Half-Life: Alyx - Development & Speculation Thread

[Nzyme32]

So I'm a big-time Half-life fan -. it used to be one of my favorite series. But over the past generation, I've pretty much exclusively played console games. I don't have a PC that can play Alyx, but I do have an Oculus Quest.

I'm thinking about buying a PC for this game, but at this point, I have no clue where to start. I'm hoping for a good deal on something prebuilt that would run the game at good settings (I had even wondered if there were any rental solutions available because I was not planning on buying a PC for any other reason). Any advice? Are there any simple solutions available?

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HL:A is much in the same way HL1 and HL2 were pretty heavy for PC's of the time, though this time you have additional cost of VR gear to suit whatever fidelity you want to get. Even the min spec is shift:

• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Core i5-7500 / Ryzen 5 1600
• Memory: 12 GB RAM
• Graphics: GTX 1060 / RX 580 - 6GB VRAM

Not sure where you are, but in the UK's bigger cities are a bunch of places to "pay and play". I know in London they have Game stores (a videogame retailer), PC Cafes and VR arcades, that have PCs and VR gear you can use with your own Steam account or games they have. I imagine it would be pretty busy when something like HL:A is out, but maybe a few months later will be easier to do a few hours a day (which is generally a satisfying play session for VR).

I would actually warn against Quest. It is extremely front heavy, and will fatigue you much faster than other solutions, which is something I get annoyed with but, you have to role with what you've got.

I unsubscribed to VNN after Alyx was announced.. so negative and obsessive. And why is he still badgering Valve about the recasting?

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Yeah its pretty ridiculous and filled with misinformation, obsessive and just maddening idiocy. It's pretty irresponsible to start talking to actors about their casting, with the most minimal context and badger then / Valve over it - having not even played the game or with knowledge of what is even intended. Hate that kind of faux "reporting", hype and churlishness

 

[Randomly Generated]

The thing that's so awkward about badgering them over the re-casting is the simplest explanation is they weren't happy with her performance, but obviously they aren't going to say that.

 

[shodgson8]

I would actually warn against Quest. It is extremely front heavy, and will fatigue you much faster than other solutions, which is something I get annoyed with but, you have to role with what you've got.

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Personally I think it can be mitigated enough for it to no longer be an issue (although does require more purchases).

 

[Nzyme32]

Personally I think it can be mitigated enough for it to no longer be an issue (although does require more purchases).

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Yes, I've seen people use the Vive advanced headset strap system, which you can purchase separately and adapt to the quest. Then again, I'm sure there are plenty of people able to deal with the weight / fatigue

 

[TaterTots]

They aren't promoting this game at all lol.

 

[Nzyme32]

For the AMA it was stated more stuff would be coming in the weeks...I'm waiting lol.

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They aren't promoting this game at all lol.

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Hasn't it been only 2 weeks since the AMA?
Not sure why you'd expect them to do much, even when they said there would be more in a few weeks (which I'd think is more than a couple of weeks). Besides Valve don't "promote" in the same way others usually do, and their ability to stick to timelines is random at best.

 

[GrrImAFridge]

Yes, I've seen people use the Vive advanced headset strap system, which you can purchase separately and adapt to the quest. Then again, I'm sure there are plenty of people able to deal with the weight / fatigue

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Yeah, I had no issues even before moving to the official Link cable (which is lighter than your standard USB cable), and none of my mates have mentioned anything, either. That some can find the Quest to be uncomfortable is certainly something to be mindful of, though.

 

[TheUnseenTheUnheard]

They aren't promoting this game at all lol.

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Not going to lie. I basically bought an Index for this and I forgot this exists.

 

[Zomba13]

This is still supposed to be coming next month? Yeah... It's getting delayed.

 

[Paganmoon]

This is still supposed to be coming next month? Yeah... It's getting delayed.

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They stated March just 2 weeks ago though.

 

[JahIthBer]

This is still supposed to be coming next month? Yeah... It's getting delayed.

