Custom Half-Life Alyx Levels

[@sox9844]

Thanks for playing my map! I haven't seen that crashing issue before but i'll look into it.

[@skr1ptz422]

How do we know you made it?

[@previouscart]

Probably cuz in the description it says mc1_sox and he liked it lol

[@glameow12345]

H

[@previouscart]

Ok

[@newendoria1232]

@@eskohc984 you good bro?

[@supermachine2275]

9:20 that is actually way more interesting and fun than him just immediately opening fire. he could have just been sent to guard the door, but then he sees some random person open it

[@Yveldi]

That is actually like a proper game humor, like the sort of stuff you'd find in a good game with a high budget. Doesn't break any fourth walls, is not too unrealistic, but is funny nonetheless.

[@specman2370]

Reminds me of something they did with the guard who let you into that station in Half-Life Echoes

[@anchorbubba]

@@specman2370 man that game is so fuckin fun

[@BRUXXUS]

That cracked me up! What a smart little touch.

[@someguy4258]

*HOLY SHHHHHHhhhh* _bang_

[@aspecofdust6894]

i love how mappers now have to take people's real life height into consideration

[@frederikvincent2159]

I’m 6’7 and most of maps are a nightmare i have to Crouch throughout half the maps :((

[@jordirapper]

@@frederikvincent2159 Use OVR Advanced Settings on Steam (free) and use Floor fix and the height adjuster to set your height. This will change your height in game no matter what the game thinks and makes it easier.

[@AlexanderTerry]

When valve was designing half lie alyx they ran into this exact problem "At least some of the testers got their comeuppance. As Coomer explains: “We would get hard to reproduce bugs from players banging their virtual head on low-hanging pipes because they were unable to teleport through certain areas. It was only later on that we realised all those bugs were coming from our taller colleagues.”" www.rockpapershotgun.com/2020/04/07/tall-half-life-alyx-testers-struggled-with-low-hanging-pipes-and-devs-thought-it-was-a-bug/

[@wenelol]

Swaggersouls...

[@peacemaster8117]

@@wenelol A man so short that tripmines are no threat.

[@Miziziziz]

I bet 20 years from now people will be making 'retro vr maps' that specifically have few corners to trigger nostalgia

[@HaliOnRepeat]

Hi Miz

[@ToniR96]

insane ^^

[@primalaspid7197]

You here?

[@MegaFPVFlyer]

14:33 wait, I haven't heard anyone talk about the new liquid physics in the health syringes! It looks SO much better than the weird 3d-ish shader business they had originally.

[@ThunderDraws]

oh so they added their booze shader to that too? nice I don't quite remember how the original looked though tbh

[@wagtatou]

though injecting air into your bloodstream isn't a fun thing to do :(

[@trashcompactorYT]

@@wagtatou Hooray for air bubble cardiac arrest!

[@JackPorter]

@@wagtatou probably got a filter for that before injection, i mean it IS future bullshit space technology, who knows.

[@blueninja012]

@@wagtatou I mean, it's not good for you, but it is fun, I'll usually sit there shaking up my syringe before injecting myself

[@KeyMan137]

9:24 that death was magnificent!

[@tiredmann]

He scrambled like an egg and folded like an omelette

[@medicindisquise4271]

9:20 when the combine see Gordon Freeman bunnyhopping through the coastal segment AGAIN to get the WR

[@AKBeats1]

Haha very funny J R the mod

[@jassimca2xd155]

this time its alyx but alyx can tp

[@dave5194]

I’m fine with teleportation, it’s just that when teleporting is done in rapid succession, multiple times a second apart or less, or when it catches me by surprise. It’s very nauseating and eye straining to watch. Moments like 2:30 are a lot more watchable, probably because you give a short ~1 second pause while holding down the teleport button before letting go. It gives me time to prepare. Compare this to 1:09 which makes me want to squint or look away. Hope this is useful feedback

[@MrHardscopes1]

I actually had to look away at the high rate teleportations he did.

