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The highly anticipated No VR mod for Half Life: Alyx got a brand new update today. For the unaware, the No VR mod for Half Life: Alyx modifies the base game to completely bypass the VR requirement for the game, and instead play it as if it were a FPS more in line with console or PC shooters instead, just like its predecessors.

Back in April, the authors released a version of the mod which made it possible to finish the entire game from start to finish, without any kind of requirement for a VR set to play the game at any point, although with some animations missing to certain actions performed in game. With the update released today, October 27th, the main animations for Alyx's arms, hands and weapons have been added into the mod. While this covers the main animations, some others are still missing and will be coming in a future update, like Alyx's hand being placed in the Health Stations.

Those interested in trying out the new animation update for the No VR mod can do so by downloading the update either from the launcher or from ModDB's entry for Alyx's No VR mod.

Source
Half Life: Alyx No VR mod at ModDB

 

[codezer0]

yeah i can just give that right back to you


Im just going to repeat myself here:

Anyone can make whatever the fuck they want and your opinion on it doesnt matter. If i make music and you dont like it, why the fuck should i change to please you?

If you are mad that this is VR only, why are you not mad about console/pc exclusives? I guess someone with a ps5 should be able to play xbox games too? Why are you not able to play in the paralympics? Those games shouldnt be for disabled people only? I guess someones GF should sleep with you too?

Mate, some things are simply restricted to a certain audience. Live with it.

Half Life as a series, is a big reason why I've come to appreciate the strengths of PC gaming. And if not for Half Life 2, pretty sure many on this site wouldn't have even given Steam the time of day, let alone the ubiquity it has as a modern digital storefront.

Before Alyx, Half Life as a franchise was stunningly open and accessible, even by the standards of when it was still on a modified Quake 2 engine. Even if it never got the gold mastering and release, the near-final build of it for Dreamcast is also a testament to how well the game could run. Half Life 2 even supported multiple languages and closed captioning well before any other Triple AYYY studio would deign to do it.

To go from a genre and arrangement that encouraged such accessibility, to a format that many may otherwise have zero interest for, or physically cannot enjoy for one reason or another, is the problem. Especially when you have fans out there that still want to believe that VALVe will actually make a Half Life 3 proper.

 

[Slluxx]

To go from a genre and arrangement that encouraged such accessibility, to a format that many may otherwise have zero interest for, or physically cannot enjoy for one reason or another, is the problem. Especially when you have fans out there that still want to believe that VALVe will actually make a Half Life 3 proper.

Thats still a you issue though. They can do whatever they want and do not have to care what you think about it.
I agree that its less accessible and that not everyone wants to buy a headset just to enjoy a game but that has nothing to do with my first comment, nor does and take anything away from it, nor does it make anything you say "correct". They decide what they do with their games, not you.

And telling me how much you dislike that won't change anything. I am not responsible for it. Just play the mod, like I said in my very first sentence: " Pretty cool for everyone without a headset. "

 

[Avalyn]

and that is the most retarded comment ever. are you even a gamer? dont you think having options is good and do you acept that not all gamers like VR and prefer flat screen as you said?

idk why are there so many people fanboying over a VR. If you like it go play it, but admit that valve should have made an option for non VR players. its that simple.

ofc you being a fanboy let me hear your justification for vhy taht couldnt happen..please!

Post automatically merged: Oct 28, 2023

you can disagree all you want, but simple cat of the matter is that players should have a choice to play with or without VR.
Forcing VR is just stupid.

So because I dislike changing a game into something completely different (and shittier) than it was designed for makes you question if I am a gamer? Omg, are you okay? (...I have been on gbatemp literally since most of you were wearing diapers, if that answers your question

I prefer playing games the way they were intended, not botched and amputated versions. If you don't like VR, then that's your issue. I neither like or dislike VR, but Alyx in VR is just a whole other level of immersion which I appreciated a lot.

 

[Jayro]

This wouldn't even need to be a mod if VR wasn't a ridiculously priced gimmick. Once top-of-the-line headsets come down to normal amounts (like $99 to $150 USD) and don't require wires, then I'll bite. Until then, VR can get fucked. I'm glad mods like this exist for those of us not blessed with excessive wealth. A VR headset shouldn't cost as much as the console or PC we're using it on, REAL TALK.

And I find it quite amusing that VR gaming is still pretty much dead, even after all this years.

Valve is single-handedly carrying the VR industry with Alyx, lol.

 

[thunderboy17]

I don't understand the hatred this mod gets.
Playing without VR may be a different/worse experience, but why people care so much about other people experiencing the game the "wrong" way?
Nobody expects this mod to be the perfect replacement for a VR headset, of course it's a compromise.
But, if you can't/don't want to get a headset and you want to experience the game yourself in some way, instead of relying on YouTube gameplays, then... sure, why not?

 

[Slluxx]

I don't understand the hatred this mod gets.
Playing without VR may be a different/worse experience, but why people care so much about other people experiencing the game the "wrong" way?
Nobody expects this mod to be the perfect replacement for a VR headset, of course it's a compromise.
But, if you can't/don't want to get a headset and you want to experience the game yourself in some way, instead of relying on YouTube gameplays, then... sure, why not?

absolutly no one here hates this mod.