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Yeah i think so, i don't mind though, they added smooth locomotion too late because boneworks made them look like amateurs tech wise, they need time to rework some levels for smooth locomotion in mind, or else i could see it being a bit clunky.

 

[Paganmoon]

they added smooth locomotion too late because boneworks made them look like amateurs tech wise,

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There's absolutely nothing to indicate this other than maybe some vnn nonsense.

 

[JahIthBer]

There's absolutely nothing to indicate this other than maybe some vnn nonsense.

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It really doesn't matter how Valve came to that conclusion, but smooth locomotion has been shoehorned in at the last minute, they were basically making a 2015 VR game for 2020 & they realised it was a big mistake.

 

[TheUnseenTheUnheard]

Yeah i think so, i don't mind though, they added smooth locomotion too late because boneworks made them look like amateurs tech wise, they need time to rework some levels for smooth locomotion in mind, or else i could see it being a bit clunky.

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Don't state this like it's fact.

 

[Paganmoon]

It really doesn't matter how Valve came to that conclusion, but smooth locomotion has been shoehorned in at the last minute, they were basically making a 2015 VR game for 2020 & they realised it was a big mistake.

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[Citation needed]

 

[EVIL]

VNN has done nothing but spew negative information pulled out of thin air. The best thing he did was the interview with Merle Dandridge and he tried his hardest to spin it to support his story. He is a fanatic fan that became bitter due to lack of recognition, I am surprised people give him the time of day.

anyway, to not derail this thread too much with that shit.

I am super exited for HL:Alyx, and as a dev I very much supports marc laidlaws point that its sometimes is better to stay the fuck away from your creation because it would do nothing but bad sitting on their shoulders and telling them what not to do. What we need more these days is people supporting crazy ideas and push the medium.

 

[MasterOfPastures]

It really doesn't matter how Valve came to that conclusion, but smooth locomotion has been shoehorned in at the last minute, they were basically making a 2015 VR game for 2020 & they realised it was a big mistake.

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Having played Boneworks, smooth locomotion from that game is dog-ass. Even with an index, that is the second game i ever refunded.

 

[Randomly Generated]

It really doesn't matter how Valve came to that conclusion, but smooth locomotion has been shoehorned in at the last minute, they were basically making a 2015 VR game for 2020 & they realised it was a big mistake.

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How are people still falling for this stuff.

 

[qwerty999]

Not sure if this has been answered, but any news on whether there will be console ports of the following:

Black Mesa
Orange Box - maybe even a HD remake?

 

[Paganmoon]

Not sure if this has been answered, but any news on whether there will be console ports of the following:

Black Mesa
Orange Box - maybe even a HD remake?

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there's not been anything to indicate either of those, and most likely wouldn't be announced or answered together with a VR only game though.

 

[TalonJH]

I went ahead and ordered Alyx. Half-Life has a special place in my childhood and Alyx has always been one of my favorite game characters so I was always going to pick it up but why not preorder for that discount. I've been playing VR games for years but I feel like it's finally "happening" now. Recently upgraded to my Rift S and love it. Games like this and Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners, are just so immersive that you need to play them. Can't wait for Alyx.

 

[Peter Ian Staker]

Not sure if this has been answered, but any news on whether there will be console ports of the following:

Black Mesa
Orange Box - maybe even a HD remake?

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Valve didn't port anything from their back catalog to console during the entire PS4/XONE generation so I doubt that will change. Most of their old games can run on really low end PCs these days anyway.
I also highly doubt the Crowbar Collective (indie team behind Black Mesa)even has the resources to port to consoles.

 

[eonden]

We had people going to play HLA in December in different headsets and motion modes and the only thing they said was weird was not being able to escalate which could easily be attributed to confort. The whole"added smooth locomotion late" always sounded BS when Valve has made the best VR controllers that easily support it.

 

[Bregor]

They explicitly said in the Tested video that there were still things about movement that Valve was still figuring out. We don't know for sure that they only added smooth recently, but it seems very plausible to me.

 

[Zor]

We had people going to play HLA in December in different headsets and motion modes and the only thing they said was weird was not being able to escalate which could easily be attributed to confort. The whole"added smooth locomotion late" always sounded BS when Valve has made the best VR controllers that easily support it.

