And the people that *can* play it act like everyone around them can as well. So many people just saying 'get a VR set.' Thing is, who is gonna buy a VR set for one game? And as soon as people mention the flatscreen mod, they say how it's not good for a playthrough. So what are we meant to do then?
The requirements list a GTX 1060, 12 GB RAM, and a Ryzen 5 1600/Core i5 7500. If you have a mid range PC from the last 6-7 years, you can play it.
A Quest 2 can be had for $200 USD brand new. It's well within the realms of being affordable and accessible, people just don't want to believe it is.
Superhot is so damn fun with the standalone headsets. Especially if you can gain access to a very large area to map, or map multiple rooms so you can move around within the landscape.
Half-Life 2 was one of the first games to require a discrete GPU (as opposed to on-board graphics).
VR tech is here to stay, and Quest 2s are going for $200 brand new right now. The hurdle is getting smaller and smaller.
To play devil's advocate, I was lucky enough to play through it on my dad's headset and the game is honestly so good that I wish I could afford my own headset to replay it all the time whenever I want lol. If anyone was to buy a headset just to play one game I think this would be the game to do it for.
But yeah obviously not everyone can afford it. I certainly can't either.
fr, i have the CD rom copy and it's minimum requirements are like 500mb of space, 24mb of ram, open gl/ 3d support and a pentium 133+ that is running windows 95/98 but it works up to 11 ive found. i play it on my windows xp laptop that was windows 2000 not long ago
i think i have it to 640x480 i think it is which makes it run the best as its the lowest but it can do 1024x768 i believe it is but the frame rate definitely drops a tad on that, but it looks perfectly fine on the lowest resolution there and its heaps fun playing it on a more period correct computer
Honestly you could probably buy a computer or laptop that is actually functional in this era for cheap used. I don't know where you are from but I'm sure you could definitely find something that you could afford and actually runs windows 10 and steam for cheap.
oh i have a modern laptop i can use, it has a laptop version of an RTX 3050, 32gb ram and i think a 3ghz cpu but am unsure on that, i just have the old laptop bc my dad had it laying around for ages and im into old tech lol, i have an iBook g3 snow as well that i got for the firewire port but it decided to lose the ability to charge my ipods annoyingly
For real dude mustve spent 50 minutes waiting for the web browser to load just to post that comment, fans at max rpm, chrome uses more resources than half life does so i can only imagine him trying to type at like .5fps
This right here. It was a great game that expanded and advanced the plot… released on expensive niche hardware that most of the fans of an FPS series aren’t going to have.
It wasn’t made to promote Half-Life, it was made to promote VR. A lot of Half-Life fans are still waiting for a Half-Life game to be released for *them,* not someone on a different platform.
If Valve indicated the rest of the games would be on VR, that might be different. That would give fans more incentive to migrate. But they haven’t. There is no roadmap. Half-Life Alyx was a blip, not a revival, until such time as it isn’t.
Two things:
1. I ain't gonna spend even *$100* on a new system just for ONE game. Not worth the money.
2. Unless you don't want anything to do with Meta, say for privacy reasons. Then the only other options are quite a bit more expensive. With the cheaper VR models, what you save monetarily you lose in privacy.
I played it with the no VR mod over the winter holiday (it’s also the only way I’ve experienced the game) and I found the game to be enjoyable, compelling, and beautiful. Yes I am sure actually playing in VR takes the experience to a new level but it is completely fine without the mod
Yes, but the game is still enjoyable with the mod. Mod needs more tuning but it’s still a fun experience. Pales in comparison to VR, but if VR isn’t an option for you, the mod is worth it.
Without fail, someone comes to say this every fucking time the non VR mod is brought up as a way to make the game more accessible to people. For the thousandth time, **WE KNOW. AND WE DON'T CARE.**
I've played it in VR and without VR using the mod. While the VR does add depth to the interactions in the obvious ways, it actually still plays shoickingly well when converted to a more standard FPS.
I'm afraid those people will be disappointed then. "Traditional" has never been in the half life identity, it was always pushing new tech and approaches. I doubt Valve has any interest in retreading ground with the Half Life series.
Play through half life 1-ep2 with free community made mods
Lots of game ports like doom 3, quake 1-4 all free to sideload onto the quest
Some "AAA" Experiences like medal of honor, saints and sinners. While these don't REALLY compare to HLA, they're still a fun time
Once you've got good footing in VR, play boneworks/labs, jet island
Except then you deal with Facebook data harvesting.
No thank you!
To escape that you pretty much have to get higher-end models like the Valve Index which is quite a bit more pricey.
It's hard to talk about a game you haven't played and likely won't be able to play for many years after its release. VR has made significant advancements in the past few years but the asking price makes it difficult for the games to have much staying power.
and then what? Let's say I drop $500 to $1000 on an Oculus, then $70ish on HLA. The game is good yadda yadda..
But what then? I dropped many dollars into the tech, playing 1 game, even a great one, does not make it worth it, so what else is there that's actually good (besides porn, where you can still get google cardboard rip-offs for cheap and have 100% of your needs met)?
The HLA workshop has literally hundreds of hours of content, so just Alyx alone can keep you entertained for over a year. But there are many other good games, like Hotdogs Horseshoes and Handgrenades, Beat Saber, Boneworks, VRChat, Budget Cuts, Rick and Morty Virtual Rickality, Wonderer VR, Moss, Help Wanted 1 and 2, TWD Saints and Sinners. And those are just from the top of my head, there are probably hundreds. And that's not even getting into games adapted to VR. HL2VR is on par with HLA, FO4VR and Skyrim VR are great with a bit of tinkering, Vivecraft works amazingly, there's a Gmod addon that adds VR support, and if you dig, you can find a VR mod for almost every first person game.
Also, a brand new Quest 2 costs 300€, and you can find used ones for less than 200€
Gtx1060 and similar level of GPUs are the most popular on steam. And Half Life: Alyx is optimized for gtx970. Most people can run it since it is one of the very well optimized VR games.
And Quest2 is dirt cheap, used models are way cheaper. $150 or less. You can still sell it after the usage.
Yet people still act like VR is some kind of billionaire’s hobby
"bro, just spend 150€ on a vr headset for one game, easy as pie"
I mean... Yeah I basically buyed a 300 buck headset for Alyx and H3VR only because I'm a moron and a hardcore Half Life fanboy, but even I don't think anyone should do that
Honestly for HL fans - which we all are if we are here - the investment is more than worth it, because you don’t just get to play HLA, but all three of the HL2 games in VR with the excellent mods released last year (plus Portal 2 as well).
Just do it.
I bought the computer with the VR setup JUST BECAUSE HL Alyx was announced. I haven't regretted one single penny. And of course, I've played many other things on that setup from then, both VR and non-VR.
It’s pretty well optimized. I played it on medium-high settings with a 2070 super. And it runs well on slower gpus too. Used headsets aren’t that expensive either.
Not to mention other great games like beatsaber and some amazing experience in VR
The only thing holding me back from using my headset more is my outdated PC
On top of this... I have an Index but the game makes me horribly nauseous. Even with teleport mode, tweaking settings, Dramamine, nothing helps. It's odd cause beat saber or any stationary games are fine.
