Planet Half-Life
Encyclopedia
Planet Half-Life is a gaming website owned by IGN
and its subsidiary GameSpy
. Maintained by a voluntary team of contributors, the site is dedicated to providing news and informes Half-Life and Half-Life 2
, as well as related modifications
and other Valve Software
titles. It was originally founded by Kevin "Fragmaster" Bowen and is now one of the largest of an array of GameSpy-run gaming websites known as the Planet Network.
In addition to the news, Planet Half-Life hosts extensive, in-depth collections of information regarding Half-Life, Half-Life 2 (along with Portal), Counter-Strike
, Team Fortress
and Day of Defeat
. These sections cover overviews of each game as well as any official expansion packs related to them, as well as going over their storylines, important characters, enemies, weapons, cheats, walkthroughs, and, in the case of the multiplayer games, map overviews and strategies. The information found on these pages is original work drafted by the staff writers and senior editors collectively (although without any individual credits given, unlike other articles found on the site).
Planet Half-Life also supplies other original and community-generated content in the form of:
. These forums include boards ranging from general discussion to technical help.
In August 2007, the forums changed format to comply with GameSpy's ForumPlanet standard (the IGN SnowBoards system), removing some outdated features and adding many new ones, such as a dynamic news box that streams in late-breaking news from not only PHL, but all other planet sites as well. This also changed the registration process for the forum, from a per-planet account basis to a network-wide, global account basis. At this time Planet Half-Life's sister sites Planet Fortress and CS.net were officially unsupported and their forums were to be merged into PHL's, although this process lasted over a year before it was complete.
, Counter-Strike: Source
, Day of Defeat: Source
, Half-Life: Deathmatch, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
and Team Fortress 2
. However, currently only the Half-life 2: Deathmatch and Day of Defeat: Source servers are consistently online and even they rarely see much use. The PHL servers are maintained by WOLFServers.com.
project. To date, the PHLWiki contains over a hundred articles dealing with fictional Half-Life characters, creatures and locations in a realistic, encyclopedic form as well as real life articles on mods, player terminology and strategy guides. The fictional and real life articles are kept separately, although they can be linked to each other. Before being announced publicly, most of the existing pages, particularly articles making up the fictional encyclopedia, were written by PHL staff writers. The PHLWiki is open to public viewing and editing, however its location is buried in the main site's navigation bar and it has received very little promotion since its launch. Only a small handful of actual readers (not spambot
s, site staff or administrators) have registered contributions.
Unfortunately the PHLWiki is currently plagued by a large amount of spam
which would require extensive work to clean up. For the time being it has been all but abandoned by the community and PHL staff.
, though the address of hosted sites is a subset of the Planet Half-Life domain. This was a major attraction of the site in its early days and many original Half-Life mod teams took advantage of the offer. However this feature has not been utilized nearly as much since the release of Half-Life 2. A directory of the old sites still exists, although most have been abandoned by their creators.
The staff list as of June, 2009:
Prior to its release, there was conjecture that Left 4 Dead
would be included in these titles in 2008. Although co-developed by Valve Software, L4D has nothing to do with the Half-Life series, although it could arguably be equated to Counter-Strike or Team Fortress, which both started as community mods and were bought by Valve, much like Left 4 Dead. However, under direct orders from IGN managers, a new section was not opened and L4D is only covered in small news updates. New sections for Garry's Mod
and The Ship were also being considered, but it is highly doubtful either will be added. These games are already covered regularly in the news, which has led some readers to half-jokingly refer to the site as "Planet Valve," "Planet Steam" or even "Planet Source" in the public forum.
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
and its subsidiary GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
. Maintained by a voluntary team of contributors, the site is dedicated to providing news and informes Half-Life and Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 , the sequel to Half-Life, is a first-person shooter video game and a signature title in the Half-Life series. It is singleplayer, story-driven, science fiction, and linear...
, as well as related modifications
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
and other Valve Software
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
titles. It was originally founded by Kevin "Fragmaster" Bowen and is now one of the largest of an array of GameSpy-run gaming websites known as the Planet Network.
Content
Planet Half-Life's content consists mainly of a news wire on its front page. Stories on updates, patches, press releases and events related to Half-Life and just about anything else concerning Valve Software are posted on an almost daily basis. These stories are also mirrored in the site's forum for reader comments.In addition to the news, Planet Half-Life hosts extensive, in-depth collections of information regarding Half-Life, Half-Life 2 (along with Portal), Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
, Team Fortress
Team Fortress
Team Fortress is a team- and class-based online multiplayer video game mod based on id Software's Quake. Team Fortress was designed and written by Robin Walker, John Cook and Ian Caughley in 1996. The mod's gameplay has caught on with a large following of fans, which has spurred many developers to...
and Day of Defeat
Day of Defeat
Day of Defeat is a team-based multiplayer World War II first-person shooter video game of the European Theatre of World War II. As of 2008, the game is one of the ten most played Half-Life modifications in terms of players, according to GameSpy....
