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[Gordon Freeman]

HALF-LIFE ALYX NO-VR - EARLY ACCESS OUT NOW

ANIMATION UPDATE RELEASE DATE, MODDB ARTICLE AND TEASER TRAILER OUT NOW!

The entire game is playable beginning to end without VR now in early access!

What to expect from the first animation update coming October 2023:

Alyx’s arms & hands
Weapon firing animations for all weapons
Weapon idle animations for all weapons
Reload & draw animations for all weapons
Upgrades for all weapons
Visually see each upgrade one by one
Updated HUD and Flashlight
Bug fixes and other game-wide updates
Multi-tool (maybe…)

Today’s article outlines all of these amazing additions that are part of this update releasing October 2023!

ARTICLE

Details for the First Animation Update for Half-Life Alyx No-VR Coming October 2023 news

This article outlines the details of our first major animation update for Half-Life Alyx No-VR. It’s time to get you ready for what to expect when we launch the update in October 2023!

www.moddb.com

TEASER TRAILER

 

[Romulus]

Worst mod ever.

 

[Kuranghi]

Ooo nice, still hoping it comes to PSVR 2 but seems less likely by the day.

 

[OverHeat]

The game is made for VR what a waste of time.

 

[TVexperto]

Amazing mod, so much better than playing on shitty VR resolution

 

[amigastar]

I don't have an VR Headset so I'm in for that Non-VR Experience.

 

[Crayon]

- dumb idea.
- not dumb to want it. Totally understand.
- glad they didn't rush it out in anger and at least took time with it.
- not looking forward to people saying they "played alyx" and throwing out hot takes.

 

[Sleepwalker]

While I understand this will make the game accessible for a lot of people, this game really should be experienced in VR given the option.

 

[MiguelItUp]

This is awesome for people that can't experience the game in VR for whatever reason. It's most certainly better than nothing!

 

[acm2000]

finally the superior version

 

[Wonko_C]

Chances are people who build their own gaming PCs can easily afford a VR headset. Outside of some physical disabilities, there is no excuse to miss out on the decade's most innovative game.

 

[Hugare]

I'm tempted to use this mod and test the game to see if my PC would be able to run it on VR

Buying a Quest 2 + game only for the game to not run well would be a tad disappointing

 

[KuraiShidosha]

It's kind of funny, when you see the game played like this distilled down to the core mechanics and combat with no emphasis on simply aiming and reloading the guns, you realize how barebones and boring this game really is. I say that as someone who owns a Valve Index and beat the game on hard with so much ammo left that the pistol and SMG ammo counters broke from going over 1000. The only good thing this game has going for it is the level design mixed with art style, it looks gorgeous in VR.

 

[rodrigolfp]

What's the difference between this and the mod released some time ago?

 

[adamsapple]

I don't have an VR Headset so I'm in for that Non-VR Experience.

Hopefully it runs on a 1060.

 

[Crayon]

I'm tempted to use this mod and test the game to see if my PC would be able to run it on VR

Buying a Quest 2 + game only for the game to not run well would be a tad disappointing

It's going to be a lot heavier to run in vr at a like for like resolution. I would guess trying to run it at double the resolution of the quest 2 might be the most accurate but I'm not sure.

 

[Imtjnotu]

We're getting the non vr version. Before the psvr 2



PSVR 2 owners right now

 

[Romulus]

This is awesome for people that can't experience the game in VR for whatever reason. It's most certainly better than nothing!

I think someone watching a full YouTube playthrough is better than playing this without VR, as terrible as both options are.

 

[Moses85]

Just give it us for PSVR2

 

[Gordon Freeman]

What's the difference between this and the mod released some time ago?

Which one? We are the only one. I am one of the lead devs.

 

[Wildebeest]

OK. Still not playing it. I'll wait for the real Half-Life 3.

 

[Spukc]

Amazing mod, so much better than playing on shitty VR resolution

 

[proandrad]

The gameplay and the AI is designed around VR, without it the gameplay would be super dull. Imagine playing beat saber on a regular controller.

 

[MiguelItUp]

I think someone watching a full YouTube playthrough is better than playing this without VR, as terrible as both options are.

