Half-Life: Alyx

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I said I'd just play for an hour last night and two hours flew by! Wonderful gaming experience, love it.

When I first got my Rift S, I started a game at 12am, thinking I would give it 1 hour before going to bed. I took the headset off around 4.30am, couldn't believe it.
 
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The thing continues to impress me; the sound stage and the combine machinery as things open up and close including the hologram puzzles as they blow up right in your face requiring you to step back and adjust your position. I think I'll struggle to want to play FPS pancake style now. The whole gun aim, reloading mechanic is just so much more immersive with the pressures the game-play introduces.

It is easy to wax lyrical about the game but Valve totally deserve it. They've done it again.
I was thinking the same thing: how am I going to go back to playing games in 2D now? I suppose, like watching TV, if something is immersive enough, your mind fills in the gaps, but this is just so good in VR, I can't wait to go back in.
 
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The thing continues to impress me; the sound stage and the combine machinery as things open up and close including the hologram puzzles as they blow up right in your face requiring you to step back and adjust your position. I think I'll struggle to want to play FPS pancake style now. The whole gun aim, reloading mechanic is just so much more immersive with the pressures the game-play introduces.

It is easy to wax lyrical about the game but Valve totally deserve it. They've done it again.

The way the hologram puzzles rez up and down with the really cool sounds is probably my favourite thing in the game. The sense of presence with them is incredible, and as they're holographic the lack of physical tactile feedback actually adds to the experience.
 
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Absolutely loving this, was hoping to play it with the index controllers, but no joy with those yet, and to make things worse my vive wireless adapter packed in last week, so I'm back playing with a cable like a muggles!

Still, this is an epic VR title, couple of hours in, and it immense.
 
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Just bought it today and what an amazing experience. I opened a fridge door in the game and I could feel the cold air in my face. It's like my mind filled in the blanks. One thing though, now I'm out the game and back in reality, when I look down at my hands as I type this, they dont seem like my hands. It's like I'm still in the game. It's so trippy. Does anybody else get this?
 
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I just dropped in for an hour tonight at 10pm, and it's half one.

Really impressed with the physics in this game too, I lobbed a grenade at a combine and it landed on the shelf right beside him with a satisfying clunk and blew up in his face, the physics feel really good.
 
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I just dropped in for an hour tonight at 10pm, and it's half one.

Really impressed with the physics in this game too, I lobbed a grenade at a combine and it landed on the shelf right beside him with a satisfying clunk and blew up in his face, the physics feel really good.

The grenades are great - have got to the part where they appear - was satisfying just gently dropping one from high level right beside a zombie.
 
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Just bought it today and what an amazing experience. I opened a fridge door in the game and I could feel the cold air in my face. It's like my mind filled in the blanks. One thing though, now I'm out the game and back in reality, when I look down at my hands as I type this, they dont seem like my hands. It's like I'm still in the game. It's so trippy. Does anybody else get this?

It's called dissociation, can't say I've ever had it but it is a thing.
 
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Just bought it today and what an amazing experience. I opened a fridge door in the game and I could feel the cold air in my face. It's like my mind filled in the blanks. One thing though, now I'm out the game and back in reality, when I look down at my hands as I type this, they dont seem like my hands. It's like I'm still in the game. It's so trippy. Does anybody else get this?
It's called dissociation, can't say I've ever had it but it is a thing.
I get bouts of this with dreaming, lucid / waking dreams overlapping with reality. I frequently think or sense shadows in the periphery of my vision but when I turn, nothing is there.

Yesterday and funnily enough today after a session, I kept thinking or sensing I could see the peak of the hard hat!
 
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I have been keeping an eye on Argos and a Quest just popped into stock at a local Sainsburys / Argos, will collect tomorrow.

My first go at VR so will see how quickly I get sick....
 
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My first go at VR so will see how quickly I get sick....

I would personally not jump in the deep end straight away, probably better to try the Oculus demos first, they're really good, and get your legs and body used to standing in VR.
Order a link cable, ready for HL:Alyx, then while waiting for the cable try some games with both locomotion movement, and Teleport movement. I started with Teleport, then as soon as I got VR legs (as they say), I moved to Locomotion smooth movement. Serious Sam games are a real test, the movement is very fast in VR, almost as fast as mouse + Keyboard.
Enjoy your Quest. :)
 
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I get really sick quickly in VR which put me off for ages. Thing is with Quest its wireless and the ability to move around more than tethered has kind of given me VR legs. Although put the Rollercoaster game on and I last about 5 seconds before ripping the helmet off. I use Teleport on Alyx because locomotion makes me quesy. Try Beat Saber and Space Pirate Trainer both have demo's.
 
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Valve knows fans will mod VR out of Half-Life: Alyx

Link at bottom is dead (I would buy a non VR version) > https://clips.twitch.tv/HappyCloudyCurryAMPEnergyCherry


https://techreport.com/news/3469614/half-life-alyx-mod/

Prepare to be completely disappointed. Sure, you can take the VR out of Half Life: Alyx, but, it will be terrible.

This is a game that was built from the ground up specifically for VR. The VR is what makes it great. The Story, the pacing, the environment and even the cut scenes are all designed for VR.

It's the difference between been actually there in the world and watching it on a monitor.
 
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I think the real problem is the pacing is set up for VR.

I think with enough work you could come up with a decent enough playing control system that would work pretty well, especially since you have gravity gloves. Some of the hacking puzzles probably wouldn’t translate well and would need replacing. I think however the game would probably be a bit dull....

If they had made it as intense as a flat screen version probably should be, it would be somewhat overwhelming in VR in my opinion. The slower gameplay they’ve gone with works great in VR as you have a lot more atmosphere and immersion, but as it stands would probably too easy and boring without modifications to the enemy numbers and aggressiveness.

Agree that it probably won’t bode well for the review score. The problem is those that haven’t/won’t try VR won’t understand that a game could be great in VR but distinctly average in 2D.
 
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