Half-Life: Alyx - Valve's full-length flagship VR game set between HL1 and HL2

[Wunderbar]

http://boards.4channel.org/v/thread/498344478

Half-Life: Gordon Source 2 engine screenshot leak

Spoiler

 

[FeelTheRads]

Who cares which input device performance better? I don't get the arguement.

Who cares about stupid things, what's more important is the immersion of teleporting from predefined location to predefined location while pressing buttons to use your hands, just like in real-life!!!

Who cares about input device. From the same people who'd laugh at consoletards playing shooters with gamepads.

 

[GewuerzKahn]

You are just rambling now. Which predefined location?

 

[Dexter]

Now?

 

[Dayyālu]

Who cares which input device performance is better? I don't get the argument.

Controls define game design.

The need to focus on console shooters significantly damaged FPS design: you can't throw the same enemies and levels to a gamepad player and to a kb+mouse player. The opposite is true in different genres. You need to build the game for the lowest requirement: imagine playing the gameplay demo of Alyx with mouse+kb, you'd blitz the entire area in seconds.

You exchange gameplay complexity (levels, enemies, weaponry) for gimmicks: until I get to see people starting a T-62 tank sim on VR, I'm not sold on its value for shooters.

But again, it's mostly me being saddened by Valve throwing away good graphic resources for.... well, nothing of value from the FPS design standpoint, but they're going to make a shitton of money selling peripherals. I don't think they can build a great shooter, tho, from what we saw.

 

[GewuerzKahn]

Controls define game design.

Yes.

imagine playing the gameplay demo of Alyx with mouse+kb, you'd blitz the entire area in seconds.

I don't. I expect a game designed for VR not mouse+kb.
VR without the motion controller or moving in a 3D space would be just a gimmick.
With room-scale and position + controller tracking it's just a complete different way to play a video game.

I guess you want an "old-school" shooter from Valve. You are not the target audience for this product.

 

[ADL]

That's the thing though, when has Valve ever not been chasing the carrot of being on the bleeding edge of technology? I wouldn't be surprised if every Half-Life game going forward is virtual reality until we get some neuralink shit (which Valve is also investing in)

 

[Lutte]

From the moment the player teleports into a headcrab visual range to the moment the headcrab attacks :


Five seconds. Five fucking seconds before the headcrab does anything.
The headcrab misses the attack (against an immobile player) and then hits a wall and does nothing while it's getting shot.

This is a real headcrab :


If alyx is the future of VR shooters and VR shooters became an actual thing, then VR is gong to be a more destructive force to the gameplay of shooters than the era of console, gamepad friendly popamole shooting galleries of your-back-sticking-against-a-wall.

Heck, a decent amount of the new gameplay videos show the player doing exactly that. 90% time ducking behind something, 10% of the VR innovation like "using your hand to take that car door as a cover instead of pressing a cover button"

Like, yeah, so immersive, you move your hand to open a car door.. to use it the same way you'd do pressing a button on a Gears of Faggots clone. I really wanted more wall sticking in my shooting.

Sweet jesus of decline. There is absolutely no word that has been more evil than "immersion". The more "immershiun" thrown around, the more video games become absolute garbage.

 

[ADL]

The headcrabs now operate on sound rather than sight. If Half-Life 3 releases on desktops, I'm sure it'll operate the same way as they're very proud of the new AI system. In your video, the headcrab jumps as soon as her pistol goes off.

 

[Venser]

Index back in stock
https://store.steampowered.com/sub/354231/

 

[Dexter]

From the moment the player teleports into a headcrab visual range to the moment the headcrab attacks :


Five seconds. Five fucking seconds before the headcrab does anything.
The headcrab misses the attack (against an immobile player) and then hits a wall and does nothing while it's getting shot.

Good job citing a video where they specifically say it's about getting the player used to picking up and throwing objects, getting used to the reload mechanic, acting like a combat tutorial and easing them in to some of the basic enemies in VR that don't jump out at you right away, are introduced at a distance and usually come at you in a straight line giving you a good amount of time to react to point out that this seems to be what they're doing here:



Also finally got to watch the vid, good commentary as to what they intended to do with some of the design choices in the video, it also boils down a lot to their balancing by excessive play-testing method again which I mentioned before.

Of course, with targeting help it would be possible.

What targeting help you absolute retard? There's no auto-aiming or anything like that in VR, you point at something with your hand, and you shoot and if you aim right by eye you hit. This also gives shit like gun sights and laser sights a lot more importance when it goes to weapon design and a simple upgrade to a weapon you might have previously shot around wildly with trying to hit something can make it a lot more effective and make it feel a lot different than entire weapon arsenals on the monitor.

If that's what you are referring to, then what the fuck do you think this is for, which was visible for every weapon in the same form and doesn't change while switching between them, you imbecile?

Fukkin flat-screeners and their targeting help with their magic cross-haired crowbars and health point/ammo counters in the corner of their screen holding their hands trying to make fun of the natural way to aim by pointing and shooting.

 

[Dexter]

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Sweet jesus of decline. There is absolutely no word that has been more evil than "immersion". The more "immershiun" thrown around, the more video games become absolute garbage.

The problem is the fact that people think that immersion equals to realism. A lot of the "gamey" titles and older games were immersive despite their fantastic elements because they had consistent rules and intriguing settings. Now immersion means sacrificing good game design and giving us tedius gimmicks so games can be "just like real life", because that's somewhow a sign of quality and maturity or some shit.