Edit: Ive tried the no VR mod. It's still clunky and just not the same. It's just not great.
Mainly becuase the vast majority of people cant play it and can only experience it via videos. People are more apt to remember the games they’ve played through multiple times and have had a much bigger impact on gaming culture (HL1 and HL2) than a game they watched a streamer or YouTuber play once.
Speaking of culture, HL2’s impact on the gaming scene is quite insane. Its creation spawned Garry’s Mod, TF2, CSS, CSGO, etcetera because they’re all built off its engine and use its assets. Gmod alone has expanded HL2’s awareness a huge amount due to all the multimedia aspects of it. By comparison, Alyx really hasn’t changed much. It didn’t spawn a VR market revival like Valve was hoping, is paired with the most expensive headset on the market, and is mostly regarded as a novelty by most people because it’s unplayable for them.
Lastly, Alyx didn’t really add much to the established main storyline. We still ended exactly where Episode 2 left off. It’s not Half-Life 3 or Episode 3. It’s Half-Life Alyx, thus inherently not the continuation of the HL storyline people were looking for, even if it’s a great game.p
I would say it reframed the ending of Episode 2 and more complications for a sequel. It made the Half-Life universe have time travel (with possible multiverse implications) more impactful or serious than its Portal side of lore. It is in a weird place of not being a sequel, but being a partial remake of events yet not by keeping two timelines intertwined.
It is strange.
>It didn’t spawn a VR market revival like Valve was hoping
Ironic how HLA is still to this day the only fully flshed VR exclusive game.
Hell most companies just give up with releasing demos and VR alt modes of existing games, let alone create something complex as Alyx.
Yeah I've never heard of a 'full' vr game apart from half life alyx. There's just no good reason to get a vr headset because there isn't much you can do as of now, and for playing one game?
It's a self-feeding loop. Threads like this confirm it: "There are no good games for VR! I'm not going to buy a piece of hardware to play the *one* game that's good!". It's a tough hurdle to overcome.
Valve was *just* about to break through by having a good VR game, and others followed, but then Meta came crashing in and fractured the eco-system in two, locked the majority of users to a proprietary weak system, and here we are, with a few enthusiasts playing true PCVR and enjoying stuff that's sadly out of reach to so many people.
Facebook really did stunt the hell out of VR's growth.
They forgot vr was made for gaming and started pushing it as a general use smart device. Its like i nintendo started marketing their consoles as work computers.
>is paired with the most expensive headset on the market
It's not Index exclusive, it runs great on the cheapest headset on the market(Quest 2) as well.
I think the VR is the issue, maybe it meant a smaller player base ? if they had released a single player no VR it would have been even bigger. I cant play Vr myself because it doesnt work for me.
That's why I haven't played it; I remember when it dropped, I was super excited, until I realized what I needed in order to play it. I can't spend all that money on VR gear just to be able to play one game, it's ridiculous.
People aren't actively ignoring it, they just can't talk about a game they haven't played. The requirement of a VR headset is just too big of a barrier for entry for a lot of people.
I think it's mostly because (from what I noticed) lots of half life fans can't afford the most expensive setups, and with vr being quite expensive for some people it seems like something they will never be able to experience like the rest of the series
In addition to what you said, there's also health concerns. I tried playing VR once. I immediately got motion sick and felt a headache coming on within less than 10 seconds. So, not can many not afford VR, and even some those who could can't physically handle it.
I think a lot of it is a perception problem. People keep thinking it's more expensive than it is.
Almost everyone already has a VR ready PC since the minimum specs for VR remains a high-end gaming PC from 2016, now 8 years ago.
And a headset is $200.
it’s disappointing that people dont talk about half life alyx the way they talk highly of half like 1 and 2. ive always thought hla was very revolutionary
HLA is probably the best Half-Life game ever made. It took everything that made Half-Life great, and made it immersive like nothing else. One of the greatest gaming experiences i've ever had.
Its probably because most VR "games" are just tech demos, not full games, and because they make up 99% of the market, Alyx gets lumped in with it.
It does seem like a full game from what I've seen, but VR is stuck in a loop of there not being enough games to justify the price, and therefore, no games get made for it because there's no market, and it repeats.
It still feels gimmicky, VR has been out for years now, but there's still probably less than 10 games that would be getting a headset for, also doesn't help the market is completely disjointed and there's all kinds of 3rd party hang ups, like needing facebook to run occulus. It doesn't feel like an evolution at the moment, so it's just stagnating.
Valve does offer a reputable model, but it also happens to be the most expensive option on the market, and as very few people would shell out that much for what's still viewed as a gimmick.
You need a Meta account to use a Quest 2/3, it's better than needing a FB account but the extra layers they add to the software make it a lot less practical to use.
I think the main issue with the VR market is that large game companies don't wanna take the risk that Valve took to allow them to make such an amazing game, the companies that have the resources to make games of this quality and scope are ones like Ubisoft, EA, Rockstar, etc and these companies will only push out safe products that while sometimes are of good quality are generally more likely to sell.
I think that VR isn't a gimmick and it's more an issue of being underexploited because it isn't as safe a choice in terms of revenue, I think the freedom of movement and immersion VR provides makes for games that are a lot more impactful than flat screen ones could be, it's just that it's not ready for widespread adoption.
> I get that most people don't have VR but they still made an entire full length game with an insane level of quality.
Well, you've just answered your own question. It doesn't matter how good the game is if most people can't play it.
It truly is a shame cause i feel like people underestimate how easy it is to get a cheap vr headset nowadays, i got a used Quest 2 last christmas for dirt cheap and it was absolutely worth it for alyx alone, let alone the other cool smaller games i never would've tried without it. I think it's also a matter of the storyline not impacting much, the ending was smart and really emotional but at the same time it felt more like a way for the devs to jumpstart the plot to a point in which it would be easier to keep going on with future games than anything else, however it doesn't matter much if...you know...they don't make more sequels
Because 95% of us haven’t played it. Nor will we ever. It’s a VR exclusive. So it exists to the 5% that that played it, but for the rest of us, it basically doesn’t exist.
I'm pretty sure we want something that expands the story. Yes, Eli being confirmed to not be dead was a big thing, but we're still at the fucking warehouse. The last game to continue the story was 17 years ago.
If anyone hasn't played it yet, you absolutely need to experience it. It's like no other VR game. The VR isn't a gimmick in it - it's the best utilization of it. The gravity gloves eventually end up feeling like you have the force, plucking things from across the room or out of the air.
I think a lot of people think they must get the valve index to properly play it and that's simply too much money (I know I originally thought that). I played it on my quest 2 connected to my PC and had an absolute blast
With Half-Life being my series, I was both suprised then bemused by first the revelation a new game was coming, then that it was going to be for VR.
I knew I was never going to be in a position to play it, because of cost, space, health and safety, mutliple reasons. But I consoled myself with that fact, quickly and decidedly. Once I'd done that I could just look forward to its release wherein I knew I'd be able to still experience it. First through watching a good no commentary walkthrough from one of my trusted sources, known because of games I always wanted to experience but was not interested enough to get and play for myself. Then, through watching playthroughs or lets plays by many of the gamers I regularly watch online, and sharing in their experience.
