After years of development and loads of ups and downs along the way, the developers of a virtual reality mod for the original Half Life 2 announced a public beta that will begin next month.
Half Life 2: VR has been in development for so long that it was originally part of Steam’s Greenlight program in 2017and has indeed been worked on by some involved in the project since 2013. The slowness of things is mainly due to the fact that, contrary to Alexthe game was simply not designed to be played in virtual reality, and so there are many sections that were difficult, if not impossible, to wear on a headset.
Buoyed by “overwhelmingly positive feedback from our private beta testers” in recent weeks, however, the developers have grown stronger and now believe “that the game as it is now can not only be fully completed from start to finish, but that it is also very pleasant. do this.”
As a result, they announced that they will be holding a public beta next month, showcasing everything that is in place and working so far. Which, judging by the trailer below, which includes vehicle sections, is a lot:
By now you probably have some questions, especially about travel and vehicles, which the Developer FAQ section has answers for:
What movement options are available?
The mod offers smooth locomotion, where the direction of movement can be configured to follow your head or one of the two controllers. Turns can be configured to be smooth or at fixed intervals (fast turns).
There are currently no teleport moves available, and it’s unclear if this will become a viable option in the future.
How will you manage vehicle sections? I don’t think I can handle them in VR.
Vehicle travel today indeed requires strong VR legs. However, some comfort options are available to help you survive it. A classic travel sticker is available and can be activated for vehicle journeys. While driving vehicles, the edges of your screen will be blacked out, reducing your field of vision and reducing the impact of motion sickness. Additionally, you can choose to experience vehicle rides from a 3rd person camera perspective. In this mode, the camera follows the vehicle from a distance and is not directly subject to the vehicle’s rapid movements and turns, which should significantly reduce motion sickness. However, this makes controlling vehicles a bit more troublesome.
In the future, we may implement an additional mode where vehicle journeys are displayed on a virtual 2D screen in front of the user, so that everyone has the opportunity to drive through the vehicle sections in the game. This mode would of course be less immersive than current modes as it would remove any 3D effects from the experience.
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This 2D virtual screen option seems ideal for anyone with a heartache! You can read more about the project and see what areas they are still tackling, on its website.
