Today is PlanetPhillip.Com’s 4000th day online.
I don’t really make much fuss over anniversaries but this one seems kinda cool.
So, here are my thoughts from the last 3999 days…
1. I wish I had started smaller and less ambitious. Those that have been around a long time will know I started with EVERY game that had SP maps and mods available. The site was different back then in that it didn’t try to list every map or mod with as much detail, but it was till too much. If I had started with Just Half-Life and Unreal stuff the site would be even better now.
2. I wish I had used a different name. When I first thought of it, PlanetRebook was popular and it seemed a good title. I own the RunThinkShootLive.com domain and wish I had thought of that from the beginning and used that. Too many people think the site is just a “blog” and technically it is, but it’s much more than that too.
3. I wish I had started with forum software and customized that. I love how Interlopers.net runs their site – it’s a forum with a frontpage. I’m pretty sure I could have made a forum look as “good” as the site does. I feel that my temporary attempts to add forums all hurt the site. If it was just a forum that might have helped.
4. I wish I had started to learn PHP, Javascript and SQL from day one. That way I wouldn’t have to rely on anybody for new features.
There’s no doubt the site is pretty good, but I still want to do so much more with it.
I wonder what it will look like in another 4000 days and I also wonder the state of the modding community and how many other websites are still around etc.
Let me have your predictions for the community itself.
Oh, talking of 4000, why not have a look at the newly restarted content Statistics page (not visitors and such, but the content of the site) and see if there’s anything surprising.
Theres no doubt that planetphillip is a intergral part of the half life community along with interlopers and other similar sites.. however what i like about PP is the ease of use… other sites may have maps and mods but its so hard to locate the one you want .. however PP has everything set out in catergorys that are accesible from the main page
as a novice mapper i would like to see some more experienced mappers/modders share their experience .. for example how to create lifts and triggers in maps and how to create basic maps …. i know interlopers have this on their site but again its not so easy to understand and use
so what can we expect over the next 4000 days … well plenty more maps and mods i hope … and maybe a overhual of the PP webpage … have you considered changing the title design … and the template ….
that said if its not broken then dont change it .. we love PP and thats the way we want it to stay
may i be the first to congratulate you on reaching the 4000 day milestone …. well done phillip !
There’s a whole new ball game. Moving into mapping tutorials etc takes the site into a different direction. It also puts itself up against direct competition with sites like Interlopers, TWHL, HalfWit and others. I have had a project on the back burner for a long time now but it’s a big commitment and I have limited time as it is. Yes, others would be involved but I don’t want a community run website, I want a website run by me.
I’m not sure what you mean by “title” design, but yes I constantly plan a new design. The problem is that I estimate customizing an existing design will take me 50 hours and starting from scratch 100 hours of work. That’s 50 or 100 hours when I could be posting maps and mods. Alex, from LambdaGeneration.Com ( I think the LambdaGeneration design is stunning) and I were working together on a new design off and on for the last 12 months but scheduling between us always got in the way. I’m almost certain I will by a theme from ThemeForest.Net and customize that. The issue is making sure I don’t have to do too much backdating of posts and asking myself what benefit will it bring to suers.
Congratulations Phillip 😀
A perfect gift for your viewers (even though it should be the other way around) would be an update to the Hall of Fame.
I’ve played a lot of mods, but I feel I’ve missed a few great ones along the way…
Well, the HOF fame comes the reviews and such. What do you feel needs updating? I can’t see many mods being added can you?
I am hoping to start work on a new theme very soon and the visuals will change a bit but the content will stay the same.
Yes, congratulations!
What I have to say is: looking at the Statistics page is important. I’ve seen plenty of fair-weather-friend type posters over on the Steam forums complaining that there’s “nothing out there” – but … these stats are from the last 4 years – that’s four years AFTER the last official Half Life product. Hundreds of thousands of plays? Check. Thousands of maps and mods? Check. Something for every phase of Half Life? Check.
Really, anyone that thinks that Half Life as a world or venue for story telling or coding improvement is ‘dead’ … needs their head examined. Certainly, more things were available/played ‘back in the day’ but that it’s been this long and are all still going strong?
Here with a vengeance. Here’s to 4000 more.
Well, these stats are from more than just the last release of a Half-Life product, which was almost exactly 7 years ago (10th October 2007). They are really from the last 11 years of running the site (11 years in a few weeks). BTW, 4000 days sounds cooler than 11 years to me.
Congratulations Phillip! Well, this site technically, does need some adjustments. Is it me, or I can’t see my recommendations? Is that feature deleted? Did I miss something?
But the site itself is just great. When a game series has a site dedicated just for its OWN mods and maps, the site will become much stronger with the community. That’s the case with PlanetPhillip. I LOVE this site! And I’m sure a lot of people love it too.
Again, Phillip, congrats with the 4000 days and I hope you never close this site! 🙂
I can see all your approved recommendations. I do remember deleting a few because you didn’t follow the guidelines but that was only a couple of times. Are you saying you can’t see your recommendation on this comment?
No, I’m talking genereally. Wasn’t there a recommendation system, where you could see which mods and maps you reviewed? What happened to it?
You can use the Personalizer (link at top of page) to list out mods of a certain game or time period – the results show you which ones you’ve reviewed and which you haven’t.
Congratulations Phillip Marlowe!
Your site is part of my life!
I wish You another 4000+ days!
Maybe in the next 4000 days we have Half_life 3 (or Ep3 or whatever)… 😀
Other game sites have come and gone as have some games, but PlanetPhillip has marched on and on.
Whilst others may offer congratulations on your 4000 day achievement, I prefer to simply say ‘thank you’! PP has been one of my few on-line constants and it is a site that I visit despite not playing much of anything for quite a while.
I’ve seen PP evolve over the years whilst other sites have become endangered species or gone extinct. I believe the success of PP is a lot to do with the civil manner of the community inhabit the site which is in no small part due to the way Phillip runs PP. If a commenter has a question or a problem the whole community is there to help unlike some other sites where personal abuse is not uncommon.
The one prediction I can be sure that will be true in 4000 more days, is the community will still believe HL2:EP3 will be released soon!!!
I remember the days I downloaded some of my Return To Castle Wolfenstein maps/mods from planetphillip, before the HLs “exclusive”. Congrats Phillip, with the 4000 Days Online!
Congratulations man, happy anniversary! I’ve been checking this site for many years now, so thanks for the weekly minutes of entertainment. Also, I like the name and the way the site is.