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Half-Life: Alyx - Review Thread
- Thread starter vestan
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It's so good. However, I was disappointed I couldn't play with any of the rotary phones. The Index controller lets me extend my finger it would've been perfect! Also I wish more objects were squeezable, as useless as it is, I always pick up cans as I go to crush them.
A little confused on two things, but I think they're related:
On the Valve Index:
1) How are you supposed to be using the gravity gloves? Is it just regular relaxed fist close, pull trigger, highlight item, flip toward you? It seemed the NPC suggested I was supposed to "open my hand" as step one, but that makes no sense.
2) Where is your thumb supposed to rest? It seems the controller senses your thumb being "closed" both on the trackpad and also near the buttons. I'm struggling understanding where the game wants me to rest and/or apply pressure for a squeeze.
On the Valve Index:
1) How are you supposed to be using the gravity gloves? Is it just regular relaxed fist close, pull trigger, highlight item, flip toward you? It seemed the NPC suggested I was supposed to "open my hand" as step one, but that makes no sense.
2) Where is your thumb supposed to rest? It seems the controller senses your thumb being "closed" both on the trackpad and also near the buttons. I'm struggling understanding where the game wants me to rest and/or apply pressure for a squeeze.
I point with my index finger like a kid making a pretend gun, with the rest of my fingers being loosely gripped, to highlight the object, then squeeze my fist tight and yank to pull it in.
Thought so. What a bummer. This is the type of game that could make me take rash decisions and buy a new PC. The definition of killer app.
Many of the interactions in this game aren't simple state changes that can be mapped to button presses. Like to open a door, you don't just walk up to it and press the "open door" button and it opens. Rather, the vast majority of the interactions in HL:A are physics driven. Doors work because the physics make it so you can't just phase through them, but your body and hands have physical properties. To open a door, you touch the handle and pull it downward -- because your hands can do that and move the handle physically -- then grip the handle to pull and swing the door open. There is no single "open door" mechanic, instead you physically pull it out of your way.
Many of these interactions only work because of the way VR controls work, i.e. 1 to 1 positional tracking with full prioproception of limbs. Trying to do things like catching ammo out of the air would be nearly impossible without VR. This is a game built from the ground up for VR. Play it for a few hours and it'll become pretty clear why a non-VR version just won't happen, not without it being a massively different game. Like, trying to make Super Mario 64 on the SNES without using polygons. Even moment to moment gameplay scenarios are built around these expectations. Like, for example, there are large crates at points which you can't move with one hand. To move them requires you use both arms to move out of the way. And sometimes they are placed in front of exits during a shoot out with enemies. That plays into the tension and interaction of the fight. Do you try and clear a path and run away? Because to do so, you need to occupy both hands, which means you can't be fighting back. Other moments that are similar are times when you're trying to heal during a fight, which requires your hand be placed still in a machine. So your body is physically moving, straining to jump around while keeping your other hand on the machine, dodging and ducking behind objects for cover.
These things just are impossible to map to a mouse and keyboard and retain their intent in the gameplay loop.
Ya not a fan of the touchpad being used for anything when its the only place to put your thumb.
I'd like a setting that lets me click the trigger for the grab, but only release the grab after I've lifted my finger off the heat sensor. I like to relax my hand after a grab, but that actuates the trigger and drops things
Russel is such a social idiot, haha. Basically a smarter wheatley.Part of the reason I'm having such a good time is that this guy is in my ear the whole time talking.
Speaking of which, I thought that robot at the beginning was a dampening sphere at first, haha.
Looking at the minimum hardware requirements a port to PSVR now seems impossible. Maybe PSVR2.
The handle on the Index controller is the "grip" button, basically you can let go of it (because of the wrist straps) to open your hand. If you wrap your fingers around it, you're considered "gripping" something. Some games have it where you have to use a bit more force to activate the grip. To use the Gravity Gloves, you hold your hand open, with your fingers down, toward the object you want to grab, and you'll see the object you're aiming at highlight orange, and then pull the trigger and flick your hand back toward you and it will pull it. Then close your fingers when the object gets to you to catch it.