 

[gnmmarechal]

Pretty cool for everyone without a headset. However owning one and having played a lot of VR (and also HL:A), i can tell that a lot of wow factor is thrown out the window if playing non-vr. I would advise anyone to not play it at all if they could imagine owning a headset in the near (or even distant) future.

Someday I'll finally play Alyx, though I don't plan on getting a headset in the next couple of years...

 

[Xzi]

Once top-of-the-line headsets come down to normal amounts (like $99 to $150 USD) and don't require wires, then I'll bite. Until then, VR can get fucked. I'm glad mods like this exist for those of us not blessed with excessive wealth. A VR headset shouldn't cost as much as the console or PC we're using it on, REAL TALK.

A little unreasonable to expect the price of 1440p or even 4K displays to drop in price that much any time soon, and you have to remember that each HMD has two of them. Top-of-the-line hardware always comes with top-of-the-line prices attached. Maybe Valve will make Index half off if and when they launch Index 2.

 

[Darth Meteos]

So, again, I ask... The fuck am I supposed to do?

sounds like the mod is made for you, for the people who aren't gonna get vr

 

[icogniito]

As one of the people who have been involved in making this mod I'll just put my two cents into the "game is made for vr debate", obviously that is true. I played through the game at launch with an index and playing the game with the mod is no where close to that, but that also isn't the point.

The point of the mod is to allow people who do not have, do not want or can not use VR headsets but still want to experience the game. The mod doesn't replace the "VR version", it's simply an alternative for those where VR is not feasible and still want to experience the game on their own instead of simply watching a playthrough. Getting a small percentage of the "full experience" is better than getting nothing.

Personally I've been using it mostly for playtesting maps rather than actually playing through the game.

 

[Lather]

I purchased the Rift S to play through HL:A, then sold it afterwards.

Then, a year later, I purchased the Quest 2 and replayed HL:A again, this time without the annoying cables. Made the experience even better. Right after that I sold the Quest 2.

Now, I’m just happy I don’t have to purchase a VR headset again whenever I get that itch to scratch.

Besides Alyx, there isn’t anything that would justify purchasing a VR headset again, at least in terms of AAA games. VR is a nice gimmick, but playing games the conservative way is so much more enjoyable to me. I play games to relax, wearing a helmet on my head all the time and sprinting through my living room doesn’t support that idea. And I find it quite amusing that VR gaming is still pretty much dead, even after all this years.

cause its not cheap enough for everyone, remember for the most VR headset you still need a powerful PC with use it.

 

[N10A]

TL;DR: If you're a vr hater, just admit that it isn't for you and move on; there's so many accesable options for you that you're either uninformed or just not into it. And that's okay.

It's funny to me how unrealistic the demands are that people who don't like vr will make. Like if you really think about everything that's inside a quest 2, including a processor that basically comes from a older flagship smartphone, multiple cameras, the lenses, and display, the fact you can go on ebay right now and find one for less than $200 is pretty crazy. There is a whole computer in there, audio system, everything. It's arguably more fully featured than consoles that cost way more.

If it's not for you, that's fine. Everyone saying that this game is best experienced in vr is saying that because the game was literally built for vr. Heck, I think valve made too many compromises, they should have made it even more "for vr", because of how much gameplay value can be added through the medium. That's actually probably why it ends up being so hard to justify the fact that this was, for so long, a vr only experience.

If this is the only way you can experience alyx, then I'm happy that you can now. But I wouldn't expect this to become the norm. The more advanced that vr becomes, the more it becomes separated from the conventions of flatscreen gaming.
Also the valve index is over four years old at this point and mid range 10 series cards can run it. It's not as "super demanding nasa level supercomputer" as the internet would have you believe. Yeah it is kinda overpriced for what it is in 2023, (except for the fact that it gives you some great upgrade paths in terms of lighthouse tracked hardware.) and I won't lie to you that vr can be an expensive hobby if you really get into it. But acting like it's completely unafordable is also just not true.

GBATemp negativity at it's finest in here fr fr

 

[trepp0]

and instead play it as if it were a FPS shooter instead

I love playing first person shooter shooters, one of my favorite genres.
speaking of which, i should go to the ATM machine to get some cash money, to buy some chai tea, which i will drink while playing a first person shooter shooter.

 

[SeventhSon7]

I don't need to see Eli Vance SPOILER in VR, thanks.

 

[Slluxx]

I don't need to see [...]

the fuck

 

[LightBeam]

Haven't finished the game but played it with some friends
I do have motion sickness a lot, but with the teleportation thing it played very very fine, and yes, it's probably the best VR game. Without VR you loose so so much, I don't even think it's necessarily a worthwhile experience without it.

It's nice to have the option tho, of course, and I commend the work of the modders. But I don't think there's a point in playing this without VR. But hey, there are people playing phones games on PC religiously, to each their own.