Half Life: Alyx

[vegeta535]

Someone recreated P.T. in Half-Life: Alyx. It's still a work-in-progress.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2114213861

Oh shit. I think I might to much of a pussy to try P.T. in VR.

 

[Frraksurred]

Alright, my Index is FINALLY here! Set it up this morning and played a couple hours of HL:Alyx. Even at 144hz & max settings, I have to limit my time to an hour at a time or I start to get mildly nauseous. Still, the game is incredible and I'm loving the experience.

 

[StryderxX]

Alright, my Index is FINALLY here! Set it up this morning and played a couple hours of HL:Alyx. Even at 144hz & max settings, I have to limit my time to an hour at a time or I start to get mildly nauseous. Still, the game is incredible and I'm loving the experience.

What type of movement option are you using?

 

[MavericK]

Yeah, I use teleport in games where I can. Works fine for HL: Alyx since it really isn't that fast-paced. I would recommend against getting Boneworks if Alyx is making you nauseous.

 

[Frraksurred]

What type of movement option are you using?

I tried them all, but stuck with mostly continuous with some blink here and there. It didn't seem to matter, the Blink had the same effect, especially when doing it 2-3 times quickly (escaping a situation for instance). I've also tried playing both sitting and standing; sitting lets me play longer.

It is not a strong nausea, I went through a similar experience when I first moved to my 40" monitor. It passed after a couple days, so I'm hoping this will be similar. I'll check my fps counter and make sure I'm still getting over 60, if not I may bump it back down to 120Hz and experiment.

 

[vegeta535]

Alright, my Index is FINALLY here! Set it up this morning and played a couple hours of HL:Alyx. Even at 144hz & max settings, I have to limit my time to an hour at a time or I start to get mildly nauseous. Still, the game is incredible and I'm loving the experience.

Lucky bastard! Going on 11 weeks here so soon I hope to get mine.

 

[motqalden]

I ordered an Index the second week of March, then Covid put a halt to everything. Just got the notification that it is shipping and HL:Alyx has been added to my library.

Do you know what 11 weeks of trying to avoid spoilers is like? So looking forward to this game. Open to any suggestions / tips for a first time VR user.

Take it slow at first or you may get sick for hours (take breaks after 20-30 minutes even if you feel fine) You will be able to go longer as you get used to it. Get a large Fan in the center of your play area pointed at your head, it helps you keep oriented to the play area and also keeps you from overheating.

 

[Frraksurred]

Lucky bastard! Going on 11 weeks here so soon I hope to get mine.

It was 13 weeks for me before it arrived. At the very least, you should get a notification soon.

 

[Frraksurred]

Take it slow at first or you may get sick for hours (take breaks after 20-30 minutes even if you feel fine) You will be able to go longer as you get used to it. Get a large Fan in the center of your play area pointed at your head, it helps you keep oriented to the play area and also keeps you from overheating.

After watching some good videos, I put a small mat where I stand / sit so I can feel when I am off axis. The fan would be useful too, as I have gotten cold sweats from time to time.

 

[StryderxX]

After watching some good videos, I put a small mat where I stand / sit so I can feel when I am off axis. The fan would be useful too, as I have gotten cold sweats from time to time.

Also wear an adult diaper because this game is going to scare the poop out of you at times!

 

[Frraksurred]

Okay, finally finished the game at roughly 25 hours played. It was my first VR experience, and it took a couple days to work past the initial nausea, so I was taking it slow. Loved it, every minute of it. Only have 3 achievements left to get, one of which is the Gnome, so I think I'm going to start a second playthrough.

Man... that ending. I am so excited for the future of HL now. Did anyone notice...

Spoiler: Huge Major Big A$$ Freakin" !!!!SPOILERS!!!!

That while Eli was saying he would kill G-man if he got his hands on him, that the annoying mystery in question was watching the whole time?

In the meantime, any good Add-ons or Workshop items I should look into?

 

[polonyc2]

will a GTX 1070 be able to run this game at High detail settings?...is there a major difference in visual quality with all the various settings?

 

[Frraksurred]

will a GTX 1070 be able to run this game at High detail settings?...is there a major difference in visual quality with all the various settings?

From what I'm seeing and reading after a quick search, you're more likely looking at Medium @ 90hz. That can be tweaked in a few areas, but Valve listed the 1060 as minimum requirement so probably nothing impactful.

That said, HL:A is more about the experience, and the difference between Medium and High are not huge. There is a slight fuzziness associated with anything VR to begin with, similar to 3D where two images are imposed over one another, perfect alignment seems impossible. It is nothing you will notice after playing for a few minutes, but don't go in expecting this super sharp 4k blu-ray experience. The world and story will suck you in so fast you're not going to notice or care if shadows are always accurate or specular highlights are always reflected perfectly. I would still buy the game if it were me.

If you're still curious, here is a comparison video:

 

[polonyc2]

Half-Life: Alyx– Final Hours, Geoff Keighley's "multimedia experience" on the making of Valve's big VR shooter, is now live on Steam...

