HL ALYX Pulse SMG: ALL Upgrades (Demonstration)

[@FalbereChan]

1:36 reflex sight 2:41 laser sight 3:29 extended magazine 4:16 fully upgraded (resin cost: 70)

[@builtbyburnzy]

can you pin the comment please :)

[@teenam]

Rack up those hl vids pal, ye gonna get lots’o views now, be sure to make the most of it

[@Monkeyman12534]

Why is cost not listed as a downside to the laser

[@FriendlyOne_]

Magazine upgrades always fascinate me

[@hanzo5q]

I see that you have the weapons at the beginning of the game. Or at least in the opening area. How do you do this? I recently beat the game on the hardest difficulty. And now I want to just mess around with the weapons and just go ham on early enemies. Is this possible?

[@1179125]

engineer: so how much material you want to waste to reload a tiny cartridge for this smg? combine: yes

[@Boy-pr2uz]

Its probably cooling or stabilisation for the plasma inside the shell

[@2Potates]

@@Padlock_Steve Even so they could have just made it out of a single piece of sheet steel.

[@635574]

Maybe its to not kill u if it exploded while reloading.

[@IxodesPersulcatus]

The inability to release a partially depleted cell as well as its positioning within the weapon suggest that the cells are highly volatile and need to be stabilized in some way when not in use.

[@20tigerpaw20]

@@IxodesPersulcatus if that's the case, THEN KINETIC WEPONDRY IS STILL VASTLY SUPERIOR.

[@andylynx007]

Only for 30 resins, your pulse SMG just turned into a LMG

[@shayminthedoctor9663]

WE HAVE A STEAL OF A DEAL HERE AT COMBINE FABRICATION EMPORIUM! FOR THE LOW LOW PRICE OF 29.99 RESIN (rounded up) YOU CAN TURN YOUR BORING LITTLE SMG INTO AN LMG! *wow sound effect* Are you tired of having to reload? Are you tired of having your pathetic 30 round SMG running out of ammo at the worst of times? Try the NEW LMG mod! With the LMG mod, you can finally stop having to worry about reloading, and just spray to your heart's content! Watch as your enemies drop before you, never been easier! Buy, at your local Combine Fabricator now while supplies last!

[@2Potates]

Makes you wonder why the combine don't just make a larger cell to achieve that right away but, oh well.

[@andylynx007]

@@shayminthedoctor9663 nice promo script you got there

[@DrSabot-A]

@@2Potates There is, it's called the AR2 remember?

[@The_R1ft]

More like a mini pulse rifle

[@scylla019]

The magazine is actually a battery pack that keeps the bullets from getting unstable and blowing up before being fired by the gun. The gun has its own battery pack as well, so the magazine batter pack can be discarded once the bullets are loaded

[@phamdinhhoang1998]

Nice to know

[@2Potates]

That hardly makes an sense. I'm sure it's just an excuse to have it look cool. Also exactly where is it stated that the fancy sticks keep the cells from exploding?

[@НелиелОксингейл]

@@2Potates or to have it look big enough to spot.

[@IxodesPersulcatus]

@@2Potates That does make sense considering that a single light tap on the cell is enough for it to release an energy pulse roughly equivalent to a 9mm round.

[@alephkasai9384]

@@IxodesPersulcatus The 9mm pistol in half life 2 does 5 damage whereas the pulse rifle does 8. So almost double the energy

[@artyomsaveli9681]

So the extended magazine is essentially an autoloader. Neat.

[@teemou9703]

With the extented magazine the smg look like the AR2 in half Life 2

[@jeremyc803]

TEEMOU I agree

[@jeremyc803]

Yep just like the pulse rifle

[@timur5241]

@@teemou9703 except without stock and more like pulse carbine

[@jakehorne5662]

AR1

[@blueshit199]

Valve: For this new Half-Life game we have limited weapon count, should we add SMG or Pulse Rifle? Gabe: Yes.

[@unintrov3184]

I didn't get the joke

Oh, it’s you again. I swear i see this guy every Half-Life videos since 2010s.

[@pumaplays6143]

It’s like the AR2 but sawed down into an SMG with out the launching of that energy ball

[@thealmightybreadloaf8042]

My guess is that they wanted the Pulse Rifle, but also wanted the weapon one handed so you could use your other hand to teleport and grab stuff so keep the game interactive.

[@flytrapYTP]

@@thealmightybreadloaf8042 that is the correct answer here, Valve themselves said that it had to be one handed not just to be able to utilize both hands, but also to allow people who can only use one hand.

[@masgaz9748]

People are missing the point when they say that this design is impractical... It's supposed to feel "alien" in the most literal sense, you feel weird looking and trying to wrap your head around it because that's what something alien supposed to look like

[@DarkButterVEVO]

marcus velasquez You pick this gun up from an unopened box, it’s not makeshift at all

[@fagglebag]

True. I remember before I played HL2 I thought the AR2 looked weird af and out of place in Gmod

[@tonypeppermint5329]

Yeah that's true. The attachments would also help.

