It didn't take very long. In just five days, Half-Life: Alyx has become playable without a VR headset and with mouse and keyboard controls.
The first Half-Life: Alyx is still very rough around the edges, as it uses Half-Life 2 models for weapons and jumping doesn't work properly. Still, this is a great way for those without a VR headset to enjoy the first entry in the series in a very long time.
For the mod to work, players will have to install these files and follow the instructions shared by Icedwhisper in a video that you can find below.
Launch Options: -novr -console -nocrashdialog -retail -allowdebug -vconport 29000 -vcon -dev -w 1920 -h 1080 -sv_autojump 1
Please make sure you add them AFTER the quotation marks!
There are some limitations to this, such as not being able to see the hands, which can be fixed by using the command: vr_enable_fake_vr_test 1
But by using this command, collisions get turned off and you are unable to walk on the floor.
You can also enable weapons by using the following command: impulse 101
I'm going to try and find ways to fix all these issues, until then, you're going to have to play like this! p.s: Some objects can't be interacted using this method, I'm trying to fix it and will post a video soon after I find a way to do it!
The release of a no VR Half-Life: Alyx mod was something that Valve anticipated. According to designer Robin Walker, no VR mods will make players understand why they made a VR game.
The answer to this diverges significantly depending on which members of the team you talk to, so this answer is definitely just from me. There are a set of people on the team that are concerned about that. Personally, I’m not concerned about it at all. It will clearly demonstrate to people why we did Half-Life: Alyx in VR. It will be a very crisp way of seeing all the stuff we got for the move into VR. If people play a modded version on a standard display and say this is is just as good, that will teach me a lot. I will realize I’m wrong, and we didn’t get as much as we thought, and I love to know whenever I’m wrong.
Half-Life: Alyx is now available on Steam.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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