Half-Life: Alyx l Quarantine In City 17

strawberry float Jeff :lol:

Only 1 choice crushed the bastard

Peter Crisp wrote:
Zilnad wrote:I'm assuming everyone instinctually covered their mouths?

strawberry float, VR is incredible.

My Index is packed away right now though

It is if you don't have eye issues and it gives you a migrain after 30 minutes.

I tried battling through for a while but decided it wasn't worth it.
I had to give back my hardcore gamer card

Would it be any better if it used OLED? :shifty:

Qikz wrote:Would it be any better if it used OLED?

I don't think so.
My eyes are odd and I get headaches often when the lighting in buildings is a bit gooseberry fool.

I just don't think VR is right for me but if they can make decent AR where the screen is transparent on my glasses and that may solve the issue.

Airbus use that system when making aircraft and it's just like a floating holograms in space rather than full immersion.

FatDaz wrote:strawberry float Jeff

Only 1 choice crushed the bastard

o/

I love how they let you think you've got rid of him by shutting him in that room, and then give you a moment to calm down before you realise you not only have to let him out again, but go in the same confined space with him first :dread:

Bastards!

Victor Mildew wrote:
FatDaz wrote:strawberry float Jeff

Only 1 choice crushed the bastard

o/

I love how they let you think you've got rid of him by shutting him in that room, and then give you a moment to calm down before you realise you not only have to let him out again, but go in the same confined space with him first

Bastards!

It was being trapped in the lift 2 feet from him that nearly broke me!

Limited game time but making progress: now chapter 9 and in some epic combine - antlion (“leggies”) battles. Loving it so much and sad it’s reaching the end. Just made me want a VR sequel or half life 2.5 or whatever else I can get in this universe.

So after almost 4 years after this was released I have been able to play Half Life: Alyx and what a game it is. I'm not sure why I even doubted that Valve would do justice to the HL universe but it was great to see if they nailed it. Others have covered the story but I'll say that I really liked the ending and what enables for future games.

What I will mention though is that I played this with a No-VR mod on my steam deck and it runs great -even at medium settings. So for anyone like me who loves the HL universe but isn't interested in VR* I would highly recommend you give it a go. The only thing to note is that yes gameplay does just take a hit playing it without VR as so much of the design of the game is around interacting with world but I just played with god mode on and treated it like a walking simulator game.

*I suffer motion sickness and migraines so VR is just a non starter for me but I can appreciate how impressive a game HL: Alyx must be with a headset on.

While I appreciate VR may not be for everyone. The entire game IS VR. A 2d representation is pointless in my opinion. The encounters, puzzle, level design and gameplay mechanics are built entirely around VR. You would be better off watching a let’s play rather than play flat screen.

It’s great that you still loved it and Valve nail atmosphere and story but you have experienced a tiny fraction of what makes this game genre defining.

Someone hold me back

I do think gamers need to try and show a little more empathy. I was pretty clear in my reasons for not playing in VR and wanted to let others know that playing it to enjoy the story with a No-VR mod is now possible.

kuliand wrote:I do think gamers need to try and show a little more empathy. I was pretty clear in my reasons for not playing in VR and wanted to let others know that playing it to enjoy the story with a No-VR mod is now possible.

While I agree with Daz I understand some people can't experience it in VR and while I feel it is a muted experience if people can experience the story in a way they enjoy I'm just happy that more people are now able to enjoy a game that I absolutely adored.

kuliand wrote:I do think gamers need to try and show a little more empathy. I was pretty clear in my reasons for not playing in VR and wanted to let others know that playing it to enjoy the story with a No-VR mod is now possible.

I didn’t mean to come across aggressively gatekeeping the game and it’s great you’ve found a way to play and see story but for me the storyline has only been a very minor part of the experience. It has elevated VR and as a result gaming for me. Any future game will be held up against this for its sense of immersion and interactivity. For example I just don’t see how the Jeff level would have any impact without VR.

kuliand wrote:I do think gamers need to try and show a little more empathy. I was pretty clear in my reasons for not playing in VR and wanted to let others know that playing it to enjoy the story with a No-VR mod is now possible.

Fwiw I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it -- I've had my eye on the no-VR mods for a while. I think I'm going to wait a little longer for them to be further refined, but I found it useful to hear that they're shaping up well and that you found the game enjoyable on the Deck, so thanks for posting about it. I've been warned ( :slol:

) that it won't be the kind of rapturous experience that people who are into VR had, and that's OK -- I've no interest in VR so I'll never play it that way anyway, so I'm happy if mods can turn it into a decent little bonus Half-Life game as you described.

That's bait

FatDaz wrote:
kuliand wrote:I do think gamers need to try and show a little more empathy. I was pretty clear in my reasons for not playing in VR and wanted to let others know that playing it to enjoy the story with a No-VR mod is now possible.

I didn’t mean to come across aggressively gatekeeping the game and it’s great you’ve found a way to play and see story but for me the storyline has only been a very minor part of the experience. It has elevated VR and as a result gaming for me. Any future game will be held up against this for its sense of immersion and interactivity. For example I just don’t see how the Jeff level would have any impact without VR.

I appreciate your reply. It's worth saying I totally agree that it must be a much more immersive experience in VR and I would also add that if you have never played a Half Life game then just jumping straight into Half Life: Alyx and playing with a No-VR mod might not be much fun.

kuliand wrote:*I suffer motion sickness and migraines so VR is just a non starter for me but I can appreciate how impressive a game HL: Alyx must be with a headset on.

Have you had a chance to try (non-shitty) VR? Regular motion sickness and VR motion sickness don't really correlate. You would almost certainly be fine playing in VR so long as:

a) you're using a good VR headset (good, accurate, and responsive spatial tracking (rotation AND motion), plus 90hz+ refresh rate)
b) you stick to teleport locomotion (even then, people who do experience motion sickness could still be fine in VR; I get motion sickness if I read in a moving car, but I've never had issues with motion sickness in VR (except with pitch and roll rotations, which most VR games know not to subject the player to)

Of course maybe you do have experience with VR and you still had issues. I can't and won't refute your own personal experience.

I echo what cyborg says. Teleport movement is fine but if I have smooth motion travel I get headache and nausea. Luckily Alyx has a great and intuitive teleport system which even allows you to adjust orientation on arrival.

Smooth motion, I could throw up.

Teleport motion, not a hint of any motion sickness.

I'm fine with smooth motion now. Wasn't at first but I had to get used to it for The Walking Dead and now I'm fine with it.

Still much prefer teleportation over any other option though as I just find that far more immersive.

Questions on the story for people who have completed the game.

Half-Life: Alyx l Quarantine In City 17

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