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Half-Life Alyx |OT| The right woman in the right place
- Thread starter MRORANGE
- Start date
A great VR experience so far but the only thing I really, really dislike is the weapon reload mechanic.
I reach around the back of my shoulder to grab ammo and 50% of the time I grab thin air...I dont know if I am doing it all wrong but this shit is just infuriating and getting me killed over and over when I need to reload in firefights.
On vive with original wand controllers
I reach around the back of my shoulder to grab ammo and 50% of the time I grab thin air...I dont know if I am doing it all wrong but this shit is just infuriating and getting me killed over and over when I need to reload in firefights.
On vive with original wand controllers
Man, this game does a great job of making you believe Alyx Vance is a straight up badass. The shit she goes through in this game, holy crap. One of the best women protagonists in gaming.
It is extremely important you know the series before playing, as all the dramatic beats play off knowing that the player has more knowledge than Alyx Vance. And there are some enormous reveals to the overall story of Half Life in this game. Hell, the very, very first thing the game opens with, is acknowledging the cliff hanger ending of Half Life 2 Episode 2.
I was at least half way through before I realised going closer to my head made it hugely more reliable.
didn't do that, but I shot the first rat I saw and Russell cheered me on.
I feel your pain. I don't know if I can actually play this game to completion at this point. Someone on here suggested blasting music while playing. I might try that later but god I'm legit screaming every time I see one.
I thought that's what the game tells you but I don't remember exactly. At the very least it says to grab from your shoulder. The point is you don't have to go behind your back.
Half Life Alyx does the whole Doom 3 flashlight gimmick way, way more effectively than Doom 3 ever did. It's funny how they managed to accomplish the whole "choose between flashlight and your gun" thing naturally by making you essentially blind when you reload in the dark. Years and years of snarky jokes about how unrealistic it would be to not have your flashlight in use while using your gun, and yet a few minutes in HL:A shows you just how realistic that is during the heat of combat.
So you can't use objects to melee right? There doesn't seem to be any melee damage in this, although you can use things to stagger and shove enemies which is nice in a pinch.
Where is the ammo being stored then? Isn't it all being carried in a shoulder bag type thing so reaching over the back of your shoulder makes sense?
If you only reach from the side of your head it implies the ammo is floating above your shoulder.
I've seen posts from people saying they are dropping ammo instead of storing it...so it seems to me this isn't explained well or confusing to use.
By the way...Im not disagreeing just trying to work out in my mind how it's supposed to work...its a pretty major game mechanic and it really is impacting my enjoyment so far
question: is there a shortcut to quickly show the full guardian from in-game? it'd be nice every now and then to quickly check that i'm centered before, like, ducking and picking stuff up, etc
holy shit, this actually worked! thank you for posting this.Fully.
You need to first buy the Virtual Desktop app from within your Oculus Quest -- BUT DON'T INSTALL IT. This is only needed to give you a license.
Next, turn on the ability to side load apps (apk formatted) via the Oculus mobile app (you may need to apply for a developer account, which is free and takes seconds).
Then, using a Windows program called sidequest, you can install the custom version of Virtual Desktop to play your steam library over your quest.
Turning on the ability to sideload apps (install things from outside the store):
How To Sideload Apps And Games On Oculus Quest Or Oculus Go
If you want to find and install unique VR apps that aren’t available on the Oculus Store, or you want to use regular 2D Android apps like Amazon Prime Video and Steam Link, this guide explains how to achieve both. You’ll need a Windows computer with a USBuploadvr.com
Instructions for setting up sidequest is here:
the-expanse/SideQuest
A open app store for mobile android based VR devices such as the Oculus Go, Oculus Quest or other android based devices. - the-expanse/SideQuestgithub.com
Get the custom Virtual Desktop apk from here:
Releases · guygodin/VirtualDesktop
Connect wirelessly to your computer(s) to watch movies, browse the web, play games on a giant virtual screen or stream PCVR games. Virtual Desktop is a highly optimized, native application develope...github.com
The windows streaming client here:
If you have a good 5ghz router, this will absolutely be worth it.
It's one of those suspension of disbelief for the sake of it being a video game type of things. It just feels good to reach from the side of your head/top of your shoulder to grab stuff. If you want to try to picture it realistically just think of it like having a really big backpack that goes above your shoulders and your ammo is sticking out of it.
