There's been a few efforts to get Half-Life: Alyx playable without VR and the latest is HLA-NoVR, out now and it's now possible to play it through, even on Steam Deck too.
All you need to do is download it from GitHub or Mod DB, and place it into your Alyx install folder, overwriting the existing files and then set "-novr -vsync" as a launch option and yup — it works. The screenshot below is it running on my Fedora KDE desktop, with Proton 7.0-6 and MangoHud as well. I've only tested with Proton, as the Native Linux build hasn't work for me for some time now.
Speaking in an update on Mod DB the developers of the mod said: "This is our biggest update yet and we have no plans on slowing down! With thousands playing Half-Life Alyx NoVR we are happy to announce our largest update yet! As the titles state the entire game can now be played from start to finish, with the Gravity Gloves fully implemented along with combine fabricators providing weapon upgrades. Also since we are now updating the final parts of the game there may be spoilers! We will do our best to not spoil anything while ensuring we communicate these late game areas have been updated along with their gameplay mechanics."
They do still have a whole bunch of stuff left to do, but it's quite impressive what they've been able to achieve. You're also not currently able to get some of the Steam Achievements but it seems a lot of them are possible now (33/42). Even some popular mods for Alyx are playable with this including Levitation, Extra-Ordinary Value, Belomorskaya Station and Overcharge.
You can see in the shot below of Alyx running on my Steam Deck too, and there's even a Steam Input configuration ready for it and it felt quite playable.
Half-Life: Alyx in VR is one of my all-time favourite experiences, so it was thoroughly weird going through a little bit of it with this mod.
You can see some of their videos on YouTube full of spoilers of course.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Quoting: damarrinObviously, reloading a weapon is so much easier if you just press a button instead of ejecting the clip, taking another one and inserting it. If only soldiers on the battlefield could do that.Just in case you were wondering: We are talking about video games here.
Otherwise, we can start talking about how it doesn't really hurt when you get shot in an FPS... or any of the other things in games that are not actually like in real life.
Specifically, we are talking about a first person shooter.
Putting something in VR doesn't change its genre. It just changes the camera and/or controls.
Reloading in a first person shooter has been around for.. eh... 30 years?
Yeah, it's the press of a button. Got that figured out a few decades ago.
Introducing additions to the process isn't even something VR-specific. You could easily do that with a keyboard as well - and now comes the kicker: Why do you think that isn't done? Some food for thought.
You can argue it is done for immersion. And I'd even agree.
But that comes at a cost, which I described.
Quoting: damarrinIf you want to just sit on the couch and press buttons go right ahead, don’t diss people who enjoy doing something else.I don't sit on a couch while gaming. Usually.
And I also didn't diss anyone.
Are you maybe projecting something here?
Last edited by TheSHEEEP on 12 April 2023 at 2:42 pm UTC
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Quoting: KlaasWolfenstein 3D is another example. It's lot easier if you can strafe and turn (with a mouse) at the same time instead of being stuck with the strafe modifier key.Absolutely!
And once we had mouse aiming established, games became a lot more difficult because of it.
The player got "stronger" and the enemies had to follow suit or the games would have become too easy.
It would be a severe challenge to try and get through some later FPS without mouse aim - might be funny to try, though. Doom Eternal run?
Removing the VR from Alyx is the same thing - except I don't think the mod actually makes enemies more dangerous to balance the more powerful player, hence the game becomes a lot easier that way.
Last edited by TheSHEEEP on 12 April 2023 at 2:49 pm UTC
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This was the one thing that made me regret not having VR, not being able to play this half life game. I'll probably get this now, just so I can see it.
I likely will never get a VR headset. Not only don't I like gimmicky devices, but I don't need that kind of stimulus, I have enough trouble without it. (for one example racing games, I mean actually trying, not just free driving, will wind up my nervous system).
Most devs don't bet the farm on it... they make their games playable without it. Exclusivity leads to limited sales (Valve has another trick... making games isn't where their money comes from, moreover, they worked with a tired old game engine for decades and their success was viable multiplayer, and mods, bling currencies and gamer friendly policies etc. that kept their games going).
OT, but that reminded me of this. The source engine (both versions) was so bad, loading thousands and thousands of little files from many SDK archives, that Valve started trying to market ramdisk software lol! (before SSD's were commonplace in consumers' hands). I thought WhyTF would Valve be spinning wheels on this for? Then it dawned on me... the source engine games would greatly benefit from this. That used to come up in my Store feed, I found it amusing. The Store page is still there for reference, but there's no buy buttons or anything.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/337070/Dimmdrive__Gaming_Ramdrive__10000_MBs/
I likely will never get a VR headset. Not only don't I like gimmicky devices, but I don't need that kind of stimulus, I have enough trouble without it. (for one example racing games, I mean actually trying, not just free driving, will wind up my nervous system).
Most devs don't bet the farm on it... they make their games playable without it. Exclusivity leads to limited sales (Valve has another trick... making games isn't where their money comes from, moreover, they worked with a tired old game engine for decades and their success was viable multiplayer, and mods, bling currencies and gamer friendly policies etc. that kept their games going).
