Mod for Half-Life: Alyx without VR. Now Playable on PC.
It was only a matter of time. Shortly after release Half-Life: Alyx , modders already tried to find a way to play Alyx without VR . There is now a mod that will actually let you complete the game completely with a normal display, although that sounds like a bit of a finicky experience. It probably won't be the end of the road for Alyx without VR, but it's certainly a milestone.
You can find a mod called Driver over on GitHub . The installation process looks a little intimidating with so many controls that can be remapped to keyboard and mouse, but there are some pretty detailed instructions to help you get through it if you're absolutely not sure what you need to hover over for some headcrabs . Also have video с settings, to help you.
From the drawings on the mod's page, you can see pretty quickly how taking VR out of the equation really sucks Alyx. Instead of gesturing with your hands like you would with VR controllers, it seems like the mod will basically lock your hands in place in front of you. Of course, this can cause some problems with sections of the game that really depend on your ability to move around, so the modder "r57zonegave step-by-step instructions for a few tricky sections.
It seems that getting rid of virtual reality from the experience is likely to be a pleasure. There's a section in the Half-Life: Alyx game where I just can't imagine myself being so tense or efficient without free hand control of Alyx.
«Picture: me crawling around the wire mount, only to accidentally smash a glass bottle on a shelf. This attracts the attention of a creature nearby. I have to put my trembling hand to my mouth to stop breathing in the spores and run away to hide in the corner of the room. It's the scariest thing I've ever experienced playing a game, and yet the absurdity of my actions in the real world made it delightful in a way. I laughed at myself, even in the midst of a panic.
Robin Walker from Valve сказал before launch, that he would understand people trying to remove VR from Alyx, although he was fairly confident that this would confirm Valve's choice to make it purely virtual. “This is going to be a very clear way to see everything we've got to transition into VR. If people play [the modded version on the standard display] and say it's just as good, that will teach me a lot. I'll realize I'm wrong and we didn't get as much as we thought and I like to know when I'm wrong."
So far, I doubt Walker is wrong. Alyx seems to be designed entirely for tactile exploration. As modders continue to mess around, maybe they'll make some moves towards a keyboard-controlled Alyx that rivals the original.
If you decide to visit City 17 without VR, this is your chance. Find driver on GitHub and read the instructions carefully.