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Half Life Alyx - No VR mod is shaping good

KyoZz

Tag, you're it.
Work in progress of course, but the first result are here




Modder ‘SoMNst’ has released a new update video for a new VR Mod for Half-Life Alyx. As the title suggests, this mod will let you experience Half-Life: Alyx on non-VR devices, featuring full support for keyboard and mouse.

In this latest video, the modder showcases a new Viewmodel and some new animations. Moreover, the game now features a Camera “viewpunch“. Player speed has been fixed when player is ducked, and the player now moves slower when using ADS. Additionally, the zombies are now running instead of walking.
This adjustment aims to make the game a bit more challenging. Headcrabs are also more aggressive.

As you will see in the video, this non-VR Mod is way more advanced and better than the initial non-VR mod we shared. In fact, the game starts feeling like a classic non-VR FPS now.

 
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Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
I get this point, however there are a lot of people like me who have no interest in VR at all, but are huge Half Life fans who want to experience another part of the story, especially given the huge gap between Alyx and HL2:Ep 2!!
Alyx does nothing to further the plot. The experience is meaningless without VR so you're doing more harm than good by 'playing' through without VR.

Keep in mind the combat in Alyx is specifically tailored for VR. Reloading, aiming, enemy placement is all based around being in VR. This means there are fewer enemies compared to previous games but the tension in combat is much higher. If reloading is done via a single keystroke, you're circumventing the entire experience.

This is like playing Mario 64 modded to be a 2D snes game. Or an easy mode on a Souls game.
 
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Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
good the more people enjoy the story there more people might want to join in VR.

Quest 2 will get official wireless support in a upcoming patch.
And 120FPS support, If you are still on the fence about getting into VR
go for it.

Alyx & lone echo are the two games that are worth it.
 

KyoZz

Tag, you're it.
Playing Alex without VR is like eating a well-done steak. You've destroyed the experience by removing the best parts.
There was a time when I had an Oculus Rift. BUT MY HOUSE WAS ROBBED WHILE I WAS ON A PROFESSIONAL TRAVEL AND NOW I'M FUCKED UP AND I CAN'T FINISH THE GAME
unknown.png


jim carrey attorney GIF


Sorry, I needed to evacuate (and I agree, without the VR features, this will be an average game imo)
 
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CloudNull

Banned
I get this point, however there are a lot of people like me who have no interest in VR at all, but are huge Half Life fans who want to experience another part of the story, especially given the huge gap between Alyx and HL2:Ep 2!!
You would be better off just watching a YouTube video. The boss fights would be lame not in vr, enemies would be lame hence the reason for the modder to change their behavior. At this point it’s becoming a different game.

There is nothing like dropping your last mag as you go to reload in VR and physically panicking. With flat gameing that would never happen.
 

KyoZz

Tag, you're it.
It's worth it to pick up a new headset. HL:A is easily the best gaming experience I've had. It's a 11/10, once in a generation game.
Ooooh trust me I know, I enjoyed my time so much with this game, playing with dead bodys and the physics.
The worst part is that I still have the two sensors and one touch because those freaking dumbass probably don't know what they stole. So I don't know if I wait for a true Rift 2 with a better resolution, or just buy back a Rift.
 

Romulus

Member
I get this point, however there are a lot of people like me who have no interest in VR at all, but are huge Half Life fans who want to experience another part of the story, especially given the huge gap between Alyx and HL2:Ep 2!!

You would honestly be better off watching a walkthrough of it than playing a VR game without VR.

Which is still horrible. VR just does not translate at all to monitors at all.

I guess for people that havent used VR, think of it this way. Imagine playing a racing simulator on a switch vs playing it on a full triple screen setup with pedals and steering wheel. Its actually more of a difference than that but theres just no comparison unless you've used good VR.
 
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I get this point, however there are a lot of people like me who have no interest in VR at all, but are huge Half Life fans who want to experience another part of the story, especially given the huge gap between Alyx and HL2:Ep 2!!


i've read the story on its wikipedia page and watched the ending on youtube. Because i curious. I will not play this game until i have a vr set in my hands. Im not really in a hurry for one and i cant seem to find enough games to justify this type of spending yet. But at one point in time i'll get one.
 

TriSuit666

Banned
I get this point, however there are a lot of people like me who have no interest in VR at all, but are huge Half Life fans who want to experience another part of the story, especially given the huge gap between Alyx and HL2:Ep 2!!

I only feel you're going to be flamed uneccesarily here, but I can understand, as I felt the same before experiencing it in VR.