I mean your "pocket" is in your wrist, but it's implied to be a pants pocket.
Roughly half way through the game and I never want it to end! I beg of you Valve, please don't make us wait 13 years for the next Half-Life game.
Didn't Valve say they were working in two other AAA VR titles? I could be imagining that, but I hope that's the case. I just really really hope HL:Alyx leads to HL3 happening....in VR.
Didn't Valve say they were working in two other AAA VR titles? I could be imagining that, but I hope that's the case. I just really really hope HL:Alyx leads to HL3 happening....in VR.
The resources from the other two were put toward Alyx and were either canned or put on hold. More likely canned. I'm sure they probably have other ideas in their infancy, and I'd think we would see something new in 2-3 more years.
It should be reiterated that Half-Life: Alyx is a pretty hard game. I'm playing on Normal on my first run, and already I have died quite a bit; the environmental dangers here are significant, and encounters are a bit more "puzzle-like" than the straight up action affair you see in other Half-Life titles. The rationale for this is, I think, clear: every portion of Alyx is far more intimate than people are used to, and so an encounter with 3 enemies becomes a game-ending situation if your reflexes and responses to the event aren't good. Also, ammo management here is just extremely important: there will no doubt be retrospectives on Alyx that treat it as a survival horror game because of the management of resources and relative dangers of the environment and enemies. You do not feel strong in this game, and that's an essential part of what makes the horror elements here stand out. My entire body tenses up frequently during encounters, especially when "do or die" moments pop up as they so frequently do. Looking down to your wrist and seeing you're one shot away from dead while quickly peeking around a corner to see one of the bulkier, more dangerous combine lurching towards you as ready the final shotgun bullets in your gun is a feeling not easily reproduced.
I played some more today and just got the flashlight. How can this game looks so good and run so well in VR?!
This game is so so so much fun! I hope that valve will give modders access to some tools they used, I would love to see what people can do with those graphic asset's, movement capabilities, physic etc.
i love the Shotgun and the reload animation, what I don't like is that you can't put Single bullets in your backpack, but having seven shells in your gun and and your final two shells in your other hands when facing down zombies makes the whole thing even more intense. And f*** the headcrabs, I'm playing with continuous movement and often forget that this mode also let's jump to get away faster. I got into a tight spot, fumbled reload letting go of the magazine, grabbing a new one and nearly got surrounded by headcrabs! Fun times!
This game is so so so much fun! I hope that valve will give modders access to some tools they used, I would love to see what people can do with those graphic asset's, movement capabilities, physic etc.
It's the tension that I actually preferred the shotgun without the auto reloader. Like, the auto-reloader is super useful, but that tension when you're trying to reload during a shootout is like fine wine. It's weird how you find yourself having to stop and think about how to reload during a fire fight, it's so much different than just hitting a reload button. Turns out multitasking during a shootout is super hard.
That's a pretty good visual for me which I think will really help. Thanks :)
Kind of astounding the game is only on Windows, despite Valve pushing hard for Linux (and to a much lesser extent macOS). SteamVR is available for both those platforms and yet here we have a Valve-made game--the first in a long-ass time--that is only releasing on Windows.
When I got the flashlight
I turned around and was trying it out, standing in place pointing at the blackness behind me, when I saw a headcrab scuttling towards me. Shot it and killed it and was thinking, "good thing I stayed put a second and noticed it..." when suddenly 2 more headcrabs scuttled towards me out of the darkness. I shot at them, killing one, then the other rushed out to the darkness to flank me. As it ran out of the light, I tried to keep up with it with my hand, but it got lost and basically disappeared.
The feeling of existential dread in that moment was palpitable. I dunno if that behavior was scripted or not, but it played out perfectly.
Half-Life: Alyx support for Linux aiming to arrive with Vulkan support post-release
Today, Valve replied to our message asking about the situation with Half-Life: Alyx and Linux support and we got our answer.
www.gamingonlinux.com
You can play Alyx with Steam Proton just fine, I tested it yesterday on my Linux build. It's actually one of the white listed officially supported titles in Proton. Valve recommends people use proton for now, as an official linux build is coming later.
I struggled with it, especially that one room where you get the flashlight and get mobbed by black crabs, but you can push through one room/encounter at a time! There's actually a lot more to Chapter 3 if you persevere, and it's all fantastic.
