*** Half-Life: Alyx ***

champ222 said:
Thread revival i know, but better than to create a new one eh?

Whats the most cost effective way of playing this in VR in 2025? I'd likely not use the VR kit again, so i'd be looking to buy something used, then sell it on again after. On that basis, i could just get a used index kit, then sell it on again? its still a reasonable expense used, and there is a chance i'll lose a bit when reselling, but thats fine i guess.

Can i get an enjoyable experience with something cheaper?

How much space do i need? i couldnt swing a hampster in my current PC room. Though i could potentially do it downstairs on in some office space.

Thanks
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Why would you never use VR again? If you have never tried VR, I think you will be blown away.

The simplest. cheapest way is get a Quest 2 or Quest 3. I would really push you to get a Quest 3. AS Shiwarrior said above, you don't need any lighthouses or anything and it's far easier to move to another room.

AS long as you have space to stand up and turn around with your arms outstretched, then you have enough room for the game.
 
melmac said:
Why would you never use VR again? If you have never tried VR, I think you will be blown away.

The simplest. cheapest way is get a Quest 2 or Quest 3. I would really push you to get a Quest 3. AS Shiwarrior said above, you don't need any lighthouses or anything and it's far easier to move to another room.

AS long as you have space to stand up and turn around with your arms outstretched, then you have enough room for the game.
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Never say never i guess, but if it wasnt for half life Alyx, i wouldnt even consider VR. i have an inner ear issue, so i suspect i'm going to struggle with it a bit.

If it turns out that i think its awesome and i want to keep it, then thats great too. But i'll likely buy used anyway, so i dont lose a load of cash if i do lose interest.
 
champ222 said:
Never say never i guess, but if it wasnt for half life Alyx, i wouldnt even consider VR. i have an inner ear issue, so i suspect i'm going to struggle with it a bit.

If it turns out that i think its awesome and i want to keep it, then thats great too. But i'll likely buy used anyway, so i dont lose a load of cash if i do lose interest.
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I don't know what your inner ear issue is but VR can help with inner ear problems that cause dizziness, vertigo, motion sickness etc. As long as you take it slow and build up your initial tolerance to VR, I don't think you will have any problems.

VR is awesome. I might be biased though as I love VR and it still amazes me, even after owning headsets for years.
 
for quest 2 or 3, do i "need" USBC? main PC has MSI B450i Mobo (5600X, 32GB RAM, RTX3080), which has a bunch of USB3.1 Gen 1 ports, but they are regular USBs.

I do have access to another PC which does have USBC: (MSI Z490i Unify, 10600K, 16GB RAM, RX7800XT)
  • Intel® Z490 Chipset
    • 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gbps ports [1 Type-A port on the back panel, 1 Type-C internal connector]
    • 4x USB 3.2 Gen1 5Gbps ports [2 Type-A ports on the back panel, 2 ports through the internal USB 3.2 Gen1 5Gbps connector]
    • 4x USB 2.0 ports [2 Type-A ports on the back panel, 2 ports through the internal USB 2.0 connector]
  • Intel® JHL7540 Thunderbolt™ 3 Controller
    • 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gbps Type-C port on the back panel
 
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champ222 said:
Never say never i guess, but if it wasnt for half life Alyx, i wouldnt even consider VR. i have an inner ear issue, so i suspect i'm going to struggle with it a bit.

If it turns out that i think its awesome and i want to keep it, then thats great too. But i'll likely buy used anyway, so i dont lose a load of cash if i do lose interest.
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Alyx isn't the best game to jump straight in to if you suffer from motion sickness tbh.
 
champ222 said:
Never say never i guess, but if it wasnt for half life Alyx, i wouldnt even consider VR. i have an inner ear issue, so i suspect i'm going to struggle with it a bit.

If it turns out that i think its awesome and i want to keep it, then thats great too. But i'll likely buy used anyway, so i dont lose a load of cash if i do lose interest.
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You may well find that Alyx doesnt end up being your only VR game, there are some absolutely superb VR titles out there...

Alyx of course
Metro Awakening
Walkabout Minigolf
Asgards Wrath
Lone Echo 1 and 2
Demeo
Dungeons of Eternity
Saints and Sinners
Beat Saber
Blade and Sorcery

and on top of that some "flat" games are amazing in VR like No Mans Sky, Resident Evil Village and Subnautica
 
melmac said:
Why would you never use VR again? If you have never tried VR, I think you will be blown away.

The simplest. cheapest way is get a Quest 2 or Quest 3. I would really push you to get a Quest 3. AS Shiwarrior said above, you don't need any lighthouses or anything and it's far easier to move to another room.

AS long as you have space to stand up and turn around with your arms outstretched, then you have enough room for the game.
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I bought a PSVR2 during Black Friday sales, loved it, it blew me away. Have wanted to try Half Life Alyx for ages but didn't want to splash out on a PC and VR if it wasn't for me. After experiencing VR I bought Half Life Alyx over Christmas and the PC VR adaptor.

On the hunt for a PC now :D
 
Mariusz said:
I bought a PSVR2 during Black Friday sales, loved it, it blew me away. Have wanted to try Half Life Alyx for ages but didn't want to splash out on a PC and VR if it wasn't for me. After experiencing VR I bought Half Life Alyx over Christmas and the PC VR adaptor.

On the hunt for a PC now :D
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That's certainly one way to do it :p
 
Mariusz said:
I bought a PSVR2 during Black Friday sales, loved it, it blew me away. Have wanted to try Half Life Alyx for ages but didn't want to splash out on a PC and VR if it wasn't for me. After experiencing VR I bought Half Life Alyx over Christmas and the PC VR adaptor.

On the hunt for a PC now :D
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go to the right section and theres a vr multiplayer groups if your interested
a lot of people say if you go to Alyx first it ruin other vr expirences and sets the wrong expectations
 
The Steam system requirements for Alyx aren't very high, what would actual users recommend for a good experience?

System Requirements
Minimum:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10
Processor: Core i5-7500 / Ryzen 5 1600
Memory: 12 GB RAM
Graphics: GTX 1060 / RX 580 - 6GB VRAM
VR Support: SteamVR
Recommended:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
 
I played it on an i7-2500k and a 2070 super.. connected to a Quest 2.. then a Quest 3.. and it was easily runnable and looked very good in my opinion..

I've since upgrade both cpu i7-12700k and grfxs 4070ti.. and I can't honestly say i've noticed much difference.

R.
 
I originally played it on a 980ti with an OG Vive and it blew me away. I'm currently replaying with an MG3 and a 3080 and it still blows me away. I was under the impression HL:A may actually misbehave with higher end cards and indeed I get a notification about not enough resources or somesuch when I start the game which I just ignore. I play at Ultra via Steam link and it does jitter a little when using moving using the thumbsticks as opposed to teleporting.
 
I'm replaying at the moment too. Still one of the greatest video games ever made, IMHO.

There's still so much for Valve to do in this world and in this format, I cant wait for more. I wish i could use the energy shield the Combine Heavies carry. A level where you go undercover as a soldier like Barney at the start of HL2 would be nuts in VR. Or seeing Xen in all its disgusting glory.
 
With the renewed hype with HL2 and HL3 teases, I'm really wanting to get a VR headset to play this. I think I'll see if Valve come out with an Index 2 soon before checking this out.
 
I've used a Rift DK2, Rift S, and now a Quest 3.

The Quest 3 is the first headset I would recommend without reservation - its cheap, light, wireless, has colour AR passthrough, and has a high enough resolution to not suffer the 'screen-door' effect at all. I will upgrade only when a unit that has significantly brighter OLED displays is available.
 
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