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Valve confirms Half-Life: Alyx, full reveal coming later this week.

Sybrix

Member
Do we know what the movement is like?

Is it point and teleport or a fluid movement like any other FPS?
 
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Man, when I saw the G-Man, I screamed a little. Beautiful.
And when I saw the headcrab, I started to fear, that it might be too much nope for me!
Even hearing them creeping around will probably make me shiver and sweat.
Having one jump into my face might put me in catatonic state.

It's one thing to see a crab jump into your TV screen, but having them flying right to your face is completely another matter.
 
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Toecutter

Member
It looks good - not blowing me away yet, but I'm interested enough to pick it up at launch. There's not enough good VR shooters at the moment.

Hopefully they sure a good balance with the reloading mechanics - nothing takes me out of a VR shooter quicker than having to fumble around your pockets for ammo (looking at you, Blood Trail!)
 

Hudo

Gold Member
And when I saw the headcrab, I started to fear, that it might be too much nope for me!
Even hearing them creeping around will probably make me shiver and sweat.
Having one jump into my face might put me in catatonic state.
Yeah, I can imagine when you're fully immersed and present, a headcrab can give you a heart attack, haha.

I also like what I have seen with the gravity gloves. Man... I might need to buy an Index afterall...
 

Wonko_C

Member
And when I saw the headcrab, I started to fear, that it might be too much nope for me!
Even hearing them creeping around will probably make me shiver and sweat.
Having one jump into my face might put me in catatonic state.

It's one thing to see a crab jump into your TV screen, but having them flying right to your face is completely another matter.
This happens to me all the time in No Man's Sky. Stupid animal predators and biological terrors pouncing at you without warning. It made me so jumpy for a while even a pigeon startled me when I was walking around the corner of my house the other day.
 

Kadayi

Banned
First, what quote specifically mentions that I laugh at poor people?

I already did earlier.

The immersion is so intense people are blown away playing simple wave shooters, now were getting a full fledged Half Life? Lol. This is insane news. Keeping downplaying poor people.

Feel free to talk that back some, about how you didn't really mean it though. I don't really care at this juncture though.

How about you leave the thread to people that are actually excited about Half Life VR and stop being so aggressive to people Kadayi?

I am not really sure what you are trying to do here in this thread except shit on peoples opinions.

Just seems to be overly aggressive and dismissive to me. I never said he is a VR hater but he certainly seems to be unhappy that a high quality VR game is being produced for some reason.

Next time you want my attention, quote a post I've made or use the Kadayi Kadayi option. Alternatively, use the Report Post or Ignore user buttons (I won't be offended). They are there for a reason.

And as Alexios Alexios rightly say I don't hate VR. If you'd been paying attention you'd have picked up on the fact that I own a VR Headset. I think it's a pretty compelling experience but it's still very much in an embryonic stage as far as the tech goes (VR in 5 - 10 years will likely be glorious). My issue here is more with Valve exploiting an underserved unconcluded IP they shelved for over a decade-plus simply in order to push their VR hardware line. It's cynical move, especially given it's (as people suspected) a prequel to HL2 versus a conclusion to the Episodic Trilogy. I dare say it's going to work and a lot of hitherto on the fence types will be raiding their piggie banks hoping for some Black Friday Deals on VR. However, that doesn't insulate Valve from some criticism when it comes to what they are doing here.

I know it's hard for to parse, but it's entirely possible to like one thing that someone does (Steam..big fan) and not necessarily like another (failure to bring something to a conclusion within a timely fashion as promised).

Anyway, as for the released footage, it looks shiny enough but I guess we'll see next year when they get into the meat of it a bit more. however, beyond an improved Source engine I wasn't seeing anything that screamed must buy a VR headset versus what's come before (NMS VR did it for me). Based on what VNN has said last month I was kind of expecting something a bit gritter in terms of appearance whereas this looks like they're using the Orange/Blue lighting model that has been the bane of many a Hollywood Blockbuster and makes everything look a little cartoony like an upscaled TF2 or some such.
 
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Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
I mean I don't think you hate VR but I do think you're a bit too down on it, it already is glorious and just needs even more glorious content like Half-Life: Alyx and Medal of Honor VR and Sniper Elite VR and all kinds of other games that are out or coming soon and not so soon by indies and big studios alike to get more people onboard, not just in 5 or 10 years. The hardware's already pretty mature and realistically designed as an actual robust product line rather than just tech thrown at a wall to see what sticks (ie body tracking, 360 treadmills, motion shoes, smellovision and whatever other companies are throwing which will not easily take off for the average consumer whether we discuss the now or the future as the cost and ease of use for some of this will not really change that much or offer that much compared to the current head and hand tracking and what can be extrapolated from it - though maybe they can work for location VR experiences to be even more compelling in the future) and games already can be pretty polished from people who understand the medium. And Valve isn't even pushing people to buy the Index with the game given the full support for anything, from cheap WMR products to the medium cost Oculus, which is pretty fucking cool (Oculus make their own funded games exclusives). And I feel it's obvious they do it because they're interested in VR, not just to cash grab, which is gonna be the purpose of any company in this capitalist world anyway. But yeah, they could have handled it in way worse ways and people couldn't complain too much, it's their own platform, their own game, but they didn't.
 
