Half Life: Alyx

[Armenius]

Eh, only issue I had first time trying VR with locomotion was I nearly tipped over when I took the headset off. Never had that issue after the first time.

 

[Pringle]

Eh, only issue I had first time trying VR with locomotion was I nearly tipped over when I took the headset off. Never had that issue after the first time.

I get exhausted after an hour or two of locomotion. I'm pysched they're developing with both methods in mind

 

[FrgMstr]

Gameplay trailer, unlisted for some reason. Maybe to drive traffic to useless and irrelevant "journalists?" Unfortunately it's using teleportation instead of locomotion.


Here are the other 2. Video 2 shows full locomotion and the ability to change between movement mechanics on the fly.

That looks friggin amazing. Glad I got the Index controllers when the getting was good. Hide from Corona, drink a few Corona, and play HL:A in VR. Gonna be a good March.

 

[GOD'SlittleSERVANT]

That looks friggin amazing. Glad I got the Index controllers when the getting was good. Hide from Corona, drink a few Corona, and play HL:A in VR. Gonna be a good March.

Why would you drink Corona's when you could get the virus that way?

 

[polonyc2]

the new videos look like HL2 remade with Source 2...hopefully it's more then a nostalgia trip and they offer up new gameplay, locations, enemies etc

 

[IdiotInCharge]

nostalgia

Assuming that the nostalgia includes the great writing, set pieces, and drama, is that what we're here for?

Literally more Half Life?

 

[Deleted member 83233]

That looks friggin amazing. Glad I got the Index controllers when the getting was good. Hide from Corona, drink a few Corona, and play HL:A in VR. Gonna be a good March.

Whiskey has a higher disinfection strength.

 

[noko]

Very much look forward playing this game, too bad I missed the availability of the index controllers but my current controllers should be fine and the second, third play through and beyond, if good can be done with an index for added depth.

For those on the sidelines, VR now has a lot of good titles and programs that can only really be done right in VR. The choices for hardware are much better now than previous years. If one can get a Odyssey+, it does not have the best tracking, can be somewhat uncomfortable (I installed a velcro top strap that works immensely good for me and made them rather comfortable) but I believe for most, the VR experience is akin to way back when PC gaming potential and excitement was a rollercoaster ride. The quality of the screen for the Odyssey+ is really good in the end which takes you in. There is a large used market for those who want to just try it out before buying something more if even needed.

I disagree a little with the developers on not having a 2d+ option for the game, in that you should be able to use VR controllers that are tracked by lighthouses, alternate means for looking either by sensor on head, option on controller etc. while using a monitor. Even on the Vive with the SteamVR render window I've played parts of games with the controllers (Serious Sam Series) which has locomotion and controls on the controller to look around. Not saying that would be the best experience but for those who have injuries, paralysis, eye issues or just can't do native VR could get a lot of the interaction experience that VR brings with the controllers and tracking. Plus VR is used beyond gaming and being able to use those controllers in a natural way to interact such as 3d Modeling using a 2d monitor would be very useful, plus at a much higher resolution when needed.

 

[Armenius]

The Index will be available to order again starting Monday morning.

https://uploadvr.com/valve-index-sale-march-9/

 

[StryderxX]

The Index will be available to order again starting Monday morning.

https://uploadvr.com/valve-index-sale-march-9/

So it looks like this was only a pre-order. They're showing a 5 to 7 week wait for shipping. Unfortunately that's after the game is due to be released.

 

[odditory]

So the complaints about motion sickness from teaser Video 1 weren't unfounded. I'd been ignoring promo vids to avoid spoilers, but finally saw the video on a big TV and I can see how it might give VR virgins the wrong impression. The slow, see-sawing head movement speed in the video is intentional for purpose of trying to convey VR in a 2D video. It's exaggerated. The good news is your head won't turn that slowly in game - head movement will be instantaeneous, real-time, like in real life.

Unfortunately it's very hard to convey real-time head movement in a 2D trailer without it resembling "toddler running with video camera". So they had to conceptualize it.

The takeaway is the incredible graphics fidelity for a VR title. And the fact we're going back to the Half Life universe in mere days. Holy shit.

 

[odditory]

We're 2 weeks out from release, and it's been said many times but once more for the latecomers: if you have a decent GPU, want to play this game, but don't want to drop the cash on an Index + knuckles controllers - maybe you're not even sure you'll like VR - then get a new or secondhand Samsung Odyssey+. At $200-$225, it's still the value-for-money sweet spot IMO. Past that pricepoint, it becomes diminishing returns as far as big price jumps just to get 5-10% more in features.

You'll be able to play through and experience the entire game just fine with a $225 HMD.

 

[FrgMstr]

it becomes diminishing returns

Wireless is pretty nice.

 

[odditory]

Wireless is pretty nice.