[@gpkai]

I actually have to agree aswell. Initially I was thinking that the people complaining about teleportation were overreacting, but when it was being done in rapid succession at 1:09 with the constant blinking, it was making me squint.

[@ZumoDePapaya]

I used to have the same problem until I played VR. Having played a ton with tp movement at this point I have 0 issues looking at the footage so I guess that's the problem

[@mar2ck_]

Using the teleport is completely different. You're in control so it feels natural and you don't notice the blink when you're used to it. Shame Alyx doesn't have an option to change it from a fade to black to just a hard cut so it doesn't flash for spectators

[@alsnana00]

@@mar2ck_ Could use the blink movement instead. (I wouldn't myself, I hate blink movement)

[@canineraccoon9895]

I love KZbinrs in vr, its more unique since everyone has different body language

[@StickyBM]

I absolutely love how expressive you are when playing these VR games, it's actually I thing I have noticed with many of your videos (Not just VR) And I find it really funny and unique! Keep up the great content Phillip, you've got one of the most professional KZbin channels I have ever seen on this site :)

[@AppleMarineXX]

Teleport's been growing on me, but a big gripe I've just realized watching this video is the "blink" effect. Normally, this isn't an issue with the darker default maps, but these brighter buildings in these custom maps cause an annoying contrast with the darkness when the screen blinks out for a teleport. It kinda hurts my eyes.

[@randomcatdude]

Yeah, it was probably a bad idea of Valve to make the blink effect completely black. Maybe it should've been a sorta average color of the whole visible scene instead, that would be much less eye-straining.

[@randomcatdude]

@Den Notver Why do you think so?

[@ChupachuGames]

yea the blink effect is a bit sickening to watch

[@peacemaster8117]

@Den Notver It's great as a compliment to smooth locomotion, to quickly traverse spaces you've already been through once.

[@blueninja012]

@@peacemaster8117 I'm fine with other people preferring teleport, but I wish Valve just included a spring button, even if it would be somewhat slower

[@mauromerconchini]

I'd be very interested to see videos of you working with the HLA editor. Maybe not full blown tutorials like your old 3kliks videos (altho I still would still enjoy those) but maybe just videos about you experimenting with VR level design. If you do make an entire map, consider a de_sparity style series about the creation.

[@jimmybean420]

I would love that

[@Yveldi]

This video actually made me realize how huge of a missed opportunity it was to not officially release HLA Editor along with HL:A. Source 2 was initially marketed as a "mod-friendly" engine, so I would assume it wouldn't take too much effort, and it would boost both the game's and VR headsets' sales significantly. Considering that the main concern about VR is the lack of a large library, if this editor came along with co-op support, it would be a jaw-dropping deal. It would be like Portal 2 for VR, and it would be awesome.

[@Slimek]

@@Yveldi the editor is out though

[@Yveldi]

@@Slimek Yeah, but pretty much nobody even knows it. They could seriously market that tool alone to highlight the possibilities. That tool alone could be the strongest selling point of the game to many people.

[@devindykstra]

Mapping is hard. I have yet to design a good level. I have immense respect for every mapper and game developer.

[@DUKEHadToDoItToEm]

Try sitting down and mapping out your ideas on actual pen and paper Or just copy an old Doom map and edit it slightly, that's what a lot of people do

[@vipmet]

Bailey Xavier is right. Putting your ideas on paper first helps a ton, launching Hammer without a clue of what your map is supposed to look like is a nightmare and will make your experience a bad memory.

[@NicksNameGoesHere]

I'm working on a puzzles-focused Half Life Alyx map to get used to the editor and out of ideas for how to make my level look, I'm just copying the floor layout of the Undead Asylum from Dark Souls. It was immediately a lot more fun than trying to think of things on my own, and has taken me straight past the annoying planning part of map making and straight into the enemy placement, puzzle layout, and all the other fun stuff that I don't normally ever get to when I start projects like these.

