The latest Half-Life: Alyx update opened up some very interesting modding possibilities with the introduction of two new features.
The 1.4 update introduces new language options for subtitles, UI improvements as well as a variety of game and crash fixes that improve the experience considerably.
Game Features
- Added subtitles for: Brazilian, Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
- Bottles now appear to have liquid inside them that sloshes around as you shake them.
- UI appears quicker when returning to Main Menu
- Improvements to addon management UI
Game Fixes
- Added checks for users loading a savegame with missing addons (eg. unsubscribed or deleted)
- Added error message if a game fails to load due to a missing map requested by an addon
- Various crash fixes
- Fixed bug where exiting the game by closing SteamVR could generate bad save files
The biggest additions included in the Half-Life: Alyx new update, however, are the Postprocessing Editor, which will let modders change the look of the game without having to edit every single texture manually, and LUA scripting, which will allow modders to introduce gameplay features without having access to the source code, opening up a huge amount of possibilities.
Workshop Features
- Enabled the Postprocessing Editor
- Added "Custom Character" example addon
- Blind Zombie (a.k.a. Jeff)
- Hacking and Toner Puzzles
- Parked Vehicles and other Interactive Prefabs
- Visibility System
- Postprocessing Volumes
- Added core functionality required for Lua scripting and added some Alyx-specific script bindings for querying VR controller input and creating nav mesh paths from entity scripts
- Enabled live bone constraints in SFM, which can be baked/enabled as procedural bones, like cloth
The update also includes some other Workshop fixes. You can check out the full Half-Life: Alyx 1.4 update notes on Steam.
Half-Life: Alyx is now available on Steam worldwide. The game is officially only playable with a VR headset, but modders managed to release excellent non-VR mods.
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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