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[Thaedolus]

I just smacked a headcrab off a table with a keyboard. That sounds really simple, but the way it felt was godlike. The impact was powerful as it knocked off a lamp and cupholder. The debris was flung into the shadows realistically. I couldn't ffindthe headcrab to save my life for several seconds. It made me feel like that scene in Aliens were Ripley is trying to protect Newt in the lab. God damn this is intense.

Also, I just saw Alyx is at 96% positive on Steam. Doom Eternal at 90% last I checked. More reviews of course but 96% with 4k reviews is nothing to sneeze at.

I had one come at me and I was fumbling around to reload, then just instinctively grabbed a metal tube and swung it just as the headcrab jumped at me and smacked it aside. It was completely natural, I didn't even think about what I was doing. It's seriously some next level stuff.

 

[Bootzilla]

Did Epic try to get Alyx as an exclusive? Lol, I am joking of course, but I wouldn't put it past Epic to try.

Did Valve get shit for making Alyx Steam exclusive is the better question...

 

[Romulus]

I had one come at me and I was fumbling around to reload, then just instinctively grabbed a metal tube and swung it just as the headcrab jumped at me and smacked it aside. It was completely natural, I didn't even think about what I was doing. It's seriously some next level stuff.

Thats cool! It doesn't even seem like we should be able to use our natural instincts this well, but it works. I can't imagine the shit people will come up with. I keep taking breaks and reflecting on little things that happen.

 

[rofif]

Holy crap. A painful left leg calf cramp just woke me ay 5am in my bed.
Guess it's not a good idea to play Alyx standing 6 hours straight front facing without moving legs much

 

[Jill Valentine]

This is the best stream of the game, mostly just for the shit talk.

So in my opinion the game's shit. Pretty corridors. Lots of tutorial gameplay introducing tiny things one at a time. Takes a while to start up. Of course this is typical Half Life and why I think the whole series is rubbish. It's one of the greatest video games to introduce to people who don't play video games. My biggest complaint is Corner Sniffing™ . Making players poke around in this fashion is a cancer that got more pervasive in the 360/PS3 era, with the likes of Bioshock. Almost like the pinata effect from RE4. It has no attractive replay value.

Game wasn't designed with locomotion in mind probably until late on with the instant jumping. The weapon switching system seems to be a bit of a step back with a UI popping up, don't know where they were going with that.

I'm still seeing people fumbling with VR after all this time, especially in the heat of the moment. I almost want to call it "VR panic". Any game element that puts the player under pressure and making them do the correct hand gestures fast seems to cause problems.

Now the best part about the game is the most gamey part of the game. Since Half Life is a series of setpieces stitched toegether, there are always some decent ones within the garbage. And this time it's the puzzles with Jeff and the horror element of a stalker. Got me eager about the idea of mods using the game assets but I don't think we're going to see that for this game, at least for a while. The Half Life engines mods are the best thing about them. Would like a full survival horror game in VR. Personally haven't played RE7 outside of first 20 minutes in pancake mode, but the game itself doesn't interest from watching it. Need it to be a heavy gameplay focused horror game.

 

[sol_bad]

Did Valve get shit for making Alyx Steam exclusive is the better question...

Is Fortnite on Steam?

 

[Romulus]

This is the best stream of the game, mostly just for the shit talk.

So in my opinion the game's shit. Pretty corridors. Lots of tutorial gameplay introducing tiny things one at a time. Takes a while to start up. Of course this is typical Half Life and why I think the whole series is rubbish. It's one of the greatest video games to introduce to people who don't play video games. My biggest complaint is Corner Sniffing™ . Making players poke around in this fashion is a cancer that got more pervasive in the 360/PS3 era, with the likes of Bioshock. Almost like the pinata effect from RE4. It has no attractive replay value.

Game wasn't designed with locomotion in mind probably until late on with the instant jumping. The weapon switching system seems to be a bit of a step back with a UI popping up, don't know where they were going with that.

I'm still seeing people fumbling with VR after all this time, especially in the heat of the moment. I almost want to call it "VR panic". Any game element that puts the player under pressure and making them do the correct hand gestures fast seems to cause problems.