Agree to disagree. A lot of people were interested in Alyx, but not VR. Whether it's something they physically can't do, or just aren't interested in. It's just neat to see a mod like this exist for those that either can't do it, afford it, whatever. It's harmless, lol. At least this way they can still experience it to some degree, even if it's not the preferred method or even has some jank.

 

[HL3.exe]

No offense to the mod team, but this one looks way more polished:



It actually has Amnesia style world and physics interactivity (instead of the HL2 float pickup the other one uses)

I personally don't care either way. Already finished it twice in VR. But good for people who just want the experience that half-life atmosphere.

 

[HL3.exe]

Accidental double post

 

[rofif]

This is a bad game without vr. full stop.
There is almost no action, puzzles and combat are super easy.
It's like a tiny little game without vr. It's vr that makes it amazing

edit (oh and the mod looks like shit)

 

[rofif]

No offense to the mod team, but this one looks way more polished:



It actually has Amnesia style world and physics interactivity (instead of the HL2 float pickup the other one uses)

I personally don't care either way. Already finished it twice in VR. But good for people who just want the experience that half-life atmosphere.

WAY BETTER

 

[ShadowLag]

This is like making a non-VR version of Beat Saber, and then saying you've experienced Beat Saber after playing it.

 

[Romulus]

Agree to disagree. A lot of people were interested in Alyx, but not VR. Whether it's something they physically can't do, or just aren't interested in. It's just neat to see a mod like this exist for those that either can't do it, afford it, whatever. It's harmless, lol. At least this way they can still experience it to some degree, even if it's not the preferred method or even has some jank.

Well of course it's harmless. I don't know why that's even relevant to mention. But to be clear this isn't just some "meh it's probably better in VR." No, full stop its absolutely incredible in VR and "playing" it without VR strips every ounce of soul from it in a way you can't comprehend unless you've actually played it. It just doesn't make sense that its magnitudes are better unless you've put on a good VR headset and played through it. Watching a video of Alyx on youtube looks like you're not losing much, but a video doesn't convey VR at all.

 

[Gordon Freeman]

No offense to the mod team, but this one looks way more polished:



It actually has Amnesia style world and physics interactivity (instead of the HL2 float pickup the other one uses)

I personally don't care either way. Already finished it twice in VR. But good for people who just want the experience that half-life atmosphere.

We have Amnesia style controls as well along with the physics interactivity.

That mods going on year 4 of development. We started in March 2023.

We have it all on Git and open since day one.

Meanwhile this person is unknown and continues to take money via Patreon with nothing to show for it yet but fancy videos. Guess what we are way further along then they were at the same time as us.

Also they still haven’t released anything.

 

[MiguelItUp]

Well of course it's harmless. I don't know why that's even relevant to mention. But to be clear this isn't just some "meh it's probably better in VR." No, full stop its absolutely incredible in VR and "playing" it without VR strips every ounce of soul from it in a way you can't comprehend unless you've actually played it. It just doesn't make sense that its magnitudes are better unless you've put on a good VR headset and played through it. Watching a video of Alyx on youtube looks like you're not losing much, but a video doesn't convey VR at all.

Lol, because this isn't for people that have access to VR or Alyx. Those people will surely look at this and be like, "Nope", whereas others that don't most likely won't. It's just nice to see people have options. I'm glad the other one was posted because THAT was the one I remember originally seeing, I thought this one looked different cause it looked worse than I remembered, haha.

I get what you're saying. I mean, the game WAS curated for VR, and no matter what's done it's not going to fully convey that feeling into anything that isn't VR. Fortunately there are plenty of playthroughs available for folks to watch. But now they also have an option to get something more than that without VR, which is pretty neat IMO.

I got an Odyssey+ just for Alyx (and a couple of other games, but primarily Alyx, lol) and it was easily the best VR experience I had, even if I didn't finish it. But now I don't touch the headset at all and have no reason to personally. If I had this available to me before buying VR, I probably would've already watched a full playthrough, but I would've probably checked it out anyway, cause why not?

 

[Gordon Freeman]

We’ve had tons of players with physical limitations, visual impairments and more who can NEVER use VR.

So it’s been great to get the game to them.

 

[Wonko_C]

Which one? We are the only one. I am one of the lead devs.

There is a script that someone made in like a few weeks time but it ends up being super janky to play.