[@LoxeBi]

From what I've heard, its better to have a map with less content (puzzles, combat, hazard-clearing, etc) that looks beautiful than a map with more content that looks unpolished. VR is made for immersion. You wouldnt want to always be fighting 24/7 in real life, and especially not in VR, so include break segments to take in scenery or non-verbal exposition. Most of all, plates vigorously. Mapping for VR is much more based on comfort and design than intricate mechanics.

[@Ularg7070]

Oh now THIS is the kind of thing that makes me really wish i could get my hands on VR, because I was basically born to create VR Maps full of stuff to play around with vs full coherent levels.

[@1998marijn1998]

Did you see kliks video about lenovo windows mixed reality? While some VR systems are obviously expensive, the most important thing is to just get into VR by whatever you can afford

[@DragzArts]

"Im kind of half expecting him to blink or to be jolted to life, but thankfully he didnt - becauase i would probably have shat myself" hahaha same

[@Nom_Alex]

It's unusual that there are no subtitles on this video, which reminds me to thank you a lot Philip since I always prefer to watch videos with subtitles and you always make sure to include them in your videos so thank you a lot for putting that much effort in small things like subtitles and timestamps in each videos.

[@LostPhysx]

I hate subtitles when I can understand the language very well and it is infuriating that KZbin on mobile turns on subtitles for EVERY video, even though I turn them off EVERY time.

[@jackwisniewski3859]

Making/playing maps for hla seems like a great video gold mine! I'd love to see more content like this, or on the quirks and interesting features of hla/source2 you might discover when making or playing maps for it! Great vid as always!

[@pt8306]

I had the same problem with feeling like I missed something in the Hotel level because the puzzle to activate the elevator first requires you to do a puzzle in the next room, then go back and do the next one. When I heard the "you completed the puzzle" chime the first time, I was like "OK elevator is done", but then it wasn't and I was confused for a bit. This was made worse by the control panel behind the painting, which I didn't see at first. I think this map suffers the same problem - you complete the wire puzzle, then have no idea what tf you're doing or what you need to do next.

[@kv2674]

I realized how combines in this game is so different, in HL2 they were serious soldiers with cold blood killing everything overwatch sounds tolds to. In HL alyx they have more personality, which I like. Valve does his thing

[@PretzelSage]

yeah, i always thought "sure civil protection is bad, but theyre still people!" well, alyx delivered that, even beyond the metrocops

[@Kelpo45]

The first time the Combine called Alyx be her name in HLA I was about to shit my pants. It felt so personal and odd

[@haydhn1474]

16:30 that hand gesture perfectly describes your mild frustration.

[@stanley8006]

This is so legitimately and intoxicatingly interesting it's sickening. Dealing with source maps but now in an entirely different console from keyboard and mouse after also living with said keyboard and mouse carved source maps for over 15 years of it is like drinking water to breath, and inhaling to hydrate. It's so mesmerizingly fun and involving that I'd contain the very field of art you put in this video as an SCP.

[@fartbasket92]

ngl the inhaling to be hydrated thing is cool, just imagine having no water after a long run and you inhale, immediately causing you to feel so good

[@spherecoww2803]

Imagine a podcast with phillip. That wonderful accent would send me to sleep real fast

[@postbroadcast]

As an old man, I'll tell you - the teleport starts to hurt my eyes after a little while in a video like this. I imagine it would not on the hardware itself.

[@nickbaltis9641]

Honestly it does, especially with high contrast changes, I think it is due to the fact you really can go from pitch black to bright light due to no ambient room light. I dont understand why some people find smooth movement bad for extended sessions though

[@cr33p3rhd6]

nick baltis Motion Sickness. I especially have problems with stuff like that, so I get the twleport

[@xXBlackxMoonXx1]

Not only you, sir. I stopped watching the video because the teleportation is annoying and unpleasing to watch. Good content tho.

[@SuitOne]

Shit I'm eighteen and it hurts my eyes. I personally use smooth motion in VR, but teleport is cool too, but on video smooth is definitely highly preferable to teleport.

