After years of development and many ups and downs along the way, the developer of the original virtual reality mod half life 2 has announced a public beta starting next month.
Half-Life 2: VR has been developed for a long time Originally part of Steam’s Greenlight program in 2017and indeed several people involved in the project have since worked on 2013The slow progress is mainly due to the fact that: not like Alyx, The game wasn’t designed to be played in VR, so there are many sections that would be difficult, if not impossible, to port to a headset.
But fueled by “overwhelmingly positive feedback from private beta testers” over the past few weeks, the developers have hardened themselves and now believe “Not only can the current game be completely completed from start to finish, it’s also a lot of fun to do so. “
As a result, they announced that they will hold next month A public beta showcasing everything that has been up and running so far. Judging by the trailer below, this includes a vehicle section.
By now you may have a few questions, especially regarding movement and vehicles. The developer FAQ section has the answer.
What travel options are available?
The mod features smooth movement and can be configured to follow either the head or two controllers in the direction of movement. Turns can be set to be either smooth or evenly spaced (snap turns).
There is no teleportation currently available, and it is unknown if it will be a viable option in the future.
How do you handle the vehicle sections? I doubt you’ll be able to digest them in VR.
Riding a vehicle now certainly requires powerful VR legs. However, there are some comfort options available to get you through them. Classic motion vignettes are available and can be activated to take on rides. While in a vehicle, the screen borders are blackened, narrowing the field of view and reducing the effects of motion sickness. Additionally, you can experience the ride from a third-person camera perspective. In this mode, the camera tracks the vehicle far away and is not directly affected by the vehicle’s rapid movements or turns, dramatically reducing motion sickness. However, it makes controlling the vehicle a little trickier.
In the future, we may implement additional modes where vehicle rides are displayed on a virtual 2D screen in front of the user. This gives everyone a chance to go through the vehicle section in the game. Of course, this mode will be less immersive than the current mode as it removes his 3D effect from the experience.
This virtual 2D screen option is ideal for nauseous people. You can read more about the project to see which areas they’re still working on. on that website.