I consider Half-Life: Alyx played in VR to be one of the greatest gaming experiences I've ever had but for a lot of people it's just not possible and so the No VR Mod is in progress.
For whatever reason some cannot use VR be it due to price, physical ability and more. But if you still want to be able to experience the story first-hand you're currently a bit stuck. There are a few hacky mods floating around to enable mouse/keyboard support but they're all really quite rough. The No VR Mod looks like a different breed though, with smooth movement and it all just looks good.
Modder SoMNst has been working with Optimus97, Quackson and Nicklaus on it and they've recently provided a new video to show it off that you can see below (obvious spoiler alert!):
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While many VR enthusiasts will probably think it's some sort of sacrilege, I'm glad there's people willing to do this.
The mod is not yet available but when it is, we will let you know.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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This is very cool. And they're obviously extremely proud that they got the object interaction nailed - everything gets bunny ears! 
It's weird seeing the opening scene in 2D - the bit where the strider put its foot on your balcony - it lacks the impact that has in VR, where you're genuinely shocked by the size of it and how close it came to wiping you out. Similarly, it lacks the panic you feel when you realise that you have to reload your weapon manually!
But awesome work nonetheless - it still looks amazing, and it's a great story. I do wonder how the cover mechanic will pan out later in the game. There are some enemies that you just can't show your face to, or they shoot it off. I found myself almost blind firing around cover just to survive certain encounters. I suspect the team still have some work to go before this will be fully playable.
It's weird seeing the opening scene in 2D - the bit where the strider put its foot on your balcony - it lacks the impact that has in VR, where you're genuinely shocked by the size of it and how close it came to wiping you out. Similarly, it lacks the panic you feel when you realise that you have to reload your weapon manually!
But awesome work nonetheless - it still looks amazing, and it's a great story. I do wonder how the cover mechanic will pan out later in the game. There are some enemies that you just can't show your face to, or they shoot it off. I found myself almost blind firing around cover just to survive certain encounters. I suspect the team still have some work to go before this will be fully playable.
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I get that Alyx was supposed to be a showcase of VR potential and shoehorning keyboard and mouse support afterwards is unlikely to provide a comparative gaming experience, but it annoys me that I can't play the latest game in a series I've been playing since the late 1990s just because I can't splash out £1000+ on an sparsely-used gimmicky bit of tech that I wouldn't even be able to use unless I reorganise my living room. 
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Quoting: WorMzyI get that Alyx was supposed to be a showcase of VR potential and shoehorning keyboard and mouse support afterwards is unlikely to provide a comparative gaming experience, but it annoys me that I can't play the latest game in a series I've been playing since the late 1990s just because I can't splash out £1000+ on an sparsely-used gimmicky bit of tech that I wouldn't even be able to use unless I reorganise my living room.
I've seen lately that there's a company leasing VR headsets. I missed Half-Life completely, but when I play Alyx some day, it will be with a VR set.
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I really wish I could experience this as intended, but really I'm just dying to play a new HL game at this point. I hope this can provide a good enough way for me to play it since I can't get a VR setup for the near future.
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Quoting: WorMzyI get that Alyx was supposed to be a showcase of VR potential and shoehorning keyboard and mouse support afterwards is unlikely to provide a comparative gaming experience, but it annoys me that I can't play the latest game in a series I've been playing since the late 1990s just because I can't splash out £1000+ on an sparsely-used gimmicky bit of tech that I wouldn't even be able to use unless I reorganise my living room.
You're right about the expense, so I think the trick is that you make sure that it's not "sparsely used". And if you think it's a gimmick, then you'll never spend that kind of money, I agree. I usually find that people who call VR a gimmick though just haven't tried VR on a modern headset. If if you have, and you still think it's a gimmick, I don't know what to say!
It's definitely not a gimmick to me though. The games I play in VR very different to what I'd play in "pancake" mode, but they're just as much fun, albeit in a different way.
I'm in VR about two or three times a week, even if only for 15 minutes in BoxVR to get some (much needed) exercise. My last big adventure in VR was The Room VR, which was superb, and now I'm enjoying Until you Fall which Liam streamed a while back. But I have hundreds of hours in Elite, which doesn't need any room to play at all (you just sit at your desk, as normal). Nor does Automobilista 2, or Ultrawings, or any cockpit-style game.
As long as you don't think of VR as being some big revolution that's gonna change gaming (spoiler: it won't), you'll get more out of it, I think.
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The thing I was curious about was how they would deal with the little 3D puzzles like the ones to open the weapon upgrade machines. But the video fades to black and comes back with an upgraded weapon.
