[Yatta]

[gemeaux333]

I play it and it is great, you can play in smooth locomotion but not in seaten position as you either have to crouch or not to interact, but in the end it is more pleasant to play than Boneworks !

Everything is great in this VR experience, but the Jar Jar Binks Vortigaunt will stay in my mind for long ^^ !

[HulkNukem]

I read a synopsis of the plot and I really dislike it.

Spoiler

It feels like they couldn't figure out how to get themselves out of a corner and so they retcon the ending of Episode 2 and they brought a character back to life who should've stayed dead. Feels disrespectful to the original actor.

[NightFright]

@Yatta:
I was actually really waiting for that video. I mean, literally. You never disappoint, man.

[Player Lin]

Too bad I can't play HL:Alyx because don't want buy the VR set...too expensive for me...

And...looks like the HL3 hype-train shitstorm will happens again...

HulkNukem, on 23 March 2020 - 11:36 PM, said:

Spoiler

It feels like they couldn't figure out how to get themselves out of a corner and so they retcon the ending of Episode 2 and they brought a character back to life who should've stayed dead. Feels disrespectful to the original actor.

Spoiler

If possible, I guess Valve would like to hire the original actor for "that character" but considering Robert Guillaume died on October 24, 2017...made Valve has to hire someone else I guess, and I'm not sure why this plot change would be "disrespectful" to him, unless you're meaning something else...

I actually don't mind(or like) this idea, because back then, I didn't like "that character" got killed on EP2......and the episodic project canceled made this idea even worse. Whatever the reason(s), killing important character(s) never my taste of tea, sadly...

[DisgustedGrunt]

Valve made such a big deal about killing Eli in ep2 , remember the developer commentary?

Spoiler

now they're like "it's rewind time"

Anyway, even though i probably will never play HLA, i'm happy Half-Life is back.

[Player Lin]

Lazy Dog, on 24 March 2020 - 08:27 AM, said:

Valve made such a big deal about killing Eli in ep2 , remember the developer commentary?

Spoiler

now they're like "it's rewind time"

Back then, it sure was a "big deal", but that didn't changed my mind...

Personally, I always feel that's one of reasons they can't get EP3 done and then canceled whole project : the deal just too big and they can't chew.


Well, my opinion is just opinion, I hope they can finish the whole shit and closed this messed up HL chapter.

[NightFright]

Even worse, they indicated the future of the HL franchise may be entirely in VR.

[gemeaux333]

What's wrong with acquiring a VR set ? The Valve Index is only 1k $ and the most promising of all the VR sets, just to say that 1k $ is nothing (especially for what you get in exchange ^^) !
Plus HL:A is provided with the Valve Index !

[Fauch]

I only have the experience of playing a few minutes of crappy games in VR. This looks like it could be really immersive. Hard to say for sure when watching videos. I have the feeling some of the parts with deadly pits may be really scary.

[gemeaux333]

I play the lower difficulty (story mode) and this far the main cause of mortality is... falls, and even one time the resurgence of the explosive stuffed warehouse (from HL1) but in tight spaces/corridors ! Alyx is not Gordon, if you fall from a bit too high its instant death (just a matter of barely 3 metters high, or 10 feet) !

[DisgustedGrunt]

gemeaux333, on 24 March 2020 - 10:12 AM, said:

What's wrong with acquiring a VR set ? The Valve Index is only 1k $ and the most promising of all the VR sets, just to say that 1k $ is nothing (especially for what you get in exchange ^^) !
Plus HL:A is provided with the Valve Index !

i'ts like exclusive games. I would love to play Bloodborne, but i'm not gonna buy a PS4. Other than playing a single/ very few specific games, all i'ts gonna do is collect dust.
I'ts not about the money.

[Fauch]

Well, I'm replaying Half Life 1 + expansions and falls hurt really bad as well. Well, not as bad, but ladders are among the worst enemies in the game

[MusicallyInspired]

gemeaux333, on 24 March 2020 - 10:12 AM, said:

The Valve Index is only 1k $

"Only."

[gemeaux333]

Lazy Dog, on 24 March 2020 - 11:22 AM, said:

i'ts like exclusive games. I would love to play Bloodborne, but i'm not gonna buy a PS4. Other than playing a single/ very few specific games, all i'ts gonna do is collect dust.
I'ts not about the money.

Who said buying Vr set for specific games ? There are a substancial number of worthy games already : Boneworks, blade and sorcery, beat saber, Doom Vfr, Wolfenstein Cyberpilot... as well as many other that are either free or not which could interest (Google earth vf seems a good free vr title)

MusicallyInspired, on 24 March 2020 - 05:15 PM, said:

"Only."