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Yeah it's legit ridiculous how much faith people put in VNN's conjecture and wild speculation, just because VALVe is a company that largely chooses to be quiet. Like in a video he did last year after ALYX's appearance at the Game Awards was pulled, with Tyler saying this is clearly because VALVe aren't confident in their own game... despite them choosing to show it AND let video be recorded from live play barely any time later. It's like... OF COURSE they didn't feel ready to show it at that precise moment, but why cloud that decision in a level of doomsaying that makes it sound like such a negative to the game itself? It sounds like he has such an axe to grind sometimes.

 

[eonden]

They explicitly said in the Tested video that there were still things about movement that Valve was still figuring out. We don't know for sure that they only added smooth recently, but it seems very plausible to me.

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The main comment was on climbing stuff, where they foudn it weird that it was not possible without teleporting (or climbing stairs).

 

[eonden]

Yeah it's legit ridiculous how much faith people put in VNN's conjecture and wild speculation, just because VALVe is a company that largely chooses to be quiet. Like in a video he did last year after ALYX's appearance at the Game Awards was pulled, with Tyler saying this is clearly because VALVe aren't confident in their own game... despite them choosing to show it AND let video be recorded from live play barely any time later. It's like... OF COURSE they didn't feel ready to show it at that precise moment, but why cloud that decision in a level of doomsaying that makes it sound like such a negative to the game itself? It sounds like he has such an axe to grind sometimes.

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I wouldnt say he has an axe to grind it is just that the is fed false information half the time and had no qualm on talking about that as if it was true. He also has problems using basic logic to try and figure out when some of his theories are wrong (such as when Steam started opening since 2018 and him saying it was due to Kacey being hired in mid 2019...).

 

[Bregor]

The main comment was on climbing stuff, where they foudn it weird that it was not possible without teleporting (or climbing stairs).

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Which is evidence that one method of movement was not complete at the time Tested played the game.

Don't get me wrong, if there are (or were) problems, I think Valve will have them essentially worked out by launch day. But I'm not going to see the smoke and ignore the possibility of a fire.

As far as VNN goes, the guy seems to me to be too sure of his own conclusions and his own importance. But that doesn't mean he can't be right sometimes. Dismissing what he says because he can be annoying is just as flawed as accepting what he says without skepticism

I do my best to find out what is actually known, and then draw my own conclusions.

The reason why people listen to him is easy enough. There is a hyped fan base that is eager for more information, and Valve is not providing it. It's hardly surprising to see people going to other sources, even if those sources may not be reliable.

 

[eonden]

Which is evidence that one method of movement was not complete at the time Tested played the game.

Don't get me wrong, if there are (or were) problems, I think Valve will have them essentially worked out by launch day. But I'm not going to see the smoke and ignore the possibility of a fire.

As far as VNN goes, the guy seems to me to be too sure of his own conclusions and his own importance. But that doesn't mean he can't be right sometimes. Dismissing what he says because he can be annoying is just as flawed as accepting what he says without skepticism

I do my best to find out what is actually known, and then draw my own conclusions.

The reason why people listen to him is easy enough. There is a hyped fan base that is eager for more information, and Valve is not providing it. It's hardly surprising to see people going to other sources, even if those sources may not be reliable.

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Or that they decided that climbing stairs was not a good thing from a confort point of view which can be easily seen in Boneworks... VNN is more wrong than right and we are here treating everything he says as gospel regarding the "TOTALLY ADDED THAT MODE BECAUSE OF BONEWORKS, DIDNT HAVE IT OTHERWISE!". Again, my logic says they might be fixing stuff and that most of the work was probably done on some of the most complex comfort parts (and working on other VR headsets), not that the game was totally reworked late in the development into something that has smooth locomotion.

 

[Paganmoon]

I believe they implied as much in the AMA, that it's for comfort they've done things like teleport up stairs, and teleport when jumping over obstacles/holes? I distinctly recall reading something like that, but I really can't navigate the AMA structure on reddit.

