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Half-Life: Alyx

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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#381

Post by frio »

dom96 wrote: post #353
eanzenberg wrote: post #21

I still remember the first time I saw screen grabs of screenshots of Half Life 2 from PC Gamer, back in 2004 (or was it 2003). I thought I was looking at real-life photos and didn't realize they were from a video game initially. Then, watching the tech demo with all the cool physics really excited me. Maybe it's because I'm older now, but this didn't "knock me out" like that did.

I wonder if I'm the only one who's getting a TF2 vibe from this trailer. The game's art style doesn't seem like it's going for realism, possibly a decision to make it playable on more hardware?

Also to make it better in VR. I've only played a few games, but on earlier kits like the Vive/Oculus, you just don't have the resolution to make high fidelity work. Games like SuperHot were perfect for the platform due to the lower-poly style.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#382

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

s9w wrote: post #160
penagwin wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but it doesn't require the index, it can use any steam vr compatible headset.

That was not the goalpost here. The goalpost was that a "great" VR hardware costs $400, which is not true. Same for a $600 PC for high-end VR and as a bonus: the claim that a 3yo GPU is "kicking butt". All of these are false

> the claim that a 3yo GPU is "kicking butt"

The GeForce 1080 Ti came out 3 years ago, and I would definitely argue that it's still a card that's kicking butt.

Granted, the poster that said his 3 yo GPU is kicking butt also said he paid $300 for it, which could mean he has a GTX 1060 or equivalent AMD GPU. A 1060 is definitely powerful enough for VR, as it's performance is only slightly lower than the GTX 1070 that I use for VR.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#383

Post by filoleg »

kbenson wrote: post #95
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'm not going to buy a kit just to play glorified mobile games I assume you're referring to the Quest? Is that a statement based on your experience playing games on it, or what you assume they'll be like? I view it less like mobile games, and more like games put our for the Gameboy. Specifically tailored to achieve good and consistent gameplay based on the target platform. This is partially because Oculus is being…

Oculus Quest now supports PCVR as well since the November update. Just plug it using a compatible USB-C cable to your desktop, and it will act just like Oculus Rift.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#384

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

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…

You know VRcades actually exist, right? These aren't theoretical.

There are several VR arcades near me in the Portland, OR metro area. And as the other commenter said, people don't play games that have long storylines at them. They aren't playing Skyrim VR. Instead, they're playing games like Beat Saber or racing games. In other words, they play the type of game you'd play in a normal arcade. Games that you can easily enjoy in 3-5 minute sessions.

VRcades also aim to be a place to hang out. You pay to rent a VR space for a certain amount of time and can play whatever you want on the headset for that time. There are couches nearby for friends to watch, and they sell food and drinks.

It's actually a great model, though I'm not convinced it'll survive, but not because of a failure of VR, but because the whole "arcade" concept has been slowly dying.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#385

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

outworlder wrote: post #128
moksly wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are your hands displayed as hands if you’re holding “game-pads”? Or are there actual gloves?

Different games will do things differently. Some will display hands, others will display the controllers. You can do either. After some time, you forget you are even holding controllers (on the Rift, I'm not sure about those clunky Vive controllers, and I haven't tried the Index).

> I'm not sure about those clunky Vive controllers

Vive owner here.

Depends on the game. In a game like PokerStars VR, yeah I often feel like I'm holding a controller. But that's not a game that aims to immerse you, as it's more of a social game. The real draw to that game is interaction with other players. VRChat is also in the same boat.

In any sort of shooter, not at all. Definitely still immersive and I don't feel like I'm holding a controller. This also applies to games where I'm holding things a lot, like Gorn. I feel like I'm holding inflatable toy weapons, which is fine because the weapons in the game flop around a bit like they're inflated.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#386

Post by ukyrgf »

on_and_off wrote: post #6

Call me salty but I am not sure I am super interested in half life 1.5 while half life 2 episode 2 has ended on a cliffhanger more than ten years ago. I am still curious to see how they will handle the character of Alyx, she was little more than an admiration delivery device in half life 2. They will have to do a lot more now that she is the center of the game.

I came to terms with the story a few years back via https://www.polygon.com/2017/8/25/16202006/half-life-2-episo...

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#387

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

ihuman wrote: post #204
neogodless wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So I'm assuming that means that Valve programs this in a way that dictates the hardware, instead of having an abstraction layer that accepts player position, viewpoint and hand inputs regardless of the hardware? Is that something you have a source to confirm? I would like to think that if Quest is going to release a way to hook up to the PC to play SteamVR, they'll be sending all that positional data from the headset…

No, there's an abstraction layer [0], the problem is the quest and valve's controllers use incompatible methods to track position. The Vive/Index uses its camera to detect the motion of fixed markers (the lighthouses), while the Quest analyzes the surrounding environment directly. The Quest's cameras are looking for lights on the controller to track it, while the controller's cameras are looking for the lighthouse's…

> The Vive/Index uses its camera to detect the motion of fixed markers (the lighthouses)

This is inaccurate.

The lighthouses scan the room with lasers. The dimples on the Vive and its controllers detect the very precise timings of getting hit by the lasers from the lighthouses and derive their location and orientation relative to the lighthouses.

This is how the Vive supports easily adding Vive tracker pucks to the room to add body tracking to games like VRChat. The lighthouses are passive and don't care that there are more devices to track, as each device tracks itself.

There's a good video explaining it at https://youtu.be/J54dotTt7k0

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#388

Post by xsmasher »

koheripbal wrote: post #233
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…

What if the game could be played by two people together in co-op mode? If so, we could play with our kids, and it becomes more than just a way to have fun ourselves, but an avenue for family bonding (at least that's how I'd sell it to my wife).

You should play Portal 2 co-op, if you have not. It has split-screen so you can play on one PC.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#389

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

s9w wrote: post #133
outworlder wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not a gimmick. It seems that you have not yet tried it. There are a few improvements required, such as resolution and the freedom of movement. Note that I did not mention price. It will come down – even more, that is. Also, they need Half Life 2 Episode III. The series ended in a cliffhanger.

No one tried it because it's expensive AF. And you need space. And there are so many of them. And the storefronts don't match. And there are no games. And you sweat. And they're heavy. And you need a monster PC. And it doesn't work. And and and. It's a gimmick. Alyx is a $2000 game for a normal gamer, counting an index and a sizeable PC upgrade.

> No one tried it because it's expensive AF

Uh...what...

HTC has sold over 1.5 million headsets. Oculus over 2 million, and Sony has been leading the way with over 5 million PSVR headsets sold.

You are incredibly uninformed.

Re: Half-Life: Alyx

#390

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

bloody-crow wrote: post #333

I've never understood the appeal of the VR. I play games that benefit from low reaction time and precision and my body is the main source of latency and mistakes. When I watch recordings of my own gameplay, I notice how my brain usually operates a few hundred milliseconds ahead of what my hands controlling mouse & keyboard are capable of executing. Throwing your untrained and sometimes unhealthy body into this mix do…

> I've never understood the appeal of the VR.

Try it before forming opinions, then.

Look and see if there are any VR arcades near you. For only a few dollars, you can test out a lot of games.

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