Undoubtedly. Wireless and a 20' x 20' dedicated VR room and I'll never take the HMD off, just living out the remainder of my days in there.

I'm mostly trying to encourage people not make the mistake of looking at VR like all-or-nothing -- if someone was building their first PC gaming rig they shouldn't think "I can't afford a 2080Ti so why bother at all". Same with VR. Index and knuckles are pricey and you can get 90-95% of the experience for 20% of the price.

FWIW I've spent hours in my friend's Index + knuckles playing boneworks; it's great. Dropping the cash on my own Index wouldn't kill me but I'm content with my Odyssey+, it does a good enough job in a 5x8 space. I'll get Valve hardware eventually, no question. Maybe when they have their own wireless option.

 

[FrgMstr]

Undoubtedly. Wireless and a 20' x 20' dedicated VR room and I'll never take the HMD off, just living out the remainder of my days in there.

I'm mostly trying to encourage people not make the mistake of looking at VR like all-or-nothing -- if someone was building their first PC gaming rig they shouldn't think "I can't afford a 2080Ti so why bother at all". Same with VR. Index and knuckles are pricey and you can get 90-95% of the experience for 20% of the price.

FWIW I've spent hours in my friend's Index + knuckles playing boneworks; it's great. Dropping the cash on my own Index wouldn't kill me but I'm content with my Odyssey+, it does a good enough job in a 5x8 space. I'll get Valve hardware eventually, no question. Maybe when they have their own wireless option.

I have my kids playing through HL2:Ep 1 and 2 now so they are immersed in the story. I am playing through HL2:Ep2 just to give me clarity on the story line,as well.

I think this is going to be a watershed moment in gaming that we do not see very often.

 

[MavericK]

Is Alyx actually a continuation of HL2: Ep 2?

 

[Armenius]

Undoubtedly. Wireless and a 20' x 20' dedicated VR room and I'll never take the HMD off, just living out the remainder of my days in there.

I'm mostly trying to encourage people not make the mistake of looking at VR like all-or-nothing -- if someone was building their first PC gaming rig they shouldn't think "I can't afford a 2080Ti so why bother at all". Same with VR. Index and knuckles are pricey and you can get 90-95% of the experience for 20% of the price.

FWIW I've spent hours in my friend's Index + knuckles playing boneworks; it's great. Dropping the cash on my own Index wouldn't kill me but I'm content with my Odyssey+, it does a good enough job in a 5x8 space. I'll get Valve hardware eventually, no question. Maybe when they have their own wireless option.

This. My first foray into VR was PSVR and even that blew me away. I'd love to get my hands on an Index if it were readily available.

Is Alyx actually a continuation of HL2: Ep 2?

It takes place between the first and second games (Half-Life and Half-Life 2, not Ep. 1 and Ep. 2). Valve said that they are planning to do more with Half-Life after this, though.

 

[Deleted member 83233]

Undoubtedly. Wireless and a 20' x 20' dedicated VR room and I'll never take the HMD off, just living out the remainder of my days in there.

I'm mostly trying to encourage people not make the mistake of looking at VR like all-or-nothing -- if someone was building their first PC gaming rig they shouldn't think "I can't afford a 2080Ti so why bother at all". Same with VR. Index and knuckles are pricey and you can get 90-95% of the experience for 20% of the price.

FWIW I've spent hours in my friend's Index + knuckles playing boneworks; it's great. Dropping the cash on my own Index wouldn't kill me but I'm content with my Odyssey+, it does a good enough job in a 5x8 space. I'll get Valve hardware eventually, no question. Maybe when they have their own wireless option.

Your posts have been helpful. I haven't jumped on anything yet. I want an HMD, but am not really into the room-scale concept. I'd like the head-set, head tracking, and a passable control set. I'm looking more for experiences that are more like playing a normal game, and less like it was designed to take place in a room. If that makes any sense. (like more Doom, less Wii ) I realize there are motion-sickness concerns with that style of play. I'm generally not prone to it though, so hopefully not a problem. Any thoughts on that? I'm not opposed to investing a decent chunk of money, but I haven't even tried a modern HMD at this point, so I'd prefer to start off with a decent set, but pretty basic at first. I'd like to play No Man's Sky for one, maybe HL:A, and any id games that support it, though not specifically Doom VR. (I want to play shooters more or less as they were originally designed. Even if that takes some physical getting used to.)

 

[polonyc2]

IGN: Half-Life: Alyx Preview: We Played the First 4 Hours

In our exclusive hands-on preview of Half-Life: Alyx, it appears this VR game is every bit the masterpiece its predecessors were, albeit in a new medium we’ve not seen utilized this spectacularly before...

 

[FrgMstr]

Is Alyx actually a continuation of HL2: Ep 2?

Yes. Playing it again now..