[@FiksIIanzO]

Teleport is ultimately cool in person because you know when you expect yourself to teleport. Ironically, humans are much better adjusted to immediate teleportations rather than smooth sliding with no vestibular feedback, so teleporting instantly will always be comfortable in person. But it's not when you're watching from the outside, and sliding is more immersive. There really can't be the best option for everyone - I'm one of those people who can slide around without a hint of motion sickness for hours, but I'm lucky that way. Not all people are.

[@noamias4897]

I finished this game yesterday after playing it for 8 hours in one day because I got so hooked. The best game I've ever played no doubt, and I've played A LOT of games. Looking forward to future mods and maps for this game.

[@soupisfornoobs4081]

Imagine watching this as a first video from his channel, and seeing the liquid in the syringe behave so realistically as he showed, and then becoming interested, checking his other videos and seeing he made on the liquid physics as well! You'd be so excited to find all you needed from a KZbinr you really enjoyed!

[@DoctorTheo]

7:06 A good idea I had to help tell the player that you can't have that shotgun yet is to have them see it, try to grab it but then it falls.

[@irkedcs]

I respect your choice to continue to use teleport. I honestly find watching it sort of epileptic and jarring, but when you have control, it must be very different. Also your critique on the second level and the way you prefaced it was excellent.

[@MegaKosan]

I wonder how long we need to wait until we get our HLA equivalent of MINERVA.

[@HanSolo-iy3eq]

Compared to the time between HL2 and MINERVA, about 9 more years.

[@shiftedfocusmusic]

5:13 idk why but for me this scene looks so photorealistic. The lighting and colors are so convincing.

[@ForeChin99]

Looks like a picture from Google street's

[@OxTheHerdzz]

"If I was 5'6 or smaller" Yeah, what kind of manlet would be 5'6 though.... [cries in short]

[@awkwardcultism]

It's gonna be okay brah.

[@fuckoff9182]

tyler1 was 5'6

[@nyl0n733]

@@logesin its 167cm

[@Whateverguy8114]

11:40 I like how the Heavy Shotgun Guy actually turns and looks at the guy for a second to see his tank has been shot, I wonder if that is coded in to react on stuff like that. Edit: 14:53 Yep definite reaction to that, Heavy was just to slow on his ass to move away.

[@BlackMesaEmployee]

About the pathfinding, at the time with the SteamVR tools we couldn't really do path finding, like at all. The way it works in alyx is simple, but not like anything we've seen before so before the official workshop tools pathfinding didn't work very well

[@grodcoyote6635]

This is such a fascinating watch, I feel so lucky to see the early days of Half Life Alyx maps and vr maps in general! I was much too young when Half-Life 2 was new it's so great to be able to see people getting used to making maps and levels in VR over the next few years( and hopefully the rise of VR Gaming in general!)

[@nicholashall3347]

Thank you! I've been teaching myself hammer for the first time since the workshop tools released and got pretty comfortable using it but I've been finding it hard to work out how to start planning a map that would play well in VR. This video was exactly what I needed and even gave me some similar ideas from my own experiences playing the workshop maps.

[@trashcompactorYT]

The reason people don't like teleport is the jarring nature of it when displayed in a video. In the game when you're experiencing it firsthand and in control of the teleporting, it's very natural feeling and easy to get used to. On videos you can't predict when the exact breakoff point of the teleport will be and so your brain recoils out of confusion any time you see it. The instant frame shift almost feels seizure inducing when done multiple times and quickly. It's like watching a movie scene with too many jump-cuts.

[@DemonicRobots]

The best part about VR games is the fact that you can visibly see the player's frustrating when they throw up their hands.

[@sadgerops3948]

Philips waving arms in anger or despair during segments that were bad or something make me understand his frustration when he explain why.

[@9ZweihandeR9]

I find teleport movement to be nauseating both in VR and while watching on KZbin. Smooth movement works perfectly fine for me, but for some reason smooth turning is a problem. I think VR games are always going to need to offer multiple movement options because everyone has different comfort level even with lots of time spent in the headset.

[@MoofEMP]

i usually use smooth/shift loco and blink turning

[@yourneighbour5738]

12:07 This comes from two textures surface overlapping, it can be negated by 1. Moving one forward/backwards a bit 2. Move it so it has a more seamless appearance 3. My favorite, just cover it with props.

