Half Life: Alyx Now Released for VR Systems, Receives Acclaim in Reviews

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^ playing a VR game without VR hardware is like trying to play GTA5 with the Rock Band Drum Set. You could do it, but it just gets tougher and more pointless.

Glad Valve has a sense of humor about it - "mod it, we won't stop you".
 
^ playing a VR game without VR hardware is like trying to play GTA5 with the Rock Band Drum Set. You could do it, but it just gets tougher and more pointless.

Glad Valve has a sense of humor about it - "mod it, we won't stop you".

Unfortunately, I feel that people will have a mediocre experience then blame the game for not meeting their expectations rather than realize it wasn't designed for 2D. I hope I'm wrong but I hope that sentiment about the game wont be too impacted by people who play it flat and say they found nothing special about it.
 
I'd be wary about purchasing expensive hardware to play a single game in these uncertain economic times, unless you know beyond all doubt you're financially secure and can afford it.
 
I'd be wary about purchasing expensive hardware to play a single game in these uncertain economic times, unless you know beyond all doubt you're financially secure and can afford it.
That's people choice. Don't worry about what other people choice to do. I want to get a rift and try it but can't find one that isn't price gouged.
 
That's people choice. Don't worry about what other people choice to do. I want to get a rift and try it but can't find one that isn't price gouged.
I'm merely pointing out that it is a less-than-optimal time to launch a game with a hefty price attached to it to play. Of course it's people's choice whether or not they take the plunge.
 
That's people choice. Don't worry about what other people choice to do. I want to get a rift and try it but can't find one that isn't price gouged.

Check the second hand market, if you haven't already. There were several Rift + Touch listed on offerup for around $200, and I still see several listings where the seller will ship.

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I'm merely pointing out that it is a less-than-optimal time to launch a game with a hefty price attached to it to play. Of course it's people's choice whether or not they take the plunge.
It's $225 for Odyssey+ and there are more people playing videogames at this less than optimal time than any other in history. Everyone's shut inside and every week Steam concurrent/peak usercounts at record highs.
 
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Unfortunately, I feel that people will have a mediocre experience then blame the game for not meeting their expectations rather than realize it wasn't designed for 2D. I hope I'm wrong but I hope that sentiment about the game wont be too impacted by people who play it flat and say they found nothing special about it.
Or maybe the flipside happens: they get intrigued by it, and once they hit enough frustration, decide they want to play the game as designed to be played in VR.

A 2D modded Alyx isn't exactly going to be something the kids are torrenting anyway, it won't be widespread and is mostly fodder for gaming blogs, ala "Guy plays Skyrim with modded treadmill"
 
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Check the second hand market, if you haven't already. There were several Rift + Touch listed on offerup for around $200, and I still see several listings where the seller will ship.

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Thanks for the heads up. Got a quest for $200. Well I did a dumb thing. I went over my friends last night and played some PS4 VR for the first time. When I got home I ordered a index lol. I was pretty impressed by a based VR solution that I want to try the real thing now. Quest is getting sold when I get the Index in 3 months lol.
 
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This game transcends numbered scores and ratings. If reminds me of the "WTF" moment the first time I saw a FPS (Spear of Destiny) in a computer store in the early 90s and couldn't believe what I was seeing, a feeling like computers had made this huge leap forward, like I was witnessing magic.

I've played plenty of VR games, through many different headsets. I've gone through phases of putting the HMD away for a few months waiting for "the next big thing". This is it, this is finally the corner I started to lose hope would ever be turned; the full AAA, full length affair that finally and truly delivers on the promise of VR.

Naysayers need to stop worrying that VR is going to "replace" flat monitor gaming - it's not. It's just another door into a parallel universe you can enter and exit at will. This is not zero sum. I encourage everyone to try it once. Bricks will be shat. I'm not kidding.
Whelp, you convinced me lol I haven't touched my headset in months....
***Runs to go dust off the Rift and buy / download some shit***
 
im waiting for the non vr version of alyx to come. im sure sales were good, but not as good as they will be with a non vr version.
 
im waiting for the non vr version of alyx to come. im sure sales were good, but not as good as they will be with a non vr version.

Taking the VR out of Alyx would hollow the experience. I can imagine it working maybe with some form of motion controls, but if it's just kb+m it's akin to playing a hardcore racing simulator like Project Cars 2 on a keyboard, or Dark Souls on a Dance Dance Rev pad. :yuck:
 
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Said by nobody ever.

Believe me I'd love to try it out, but I can't without investing serious bucks, that I might as well be flushing down the toilet if I don't like it. And if I like it, then I'll be kicking myself for buying entry level. It's a catch 22 situation.
And before someone starts I could justify buying a 2080ti because I knew what to expect, and it delivered. VR is a completely unknown quantity, and I'm not big on gambling away 2-3 weeks worth of salary, especially in the current situation.
Aren't there places you can demo VR (after stores reopen, assuming they're all closed), so you can decide what you want to get?
 