 

[FrgMstr]

IGN: Half-Life: Alyx Preview: We Played the First 4 Hours

In our exclusive hands-on preview of Half-Life: Alyx, it appears this VR game is every bit the masterpiece its predecessors were, albeit in a new medium we’ve not seen utilized this spectacularly before...

Effin eh....

 

[odditory]

I think this is going to be a watershed moment in gaming that we do not see very often.

Totally accurate, though it's going to be a slow moving one that won't really be appreciated until time has passed for the benefit of hindsight- "oh yeah, that was when the ground started shifting". Much like Steam itself launching in '07 and nobody yet having any baseline perspective to extrapolate from.

I'd go one further that the transformational experience everyone expects from Cyberpunk - the "remembering everything about the day you loaded into it the first time" feel - is the one we'll actually only get from Alyx. Different games, yes, and I'm excited for both, but Cyberpunk will play out like the RDR2 launch - an 8.5/10 game with 11/10 hype that will be consumed and enjoyed, pass by and float away.

 

[polonyc2]

Totally accurate, though it's going to be a slow moving one that won't really be appreciated until time has passed for the benefit of hindsight- "oh yeah, that was when the ground started shifting". Much like Steam itself launching and nobody really having any baseline perspective to extrapolate from.

I'd go one further that the transformational experience everyone expects from Cyberpunk - the "remembering everything about the day you loaded into it the first time" - is the one we'll get from Alyx. Different games, but Cyberpunk will play out like the RDR2 launch, it will an 8/10 game with 11/10 hype that will pass by and drift away.

lol...no...not at all...comparing it to the launch of Steam is crazy...if you want to compare Cyberpunk to RDR, it compares more favorably to the first game...the VR people are over-hyping Alyx...it's going to be an excellent game and the biggest VR title to date...but for something to be a watershed moment it needs to be experienced by more then 5-7% of people in a given medium

here is a better analogy...HL:Alyx is the watershed moment for VR much like Avatar was the watershed moment for 3D

 

[odditory]

Your posts have been helpful. I haven't jumped on anything yet. I want an HMD, but am not really into the room-scale concept. I'd like the head-set, head tracking, and a passable control set. I'm looking more for experiences that are more like playing a normal game, and less like it was designed to take place in a room. If that makes any sense. (like more Doom, less Wii ) I realize there are motion-sickness concerns with that style of play. I'm generally not prone to it though, so hopefully not a problem. Any thoughts on that? I'm not opposed to investing a decent chunk of money, but I haven't even tried a modern HMD at this point, so I'd prefer to start off with a decent set, but pretty basic at first. I'd like to play No Man's Sky for one, maybe HL:A, and any id games that support it, though not specifically Doom VR. (I want to play shooters more or less as they were originally designed. Even if that takes some physical getting used to.)

Well sounds like you're the perfect candidate either for an Odyssey+ or one of the Oculus headsets. It's low risk because the price on secondhand Odyssey+ units has been bottomed out for six months+, meaning its easy to get your money back out if you decide to upgrade or just aren't grabbed by VR. Delta between new and secondhand is minimal.

As for what type of games you think you want to play in VR, I wouldn't think too much about it until you get your feet wet, since expectations will change drastically once you feel that sense of presence in VR. You might think you want Doom VR but then you're playing Beat Saber 3hrs/day like it's gaming heroin.

 

[Deleted member 83233]

Well sounds like you're the perfect candidate either for an Odyssey+ or one of the Oculus headsets. It's low risk because the price on secondhand Odyssey+ units has been bottomed out for six months+, meaning its easy to get your money back out if you decide to upgrade or just aren't grabbed by VR. Delta between new and secondhand is minimal.

As for what type of games you think you want to play in VR, I wouldn't think too much about it until you get your feet wet, since expectations will change drastically once you feel that sense of presence in VR. You might think you want Doom VR but then you're playing Beat Saber 3hrs/day like it's gaming heroin.

Touché salesman!

You’re probably right. I’ll start looking into these things.

 

[Frraksurred]

I haven't invested in VR yet, but if anything will get me to make the jump, this will.

 

[odditory]

Excellent summarization of this game and why it's VR-only.

 

[M76]

Is Alyx actually a continuation of HL2: Ep 2?

Didn't they say this was a prequel to HL2?

 

[polonyc2]

somewhat unexpectedly I am now able to play this game after all...I had no interest in buying a VR kit for this 1 game but it turns out my friend has an Oculus Rift and said I could use it...I'm not sure if he has the 1st gen Oculus Rift or the Rift S...is there that big of a difference between the 2?...will Alyx be playable with the 1st Gen Rift?

 

[Viper87227]

somewhat unexpectedly I am now able to play this game after all...I had no interest in buying a VR kit for this 1 game but it turns out my friend has an Oculus Rift and said I could use it...I'm not sure if he has the 1st gen Oculus Rift or the Rift S...is there that big of a difference between the 2?...will Alyx be playable with the 1st Gen Rift?

