Half-Life: Alyx - Valve flagship VR game

[wallabra]

I feel like Rayman.

[snapshot]

4 hours ago, CBM said:

looks really cool... but why do all VR games have to have floating disembodied hands? why not attach arms?

From what I read on several comments It has something to do with animation / rig ik being difficult to setup for VR models, but there were also other comments about hardware having limited tracking points and not being able to adjust to user orientation, arm length..etc. Lone Echo came up during search and it seems to have them. though I'm sure I've seen some other ones aswell.

[CBM]

1 hour ago, sluggard said:

From what I read on several comments It has something to do with animation / rig ik being difficult to setup for VR models, but there were also other comments about hardware having limited tracking points and not being able to adjust to user orientation, arm length..etc. Lone Echo came up during search and it seems to have them. though I'm sure I've seen some other ones aswell.

ok, I guess VR is still very limited even in 2019

[SaladBadger]

it's hard to get really good animation with just two points being tracked (the controllers). Normal IK rigs for animation usually have controls for elbow facing, to allow for additional flexibility.

 

if you had full-on kinect-like body tracking it would be more reasonable, though I'd rather take the controllers so you can like, actually have controls in the first place...

 

ed: also has it been explained how locomotion works in this game? I'm assuming it's not normal FPS like locomotion (it has a bad tendency to induce motion sickness in many), but I feel the usual teleportation solution wouldn't fit the world that well here...

[Touchdown]

24 minutes ago, SaladBadger said:

ed: also has it been explained how locomotion works in this game?

 

However you want. Teleport, shift, continuous, your choice.

[snapshot]

50 minutes ago, SaladBadger said:

if you had full-on kinect-like body tracking it would be more reasonable, though I'd rather take the controllers so you can like, actually have controls in the first place...

Looks fine here

[qdash]

Can't wait to see real AAA game for VR.

 

But HL: Alyx can't be only one system seller for expensive thing like Valve Index. I hope it's only their first announce and we will see more stuff later - at least it's better than nothing.

 

...and Source 2.0 looks awesome!

[ZeMystic]

Genuinely cried little man tears watching the trailer. Stunning work.

[⇛Marnetmar⇛]

I wonder how the storyline is going to hold up seeing as Laidlaw is out. 

[ZealknightMR]

On 11/19/2019 at 8:21 AM, terrcraftguy695 said:

 

 

 

Also imagine the outrage if this was hl3.

The game people have been waiting for for 12 years you need to buy a 250-1000 VR headset for. Not including the cost of the pc it's self.

 

Gabe: "Do you guys not have VR!?"

[Doominator2]

If this game turns out to be good, then I'll be so happy. If not then I guess I can just play Half-Life 2 maps for the rest of my life

[snapshot]

New Zealand accented guy is probably gonna die since he doesn't show up in Later episodes "I'm with you every step in the way" and Eli gets kidnapped yet again. Pretty good-sounding story so far lol.

 

They'll release a Source 2 Toolset for it, it will have Workshop support and the game doesn't seem to be hyper-monetized so there's that. Maybe someone will eventually come up with a non-VR mod for it, though I doubt they can do it without stripping away a lot of what makes VR games more interactive than press use to activate.

Edited November 24, 2019 by sluggard : nvm

[CyberDreams]

As most people have already stated i think it looks very cool but limiting it to VR only definitely limits the gamer market, including limiting me. I have no interest in VR whatsoever so unfortunately i won't be playing this.

[TheNoob_Gamer]

On 11/23/2019 at 4:11 AM, Marn said:

I wonder how the storyline is going to hold up seeing as Laidlaw is out. 

I heard that Laidlaw is partially back at Valve  - he gets contacted by the new writers at Valve from time to time, so we'll see about that.

[TheNoob_Gamer]

<nothing, just accident doublepost>

[Touchdown]

Just purchased Index. Screw it, it's a new Half-Life game. I WILL be playing it.

[zen4040]

I keep looking at bonework gameplay videos, not the same but it shows that it isn't just a gimmick

besides, play testers are allready telling that they really enjoyed the game

[snapshot]

Okay maybe it's not just a gimmick but it's still too much effort, waving my hands around after a long day of work sounds too exhausting, gives me flashbacks to the Wii's Motion Controls. I'll still give it a go.... after I get enough $ to get a VR set 😂

 

On 11/23/2019 at 3:07 AM, ZealknightMR said:

Gabe: "Do you guys not have VR!?"

 

Edited November 30, 2019 by sluggard : misspelling

[luke11685]

It's awesome.

[snapshot]

The Game Awards is starting tomorrow, at 5:30 PM PST, Geoff Keighley stated more will be revealed about the game in Game Awards so expect some new Half-Life: Alyx content to be screened at some point during the show.

E: nevermind lol

Edited December 13, 2019 by sluggard

[luke11685]

Well they didn't show gameplay in the game awards this year.

[snapshot]

Classic Valve… There's this at least

 

 

[luke11685]

Do you think it's permament change that future for new Half-Life games is VR only? I mean will they make traditional pc game after releasing Half-Life Alyx?

[seed]

36 minutes ago, luke11685 said:

Do you think it's permament change that future for new Half-Life games is VR only? I mean will they make traditional pc game after releasing Half-Life Alyx?

