?

This is a map made for a mod called Afterlife that never quite made it. You mission is quite simple; after being dropped off at Ground Zero by a chopper, find a way inside the shopping center and then make you way to the roof, killing everything in your path.
Basic Details

Title: Mall Brawl
File Name: [...]

About
Combine Destiny 2 is the much awaited sequel to the zombie blasting Half-Life 2 mod; Combine Destiny. Leaving off from where the original ended, Combine Destiny 2 will bring the fight against the rebels to the next level, and the story to a new height!
Story
The prior assault on Installation 34 failed. You find yourself [...]

WTF!
The computer and gaming worlds are replete with acronyms; FPS, MP, RPG etc. Regular readers will know I enjoy trying to take common social aspects and twist them into gaming ideas. I was inspired by a BBC Online report called Doctor slang is a dying art.

Author’s Note
“This is yet another ‘You are Gordon Freeman and must escape Black Mesa’ episode with some really random title, but I still hope you enjoy playing it as much as I enjoyed making it.”
Reader Recommendations21 recommendations, average score: 4.14 (out of 5), standard deviation: 1.07

Author’s Notes
“Competition 24 entry: I realized too late that i didn’t compile my entry right for the compo. Here is how it’s sopossed to look. Black ops are after an artifact. Barney send you in to retrieve it.
Reader Recommendations11 recommendations, average score: 3.45 (out of 5), standard deviation: 1.16

About
I have been meaning to post about this for a long time and since I am in the house alone, I am catching up on all my commentary-type posts.
If you missed this piece of news then allow me to be the one to tell you about it. Valve have posted Episode Two Playing Stats [...]

About
Yesterday I was taught by CubeDude89 about Source Demos and I HAVE tell you. If you truly already know about them you can stop reading now. If you think you know about them, carry on reading just in case you didn’t. And if you have never heard of them be prepared to [...]

Author’s Description
“During the Combine invasion of earth, they multiple canisters of headcrabs into the industrial area of the outskirts of City 17. Few years later, the Combine wants to gain territorial expansion, on the same industrial area. Trying to get rid of all the zombies and headcrabs without destroying the building too much, they made [...]

This is a Russian release, with plenty of new weapons (Maybe from other sources, I don’t know). I am sure there is a story and would love to hear from a Russian speaker to help complete a description and other details. What I can tell you is that you have bullet time, see the Black and white images.

I know this might sound like a stupid question but I am not convinced that everybody wants HL2 mods. Well, of course they want HL2 mods but I am trying gauge how many players still want HL1 mods. It’s a polar-type questions, so don’t complain about the choices. No, “Well it depends on …”.

Imagine you could have any mod made in either engine. What would you wish for?

More Half-Life 1 mods or more Half-Life 2 Mods?

I would like to explore an idea and a particular line of thinking. “What if the player were deaf?” By the player I don’t mean you or me but the actual character in the game. Real deaf gamers must have a hard enough time of it, without the playing character being deaf [...]

Who hasn’t heard of MySpace? Well if you haven’t it’s one of the most popular websites in the world. It describes itself as “An international site that offers email, a forum, communities, videos and blog space.”. It’s a place where people gather to talk, share, discus etc. For some, it’s their [...]

I haven’t updated PlanetPhillip for a while with any new maps and mods because I have been playing Episode 2. Yes, you heard that right and those of you with good memories will be eager to point my statement in my Episodic Content Rant where I said “I’m not going to buy it until [...]