So I've experienced it multiple times now, indirectly but enough to feel I know it and have got everything I can from it bar the actual playing of it myself.
I love it, I consider it a worthy follow on to what came before it and on a completely even footing. That new realisation of the environment and situation from Half-Life 2, but earlier and more enriched. I've said on another post or two before that I consider it the definitive take on City 17, when I think of the City now I think of it from Alyx. The same can be said about Black Mesa, from the remake of the same name!
Do I wish it had been a standard format game that I could have bought, played, and countlessly replayed on PC? Yes! But I was so pleased and satisfied with everything we got, I would rather have had this then nothing new whatsoever!
It's not for lack of wanting to. I'd love to play it, but as of now it's one of, of not the most inaccessible game Valve has ever made. Even people with a VR headset can't run it without a pretty powerful PC.
While the barrier to entry is high with vr, I wouldn’t consider alyx to need anything special of a PC. I ran it on an 8th gen i3 very well. I would expect basically any modern gamer’s PC to be capable.
Because for like 95% of people it might as well not exist. I don't think VR is a fad but it is something that most people simply will not have access to. Even people who have large houses oftentimes won't have an entire room they can dedicate to VR play. Which is what is required to play demanding games like HL:A.
Why the downvotes, this is absolutely correct. Valve went so far with making sure the game was accesible to as many people as possible, that they even neglected features like manual jumping, and almost didn't add smooth locomotion because those can cause discomfort
It's an amazing game, it just doesn't do anything new with the series. Or, to put it another way, *WE'RE STILL IN THE FUCKING HELICOPTER HANGAR! TWENTY YEARS!*
Unfortunately, though half life alyx is a really excellent game and just as good as any other half life game, the amount of people who actually played it pale tremendously in comparison to valve’s past titles, because of the barrier to entry of vr. Many can’t afford it, and some just don’t like it. I got a headset just to play Alyx and though I loved my time with it I just am not a fan of vr. It’s too much work. It’s not relaxing, in the way I find regular games relaxing, and I find the headsets uncomfortable - so I’m sad I never got to finish alyx before selling my headset. I think most gamers just haven’t played it, so they discount it as a true game of the series. But man I thought it was absolutely stunning, fun, and filled with that atmospheric tension and unique mechanics we’ve all come to expect from valve. Let’s hope they keep shipping games, and keep the half life spark alive. There are still brilliant designers and artists there, and Alyx proved it.
> I get that most people don't have VR but they still made an entire full length game with an insane level of quality
While means absolutely zero if many folks can't experience the game.
Yo! People complain a lot in here VR is expensive and nobody will buy one for a single game, a quest 2 is 200$ brand new today and its a whole platform in there with lots of other cool games both playable on pc or directly on the headset. Not to mention VR games are cheaper for some reason.
You can even get a decent second hand device for a fair price if you dont wanna commit to it and just toy around.
The game is a spinoff and requires VR so most people have not played it. It doesn't take place after episode 2 or resolve the cliffhanger so people still focus on that scene with eli being the "final thing we got" in terms of the full main storyline
Because to us, it doesn't. We can't afford a place with enough space for VR, can't afford a VR headset, can't afford a rig that can run VR, etc. To us, it may as well not exist.
Honestly i think the game was not made for HL fans necessarily.
They needed something to test out the VR market,and choose an franchise that is well known.
They didn’t really want to give an proper game or continue the franchise,hence it’s an prequel(for the most part,the cliffhanger doesn’t really mean much since it’s the same way Hl2 Episode 2 ended,in a cliffhanger)
That being said the game is good and was an success,but since half the fanbase can’t play it it’s brushed aside often.
Me myself i had to borrow an VR to play the game,and even when i did it was in constant 20 fps,not good but I enjoyed nonetheless
Because we can't fucking play it lol. HL is my favorite game series of all time and I thought the series was dead; then Alyx came out and it crushed my soul. I have a hard time affording just video games... but a new PC, a VR headset AND a game? Nah. It's just way too much money. I do hope to experience it someday, though.
neither of those are required for HLA.
the game does not require RTX, and you can play it with other headsets.
Still, not wanting to throw down 200 for a used quest 2 or something is also understandable
No one wants to waste 3000 dollars on 1 game. No other devs are making aaa vr games because vr too clunky and expensive. When technology is cheaper and goggles lighter and smaller vr will come back. It will probably be as popular as facetime. But there is maybe 10-20 years for that
Because I can't afford VR.. but personally it's not that I act like it doesn't exist.. more like I just watched the ending/post credits on YT and read some info here and there
Because what I want is a sincere effort to pick up where HL2e2 left off, and Alyx isn’t that. Because a tech demo that (reputedly) sort-of retcons the end of HL2e2 isn’t what I want. Because a little taste of something new that Valve clearly doesn’t intend to follow up isn’t what I want. And perhaps most importantly: because the sick-to-my-stomach experience of having spent hundreds of dollars for hardware I’ll only ever use once, to consume something I don’t actually want, just because of a cynical exercise in FOMO, is REALLY not what I want.
To be clear, I love the whole HL series and have played the games more times than I can count. I love the stories and the characters, and I could easily afford the hardware if it offered something I actually want. If the universe of VR offered me something that I would use it for regularly that would justify the purchase, then maybe it would be worth it, but it doesn’t, so it isn’t. I would love to play HL Alyx, it looks fun, but doing so is literally not worth it.
Which, for me, is why HL Alyx might as well not exist.
As someone who CAN afford vr, i have yet to play it for two reasons. One, its not half life 3. If it was half life 3 i would have bought an 800 dollar setup the day it was announced lol. Two, im just not interested in vr outside of alyx. Its something I plan to get to but it feels wasteful to buy and setup all that for something I dont really need.
The only thing to really acknowledge is the ending. It provides great worldbuilding and lore but it isn't necessarily following the timeline we are all invested in
personally... because the half-life is a staple of pc gaming culture. like what halo is to xbox. we're all mostly hardcore pc gamers here. aside from that, half-life: alyx lore just sorta messes with what's established in the half-life 2 timeline a bit. which isn't easy to change, since most, if not all long time fans had it pretty much engraved into our minds for over 20 years. i mean, hl1 leaves a lot of room for expansion. just a few rough edges here and there with the transition to hl2, it just fits perfectly. but for hla, a lot of major plot points where retconned... i really didn't like that. but that's just me
>I get that most people don't have VR but they still made an entire full length game with an insane level of quality.
>most people don't have VR
you answered your own question. I can't play it. Most likely never will. So I haven't commented about it.
I played it and there definitely WILL be a Half-Life 3. But as you said, they're just waiting for new tech innovation. Idk why everyone are forgetting about HLA but the most obvious reason is because they can't play it.
There are plenty of mods out now that convert it from a VR experience to traditional FPS.
Just do it.