Now the best part about the game is the most gamey part of the game. Since Half Life is a series of setpieces stitched toegether, there are always some decent ones within the garbage. And this time it's the puzzles with Jeff and the horror element of a stalker. Got me eager about the idea of mods using the game assets but I don't think we're going to see that for this game, at least for a while. The Half Life engines mods are the best thing about them. Would like a full survival horror game in VR. Personally haven't played RE7 outside of first 20 minutes in pancake mode, but the game itself doesn't interest from watching it. Need it to be a heavy gameplay focused horror game.

Shit talking?

Soon as I started watching that, the player says "You know what? This is actually really good. I mean really fucking good." To which all the guys agreed.

The dude was outright blown away by it.

 

[Jill Valentine]

Shit talking?

Soon as I stayed watching that, the player says "You know what? This is actually really good. I mean really fucking good." To which all the guys agreed.

Shit talking does not have to mean being negative towards something. Playful banter between men? The funniest moment was some of the fungi looking like a breast followed by "get down there and suck on that titty!", and the parts with Jeff. They do some comedic voices too.

 

[Romulus]

Shit talking does not have to mean being negative towards something. Playful banter between men? The funniest moment was some of the fungi looking like a breast followed by "get down there and suck on that titty!", and the parts with Jeff. They do some comedic voices too.

Gotcha. They seem pretty immature to me or the guy playing is just very excited. It just threw me off that the video that made you decide it sucked, they were singing its praises.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Just got the flashlight! The lighting and shadow casting with it on looks incredible. Man, Half-Life finally getting revenge for Doom 3.

Really just thoroughly enjoying this game.

 

[Come On Tars]

Shit talking does not have to mean being negative towards something. Playful banter between men? The funniest moment was some of the fungi looking like a breast followed by "get down there and suck on that titty!", and the parts with Jeff. They do some comedic voices too.

didnt know jaboody streamed. His Guy Fieri dubs killed me back then

 

[Helios]

Did Valve get shit for making Alyx Steam exclusive is the better question...

Nope, just like no-one gave a shit that Fortnite is Epic Store exclusive. Maybe there's a pattern there...

 

[rofif]

Wow really not many posts here. Guess people don't have vr and videos don't make this game a justice. Graphics are insane and it makes boneworks look clunky

 

[Romulus]

#1: on steam currently top sellers

 

[kizito]

Enjoying a lot the game currently, a stepping stone in the VR world without a doubt.

 

[Boris The Spider]

Ermmmm, can you run with smooth locomotion? Currently crawling around like a limp dog!

 

[skneogaf]

Wow! I've just finished work after a night shift so had a quick 15 minutes before bed. The graphics and the feeling of being in city 17 is absolutely amazing!

I am blown away!

Its really sunny this morning so I had a bit if light leaking through the bottom of the oculus rift that when I was playing I only realised I was wearing a headset when I noticed the light. I had completely forgotten and was immersed.

The game told me my gpu wasn't enough and put my settings on lowest but I have one if the best pcs you can buy in a oc 9700k and a oc 2080ti so I put graphics on highest and it beautiful.

The new source engine looks the business.

 

[INC]

Ermmmm, can you run with smooth locomotion? Currently crawling around like a limp dog!

No, you have to use teleport/blink to move around faster, even with continuous motion turned on.

It's the main thing I dislike about alyx, no sprint, no smooth turn

 

[DanEON]

I am having some weird issue. My virtual hands are shaking. While in steamVR home it's perfectly 1:1, but not in Alyx. Like, my movements are fine, no tracking issue, just that the hands shakes like if I have Parkinson. Anyone else with this??
I have Valve Index with two base stations.

 

[moniker]

I am having some weird issue. My virtual hands are shaking. While in steamVR home it's perfectly 1:1, but not in Alyx. Like, my movements are fine, no tracking issue, just that the hands shakes like if I have Parkinson. Anyone else with this??
I have Valve Index with two base stations.

Same, it's like the hands are vibrating. And I saw a thread in the Steam forums about this, so it's not just you.

 

[DanEON]

Same, it's like the hands are vibrating. And I saw a thread in the Steam forums about this, so it's not just you.

Yes, vibrating, it's a better word for it. Good to know I am not the only one. I hope they come up with some fix.