As opposed to Boneworks going all "hardcore only" (though I wouldn't say design choices that go against already established VR designs is going "hardcore"), Valve have stated that Alyx is targeting basically everyone, they want everyone to be able to play this game. Hell, one handed mode too, which tbh is just such a great addition, that I haven't even thought about with regards to VR.

 

[Bregor]

Or that they decided that climbing stairs was not a good thing from a confort point of view which can be easily seen in Boneworks... VNN is more wrong than right and we are here treating everything he says as gospel regarding the "TOTALLY ADDED THAT MODE BECAUSE OF BONEWORKS, DIDNT HAVE IT OTHERWISE!". Again, my logic says they might be fixing stuff and that most of the work was probably done on some of the most complex comfort parts (and working on other VR headsets), not that the game was totally reworked late in the development into something that has smooth locomotion.

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Who is treating everything he says as gospel? Don't construct strawmen here.

The truth is that outside Valve nobody knows for certain what the development process was like. Not me, not you, and not VNN. And there is an excellent chance that we will never have proof one way or the other. But we can each judge for ourselves what we thing is most likely. You can make your conclusions, and I have made mine, and there is nothing wrong with that.

 

[Zor]

Dismissing what he says because he can be annoying is just as flawed as accepting what he says without skepticism

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Who's dismissing what he says because he can be annoying?

My issue is that he's called his channel Valve News Network when it should really be Valve Speculation Channel. Report whatever news you've got, but don't then speculate further on it and create discourse that doesn't exist. See: Laidlaw setting the record straight on his departure.

 

[eonden]

Who is treating everything he says as gospel? Don't construct strawmen here.

The truth is that outside Valve nobody knows for certain what the development process was like. Not me, not you, and not VNN. And there is an excellent chance that we will never have proof one way or the other. But we can each judge for ourselves what we thing is most likely. You can make your conclusions, and I have made mine, and there is nothing wrong with that.

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I wasnt refering to you on the treating it as gospel but:

Yeah i think so, i don't mind though, they added smooth locomotion too late because boneworks made them look like amateurs tech wise, they need time to rework some levels for smooth locomotion in mind, or else i could see it being a bit clunky.

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It really doesn't matter how Valve came to that conclusion, but smooth locomotion has been shoehorned in at the last minute, they were basically making a 2015 VR game for 2020 & they realised it was a big mistake.

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Now to other stuff

I believe they implied as much in the AMA, that it's for comfort they've done things like teleport up stairs, and teleport when jumping over obstacles/holes? I distinctly recall reading something like that, but I really can't navigate the AMA structure on reddit.

As opposed to Boneworks going all "hardcore only" (though I wouldn't say design choices that go against already established VR designs is going "hardcore"), Valve have stated that Alyx is targeting basically everyone, they want everyone to be able to play this game. Hell, one handed mode too, which tbh is just such a great addition, that I haven't even thought about with regards to VR.

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SteamDB put a better way to understand the AMA:

https://steamdb.info/blog/half-life-alyx-developer-team-ama/

Which includes a question from Tyler himself:

/u/valvenewsnetwork asks: What percentage are your announced locomotion & comfort features at? How will the team be implementing a seated mode if the game has not been designed for such a mode? Where is Smooth Locomotion at, and what is left for it?

Our locomotion and comfort features are all done, including things like Seated, Left-Handed mode, etc. We have almost all our accessibility work done as well, but there's a little bit more we'd like to do there (support for one armed play, for instance).
We'll be talking about and showing more of our various locomotion options in some upcoming videos.

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[Paganmoon]

SteamDB put a better way to understand the AMA:

https://steamdb.info/blog/half-life-alyx-developer-team-ama/

Which includes a question from Tyler himself:

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thanks.

Regarding locomation (and comfort), funnily enough an answer to VNN...:

/u/valvenewsnetwork asks: What percentage are your announced locomotion & comfort features at? How will the team be implementing a seated mode if the game has not been designed for such a mode? Where is Smooth Locomotion at, and what is left for it?