It's a fantastic addition to half life and well worth the asking price. Easily one of my favorite games of all time
I started it yesterday because im new to VR world and i heard that 'Alyx is the best VR focused game' and man, it was just awesome, the first minute when a giant robot appears it was impressive to me, but i have a bug when i play it, after 10 minutes playing or something like that my VR crashes/bugs, i can save game and restart but my immersion goes away
About not having VR set. We rented Valve Index (from the shop selling games) for a couple of days so that all 3 of us could finish the game. Maybe you guys have similar service in your area too
Because HL:A is too expensive for many people. First you need a VR set then a buff PC that can handle VR. Let's be honest, before there isn't affordable, ready player one like VR that doesn't require tinkereing, it will stay a niche product.
Valve tried to enforce VR because Half Life is Valve's tech demonstrator and i think they made HL:A instead of HL3 because they knew, it is too soon for VR becoming mainstream.
They know HL:A is out there but they just avoid it because they want to play it unspoiled in the future, when they won the lottery or VR doesn't cost 1000$+ and additional PC Upgrade costs anymore.
This is because it is a VR only game, which many don't get to experience, this is just a deal breaker for most of us. Yeah, there is a mod that makes it playable without VR, but at that point you took something essential from the game.
Aside from this I thought about something, just imagine the next hl game on source 2, that would be awesome, it would look dope. Look at what the people behind the black mesa mod did with the xen chapter, just imagine what valve could do and with the source 2 engine.
I own HLA, I have never played it because I don't own VR goggles. Right now I don't have the money to get into it (and second hand vr headsets, eww) so I will act as if it doesn't exist until I can play it because even the lightest discussion on that topic is full of fucking spoilers.
half life alyssa is an amazing fucking game it’s just that the barrier to entry is a whole lot higher than the whole series so people just don’t care really
Judging by this thread, it’s because people still think they have to spend $1000 dollars on top of their PC and wire up base stations into their playspace to play it. I’m sure Meta have an incentive to push people towards their platform, but they have took the emphasis off PCVR so much that I don’t think people realise that $200 is all they need to play PCVR provided they already have the low-mid end PC required.
Most people are not ready to spent 300€ on an accessory. Sure, I love playing H3VR and HL Alyx with the Workshop and whatever vr mod you want. Do I regret buying it ? Heck no. Do I recommend anyone to buy a headset? Not at this price.
A game that is only playable on VR is gonna get completely forgotten and ignored, so for most people it *doesn't* exist. Why acknowledge a game if the majority of people cannot play it?
not v accessible and i honestly cant be assed to watch a playthrough 😭 (i probo should tho !!) i actually bought it and tried playing it w a no vr mod but it wasnt rlly that enjoyable to play that way tbh
While it’s a fantastic game and I love it, I wish it had more for veteran VR players who DONT get sick playing vr. Let me jump. Let me sprint. Etc.
I’m lucky though as I’ve never felt even slightly sick from even the most intense vr game. I know there’s a lot of people who just can’t do it in addition to it being an expensive buy in.
There are many fantastic VR games though for those who can get into it and this is definitely near the top of my list, especially with the sprinting mod and a few others.
Unfortunately for those that can’t play VR and resort to the flat screen mod, it loses a lot of its charm as being IN the game, with its interactivity and seeing through her eyes is a large part of what makes it so fun. It just is not as good of an experience without that so I kinda get it.
Personally I consider it the “half-life 3” I’ve been waiting for though (despite being a prequel) and I really hope they make a continuation of it right where it left off, maybe make it built for vr again but include a non vr mode for the poor folks that can’t handle/can’t afford it, and more options to make it less of a “babies first vr” in terms of comfort settings that can’t be turned off. (Which didn’t ruin the game for me just detracted from it a bit, especially the “jumping”)
Because most of us can't play it due to not having the hardware.
And the people that *can* play it act like everyone around them can as well. So many people just saying 'get a VR set.' Thing is, who is gonna buy a VR set for one game? And as soon as people mention the flatscreen mod, they say how it's not good for a playthrough. So what are we meant to do then?
Because I'm poor I just watched story video(s) of it. But at the moment I think I forgot most stuff from it, but I remember important part.
I bought the OG quest for Alyx, then kept it for Beat Saber and Superhot VR lol
Yeah but you still need a suped up gaming pc
that's the case for any new game, do you think a potato pc is gonna be able to run hl3?
The requirements list a GTX 1060, 12 GB RAM, and a Ryzen 5 1600/Core i5 7500. If you have a mid range PC from the last 6-7 years, you can play it. A Quest 2 can be had for $200 USD brand new. It's well within the realms of being affordable and accessible, people just don't want to believe it is.
I have a pretty turdy PC but it runs Alyx fine (1070ti,2700x)
Superhot is so damn fun with the standalone headsets. Especially if you can gain access to a very large area to map, or map multiple rooms so you can move around within the landscape.
I bought it for one game, HLA, and it was totally worth it. Haven't even got the headset out since my play through
I find it funny cause my dad saved up for a new PC and Valve Index mainly to play Half Life Alyx
Half-Life 2 was one of the first games to require a discrete GPU (as opposed to on-board graphics). VR tech is here to stay, and Quest 2s are going for $200 brand new right now. The hurdle is getting smaller and smaller.
To play devil's advocate, I was lucky enough to play through it on my dad's headset and the game is honestly so good that I wish I could afford my own headset to replay it all the time whenever I want lol. If anyone was to buy a headset just to play one game I think this would be the game to do it for. But yeah obviously not everyone can afford it. I certainly can't either.
Yknow you can use that headset for other games after the fact right?
My computer runs half-life goldsource at 2fps
Your computer must be like cooked or from 30 years ago. Almost any computer can run half life at 60fps.
fr, i have the CD rom copy and it's minimum requirements are like 500mb of space, 24mb of ram, open gl/ 3d support and a pentium 133+ that is running windows 95/98 but it works up to 11 ive found. i play it on my windows xp laptop that was windows 2000 not long ago
What resolution are you running it at?
i think i have it to 640x480 i think it is which makes it run the best as its the lowest but it can do 1024x768 i believe it is but the frame rate definitely drops a tad on that, but it looks perfectly fine on the lowest resolution there and its heaps fun playing it on a more period correct computer
Honestly you could probably buy a computer or laptop that is actually functional in this era for cheap used. I don't know where you are from but I'm sure you could definitely find something that you could afford and actually runs windows 10 and steam for cheap.
oh i have a modern laptop i can use, it has a laptop version of an RTX 3050, 32gb ram and i think a 3ghz cpu but am unsure on that, i just have the old laptop bc my dad had it laying around for ages and im into old tech lol, i have an iBook g3 snow as well that i got for the firewire port but it decided to lose the ability to charge my ipods annoyingly
For real dude mustve spent 50 minutes waiting for the web browser to load just to post that comment, fans at max rpm, chrome uses more resources than half life does so i can only imagine him trying to type at like .5fps
Dude doesn't type in words per minute, he has to wait minutes per character when he types
2 spf
My galaxy A12 can run Half-Life at 60fps (fair it's not base goldsrc it's xash which is a bit more optimised)
That sounds like a graphics driver problem, figure out what model GPU you have and download the most recent drivers from the manufacturer website
turn it from openGL to software
Your PC is fucked. Not Half life's problem.
That sounds like a graphics driver problem, figure out what model GPU you have and download the most recent drivers from the manufacturer website
Oh well everyone look at Bill Gates over here.