 

[proandrad]

We’ve had tons of players with physical limitations, visual impairments and more who can NEVER use VR.

So it’s been great to get the game to them.

I'm all for accessibility, but Half-life: Alyx isn't a very good game without the VR. The puzzles are only interesting because of the VR perceptive, and the AI is brain dead and only challenging because you have to physically aim. Game would be extremely meh as a regular FPS.

 

[Wonko_C]

OK. Still not playing it. I'll wait for the real Half-Life 3.

On the Valve Deckard

I'm all for accessibility, but Half-life: Alyx isn't a very good game without the VR. The puzzles are only interesting because of the VR perceptive, and the AI is brain dead and only challenging because you have to physically aim. Game would be extremely meh as a regular FPS.

I have a much easier time aiming in VR than with a mouse or a controller. And I had more than two decades of headstart on those, LOL.

 

[Robb]

Cool, I have no interest in VR so it’s nice to see a ‘normal’ version.

 

[HL3.exe]

We have Amnesia style controls as well along with the physics interactivity.

That mods going on year 4 of development. We started in March 2023.

We have it all on Git and open since day one.

Meanwhile this person is unknown and continues to take money via Patreon with nothing to show for it yet but fancy videos. Guess what we are way further along then they were at the same time as us.

Also they still haven’t released anything.

Yeah, your open GitHub approach is great. I actually tested a very early version.

To bad the other mod seems to be in limbo without any release in sight. Curious about your version of Amnesia physics interactivity. Will try it out!

 

[mxbison]

That's just silly.

People are gonna easily click every enemy to death and say the game sucks lol.

 

[DenchDeckard]

I hope this game comes to every vr headset possible. It's still unmatched. What a game!

 

[thekillergreece]

Amazing how a mod that caters to players who do not want or cannot buy/have some kind of VR headset triggers certain VR-fanboys.
I guess the fact that the game is becoming more accessible to a wider audience is a bad idea in their eyes.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

Cool I guess, But I have an Index so don't think I'll be using this.

 

[Keihart]

getting excited to play this without VR is setting yourself for dissapointment, this game without the VR interactions its pretty boring.
People without VR experience understimate how much of the game is automated when you are not in VR.

 

[Hudo]

That's like playing Guitar Hero or Rockband with a controller. Or Taiko No Tatsujin with a controller. Or Dance Dance Revolution with a controller.

- Technically, yeah, you could play it like that. But you won't "get" the game. VR is the raison d'être for Half-Life: Alyx.

 

[Drizzlehell]

- dumb idea.
- not dumb to want it. Totally understand.
- glad they didn't rush it out in anger and at least took time with it.
- not looking forward to people saying they "played alyx" and throwing out hot takes.

Come on now. I'd be the first one to tell you that the only correct way to play this is in VR but there's no need to gatkeep it for people who are unable to play it that way for one reason or another. Especially since it's a part of such a beloved franchise that was playable to everyone as a regular first person shooter up until this game. For many people, this IS the Half-Life 3 that everyone was waiting for so I understand the disappointment when they found out that it was only playable in a format that's unavailable for most.

I'm actually stoked that there will be more people around now to talk about the game's story revelations with, especially since it shakes things up in such a fascinating way. Many people just want to play it for the story and frankly, don't give a shit about VR interactions. And I'm interested to see what it looks like on a monitor because let's face it, VR doesn't provide as good of an image quality as a decent monitor no matter how you slice it.

 

[Pedro Motta]

I feel sorry for the people that didn't experience this in VR.

 

[Skifi28]

I feel sorry for the people that didn't experience this in VR.

Thanks, but we'll be fine.

 

[Denton]

It is cool that it exists for the people who cannot do VR due to motion sickness, but personally I will only play it in VR, once I eventually buy one.

Sony, you *uckheads, where are my PC drivers?

 

[Liamario]

Ooo nice, still hoping it comes to PSVR 2 but seems less likely by the day.

I have to agree. I would have thought it would be an easy enough port. At least we would have had an announcement. Sony dropped the ball with VR again, at least in terms of software. To not have Alyx is just incredible.

 

[mopspear]

I played the first half (heh) in VR. I just don't like VR very much. I'll try this out. It might not work well out of VR but we'll see.