So one of my biggest worries since the reveal was asking myself how in the world they would balance the fact that you can warp around with the combat, and I've been delighted to realize that there are so many things that you have to be concerned with as a player that moving around becomes more of tool for orienting yourself for a decent shot, or dodging the jumps of headcraps in a hurry, then it is some kind of abusable mechanic. For one, at the end of the day you still need to lean in, acquire a target, and actually hit what you're aiming at -- not an easy feat in VR titles thanks to need to actually aim like you would in real life! During this time, if you're slow, you're open to damage from a lot of potential sources. From there, like you said, mechanically doing the things you need to do in the middle of a fight to stay alive is panic inducing. Pulling out a stim from your wrist inventory, readying it, and then stabbing your virtual self is easy to do when nothing is going on, but you're totally right: when there's an enemy pushing you, or a head crab running about, doing it becomes an exercise in controlling nerves. And the kicker? It's *not* actually getting much easier as I go through the game. Things that were scary for me are still scary for me, and the new things being introduced of course add a whole other layer. I'm become more acquainted, and the muscle memory is better, but I still have moments even in the simplest scenarios where I make a mistake, and making a mistake in this game can and will be fatal!
This shit is so fucking good lol.
Krejlooc any thoughts on what valve did with locomotion? Maybe you already posted something about this. I'm using the default teleport and can play for 1-2 hours with zero motion sickness.
Other VR games where you move around give me motion sickness within minutes (asgard's wrath, lone echo). even other teleport games (serious sam, doom 3) will give me motion sickness.
Other VR games where you move around give me motion sickness within minutes (asgard's wrath, lone echo). even other teleport games (serious sam, doom 3) will give me motion sickness.
Half-Life: Alyx support for Linux aiming to arrive with Vulkan support post-release
Today, Valve replied to our message asking about the situation with Half-Life: Alyx and Linux support and we got our answer.
Sweet. Now all I wish is Apple kicked Oculus in the teeth to get the Oculus Software (and thus Oculus Link support) back on macOS, and managed to get Valve to support Proton on the OS as well.
There are moments where I feel reminded of SuperHot VR because I've died multiple times in a shoot out, trying to plan out my every step to make it through. "rush behind this for cover, grab that, use this, shoot there AND DON'T MISS, go here to get breathing room to reload, run to that cover, etc." Except, unlike in SuperHot the enemies adapt and don't follow static routes lol making it much harder.
I'm playing with continuous teleport, I.e. teleport without the fade out. I actually vastly prefer teleportation in VR games overall, preferring to use teleportation for large movements, and moment-to-moment movement, I like 1:1 roomscale. I find myself looking at everything in HL:A so being able to walk around IRL and go up to stuff draws me in. The only times I use artificial locomotion really are if I need to back up quickly in a fire fight, or occasionally to turn if I find myself in the corner of my play space and need to rotate my orientation to keep walking forward.
One thing they did right that boneworks did so, so wrong is that physics interactions only occur with your hands. HL:A is every bit as physics driven as boneworks, except the physics don't push your head around, so you don't get sick.
I finished the game a few hours ago and yeah you'll wanna know what happened in the previous games
HL:A does actually take into account your body position for physics, just that your body is imoveable, when moving crates and stuff, they've gotten stuck on my invisible legs, and I've had to move to get the crate out of the way.
Oh yeah, absolutely. Another case: the way Valve game-ified the gravity gloves to be a two-step mechanic, a discrete pull and *then* a grab, adds so much to the fear of successful executions in fights, and shows a difference in mastery over game design from a similar mechanic like the one in Boneworks. There's a room with quite a few grenades in it I just recently passed, and due to a very limited inventory and some very strong enemies -- and a lack of ammo -- I needed to use every single one. So I was behind a pillar just grabbing, arming, and tossing these things, but there was one time where I went to flick and I missed the grab and I died. I wasn't even mad because that moment of not executing on a perfectly laid plan is what gives this game so many "holy shit" moments that I've stopped counting. Even when things are going totally wrong, this game is incredible.
I tried turning on the option to manually climb ladders and *deeply regretted it* when I actually tried it, lol
Is it just me or you can't really use objects to hit enemies that well? I tried to slam a headcrab with a trashcan and it wasn't really effective.