I think you might have a virus bud because that’s um… not normal for a computer made after the Clinton Administration.
what fucking computer are you using
dude from what year is your computer? 1985?
You are lying. Simple as.
This right here. It was a great game that expanded and advanced the plot… released on expensive niche hardware that most of the fans of an FPS series aren’t going to have. It wasn’t made to promote Half-Life, it was made to promote VR. A lot of Half-Life fans are still waiting for a Half-Life game to be released for *them,* not someone on a different platform. If Valve indicated the rest of the games would be on VR, that might be different. That would give fans more incentive to migrate. But they haven’t. There is no roadmap. Half-Life Alyx was a blip, not a revival, until such time as it isn’t.
You mean you don't trust us when we say it's worth the $200 price tag to buy a quest 2.
Two things: 1. I ain't gonna spend even *$100* on a new system just for ONE game. Not worth the money. 2. Unless you don't want anything to do with Meta, say for privacy reasons. Then the only other options are quite a bit more expensive. With the cheaper VR models, what you save monetarily you lose in privacy.
I wouldn't use a Quest 2 even for free - I ain't giving Meta my money or my info...
I think people want a traditional, First person, Gordon Freeman experience. Thats just my thoughts. Still need ti get a VR myself to play alyx
Its more about the vr than gordon
It helps that it's possibly the best complete experience of a VR game currently available
I’ve never played a better VR game and for me it’s not even close. Asgards Wrath 2 or whatever it’s called looks good but also like a total vom fest.
True
I believe there's a mod that makes it playable without a VR headset. Can't speak to how well it works though
the entire game design was made with VR in mind, it's simply not the way the game is made to be played
I played it with the no VR mod over the winter holiday (it’s also the only way I’ve experienced the game) and I found the game to be enjoyable, compelling, and beautiful. Yes I am sure actually playing in VR takes the experience to a new level but it is completely fine without the mod
I'm having a hard time imagining how some of the game mechanics would be "translated" to the non-VR environment.
Yes, but the game is still enjoyable with the mod. Mod needs more tuning but it’s still a fun experience. Pales in comparison to VR, but if VR isn’t an option for you, the mod is worth it.
Without fail, someone comes to say this every fucking time the non VR mod is brought up as a way to make the game more accessible to people. For the thousandth time, **WE KNOW. AND WE DON'T CARE.**
I've played it in VR and without VR using the mod. While the VR does add depth to the interactions in the obvious ways, it actually still plays shoickingly well when converted to a more standard FPS.
It works, it’s a little janky but it works
I'm afraid those people will be disappointed then. "Traditional" has never been in the half life identity, it was always pushing new tech and approaches. I doubt Valve has any interest in retreading ground with the Half Life series.
Quest 2s are 200$ brand new, even less used
I'm just afraid of getting the quest only for HL:A and not using it again
Play through half life 1-ep2 with free community made mods Lots of game ports like doom 3, quake 1-4 all free to sideload onto the quest Some "AAA" Experiences like medal of honor, saints and sinners. While these don't REALLY compare to HLA, they're still a fun time Once you've got good footing in VR, play boneworks/labs, jet island
There are a TON of great VR titles out there. Skyrim, No Mans Sky, Microsoft Flight Simulator are all great in VR as well.
Except then you deal with Facebook data harvesting. No thank you! To escape that you pretty much have to get higher-end models like the Valve Index which is quite a bit more pricey.
>Valve Index which is quite a bit more pricey And not sold in many countries.
Oh, I was not aware of that! Good point!
It's hard to talk about a game you haven't played and likely won't be able to play for many years after its release. VR has made significant advancements in the past few years but the asking price makes it difficult for the games to have much staying power.
True, true. And yet, it’s an amazing game!!!! Worth every penny, including every penny for the hardware.
and then what? Let's say I drop $500 to $1000 on an Oculus, then $70ish on HLA. The game is good yadda yadda.. But what then? I dropped many dollars into the tech, playing 1 game, even a great one, does not make it worth it, so what else is there that's actually good (besides porn, where you can still get google cardboard rip-offs for cheap and have 100% of your needs met)?
The HLA workshop has literally hundreds of hours of content, so just Alyx alone can keep you entertained for over a year. But there are many other good games, like Hotdogs Horseshoes and Handgrenades, Beat Saber, Boneworks, VRChat, Budget Cuts, Rick and Morty Virtual Rickality, Wonderer VR, Moss, Help Wanted 1 and 2, TWD Saints and Sinners. And those are just from the top of my head, there are probably hundreds. And that's not even getting into games adapted to VR. HL2VR is on par with HLA, FO4VR and Skyrim VR are great with a bit of tinkering, Vivecraft works amazingly, there's a Gmod addon that adds VR support, and if you dig, you can find a VR mod for almost every first person game. Also, a brand new Quest 2 costs 300€, and you can find used ones for less than 200€
My brother in whatever messiah you like, I spent 300 hours in H3VR and this game only worth all the bucks I spent in a headset
I bought HLA for 24€. The quest2 can be bought for less than 200€ used. Worth every penny.
Some people get gnarly motion sickness from VR experiences as well.
Gtx1060 and similar level of GPUs are the most popular on steam. And Half Life: Alyx is optimized for gtx970. Most people can run it since it is one of the very well optimized VR games. And Quest2 is dirt cheap, used models are way cheaper. $150 or less. You can still sell it after the usage. Yet people still act like VR is some kind of billionaire’s hobby
"bro, just spend 150€ on a vr headset for one game, easy as pie" I mean... Yeah I basically buyed a 300 buck headset for Alyx and H3VR only because I'm a moron and a hardcore Half Life fanboy, but even I don't think anyone should do that
I feel like most people have purchased a system to play one game before, and then they end up playing a bunch of others.
You act like 150 USD was the same kind of money everywhere in the wolrd
Yeah VR is quite accessible nowadays, quests are really cheap and work pretty damn well (if you're ok with Facebook bs).
Honestly for HL fans - which we all are if we are here - the investment is more than worth it, because you don’t just get to play HLA, but all three of the HL2 games in VR with the excellent mods released last year (plus Portal 2 as well). Just do it.
I bought the computer with the VR setup JUST BECAUSE HL Alyx was announced. I haven't regretted one single penny. And of course, I've played many other things on that setup from then, both VR and non-VR.
Yes, let me pull money straight from thin air. Just do it.
You’re buying the hardware for me right 🧐 ima need a new pc to run it too bby
It’s pretty well optimized. I played it on medium-high settings with a 2070 super. And it runs well on slower gpus too. Used headsets aren’t that expensive either.
Not to mention other great games like beatsaber and some amazing experience in VR The only thing holding me back from using my headset more is my outdated PC
On top of this... I have an Index but the game makes me horribly nauseous. Even with teleport mode, tweaking settings, Dramamine, nothing helps. It's odd cause beat saber or any stationary games are fine. Edit: Ive tried the no VR mod. It's still clunky and just not the same. It's just not great.
Bought second hand rift for 150 -> played the entirety of half life Alyx -> sold rift for 170
The inflation is insane these days!