[@guvking5980]

Your Neighbour cover it with props is how i solve most of my issues nowadays lmao

[@timlucasflick5173]

I'd love to see more of those custom levels played by you :)

[@aeronautisch]

Good video Philip. Can't wait to see the wonderful levels that the new editing kit for Source 2 will produce.

[@willhart2188]

I recorded some of the contest levels, so nonvr people can watch them. Club 17 was especially neat.

[@PebsBeans]

2kliksphilip out here really trying to hide history smh my head JOKES ON YOU I WATCHED THE WHOLE THING WITH BAD AUDIO HAHA

[@CT-CTCheckmate]

@Ye Cheng Cai lmao

[@coolmathsgamesvevo6687]

Shit I missed it by a minute

[@anew742]

Same, it really wasn't that bad. Just in the middle it sounded like he walked away from the mic for a minute lol

[@thaafire2503]

16:30 loved the "ah come on" gesture after shooting the first one.

[@monkeye9096]

would absolutely love to see more of these for more maps, i love the aesthetic amateur source maps give off. it's comforting

[@Natefurry]

The flickering textures you saw was called z fighting and as someone who has made an open world vr game it is easy to miss a lot of them until you playtest your level. And most of the time it is pointed out by playtesters.

[@ThisIsmiXTV]

If there's one thing I learned from this video, it's that KZbin has chapters. That's really neat. Thanks phillip!

[@LzRParadox]

:D, I loved judging the maps!

[@gabrieltiberius1076]

That final setpiece with the giant citadel and the combine generator looked actually good. Although there wasn't that much detail, I really appreciate the combat happening with the citadel as a background

[@8RIGHTS]

teleport is good because it doesn't induce motion sickness as much as moving does. but smooth moving is 100% better tbh, just makes you sick real easy when doing crazy movments, especially if you are new to vr.

[@Galkan]

Out of all movement options, smooth teleport (aka shift) is the best for me. It's way easier to control the character this way than with continuous movement, causes far less nausea, and doesn't break the immersion as much as blinking does (for some reason blinking also gives me a bit of nausea). Viewing experience is slightly better with cm, yes, but as someone who has used VR, I know how pain in the neck to use it is so I'm happy to see you teleporting around.

[@DerpyDooReviews]

I've ordered a VR Headset just for this game, I was a map maker for HL2, TF2 and dabbled in HL1 map making. I can't wait to get my hands on the game, then get down and dirty making maps for it.

[@nintySW]

Kinda off topic but about the teleport thing in the intro, i actually use vr (used to have a quest for a while but i got link set up) and i allmost exclusively use smooth movement, teleporting is just really bothering for me but i can't argue with the fact that teleport is more sustainable for longer playsessions. It's allso important to mentions that i haven't played alyx yet but i'd imagine that i will still play with smooth locomotion because i can deal with slight motion sickness (and that is for lower quality games than alyx).

[@SmokePudding]

Smooth locomotion feels great in Alyx, and you also get the ability to teleport with the right stick at any time. Great for combat scenarios and just getting around.

[@reothadh8569]

Tbh when playing in VR i much prefer smooth movent over teleport, teleporting doesn't feel right to me

[@RetroPlus]

That's so cool, this will be huge for VR fun i think

[@OsaPL1]

"I expect VR games to get less forgiving" They are tho slowly, I was an early adopter of vr with original Vive, and only now I've seen games poppin up that are not aimed at casual players at all, like Pistol Whip or Until You Fall. Both are, even on easy, really brutal.