It depends on the enemies. Headcrabs are stupid and don't really seem to respond to things thrown at them, but combine soldiers can be fucked with by throwing stuff at them.
You CAN use physical objects to deal with headcrabs tho:
Incidentally, every bit of the above is entirely physics driven. Imagine trying to do that without VR controls.
I'm not sure HL is as physics driven as Boneworks - physics play such a huge role in the core design of Boneworks (especially puzzle solving which is very free-form).
That's OK, HL doesn't need it - it's its own thing.
Boneworks, to me, feels like a continuation of what Trespasser started where you can make your own path and solve problems in multiple ways. It's far glitchier as a result but I think it's really engaging in that sense. Of course, HL does have body physics in that objects react to your invisible body and you can get stuck on things but, unlike Boneworks, it doesn't cause the view to move.
In Boneworks, you can pickup and use just about anything as a weapon or tool. Firearms aren't attached to your hands, you physically need to hold them, but when you run dry or drop a weapon, you can grab anything around you to immediately go on the offensive. You can also directly interact with enemies - pushing them, punching them, grabbing them etc. The weight of an object and how you hold it determines the amount of damage done as well. It's the sheer variety of options that makes it so unique.
They straight-up use headcrab like enemies in Boneworks and the difference between the encounters in both games is quite significant. You can directly grab them on your head in BW, pull them apart, use them as a weapon, smash them against the wall, throw them then shoot or smash them etc. There are so many options available at any point. I haven't found ways to deal with headcrabs in HL beyond shooting them, using an object to push them or blowing them up with a canister or some other explosive device. The encounters are still excellent, mind you.
Another example - very early on, when you encounter the first turret in Boneworks, I just grabbed a trashcan lid and used it as a shield. OK, cool. Got behind it and disabled it with the pull handle. I had a key to unlock a door ahead but there were enemies within and I had no real weapon (other than debris). The turret is difficult to carry due to its weight and physics so I used a dolly to wheel the turret up the ramp. I activated it and opened the door to wheel it on in then used it to kill the enemies. There was no need to do this, mind you, but that kind of scenario presents itself often - where you can use things within the world to solve problems. Everything being super physics driven and fiddly, however, can make it frustrating.
I think this is such an interesting topic, though, as they both take a different approach. I love them both equally though I'd recommend Alyx first to people as it's more polished and easier to get into.
I know you're not a fan of Boneworks but I REALLY love what they attempted even if it has flaws. I understand that it breaks the rules of VR in many ways but, somehow, I never felt a tinge of motion sickness in the end (even though I do get motion sick from certain other games). I don't think Valve should have taken this route for a potentially bigger game, though, as Boneworks is NOT friendly for many folks. I think we have a fundamentally different way of playing VR - I can't stand using teleportation in VR games, for instance, and prefer smooth movement. However, I also have just over the minimum required play space for roomscale which makes that a lot more difficult. If I had a huge area to walk around, it would be fine, I suppose.
Did you ever play through Boneworks completely? I just couldn't get over how creative each level is - the mechanics are insanely cool and the atmosphere is so thick.
I played again this afternoon and I think I'm almost done chapter 5 as I'm leaving the main location and man, I don't know if it's just me but chapter 5 was significantly more stuttery than any other chapter so far for me. I'm talking over 2% reprojection when previous chapters topped out at 0.5% at worst. The biggest fight with lots of effects was stuttering practically the entire time. I'm playing on low settings so I can't really lower anything to try and fix the issue. Sucks as I'm feeling a bit sick now.
Not sure if you've tried the smooth locomotion in this game, but I recommend you give it a chance. It's pretty slow, but to me that simply increases the atmospheric intensity of feeling like you're slowly creeping along through a mysterious world. The footsteps audio helps that. You can still use roomscale with smooth movement too.
Continuous teleport feels the like the right way to play this for me. I can handle analogue but it eventually takes a toll if you are playing for hours and hours and I have been playing this for hours on end.
Just got to the flashlight part...have loved every second up to now but I am a huge arachnophobe....I have zero idea if I am going to be able to go any further.
Headcrabs I can cope with but these fuckers are something else entirely.
This kinda sucks, I just want to play.
Headcrabs I can cope with but these fuckers are something else entirely.
This kinda sucks, I just want to play.