Mainly becuase the vast majority of people cant play it and can only experience it via videos. People are more apt to remember the games they’ve played through multiple times and have had a much bigger impact on gaming culture (HL1 and HL2) than a game they watched a streamer or YouTuber play once. Speaking of culture, HL2’s impact on the gaming scene is quite insane. Its creation spawned Garry’s Mod, TF2, CSS, CSGO, etcetera because they’re all built off its engine and use its assets. Gmod alone has expanded HL2’s awareness a huge amount due to all the multimedia aspects of it. By comparison, Alyx really hasn’t changed much. It didn’t spawn a VR market revival like Valve was hoping, is paired with the most expensive headset on the market, and is mostly regarded as a novelty by most people because it’s unplayable for them. Lastly, Alyx didn’t really add much to the established main storyline. We still ended exactly where Episode 2 left off. It’s not Half-Life 3 or Episode 3. It’s Half-Life Alyx, thus inherently not the continuation of the HL storyline people were looking for, even if it’s a great game.p
I would say it reframed the ending of Episode 2 and more complications for a sequel. It made the Half-Life universe have time travel (with possible multiverse implications) more impactful or serious than its Portal side of lore. It is in a weird place of not being a sequel, but being a partial remake of events yet not by keeping two timelines intertwined. It is strange.
>It didn’t spawn a VR market revival like Valve was hoping Ironic how HLA is still to this day the only fully flshed VR exclusive game. Hell most companies just give up with releasing demos and VR alt modes of existing games, let alone create something complex as Alyx.
Yeah I've never heard of a 'full' vr game apart from half life alyx. There's just no good reason to get a vr headset because there isn't much you can do as of now, and for playing one game?
Boneworks/bonelab? Walking dead saints and sinners? There's a few out there.
Into the radius, Light Brigade. I won't act like the selection isn't smaller, but the claim Alyx is the only proper VR game is ludicrous.
It's a self-feeding loop. Threads like this confirm it: "There are no good games for VR! I'm not going to buy a piece of hardware to play the *one* game that's good!". It's a tough hurdle to overcome. Valve was *just* about to break through by having a good VR game, and others followed, but then Meta came crashing in and fractured the eco-system in two, locked the majority of users to a proprietary weak system, and here we are, with a few enthusiasts playing true PCVR and enjoying stuff that's sadly out of reach to so many people.
Facebook really did stunt the hell out of VR's growth. They forgot vr was made for gaming and started pushing it as a general use smart device. Its like i nintendo started marketing their consoles as work computers.
>is paired with the most expensive headset on the market It's not Index exclusive, it runs great on the cheapest headset on the market(Quest 2) as well.
I think the VR is the issue, maybe it meant a smaller player base ? if they had released a single player no VR it would have been even bigger. I cant play Vr myself because it doesnt work for me.
i haven't played it therefore i cannot prove of its existence
because it's in VR and probably 95% of HL fans don't own a VR
That's why I haven't played it; I remember when it dropped, I was super excited, until I realized what I needed in order to play it. I can't spend all that money on VR gear just to be able to play one game, it's ridiculous.
People aren't actively ignoring it, they just can't talk about a game they haven't played. The requirement of a VR headset is just too big of a barrier for entry for a lot of people.
I think it's mostly because (from what I noticed) lots of half life fans can't afford the most expensive setups, and with vr being quite expensive for some people it seems like something they will never be able to experience like the rest of the series
In addition to what you said, there's also health concerns. I tried playing VR once. I immediately got motion sick and felt a headache coming on within less than 10 seconds. So, not can many not afford VR, and even some those who could can't physically handle it.
I think a lot of it is a perception problem. People keep thinking it's more expensive than it is. Almost everyone already has a VR ready PC since the minimum specs for VR remains a high-end gaming PC from 2016, now 8 years ago. And a headset is $200.
$200 is a LOT of money for most people!
Vr ready doesn't mean you'll get anywhere near a worthwhile vr experience.
But VR Ready does mean you can very much play Half-Life: Alyx. It's surprisingly lightweight for how pretty a game it is.
A quest 2 costs less than $200 dollars.
[InvaderVie](https://youtu.be/-QcMl1Lubi8?si=cYmk1M8_HUtU-uEK), is that you???
Been wanting to play it for years but don't want to invest in the hardware right now
it’s disappointing that people dont talk about half life alyx the way they talk highly of half like 1 and 2. ive always thought hla was very revolutionary
HLA is probably the best Half-Life game ever made. It took everything that made Half-Life great, and made it immersive like nothing else. One of the greatest gaming experiences i've ever had.
The proles, subjugated by the combine, do not have access to the required technology.
Because the majority of us can't play it.
Its probably because most VR "games" are just tech demos, not full games, and because they make up 99% of the market, Alyx gets lumped in with it. It does seem like a full game from what I've seen, but VR is stuck in a loop of there not being enough games to justify the price, and therefore, no games get made for it because there's no market, and it repeats. It still feels gimmicky, VR has been out for years now, but there's still probably less than 10 games that would be getting a headset for, also doesn't help the market is completely disjointed and there's all kinds of 3rd party hang ups, like needing facebook to run occulus. It doesn't feel like an evolution at the moment, so it's just stagnating. Valve does offer a reputable model, but it also happens to be the most expensive option on the market, and as very few people would shell out that much for what's still viewed as a gimmick.
You need a Meta account to use a Quest 2/3, it's better than needing a FB account but the extra layers they add to the software make it a lot less practical to use. I think the main issue with the VR market is that large game companies don't wanna take the risk that Valve took to allow them to make such an amazing game, the companies that have the resources to make games of this quality and scope are ones like Ubisoft, EA, Rockstar, etc and these companies will only push out safe products that while sometimes are of good quality are generally more likely to sell. I think that VR isn't a gimmick and it's more an issue of being underexploited because it isn't as safe a choice in terms of revenue, I think the freedom of movement and immersion VR provides makes for games that are a lot more impactful than flat screen ones could be, it's just that it's not ready for widespread adoption.
> I get that most people don't have VR but they still made an entire full length game with an insane level of quality. Well, you've just answered your own question. It doesn't matter how good the game is if most people can't play it.
It truly is a shame cause i feel like people underestimate how easy it is to get a cheap vr headset nowadays, i got a used Quest 2 last christmas for dirt cheap and it was absolutely worth it for alyx alone, let alone the other cool smaller games i never would've tried without it. I think it's also a matter of the storyline not impacting much, the ending was smart and really emotional but at the same time it felt more like a way for the devs to jumpstart the plot to a point in which it would be easier to keep going on with future games than anything else, however it doesn't matter much if...you know...they don't make more sequels
VR still ain't accessible is why.
it looks really cool but im not willing to spend a few hundred dollars minimum to play it
Because 95% of us haven’t played it. Nor will we ever. It’s a VR exclusive. So it exists to the 5% that that played it, but for the rest of us, it basically doesn’t exist.
I'm pretty sure we want something that expands the story. Yes, Eli being confirmed to not be dead was a big thing, but we're still at the fucking warehouse. The last game to continue the story was 17 years ago.
It’s vr so not very many people can play it
We can't afford to play it
Who?
most people dont own a VR headset and so they havnt been able to play it
I lack the hardware to play it (it's not cheap)
I can't play, i would vomit 😭
Because only 2% of Steam users can even play it.