[@ReiLN]

Coming from someone with 2k hours in SteamVr, and spent days, nonstop (before I got a job) in VR, smooth moving makes for a better experience both playing and viewing. Comfort can be trained for it if you don't find it the most comfortable . Running through a doorway checking the corners blows teleporting into a room completely exposed having to turn all the way around to get out of the room, and teleporting door to door in a hallway avoiding getting shot may be better for your character since you aren't getting shot, but it does take away from the experience. Also you can fix getting tangled in your wires by having a pulley system and tracking your rotations with OVR

[@gman248]

I wanted to post this yesterday, but the video got taken down. Anyways, 9:20, I think this is the first time in video game history that YOU scared the jumpscare lol

[@kakokapolei123]

1:10 I used to get VR sick using smooth movement but it’s definitely something that I’m developing a resistance to. Still get a bit nauseous using smooth turning, but that’s getting better as well. My brother just never got sick at all and I see him playing The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners for literal hours on end using smooth movement. In my experience, some people just aren’t prone to getting VR sick and I’ve learned to tolerate it.

[@Bordie3D]

I love how reacting to something in a game has turned from moving your mouse in a surprised manner to just raising your hands in front of your face

[@bujaksha]

Hearing that Philip prefers teleport make me feel a lot better about myself. I can play smooth motion for only about 1 hour until I get uncomfortable. Teleport is a lot easier to play with.

[@maciejkamil]

Thanks to this video next vr maps will be better!

[@VynalDerp]

Watching this makes me wish I had a VR headset and Alyx. Making maps for this sort of stuff is right up my alley lol.

[@cannedpopcorn3644]

I made the map at the start of the video! Thanks for trying it

[@tornado9419]

nice job

[@doodelbopgames]

6:40 so your saying that they cut corners for HL:A

[@FoddyFogHorn]

2kliksphilip hilarious

[@Pepino8A]

I play VR occasionally, and to be honest, after some time teleportation feels natural, like an extension to walking. It isnt for everyone of course, but its still interesting how fast or brain manages to normalize such foreign things as teleportation

[@Yetipfote]

11:10 I see some F.E.A.R. level design for the shooty shooty section here and I like it! :)

[@gabrieltiberius1076]

It would be awesome if you could make a video talking about your contest maps experience in general after you play the rest of them (if you do of course). Nice video!

[@lakeland6798]

I tend to smooth move and only teleport for convenience sake, I find it more fun/immersive

[@AlexBAZCoffeeTimeRO]

Watching a Vr Gaming Video with Teleportation is like lagging on a Twitch stream. (I just ordered my first vr headset "rift s" cuz of hl mods and levels sow in a sense, it is a vr seller)

[@lifelesshawk5725]

For me I have a stomach lined with graphene in terms of vr, so I’ll have a better time using smooth locomotion for many hours, than using teleporting at all.

[@OperatorVanta]

I can play VR with 20 fps smooth locomotion and NEVER get sick

[@lifelesshawk5725]

Hexagonal Same

[@Freezorgium]

@@OperatorVanta We who play VRChat are build different. We're used to 12 year olds with silly avatars lowering our FPS to like, 9

[@jakes1403]

I have a map I made for the contest, never got to release it on time :/ These guys are great, so much respect for them.

[@Ennocb]

I played through the entirety of Half-Life: Alyx with smooth movement. Teleporting takes away some immersion and disorients me. But each to their own. Some people get motion sick more easily and the smooth movement is somewhat slower overall. It's good there are various options to choose from.

[@urfork1]

I’m excited to see an HLA hard mode mod, that triples or even more the number of enemies you fight with only a moderate increase in ammo. I loved the combat sections with the combine, they felt like real gunfights, but imagine if you had to kill 9 people instead of 3?

[@EvoSwatch]

I love the Combines are more 'real' in movements, reactions, even chatter. Feels more human, and kinda feel bad for killing them.

[@hand3and3]

Personally, I have a tough time playing VR games without locomotion. Teleporting just takes away from the immersion for me. Locomotion definetpy takes some getting used to though. My first 20-30 hours in VR were filled with lightheadedness. I never experienced nausua, but it would really mess with my irl perspective after long play sessions.

[@mustangiiii]

thanks for finally uploading Philip

[@Bat0541]

To me, the fact that teleporting is the preferred more comfortable method to play with, doesn't speak poorly of the people who do it, but more it speaks to that being one of the largest hurdles that VR still needs to overcome, if for nothing else, the immersion factor, which just also happens to be one of VRs main goals in a majority of cases, putting this hurdle a pretty important one to be able to get over.

