Half Life - Alyx

Kenny summed it up pretty well, lemme paste the quote again:

I'm pretty sure there's more but I really don't plan on wasting time to do research on this.
As I said, this alone would be enough for me too to pay a premium for the Index, but there are many other advantages.

 

yeah you and kenney are prob right but i dont need facebook for the quest 1 only 2

sigh

kenny1 i am not worthy ala waynes world

 

I haven't tried a Quest 2, but the fact that games like Onward lowered their resolution and textures to be optimized for Quest 2 and didn't leave a high texture option for PCVR users kinda was kinda upsetting. luckily the backlash from PCVR users was so strong that Onward patched the visuals back up to what it was before. i just hope going forward most developers aren't targeting Quest 2 wireless mode levels of optimization since it's so popular.

i don't really care about the facebook tie in. i never understood why people care about facebook privacy. you are in control of what goes on your facebook. it's your own damn fault if something gets out about you that you didn't want to.

 

Funny, looks like I really do need all planets aligned so I can finally get in VR.

The Index was delivered today but I was busy around the house so I ignored the box most of the day. I did install Alyx though.

Started unboxing pretty late in the evening - side node, this is how to properly box up a VR kit. Also, everything in the box, from cables to plastic parts are much much higher quality compared to the G2. The Index controllers... maan they feel great. It's clear a that the was an actual design process and someone put some though into how to make them. HP should really be ashamed for botching up a product which otherwise had so much potential.

Anyway... obviously the Index needs a displayport to connect the headset and my laptop only has a mini displayport. lol
I do wish they'd have included some adapters but this one is on me, I probably should've watched some unboxing videos or read the specs in advance. So yeah, I'm going to look at it until Monday

 

if you still have the G2 you were saying you were going to sell then just use the displayport to mini displayport adapter they give you with the G2 for a few days till you get another.

 

omg, I'm such a knucklehead! You're right, there's an adapter in the G2 box. Before this, I cleaned out all the places I have electronics stashed looking for one. lol

Thanks!

 

Finally we can get back on topic here. I'm going to start another Alyx playthrough soon. Can't wait to see the game again. This time I'll try to get used to real motion, not just teleport. For now I'm practicing in Boneworks.

Not much to say about the Index. It's awesome and it works perfectly. Not a single hiccup during setup, no tracking issues at all, it just works.
The controllers are amazing. They feel completely natural when grabbing on to things. The aiming position when shooting is also just right.

I guess it would be fair to also talk about the compromise elephant in the room, the screen resolution. It is noticeably lower than the G2. If you focus on it, the pixels are visible but it's not annoying and so far it doesn't feel it takes away from the experience. The G2 screen is clearly superior, but only resolution-wise. The Index makes up for it with much better overall build quality and more importantly with 144Hz which I instantly noticed by how smooth everything felt. It's possible this is not everyone's opinion, but I would gladly sacrifice a little resolution/image quality in favor of higher refresh rate. The difference from 90Hz to 144Hz is huge. The FoV is also higher (adjustable - you can move the screens as close to your eyes as it's comfortable).


*yes, I know that while I have the G2 I could set it up to run with the Index controllers but in all honesty I have zero interest in doing that. I really don't want to touch Windows Mixed Reality and the G2 again.

 

im very close to getting an index and heard the finger tracking is really accurate.. thoughts on finger tracking in alyx?

 

Haven't started Alyx just yet so I can't say about that but having played around a bit in SteamVR, it seems to work very well. It feels like magic the way it actually knows where your fingers are. I think it's all done with pressure sensors in the grip and the software learns to "assume" very quickly which finger you're moving and how far.

No idea if there is an actual gameplay use for this finger tracking in Alyx, apart from cosmetic (you can see which fingers you're moving individually).

The one thing that is implemented in Alyx that I know of and works only with the Index controllers is how you activate grenades (you just squeeze the controller a bit, no need to press any buttons).

 

i like the idea of opening and closing hands to pick up items....its the immersion factor