Okay, so here I am, sitting in an airport lounge, waiting for my flight and Gabe sits down next to me.

Me: “Hey, how you doing?”

Gabe “Good thanks, you?”

Me: “Yeah, not bad. Don’t you just hate it when one minute you are delayed and the next cancelled?”

Gabe: “Don’t get me started!”

Now, as you should have guessed, this didn’t actually happen, but I prefer to imagine it like rather than some formal situation. Who wants to chat to people behind desks and in offices?

So, if I ever do meet Gabe in an airport lounge and it seems suitable, here are the questions I would ask him.

Below each main question are some follow up ones and maybe some explanation.

Now, I know that not that long ago podcast17 interviewed him, and some or all of these questions might have been asked already. If so, oh well.

And before you ask, no I wouldn’t ask when Episode Three is coming. It’s clear that they don’t want to talk about it, and I am cool with that. When they are ready, they will tell us

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Think using the Console is only for developers? Think again. I contacted a few developers I know and asked for some suggestions that may be fun for players to try out.

I used A Walk in the Park for testing, which is where the screenshots come from. Of course, you can use any Source game or mod you want.

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This is an off-the-cuff article, that is to say I am basically writing it with no research and no drafts. What you get is the first thing that comes out my head and I am in a hurry!

I love Steam. It’s made my life so much easier. Partly because I hate DVDs or CDs and partly because of all the other features. Sure, there are some things I HATE about it, but everything in life is a compromise.

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Hello sufferers,

This weekend sees the start of the Hazardous Half-Quake Quatridual.

Half-Quake is made by Muddasheep and he has a special way of looking at things – a sadistic way!

He enjoys tourturing players via various techniques. His mods have a visual style that has been copied but never equalled.

For each new map and mod I update, I will include the description, screenshots, TAGS and my own review. It will also have a working download.

You can subscribe to the RSS Feed or you can follow me on Twitter. Using either of these methods will allow you to recieve updates as soon as I post the latest map or mod.

The winner of the draw (see below) will get a Halfquake DVD full of Halfquake goodies (dialogue bloopers, artworks, notes), featuring a unique drawing by Muddasheep.

The top reviewers (as in the reviewers who post all the reviews) will be entered into a draw to win a Half-Quake DVD. Huge thanks to Muddasheep for agreeing to create another one.

If you don’t know what the DVD is, please take a look at William’s excellent piece about it.

Get playing now, so you can post your reviews on the same day as I post them:

• HQ1: Half-Quake
• HQ2: Half-Quake Amen and The Present
• HQ3: Half-Quake: Sunrise

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I am pleased to announce the next mapping competition: CrossbowVille.

Full details can be found on the competition’s page: CrossbowVille.

I suggest you read the page carefully, because there is one new rule that is related to the sponsors that is very important.

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It’s time to think about the next mapping competition.

This time, SteamContests has organized the sponsorship of Tt eSPORTS!

They will be supplying the MEKA G1 keyboard as the first prize and the Black Element gaming mouse as the second prize.

Those are IN ADDITION to any prize I give AND there may be some other smaller prizes too.

So, with all that in mind, it’s time to select the next theme.

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Let me start by saying that this article will not list archetypes, but is a call to the PP community to help define them.

The reason I am asking is because I read this BBC article and it started me thinking about how we could apply that to Half-Life maps and mods.

Ideally, we would have no more than 7, as I could then write a 7 Series article, but that’s getting ahead of ourselves.

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Update: MapTap has been replaced by Gauge.

I officially launched MapTap on 1st October 2011. It is designed to make using SP maps a LOT easier.

I’s been fairly successful but I feel I should have done more work before the launch to ensure that enough tested files were available.

Herr_Alien and I have been working very hard behind the scenes and the next update will be a big step forward. We have about 5 new features planned for future updates too.

Anyway, back on the first of the month, I said there would be a game giveaway to one random Map Tap user.

Considering how unsuccessful the last two attempts at selecting a winner were, it is time to try a new way.

SEND ME YOUR ID AND KEY

To find your details, go to the About button. It will display your ID and Key.

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The title of this post has got to have shocked you.

“Phillip must want the Half-Life games to keep coming.”

Yes, I do, but on a fixed schedule. Every 3 years is about right for me. Fixed engine too – no updates to break mods or any of those shenanigans.

But the world and Valve don’t revolve around what I want – quite right too!

So, here are 7 reasons I hope Ep3 is the last Half-Life game.

Don’t forget to add your own in the comments.

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I like a certain level of realism in my gaming but more related to abstract things rather than weapon recoil or other details like that.

For me, it’s more about never having crates in room whose doors are obviously too small to allow a crate to fit through – stuff like that.

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