Try it out a few times outside of combat if you can, and you'll start to understand it.
If they were made in China, I am wondering if Uyghur Muslims were forced to manufacture them in slave labour conditions.
[BBC] In China, Uighurs 'moved into factory forced labour' for foreign brands Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony
It was recommended that I cross post this from EtcetEra for awareness, particularly as we move towards a new generation of consoles. Letting people make informed decisions about where they're willing to put their money is the best thing anyone can do here. Here's the latest on the various...
www.resetera.com
The metascore is irrelevant. i think the bigger discussion, and one that has actual value, is should we start docking points from games because of our own personal feelings about Coronavirus. And imo the answer is no.
I don't think you'll find a consensus on how games should and shouldn't be scored. Personally, I find scores arbitrary and lacking in value. When I was reviewing games regularly, if I'd had my way I wouldn't have had to give anything a score. My scientific method for putting a score on a game was looking at the average score for that game, and if that seemed a bit low, I'd give it a bit more, if it seemed about right, I'd use that, and if it seemed a bit high, I'd give it a bit less.
You're saying a reviewer shouldn't let their life experiences color their review, or more simply, that a review shouldn't reflect *their* experience with the game. I see less value in a review where someone guesses how someone else might react to the game and scores accordingly (as I remember, Gameinformer claimed this was their approach to reviews to defend a low score of a particular game and were resoundingly criticised for it).
Interesting that he posted these tweets yesterday. That means that some people are still giving him issues about his review score. He might have issues for years.
I believe that, in some cases e.g. for a highly anticipated game, it can be in the reviewer's best interest to review the game without giving it a score at all, because it can be anticipated that part of the audience will react very poorly and very stupidly and the reviewer is at risk of receiving death threats and harassment solely due to the review score.
I don't believe one should have to totally abolish review scores. For less anticipated games, one could be unlucky and have a few stupid fans, but the situation would hopefully remain manageable for the reviewer. However, for big releases, things can get out of hand really quickly.
Like, imagine you review a book which is released today, you should be fine, I guess ; now, imagine you review a religious book, things would go south really quickly if you do not give it a perfect score. It is a matter of how big the crowd is going to be and how much they are going to care about the number which you are going to stick next to their favourite piece. Even if the percentage of idiots is really small, the bigger the crowd, the more angry people you have after you.
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Interesting that he posted these tweets yesterday. That means that some people are still giving him issues about his review score. He might have issues for years.
I believe that, in some cases e.g. for a highly anticipated game, it can be in the reviewer's best interest to review the game without giving it a score at all, because it can be anticipated that part of the audience will react very poorly and very stupidly and the reviewer is at risk of receiving death threats and harassment solely due to the review score.
I don't believe one should have to totally abolish review scores. For less anticipated games, one could be unlucky and have a few stupid fans, but the situation would hopefully remain manageable for the reviewer. However, for big releases, things can get out of hand really quickly.
Like, imagine you review a book which is released today, you should be fine, I guess ; now, imagine you review a religious book, things would go south really quickly if you do not give it a perfect score. It is a matter of how big the crowd is going to be and how much they are going to care about the number which you are going to stick next to their favourite piece. Even if the percentage of idiots is really small, the bigger the crowd, the more angry people you have after you.
The issue isn't the score and if it was effected. The issue is the rhetoric that games like this aren't appropriate for this time.
I keep referencing RE3 Remake and how they shouldn't even review it if that rhetoric is allowed in their reviews at GamesBeat and Capcom should delay the game.
My poll from the other day clearly shows people don't care.
War crimes and atrocities happen daily. Let's cancel COD while we are at it too. It's a slippery slope they never should have allowed.
I can't imagine how terrible a PSVR port of Alyx would be with the Move controllers. It'd be awful.
