Half life Alyx announced by Valve - Prepare for unforeseen consequences

sherbz

sherbz

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After thousands of internet memes revolving around the number 3, Valve have finally delved back into the Half Life universe. And it is a VR exclusive. No doubt aiming to try and maximise their new headset.

Could this be spectacular or a damp squib? I own a VR headset so could potentially play this on release. But i know many others dont. I also think Valves headset is extraordinarily expensive. It also isnt Half Life 3. Still, pretty exciting news.

 
VR exclusive? I am sure I speak for plenty of others and not just my self when I say Valve can *very long list of expletives that starts off being offensive but lasts long enough to become annoying and eventually just boring so much so that by the end you have completely tuned out and miss me leaving still cursing under my breath*
 
PPQ_Purple said:
VR exclusive? I am sure I speak for plenty of others and not just my self when I say Valve can *very long list of expletives that starts off being offensive but lasts long enough to become annoying and eventually just boring so much so that by the end you have completely tuned out and miss me leaving still cursing under my breath*
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I think if they had done this a couple of years ago i would have agreed that your response would be the majority opinion on the matter. But VR is quite embedded now and its not obscenely expensive to get yourself a headset and also have the rig in order to run it - most modern day games require hardware thats VR ready anyhow. It also isnt Half Life 3. Its just a spin off. So respectfully i dont agree. VR has been crying out for a developer to go balls deep into the genre in a meaningful way and this might just be it. So i think its a good thing. And hopefully may demonstrate what VR can do when utilised correctly. I think it speaks volumes that Elite Dangerous is still one of the biggest and best VR titles out there - despite being 5 years old. And its one of a few that has been correctly optimised and is a "big" game. Most other titles are almost like token gestures in comparison. Fun to experience. But you would never really consider spending hours and hours on them. Half Life Alyx might change all that. Or at least make VR more mainstream than what it currently is.
 
sherbz said:
I think if they had done this a couple of years ago i would have agreed that your response would be the majority opinion on the matter. But VR is quite embedded now and its not obscenely expensive to get yourself a headset and also have the rig in order to run it - most modern day games require hardware thats VR ready anyhow. It also isnt Half Life 3. Its just a spin off. So respectfully i dont agree. VR has been crying out for a developer to go balls deep into the genre in a meaningful way and this might just be it. So i think its a good thing. And hopefully may demonstrate what VR can do when utilised correctly. I think it speaks volumes that Elite Dangerous is still one of the biggest and best VR titles out there - despite being 5 years old. And its one of a few that has been correctly optimised and is a "big" game. Most other titles are almost like token gestures in comparison. Fun to experience. But you would never really consider spending hours and hours on them. Half Life Alyx might change all that. Or at least make VR more mainstream than what it currently is.
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It's not about that. VR can't be recorded well for viewing by other people. So we won't ever get Freemans Mind 3.
 
Has anyone got this?

I picked it up and installed it yesterday. I was a bit worried that my rig would not be able to cope. I have an RX480 GPU - my CPU is ok though. Thankfully, it runs well on low settings. Ive not experienced many hitches at all. And in a word how good is it? "Wow" is how i would describe it. Its another level, ive never played anything like it. And its quite possible we are looking at the future of gaming. Thats not to say i think it will end up being on my favourite games list of all times. But it will certainly occupy a space all on its own with very little if any real competition. Im rather impressed at how well everything works. So much so im going to upgrade my GPU so i can get the full experience.

If you dont have VR yet and have the cash, then its probably worth sinking a couple of hundred and getting an Oculus in order to play it. I dont think its worth a full system upgrade on top. And its also not worth sinking a grand and getting an Index - even though it looks truly beautiful on it - there just arent the titles that can make full use of it.
 
PPQ_Purple said:
It's not about that. VR can't be recorded well for viewing by other people. So we won't ever get Freemans Mind 3.
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Just briefly and on this point - seems as though Valve were conscious of this and have included options to make it watchable by others and not be so jerky. And although not perfect, it is actually far better than anything else i have seen in VR:

 
I own an Index headset, so got HL Alyx for free. Can say visually is pretty amazing. Can't comment on object manipulation and such since i still use my old Vive wands instead of Valve knuckles so i have not access to all features based on individual finger tracking and pressure. But still pretty amazing overall.
 
I think quietly its changed gaming as we know it. Its got to a level that no one else can touch. The only thing is most people cant experience it yet. But bit by bit, user by user, it will blow everyone away. And in a few years everyone will have a VR set and look on it as no more unusual than an XBOX or playstation. I cant say im surprised. Valve have always released the creme de la creme of current technology. Half Life 2 was eons ahead of anything that the market had to offer at the time. And that was on hardware accelerated 3D GPUs. And it still stands up very well today - beats most triple A games IMO. But 10 years ago, and just like Half Life Alyx, it blew my mind.
 
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