Half-Life: Alyx

Not quite Half-Life 3....
Valve have announced Alyx to be due next Spring, in VR. Big reveal this Thursday.
Will certainly be on my shopping list :)
 
Sigh.

Just bought a Reverb. Good resolution (lenses could be better), very happy with it for seated VR - which is to say, Elite Dangerous - but its inside-out tracking is pretty primitive, so playing a game where you have to use controllers? Oh dear. And as an old Half-Life fan - which we pretty much all are, now - I imagine I will have to try this.

One sign of hope. I heard in IGN's YouTube video on the subject this morning that Valve had had trouble getting the crowbar, that iconic Half-Life weapon, to work properly in VR. Which suggests that they're aware of the issues that some players may have with tracking on WMR systems if they have to raise the controllers above their heads.

Incidentally, I think that Valve have a nerve making fans wait so long for new Half-Life content then making it a VR exclusive. Fine, I have a headset but what about all those Half-Life fans who don't? A rotten move, in my opinion.
 
OMG HL: Alyx made me jawdrop. When I played the original several years ago, never have I imagined that I will set foot in City 17 myself... And the world got sooo much attention to details. The VR interactions are very intuitive and so cool without overdoing it. The graphics is simply stunning, even my wife was very impressed. This is absolutely a must buy for any PC VR owner.
 
Is it room scale or can you sit down with a controller?
I have my eye on it cos it looks great but I’m not pulling the trigger if I can’t use a controller
 
Is it room scale or can you sit down with a controller?
I have my eye on it cos it looks great but I’m not pulling the trigger if I can’t use a controller
I don't know for sure about the controller bit - but as steam permits controller selection, it may be possible.
It is room scale, but I play sitting (but have to stand briefly to look in high spots) without any issues apart from being too 'low' in the game world. There appears to be no adjustment for height as it is taken from your boundary setup.
Graphically it is a treat, sound is pretty good too (I will try next with my good headphones) so worth getting, a lot of time has been invested in 'petty' details too, which makes the world very 'alive' - light and shading is amazing!
 
Is it room scale or can you sit down with a controller?
I have my eye on it cos it looks great but I’m not pulling the trigger if I can’t use a controller
If it's the sitting part you're concerned with, then yes, game is playable in "chairscale" ;-) In Valve's own words: However you play, we've got you covered. Sitting, standing, roomscale.

If however by "a controller" you mean "a gamepad", then no, you cannot use it. And for a good reason - you need your hands bro! It's a second game (after Boneworks) which nailed VR interactions using motion controllers. To that degree that I showed the game to my wife who doesn't have much VR experience and her immediate reaction after marvelling at the world's fidelity was "ohmigosh I have real hands!" (knuckles controllers have finger sensing) and she proceeded to interact with the environment immediately, like she would in a normal world. For example just at the start there is an old radio - she immediately extended the antenna and started playing with the tuner . So requesting non-motion controller support would be like asking the game to be rewritten to 2d. And having played it, I now understand why Valve didn't do it - game would be a bleak copy of itself.
 
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Incidentally, I think that Valve have a nerve making fans wait so long for new Half-Life content then making it a VR exclusive. Fine, I have a headset but what about all those Half-Life fans who don't? A rotten move, in my opinion.
100% agree, I have nothing against a VR HL game, and whereas it does look amazing, I can't afford VR yet......but as a BIG HL fan and after waiting YEARS AND YEARS for either Episode 3 or HL3 I do feel this is a kick in the crotch from Valve.
 
Having already played Alyx for 2h now I completely understand why they did it. The level of world interaction present is unprecedented (well, technically Boneworks was first, but it's more of a sandbox than a game). It cannot be compared, period. You are there. In City 17. And wrt to affordable VR, you need to check out WMR solutions, or buy a Rift S on some discount. You don't need a $1000 Index to play HL:A. @Kyokushin can probably point you towards affordable WMRs.
 
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I play sitting (but have to stand briefly to look in high spots) without any issues apart from being too 'low' in the game world. There appears to be no adjustment for height as it is taken from your boundary setup.
Out of curiosity did you try starting the game while sitting? Maybe it will recalibrate? Though that would probably mean you needed to get on the floor to crouch.
 
Played for just over an hour this morning; it’s superb.

The level of sundry interaction is impressive - in the starting area I was able to lift a wine bottle from a crate (and then smash it) before emptying out some remaining tins by tipping it over, put out a radio’s aerial and fiddle with the tuning dial, use dry-wipe markers to draw on the window (an obvious “traditional” outline around the Citadel, naturally), and chuck a cola tin at a pidgeon.

Definitely the premier example of on-foot FPS VR in my opinion. Mash this, Lone Echo, and ED into the Legs expansion and I’d self-isolate until the neighbours complained about the smell :)

(Speaking of mashing, the health machines elicited an “Eeeewww” from me!)
 
(Speaking of mashing, the health machines elicited an “Eeeewww” from me!)
And it elicited a big inner smile in me, because the sound closely resembles the HEV suit charge from the originals which Black Mesa broke by using different sound 😡 . I'd agree that the... delivery method and... recipe for health station is a bit... extreme, tbh. (pssst, I ❤ it!)
 
Having already played Alyx for 2h now I completely understand why they did it. The level of world interaction present is unprecedented (well, technically Boneworks was first, but it's more of a sandbox than a game). It cannot be compared, period. You are there. In City 17. And wrt to affordable VR, you need to check out WMR solutions, or buy a Rift S on some discount. You don't need a $1000 Index to play HL:A. @Kyokushin can probably point you towards affordable WMRs.

I can definitely understand why they did the game, what I cannot understand is how they have shafted the majority of halflife fans for years by releasing nothing....on the VERY system they created to distribute HL2 episodic content. It leaves a VERY sour taste in my mouth. Not only that they leave Ep 2 on a collosal cliff hanger, I've been waiting since 2007.....kick in the teeth. Valve could afford to get the best writers in hollywood (or anywhere) to write an incredble script to at the VERY least CLOSE Gordon's Story off.
 
Played for just over an hour this morning; it’s superb.
...
(Speaking of mashing, the health machines elicited an “Eeeewww” from me!)
I think they 'borrowed' the squishee from the movie 'Dune' - except they were in tiny glasses and slurped as a delicacy...

Brilliant though, nonetheless 👍
 
I think they 'borrowed' the squishee from the movie 'Dune' - except they were in tiny glasses and slurped as a delicacy...

Brilliant though, nonetheless 👍
Ah, Beast Rabban’s Squeaky Squeeze Energy Drink, the 11th Millenium’s version of Orangina’s “shake the bottle, wake the drink” 😁

Bet that doesn’t appear in the new version this year!
 
Ah, Beast Rabban’s Squeaky Squeeze Energy Drink, the 11th Millenium’s version of Orangina’s “shake the bottle, wake the drink” 😁

Bet that doesn’t appear in the new version this year!
There is a new version? I may even go out of my way to see that, it could be even more thrilling with moden FX!
 
There is a new version? I may even go out of my way to see that, it could be even more thrilling with moden FX!
The chap who did Arrival & Blade Runner 2049 is doing it, first part of two is out at Christmas.

Looks like a strong cast and it sounds like he wants it to be a closer version to the book than the Lynch film, so I’ve got quiet hopes for it.

Back on topic, I’m off to put a bucket on a headcrab and watch it scuttle around.
 
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