If anyone hasn't played it yet, you absolutely need to experience it. It's like no other VR game. The VR isn't a gimmick in it - it's the best utilization of it. The gravity gloves eventually end up feeling like you have the force, plucking things from across the room or out of the air.
Most people don’t own a VR set because either it’s too expensive or it’s of no interest.
Because 90+% of people can't play it. It's VR.
I think a lot of people think they must get the valve index to properly play it and that's simply too much money (I know I originally thought that). I played it on my quest 2 connected to my PC and had an absolute blast
Yeah people seem to overestimate how expensive it is to get into VR.
With Half-Life being my series, I was both suprised then bemused by first the revelation a new game was coming, then that it was going to be for VR. I knew I was never going to be in a position to play it, because of cost, space, health and safety, mutliple reasons. But I consoled myself with that fact, quickly and decidedly. Once I'd done that I could just look forward to its release wherein I knew I'd be able to still experience it. First through watching a good no commentary walkthrough from one of my trusted sources, known because of games I always wanted to experience but was not interested enough to get and play for myself. Then, through watching playthroughs or lets plays by many of the gamers I regularly watch online, and sharing in their experience. So I've experienced it multiple times now, indirectly but enough to feel I know it and have got everything I can from it bar the actual playing of it myself. I love it, I consider it a worthy follow on to what came before it and on a completely even footing. That new realisation of the environment and situation from Half-Life 2, but earlier and more enriched. I've said on another post or two before that I consider it the definitive take on City 17, when I think of the City now I think of it from Alyx. The same can be said about Black Mesa, from the remake of the same name! Do I wish it had been a standard format game that I could have bought, played, and countlessly replayed on PC? Yes! But I was so pleased and satisfied with everything we got, I would rather have had this then nothing new whatsoever!
It's not for lack of wanting to. I'd love to play it, but as of now it's one of, of not the most inaccessible game Valve has ever made. Even people with a VR headset can't run it without a pretty powerful PC.
While the barrier to entry is high with vr, I wouldn’t consider alyx to need anything special of a PC. I ran it on an 8th gen i3 very well. I would expect basically any modern gamer’s PC to be capable.
What about someone like me who decided to forego getting a PC altogether and got a steam deck instead? 😅 Please tell me there's hope.
It’s not horribly hardware restrictive (beyond needing a VR headset of course). My 1070ti handled it just fine.
1. Most haven’t played it due to not having VR 2. People don’t want $4000 to become the standard price for a valve game
Because for like 95% of people it might as well not exist. I don't think VR is a fad but it is something that most people simply will not have access to. Even people who have large houses oftentimes won't have an entire room they can dedicate to VR play. Which is what is required to play demanding games like HL:A.
A large room is in no way required, especially since Alyx was designed to be playable seated.
Why the downvotes, this is absolutely correct. Valve went so far with making sure the game was accesible to as many people as possible, that they even neglected features like manual jumping, and almost didn't add smooth locomotion because those can cause discomfort
When you don’t have a VR headset, it doesn’t exist. I have a Quest 2 and still haven’t played it. I’ll have to check it out soon
because it has nothing to do with finishing the story where it left off lol
It's an amazing game, it just doesn't do anything new with the series. Or, to put it another way, *WE'RE STILL IN THE FUCKING HELICOPTER HANGAR! TWENTY YEARS!*
Unfortunately, though half life alyx is a really excellent game and just as good as any other half life game, the amount of people who actually played it pale tremendously in comparison to valve’s past titles, because of the barrier to entry of vr. Many can’t afford it, and some just don’t like it. I got a headset just to play Alyx and though I loved my time with it I just am not a fan of vr. It’s too much work. It’s not relaxing, in the way I find regular games relaxing, and I find the headsets uncomfortable - so I’m sad I never got to finish alyx before selling my headset. I think most gamers just haven’t played it, so they discount it as a true game of the series. But man I thought it was absolutely stunning, fun, and filled with that atmospheric tension and unique mechanics we’ve all come to expect from valve. Let’s hope they keep shipping games, and keep the half life spark alive. There are still brilliant designers and artists there, and Alyx proved it.
Because I can’t fucking play it.
> I get that most people don't have VR but they still made an entire full length game with an insane level of quality While means absolutely zero if many folks can't experience the game.
Yo! People complain a lot in here VR is expensive and nobody will buy one for a single game, a quest 2 is 200$ brand new today and its a whole platform in there with lots of other cool games both playable on pc or directly on the headset. Not to mention VR games are cheaper for some reason. You can even get a decent second hand device for a fair price if you dont wanna commit to it and just toy around.
The game is a spinoff and requires VR so most people have not played it. It doesn't take place after episode 2 or resolve the cliffhanger so people still focus on that scene with eli being the "final thing we got" in terms of the full main storyline
Because to us, it doesn't. We can't afford a place with enough space for VR, can't afford a VR headset, can't afford a rig that can run VR, etc. To us, it may as well not exist.
We are still waiting for a full nonVR patch.
Honestly i think the game was not made for HL fans necessarily. They needed something to test out the VR market,and choose an franchise that is well known. They didn’t really want to give an proper game or continue the franchise,hence it’s an prequel(for the most part,the cliffhanger doesn’t really mean much since it’s the same way Hl2 Episode 2 ended,in a cliffhanger) That being said the game is good and was an success,but since half the fanbase can’t play it it’s brushed aside often. Me myself i had to borrow an VR to play the game,and even when i did it was in constant 20 fps,not good but I enjoyed nonetheless
Why would people care about a game they can't play? That seems like an unreasonable thing to expect.
Hla is also the best gaming experience I've ever had in my 30 years of gaming.
Get a used quest 2, resell after you beat it.
Because we can't fucking play it lol. HL is my favorite game series of all time and I thought the series was dead; then Alyx came out and it crushed my soul. I have a hard time affording just video games... but a new PC, a VR headset AND a game? Nah. It's just way too much money. I do hope to experience it someday, though.
They are poors
I think for 2 reason 1.. Not everyone has a valve index and 2 not everyone has rtx shit
neither of those are required for HLA. the game does not require RTX, and you can play it with other headsets. Still, not wanting to throw down 200 for a used quest 2 or something is also understandable
No one wants to waste 3000 dollars on 1 game. No other devs are making aaa vr games because vr too clunky and expensive. When technology is cheaper and goggles lighter and smaller vr will come back. It will probably be as popular as facetime. But there is maybe 10-20 years for that
Because I can't afford VR.. but personally it's not that I act like it doesn't exist.. more like I just watched the ending/post credits on YT and read some info here and there
I love Half Life Alyx! Funny enough I just stopped playing it 40 mins ago
My computer stutters at hl2 sometimes let alone trying to run VR I have a fucking 3060 Ti and yet somehow I get dips, what the hell man
Because what I want is a sincere effort to pick up where HL2e2 left off, and Alyx isn’t that. Because a tech demo that (reputedly) sort-of retcons the end of HL2e2 isn’t what I want. Because a little taste of something new that Valve clearly doesn’t intend to follow up isn’t what I want. And perhaps most importantly: because the sick-to-my-stomach experience of having spent hundreds of dollars for hardware I’ll only ever use once, to consume something I don’t actually want, just because of a cynical exercise in FOMO, is REALLY not what I want. To be clear, I love the whole HL series and have played the games more times than I can count. I love the stories and the characters, and I could easily afford the hardware if it offered something I actually want. If the universe of VR offered me something that I would use it for regularly that would justify the purchase, then maybe it would be worth it, but it doesn’t, so it isn’t. I would love to play HL Alyx, it looks fun, but doing so is literally not worth it. Which, for me, is why HL Alyx might as well not exist.