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Kadayi

Banned
I mean I don't think you hate VR but I do think you're a bit too down on it, it already is glorious and just needs even more glorious content like Half-Life: Alyx and Medal of Honor VR and all kinds of other games that are out or coming soon and not so soon to get more people onboard, not just in 5 or 10 years, the hardware's already pretty mature and games already can be pretty polished from people who understand the medium. And Valve isn't even pushing people to buy the Index will full support for anything, from WMR to Oculus, which is pretty fucking cool (Oculus make their own funded games exclusives even if they allow revive to exist/work). And I feel it's obvious they do it because they're interested in VR, not to cash grab, which is gonna be the purpose of any company in a capitalist world anyway but yeah, they could have handled it in way worse ways.

I think work is still required when it comes to the resolution and screen door effect side of things which is why I still view it as embryonic. Generally, if people ask me about it I'm of the view that they would be best served by waiting for the next generation of headsets to be released before diving in, but a lot really depends on how flush they're feeling. I think everything at present is still very much in flux as far as both the technology and software goes. As Bill Gibson would say 'there are no maps for these Territories'. I'm of the view that Cyberpunk 2077 will likely introduce a VR mode if not at launch, then down the road, and that I think would most definitely be a VR headset shifter.

Johnny%20Mnemonic_05_0.jpg
 
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Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Meh, people game on 1080p monitors, I just upgraded to 1440p, that stuff will come at premium and improve over time but I think it's already fine and there are higher res costlier options for those who desire to pay for it but obviously resolution is one of the things that will improve constantly as hardware also grows to power it. I'm on Rift CV1 and have no desire to upgrade, it's pretty great as an experience even with all the objective flaws of the display and lens combination, but it works to provide great games in playability with the same head/hand tracking as most modern VR. If that's the primary complaint one might as well have said in 2000 or 2010, meh, I'll only play vidya games when we have 4K HDR monitors, display and GPU tech is too primitive as it is, etc. I love good VR gameplay, if I can have great graphics with it even better, if eventually I'll have crisp displays on top even better, but it's already sweet af and has been so and I don't need to upgrade asap just for display.
 
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Kadayi

Banned
Wrong post

giphy.gif


You did and others, but as you already know that post never said anything about "laughing at poor people." You added to that for your own agenda.

Try owning it in future, at least people would respect you for it versus trying to wheedle. Laughing, thumbing your nose, it's all the same thing whatever way you slice it.
 
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God Enel

Member
Why are there only flying hands? Am I playing Rayman?

seriously, I saw it a lot in vr what’s the reason?
 
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Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Why are there only flying hands? Am I playing Rayman?

seriously, I saw it a lot in vr what’s the reason?
Current and near future consumer VR only tracks head and hands and the rest is extrapolated, yeah you can already theoretically have more sensors or add cameras for body tracking but it's not as convenient and adds cost for little, for most people, gain.

Good inverse kinematics can have the arms but they will never align 1:1 and can look way off/unnatural depending on what you do, often for immersion it's better to only have your hands shown matching 1:1 your real hands than also have arms that don't quite match up.

Some games give you the option to enable or disable the rest of the arm and I prefer to disable it so far. A few games like Arkham VR and Lone Echo have really cool inverse kinematics but they generally don't have much actions to do and they aren't infallible.

Boneworks appears to have very good inverse kinematics going by some videos of people playing it like that but we'll see how it is in practice. Perhaps they'll also be an option in Alyx, just not shown yet, or Valve decided it's not good enough to include, who knows.
 
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God Enel

Member
Current consumer VR only tracks head and hands and the rest is extrapolated.

Good inverse kinematics can have the arms but they will never align 1:1 and can look way off/unnatural depending on what you do, often for immersion it's better to only have your hands shown matching 1:1 your real hands than also have arms that don't quite match up.

Oh that’s nice to know. I just find it weird and it kills imo the immersion. Though I have never tried VR so I’m judging just by the trailer(s) / gameplay of games.
 

Wonko_C

Member
Oh that’s nice to know. I just find it weird and it kills imo the immersion. Though I have never tried VR so I’m judging just by the trailer(s) / gameplay of games.
At least in my case, my hands don't really enter my field of vision that much, so it doesn't really impact me unless I'm looking for it.

