270°

Valve Believes Half-Life: Alyx Will be Modded to Play Without VR

It’s a question of when, not if

-Foxtrot1487d ago

If one person can do this as a mod and pull it off it's going to be a giant middle finger against everyone who said it's not possible.

Not to mention if one person could do it then why the hell can't Valve, a highly skilled team of developers.

Again...give people the choice, everyone wins, no one suffers. You can't argue with that.

Marcello1487d ago (Edited 1487d ago )

If someone does mod it to work pancake, just like with GTA5 modded to work in VR it will have lots of quirks & bugs. It will be playable but far from perfect. Just like running games in emu`s

-Foxtrot1487d ago

I think the point is with the bugs and the like it’s because it’ll be down to one person...one fan mod.

But if this one person could end up pulling it off then for a studio like Valve doing something official...it’ll be a piece of cake.

MadLad1487d ago

Unless you're talking about emulation of fairly recent consoles, or weird ones like the PS3, emulators of today run the vast majority of libraries better than the original hardware.

Unspoken1486d ago

One person is going to create a triple A title? Mmmmk

nyu11486d ago

@Foxtrot

That doesn't mean much. It might be easy for them to get something working, but what's the point ? It would likely be... meh as a normal game. I mean, look at gameplay and imagine playing it with keyboard and mouse. What's special about it ? Not much. When you remove all that tactile interaction and scale, you've removed so much of the experience.

Maybe a good experience but not worthy of a title being launched by valve.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 1486d ago
Marcello1487d ago

Yea your right, i just want to point out that people shouldnt expect a fully working version of this game if done by a modder. Only Valve can indeed do that.

Dom_Estos1486d ago (Edited 1486d ago )

A middle finger to against everyone who said its not possible? What are you on about? No one said its not possible to play it flat. The difference is, if you'd even tried VR you'd know this, is the control mechanics would be impossible and the game not only would be massively different and downgraded in experience, but completely devoid and missing the point of why it needed to be VR in the first place.

carcarias1486d ago (Edited 1486d ago )

Yep, I agree with this completely.

I think people who feel they are missing out have got the wrong idea. This isn't a HL game like the others that's somehow being withheld from them behind a VR barrier.

Most of the elements in this game feel great precisely because it's VR. Combat, puzzles, exploration etc,.

Take that away and you've got a subpar game (by today's standards) that people will say is too easy and simple and also one they'll blast through in half the time or less.

I played yesterday and it's fantastic but without VR it would be a hollow shell of what it is.

-Foxtrot1486d ago

"No one said its not possible to play it flat"

Oh come off it, even on here all I've seen defending the exclusive VR is things along the lines of

"It wouldn't work without VR, it can't be done, it was built up with VR, that's it, that's the end of it"

So if someone, just ONE person, manages to get something working, then a massive talented studio like Valve could do something official. Meaning in the end a standard version could be done.

You are acting like the game, the franchise, couldn't exist without VR, like VR is why the series has came back...it's complete bullshit. This game could have released as a standard game WITH VR as an option and it would have done so well in reviews while selling a shit ton

Neonridr1486d ago

@Fox - this isn't like RE7 or something where the VR was an afterthought. The game is designed to be played with using your hands. What does everything just simply get relegated to button presses?

nyu11486d ago (Edited 1486d ago )

"Oh come off it, even on here all I've seen defending the exclusive VR along the lines of
"It wouldn't work without VR, it can't be done, it was built up with VR, that's it, that's the end of it" "

I doubt everyone was saying it was technically impossible.
Sure, it can probably technically be done, but it's designed as a VR game. Will it end up being a good game ? Meaning if you take away VR, you're left with what is probably going to be a shit game at worst, and a 'meh' one at best. Obviously, if a game is designed fundamentally around VR, then it wouldn't work very well on pancake. Think about it, the Alyx gameplay you've seen. Imagine it on pancake (non VR). I think it would suck. Maybe the story would be nice, but apart from that... The graphics look nice but not amazing for a normal AAA title. The gameplay would suck by the looks of it. Exploration and puzzles would be meh.

Modders can do it because it's a mod. For Valve to patch together something like that would be creative suicide. The team working on this will only put out a game if they think it's really good. Meaning they'd actually have to design the game as a pancake game.

rainslacker1486d ago

The game was designed around it being a VR experience. If things were put in to use VR tech, then making it a standard flat game will cause those VR type features to not be as much of an experience. Any VR game can be made into a flat game, it doesn't mean that it's going to be the same kind of experience. Some games translate better from one to the other, but other games lose a lot when you take away the VR aspect, or add it in. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood would be a fairly generic on rails shooter on a flat screen for instance. But, the VR aspect made it like you were actually there, giving the game play and experience more weight.

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CrimsonWing691486d ago (Edited 1486d ago )

I think the whole point of this game is to show people what VR is capable of. Without the VR it loses a lot of the “wow” factor.

UltraNova1486d ago (Edited 1486d ago )

Exactly. This game was made with the sole purpose of showing VR off, why can't people accept this and let it be...why everything has to be changed and cater to all (remember Dark Souls and Sekiro?). No creative entity can create something with a unique and focused objective/theme etc anymore. People are so f***** entitled its disgusting.