Our locomotion and comfort features are all done, including things like Seated, Left-Handed mode, etc. We have almost all our accessibility work done as well, but there's a little bit more we'd like to do there (support for one armed play, for instance).

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We'll be talking about and showing more of our various locomotion options in some upcoming videos.

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More on comfort (and jumping), misremembered obstacles apparently:

Because the game includes the ability to mantle in continuous motion, you don't need often need to jump. For instance, if you need to get past an obstacle like a crate, you mantle up rather than jump up. The only time you need to jump is to traverse a short gap, which happens very rarely. We tried a few iterations of jumping, but ultimately found that even in continuous motion, players preferred dealing with those jumps with a teleport-style movement.

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Edit: ahh you quoted the VNN question too :)

 

[Bregor]

Very promising sounding, I look forward to trying it out.

 

[TheUnseenTheUnheard]

Having played Boneworks, smooth locomotion from that game is dog-ass. Even with an index, that is the second game i ever refunded.

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Some people can handle it some people can't. That's why different methods is a good thing.

 

[Blade Wolf]

They aren't promoting this game at all lol.

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Yeah, what's going on?

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Yeah, what's going on?

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Not coming next month.

 

[Deleted member 28523]

valve indexes are sold out and have been for a while. what reason would there to be do marketing lol.

 

[Blade Wolf]

Not coming next month.

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I can feel that delay announcement already, the feedback they got from the offscreen gameplay footage wasn't exactly great.
For example people really didn't like how the ladders works. Many were also disappointed that as a VR title it doesn't seem nearly as advanced as Boneworks.

My prediction is that this game will get pushed back with no new date.

 

[Randomly Generated]

valve indexes are sold out and have been for a while. what reason would there to be do marketing lol.

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Because this is a game, not limited hardware? I don't get the comparison.

 

[Blade Wolf]

valve indexes are sold out and have been for a while. what reason would there to be do marketing lol.

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That's the dumbest thing I've heard today. There's always a reason to market your game, even if the hardware sold out.
Releasing a trailer right now doesn't mean that trailer is only marketing for the game right now. It's how you keep the game on people's radar.

 

[TheUnseenTheUnheard]

I can feel that delay announcement already, the feedback they got from the offscreen gameplay footage wasn't exactly great.
For example people really didn't like how the ladders works. Many were also disappointed that as a VR title it doesn't seem nearly as advanced as Boneworks.

My prediction is that this game will get pushed back with no new date.

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They said 2 weeks ago it's still on schedule.

I just want to play a new Half Life.

 

[Randomly Generated]

I can feel that delay announcement already, the feedback they got from the offscreen gameplay footage wasn't exactly great.
For example people really didn't like how the ladders works. Many were also disappointed that as a VR title it doesn't seem nearly as advanced as Boneworks.

My prediction is that this game will get pushed back with no new date.

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My prediction is VNN has made the discussion around this game extremely annoying.

 

[Blade Wolf]

My prediction is VNN has made the discussion around this game extremely annoying.

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I agree but I don't recall ever mentioning that guy?

 

[Deleted member 28523]

Because this is a game, not limited hardware? I don't get the comparison.

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because there is a upper limit to how many copies a VR game will sell

 

[sleepnaught]

When they basically said they probably weren't going to do a full sdk, they cut the legs off the hype for me.

 

[Bregor]

because there is a upper limit to how many copies a VR game will sell

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Valve isn't going to move that needle in any reasonable time period. They might be able to use the game hype to earn more sales of Valve Index, but they cannot hope to get more game sales by expanding the hardware market by themselves. They simply cannot make headsets fast enough.

 

[Deleted member 28523]

Valve isn't going to move that needle in any reasonable time period. They might be able to use the game hype to earn more sales of Valve Index, but they cannot hope to get more game sales by expanding the hardware market by themselves. They simply cannot make headsets fast enough.

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yeah thats what i said

 

[ClarkusDarkus]

A new Half Life game built from the ground up for VR, Valve at the helm once again ushering and pushing new boundaries with this game i reckon. I can't wait for it.