That doesn't mean I wouldn't love it if there was full body tracking. When we get there imagine an Incredible Hulk game where you're able to see yourself turning into the mean big green himself, and start smashing puny gods.
 
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gifgaf

Member
I see some comments about the detached hands without arms or body.
I'm guessing they don't want players to fondle virtual breasts first thing they do.
Fondling breasts in VR is actually fun and bouncy, kinda like slapping a thick jelly. :messenger_winking:
 

lifa-cobex

Member
Shit it's weird seeing a high quality Half Life.

Do you need the new controllers or can you use the stranded vive cons?
 

Orta

Banned
Okay, that looks fucking amazing. Am tempted to hold out for a possible PSVR port but fuck it, if its good I'm getting me a PC headset.
 
October Steam Hardware survey says 0.38% of steam users have VR. That figure might grow to 1% because of alyx.... maybe.

That's inaccurate. That's Oculus Rift users (not even S). In reality it's already over 1% according to that hardware survey. That may still be low, but it was already rising steadily, and this will undoubtedly give a big boost. Also, I looked at the gpu numbers and it looks like over half of Steam users have VR capable PC's at this point. That's a good thing for potential VR market; millions of people only have to buy a headset rather than a whole PC/VR setup to play. And keep in mind that Oculus Link for the Quest just came out. The Quest is looking to be the most successful VR headset other than PSVR, and now that it is PC capable, that's more people that will get into the PCVR ecosystem (although I realize a lot of Quest users don't have a PC).

You can get into VR for really cheap if your PC meets the requirements. People thinking that they have to drop 1000 on an Index really aren't looking at all...not only are good headsets well under half that price (Quest + Link, Rift S, Samsung Odyssey +), but you could always go used and get something like a Rift CV1 for probably around 200 bucks. I have a CV1 and it's really good. People spend way more than that on shit that barely enhances the PC gaming experience like m/kb, speakers, monitors, etc. whereas this is an entirely different medium. There's simply no excuse for arguing on a forum about VR prices these days. It's a piece of tech, tech costs money. In no way is VR prohibitively expensive if you already game on PC. Also, you can swing a VR capable PC for around 500 bucks these days. So even if you don't have a PC, you can get into the PCVR market by spending $700-800 total if you really want to, but more realistically around a grand if you want a more cost effective experience.

I understand people rejecting innovative tech, it's the way of the world, people can't accept change. And maybe this tech isn't for everyone, after all it encompasses two of your most important senses...but guess what, to be that immersive it has to. VR is also hard to showcase on a flat screen, you really have to try it before you can judge.
 
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Orta

Banned
Anyway, to save you all the bother of searching, the full fat Valve headset, controllers, base stations, etc package comes in at €1079.

This is gonna be the second most expensive game I've ever bought!
 

Grinchy

Banned
The bundle for us Americans is $999. I assume if you want to play room-scale VR you have to buy another 2 light boxes for $300.

Maybe someone can buy it for me.
 

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
That's an interesting direction to take things. As far as VR games goes the game footage looks good.

Kind of funny Valve still can't make a proper third release in a franchise.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
The bundle for us Americans is $999. I assume if you want to play room-scale VR you have to buy another 2 light boxes for $300.

Maybe someone can buy it for me.
Why would you assume anything like that? That's not how things work, you don't need more things for room scale.

And a $350 (on black friday) Rift S can do room scale too without extras. If you don't have a RTX2080ti and a 4k HDR monitor and a $150 mouse and $300 keyboard and Elite style Xbox controller then you can also play just fine on VR that is not the best premium out there, like most people :)

And if you're REALLY budget constrained there are various WMR kits to buy for $200 or less which are kind of Rift S-like but not quite there, though some formerly premium stuff actually have equal or better screens at least (but all have the same relatively lesser tracking and controllers).

Other than this basic info you just need to check your IPD as different kits support different ranges but beyond that you don't need to look into it much more than this if you can't bother doing too much market/product research (but anyone should whenever buying stuff really).
 