PS: I understand that many including me have been waiting for a new half life game for more than a decade now but still its Valve's IP and they wanted to go this way, ie make a VR HL game. Its their damn property and they can do whatever the hell they want with it.

carcarias1486d ago (Edited 1486d ago )

Precisely.

Some people seem to think it's a HL game being selfishly withheld from them for no good reason but it needs VR in order to be anything special. That's not a criticism btw, I've played it and think it's brilliant.

-Foxtrot1486d ago

Then why make a Half Life game?

They could have done ANY OTHER GAME, a new franchise or do Counter Strike

I mean have you seen the ending to this? I won't spoil it but it's HUGE and if you know then you'll understand why keeping this from so many people is going to make future Half Life games hard to follow.

CrimsonWing691486d ago (Edited 1486d ago )

@-Foxtrot

Isn’t this just a prequel? You’re also forgetting that they’re trying to market this, what better way than to entice people with the Half-Life franchise?

I get you’re upset that you can’t play it, but going on a rant about how it should’ve been another game is pretty absurd. You’d probably still get upset if it was a different game getting the same accolades.

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sprinterboy1486d ago

It's not written in stone you know that they have to do a standard version alongside the vr version you know.
Why is it everyone thinks its a must, maybe just maybe its the dev vision and only vr truly pulls it off.

carcarias1486d ago (Edited 1486d ago )

Well, if they manage it (hope they can), they'll also have to change more than the perspective. It'll need proper gameplay changes too.

I played yesterday for a couple of hours (it's fantastic - amazing attention to detail, incredible atmosphere and intuitive with easy, smooth controls) and enemies, particularly melee types, are very slow. It's understandable since you can't race around like you can with keyboard and mouse.

So yeah, if they make it non-vr and change nothing else, then it'll be like a tutorial or some kind of fps for toddlers.

Having said that, much of the game's appeal will be lost as so many things in it are made specifically due to how VR makes you feel. Things you stand and gaze at, things you marvel at, will simply be things you ignore or glance at briefly before you walk swiftly past.

harmny1486d ago

You have the worst takes on this site. And you know nothing of game development

TakeTori1486d ago (Edited 1486d ago )

Who said it wasn't possible? I believe what everyone is saying is that it's definitely possible but it won't really be worth the trouble. The game is going to feel overly simplified and slow and boring to play in flatscreen. Half the fun with playing Alyx is using your physical hands to interact with the environment.

Of course Valve could technically "do" it, and they've never denied as such, but it completely defeats the point of the game. Everyone who plays it in flatscreen only is mistakenly gonna say it's a boring game.

Chard1486d ago (Edited 1486d ago )

You just admitted you've seen the ending? So you no longer need to worry about not being able to follow future games without playing this. Nor does anyone else who wants to know the story without buying/playing VR, since youtube exists.
Complaining that a VR game should be awkwardly converted to traditional controls is a bit sad.

generic-user-name1485d ago

The game's core design was made specifically for vr, the flow, the number of enemies, the puzzles, the challenge, the level design etc

All of that has been tailored for vr, sure you can mod it flat (though not sure how controls would work) , but you're left with a grotesque husk.

You have a choice, you can choose to get a vr headset or not, you're not entitled to every game releasing on your platform and developers should not be asked to alter their creative vision for their games.

zahdab1485d ago

if you make a game to play in VR and it releases as a VR masterpiece you've done your job.
If someone mods it to play wit ha rockband guitar ... even though it's playable its 6/10 time instead of a 10/10. they presented their game as per their vision ... just cause it can be played in a different manner doesnt mean its the way they envisioned it.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 1485d ago
MusashiBlack1486d ago

The game will suck without vr

Dom_Estos1486d ago

Probably not. But it would be massively different, and, well, very underwhelming. Basically, it would be just like HL2 in 2020 but somewhat inferior due to it missing design concepts specifically made for traditional gaming. Thing is HL2, when modded for VR, elevates that game. Gamers that want to cry and moan, and throw the toys out of the pram because this is in VR, just don't understand or realise that VR as a medium has a magnitude of potential that far outstrips that of traditional gaming concepts by far.

mixelon1486d ago

A game where you have full control of your hands and head movement and they’re essential to the gameplay is going to suuuuuck without vr.

The experience you get will not be the same and they were right not to gimp their game to behave like others. Can anyone think of an immersive first person game with hand control that worked before vr? It’s going to be Jurassic Park: Trespasser all over again.

You could argue you want it to behave/play like other HL games, and forego the hand/head controls but that’s not what this game is.. A mod will make the campaign playable, minus what makes it great.

carcarias1486d ago

"A mod will make the campaign playable, minus what makes it great."

Perfect way to sum it up in one sentence.

Some people seem to think VR is just/only a perspective change that puts you in the world, but the truth is that the entire feel of the experience and gameplay is built around it - from gunplay to puzzles to exploration to interaction, pretty much everything.