 

[Dexter]

https://www.roadtovr.com/rumor-valve-index-stock-return/

New Valve Index Stock Lasts Less Than a Day, Backorders Reach Eight Weeks or More
Valve expects to run out immediately
By Scott Hayden - Mar 9, 2020

After making new Index stock available today after more than a month of the hardware being sold out, most regions saw the headset and other hardware quickly backordered by eight weeks or more.

Update #3 (March 9th, 2020): Shortly after new Index stock became available today, the headset and accompanying hardware quickly became backordered in most regions. Many packages are estimated to ship in eight weeks or more, though some say “8 to 10 weeks” and others “4 to 6 weeks.”

Orders can still be placed to allow customers to get into the queue, though shipping and billing info won’t be gathered until the order is ready to ship; Valve advises purchases will be filled in the order received.



Valve confirmed last month that, in addition to high demand for the headset ahead of Half-Life: Alyx, the supply of Index hardware was constrained by the Coronavirus outbreak due to interference with manufacturing operations.

Apparently they also had server failures like during the Summer/Winter Sales and some people got Error messages and shit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ValveIndex/comments/ffz18k/psa_dont_give_up_because_of_errors_during/

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

IGN is enthralled by the first 4 hours.

 

[Sentinel]

To absolutely no one's surprise. When was the last time a big game received a negative reaction or first impressions? It's always roses.

 

[Venser]

 

[DJOGamer PT]

So I gues Valve has turned into Nintendo, in the sense that they only make sequels to their old IP's if they either come up with a brand new gimmick or tech to sell

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

To absolutely no one's surprise. When was the last time a big game received a negative reaction or first impressions? It's always roses.

Or maybe, just maybe, it's actually really good?

Won't matter though for a game that I won't be (ever?) playing.

 

[FeelTheRads]

Fukkin flat-screeners and their targeting help with their magic cross-haired crowbars and health point/ammo counters in the corner of their screen holding their hands trying to make fun of the natural way to aim by pointing and shooting.

"The natural way to aim"

You'd break your arm trying to shoot a real gun, shitbrain.

You're just a consoletard who puts "immersion and realism" above anything else. Just like the other shitbrains crying that nobody cares about controls when it's all about muh immershun.
Well, that is when you're not claiming that it's all about gameplay. See, VR is so awesome that it makes EVERYTHING better.

Still didn't explain to me the realism and immersion of teleporting from set location to set location, or of the floating arms, or of pressing buttons to use your hands, but you seem like a smart enough NPC, I'm sure you'll be able to make some bullshit up that sounds good in your consoletard brain.

 

[ADL]

Fully rigged IK body sucks. Thank god they went for floating hands because the IK body is for spectators, not the people actually playing the game. See example: Boneworks

 

[OctavianRomulus]

I wish the hardware wasn't so expensive. I'd love to play this.

 

[Dexter]

See, VR is so awesome that it makes EVERYTHING better.

You said it, not me. But it can certainly make a mediocre game more interesting if you are in the game world and can look around and interact with things.

Still didn't explain to me the realism and immersion of teleporting from set location to set location, or of the floating arms, or of pressing buttons to use your hands

Pretty simple, you're actually right about the first point which I've stated before but you don't have to do it. It's also not unprecedented game design, ever heard of a Blobbers or Myst? In fact Obduction used its classic node-based navigation for VR teleporting shenanigans in its VR version (which again, you thankfully don't have to use).

Floating hands you'll forget about 20 seconds into the game and they'll feel natural. And as the guy above said most of the time is preferable to having your entire arms rendered, since that looks goofier, they're always there in your FoV and they can only be tracked through prediction. I'm sure Valve has done a lot of testing there before deciding. They're talking a bit about it here and how they're still simulating the upper arms so you can't close a door on yourself with your hand on the other side, but not rendering them:


For your third point, tactile feedback always feels better than no tactile feedback, which is why I'm no believer in "hand tracking" or "glove" stuff, even though it was possible for quite a while:

https://www.oculus.com/blog/thumbs-up-hand-tracking-now-available-on-oculus-quest/

Maybe it's more purposeful for someone sitting on a transatlantic flight that wants to watch a movie or two on the big screen, but certainly not for playing lengthy games. Playing a game with a "Virtual Keyboard & Mouse" or a "Virtual Controller" would feel equally stupid when you're not actually holding something in your hand, pressing your finger against empty air and there's no feedback from pressing buttons or triggers.

Most of the time you're also holding something in your hands like a gun anyway and the way they designed the button arrangement is intuitive in that way, for firing a gun you pull the trigger with your trigger finger, for grabbing something you squish your lower hand like you'd grab something and your thumb handles the controller stuff, Valve specifically also designed their controller in a way that also makes it possible to let it go entirely in the air:

You're just a consoletard

On another note, I do find it unendingly amusing how you're comparing the current high-end of what PC Gaming has to offer (literally being able to enter Fictional Virtual worlds) with consoles at a time where most bigger titles are cross-platform ports and innovation is close to dead in that space and calling someone who hasn't owned a console since SNES times a "consoletard" because of your irrational hatred for VR, which you haven't even tried. I wonder what else makes one a "consoletard" in your mind? Appreciating 4K Gaming? Buying high-end graphics cards? Wanting 120Hz displays and high FPS? Appreciating Mods? Being into Simulator games and using HOTAS or Wheel+Pedals Setups? Please, do continue though.

 

[Daedalos]

Gibi haef-lyfe sree, pl0x

 

[DJOGamer PT]

But it can certainly make a mediocre game more interesting if you are in the game world and can look around and interact with things

What the fuck is suposed to mean?
That you can pick up objects and manipulate them?