[@aIasdair]

you need to make de_sparity in source 2

[@DUKEHadToDoItToEm]

The first 30 seconds had me excited, I thought it was a recreation of the mall and the utility hallways from Silent Hill 3

[@fen4554]

re. the smooth movement vs. teleport. I still believe smooth is not only the better method for watchers, but a much more immersive experience. I agree that over extended sessions while standing, it can throw your inner ear for a loop. I found the best way to play alyx was seated with smooth locomotion. I don't find I get sick at all while seated, and Alyx supports seated play so that you are standing at the correct level. For games that don't, the openvr panel can offset your position so that even while seated you appear to be standing in vr.

[@trulyinfamous]

I imagine dark segments would look great if we had a good way to make a kind of raytraced lighting so the flashlight could bounce light around the room.

[@StephenParlow]

An easy first solution possibility for that second map car park would be to do what actual multilevel car parks do and add different colors/symbols for each level

[@spennythespoo]

After playing Half Life Alyx a couple months ago, I don’t think VR will ever be mainstream. I cannot accurately predict the future, but I really can’t see other than a few examples where VR flourishes. Half Life Alyx serves as the best example of what can be done in VR, but these player made levels go on to show how limited VR is.

[@lex1070]

I've got an index and I prefer the smooth motion because of the immersion. I actually peek around corners and reach down to grab things, etc. Helps if you have room to do that. Everybody has their personal preference but you gotta admit...using teleportation takes away the whole reason for playing in VR which is to immerse yourself into the game. But I totally understand your reasoning. Seems like you play it more as a game as for me, I treat it as an experience acting as a character in a story.

[@MattieKonig]

One thing I noticed that both of these maps have is improper use of hotspot materials - watch the video and you'll see a lot of walls with unevenly spaced vertical divisions on the textures. The intended use for those materials is with the hotspot tool, which automatically assigns the different regions of the texture to geometry of a similar size, but here they've just been placed as-is on flat unsegmented walls. Of course completely excusable for maps made before the official tools, but I wouldn't be surprised if hotspot textures come to be something that defines the more sophisticated Alyx maps from those that're less so.

[@justsomeguy8385]

Damn you really laid into that second map. I hope the map maker is good at accepting criticism.

[@brumby92]

Interesting. Congrats to the dedicated modders.

[@Kimble_]

Damn I need to buy a headset. The game and maps look incredible.

[@dogboy0912]

Ever since playing the subway train map on Neotokyo I've craved that type of map. Just a subway train moving at high speed in a subterranean tunnel. So simple but so good, and chaotic.

[@Nate_the_Nobody]

14:32 Don't like needles? Oh, the fluid

[@saulgoodman5073]

This guy needs to make an 1 to 2 hour video playing ALL of the maps. Like so he can see if you want a video like that

[@RustyUNITB]

These are great for how recent the game came out

[@BRUXXUS]

I really REALLY need to get in and start mapping for this. I’ve been looking forward to working with Source2 for.... a long time.

[@ZarKus]

smooth moving makes for better vr experience. but only if u dont get sick in vr for example i never got sick in vr not even a little bit and thats why i can stay in vr for hours :)

[@CallumUpton]

12:12 is super easy to fix, its called Z fighting. its when 2 planes intersect on the same plane

[@MageMelonVT]

If I remember correctly, broken pathing as a symptom of the unofficial SDK. The Unofficial SDK wasn't able to actually generate navmesh.

[@WeyounSix]

I like a mix when im playing between teleport and constant movement, only bc immersion

[@awesome9174]

I can use smooth movement for extended play sessions, played Fallout 4 VR for 8 hours straight. Felt perfectly fine afterwards.

[@invyt]

I personally enjoy smooth movement in VR games. For some reason teleports feel a bit jarring to me. Alyx's shift teleport feels a lot better than most games, and kind of makes a happy middle ground for me