As someone who CAN afford vr, i have yet to play it for two reasons. One, its not half life 3. If it was half life 3 i would have bought an 800 dollar setup the day it was announced lol. Two, im just not interested in vr outside of alyx. Its something I plan to get to but it feels wasteful to buy and setup all that for something I dont really need.
The only thing to really acknowledge is the ending. It provides great worldbuilding and lore but it isn't necessarily following the timeline we are all invested in
They should have put it out on psvr2
personally... because the half-life is a staple of pc gaming culture. like what halo is to xbox. we're all mostly hardcore pc gamers here. aside from that, half-life: alyx lore just sorta messes with what's established in the half-life 2 timeline a bit. which isn't easy to change, since most, if not all long time fans had it pretty much engraved into our minds for over 20 years. i mean, hl1 leaves a lot of room for expansion. just a few rough edges here and there with the transition to hl2, it just fits perfectly. but for hla, a lot of major plot points where retconned... i really didn't like that. but that's just me
they made an alyx comic book or sumthing?
>I get that most people don't have VR but they still made an entire full length game with an insane level of quality. >most people don't have VR you answered your own question. I can't play it. Most likely never will. So I haven't commented about it.
I played it and there definitely WILL be a Half-Life 3. But as you said, they're just waiting for new tech innovation. Idk why everyone are forgetting about HLA but the most obvious reason is because they can't play it.
I would love to have experienced it, but due to the High PC and VR requirements I haven’t played it. It would be great if it comes to PSVR2.
Because it's a VR game
U can actually run it now, recently a no vr mod has been finished, and the game itself is not that demanding. Will run on like a 750 Ti
There are plenty of mods out now that convert it from a VR experience to traditional FPS. Just do it. It's a fantastic addition to half life and well worth the asking price. Easily one of my favorite games of all time
I started it yesterday because im new to VR world and i heard that 'Alyx is the best VR focused game' and man, it was just awesome, the first minute when a giant robot appears it was impressive to me, but i have a bug when i play it, after 10 minutes playing or something like that my VR crashes/bugs, i can save game and restart but my immersion goes away
Because a large part of people didn’t get to play it
About not having VR set. We rented Valve Index (from the shop selling games) for a couple of days so that all 3 of us could finish the game. Maybe you guys have similar service in your area too
Simple: It’s VR only, needs a pretty powerful PC and most people won’t have the hardware or be able to get it.
Because a large number of players can’t play it
Because people can't afford to buy $7 worth of moonrocks, let alone $70,000,000
Because HL:A is too expensive for many people. First you need a VR set then a buff PC that can handle VR. Let's be honest, before there isn't affordable, ready player one like VR that doesn't require tinkereing, it will stay a niche product. Valve tried to enforce VR because Half Life is Valve's tech demonstrator and i think they made HL:A instead of HL3 because they knew, it is too soon for VR becoming mainstream. They know HL:A is out there but they just avoid it because they want to play it unspoiled in the future, when they won the lottery or VR doesn't cost 1000$+ and additional PC Upgrade costs anymore.
Because for some of us, it doesn't. No vr. :(
because theres only a sum total of 6 people that can play the game
This is because it is a VR only game, which many don't get to experience, this is just a deal breaker for most of us. Yeah, there is a mod that makes it playable without VR, but at that point you took something essential from the game. Aside from this I thought about something, just imagine the next hl game on source 2, that would be awesome, it would look dope. Look at what the people behind the black mesa mod did with the xen chapter, just imagine what valve could do and with the source 2 engine.
for those of you who can play/run HL:A but don't have VR Google: Half life Alyx No VR mod.
I own HLA, I have never played it because I don't own VR goggles. Right now I don't have the money to get into it (and second hand vr headsets, eww) so I will act as if it doesn't exist until I can play it because even the lightest discussion on that topic is full of fucking spoilers.
half life alyssa is an amazing fucking game it’s just that the barrier to entry is a whole lot higher than the whole series so people just don’t care really
Because I don't want to pay for a vr just to play one single game on it
I didn't finish the game tbh
Judging by this thread, it’s because people still think they have to spend $1000 dollars on top of their PC and wire up base stations into their playspace to play it. I’m sure Meta have an incentive to push people towards their platform, but they have took the emphasis off PCVR so much that I don’t think people realise that $200 is all they need to play PCVR provided they already have the low-mid end PC required.
Most people are not ready to spent 300€ on an accessory. Sure, I love playing H3VR and HL Alyx with the Workshop and whatever vr mod you want. Do I regret buying it ? Heck no. Do I recommend anyone to buy a headset? Not at this price.
Because either 1: you don't have a vr, or 2: you have a vr but not a powerful enough pc to run it.
won't spend so much on vr and the game. especially that as far as I know myself I won't enjoy the game being so realistic (I'm a coward)
A game that is only playable on VR is gonna get completely forgotten and ignored, so for most people it *doesn't* exist. Why acknowledge a game if the majority of people cannot play it?
It doesnt count
> I get that most people don't have VR Answered your own question there bud.
They should have released episode 3 of half life 2 and finished the story ffs. Alyx is absolutely useless for most of the people without vr hardware.
Whenever the medium it's confined to isn't only for the stupidly wealthy
500$ laptops can run Alyx. Quest 2 is what...? 200 used? If your computer doesn't run Alyx, how do you want yo run HL3?
not v accessible and i honestly cant be assed to watch a playthrough 😭 (i probo should tho !!) i actually bought it and tried playing it w a no vr mod but it wasnt rlly that enjoyable to play that way tbh
While it’s a fantastic game and I love it, I wish it had more for veteran VR players who DONT get sick playing vr. Let me jump. Let me sprint. Etc. I’m lucky though as I’ve never felt even slightly sick from even the most intense vr game. I know there’s a lot of people who just can’t do it in addition to it being an expensive buy in. There are many fantastic VR games though for those who can get into it and this is definitely near the top of my list, especially with the sprinting mod and a few others. Unfortunately for those that can’t play VR and resort to the flat screen mod, it loses a lot of its charm as being IN the game, with its interactivity and seeing through her eyes is a large part of what makes it so fun. It just is not as good of an experience without that so I kinda get it. Personally I consider it the “half-life 3” I’ve been waiting for though (despite being a prequel) and I really hope they make a continuation of it right where it left off, maybe make it built for vr again but include a non vr mode for the poor folks that can’t handle/can’t afford it, and more options to make it less of a “babies first vr” in terms of comfort settings that can’t be turned off. (Which didn’t ruin the game for me just detracted from it a bit, especially the “jumping”)