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[Gordon Freeman]

The Animation Update is Out Now!​

This is it! The first of many animation updates for Half-Life Alyx No-VR is out now! You can either update via the launcher if you have the mod already installed or you can pull the newest version from GitHub or from here on ModDB!

We are adding Alyx's arms, hands and weapons, all with proper animations, for this update, making it likely the most expansive Animation Update we will release.

However, as mentioned this is only the first of many animation updates, with this one focusing on the most important animations and viewmodels that affect minute to minute gameplay. In this case it is using Alyx's weapons that is the most important and why we started with these animations and models.

Screenshots

Launch Trailer


Download Links and Full Patch Notes
Download, Patch Notes, Behind the Scenes Article and More at ModDB

 

[Pakoe]

I'm happy people without VR sets are able to play this and I'm not hating on the devs for creating this but I dont think the game has the same effect on you without all the VR capabilities.
You being in the game, actually controlling Alyx was a big reason for the game to be a good experience. I think the pancake version will be pretty boring.
Thas just me though.

 

[thekillergreece]

I'm happy people without VR sets are able to play this and I'm not hating on the devs for creating this but I dont think the game has the same effect on you without all the VR capabilities.
You being in the game, actually controlling Alyx was a big reason for the game to be a good experience. I think the pancake version will be pretty boring.
Thas just me though.

That's fine. Not everyone can afford or want to have a device stuck on their head to play this game. There can be people who want to play this like they did with the previous Half Life titles. More audience that way.

 

[Skifi28]

Just came here to see 50% of the comments being people telling others how they should have fun.

 

[KuraiShidosha]

It's a very pretty but mediocre to play game. I can see people being very disappointed playing through it this way if they don't temper their expectations. It's no Half Life 1/2.

 

[nemiroff]

 

[Simms]

Just came here to see 50% of the comments being people telling others how they should have fun.

The problem is people will bitch and moan about how awful the game is when playing in pancake mode but that was not the intended way to play. Obviously, play how you want.

 

[Skifi28]

The problem is people will bitch and moan about how awful the game is when playing in pancake mode but that was not the intended way to play. Obviously, play how you want.

Trying to proactively stop people from complaining about a game is a noble cause.

 

[Simms]

Trying to proactively stop people from complaining about a game is a noble cause.

Trying to proactively stop people who are trying to stop other people from complaining about a game is a noble cause.

See how silly that argument is? It's a discussion forum

 

[Skifi28]

Trying to proactively stop people who are trying to stop other people from complaining about a game is a noble cause.

See how silly that argument is? It's a discussion forum

When did I try to stop anybody? If anything, I specifically said I was here to read their comments!

 

[Simms]

When did I try to stop anybody? If anything, I specifically said I was here to read their comments!

When did I or anyone else for that matter try to stop anybody? It's just a discussion

 

[midnightAI]

Just came here to see 50% of the comments being people telling others how they should have fun.

Correct, and another... This game is not meant to be played without VR, without VR you lose most of the immersion which is what this game is all about. Play this in non VR if you never intend to ever play it in VR and want to see this more out of curiosity than to play it as a regular non VR game.

There you go, I've just told others how they should have fun and I do not in any way feel bad about it, in fact to the contrary, maybe my advise will help people choose if they should play it without VR or not.

 

[Alexios]

I'm happy people without VR sets are able to play this and I'm not hating on the devs for creating this but I dont think the game has the same effect on you without all the VR capabilities.
You being in the game, actually controlling Alyx was a big reason for the game to be a good experience. I think the pancake version will be pretty boring.
Thas just me though.

Pretty much, this is like someone who "can't afford to have a PC capable of playing Half-Life or Half-Life 2" (a real possibility back then but a lazy non argument for Alyx, as if one can run high end PC games but can't afford just another component or accessory for their beast PC, lol) judging them by a fan's Doom wad (not in modern GZDoom but how Doom really was back then, without the ability to look up/down with a mouse or real 3D design, rooms over rooms etc.) that may have some of the same core beats but none of their trademark interactivity, physics, AI, immersion, etc.