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eot

Banned
I mean I don't think you hate VR but I do think you're a bit too down on it, it already is glorious and just needs even more glorious content like Half-Life: Alyx and Medal of Honor VR and Sniper Elite VR and all kinds of other games that are out or coming soon and not so soon by indies and big studios alike to get more people onboard, not just in 5 or 10 years. The hardware's already pretty mature and realistically designed as an actual robust product line rather than just tech thrown at a wall to see what sticks (ie body tracking, 360 treadmills, motion shoes, smellovision and whatever other companies are throwing which will not easily take off for the average consumer whether we discuss the now or the future as the cost and ease of use for some of this will not really change that much or offer that much compared to the current head and hand tracking and what can be extrapolated from it - though maybe they can work for location VR experiences to be even more compelling in the future) and games already can be pretty polished from people who understand the medium. And Valve isn't even pushing people to buy the Index with the game given the full support for anything, from cheap WMR products to the medium cost Oculus, which is pretty fucking cool (Oculus make their own funded games exclusives). And I feel it's obvious they do it because they're interested in VR, not just to cash grab, which is gonna be the purpose of any company in this capitalist world anyway. But yeah, they could have handled it in way worse ways and people couldn't complain too much, it's their own platform, their own game, but they didn't.
That's a giant fucking parenthesis dude
 
That's inaccurate. That's Oculus Rift users (not even S). In reality it's already over 1% according to that hardware survey.
You can get into VR for really cheap if your PC meets the requirements.

Ah okay I didn't click into it, still its barely over 1%.

You can get into VR for really cheap if your PC meets the requirements.

No thanks I'm good. Maybe one day when you don't have to strap an expensive brick to your face and you don't get sick from extended play.

Also I'm definitely not going to get VR for this. Fuck Valve, they don't care about HL fans, all they want to do is sell their hardware.
 
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Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Ah okay I didn't click into it, still its barely over 1%.



No thanks I'm good. Maybe one day when you don't have to strap an expensive brick to your face and you don't get sick from extended play.

Also I'm definitely not going to get VR for this. Fuck Valve, they don't care about HL fans, all they want to do is sell their hardware.
You reply to "there are non expensive kits" (all the way to $200 or less) with "expensive brick"? And it's not extended play that makes people sick, you either get sick with certain features like free locomotion (hence other options in the game) or you don't. Most don't.

Nobody ever suggested to power through motion sickness just to play a game. Other people get sick with just first person games in general but I don't see you clamoring for a third person Half-Life to include those.

Sorry that game development isn't a democracy for them to make what most want over what they want to make if it's that 1% of the steam VR user base (yeah right, if you think the other 99% is half-life fans, lol) that offends you. Where's the threshold anyway? When a certain "most" aligns with what you want? Cos most people who play games certainly don't care for single player linear FPS any more. Heck, most people probably play candy crush and such things. Should the next Half-Life be a match 3 game then? Or maybe an MMORPG theme park like World of Warcraft, tons of people play that, lol. Even if this was HL3 out of VR it'd still exclude tons of people by virtue of the minimum 1060 GPU far better than most Steam users have too (even if that's not quite 99%), why's that alright but VR isn't? Etc.
 
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H

hariseldon

Unconfirmed Member
I see some comments about the detached hands without arms or body.
I'm guessing they don't want players to fondle virtual breasts first thing they do.

I may have grabbed ass during Lone Echo - the character in question slaps your hand away and moves away! That said, in Echo Arena there's an epidemic of teabagging, so not all problems can be easily solved.
 
You reply to "there are non expensive kits" (all the way to $200 or less) with "expensive brick"? And it's not extended play that makes people sick, you either get sick with certain features like free locomotion (hence other options in the game) or you don't. Most don't.

Nobody ever suggested to power through motion sickness just to play a game. Other people get sick with just first person games in general but I don't see you clamoring for a third person Half-Life to include those.

Sorry that game development isn't a democracy for them to make what most want over what they want to make if it's that 1% of the steam VR user base (yeah right, if you think the other 99% is half-life fans, lol) that offends you. Where's the threshold anyway? When a certain "most" aligns with what you want? Cos most people who play games certainly don't care for single player linear FPS any more. Heck, most people probably play candy crush and such things. Should the next Half-Life be a match 3 game then? Or maybe an MMORPG theme park like World of Warcraft, tons of people play that, lol. Even if this was HL3 out of VR it'd still exclude tons of people by virtue of the minimum 1060 GPU far better than most Steam users have too (even if that's not quite 99%), why's that alright but VR isn't? Etc.
Some nice trawmen there
 
The game itself is not going to be like the footage. It's far too on rails and scripted, Ubisoft tier. It will be a good demonstration to justify their new VR tech, but nothing much else. VR is a massive waste with a potential future, but I can't imagine anyone stupid enough to dump money into developing it through such a premature stage. We are decades away from ubiquity in my eyes, where it will rise mostly as a side feature of some other technologies.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
It's a video, of course it's on rails. And of course the game won't be and that's a good thing, not a bad thing, wtf? You can't imagine anyone being stupid enough to dump money into developing VR? There are tons of companies developing it already, you don't need imagination for anything, lol?

No, it's not matrix level VR, just as we've not had photorealistic 8K rendered graphics at 144fps or whatever the future holds, because we were in the past, and are in the present, and still played a ton of great vidya gaemz, something we now also do in VR, even as everything does and will improve.
 
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