. These sections cover overviews of each game as well as any official expansion packs related to them, as well as going over their storylines, important characters, enemies, weapons, cheats, walkthroughs, and, in the case of the multiplayer games, map overviews and strategies. The information found on these pages is original work drafted by the staff writers and senior editors collectively (although without any individual credits given, unlike other articles found on the site).
Planet Half-Life also supplies other original and community-generated content in the form of:
- Featured Pic, originally Pic of the Day or POTD, a near-daily, often comical picture related to games covered on the site.
- Articles, various writings that don't neatly fit into any of the other feature subcategories.
- Comics, an archive of old HL-related Flash animations by Kevin Bowen.
- Editorials, often-controversial opinion pieces by the site's editors.
- Featured Level, showcases the best user-created levels for HL/HL2 and their modifications.
- Featured Mod, showcases quality, popular or otherwise excellent HL/HL2 modifications.
- Featured Skin, a dead feature that showcased the best new skins for Half-Life models.
- Fiction, an archive of Kevin Bowen's comedic "Walter's World" articles (written from the point of view of a Black Mesa scientist) and dramatic work by Dave "zozart" Clark.
- Hosted Focus, a dead feature that showcased the best sites hosted by PHL.
- Interviews, a feature in which PHL staff writers interview various mod developers, prominent competitive players and Valve employees.
- Mailbag, a reader-sustained feature in which the editorial staff responds to site e-mail.
- Old Polls, a dead feature that archived the results of old reader polls, including commentary on the results by the staff.
- PHL Film Festival, embedded YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
videos of the results of a special contest that ran from December 2006 to April 2007. - Previews, a look at upcoming, unreleased modifications that look highly promising.
- Reviews, much more objective and critical (and occasionally controversial) looks at recently released modifications.
- Tech Corner, a reader-sustained feature in which the staff answer technical questions, as well as articles ranging from hardware reviews to guides for building gaming computers.
Forum
A major feature of Planet Half-Life, and all other planet sites, is its public forumInternet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
. These forums include boards ranging from general discussion to technical help.
In August 2007, the forums changed format to comply with GameSpy's ForumPlanet standard (the IGN SnowBoards system), removing some outdated features and adding many new ones, such as a dynamic news box that streams in late-breaking news from not only PHL, but all other planet sites as well. This also changed the registration process for the forum, from a per-planet account basis to a network-wide, global account basis. At this time Planet Half-Life's sister sites Planet Fortress and CS.net were officially unsupported and their forums were to be merged into PHL's, although this process lasted over a year before it was complete.
Game servers
Planet Half-Life has been running public game servers since 2006, hosting 24/7 map rotations for Counter-Strike 1.6Counter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
, Counter-Strike: Source
Counter-Strike: Source
Counter-Strike: Source is an FPS video game developed by Valve Corporation. It is a complete remake of Counter-Strike using the Source game engine. As in the original, Counter-Strike: Source pits a team of counter-terrorists against a team of terrorists in a series of rounds...
, Day of Defeat: Source
Day of Defeat: Source
Day of Defeat: Source is a team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. Set in World War II, the game is an updated version of Day of Defeat, moving from the GoldSrc engine used by its predecessor to the Source engine...
, Half-Life: Deathmatch, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation. Released on Steam on November 30, 2004, it uses many of the assets from Half-Life 2, and the same Source engine. It features unique levels, optimized for multiplayer arena play, and a few new...
and Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to the original mod Team Fortress based on the Quake engine, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on October 10, 2007 for Windows...
. However, currently only the Half-life 2: Deathmatch and Day of Defeat: Source servers are consistently online and even they rarely see much use. The PHL servers are maintained by WOLFServers.com.