Felix_Argyle_Catbro1486d ago (Edited 1486d ago )

For those who want a non-VR version: https://twitter.com/Dominic...

1486d ago
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70°

WayForward Director Says Nintendo Changed The Way He Looks At Making Video Games

Veteran game designer James Montagna is directing this new project and apparently has a new outlook on game design after teaming up with Nintendo

Read Full Story >>
nintendolife.com
130°

Pocketpair Studio Boss Calls Out Tencent For Developing A Palworld Clone

The game in question appears to be dubbed Auroria on Steam, which shares a plethora of similarities with Palworld.

Inverno1d 7h ago

No offense but Palworld isn't that original either, with that said… ew Tencent no thank you. I love the survival genre but all these half baked early access games have ruined the genre for me.

exputers16h ago

>Palworld isn't that original either

Can't disagree with that, but it did spin the Pokemon dynamic in a unique way, you gotta give Pocketpair that. Now by doing so, prepare for a ton of Palworld clones, both on PC and mobile.

Christopher9h ago

True, but big pocket people pushing out little pocket people is a huge problem. It's Walmart of the digital world.

Inverno9h ago

Not much that can be done though. Tencent been making clones of what's popular for a while. I don't touch anything they make, except for Don't Starve but i bought that before Klei sold themselves to the devil.

Christopher9h ago(Edited 9h ago)

@Inverno: There's a lot that can be done, actually. Just no one is willing to do it. Anti-competitive/monopoly laws literally exist for this exact reason. Governments are just letting big corporations do whatever they want.

150°

With Larian Out Of The Picture, Will The Baldur's Gate IP Be In Safe Hands?

Huzaifah from eXputer: "With Larian Studios washing their hands of the IP, what is the ultimate fate of the legendary Baldur's Gate series?"

RaidenBlack1d 9h ago

If anybody's gonna mention BioWare, then look at Archetype Entertainment, they're the new BioWare
or else
Obsidian is still a good choice but not independent anymore.

anast1d 9h ago (Edited 1d 9h ago )

No, WoTC is pivoting to mobile. They can use Larian's work to justify DnD Go and everyone will accept it.

RiseNShine1d 9h ago

Short answer, nope. Long answer, f*ck nope.

robtion15h ago

Correct answer. Most people don't realise that the companies that are still making good games using common sense and a customer focus are generally not American. They are from Poland, Belgium, Japan, or other countries that have not yet become completely corrupted by 'extreme capitalism'.

Before you down vote me into oblivion I am not anti-american. I just don't like greed and corruption which unfortunately seems to correlate with power.

I would guess the next Baldurs gate will probably be filled with GaaS.

Christopher1d 9h ago

Honestly, we're talking completely new engine and none of Larian's built-in stuff with regard to environments and the like that they had from their past divinity game. No one is going to have that just ready to go. So, they need to shop for a dev studio that has a past game that shows what they want.

Obsidian doesn't have that, maybe the closest being Dungeon Siege 3 or Pillars of Eternity, but those are very basic, not as open, very little environment related and altering capabilities. So, we're talking a step way back on what Larian delivered. Zero scene experience to line up with what was done in BG3. Okay conversation tree designs, but still needs more complexity.

inXile has Wasteland 3 as a base model engine, and I think that's better than Pillars of Eternity from Obsidian. But, still needs to be more open world, more environmental effects, and a much heavier rules set adaptation. But, not a bad overall engine as a base, but still a ton of work. Zero scene experience to line up with what was done in BG3. Needs a ton of work on that entirely.

Tactical Adventure did the Solasta game. Really good and more accurate as far as 5e rules than BG3. But, again, if the expectation is similar to what made BG3 a big hit, engine isn't designed for moving the camera, is a bit outdated in graphics, doesn't have in-game scene elements, and needs much better writers/voice actors.

Owlcat of pathfinder games is another choice, even though they've recently moved on to WH40k licensed games. Again, though, the engine is the biggest issue here to match up, but it's a much better option overall than Tactical Adventure. Another question is writers/story telling, as much of their overall story telling bits are very limited with a lot of random worldbuilding elements that are just +\- of some attributes.

TBH, no matter who takes over, it's just not going to be like BG3 much like how BG3 isn't at all like BG1/2. And BG3 was so successful because of how much Larian was able to put in with their engine and how focused they were on players having ridiculous control over the story being told. I just don't see the next BG being the same and depending on what it is, it might be good but I'm not as big of a reach as BG3. It's way more likely players are going to go into BG4 (or its spiritual successor if it moves away from Baldur's Gate and into Neverwinter or something like Plansescape) expecting much of what is in BG3 with more options, new and older characters, and the same level of control over what they're doing. If it doesn't have that, regardless of who makes it, it won't be as successful, IMHO.

exputers16h ago

Yes, I completely concur.

As good and talented as inXile and Obsidian are in their own specific way of making their particular games, none of them have Larian's attention to detail, dynamic worlds, and reactivity, so even if they end up making a new Baldur's Gate, it's going to be a significant step-down in terms of gameplay if not narrative.

CrimsonWing691d 8h ago

Probably not, but maybe… just maybe…

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