Half-Life Alyx is now close. The new chapter of the series will arrive on March 23 13 years later from Half-Life 2 Episode Two. The new Valve title will only be available for devices for virtual reality and therefore you will not have no alternative available to be able to play it in a classic way on the monitor. There very clear move of Valve, although partially questionable from the point of view of consumers, will certainly have the merit of favoring the diffusion of VR devices on the market and immediately the response was very positive with the helmet VR Valve Index sold out within a few days in the United States, Canada and then also in Europe.
Virtual reality: not just viewers
When it comes to VR systems, you have to take into account all devices that make up a set of virtual reality and are not few. In marketing and advertising images happen to see only the viewer highlighted but, buying a set for virtual reality, the situation is a lot more complex. For this, before moving on to the analysis of the VR sets for Half-Life: Alyx we prefer a moment decompose these virtual reality systems to have greater clarity on their operation.
- Tracking device: a virtual reality system must first and foremost to track the position and orientation of the head to calculate the right one perspective to show within the game. Also this device tracks the position of other parts of the body, such as the hands, the detection of which is required by the game. In the case of Valve Index, the so-called base station is capable of translating the movements and inputs of devices that support SteamVR 2.0 tracking. In the case of the VSFR, that is the virtual reality system dedicated to PlayStation, this task is entrusted for example to the PlayStation Camera. However, there are other devices with a tracking that is not external but integrated directly into the viewers, these are the so-called inside-out such as Oculus Rift S.
- Input device: this is obviously the part of the VR system that allows you to interact with virtual reality. In some cases the games may also support a normal gamepad but in most cases each set has gods dedicated input systems that allow you to add a spatial component when interacting with the environment, also detecting the position of the hands. As we will see by reviewing the various VR systems, in the case of Half-Life Alyx maybe the discriminating main in choice is precisely that of controller.
- Viewer: this is obviously the component more evident of a VR system, i.e. the helmet that shows a stereoscopic image and also provides three-dimensional audio thanks to the integrated speakers. The same characteristics apply to the viewers on the basis of which a is judged and therefore the type of tech (e.g. OLED), the resolution, refresh rate and field of view (what in English is known as FOV).
After this premise we can move on to examine an overview of some of the virtual reality systems to play Half-Life Alyx and understand how much actually are suitable to the new Valve title. At the moment there are not many analyzes available of the various sets with Half-Life Alyx but one of them more useful appeared in recent months is the one carried out by the team of the YouTube channel Adam Savage's Tested who had the opportunity to try the game with eight viewers.
Valve Index: the ideal set for Half-Life Alyx
As you can guess from the name, this virtual reality system is the ideal to play Half-Life Alyx since it was made by the same developer of the title. As we have mentioned in the overview, beyond the obvious and in some ways standardized technologies of the viewers, the real difference between the various systems the controller. And it's hardly necessary to add that Half-Life Alyx was essentially developed around Valve Index controllers.
It is no coincidence that in the design of the controllers the team has given itself how priority be able to make natural and immediate lure and throw objects, a typical gameplay mechanic of Half-Life. Releasing the joypad grip, thanks to the fact that these are obviously tight around the palm with a headband, it is possible for example hurl certain objects very smoothly. On the other hand, the developers themselves explained that actions such as collecting, releasing, throwing and manipulating objects are among the main mechanics by Half-Life Alyx. Normally, in other systems with different controllers, these actions can be performed with the classic trigger. In addition, the Valve Index controller will allow you to perform additional actions compared to the other controllers which, Valve always explains, are obviously not fundamental for the purposes of the game but are nonetheless funny such as being able to crush an object held in your hands.
Surely Valve Index is a system expensive, extremely expensive. The bundle that includes the headset, the two controllers and the two base stations is priced at € 1.079 although the components are also sold individually. However, from a system point of view, it would hardly make sense to buy a component without the others. Ultimately, Valve index remains the virtual reality system ideal to be able to play Half-Life Alyx though in Spain we probably won't see him again for a few months since the shipments were suspended due to the pandemic emergency of the new coronavirus.
Valve Index can be purchased directly on Steam but in this period shipments to Spain are suspended. You can check this page regularly to find out when it will be available again.
Oculus Rift S: the best value for money
This VR system is usually considered among the best on the market for value for money you can get a device from the right equilibrium between graphics quality, performance and controller without having to give up too many aspects due to the price. An element not to be underestimated in terms of installation and space required is also the fact that Oculus Rift S it has no external tracking devices, like the basics of Valve Index, and yet still manages to be enough accurate thanks to its tracking system inside-out with five cameras placed on the viewer.
As for the controllers, those of the Oculus Rift S are perhaps among the most similar to those of Index that can be found on the market. However the number of buttons is reduced and there is no trackpad present on the Valve controller. Even the tracking system is inside-out and despite this those "backward" movements necessary in the gameplay are still detected with the due precision. Even holding the controllers close to the viewer, the movements are still accurately detected since the blind spot is really reduced to a minimum. The viewer is perhaps the slightly weaker aspect of the Oculus Rift S compared to the competition as the display is a single LCD with 2560x1440 resolution at 80Hz.
Oculus Rift S is available at a price of € 686,15 also on Amazon at this address.
