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Half-Life: Alyx

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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#371

Post by cwkoss »

mikl wrote: post #327
cwkoss wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

VRcades will probably become a prevalent kind of retail establishment in the next decade. Two people can game together from geographically separate VRcades.

I doubt it. VRcades will have to compete with people being able to play regular video games from their homes. Not only will playing from home be a lot cheaper, it’s also a lot more convenient. Unless VR becomes a lot more compelling, I don’t see a significant chunk of gamers being willing to go down to the local VRcade to do their gaming on a regular basis. And imagine the cost. A VRcade would have to have a lot of s…

> A good game these days takes at least 40 hours to play through.

I think you are speaking to a very specific segment of the gaming market that will probably not be captured by VR.

There are plenty of games (roguelikes, casual, shooters, racing) that have more emphasis on semi-episodic 'rounds' of gameplay vs long form narrative RPGs that would adapt to this model easily.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#372

Post by MayeulC »

davnicwil wrote: post #59

Assuming I'm starting from scratch, what's the minimum cost these days to get the hardware that'll play this?

I'll probably look at second-hand HTC vives, IIRC they were around $250, and we could expect more on the second hand market due to this announcement (or the opposite).

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#373

Post by pier25 »

shin_lao wrote: post #169
ben7799 wrote: post #38

This has got to be the most narrowly targeted game ever. I played through all of HL/HL2/Ep1/Ep2 IIRC, but I can barely even remember the story clearly it was so long ago. And it's such a blur maybe I never finished Ep2. I was 21 when HL1 came out but I didn't get to play it till I was like 24 maybe when I had gotten out of school and got a nice computer & some money. HL2 came out when I was 27.. still playing games b…

I'm also a Gen X and would buy a VR set just to play this game.

Same. I'm 40 and if the reviews are good I will get a VR headset just to play this.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#374

Post by leetcrew »

on_and_off wrote: post #332
badloginagain wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> little more than an admiration delivery device Actually if anything she was the primary driver of the plot. Freeman, being a passive mute, follows what Alyx and co are doing for the majority of the plot(s).

What does she like ? Why does she fall in love with the mute player character at first sight ? Don't she already have relationships ? What exactly does she find attractive in that mute guy that appears and disappear ? She is here to as a reward/carrot for teenage boys, not as a full fledged character with her own wants and needs :/

to be fair, I haven't actually played the game in a while, but I think you are reading a lot into alyx that isn't really there. I don't remember having the impression that alyx was in love with Gordon or really picking up on any sexual tension at all.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#375

Post by pitay »

capableweb wrote: post #119
pc86 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't develop PTSD from VR because VR isn't real. Even if you get scared it's not the same kind of fear as being in a situation where you can actually get hurt, or die, or you actually kill another human being.

Unless you're a pilot, try using good a VR airplane simulator for a while (DCS World for example), getting a feel for the airplane and then push it until you crash into the ground. The moment you loose control and start falling towards the ground, you start panicking, even though you know it's a game. While not PTSD, I can totally imagine you can find ways of using VR to cause PTSD or similar. Like forcing someone to…

Don't even need VR to feel that. I distinctly remember playing Tribes or Tribes 2 and using the jetpack until the juice ran out; free falling from a large height gave me butterfies in my stomach, if that's the correct phrase for it.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#376

Post by [deleted] »

yboris wrote: post #69
davnicwil wrote: post #59

Assuming I'm starting from scratch, what's the minimum cost these days to get the hardware that'll play this?

I'd say $400 for a great VR set (including hand controllers), and under $600 if you build a PC from scratch. Cheaper if you reuse some parts, cheaper if you buy any parts used. My 3-year old video card (bought for $300 then) is still kicking butt in any VR title I throw at it.

[deleted]

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#377

Post by skyyler »

dom96 wrote: post #348
acid__ wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also 24, and I can tell you I will absolutely be spending $1000 for the Valve VR headset (I've not previously owned VR) and any other PC upgrades to be able to play this game.

huh, are all 24 year olds buying into this? Also 24 years old, also planning to build a PC that's VR ready. I probably won't splurge $1000 for the Valve index, but I might buy their controllers + Oculus (which by the way also gets you Half-Life: Alyx for free).

I feel like this game is the biggest thing to happen in video games since we became adults.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#378

Post by yellowapple »

noident wrote: post #74
purpleidea wrote: post #12

Pretty lame that there's no Linux support. Valve was supposed to be on our side. Oh well :(

That is very disappointing, especially after going through all the trouble to port so many other games. They must be completely abandoning SteamOS.

And yet they still advertise the Index as being Linux/SteamOS-compatible.

But seeing as this is a prequel (or midquel or whatever) instead of actually Half Life 3, my prophesy of HL3 launching as a Linux/SteamOS exclusive may yet still be fulfilled.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#379

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

puranjay wrote: post #224
whatshisface wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we're all waiting with bated breath to see if Valve can push VR into the mainstream with this or anything else they do. I'm not going to buy a kit just to play glorified mobile games, but if this is really the future of entertainment then I can see myself buying a headset.

I get motion sickness easily. So that counts me out of the VR experience. And I reckon that's going to be true for a lot of other people as well. The price and inherent limitations (such as motion sickness) of VR are going to ensure that it doesn't hit mainstream, at least for the time being

Most people, even those prone to motion sickness, don't get sick in VR in current-gen hardware as long as it's a game where your view in the in-game world matches the view in the real world. This applies to many games. Beat Saber, PokerStars VR, and Zombie Training Simulator are examples of this.

On the other hand, any game where your movement in the game world doesn't match the real world is a quick path to sickness. Any racing or flying game makes me ill, and I've been playing VR for over 2 years.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#380

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

Impossible wrote: post #303
SimonPStevens wrote: post #222

"Play on any SteamVR system. If you have VR hardware that works with a computer, then it works with SteamVR." Bravo Valve. This is why anyone interested in this should get a Vive and stay well clear of Oculus/Facebook's headsets. They are busy trying to capture the VR market by setting up exclusivity arrangements with studios to lock games to their platform to cut others out which just divides up the already small ma…

Vive is 2015 :). Buy an Index and get the game for free.

You're off by a year. Vive was released in 2016.
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