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[Alexios]

If shit like this don't excite you, if not the specific games shown then the gameplay potential when it's inevitably applied to the themes and gameplay styles you do enjoy (like Half-Life) you're 100% not a gamer (unless you have a condition that easily gets you motion sick, like others get motion sick with regular FPS games)

 

[Great Hair]

Half Life: Alyx will revolutionize videogames the same way HL1 and HL2 did.

People will play it and they might praise it for the VR-features but at the end ... every character will be replaceable with some other dude or dudette. No young bugger eater of today playing Fartnite knows jackshit about Half Life, its characters or lore.

Even the studio knows that, hence why they picked Alyx and not Freeman. But due certain "topographical"features, a HL game with a female protagonist might have a much higher chance than a HL with a no name Freeman that does not talk at all, and is still chasing that guy with the brief case. or not.

And arent most Valve devs. who worked on HL1 and 2 gone? working at other studios, or have stopped altogether. Half Life belongs to the Zeitgeist of the 90s. Are fans willing to upgrade the pc and buy an expensive VR HMD to play one game? Valve is just a shell of former self, it would not surprise me if they outsourced the development to another studio like they did with Portal, Portal 2, Left4Dead? and others.

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

People will play it and they might praise it for the VR-features but at the end ... every character will be replaceable with some other dude or dudette. No young bugger eater of today playing Fartnite knows jackshit about Half Life, its characters or lore.

Even the studio knows that, hence why they picked Alyx and not Freeman. But due certain "topographical"features, a HL game with a female protagonist might have a much higher chance than a HL with a no name Freeman that does not talk at all, and is still chasing that guy with the brief case. or not.

And arent most Valve devs. who worked on HL1 and 2 gone? working at other studios, or have stopped altogether. Half Life belongs to the Zeitgeist of the 90s. Are fans willing to upgrade the pc and buy an expensive VR HMD to play one game? Valve is just a shell of former self, it would not surprise me if they outsourced the development to another studio like they did with Portal, Portal 2, Left4Dead? and others.

This is a very cynical perspective on HL: Alyx.

I'm just grateful we got a new installment.

 

[Alexios]

Valve outsourced games like Portal & L4D to, er, Valve, because hiring folks, bringing their ideas in and helping them nurture them into great games means you're outsourcing to the folks you employ in your studio (at the time). Also it's ok Barney got to star but the most prominent Half-Life 2 saga sidekick? It's a gurl, woke drivel!

 

[Darkmakaimura]

This is a very cynical perspective on HL: Alyx.

I'm just grateful we got a new installment.

Same plus I love Alyx as a character.

That's another thing I love about the HL series. Most of the characters are very likable - Eli, Alyx, Dr. Kleiner and even fucking Barney.

 

[Great Hair]

Half Life is about a worker (Freeman), who used to work at a "nuclear facility", who still cant talk for shit but i per. consider an iconic figure on the same line as Mario and others ... but has lost its appeal long time ago.

Something they could have easily done, is to release the first few games with better visuals? or remastering? But they didnt bother, so now they want me to shell €1500? after 20 years? Yeah, nope (jm2c).

Imagine those shenmue fans who spent €5,000? on shenmue 3 kickstarter. I hope they succeed, but a HL1, HL2 and episode redone with up2date visuals would have been a better investment and probably less risky?

Freeman is Half Life, Half Life is Freeman. We don´t need another Halo 5 "controversy"...
#FUVALVE

 

[MiyazakiHatesKojima]

Same plus I love Alyx as a character.

That's another thing I love about the HL series. Most of the characters are very likable - Eli, Alyx, Dr. Kleiner and even fucking Barney.

Half Life is what I would call a 'world class' franchise: everything about it is top-tier.

Half Life 2 brought these characters to life in genuinely profound ways, and that was back in 2004.

I can't wait to see what they do with Half Life: Alyx!

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Half Life is what I would call a 'world class' franchise: everything about it is top-tier.

Half Life 2 brought these characters to life in genuinely profound ways, and that was back in 2004.

I can't wait to see what they do with Half Life: Alyx!

Yeah like I mentioned earlier I'll never be able to play this game but I'm looking forward to it just for the expanded story and lore alone. I cannot wait to see what happens.

There's also rumors going around by people who have heard the full plot that the game seems to make it very clear more Half-Life games are on the way.