Oculus Quest: an affordable VR set
Unlike the Oculus Rift, the Quest model, sold for € 412,49 in the 128GB version, was built to work independently as it has built-in memory but can also be used with a Oculus Link Cable or with a USB-C cable. There resolution it's the same as the Valve Index and HTC Vive Pro but with one different pixel arrangement: this involves the loss of some details and also the compression some data. This aspect is particularly noticeable, points out Tested, in the so-called volumetric effects, one above all the steam that is very present in the settings of City 17, the iconic city of the series. Also despite the OLED display the surrender of blacks it turned out not to be quite perfect. From an ergonomic point of view, the Oculus Quest headset can feel a little too heavy on the frontal and maybe create annoyances too soon. Also from the point of view audio the performance of Quest was not optimal especially at the spatial level and in the direction of the sounds. For this a good one is recommended pair of headphones to be placed next to the viewer.
Despite these reservations with a price of € 449,99, Oculus Quest it is a good compromise and you can also buy it on Amazon at this address.
HTC Vive: compromising with controllers
HTC Vive has two panels OLED for a combined pixel resolution of 2160 × 1200 a 90 Hz. Despite this, in the tests conducted by the Adam Savage's Tested YouTube channel, the graphic quality turned out to be very satisfying both in the rendering of blacks and in the contrast between more and less illuminated areas. But playing Half-Life Alyx on this virtual reality set requires gods compromise on the side of controls. First of all some actions are delegate no longer to the movements but directly to the keys and touchpad. The main problem though is with the design of the controller itself.
Il circular design of the upper part of the controller, in fact, creates some problems with the movement required to reload the weapon: having to bring the two controllers closer it is easy indeed beat the two crowns. And considering that we are talking about frequent action like the charging one, it will serve a lot of muscle memory, according to Tested, to avoid colliding with controllers. On the plus side, however, the grip turned out to be particularly suitable for the use of Weapons, as indeed also the trigger to shoot, and the controller also proved particularly efficient in handling of objects. HTC Vive therefore represents a good one alternative especially for those who already own it since this set, at the moment, is not easy to find.
HTC Vive Cosmos: Tracking Issues
This VR set, successor to HTC Vive, has tracking inside-out and controller since very different design compared to that of the models previous. The part that seems to have least convinced the Tested editors is tracking of the hand movements that turned out less accurate compared to the models examined in this list. Specifically the problems occurred when the controllers were over-the-top come closer to the viewer, which seems to go a little in tilt the hand tracking system. Also in the launching of the objects there was some inaccuracy.
This set is maybe the least recommended among those tried by Tested, to be able to play Half-Life Alyx, even if having it already at home will still allow you to enjoy the Valve title quietly. What makes the situation a little more complicated is the fact that he is missing a touchpad in the controller. This means that having to use the stick for many actions is easy to be less precise and get confused especially in the passage between the weapon change to other commands.
If you are interested in an HTC Vive Cosmos not only to play Half-Life Alyx but also other titles in VR then you can find it on Amazon for € 767 on this page.
Oculus Rift: Play Half-Life Alyx comfortably
Tested has also tried Half-Life Alyx with the first model of Oculus Rift in a test carried out with two and not with the three tracing bases of the set. The most interesting part of this test is that the game showed itself equally enjoyable also seated, despite the fair amount of movement required. In any case, you still need a couple of precautions like, for example, having to keep the controllers, which still have the same layout as Oculus Quest and Rift S, clearly visible in front of external tracking devices. The operations to be carried out with the stick remain a little too confused (there are two of no small importance: turning quickly behind you and reloading the weapon) but overall the test was successful. Unlike HTC Vive, moreover, the ring on the top of the controller it's not too intrusive and does not create particular problems in the movements of reloading weapons.
In particular, however, the Oculus Rift display really showed itself eccellente and the viewer in particular very comfortable even for long gaming sessions as it is very light to wear. From the point of view though audio, however, the hardware today turns out to be unsatisfactory.
Oculus Rift can still be found on the market, for example also a € 360 on Amazon at this address.
Windows Mixed Reality: inexpensive but not very common solution
Windows Reality is the name of one VR set series made by different manufacturers but which on the whole they share the same operation such as tracking inside-out. Model Samsung tried by Tested represents the top of the range of the series. In any case the advantage of this line of VR systems is due to the price which makes them among the cheapest solutions to play Half-Life Alyx, especially that one Lenovo.
The Samsung Windows Reality device has proven itself extremely reliable and during the test it was not noticed any uncertainty in tracking hand movements. The only problem, not entirely unexpected, is when the controllers are held at the height of the viewer and a little too close but in that case just take some tricks like stretch your arms a bit by moving the controllers away. Here, too, as in HTC Vive, the controller's sensing ring creates problems for those movements which require a contact close together between controllers.
Between devices Windows Mixed Reality there is also the Lenovo Explorer which is one of the best viewers available and that you can find on Amazon at this address.
At the end of this overview, we remind you that to prepare for the release of the new chapter you can also read our specials on the gameplay and plot of Half-Life Alyx and that the entire series is available for free on Steam until the expected release date of the game. for Monday 23 March.
If you are interested in virtual reality but have a PlayStation 4, you can also buy the VR headset with five games on Amazon.
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