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1361700/HalfLife_Alyx__Final_Hours/

 

[polonyc2]

Half Life: Alyx wins Game of the Year at the VR Awards 2020

VR Hardware of the Year winner went to Index by Valve...

https://vrawards.aixr.org/winners-2020/

 

[polonyc2]

Valve is celebrating Half-Life: Alyx's first birthday with a big 40 percent off sale...that puts it at $36...offer good until March 31st...

 

[polonyc2]

Half-Life Alyx: Levitation Mod- Gameplay Trailer

Created by CS:GO map designer and artist Shawn Snelling, animator and G-Man meme generator Corey Laddo, and other volunteer modders, animators, and voice actors...this free new campaign is a DLC-sized action adventure that will last between 4-5 hours...

 

[funkydmunky]

Alright, my Index is FINALLY here! Set it up this morning and played a couple hours of HL:Alyx. Even at 144hz & max settings, I have to limit my time to an hour at a time or I start to get mildly nauseous. Still, the game is incredible and I'm loving the experience.

This was me when I started but eased as I slowly upped playtime over a few weeks. If i don't play for long stretches I have to restart the process. Also it isn't so much about hi Hz and max settings but making sure you stay over 90fps without giant swings and drops. VRfps is a good app to monitor your VR game play.

 

[Armenius]

 

[vegeta535]

That is looking pretty good.

 

[w35t]

Looking forward to trying this

 

[t1337duder]

I think if the Half-Life series didn't descend into garbage by episode 2, this could have potentially been the killer app to sway to me buying a VR set. Alas, Valve came up with this weird idea.

Valve: Here's a game centered around the least interesting Half-Life character
Gamers: Sweet, I get to play as a girl!

I'm still scratching my head about it years later and have never seen a single person on Steam playing it.

 

[DPI]

Half-Life Alyx: Levitation Mod- Gameplay Trailer

Created by CS:GO map designer and artist Shawn Snelling, animator and G-Man meme generator Corey Laddo, and other volunteer modders, animators, and voice actors...this free new campaign is a DLC-sized action adventure that will last between 4-5 hours...

Levitation is out now free in Steam workshop. 3-5 hours long and setting takes place immediately after ending of HL Alyx.

 

[MavericK]

I think if the Half-Life series didn't descend into garbage by episode 2, this could have potentially been the killer app to sway to me buying a VR set. Alas, Valve came up with this weird idea.

Valve: Here's a game centered around the least interesting Half-Life character
Gamers: Sweet, I get to play as a girl!

I'm still scratching my head about it years later and have never seen a single person on Steam playing it.

Are you talking about HL: Alyx? Because it was (maybe still is) THE killer app for VR. The problem is it doesn't have much replay value and it's not overly long. However, a lot of fan-made content is coming out that keeps it going.

The "play as a girl" thing seems like a complete non-sequitur - you can't even see your own body and I completely forgot the character was female while playing.

 

[magoo]

HL Alyx is the game for VR. Hands down.
Polished, immersive, action packed.
Unfortunately too short and valve need to continue with more.

 

[sharknice]

HL Alyx is the game for VR. Hands down.
Polished, immersive, action packed.
Unfortunately too short and valve need to continue with more.

I like HL Alyx but it really doesn't do anything special besides be a well polished VR game. It honestly feels a little like it's just a flat game they made for VR.

It's kind of boring compared to something like BONELAB that feels like it really takes advantage of VR.

 

[MavericK]

I like HL Alyx but it really doesn't do anything special besides be a well polished VR game. It honestly feels a little like it's just a flat game they made for VR.

It's kind of boring compared to something like BONELAB that feels like it really takes advantage of VR.

HL:Alyx is way more accessible, unlike Boneworks/lab that makes me want to puke after 5 minutes. That's not a dig on the quality of those games, but it is what it is - they chose to go smooth locomotion only and alienate some of their userbase.

 

[sharknice]

HL:Alyx is way more accessible, unlike Boneworks/lab that makes me want to puke after 5 minutes. That's not a dig on the quality of those games, but it is what it is - they chose to go smooth locomotion only and alienate some of their userbase.

Yeah. And the default teleport controls for HLA ruined the immersion for me. I changed them and liked it more, but was always thinking in my head that I could just "cheat" and teleport around.

 

[w35t]

Yeah. And the default teleport controls for HLA ruined the immersion for me. I changed them and liked it more, but was always thinking in my head that I could just "cheat" and teleport around.

While teleporting can be a bit of a cheese it’s all we’ve got. Joystick/touchpad movement is pukey as hell for the majority of us.

 

[sharknice]

While teleporting can be a bit of a cheese it’s all we’ve got. Joystick/touchpad movement is pukey as hell for the majority of us.

Yeah it sucks because VR is all about immersion and the way they did it is very immersion breaking. If they actually worked it into the story like it was a new device and had real gameplay mechanics it would have been a lot better. Instead it feels like you turned on cheat codes.