This is somewhat backed up by what Michael Shapiro said recently too.

 

[Jigsaah]

You can get decent PC VR like a Samsung Odyssey/+ or other WMR kit for ~200, less than some pay for a mouse or whatever, yet it comes with all new controllers for both hands, the displays, it opens all new gameplay horizons, etc. It won't be the best but if you're penny pinching chances are you don't have the best CPU, GPU, keyboard, mouse, monitor/TV either so, that's on par, I do hope you're not complaining that you don't get the very best stuff for less than ~1000 as if that or even worse is not the case for all components (and even though the mid range that is the Rift S is half that or less) which is why most settle for "good enough for me" stuff. Consoles, when VR is standard (I don't count PSVR due to the retrofit Move technology holding it back but PSVR2 will do great things), will be able to get VR for a similar amount (eventually, probably not when it first launches) on top of the base console cost. It's not expensive and its cost is generally justified, not overpriced.

Hmmm, never heard of Samsung Odyssey...is it like Oculus Quest where you don't have to have a pc hooked up to it? Yea I just wouldn't pay 900 bucks for the best of the best...I haven't seen any games that I'm really interested in that I would foot that kinda bill for. Not when that same 900 would do some considerable upgrades for my PC. I have considered PSVR 2 since the console will be built for it right out the gate. I figure if it's 400 or less and there are games I wanna play for it, I'll get it. I want Half Life Alyx, but I would need to see a couple more games at least. I guess I wouldn't mind beat saber but other than that...I just don't know.

 

[Alexios]

It's quoted, PC VR. Quest is the only worthwhile stand alone atm (also connects to PC but it's less than ideal, still it works and you don't need a native PC VR kit if you get a Quest). That's around 400 just like Rift S (PC only, better than WMR, best in class if you don't wanna pay a premium atm).

Plenty great non-AAA games to go around, check the PC VR thread, the OP has been updated with the common starter recommendations & stuff (though still excluding some obvious stuff like Beat Saber & Asgard's Wrath and stuff like that I chose others over) though there's a lot more too...

 

[Darkmakaimura]

It's quoted, PC VR. Quest is the only worthwhile stand alone atm (also connects to PC but it's less than ideal, still it works and you don't need a native PC VR kit if you get a Quest). That's around 400 just like Rift S (PC only, better than WMR, best in class if you don't wanna pay a premium atm).

Plenty great non-AAA games to go around, check the PC VR thread, the OP has been updated with the common starter recommendations & stuff (though still excluding some obvious stuff like Beat Saber everyone knows about anyway) though there's a lot more than that available these days.

Super dumb question for ignorant assholes like me but how do the games work? Do you have to download them like Steam and/or are their physical media such as carts or you put into the headset (assuming it's a stand-alone type) or discs?

 

[Alexios]

Super dumb question for ignorant assholes like me but how do the games work? Do you have to download them like Steam and/or are their physical media such as carts or you put into the headset (assuming it's a stand-alone type) or discs?

Most are digital on Steam, Viveport, Oculus store (some good exclusives there), there's even 1 on EGS. If you mean Quest, it has a built in Oculus store with its own versions/titles (in stand alone mode, if connected to PC it's like the others), some as cross-buy with the PC version too.

The only physical VR stuff are some limited releases for PSVR iirc. Maybe I've missed some PC game that got one. Generally all modern devices can play any game. Oculus, Index, WMR, Vive, they all work via Steam and Viveport.

But the Oculus PC store is locked down to Oculus hardware officially, though there's a fan app to make other devices compatible with it, rebind their controllers to match, etc., so people can play the good exclusives there, otherwise it's best to use hardware-agnostic stores like Steam.

Some older games may only support specific kits, newer games generally support everything and you can always rebind yours to work with the rest but it may not be ideal given controller input/angle differences if the developer didn't bother, but they're generally lesser games anyway.

 

[Romulus]

"Oh shit, didnt know VR was like that. It's actually the real deal." I've heard that over a hundred times demoing mine, literally. They come in with negative preconceptions and leave a believer 100% of the time. Not 99%, every single time. The only exception would be the few nausea cases.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Most are digital on Steam, Viveport, Oculus store (some good exclusives there), there's even 1 on EGS. If you mean Quest, it has a built in Oculus store with its own versions/titles (in stand alone mode, if connected to PC it's like the others), some as cross-buy with the PC version too.