I think a review like that is fine, but it already starts with "You know we guys have a deadline when writing reviews" and first part together with the Corona mentions feel more like "Hey guys! I HAD to finish that game and write a review even if i did not want to" vibes.
It's actually easier than it seems. Just point your controller in the general direction, wait for highlight.
Pull trigger to yank, grip with hand to grab when its near you.
it isn't fine. It is in the title of the review. It was clearly an issue from the start and they shouldn't have reviewed it then as they are in a small minority of people who think and care like that and do not represent the feelings of the general public wanting to play this game.
Also they got their review code last week like everyone else. Plenty of time to play and review.
Can't believe he even had to explain and justify that. And still, some folks will choose to ignore this elaboration.
In a way it's basically like force pulling something into your hand, you hold your hand open and "point" it at what you want, and see it highlight orange, trigger and flick to bring it to you.
Have you tried 6DOF VR? Or just 3DOF? I get really sick playing PSVR/Daydream/Cardboard. As long as I have 6DOF I'm fine. I played HL:A for six hours the other day and only quit because it was getting late. No motion sickness at all
Venturebeat is not that single reviewer. He can have an opinion that's separate from the rest of the site. You haven't caught them in a trap.
Furthermore, people agreeing in a poll that Capcom shouldn't delay RE3 has nothing to do with one's person's subjective review. I can't see the thought process here.
Allowing the review to be published means they are fine with that rhetoric.
The poll shows people don't care about the game being about a virus infecting people while a virus infects people around the globe right now.
It's fairly simply.
This is a pretty mean-spirited shitty take on one single review that you didn't like.
"They are going to allow," grab a tall refreshing glass of perspective, Spider-Man
Im sorry but you're taking an 8/10 review where one critic gives a personal opinion and says that they think it's a 8/10 game regardless far too personally.
For people like you I'm curious if a service like Shadow VR will work. If it does, then only a Quest and a good enough internet connection is necessary.
Shadow To Launch Cloud-Rendered SteamVR Service For Oculus Quest, But Beware Latency
French startup Blade, behind the Shadow cloud PC service, will launch a closed beta for an Oculus Quest app allowing subscribers to play owned SteamVR games from anywhere with a good internet connection. With Shadow, owners of Facebook’s Oculus Quest standalone headset who don’t own a gaming PC
uploadvr.com
If we hold that VR is the most intensely immersive form of gaming present right now, it should be perfectly valid for reviewers to include how they reacted to that intensity. Sometimes that reaction is very negative and it can color a written review.
It's time for the '9s and 10s or unprofessional'' crowd to sit down and actually recognize the humanity of the people writing reviews and not expect everybody to produce the exact same tone and hold games to a mythical, non-existent standard of ""objectivity"" that doesn't blemish their desired narrative.
It's time for the '9s and 10s or unprofessional'' crowd to sit down and actually recognize the humanity of the people writing reviews and not expect everybody to produce the exact same tone and hold games to a mythical, non-existent standard of ""objectivity"" that doesn't blemish their desired narrative.
I don't know what 3dof or 6dof are, but I tried the Rift and Vive last year and both experiences made me feel pretty bad. But I'm one of those people who can't even look down at their phone when the car is moving I get motion sickness very easily :(
"Don't review a game because you are in the small minority that feels differently than the way I think" is certainly a horrible and childish take. Congrats.
Cool but I feel like it's too expensive.For people like you I'm curious if a service like Shadow VR will work. If it does, then only a Quest and a good enough internet connection is necessary.
Shadow To Launch Cloud-Rendered SteamVR Service For Oculus Quest, But Beware Latency
French startup Blade, behind the Shadow cloud PC service, will launch a closed beta for an Oculus Quest app allowing subscribers to play owned SteamVR games from anywhere with a good internet connection. With Shadow, owners of Facebook’s Oculus Quest standalone headset who don’t own a gaming PC
I get nausea super easily in general. So it's amazing that I was able to play Alyx for 2 hours with continuous movement and be completely fine. Don't know how stuff works.