 

[Shai-Tan]

Yes, vibrating, it's a better word for it. Good to know I am not the only one. I hope they come up with some fix.

me too. noticed last night, thought it was a tracking problem but I held up my hands and it was still doing it

 

[rofif]

Everything works great on rift cv1 here but I want to upgrade to S since lcd, higher res and 360 tracking. Anyone plays on S? Some issues? Maybe backpack sucks?

 

[Alexios]

LCD (80hz) isn't a plus (but it has better lenses too). You could get a 3rd tracker for 360 tracking if you have the spare USB port and can run a cable all the way to somewhere behind you. It's only gonna get rarer but right now you may be able to find new ones for a reasonable price or maybe used from people that upgraded to an Index and have no use for it any more (but make sure it's a 3rd extra tracker you buy if you want it to come with an active extension cable, otherwise you'll need to get that separately). I've got a good setup going so the USB requirements/setup hassle don't matter and I've no reason to upgrade until something in the ~450 range offers considerably more than current offerings. Maybe a Rift S 2 or Quest 2 (maybe they'll be one and the same next time if Quest 2 gets rid of the Link crap and goes for native displayport/hdmi/whatever connectivity with PC).

 

[moniker]

The LCD screen's poor black level and contrast ratio really hurt the darker parts of Alyx. I wish OLED screens with the Index panels' pixel fill factor (and super low persistence) existed, but unfortunately they don't.

I'm hoping we get a microled based HMD sooner rather than later.

 

[Romulus]

I got up early like a kid to play. I'm probably 8 hours in and I just completed one of the best missions in any Half Life game. Totally floored me.

I don't want this to end. Lol

 

[Romulus]

I'm thinking this will do better than expected in sales.

Beat Saber sold a million copies and the most concurrent players ever on Steam was 4,400.

Half Life hit 43,000 last night. Not suggesting it's a 10 million seller lmao, but still a good sign. It's still #1 on steam best sellers above Doom which is insane considering the VR userbase is maybe 2-5% of PC players.

 

[INC]

Everything works great on rift cv1 here but I want to upgrade to S since lcd, higher res and 360 tracking. Anyone plays on S? Some issues? Maybe backpack sucks?

no issues at all, theres slight hand judder, but index has the same issue

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[JCK75]

Got about an hour in last night and I'm completely blown away by it, only today learned you can draw dicks on the window so I'm going to start all over so I can do that.

 

[Bootzilla]

Everything works great on rift cv1 here but I want to upgrade to S since lcd, higher res and 360 tracking. Anyone plays on S? Some issues? Maybe backpack sucks?

I have heard the backpack is a little more failure prone compared to CV1 with 360 tracking set up but that it's still a good experience overall. .

 

[Bootzilla]

I'm thinking this will do better than expected in sales.

Beat Saber sold a million copies and the most concurrent players ever on Steam was 4,400.

Half Life hit 43,000 last night. Not suggesting it's a 10 million seller lmao, but still a good sign. It's still #1 on steam best sellers above Doom which is insane considering the VR userbase is maybe 2-5% of PC players.

Beat Saber didn't sell a million copies on Steam, though. It's on a lot of platforms, including PSVR and Quest, which are very large markets that this doesn't have.

But it's not going out on a limb to say this will smash all Steam VR records. We don't really know how big the Steam VR userbase is (even the survey isn't very reliable at detecting hardware, and it's expressed as a percentage of an ever-growing total userbase) but of this sells a million on Steam alone, that will be a big fucking deal.

 

[Bootzilla]

Ermmmm, can you run with smooth locomotion? Currently crawling around like a limp dog!

Walking speed is kept to a slower/more realistic pace in this one. Probably for comfort, but also the game feels designed around it. It's a much slower/more thorough kind of pace. You get used to it.

 

[flibbertyjibbert]

so I'm not gonna play this since I don't have VR, but I watched a youtube video of the ending

Spoiler

it's fucking bullshit

 

[Alexios]

Beat Saber is at 2 million, not 1 (and 10m songs). It was said during the Facebook: Game Developers Showcase. It's still irrelevant to a "core" PC FPS with a higher price as it took Beat Saber over a year since early access and several sw/hw platforms to reach, just correcting the misinformation.

 

[Romulus]

Beat Saber didn't sell a million copies on Steam, though. It's on a lot of platforms, including PSVR and Quest, which are very large markets that this doesn't have.