The only physical VR stuff are some limited releases for PSVR iirc. Maybe I've missed some PC game that got one. Generally all modern devices can play any game. Oculus, Index, WMR, Vive, they all work via Steam and Viveport.

But the Oculus PC store is locked down to Oculus hardware officially, though there's a fan app to make other devices compatible with it, rebind their controllers to match, etc., so people can play the good exclusives there, otherwise it's best to use hardware-agnostic stores like Steam.

Some older games may only support specific kits, newer games generally support everything and you can always rebind yours to work with the rest but it may not be ideal given controller input/angle differences if the developer didn't bother, but they're generally lesser games anyway.

That kinda sucks since I guess you won't be able to own most or any VR games unless some eventually show up on GOG.

(I know there are some on disc mainly for PS4 like Skyrim VR and Resident Evil 7 VR)

 

[Alexios]

I've been on Steam since since 12 September, 2003 and never lost a game or had any serious issue, even when it got fucked off offline mode worked, it's pretty much like owning them, but even more convenient with family sharing, remote play and all kinds of other cool shit.

These days with gigantic day 1 patches, forced updates, games as service shenanigans and other such stuff you're not better off owning stuff on physical media. Ok your old games are good to go, as are rare new games when they become old and get some final gog edition.

Personally I've even invested in getting my old games digitally on Steam and gog too and don't even bother keeping back ups for my gog stuff, maybe I will do that if it ever looks like it's going to shut down and stuff as I'm sure they'll warn their customers but yeah, digital ftw.

Also there are technically DRM free games on Steam like there are on gog so you can back them up and run them without the client and everything, though I've not technically tried it with any VR games and I guess it would be trickier there as you need SteamVR and stuff >_>

 

[V4skunk]

I don't see what the problem is! It isn't as if this is HL3. Alyx is a spin off prequel.

 

[xrnzaaas]

I was a pretty big Half Life fan back in the day, but Valve have themselves to blame for staying silent for over 10 years and not even trying to keep the HL brand alive. Suddenly they expect you to invest a couple hundred bucks to play their new game... not happening, at least not for me.

 

[FatboyTim]

I was a massive fan of the original game and many of the mods that followed. Got into Steam on day one (my Steam ID has only 4 digits.) Played the shit out of the sequel, Portal, TF2 and the HL Episodes. In the 12 year+ interim, I've thoroughly enjoyed Portal 2, Left 4 Dead, etc.

But I have almost no interest whatsoever in a VR Half Life: Alyx.

 

[Patrick S.]

I don't have a "proper" VR Headset, but I do have a Gear VR. I'll probably get Riftcat so I can try this out, and if I like it enough, maybe I'll try and get a good deal on a used, decent headset.

 

[Verchod]

I can understand that Half life games aren't for everyone but there are few games that have the same feel and gameplay. Moving through their worlds is a story in itself. Half life 2 is a great journey, and are very well crafted.

The gaming landscape has changed in recent times so it's hard to compare. A lot of focus has moved more to online and competitive play. But regardless have any titles really surpassed the gameplay and polish of Valves games?
Even the big studios have stumbled of late in producing quality and finished titles whether online or story based.

It'll be interesting to see if Valve still have it in them. I have a suspicion that it'll be another solid game from them.

 

[Romulus]

I can understand that Half life games aren't for everyone but there are few games that have the same feel and gameplay. Moving through their worlds is a story in itself. Half life 2 is a great journey, and are very well crafted.

The gaming landscape has changed in recent times so it's hard to compare. A lot of focus has moved more to online and competitive play. But regardless have any titles really surpassed the gameplay and polish of Valves games?
Even the big studios have stumbled of late in producing quality and finished titles whether online or story based.

It'll be interesting to see if Valve still have it in them. I have a suspicion that it'll be another solid game from them.

Agreed. Say what you want about which HL game is superior, but just playing through it recently I couldn't believe how immersive HL2 felt for such an old game. In fact, I couldn't think of a single shooter since then that topped it that regard, the music, scenery, and just overall atmosphere really felt like an oppressive state in which the Combine totally dominated. VR is the exact device to elevate immersion even more, far more, so I can see why they would choose it.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Alright, so where are all these story spoilers and leaks I've been hearing about? Could only find one thing after a lot of Googling and it sounded bogus.