Well, you earn this amount of money in less than a month... but I assume other fees comes first

[MusicallyInspired]

It's a dream for some people to be able to spend that much money on just whatever they wanted in just one month. It is for me. I'm lucky if I get $50 a month for entertainment. And that's Canadian money.

[Rellik]

$1,000 is a bit much, really. People gotta pay bills ya know.

FWIW, if you want to dip your toes in VR either look for second hand Rifts or OG Vives, (lots of people upgrading to Indexes.) Alternatively look into Windows Mixed Reality headsets, they can be had in the $200-300 range. Only substantial con is the less-than perfect controller tracking when compared to Index/Vive/Rift.

[NightFright]

The Oculus Rift also works well with Alyx, is a lot cheaper and has lower system requirements. However, the game is still optimized for Valve controllers (which are like 200-250 bucks).

My GF 1070 wouldn't be able to handle VR with all details, so I would have to switch to Motion Smoothing which cuts the full 80 Hz refresh rate down to 40. Owners of RTX cards, the 2080 in particular, have clear advantages here. And as you know, these cards are also quite expensive.

[gemeaux333]

Reminds me this one :
Cave Johnson : "Carolyn, what are those peoples buying with 60 $ ?" - Portal 2

[NightFright]

HL game designer Robin Walker is sure modders will find a way to make Alyx playable without VR gear, but he doubts it's just going to be more than a normal shooter then, not as ground-breaking as it currently is in VR. He isn't worried about this and apparently they also won't do anything to prevent it from happening since Valve is convinced it will make people see why VR rules. Example: Simple things like weapon reloading is a lot of fun in VR while it's just about pressing a button otherwise. Anyway, don't expect a VR-free Alyx port from Valve directly.

There is already a way to use your smartphone as a replacement for VR gear (Riftcat), but the low refresh rates make the game controls almost unusable (since it's meant to be controlled with hand movements, not conventional methods like controller sticks or keyboard).

[Player Lin]

If Valve only made VR-only HL or other games, I'm fine with that, won't blame them.

They just won't have my money.

[DisgustedGrunt]

NightFright, on 25 March 2020 - 01:29 AM, said:

HL game designer Robin Walker is sure modders will find a way to make Alyx playable without VR gear, but he doubts it's just going to be more than a normal shooter then, not as ground-breaking as it currently is in VR. He isn't worried about this and apparently they also won't do anything to prevent it from happening since Valve is convinced it will make people see why VR rules. Example: Simple things like weapon reloading is a lot of fun in VR while it's just about pressing a button otherwise. Anyway, don't expect a VR-free Alyx port from Valve directly.

I would not be surprised if someone tried to "demake" the game as a HL2 mod. If the mod will ever be finished is another thing entirely.


EDIT:

[gemeaux333]

There sure can't be original voice acting for Eli Vance or Wallace Breen, as Robert Culp, Robert Goulet and Robert Guillaume have passed...

[HulkNukem]

A non-VR version would be cool just to run around the environments and see the new engine and assets, but I think a remake would be better. You would have to redesign all the encounters and some of the other stuff like hacking to make it work and not be boring or too simple.
Hell, make it a demake and do it all with original source and use Half-Life 2 assets.

[gemeaux333]

The Jar Jar Binks Vortigaunt :

https://youtu.be/64GUYbGx9PM?t=3520

[NightFright]

And there we go:
https://clips.twitch...AMPEnergyCherry

Still very basic and in general far from really playable, but it's all there. The interesting part about this is that there's a VR-less option in the game at all, regardless whether or not it actually fully works or not.

[Fauch]

Afraid a non-VR version may feel like an inferior version of HL2. Unless Alyx offers as much variety as HL2 and as good combat ? I only watched a few excerpts of someone streaming and it was mostly fights against zombis and headcrabs, which I'm not sure where as agressive as in HL2. and according to Gmanlives the combine soldiers aren't that mobile. I guess VR combat has to be slower, at least until people get used to it. The new electric enemy looked interesting though.

[gemeaux333]

Anyway, HL:A give me hope that VR can ressurect Duke Nukem as well !

[OpenMaw]

gemeaux333, on 26 March 2020 - 10:58 AM, said:

Anyway, HL:A give me hope that VR can ressurect Duke Nukem as well !

Yeah, because the best route for a character that's struggling to even get a conventional foothold in the modern era is to make a high-risk triple a experience for a hardware format that has not yet fully caught on, and thus narrows the chances for success.

It'd be great if Duke was in a good game without the VR, first.

[DisgustedGrunt]

gemeaux333, on 26 March 2020 - 10:58 AM, said:

Anyway, HL:A give me hope that VR can ressurect Duke Nukem as well !

Randy "the necromancer" Pitchford resurrected Duke once and it came out wrong. What makes you think VR will make a difference?