But it's not going out on a limb to say this will smash all Steam VR records. We don't really know how big the Steam VR userbase is (even the survey isn't very reliable at detecting hardware, and it's expressed as a percentage of an ever-growing total userbase) but of this sells a million on Steam alone, that will be a big fucking deal.

Yep, just looking at the most popular VR game I could find on steam for comparison. It's not 1 to 1 of course, but I knew it wouldn't be. Either way, it's looking really promising i think.

 

[sol740]

I sorely need a run/sprint option because the default walking speed is downright painful. I assume they slowed it down to try and lessen VR sickness, but Pavlov has made me all but immune to it, and I feel like a snail in this game.

Also, the backpack reloading is pretty awkward A belt/rig/holster option would be way better, and leave the backpack for storage.

These are mostly minor quibbles though, I'm around two hours in, and it's definitely one of the best, if not the best, single player VR experiences I've had.

 

[jackets with pockets]

If the game looks this amazing with VR graphics I can't help to think how much more stunning a non-VR Half-Life: Alyx would have looked...

 

[Romulus]

If the game looks this amazing with VR graphics I can't help to think how much more stunning a non-VR Half-Life: Alyx would have looked...

I actually prefer the visuals far more in VR. I have skyrim on regular PC and VR, theres just so much more you can appreciate in 3D with VR. Not only that, the old way of thinking about "VR graphics" has diminished even before Alyx.

 

[Jill Valentine]

So these guys are nearing the end. I've watched the ending already but I can't find a full playthrough and I couldn't find anyone doing a single session playthrough on Twitch.

 

[Grinchy]

I just can't imagine how amazing this looks running at max settings on an Index or one of the other good PC headsets. I feel like I'd be staring at every pipe. I don't know if I'd make it out of that starting area in less than 30 minutes.

 

[INC]

I just can't imagine how amazing this looks running at max settings on an Index or one of the other good PC headsets. I feel like I'd be staring at every pipe. I don't know if I'd make it out of that starting area in less than 30 minutes.

someone mentioned it already, but alyx would make an amazing dishonored game

 

[jackets with pockets]

 

[Screamer-RSA]

Watching a youtuber play it and I actually got bored lol. Just gimmics and so far not a single enemy on screen. Alyx's new voice actress is also as flat as a board.

They nailed the Half Life feel though. Overal looks like a good VR game but an average game overall.

 

[Hari Seldon]

I’m still 5-7 weeks from my Index coming in. I have a vive but only one working base station so I’m holding off. Is the index still the best for this? The angry joe review they bailed on the index in favor of the oculus because of motion sickness.

 

[Romulus]

Watching a youtuber play it and I actually got bored lol. Just gimmics and so far not a single enemy on screen. Alyx's new voice actress is also as flat as a board.

They nailed the Half Life feel though. Overal looks like a good VR game but an average game overall.

It's a great game. In videos, like thousands of people will tell you, if it even looks remotely good, that means it's far better inside the headset. It just doesn't translate at all. These videos I'm watching people post look awful compared to what I see inside the headset.

I remember points in HL2 and HL1 that really blew me away, the music, atmosphere, the introduction of interesting mechanics. This has that, and the second half of this game has the best half of any in the series, ever. It's just flat out that good. I'm a fan of the series btw, day one the HL2 episodes and the most of the mods for HL1. I'm taking a break just before the end now. It could fall apart from here, but the way it's going I don't see how.

 

[Come On Tars]

Reminds me of Khan Academy.

 

[Thaedolus]

If the game looks this amazing with VR graphics I can't help to think how much more stunning a non-VR Half-Life: Alyx would have looked...

Porque no los dos? I’m still expecting HL3 at some point given Valve’s recent comments, I’d be totally fine if it were mouse+keyboard (or optional either way), if they run a side series or something that’s VR only that’s fine too.

Maybe that’s all wishful thinking, but hopefully the positive reception keeps them interested in keeping HL releases regularly.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I had such a huge smile on my face when I realized I could erase and write on that window.

 

[Balducci30]

I just have to say - this might be my favorite gaming experience of all time. I hesitate to even call it a game it’s like being in the live action movie version of half life. It’s truly unreal. Has it’s flaws but man this feels like the future - I didn’t think we were close to being able to do this sort of stuff.