 

[Alexios]

Alright, so where are all these story spoilers and leaks I've been hearing about? Could only find one thing after a lot of Googling and it sounded bogus.

Tyler/VNN talking out of his @$$ again. It just makes sense that stuff is gonna appear sooner or later so might as well claim you got it first for the clicks/views when you've made Valve/HL bs your sole business. Plus throw so much vague stuff around that some of them might be close enough to the real deal giving you more cred. Especially since we can assume a lot of stuff knowing this isn't a sequel so plenty of the events around it might already be referenced in previous games (and especially Episode 2 Valve suggests to play again), just not looked at in detail.

 

[Darkmakaimura]

Tyler talking out of his @$$ again. It just makes sense that stuff is gonna appear sooner or later so might as well claim you got it first for the clicks/views when you've made Valve/HL bs your sole business. Plus throw so much vague stuff around that some of them might be close enough to the real deal giving you more cred.

I dunno if it's this Tyler person you're referring to. I have a screenshot (from 4chan) of the spoiler though.

Edit: oh the VNN guy. No I don't know/think the spoiler I saw is from him.

 

[Renozokii]

Idk about others, but the best thing Half Life ever did was the engine and all that spawned from it. My biggest excitement with a new half life was the idea of new games coming in the vein of team fortress classic, or gmod. A vr only game is just bleh. I know vr is definitely going to be a pillar in the future of gaming, but between spending time with my girl, work, and other life related things, I really don't have a lot of time to COMPLETELY isolate myself. But a gmod running on a vastly better engine? Sign me up.

 

[Alexios]

It's no different to regular gaming, if you don't have time to play in general you can play VR just as you play non VR, most of the great games so far are suitable for short session plays, surely you don't think people play Beat Saber and Pistol Whip for hours upon hours on end. The same goes for bigger games like Saints & Sinners, I was limiting my play to half or 1 hour sessions and the game was perfect for it even though it's technically a hardcore immersive sim-lite type game. Others isolate themselves with headphones or whatever out of VR, if you don't care to do that you don't wear them in VR either. If I need to be on alert with what's happening around me I put the headphones in front of my ears rather than over them and you can easily check with sight either with pass-through or by just looking down from the gaps or tilting the HMD itself off. I don't get it. There will be an SDK with Alyx too, later on, though just as there were less mods with Half-Life 2 than there were during the height of 1 the landscape is very different with amateurs able to release games commercially, free engines, whatever, so that era won't be recreated. There will definitely be cool stuff still. Now if you don't even have half an hour to yourself and only play mine sweeper while alt tabbing from work stuff and can't even watch a movie or an episode of a series or read a few pages of a book while expecting a call or other interaction, I guess investing into gaming stuff isn't worth it.

 

[Wonko_C]

I don't care about Half

It's no different to regular gaming, if you don't have time to play in general you can play VR just as you play non VR, most of the great games so far are suitable for short session plays, surely you don't think people play Beat Saber and Pistol Whip for hours upon hours on end. The same goes for bigger games like Saints & Sinners, I was limiting my play to half or 1 hour sessions and the game was perfect for it even though it's technically a hardcore immersive sim-lite type game. Others isolate themselves with headphones or whatever out of VR, if you don't care to do that you don't wear them in VR either. If I need to be on alert with what's happening around me I put the headphones in front of my ears rather than over them and you can easily check with sight either with pass-through or by just looking down from the gaps or tilting the HMD itself off. I don't get it. There will be an SDK with Alyx too, later on, though just as there were less mods with Half-Life 2 than there were during the height of 1 the landscape is very different with amateurs able to release games commercially, free engines, whatever, so that era won't be recreated. There will definitely be cool stuff still. Now if you don't even have half an hour to yourself and only play mine sweeper while alt tabbing from work stuff and can't even watch a movie or an episode of a series or read a few pages of a book while expecting a call or other interaction, I guess investing into gaming stuff isn't worth it.

You just reminded me of a friend who was so much into Halo 2: I once visited him, talked to him and got no response, waited for him to finish until I got fed up and left his house. Next day I talked to him and he told me he didn't even notice I was there the day before. And no, I am not making this up.