The largest difference between the two is that the OG rift uses base station tracking similar to Vive and Index, where as the Rift S uses inside out tracking (the headset does all the tracking), similar to WMR headsets. An OG Rift will take a bit more effort to get set up.

Alyx will be playable on any PC-powered VR headset.

 

[Frraksurred]

I ordered my Index... 8+ weeks for delivery. I maybe, shoulda, kinda been on this a bit earlier. Ah well.

 

[w35t]

Man I'm tempted to at least get the controllers for this. I wonder if it would make the experience that much better over original Vive controllers...

 

[Viper87227]

I ordered my Index... 8+ weeks for delivery. I maybe, shoulda, kinda been on this a bit earlier. Ah well.

Same here. I have a Rift S that died today (my fault, had it sitting on the desk and the cat knocked my coffee cup over, soaked the thing). I liked my Rift S, but there were definitely some compromises to it. Figured I'd try my hand with an Index this time... but looks like I'm going 2+ months without VR. Oh well. Rift's aren't in stock either it seems, so I coudlnt just replace it even if I wanted to. Considered going with an Odyssey... but I just don't know if I'd be happy with it.

 

[Frraksurred]

Same here. I have a Rift S that died today (my fault, had it sitting on the desk and the cat knocked my coffee cup over, soaked the thing). I liked my Rift S, but there were definitely some compromises to it. Figured I'd try my hand with an Index this time... but looks like I'm going 2+ months without VR. Oh well. Rift's aren't in stock either it seems, so I coudlnt just replace it even if I wanted to. Considered going with an Odyssey... but I just don't know if I'd be happy with it.

HL:Alyx coming with the Headset made the decision for me. This is my first foray into VR, so hoping that stepping up to the price affords me some future proofing as well.

 

[odditory]

HL:Alyx coming with the Headset made the decision for me. This is my first foray into VR, so hoping that stepping up to the price affords me some future proofing as well.

Congrats. As much as I preach to friends to start with a cheap HMD, Valve hardware will be the gold standard I think, even if other companies iterate technically superior HMDs in between Valve's iterations.

Have you tried a modern VR HMD before?

 

[polonyc2]

The largest difference between the two is that the OG rift uses base station tracking similar to Vive and Index, where as the Rift S uses inside out tracking (the headset does all the tracking), similar to WMR headsets. An OG Rift will take a bit more effort to get set up.

Alyx will be playable on any PC-powered VR headset.

I read that the first gen Rift doesn't come with the Touch controllers...is this true?...if so I would need to purchase them separately (pretty expensive at $70 each for both the left/right hand)...I'm still not even sure if my friend has the 1st gen Rift or the Rift S...I need to go pick it up this week

 

[Frraksurred]

Congrats. As much as I preach to friends to start with a cheap HMD, Valve hardware will be the gold standard I think, even if other companies iterate technically superior HMDs in between Valve's iterations.

Have you tried a modern VR HMD before?

The only VR I've tried was the Sony Playstation set that originally came with the PS4. I figured if I could stomach that low res / refresh thing for over an hour, then I could probably survive the Index.

I also have Elite Dangerous that I will probably try out with it. I burnt myself out on that game ages ago and haven't been able to convince myself to go back since. Maybe this will get me over the hump. I'll have to research what else is available after they arrive.

 

[polonyc2]

I'll have to research what else is available after they arrive.

I hear Boneworks is the VR title everyone is raving about...

 

[odditory]

The only VR I've tried was the Sony Playstation set that originally came with the PS4. I figured if I could stomach that low res / refresh thing for over an hour, then I could probably survive the Index.

I also have Elite Dangerous that I will probably try out with it. I burnt myself out on that game ages ago and haven't been able to convince myself to go back since. Maybe this will get me over the hump. I'll have to research what else is available after they arrive.

Gotcha. I asked because the newest HMDs are pretty amazing, so you're definitely in for a treat.

 

[Frraksurred]

I hear Boneworks is the VR title everyone is raving about...

Thanks, I'll start a list. 👍

Gotcha. I asked because the newest HMDs are pretty amazing, so you're definitely in for a treat.

I'm looking forward to it. I'm hoping I can use the standard means of movement in HL:A, instead of teleporting, as that looks like it would pull me right out of the experience. Although the Devs said most the people that felt that way, forgot about it as soon as they started playing. Maybe it will be a non-issue.

I used head tracking for Elite Dangerous, so this should feel like a natural progression from that. I'm curious how the inputs will work however; if I'll still use my current stick+throttle+pedals, or have to convert to "Knuckles" or similar. May look up some videos and see what people are doing now. Either way, I'm excited and eager to try it out.

How long have you been using VR and what has been your favorite experience with it?