Half-Life: Alyx

[Neon Ignition]

Yes. It is 2019. Yes. You are awake. And Yes. Valve have actually announced a new Half-Life game.

They still have an aversion to the number 3 but the rumoured Alyx based VR prequel is official. Nothing formal has been shown of the game but Valve have confirmed the game will first be seen by the world this Thursday at 10am Pacific Time.

https://twitter.com/valvesoftware/status/1196566870360387584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1196566870360387584&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fs9e.github.io%2Fiframe%2F2%2Ftwitter.min.html%231196566870360387584

[fishbowlhead]

For Steam VR only. They’ve lost the plot.

[Digfox]

Steam VR isn't hardware. This new HL game isn't exclusive to their Index headsets, so any PCVR headset like Rift, Vive, Pimax etc. will run the game. Maybe it'll be ported to PSVR2 or other formats in the future.

[Neon Ignition]

Well, to be fair to Valve, fans have wanted Half-Life to return for a very long time and they were clearly trying to think of a way of bringing it back in a way that would once again deliver a distinct way of experiencing this universe compared to the previous games and finally we have it - a new Half-Life game that most fans will be able to experience... as a Youtube walkthrough video. Inspired

It's be fascinating to be sure but that niche appeal is no doubt why this doesn't have a number 3 tagged at the end of it. For most fans it's probably just another depressing tease that they aren't going to get that Ep3 / HL3 continuation at all given it's taken a belated arrival on niche tech to get a spin-off after so many years. I think I'm more curious about it to find out if Valve's loss of the franchise talent over the years has robbed them of what's needed to deliver the required standard.

[Cassius_Smoke]

My guess is that its going to use the exact same engine and graphics as HL2 (maybe slightly tarted up) and will be a short 2 hour game playing as Alyx either just before the events of HL2 or showing what she was doing when she wasn't by your side. Concidering Valve have very few actual developers now I don't expect much.

[Neon Ignition]

It'll end on a cliff hanger

[fishbowlhead]

My guess is that its going to use the exact same engine and graphics as HL2 (maybe slightly tarted up) and will be a short 2 hour game playing as Alyx either just before the events of HL2 or showing what she was doing when she wasn't by your side. Concidering Valve have very few actual developers now I don't expect much.

Fact.

[fishbowlhead]

Seems its a full length game.

https://www.polygon.com/2019/11/21/20975860/valve-half-life-alyx-release-date-vr-announcement-first-screens-trailer

[Cassius_Smoke]

So the next question is, what date will this be cancelled?

[fishbowlhead]

Since they’ve actually committed and set a a date i don’t see it being cancelled. Plus it actually looks awesome in the vid.

[dataDave]

I really wish I'd waited for an Index now. Oh well, I can always upgrade in a year or two. I've not really been playing much VR to justify it to be honest. Skyrim VR doesn't work for me at 90fps, which would be another reason to upgrade actually - however I do notice a ton more stuff to fix in VR which means more time modding for the fifth time which means I can't be arsed.

[jamesy]

Thought it looked brilliant myself. The only problem is the amount of money it would cost to actually buy the hardware needed to play it.

[Cassius_Smoke]

I'm not gunna lie, it looks incredible!

[Digfox]

Wow. Hard not to be really impressed with that.

[Baseley09]

Colour me surprised, was defo expecting Source engine bumped up, essentially HL2 expansion. Looks decent.