Holy shit, has anyone seen this clip? When are we all starting crate runs?
Hypothetically, if I were to buy an Oculus Quest and link it to my crappy laptop, would I be able to play Alyx? Does the Quest do all the legwork, or am I totally misguided?I think the quest is overall the most attractive platform to consumers wanting to jump into VR. It's basically the closest there is to a VR console. It's a jack of all trades, master of none, but everything it does, it does pretty well. It's definitely a good enough platform to play Alyx with.
As a developer, I was initially mixed on the release of the quest because of some bad practices oculus had regarding getting on the quest store (which they've since sorta relaxed, but I still have problems with to a degree), but their support of Oculus Link has been an overall huge win for the VR industry since. They essentially doubled the PCVR market in one day when they released the Quest Link.
Holy shit, has anyone seen this clip? When are we all starting crate runs?
Holy shit, has anyone seen this clip? When are we all starting crate runs?
No, with Oculus Link, it basically functions as any other VR headset. It will be completely powered by your laptop.Hypothetically, if I were to buy an Oculus Quest and link it to my crappy laptop, would I be able to play Alyx? Does the Quest do all the legwork, or am I totally misguided?
HOLY SHIIIIT THAT ENDING OMG
Felt like VR version of control in that last chapter
omg no way
Oh okay, thanks for clearing that up.No, with Oculus Link, it basically functions as any other VR headset. It will be completely powered by your laptop.
Holy shit, has anyone seen this clip? When are we all starting crate runs?
Carry a bucket around so you can carry more than your 2 wrists & 2 hands worth of grenades / health items. Sometimes it can be a little tricky, but laying down a bucket of 10 grenades before a big firefight will really give you an advantage, especially if you get the grenade launcher shotgun upgrade!
Move to the feet. It's your center point.How do I reset my view? I've found that I'm far away from my "feet" when I look down and I'm in a better position.
I agree that Valve does a ton of things with painstaking detail that will be referenced for years; however, one exception I would mention is smooth locomotion. Yes it could be argued that I'm not playing the way Valve originally intended, but they did include it and I don't think it's quite right. I would say a few other games do it slightly better (although I still don't think any game does it perfect), and I think Valve just came to the smooth locomotion party a little too late. It's still totally acceptable and in some ways the slowness of it makes it that much more atmospheric, but more than just the slowness, my feet feel very disconnected from the ground. I'm not asking for Boneworks like body physics, but things sometimes feel very "slidey", and sliding over slightly protruding objects along the pathway doesn't always feel right. A single slow base speed also makes combat feel pretty awkward sometimes. I may try blink for my second playthrough to compare.
That feels like it could be the real killer app.I know they've talked about unwillingness as of yet to release a Source 2 SDK code base, but mannnnnn it could revolutionize VR if they chose to. Maybe with another game or 2 when they have more assets and Source 2 is more polished.
Holy shit, has anyone seen this clip? When are we all starting crate runs?
Don't even need that.If Valve released the Source 2 SDK, within a week there'd be a sweet basketball mod, and a virtual classroom whiteboard mod.
I think they will. I mean it's technically possible it could get delayed and be like what happened after Episode Two again, but this ending really makes me feel optimistic about the series.So people who have finished... without spoiling anything, do you feel like Valve is going to make another HL game soon or was this more of a one-and-done, stop-asking-about-HL game?
I started my second playthrough and I need to make sure to try this this time.
I'm guessing the impact of this game is greater if this is one of your first VR experiences but from what I've played thus far I'm not sure how this game separates itself from some other VR experiences which is what I was expecting going in. I mean it's great being in the Half-Life universe and all and the visuals are top-notch for a VR game but for instance I'm not having the same sense of presence as I did in something like Lone Echo where you really could interact with a lot of the environment and control your momentum, etc. Maybe I just need to get further in the game. Nothing wrong with it per say but I guess I have those Valve expectations. Hope to blown away at some point as I'm only in Chapter 3.
You should re-run Room Setup in SteamVR.