Steam Community
In addition to public servers, Planet Half-Life also has a Steam Community group. Currently, Steam Communities are still only in their early stages of development. The PHL Community can only host a chat room and specialized news updates for now, but more features will be added in the future based on suggestions from readers.PHLWiki
In June 2006, Planet Half-Life began its own wikiWiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
project. To date, the PHLWiki contains over a hundred articles dealing with fictional Half-Life characters, creatures and locations in a realistic, encyclopedic form as well as real life articles on mods, player terminology and strategy guides. The fictional and real life articles are kept separately, although they can be linked to each other. Before being announced publicly, most of the existing pages, particularly articles making up the fictional encyclopedia, were written by PHL staff writers. The PHLWiki is open to public viewing and editing, however its location is buried in the main site's navigation bar and it has received very little promotion since its launch. Only a small handful of actual readers (not spambot
Spambot
A spambot is an automated computer program designed to assist in the sending of spam. Spambots usually create fake accounts and send spam using them, although it would be obvious that a spambot is sending it...
s, site staff or administrators) have registered contributions.
Unfortunately the PHLWiki is currently plagued by a large amount of spam
Spam (electronic)
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately...
which would require extensive work to clean up. For the time being it has been all but abandoned by the community and PHL staff.
Site hosting
Planet Half-Life also offers free web hosting for Half-Life themed websites. The web hosting is regulated through GameSpyGameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
, though the address of hosted sites is a subset of the Planet Half-Life domain. This was a major attraction of the site in its early days and many original Half-Life mod teams took advantage of the offer. However this feature has not been utilized nearly as much since the release of Half-Life 2. A directory of the old sites still exists, although most have been abandoned by their creators.
Current staff
Planet Half-Life is run by a staff of international, unpaid volunteers. New applicants must undergo a detailed application process and a subsequent trial period. While most PHL staffers only stay on for a few months at a time, some remain active on the site for years. Many staff members choose to volunteer for personal benefit, such as writing practice or a stepping stone to larger projects.The staff list as of June, 2009:
Senior Staff
- Alex "ACPaco" Capriole, Staff Writer, Forum Moderator
- John "Chief" Phillips, Site Director, News Editor, Staff Writer, Forum Moderator
- David "Merritt" Merritt, Staff Writer, Forum Moderator, Assistant Site Director
Junior Staff
- Stephen "Aratos" Whitehead, Forum Moderator
- Thomas "Editor321" Rogers, Staff Writer
- Ian "eulogy" Norton, Staff Writer
- Dennis "Golgotha" Goldsmith, Staff Writer
- Steve "nopk" Finch, Staff Writer, POTD Manager
- David Merrit, News Editor
History
Planet Half-Life has been running since April 27, 1999. Since then, it has undergone numerous format changes, both in content and aesthetic. The following is a timeline of major changes and other events.- April 27, 1999, PHL first opens, covering Half-Life and editingModdingModding is a slang expression that is derived from the verb "modify". Modding refers to the act of modifying a piece of hardware or software or anything else for that matter, to perform a function not originally conceived or intended by the designer...
resources. It looks nothing like it does today. - November 16, 1999, Major changes to layout and color scheme, plus new sections covering Half-Life: Opposing ForceHalf-Life: Opposing ForceHalf-Life: Opposing Force is an expansion pack for Valve Software's science fiction first-person shooter video game Half-Life. The game was developed by Gearbox Software and Valve Corporation and published by Sierra Entertainment on November 1, 1999. Opposing Force is the first expansion for...
and the announcement of Half-Life 2Half-Life 2Half-Life 2 , the sequel to Half-Life, is a first-person shooter video game and a signature title in the Half-Life series. It is singleplayer, story-driven, science fiction, and linear...
. - December 3, 2000, New sections covering Counter-StrikeCounter-StrikeCounter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
and Team Fortress ClassicTeam Fortress ClassicTeam Fortress Classic, also known as Team Fortress 1.5 or simply TFC, is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation. It is a remake of the Team Fortress modification for Quake. Team Fortress Classic was originally released for Windows on April 7, 1999 as...
, these and other game overview sections consolidated into buttons at the top of left-side navigation bar as well as large buttons on the top of the front page, Half-Life 2 section is buried. - June 19, 2001, New section covering Half-Life: Blue ShiftHalf-Life: Blue ShiftHalf-Life: Blue Shift is an expansion pack for Valve Software's science fiction first-person shooter video game Half-Life. The game was developed by Gearbox Software with Valve Corporation and published by Sierra Entertainment on June 12, 2001...
. - September 14, 2002, New section covering Day of DefeatDay of DefeatDay of Defeat is a team-based multiplayer World War II first-person shooter video game of the European Theatre of World War II. As of 2008, the game is one of the ten most played Half-Life modifications in terms of players, according to GameSpy....
. - May 24, 2003, Half-Life 2 section re-opens amid rumors of a September 2003 launch and early media releases.
- July 17, 2003, Major changes to color scheme and graphics in anticipation of Half-Life 2 launch.
- June 11, 2006, PHLWiki is launched, with bulk of content made up by staff writers prior to public unveiling.
