PlanetPhillip

The very first poll question was suggested by PasserbywhoplaysHL. His question: “Have you Crowbarred Barney for his ammo?”

The question may reveal a number of things about you but I’m no psychologist. Here’s my interpretation:

You have 50% health and 50% ammo. In front of you the enemy is rushing towards you.

There is health to your left and ammo to your right but you only have enough time to collect one before you will be engaged by the said enemy.

Which do you collect; Health or Ammo?

You reach a point in a game where you have to choose between two paths.

The paths do not cross and there is no way to replay either path.

Perhaps the game is a Single Player Online game, meaning you cannot just load from a save point.

There’s no doubt that game graphics have improved tremendously over the last few years, the same seems to be happening with game physics.

Unfortunately, game A.I. is lagging behind.

I’m sure things will improve but who knows when?

Weapons are a curious thing. We all have our favorite and will fight and argue to the death to defend our choice.

In fact they can make or break a game. Weapons can be broken down into two types: Conventional Weapons (shotgun, pistol, machine gun, grenades etc) and Sci- Fi Weapons (Gluon guns, Hivehands, pulse rifles etc.

So, this weeks poll question is simple; which do you prefer?

The types of enemies we face are very important. If they are too difficult, then it spoils the game, too easy and it makes the game boring.

They have to fit with the overall theme of the game and they need to be varied. There are essentially two types of enemy: umanoid (Bipedal – Two legs, standing upright) and Non-Humanoid (Everything else! Headcrabs, Antlions etc).

This weeks questions is simple: Which do you prefer to play against?

There are a few different types of puzzles used in FPS games but the most obvious are Jumping, Logistical (Press this button, get the power supply etc.) and Physics.

Now, having to choose one is difficult because it depends on the implementation.

PLEASE NOTE: The map is for illustration purposes only. I’m not asking if you prefer THIS map.

I’m an only child. This means I have no brothers or sisters.

I developed the ability to play on my own. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons I play SP games, who knows.

One aspect that was introduced into Half-Life 2 that I didn’t like was the Squad feature. I recognize that having a squad around you varies the style of gameplay but I prefer to play alone.

This week’s poll moves away from the recent trend of discussing the actual gameplay and instead tries to find out exactly what game you are most anticipating for 2007.

As with all polls the answers are nearly always “It depends!”. and this one is no different.

Imagine, for whatever reason, you can only buy one FPS game next year, which one would it be?

After last weeks very successful poll I thought I would continue the theme of “Most Anticipated..”. This week we have Mods. Now a quick look at Moddb.com’s filtered list shows a lot of mods, so I had to make a choice about which ones to list. If you feel I missed one you can add your on choice in the comments. Below is a small selection of what I think are interesting mods.

I’ve decided to use this question as poll Question 11. Not because I couldn’t think of anything else but because I thought it deserved a wider audience. So, the question is 1 Great or 3 Average?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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….

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

Does using Cheat Codes spoil a game?

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.

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!

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.

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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.?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?