Aren't there places you can demo VR

Larger Gamestops used to, although the only one I can think of OTTOMH I think stopped a while back. Plus, now you're going to have to wonder about how much they get sanitized. Certainly when I saw it in use, they weren't doing anything, but that was like 2 years ago.
 
Larger Gamestops used to, although the only one I can think of OTTOMH I think stopped a while back. Plus, now you're going to have to wonder about how much they get sanitized. Certainly when I saw it in use, they weren't doing anything, but that was like 2 years ago.
For a lot of people it goes like this:

1. Order Odyssey+ or Oculus from amazon intending to "rent it free" by returning it after 29 days.
2. Don't send it back because you're hooked
Or
3. Can't send it back because heart attack from VR porn. RIP. Don't open those gates, baby. Don't do it.
 
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For a lot of people it goes like this:

1. Order Odyssey+ or Oculus from amazon intending to "rent it free" by returning it after 29 days.
2. Don't send it back because you're hooked
Or
3. Can't send it back because you died - VR porn heart attack. RIP.
This. Send it back if you dont like it and/or you got you half-life fix. I played around with a PSCR over the weekend still could see the value in. Enough to order a Index even.Hell you could probably sell it after the 30 days with out losing too much.
 
is the non-VR mod worth getting this game over?
Maybe when the mod is working 100% or close enough.

No, guys, just no. If you have any love at all for the Half Life series, don't play this in pancake mode.

Half Life Alyx was built from the ground up to be a VR game. It will lose everything if you play it on a monitor. Everything that makes this game great is designed for VR.

And even if this mod somehow manages to get everything working right, it will still be terrible because the atmosphere you experience in VR cannot be recreated on a monitor.
 
No, guys, just no. If you have any love at all for the Half Life series, don't play this in pancake mode.

Half Life Alyx was built from the ground up to be a VR game. It will lose everything if you play it on a monitor. Everything that makes this game great is designed for VR.

And even if this mod somehow manages to get everything working right, it will still be terrible because the atmosphere you experience in VR cannot be recreated on a monitor.

wat about this? is this enough VR to appreciate it?

 
No, guys, just no. If you have any love at all for the Half Life series, don't play this in pancake mode.

Half Life Alyx was built from the ground up to be a VR game. It will lose everything if you play it on a monitor. Everything that makes this game great is designed for VR.

And even if this mod somehow manages to get everything working right, it will still be terrible because the atmosphere you experience in VR cannot be recreated on a monitor.
I'm not even that into half-life and it got me getting a index.

wat about this? is this enough VR to appreciate it?


Just get a index.
 
No, guys, just no. If you have any love at all for the Half Life series, don't play this in pancake mode.

Half Life Alyx was built from the ground up to be a VR game. It will lose everything if you play it on a monitor. Everything that makes this game great is designed for VR.

And even if this mod somehow manages to get everything working right, it will still be terrible because the atmosphere you experience in VR cannot be recreated on a monitor.
I'm only interested in the story elements. I couldn't care less about "atmosphere".
 
If you don't care less about the game just watch it on youtube.
I care about the game, just not how I'm currently forced to play it. Besides, how I choose to experience the game has no effect on you whatsoever.
 
I care about the game, just not how I'm currently forced to play it. Besides, how I choose to experience the game has no effect on you whatsoever.

You are wrong about the atmosphere. That's what made the original Half Life games so good. They were more than just games, you felt like you were in a living breathing world. The game play, the level design, the cut scenes, the way you interacted with the environment and it with you. Valve are brilliant at combining all these things to make awesome games. They have done it again with Half Life Alyx.

Yes, I am sorry that people who don't have VR headsets lose out. This might be their only way to experience the game and that's a shame.

And You are right, how you experience the game has no effect on me at all, If I came across badly I am sorry. I didn't mean to offend. All I am saying is that if you love the previous Half Life games, play this one in VR. Don't let the pancake version ruin it for you.
 
True, but by way of rough analogy: why play on integrated graphics when you could play on an actual gaming card?
Maybe that's all I can afford, or maybe I'm just not interested in buying a discrete card. Of course, Alyx requires a GTX 1060 or RX 580 at a minimum, so going the integrated graphics route would likely preclude me from ever playing it, VR or not.

You are wrong about the atmosphere. That's what made the original Half Life games so good. They were more than just games, you felt like you were in a living breathing world. The game play, the level design, the cut scenes, the way you interacted with the environment and it with you. Valve are brilliant at combining all these things to make awesome games. They have done it again with Half Life Alyx.

Yes, I am sorry that people who don't have VR headsets lose out. This might be their only way to experience the game and that's a shame.

And You are right, how you experience the game has no effect on me at all, If I came across badly I am sorry. I didn't mean to offend. All I am saying is that if you love the previous Half Life games, play this one in VR. Don't let the pancake version ruin it for you.
I never felt they were anything more than games. I had fun playing all of them, but they were just entertainment.

And again, if I want to "ruin" the game by not playing it in VR, that's my business.

I just fell over
Some kind of equilibrium issue?
 
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