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Krogoth
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Half-Life: Alyx

Mon Nov 18, 2019 7:48 pm

It looks like Valve smashed the emergency glass in light of pressure from Epic Games Store and upcoming Google Stadia. It is not a sequel either, it looks like a pre-sequel done in a similar vein to Half-Life: Decay. It is going to be a VR game though.
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superjawes
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Mon Nov 18, 2019 9:26 pm

This has nothing to do with the EGS or Stadia. Valve used Portal to tech demo the Index. It makes perfect sense for them to do the same or similar with Half-Life.
On second thought, let's not go to TechReport. It's infested by crypto bull****.
 
Krogoth
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Mon Nov 18, 2019 10:42 pm

It totally has to do with EGS and Stadia. They need a big PR piece to keep the mindshare with gaming crowd, otherwise EGS and Stadia is going to start drawing away users.
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superjawes
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Mon Nov 18, 2019 10:56 pm

Lolwut? STADIA? Yeah, that's not impressive. The EGS store maybe, but Epic are burning their goodwill on that front fast.

The ONE thing Valve have ANY interest in beyond money printing devices is VR. This isn't a cynical "mindshare" move, it's just Valve being Valve. If they really wanted to bomb the competition, they would release a game...literally any game would do it. A DLC pack with more story for Portal and the internet would lose its mind.
On second thought, let's not go to TechReport. It's infested by crypto bull****.
 
Igor_Kavinski
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Mon Nov 18, 2019 11:42 pm

Valve is probably the only company in the world that DOES NOT want to sell something they have/could make. They have just become fat and lazy from enjoying the nearly limitless Steam profits. They could have given the world so many AAA games if only us gamers hadn't made them ultra successful. More than 8 years now since Portal 2. They could easily have given us at least two groundbreaking FPS games. I hope Epic destroys them to the point where they have to sell their whole digital distribution platform to Epic for pennies and go back to making great games UNDER Epic. THAT would be justice for ruining our lives waiting for them to release something. ANYTHING! And now they planning to release a VR game that has a high cost of entry? F them!
 
Glorious
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Tue Nov 19, 2019 9:28 am

Krogoth wrote:
It totally has to do with EGS and Stadia. They need a big PR piece to keep the mindshare with gaming crowd, otherwise EGS and Stadia is going to start drawing away users.


No, it really doesn't. Superjawes has your number, sorry.

Stadia didn't get serious until a year ago, and the concept isn't anything new: OnLive died in 2015. Playstation Now launched around the same time.

EGS also launched less than a year ago, and while they are obviously competing with Valve, it is *EPIC* that is desperate for mindshare. They're the ones handing out free games left and right (I have like 30 now, maybe even more, and I've bought exactly *one* game on the platform), buying exclusives (thereby enraging huge swathes of the gamer crowd---including me [I'm just more mercenary and I wanted to play Control]) -despite- how Epic offers a much better cut to publishers.

If Valve was worried, the solution isn't VR titles (I mean, seriously? The genre is niche), but dropping their rate (which they have already done, at least for AAA publishers...)

MEANWHILE, this new Valve game is blatantly a showcase for Valve's VR equipment (and its "grippable" controllers) and has been in development "Valve Time" for at least THREE years (they announced three "full game" VR titles back then).

Valve wants to advance the art again. That's what this is about. That's what they've said this about. They've even openly admitted it just might not really work (that is, VR just can't be made into a new paradigm and not a gimmick--that it'll never really be mainstream).

This isn't a short-term competitive business decision. At all. If they were worried about the marketplace and thought that a new exclusive would help with "PR" (which, by the way, they wouldn't even remotely because that makes zero strategic sense[to the point of a business non sequitor, actually], as everyone already has steam...) we'd get portal 3 or episode 3 or whatever.
 
superjawes
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Tue Nov 19, 2019 9:44 am

Glorious wrote:
Krogoth wrote:
It totally has to do with EGS and Stadia. They need a big PR piece to keep the mindshare with gaming crowd, otherwise EGS and Stadia is going to start drawing away users.


No, it doesn't.

Stadia didn't get serious until a year ago, and the concept isn't anything new: OnLive died in 2015. Playstation Now launched around the same time.

EGS also launched less than a year ago, and while they are obviously competing with Valve, it is *EPIC* that is desperate for mindshare. They're the ones handing out free games left and right (I have like 30 now, maybe even more, and I've bought exactly *one* game on the platform), buying exclusives (thereby enraging huge swathes of the gamer crowd) -despite- how Epic offers a much better cut to publishers.

If Valve was worried, the solution isn't VR titles (I mean, seriously? The genre is niche), but dropping their rate (which they have already done, at least for AAA publishers...)

MEANWHILE, this new Valve game is blatantly a showcase for Valve's VR equipment (and its "grippable" controllers) and has been in development "Valve Time" for at least THREE years (they announced three "full game" VR titles back then).

So I'm pulling a Krogoth against Krogoth, and I'm in complete agreement with Glorious. Someone check on Hell. It might be frozen over.

But yeah, this exactly. Valve's push to VR might be a serious, long-term plan considering their hardware investment(s), but they aren't rushing out a Half-Life title for "mindshare".

Now those discussions aside...this game could be interesting. Sure, VR-niche, whatever. Valve have been playing with physics forever, and with finger-sensing controllers, I can see a lot of possibilities. And like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, they have a big incentive to make good software to support hardware sales.
On second thought, let's not go to TechReport. It's infested by crypto bull****.
 