It's essentially the Spectator View squashed into a 2D plane, you DO end up losing a lot of what makes Alyx a special thing, and it's designed as a VR experience first and foremost.

There are some parts of the game where grabbing and throwing things in very quick succession may be problematic using the KB+M only.
 
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Krappadizzle

Gold Member
I have a hard time believing something as generic as an FPS can only be experienced with VR, Half Life included
Believe.

I really can't imagine this game being nearly as fun without VR. It would be pretty boring tbh comparatively to what's accepted as a modern shooter. There's not a lot of enemies in the combat scenes(but they are perfect for VR and some of the most memorable moments of the game just being a quick key click would leave people feeling "that's it?") Not understanding or realizing the context of why it's awesome in VR.

But if people want to gimp themselves and give it a try more power to them. I look forward to the inevitable threads of people saying "I played Alyxx non-vr and found it underwhelming/overrated." Gonna be hilarious.
 

Wonko_C

Member
I get this point, however there are a lot of people like me who have no interest in VR at all, but are huge Half Life fans who want to experience another part of the story, especially given the huge gap between Alyx and HL2:Ep 2!!
Games like this are system sellers. The point is to get people interested in the platform. It's like saying there are huge Super Mario fans who want to experience their games but are not interested in buying a Nintendo console.
 

Tranquil

Member
The only people that have no interest in VR are ignorant. You got no excuse.
I had an interest in VR, then I purchased an Oculus Rift and a PSVR.

Sold my PSVR after 3 months and the Rift is collecting dust in my closet. VR is incredibly cumbersome to wear, once they come out with a lightweight version the size of a pair of sunglasses, I'll check it out again.
 

Ribi

Member
imagine not playing Half Life 2 without a keyboard and monitor... the experience is not as good.

Give me that monitor experience for alyx!
 
I agree that playing Alyx without a VR headset would be a waste. This game made me: lie down on the floor to peek under doors, jump on a few occasion, crouch to look for cover, physically hold a bucket for a whole level in order to stash my grenades, etc and I loved every minute of it. Also, the gravity gloves are really fun to use with the finger flick and I wonder how it would work outside of VR. IMO the game would lose a lot of its magic.
 
All I want to know is if the Quest 2 runs the game well, or can my 1660ti do VR well enough.

If neither questions results in a no, i'll probably play this modded if I feel desperate enough.

Though I very much rather play this with a VR headset.
 

TriSuit666

Banned
All I want to know is if the Quest 2 runs the game well, or can my 1660ti do VR well enough.

If neither questions results in a no, i'll probably play this modded if I feel desperate enough.

Though I very much rather play this with a VR headset.

Question 1: Aye - with Virtual Desktop and Oculus Link
Question 2: Aye, should be fine
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
All I want to know is if the Quest 2 runs the game well, or can my 1660ti do VR well enough.

If neither questions results in a no, i'll probably play this modded if I feel desperate enough.

Though I very much rather play this with a VR headset.

Easy enough to find out the answer:
 
Question 1: Aye - with Virtual Desktop and Oculus Link
Question 2: Aye, should be fine
Awesome. Thanks!

I may actually have to dive into a Quest 2 sooner than expected.


Easy enough to find out the answer:

Neato! I never knew this was a thing on steam, but thanks to this it basically alleviated me of all my fears after the benchmark judged my hardware more than capable of running VR games.

The temptation is peaking.
 

Romulus

Member
Awesome. Thanks!

I may actually have to dive into a Quest 2 sooner than expected.




Neato! I never knew this was a thing on steam, but thanks to this it basically alleviated me of all my fears after the benchmark judged my hardware more than capable of running VR games.

The temptation is peaking.

There's alot more reasons to get into Quest 2 than just Alyx. It's definitely upper tier and many consider the best game in VR but there are plenty of others, not to mention racing and flying games are magnitudes superior in VR, its not even remotely close.
 

TriSuit666

Banned
There's alot more reasons to get into Quest 2 than just Alyx. It's definitely upper tier and many consider the best game in VR but there are plenty of others, not to mention racing and flying games are magnitudes superior in VR, its not even remotely close.
Assetto Corsetta, Project Cars 2 and Dirt Rally 2.0 are just so so good.

Almost completely different games to the 2D versions.
 

lukilladog

Member
You guys are confirming what I said before, if you take away the novelty of the implementation of the interface, the game is forgettable.
 

FunkMiller

Member
If this is anything like the difference between playing RE 7 in VR and playing it in pancake mode... then a hell of a lot of the experience will be lost if you play Alyx in 2d. Nowhere near as good.
 
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