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Chuckaluphagus Oct 1, 2021
Quoting: scaineYou're right about the expense, so I think the trick is that you make sure that it's not "sparsely used". And if you think it's a gimmick, then you'll never spend that kind of money, I agree. I usually find that people who call VR a gimmick though just haven't tried VR on a modern headset. If if you have, and you still think it's a gimmick, I don't know what to say!I've tried an Oculus Quest 2 in standalone mode, played the Beat Saber demo and a Star Wars game. The controls for Beat Saber were excellent, but I was surprised at the poor uality of the display(s?) - the graphics were very fuzzy, and looked more like what I get on my Nintendo Wii (yes, I still use mine).
I realize that the Quest 2 is at the bottom of the heap in terms of its price. I would hope that a Valve Index would look substantially better, but I don't have the money to upgrade/rebuild my computer for that, and that's even before the cost of the VR hardware.
1 Likes, Who?
Quoting: scaineQuoting: WorMzyI get that Alyx was supposed to be a showcase of VR potential and shoehorning keyboard and mouse support afterwards is unlikely to provide a comparative gaming experience, but it annoys me that I can't play the latest game in a series I've been playing since the late 1990s just because I can't splash out £1000+ on an sparsely-used gimmicky bit of tech that I wouldn't even be able to use unless I reorganise my living room.
You're right about the expense, so I think the trick is that you make sure that it's not "sparsely used". And if you think it's a gimmick, then you'll never spend that kind of money, I agree. I usually find that people who call VR a gimmick though just haven't tried VR on a modern headset. If if you have, and you still think it's a gimmick, I don't know what to say!
It's definitely not a gimmick to me though. The games I play in VR very different to what I'd play in "pancake" mode, but they're just as much fun, albeit in a different way.
I'm in VR about two or three times a week, even if only for 15 minutes in BoxVR to get some (much needed) exercise. My last big adventure in VR was The Room VR, which was superb, and now I'm enjoying Until you Fall which Liam streamed a while back. But I have hundreds of hours in Elite, which doesn't need any room to play at all (you just sit at your desk, as normal). Nor does Automobilista 2, or Ultrawings, or any cockpit-style game.
As long as you don't think of VR as being some big revolution that's gonna change gaming (spoiler: it won't), you'll get more out of it, I think.
I haven't used VR really, but your sentiments seem to match my expectations. Whether it's a "gimmick" I guess depends on your definition of the word "gimmick." I think of VR as more akin to a steering wheel or a flight yoke and pedals. It's very useful for the games that it suits, but not the way you'd want to play every game, and a certain combination of expense, effort, and room is required to get started (an investment that I haven't been prepared make yet, though the dedicated space might be my biggest obstacle).
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slaapliedje Oct 1, 2021
Quoting: scaineI mean it kind of does change gaming.. it's just if they could bring down the price where more people are willing to impulse buy it...Quoting: WorMzyI get that Alyx was supposed to be a showcase of VR potential and shoehorning keyboard and mouse support afterwards is unlikely to provide a comparative gaming experience, but it annoys me that I can't play the latest game in a series I've been playing since the late 1990s just because I can't splash out £1000+ on an sparsely-used gimmicky bit of tech that I wouldn't even be able to use unless I reorganise my living room.
You're right about the expense, so I think the trick is that you make sure that it's not "sparsely used". And if you think it's a gimmick, then you'll never spend that kind of money, I agree. I usually find that people who call VR a gimmick though just haven't tried VR on a modern headset. If if you have, and you still think it's a gimmick, I don't know what to say!
It's definitely not a gimmick to me though. The games I play in VR very different to what I'd play in "pancake" mode, but they're just as much fun, albeit in a different way.
I'm in VR about two or three times a week, even if only for 15 minutes in BoxVR to get some (much needed) exercise. My last big adventure in VR was The Room VR, which was superb, and now I'm enjoying Until you Fall which Liam streamed a while back. But I have hundreds of hours in Elite, which doesn't need any room to play at all (you just sit at your desk, as normal). Nor does Automobilista 2, or Ultrawings, or any cockpit-style game.
As long as you don't think of VR as being some big revolution that's gonna change gaming (spoiler: it won't), you'll get more out of it, I think.
I should spend more time in VR for sure. Also, someone should mod the rest of the Half-Life games into VR... I feel a lot will be left out / missing from Alyx's experience by making a flat version... Like being able to hide behind desks and throw grenades at the enemy. And realize how terrible you are at throwing things...
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Quoting: slaapliedjeI should spend more time in VR for sure. Also, someone should mod the rest of the Half-Life games into VR... I feel a lot will be left out / missing from Alyx's experience by making a flat version... Like being able to hide behind desks and throw grenades at the enemy. And realize how terrible you are at throwing things...
Don't need VR for that, I see it with shame every time I try to play with balls with my little ones (4 yo). :D
Last edited by Eike on 1 October 2021 at 3:36 pm UTC
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