I genuinely can’t believe Half Life Alyx is five years old.
No other video game has felt the way Alyx felt. No one else has taken such a bold swing in what a video game can be. It’s burned into my mind as my Half Life game, the one that came out at just the right time for me.
It was also my “pandemic” game. While everyone else was playing Animal Crossing or Doom Eternal, I was playing and replaying Half Life Alyx.
It definitely feels like it’s somewhat doomed to be less remembered in the popular consciousness than most big games that come out, and indeed the rest of the games in the Half Life lineage. Cries of “Half Life 3 when?” still abound in spite of the very clear effort Alyx made to move the story forward. But to me it feels like a game that still hasn’t been topped in the five years since it came out, not by a long shot.
Half Life Alyx received a Game of the Year win from GameSpot, and nominations from a few other publications. When it came to events like The Game Awards with a dedicated “Best VR Game” category, it won handily.
IIRC no cardboard ‘headset’ ever had 6dof tracking. It’s about as far as you can get from an immersive VR experience. I say this as someone who bought one before learning about VR and getting a real vr headset.
It’s like VR with all of the downsides, even less apps, and the only advantage over a flatscreen being (limited) depth perception.
IMO even a normal flatscreen is more immersive on average than a google cardboard, although that’s partially because a flatscreen hides the flaws in the graphics a lot better.
HLA tho needs 6dof controllers for the intended experience. That mod tries to get around it, but that obviously involves some sacrifices.
3dof things usually just track rotation, because that’s easier. But for a full VR experience, better depth perception, and more normal interactions, 6dof devices are used which track position as well.
There is, yes, but it’s pointless. I think some people are missing the point of Alyx being a VR game, the game would suck pretty bad in pancake mode. It’s the intricate interactions with the world you simply can’t get with a mouse and keyboard that make it special compared to other Half Life games. They didn’t just make a regular Half Life game and said “well we’re just gonna force this to be in VR now”, they made a VR game and set it in the Half Life universe.
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Still haven’t played it, haven’t bought a VR gimmick headset yet. Is there a 2D mode? I’ll play it tomorrow if so.
But what if you bought a real VR headset instead of a gimmick one?
I tried with that cardboard one but I’m waiting until more controllers become available
IIRC no cardboard ‘headset’ ever had 6dof tracking. It’s about as far as you can get from an immersive VR experience. I say this as someone who bought one before learning about VR and getting a real vr headset.
It’s like VR with all of the downsides, even less apps, and the only advantage over a flatscreen being (limited) depth perception.
What if I were to get the game to play on my 3D TV?
IMO even a normal flatscreen is more immersive on average than a google cardboard, although that’s partially because a flatscreen hides the flaws in the graphics a lot better.
HLA tho needs 6dof controllers for the intended experience. That mod tries to get around it, but that obviously involves some sacrifices.
What is 6dof? 6 dads on fire? I only have Alexis on fire, I’m afraid. Will that be fine?
Degrees of freedom
3dof things usually just track rotation, because that’s easier. But for a full VR experience, better depth perception, and more normal interactions, 6dof devices are used which track position as well.
I think there’s a mod for that iirc
The fit site release has a mod included for flat screen mode.
There is, yes, but it’s pointless. I think some people are missing the point of Alyx being a VR game, the game would suck pretty bad in pancake mode. It’s the intricate interactions with the world you simply can’t get with a mouse and keyboard that make it special compared to other Half Life games. They didn’t just make a regular Half Life game and said “well we’re just gonna force this to be in VR now”, they made a VR game and set it in the Half Life universe.
Nope. VR exclusive.
Do I have a video for you
Thanks essay!