OT, but that reminded me of this. The source engine (both versions) was so bad, loading thousands and thousands of little files from many SDK archives, that Valve started trying to market ramdisk software lol! (before SSD's were commonplace in consumers' hands). I thought WhyTF would Valve be spinning wheels on this for? Then it dawned on me... the source engine games would greatly benefit from this. That used to come up in my Store feed, I found it amusing. The Store page is still there for reference, but there's no buy buttons or anything.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/337070/Dimmdrive__Gaming_Ramdrive__10000_MBs/
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Quoting: damarrinIf you want to just sit on the couch and press buttons go right ahead
when im in VR i am flying on my couch.
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Mountain Man Apr 13, 2023
Quoting: Purple Library GuyIt's not the cost that's keeping people away but lack of interest. VR is running into the same brick wall as 3D television: people simply don't care.Quoting: TrainDocI'm begging y'all to not play the game like this. I understand the point of this mod but the game is entirely built around VR amd stripping such a core concite of the game out reduces what makes it so good. The total immersion in the environment and manipulation of items directly cannot just be removed without the game becoming a shell of it's former self.Many people don't have the money for VR. That simple, man.
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Quoting: Mountain ManExactly this.Quoting: Purple Library GuyIt's not the cost that's keeping people away but lack of interest. VR is running into the same brick wall as 3D television: people simply don't care.Quoting: TrainDocI'm begging y'all to not play the game like this. I understand the point of this mod but the game is entirely built around VR amd stripping such a core concite of the game out reduces what makes it so good. The total immersion in the environment and manipulation of items directly cannot just be removed without the game becoming a shell of it's former self.Many people don't have the money for VR. That simple, man.
If you can afford a PC that could run Alyx, you could affort a VR headset. Nobody needs a Valve Index to get into VR.
Hell, if you can throw the 60$ at the game, you could just not do that for a few months, save it up and afford a VR headset later.
It's still very much in the region of money people tend to throw at hobbies.
The "I don't have the money" in most cases really means "I don't care enough to save up the money", which is fair enough, of course - not blaming anyone.
People who really don't have the money aren't gonna spend their time worrying about VR to begin with, and, well... they are not the target audience, either, obviously.
A much more valid point is lack of space IMO.
In many countries, living space is nowadays not only an expensive commodity, but simply a rare one.
And for VR, you definitely need some space. I'm living in a pretty average sized flat for the country (2 peepos, 70m²) - and we can barely fit the space for VR, have to move our couch around each time someone uses it or would risk just bumping into stuff.
Maybe we just have a lot of space-intensive stuff (definitely have a huge space need for musical and sewing hobbies), I'm not sure.
Last edited by TheSHEEEP on 13 April 2023 at 6:01 am UTC
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Quoting: Mountain ManIt's not the cost that's keeping people away but lack of interest. VR is running into the same brick wall as 3D television: people simply don't care.Perhaps, but I suspect it's the cost. If it was a lack of care, I doubt Sony would be hyping their new VR kit, nor would Meta be hyping their shitty metaverse. Anyone who's tried (good) VR and didn't feel sick wants more of it, but the cost is still sky high.
Quoting: TheSHEEEPIf you can afford a PC that could run Alyx, you could affort a VR headset. Nobody needs a Valve Index to get into VR.The price of the Index kit on Steam is still the same as I paid three years ago - £919. That's only slightly less than I paid for my (then) PC with its 32Gb RAM, AMD 3900X and Sapphire RX5700, a (then) top end spec. Don't know how much you earn, but that's way (WAY) outside of "hobby" funds for me.
So I'll say it again - it's the cost that prevents wider uptake.
Sony VR 2 is roughly £550 - still £75 more expensive than an actual PS5. So again, the cost will massively restrict the market.
Last edited by scaine on 13 April 2023 at 8:14 am UTC
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FauconNoir Apr 13, 2023
In my opinion, the biggest problem of VR is that people do not image how good it is until they test it. The second problem is the lack of appealing titles for "casual" players, i.e. AAA titles.
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Holzkohlen Apr 13, 2023
Got this game for ages in my library and still have not played it. It might be time to finally mess about with VR in linux for the first time. I'm guessing my Vive will just work, if not I am taking my complains to Valve
Last edited by Holzkohlen on 13 April 2023 at 10:08 am UTC
Last edited by Holzkohlen on 13 April 2023 at 10:08 am UTC
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Mountain Man Apr 13, 2023
Quoting: scaine"If people didn't care, then the companies wouldn't be hyping it" is backwards logic. They're hyping it because they want people to care. That's the whole point of advertising.Quoting: Mountain ManIt's not the cost that's keeping people away but lack of interest. VR is running into the same brick wall as 3D television: people simply don't care.Perhaps, but I suspect it's the cost. If it was a lack of care, I doubt Sony would be hyping their new VR kit, nor would Meta be hyping their shitty metaverse. Anyone who's tried (good) VR and didn't feel sick wants more of it, but the cost is still sky high.
I don't think VR will outright fail, but I do think it will always remain a niche product simply due to a widespread lack of interest. The best example of this was at my local Microcenter: When the VR hype first began, they had a prominent demo setup in the center of the store and several shelves dedicated to VR gear. If you wanted to try the demo, you had to get in line. A few months later, the line was gone, and the shelves of VR products had been reduced to a single shelf. A few months after that, the demo area was removed, and VR equipment was relegated to a couple of small end cap displays.
Last edited by Mountain Man on 13 April 2023 at 9:20 pm UTC
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