The keys to creating Half-Life: Alyx work in non-VR had been seemingly left to us by Valve.
Half-Life: Alyx developer Valve absolutely anticipated that neighborhood modders would poke on the game sufficient to try to make it playable exterior of VR, regardless of the developer repeatedly saying the experience would only work in VR.
Valve News Network’s Tyler McVicker is among the many first to really try to see if any facet of Half-Life: Alyx could be explored and not using a VR headset. It seems, Valve by chance shipped a debug mode with Alyx that allows a wealth of choices supposed for testing. The debug mode has since been taken out, however not earlier than McVicker knew of its existence.
In a datamining livestream on Twitch, the Valve News Network founder spend a few hours exploring the capabilities of various developer instructions. He managed to maneuver across the game’s world and freely go searching and not using a VR headset. More curiously, he discovered that the console command “vr_enable_fake_vr_test” really makes Alyx’s fingers visibile on display screen, which can be utilized to work together with objects within the game’s world.
They’re not animated in the identical method they might be utilizing a headset and motion-tracked controllers, after all, however a crude implementation of them exists exterior of VR. Though you’re in a position to shoot, Gravity Gloves don’t look like working at this stage.
The debug mode permits for a wealth of different choices that skip the required VR motions, turning them into button presses as an alternative. Doors, as an example, could be opened by hitting E on the keyboard, the place you’d must bodily seize the door knob and twist it in VR. In his datamining session, McVicker additionally managed to seek out instructions to show basic Half-Life UI and HUD on display screen.
We’ve embedded the complete stream under. It’s price watching, even when solely to see how Valve went about testing numerous facets of the game and not using a VR headset.
Watch THE Half-Life Alyx Datamine from TylerMcVicker on www.twitch.tv
This clearly shouldn’t take away from the studio’s accomplishments with VR tech, neither is this an optimum approach to play. In our evaluation, Kirk known as Alyx VR’s killer app, so that you’ll want a VR headset to get that have.
Thanks, PC Gamer.