Glorious
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Tue Nov 19, 2019 9:50 am

I actually ninja-edited my post to give you credit and add a few more things (that therefore weren't in your quote of my post), but when we agree, we agree. :wink:
 
Igor_Kavinski
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Tue Nov 19, 2019 2:20 pm

Why do I get the feeling that Valve might hit the VR jackpot with this? I would really hate it if suddenly no one is interested in making normal games anymore...
 
tanker27
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Wed Nov 20, 2019 12:41 pm

Half-Life Thr.........wait......wut.......VR!? If I wanted to induce myself to motion sickness I play any number of game with poor FOV implementation. EFF THAT!


Igor_Kavinski wrote:
I hope Epic destroys them to the point where they have to sell their whole digital distribution platform to Epic for pennies and go back to making great games UNDER Epic. THAT would be justice for ruining our lives waiting for them to release something.


HUH? Have you even used EGS? While its not complete trash its UI and lack of features leaves a lot to be desired.


Ruining lives......way to be melodramatic. :roll:
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Igor_Kavinski
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Thu Nov 21, 2019 1:37 am

tanker27 wrote:
Ruining lives......way to be melodramatic. :roll:


When you figure the collective brain cycles wasted all over the world daydreaming about HL3, yes, lives might have been ruined.
 
Igor_Kavinski
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Fri Nov 22, 2019 9:18 am

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/21/209 ... alve-steam

OK Valve, all is forgiven. Thanks for making HL:Alyx compatible with a range of VR headsets. That means I can experience it, if I am still alive by the time of its release (life is unpredictable. you never can tell when your body might just give up).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2W0N3uKXmo

The trailer is exciting, to say the least. Visuals are sweetttttttttttttttttttt!

Wow, I'm seeing its pre-order available for only $43 or so. What about you guys?
 
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Fri Nov 22, 2019 9:54 am

Igor_Kavinski wrote:
tanker27 wrote:
Ruining lives......way to be melodramatic. :roll:

When you figure the collective brain cycles wasted all over the world daydreaming about HL3, yes, lives might have been ruined.

If anyone spent that many brain cycles obsessing about this. their life was already ruined.
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ludi
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Mon Nov 25, 2019 12:18 am

Valve is on their way to becoming the next Capcom.
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The Egg
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Mon Nov 25, 2019 9:34 am

ludi wrote:
Valve is on their way to becoming the next Capcom.

Fighting games were never really my thing, but yes.....the ridiculous naming and 19 different versions of Street Fighter II absolutely kept me away from the series. I came in late, and couldn't even begin to tell you what the hell was going on. If I had wanted to buy a Street Fighter game, I wouldn't have known where to start.

About the only fighting game I played in any meaningful amount was One Must Fall 2097 (which was surprisingly good for a DOS game in that genre).
 
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Tue Mar 10, 2020 11:27 am

Igor_Kavinski wrote:
The trailer is exciting, to say the least. Visuals are sweetttttttttttttttttttt!

Wow, I'm seeing its pre-order available for only $43 or so. What about you guys?


Checking in here. I hate to be one to preorder, (I've only done it a couple times, really only burned on Mass Effect 3), but I believe I pre-ordered when half life Alyx was announced. It's a shame, as I won't be able to really play it until the second half of April, but I am looking foward to it anyway. I'll be playing on the original release of the oculus with handsets.

I haven't spent really any time in VR in the last year, so I am actually looking forward to getting back into the VR world. I play so little VR, it's hard to justify buying new hardware for this game. Maybe a new GPU, 1070 could be getting long in the tooth for VR.

VR is a lot of fun, but I struggle a bit with game sections of any length in VR. Hopefully Alyx will be engaging enough to make you want to stay in the world for a considerable amount of time. My favorite VR experiences tend to be the almost passive ones, like movies and stories. Makes it easier to truly appreciate the 360 range of view.
 
Igor_Kavinski
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Mon Mar 23, 2020 12:53 pm

https://venturebeat.com/2020/03/23/half ... rong-time/

To sum it up, they made a Resident Evil horror experience in the Half Life universe.
 
 
layerup
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Fri Mar 27, 2020 5:01 pm

Igor_Kavinski wrote:
https://venturebeat.com/2020/03/23/half-life-alyx-review-a-great-game-vr-for-the-wrong-time/

To sum it up, they made a Resident Evil horror experience in the Half Life universe.


I think this author is being a bit critical. I'm not a huge horror buff (never made it more than 30min into Outlast), but I don't think I would classify Half Life Alyx as a survival horror game. Yes, the combat, particularly against the human enemies, is difficult and visceral, and there are several new headcrab varieties that completely rewrite the game, but the game is more about the oppressive combine force within City 17, rather than absolute horror. Additionally, especially in the first 3rd of the game, Valve's writers did a great job with Valve's trademark humor, and I found myself laughing out loud several times, which is pretty rare for me with a video game.

So far, the game has been quite enjoyable, and it easily is the best VR game I've ever played. I have yet to finish it out, and have only made it just a bit passed the hotel the author mentioned within this article.
 
Igor_Kavinski
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Fri Mar 27, 2020 5:39 pm

layerup wrote:
So far, the game has been quite enjoyable, and it easily is the best VR game I've ever played. I have yet to finish it out, and have only made it just a bit passed the hotel the author mentioned within this article.


Hope to have your final impressions soon.
 
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Re: Half-Life: Alyx

Fri Mar 27, 2020 8:14 pm

To be honest, if Beat Saber wasn't a killer VR title, IMO from the first 3 chapters, Alyx really hits a bunch of good spots. And with Medal of Honor - Above and Beyond from Respawn later this year.. it seems we are finally getting some real triple A gaming content now. Now, if they can gather enough interrest and then keep a bit of momentum, they might just jumpstart VR quite a bit.

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