Shadow, $15/month for a rig with a 1080, $30/month for a 2080.
I think it's somewhere in between, though. First, let me say it's really not okay for people to be harrassing the reviewer. If it's a bad review, it's a bad review...let it be (unfortunately it never works that way, some gamers are a crazy bunch).
With that said, should a reviewer playing a violent game like DOOM or some war game like COD give it shit for being violent? I suppose there is a certain line where gratuitous violence could be noted as a significant negative. But let's be real here, while Half Life Alyx's atmosphere is convincing and a little creepy considering the state of things, it's incredibly inoffensive in nearly every way for a shooter. In other words, you have a person reviewing a game that they have no business reviewing. People that review things on popular subject focused review sites should be connoisseurs of that subject to some degree. And Venture Beat is a "transformative tech coverage that matters" website. There are a million people out there that know what VR is, know what Half Life is, and know what this game was going to bring to the table. So why is the person chosen to review this game one of the few that just doesn't seem to understand what to expect? I'm not saying they were asking for the shit they got, but I think there was a lack of foresight here. "Game was too immersive for me and it hit me emotionally in a negative manner so I'm going to review that as a major negative bullet point and include it in the review header (although maybe that's partially the editors fault)." It wasn't a side note, it was the main point of discussion here.
Once again, there are bad reviews, and imo this is a bad review. Things get bad reviews though, it's okay.
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6DOF is where it also tracks your body movement. AKA room scale VR where you can walk around. 3DOF doesn't move with you.
Vive is 6dof so if that made you sick then I guess that answers my question. I'm in a similar boat. I can't even turn around too fast or I'll get motion sick, but 6dof (Oculus Quest) works great for me.
It took me about a week of playing my PSVR to finally get used to it at first, but since getting the Quest I can't go back. It just makes me sick to the point where I have to lay down for the rest of the night
They recently lowered their prices. Anyways, if you already have a Quest, for me it sounds like a good offer to pay $11.99 to rent a VR capable PC for one month and play Half Life Alyx there. My PC has an RX 580, so I would be doing an upgrade by playing it on a 1080. The big IF here is if the service actually works for you. If it doesn't, it could have a 2080 TI and it doesn't matter.
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This is a fisher-price oversimplification of everything Minotti wrote and you know that.
More ignorant armchair nonsense. "Person who covers games for Venture Beat has no business reviewing PC game"
Yeah, and? All this gaslighting about "actually it's about standards in games journalism" smells real familiar.
I straight up said there might be a point where violence is too much, then went on to explain why I think Half Life doesn't cross those types of boundaries. It was an example. My point is that it's a site for cutting edge tech, and the person reviews games. If you can't handle VR immersion or the (comparatively low) level of violence and atmosphere Half Life brings to the table, you shouldn't be reviewing the game on this site. Valve didn't choose to release the game during a pandemic, so to fault a game that was worked on for years because they were unable to compartmentalize between the virtual world with real world issues seems unfair to me. Reviews are supposed to be opinionated, but also strive for a level of objectivity. Reviews are not blogs about personal feelings; most people don't know or care to know about the reviewer themselves. People want reviewers with expertise in the field who can parse and communicate qualities of a product. My point is that the reviewer made the review about themselves in their introduction and header, and likely integrated that into their score. That IS unprofessional.
I said THIS game.
I don't know what you mean, but ok. I thought my post was reasonable and straight up said it's okay to have bad reviews out there, and people need to chill out about it, while giving my opinion about why I thought it was a bad review. But you're attacking me for my opinion...a little ironic don't you think?
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100% disagree. I urge you to read the last 2 sentences of his review again.
"No business reviewing this game" is a really bad take, in my opinion. Why does he have no business reviewing this game, when he is a video game reviewer?