As an aside, don't forget that during combat you have complete freedom to use the jump / warp option to get around quickly; I find that helps keep the combat fast-moving and fair since you need flanking options and the enemies have a pretty good aim on them.
The thing about locomotion in Alyx is that, like most things in the game, it's been implemented in a way that prioritizes the player's comfort more than anything else -- yes, even at the expense of presentation. When you fall, for instance, you're not falling quite as fast as you'd expect to; they appear to have purposefully slowed your descent down to keep falling from inducing any discomfort. Likewise, when you're mantling, that operation is very smooth -- again, not trying to rock the boat. This is extended to other operations too: climbing ladders is a funny one, because you can hold on to the ladder with just your left hand for instance and by rotating your left hand around effectively rotate your body around. It's not realistic; presentation here is sacrificed to keep climbing ladders about as easy as possible and will no accidental upsets. Likewise, large falls result in deaths. When you're at the top of a ladder, they game once again decides to prioritize comfort; smoothly interpolating the player's current position to the "top" of the ladder without any input needed you from you. I realize you said you didn't need or want Bonework's style physics here, but a lot of decisions have been made here to avoid having to deal with the problems that Bonework's welcomes with open arms.
I do think they could insert a head-bob for people who want a bit more physicality to the movement, and maybe that would help. All of these decisions, though, are just that: decisions. Like, there's nothing stopping Valve from simulating IK so your position could ebb and flow as you walk across uneven surfaces (hell, the two little feet that project out in front of you when you go to warp actually have IK, hilariously, implemented. Go and see!), but vertical movement is a thing that can cause a lot of discomfort. Valve definitely chose a model for locomotion that I think is the common denominator for people and keeping peoples' lunch firmly planted in their stomachs. Even with that said, there are times that the game can make even hardened VR people feel a bit uneasy, and the game's smooth turning I find surprisingly difficult on me.
I see them adding even more options as we move forward, but I do want to be clear here: even the surprisingly simple approach to locomotion here is very clearly done with the intent of prioritizing player comfort. I can understand why that might not be the best choice for some players from an immersion standpoint, but it's not a shoddy implementation or anything, just a safe one.
It makes it toooooooooo easyFor those of you still early in the game or just starting. My tip to you is to save your resin and get the laser sight for your pistol. It makes shootouts a lot less frustrating lol.
Chapter 5 is spooky, chapter 7 is definitely on the horror side.When do the horror elements ramp up in this game? I just got to chapter 4 and it really isn't doing much for me now ( I'm not invested in the Half-Life story at all), but I hear it becomes a horror game which really excites me. The graphics and animations are incredible, just can't wait for the gameplay and atmosphere to excite me the same way. I keep hearing people talk about chapter 7, will that be what I'm looking for?
Cool, I'll get to chapter 5 tomorrow and probably finish it through the weekend then. Thanks!Chapter 5 is spooky, chapter 7 is definitely on the horror side.
For those of you still early in the game or just starting. My tip to you is to save your resin and get the laser sight for your pistol. It makes shootouts a lot less frustrating lol.
When you fall, for instance, you're not falling quite as fast as you'd expect to; they appear to have purposefully slowed your descent down to keep falling from inducing any discomfort.
Holy shit, has anyone seen this clip? When are we all starting crate runs?
so Valve lied when they said that VR was the only possible way to play this game?...the presence of the "vr_enable_fake_vr_test" flag implies that the tools needed to play Half-Life: Alyx without VR are already in place
It's not uncommon for VR devs to test games like that.so Valve lied when they said that VR was the only possible way to play this game?...the presence of the "vr_enable_fake_vr_test" flag implies that the tools needed to play Half-Life: Alyx without VR are already in place
so Valve lied when they said that VR was the only possible way to play this game?...the presence of the "vr_enable_fake_vr_test" flag implies that the tools needed to play Half-Life: Alyx without VR are already in place
On the other hand, if you're good with firearms handling it's really not needed.
I'd say save those resin for other upgrades if you are proficient.
(The trick is using the sights and not trying to fire from the hip like a video game character)
There's a tripwire on chapter 6 that blows up every single time and I can't figure out why.
Does story difficulty make you immune to traps?