I'd play such a Doom wad but given all the limitations and changes that would bring I also wouldn't judge Half-Life by that, or consider it a valid replacement for playing them. Ideally such a Doom wad would also completely change the design, ie map layouts, enemy numbers etc., given how easily you can dispatch crowds in Doom gameplay where a handful would be a challenge in the originals. This is similar to what this mod should do for Alyx, as the enemy encounters aren't going to be at all the same when you don't aim or take cover as irl but just point & click heads off.

Might as well play The House of the Dead, Virtua Cop, Time Crisis, Point Blank, Ghost Squad, etc., emulated with a mouse then boast about how easily you finished them, how crappy and boring they are and how glad you are you never spent a coin on them in an arcade, that'd be less egregious.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Alyx VR version is great, Alyx normal version is prolly going to ruin the game completely. Nice for people to play it but this aint it chief. Its like using cheats in Dark Souls.

 

[Krappadizzle]

That's fine. Not everyone can afford or want to have a device stuck on their head to play this game. There can be people who want to play this like they did with the previous Half Life titles. More audience that way.

I agree with you. But I think the impact of the best VR game doesn't translate as well to flatscreen as people think it will.

But you are right, more people will be able to give it a shot. It's an amazing game.

 

[Hudo]

Half-Life Alyx is a pretty good game and makes a good demonstration for VR gaming in general. However, it also reinforces the cliffhanger set up by Valve in Half-Life 2 - Episode 2 and that just makes me fucking mad because I've been waiting since 2006.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

That's fine. Not everyone can afford or want to have a device stuck on their head to play this game. There can be people who want to play this like they did with the previous Half Life titles. More audience that way.

Yeah, VR generally doesn't make me feel very good so even though I really want to like it I just can't bring myself to spend the money on it. PSVR2 is probably the least motion sick I've felt on a VR headset but I just don't want to spend console money on either of the headsets yet.

I'll probably look into this however as I always wanted to actually finish it.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Just tried it for a few min and I think I'll hold off from playing the game with this mod - there's far too many skips of things which should be animated as well. Maybe I'll get back to this mod after a few dozen animation updates (if they'll even see the light of the day and the mod won't be abandoned). Plus, there needs to be none interactive main menu with static menus and PC specific stuff like changing resolution etc. (you can change resolution via cfg file of course, but still).

 

[Melon Husk]

This update of Alyx NoVR is generally playable if you're willing to tolerate bugs.


-The pistol animation is a bit weak,
-you can climb up ladders sideways into restricted spaces,
-physics objects don't react to the player too well,
-some Combine puzzles can bug out and make you reload a save


Mouse & keyboard is my preferred way of playing shooters. VR is still uncomfortable and clunky to me. With this mod, I can take my time looking around City 17 in higher resolution that any practical VR headset allows for.
If this mod allows or non-VR users to play Alyx as a what feels like a "natural" prequel (instead of a VR spinoff) to HL2, great! Alyx is more story-based than HL2, so the weaker "gunplay" isn't a huge issue. NoVR is better than watching a let's play of the VR version, that's for sure.
When I first installed this mod, I thought "this is the closest thing to HL2: Episode 3 we may ever get". I didn't get that feeling in VR.

I agree with you. But I think the impact of the best VR game doesn't translate as well to flatscreen as people think it will.

But you are right, more people will be able to give it a shot. It's an amazing game.

The impact doesn't translate, and that's a plus for me. I'm too busy panicking about zombies and reloading, and being bothered by being crosseyed and the narrow field of vision, and the hot headset in the VR version.
The VR version will be the best version for me, at some point in the future, when headsets have a wider field of vision, controller tracking don't have blind spots, and the lenses can dynamically adjust the focal point with eye tracking, and when the headset doesn't melt my forehead.