- September 13, 2006, Complete site format change to accommodate new PNAP article submission system, as well as new color scheme and graphics that are still in use today.
- September 13, 2007, PHL Steam Community officially announced to the public.
Games covered
As of September 2007, the following games are covered by Planet Half-Life:- Half-Life
- Half-Life: Opposing ForceHalf-Life: Opposing ForceHalf-Life: Opposing Force is an expansion pack for Valve Software's science fiction first-person shooter video game Half-Life. The game was developed by Gearbox Software and Valve Corporation and published by Sierra Entertainment on November 1, 1999. Opposing Force is the first expansion for...
- Half-Life: Blue ShiftHalf-Life: Blue ShiftHalf-Life: Blue Shift is an expansion pack for Valve Software's science fiction first-person shooter video game Half-Life. The game was developed by Gearbox Software with Valve Corporation and published by Sierra Entertainment on June 12, 2001...
- Half-Life 2Half-Life 2Half-Life 2 , the sequel to Half-Life, is a first-person shooter video game and a signature title in the Half-Life series. It is singleplayer, story-driven, science fiction, and linear...
- Half-Life 2: DeathmatchHalf-Life 2: DeathmatchHalf-Life 2: Deathmatch is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation. Released on Steam on November 30, 2004, it uses many of the assets from Half-Life 2, and the same Source engine. It features unique levels, optimized for multiplayer arena play, and a few new...
- Half-Life 2: Lost CoastHalf-Life 2: Lost CoastHalf-Life 2: Lost Coast is a small additional level for the 2004 first-person shooter video game Half-Life 2. Developed by Valve Software, it was released on October 27, 2005, through the Steam content delivery service as a free download to owners of the Microsoft Windows version of Half-Life 2...
- Half-Life 2: Episode OneHalf-Life 2: Episode OneHalf-Life 2: Episode One is the first in a series of episodes that serve as the sequel for the 2004 first-person shooter video game Half-Life 2. It was developed by Valve Corporation and released on June 1, 2006. Originally called Half-Life 2: Aftermath, the game was later renamed to Episode One...
- Half-Life 2: Episode TwoHalf-Life 2: Episode TwoHalf-Life 2: Episode Two is the second episode in a series of sequels to the 2004 first-person shooter video game Half-Life 2. It was developed by Valve Corporation in tandem with Episode One, the first game in the series, and released in Q4 2007 via Valve's Steam content distribution platform...
- Counter-StrikeCounter-StrikeCounter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
- Counter-Strike: SourceCounter-Strike: SourceCounter-Strike: Source is an FPS video game developed by Valve Corporation. It is a complete remake of Counter-Strike using the Source game engine. As in the original, Counter-Strike: Source pits a team of counter-terrorists against a team of terrorists in a series of rounds...
- Day of DefeatDay of DefeatDay of Defeat is a team-based multiplayer World War II first-person shooter video game of the European Theatre of World War II. As of 2008, the game is one of the ten most played Half-Life modifications in terms of players, according to GameSpy....
- Day of Defeat: SourceDay of Defeat: SourceDay of Defeat: Source is a team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. Set in World War II, the game is an updated version of Day of Defeat, moving from the GoldSrc engine used by its predecessor to the Source engine...
- Portal
- Team Fortress ClassicTeam Fortress ClassicTeam Fortress Classic, also known as Team Fortress 1.5 or simply TFC, is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation. It is a remake of the Team Fortress modification for Quake. Team Fortress Classic was originally released for Windows on April 7, 1999 as...
- Team Fortress 2Team Fortress 2Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to the original mod Team Fortress based on the Quake engine, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on October 10, 2007 for Windows...
Prior to its release, there was conjecture that Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It was developed by Turtle Rock Studios, which was purchased by Valve Corporation during development. The game uses Valve's proprietary Source engine, and is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and Mac OS X...
would be included in these titles in 2008. Although co-developed by Valve Software, L4D has nothing to do with the Half-Life series, although it could arguably be equated to Counter-Strike or Team Fortress, which both started as community mods and were bought by Valve, much like Left 4 Dead. However, under direct orders from IGN managers, a new section was not opened and L4D is only covered in small news updates. New sections for Garry's Mod
Garry's Mod
Garry's Mod is a sandbox physics game using the Source engine. Garry's Mod has been available on Steam's content delivery service since November 29, 2006...
and The Ship were also being considered, but it is highly doubtful either will be added. These games are already covered regularly in the news, which has led some readers to half-jokingly refer to the site as "Planet Valve," "Planet Steam" or even "Planet Source" in the public forum.