This is the Poll Questions category

Regular (used to be weekly) polls to stimulate interesting and intelligent discussion.
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Poll Question 312 – How do you feel about the concept of paid mods?

WOW, what an interesting time we live in.

I’m not going to go into all the detail of the recent “paid Mods” event because I am sure you have been following it and probably know more about it than I do. However, I am going to talk about how it could affect me and this site.

If it is new for you, then I would suggest LambdaGenerations three excellent articles: 1, 2 & 3 and INtense!’s ModDB post as good summaries of different points of view.


1st May 2015 35 Comments

Poll Question 311 – Which method of SP release would you prefer?

I’m a binge viewer. There, I said it. I love watching a whole sason of episodes from TV shows in one weekend.

It’s an interesting topic in itself, from a number of angles, but it got me thinking about how I would feel if a single player game were releases in chapters like a TV show.

Let me clarify a few points:
1. No, I’m not talking about episodes in the sense of Episode One and Two.
2. I’m not even thinking specifically of a Half-Life game.


13th April 2015 6 Comments

Poll Question 310 – How important is how long a release took to make?

This morning, I posted a request on TWHL.info (the best GoldSource mapping community around) asking for people to let me know which maps and mods I should add to the site (expect the next few months to be GoldSource-rich with new content!)

Somebody suggested a map of theirs only to find out I had already added it. The reviews were not glowing but he accepted it with humility. Here is what he said “Unfortunately it was a rushed map( done in about a week), and most of the members there don’t know that so they judge accordingly. I don’t feel bad about that,such good criticism helps you discover your weaknesses.”

The fact it was made in such a short space of time, shouldn’t have anything to do with a review, but the reality is that it probably does. At least in my opinion.


8th April 2015 14 Comments

Poll Question 309 – For the next Half-Life game, what are you more interested in? (choose 2)

I think if I had asked this question immediately after the release of Episode 2 in 2007, the answer people would possible have given would be different.

Then in say 2011, it might be different again.

Now, I think we just want to know what happens. If Valve said they are not going to make a game but a comic instead, a little like Labrat whilst it would crash the Internet at least I would know what happens to the protagonists and Earth.

That’s kinda more important to me than anything at this point.

What about you?


20th March 2015 13 Comments

Poll Question 308 – Are you excited about the VR news from Valve?

In case you missed it, and what Headcrab have you been hiding under?, Valve and HTC have announced a Virtual headset (sources: LG1, LG2, VT, Eg1 and EG2) and it seems most people are pretty excited about it.

Me? MEH! Why? Because I am poor. No matter how cool this thing is and I am sure it’s freaking awesome, I am not going to be able to go out and buy it. Therefore, I am doing my best to ignore it.

You, on the other hand, might be wetting you pants in excitement.

Far be it from me to tell the future (although I did predict the Steambox over 8 years ago), I can’t believe that HL3 won’t come with some features or elements that take advantage of the VR headset.

I’m not saying that it will be an exclusive release for VR or that it won’t be fun without it, just that those with it might get an even better experience.

What are your thoughts?


4th March 2015 16 Comments

Poll Question 307 – How long will you play until turning on GOD mode?

As some may have seen from my Video Playthrough of the CityStreetsVille mod, I switched to GOD mode at the end of one of the maps. I mainly did it because I was livestreaming and it seemed unfair to force people to watch my attempts to beat the final Combine Gunship.

That said, at some point I might have switched but it would have been much longer. It’s a fine line between dying a lot of feeling that it is still possible. It got me thinking about how long readers wait until cheating.

I have asked a similar question before: Poll Question 120: How long do you spend on a puzzle before cheating?, but as you can see, it was just about puzzles.

I’m torn between feeling it should never happen, especially on EASY but I also know that some players (me included) just aren’t very good and that’s hard to design for.

What are your thoughts?


26th February 2015 23 Comments

Poll Question 306 – What’s the longest break you have had from playing HL games and mods since you first started?

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

Andrew just posted a review for a Half-Life 2 map and mentioned he hadn’t played HL2 in over a year and I just couldn’t imagine not playing for more than a few weeks and that’s when I am on holiday and away from my PC.

Of course, I am passionate or obsessed, depending on your point of view, but I feel most of my readers are as addicted as I am, if not more.

This seemed an interesting question and I considered expanding it to ALL games and mods but I’m more interested in just your HL habits.


21st January 2015 23 Comments

Poll Question 304 – Which would you rather have…

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

I’m shamelessly stealing this question from Reddit because it seems such an interesting choice.

The original choice was between the Super Gravity Gun and the Portal Gun

However, I have also added the choice of Lamarr. Having weapons seems fun but I wanted a less destructive option too.

To be honest, I’m not really sure which I would choose.

The general consensus on Reddit seems to be the Super Gravity Gun because of the limitation of using the Portal Gun. But what if the gravity gun worked on all solid surfaces, would that make a difference?

Anyway, what are your thoughts?


8th December 2014 19 Comments

Poll Question 303 – Is it right that game developers can limit your right to stream games?

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3

I tuned into a Twitch live stream last night for a few minutes and there were two guys playing Half-Life Decay.

At the bottom of the screen was a notice that said something like “Streaming games in North America before their official release date could be a violation of the Terms of Agreement…”.

I have to admit I hadn’t thought about anything like that before and wondered how fair that was – to both parties.

It seems to me that the developers do have rights, but surely letting players see the games first is a free way of advertising.

It also raises the issue of why there are different release dates around the world. Can’t these guys just release it every where at the same time? What are the commercial considerations for staggered launches? Now many things can be digitized it’s hard for the average consumer to understand.

I’d love to hear your thoughts.


1st November 2014 13 Comments