 

Definitely not permanent, Valve typically doesn't love the idea of platform exclusives.

 

They made this VR-only likely to test the waters and see if they can still make games in the first place (this is also why they're literally making the safest game in the series, a HL2 prequel), and I guess we'll see what happens next depending on the outcome.

[luke11685]

I hope they will return into classic gameplay after this game without VR. I mean next installment.

[Murdoch]

4 hours ago, luke11685 said:

Do you think it's permament change that future for new Half-Life games is VR only? I mean will they make traditional pc game after releasing Half-Life Alyx?

 

However many VR sets Alyx helps sell, it will still only be a small percentage of the gaming market, so making the series VR only would be catastrophically stupid. It would almost be as dumb as a publisher not releasing games in their critically and user acclaimed franchises for a decade or more.

 

Oh wait...

[Jello]

19 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

 

However many VR sets Alyx helps sell, it will still only be a small percentage of the gaming market, so making the series VR only would be catastrophically stupid. It would almost be as dumb as a publisher not releasing games in their critically and user acclaimed franchises for a decade or more.

 

Oh wait...

https://wompwompwomp.com/

 

Yeah, I've given up on Valve making games that I actually want to play. And I can't think of a single reason I would want to play as Alyx in the first place, and if it's VR only, I'm not buying. I can't see why VR is appealing at all. The Wii was fun when I could bowl with my grandparents, for literally every other game on it using motion controls, it was far worse than a controller. I really don't feel like strapping a device on my head and waving my arms around when I want to relax. At the end of the day, I'm tired of wearing a hard hat and moving my arms around building and moving things. 

 

Valve is smarter than "testing the waters" for a true Half-Life 3; they know it will be popular. They're trying to move VR units because they spent a shitload of money on making them, and nobody bought them. Hence, the killer app to sell hardware. It's not the first time it's been done; most consoles sell for less than their base components and development, but they make up for it with software that sells like gangbusters. But with Valve... it's clear they don't want to make Half-Life anymore, they want to recoup their money on development of VR and Half-Life is a great franchise to dig up for it.

 

It's been 12 years since Half-Life 2: Episode 2. Valve said episodic content was the way of the future because they could release more content quicker. 12 years. And now a VR prequel focusing on Alyx. 

 

I'm not quite sure why I'm irritated. Half-Life 2 doesn't hold a candle to Half-life, so I can't imagine Half-Life 3 being any better than 2.

Edited December 23, 2019 by Jello

[Murdoch]

Yes it is clearly a cynical choice to move VR units. I have a VR thing for my phone. It's fun in small bursts but I can't see doing it for hours on end. They say more Half-Life is in development but I will believe it when I see it. Valve has said too much vague nonsense too many times over the years to be given any trust that they will follow through.

 

Project Borealis is looking much more promising. The way those guys have replicated the feel of Half-Life 2 in the Unreal engine is extremely impressive.

[seed]

11 hours ago, Jello said:

It's been 12 years since Half-Life 2: Episode 2. Valve said episodic content was the way of the future because they could release more content quicker. 12 years. And now a VR prequel focusing on Alyx. 

 

I'm not quite sure why I'm irritated. Half-Life 2 doesn't hold a candle to Half-life, so I can't imagine Half-Life 3 being any better than 2.

 

Because they shifted focus after 2007. When Valve said that, they were still committed to finishing the trilogy, but something happened and instead of finishing it, they started focusing more and more on Steam and hardware, which led to the subsequent abandonment of the series.

 

I honestly think HL2 was better in almost all ways than the original, except for one aspect which makes it kinda suck when it comes to replayability these days - the pacing. The original was overall much faster than 2 with its facing, but events unfold too slow in the sequel, and the combat aspect is almost secondary to the story. This is why I prefer the Episodes now, faster pacing, more combat, and shorter.

 

I don't think HL3 is ever happening, there's no real reason to expect otherwise. Marc clearly implied this in his Epistle at the very end, the only part of it which was not encoded if I'm not mistaken, that at the time he left no serious thought was put into a new HL game, let alone a HL3. Too much time has passed for that, there's no way it's going to meet the expectations, and now that we have Epistle 3, we have the conclusion to the story as well - in a highly disrespectful way, certainly, but we have it. HL3 can only be a reboot of sorts if it ever gets made, and even if that happens, it'll most likely be the next DNF. And it better stays that way - "Did Not Finish".

 

11 hours ago, Murdoch said:

They say more Half-Life is in development but I will believe it when I see it. Valve has said too much vague nonsense too many times over the years to be given any trust that they will follow through.

 

 .

 

The irony is so strong here. After they kept their mouths completely shut for over a decade, without even giving a confirmation that HL is or isn't going to be revisited at any point in the future they suddenly claim MORE of it is on the horizon after Alyx? Fuck right off Valve, you're so full of shit. I'll believe it when I see it, but IMO, someone who is THAT secretive with their fanbase/consumer base is not trustworthy. Take all those claims with a mountain of salt. Or two.

 

But I agree, Project Borealis is the closest thing we're getting to a sequel. And if they fail, at the very least they actually tried to deliver a true HL experience.

[Terrcraft]

to be fair. judging vr by the phone stuff ls like saying all  video games are like candy crush.