[@alphabroncotwozero392]

You say that but it's designed for transHUMAM forces, which if you can remember, still have all five fingers

[@TonkarzOfSolSystem]

But it was designed by the mostly human (or transhuman) Overwatch for use by the the human Overwatch. The non-human forces have no use for traditional firearms since they have them implanted. Sure it uses alien technologies but it shouldn't be completely alien. I think it's more because it's a crude early prototype, mark 1 production model, or repurposed chassis. It's limited usefulness, mismatched parts and fragile design all strongly indicate a preliminary status.

[@lakobause]

*Gets all the upgraded optics. *Side-shoots around corners like a gangster jihadist.

[@yegorgribenuke6853]

I like how you can now clearly understand how this and the AR2 Works. AR2 rounds are just bigger version of these ones.

[@Retro--]

AR2? Never heard of it, AR3 sure plenty of times.

[@shayminthedoctor9663]

There is no such thing as an AR3

[@scrourthy9298]

Well, see, in the city... the place was lousy with AR3s.

[@velonian5154]

No it wasn’t.

[@Ixb3rs3rkxI]

@vipertxt it's a meme you dip

[@cobaltvelvet]

Everyone gangsta till the AR1 grows up to be an AR2, and that, my friends, is what I call character development.

[@SteveOnlin]

I hunt down hunters with my bare hands

[@shaquille.oatmeal8195]

Don’t forget AR3’s. City was lousy with AR3’s.

[@SteveOnlin]

@@shaquille.oatmeal8195 Yeah i was in the city and i used to hunt 10-20 hunters everyday with my bare hands

[@thesilent185]

@@SteveOnlin so when you're out in the field, you're gonna be _punching_ hunters?

[@jonathan-vg5bd]

Brian L i am so happy that someone made that callback

[@raptordan166]

HLA's pulse SMG extended magazine upgrade really warmed me up to the old HL2 AR2 reload. I know its origins as a recycled, incomplete irifle model, but its complexity isn't appreciated enough as it is when you only hover over ammo to feed it. HLA really makes it feel like the Combine is at the cusp of perfecting their arsenal, having created efficient storage of ammunition into a single plug. The assembly with the blue stuff and the plug attached is a means of keeping the plug charged and stable. The AR2's iconic magazine is very much the same way, along with the functionality of the SMG's extended magazine upgrade, just interchangeable if needed. You can't reload the plugs in the magazine like you do in HLA, so it feels a bit less believable than doing it and seeing it for yourself. With HLA's logic, the AR2 should've been a fucking LMG with an energy grenade launcher, with the ability to load 3 plus one plugs in the chamber for the total of 120 shots, and reload with little to no effort on either you or your enemy's part. That's how the earth Combine quickly squashed any resistance they find that their synths can't reach, because they're simply out gunning them in every way imaginable. That's why the resistance are clamoring to have this gun, it's a powerhouse weapon that should outclass any and all conventional weapon on Earth. The Combine issued pistol, SMG, and shotgun, though still effective and cheaper, should be scraps in comparison to this. This is the kind of technology that took over Earth and it took HLA to make me appreciate it for what it is.

[@ENCHANTMEN_]

One detail I've always liked about HL2 was how the combine forces on earth are just a small police force for the remaining population, mostly using existing infrastructure. We barely see glimpses of their advanced tech, and even the stuff they probably consider cheap throwaway trash like the AR2 boggles the mind. The best lore decision Valve ever made is never revealing exactly what happened during the seven hour war, since no matter how bad you think it was, it was worse.

[@jeremychicken3339]

And the best part of the AR2 is that you can reload entire magazines. Is your mag depleted? Well just mag swap instead of doing plugs one by one.

[@OwenGee22]

VR users: Ever tried an AR1 before? Non-VR users: AR1... no but an AR2 sure!

[@miguenlanguen2459]

Stop crying pls

[@Drakey_Fenix]

@@miguenlanguen2459 Someone doesn't get the joke

[@ZALYVES]

@@miguenlanguen2459 r/woosh

[@justnoob8141]

VR User: Ever tried AR1 before? Non-VR User: No, but AR1 do this? *Straightup vaporize VR User with Plasma Ball*

[@albertpirelius]

this reminds me of that scene in the episode 2 rebel base

[@mr.fingerwithasmileyface3584]

When your KZbin channel goes from full on racing weeb to VR gameplay

[@FalbereChan]

vr weeb*

[@irontable9709]

XD

[@davidxlte]

Parkour!

[@theonlymann1485]

*screaming against a VR headcrab

[@aerothallji6514]

@i hate anime OI ZAT AIN'T NICE!

[@ggffhhh123]

i thought MMOD pulse rifle's one cartridge-one round was proper way of its working, but valve made HL2 pulse rifle was right. or it could be HL2 pulse rifle fires entire cartridge at once.

[@stradi7128]

I thought that too before I saw this. Looks like the reload animation in hl2 was intended to be this way and was not wrong because of speculated unfinished animations for the gun.

[@FalbereChan]

the MMOD doesnt make sense because one pulse plug is so big, it wouldn't fit 30 in that AR2 magazine lol

[@ggffhhh123]

@@FalbereChan i expect that AR2 magazine looks more bulkier so it could have more than feeding arms but storage space. or combine overtech thingy made it possible.

[@mrpatata9640]

also looking at some explanations of why the pulse smg magazine is more bigger than the only round they storage would also explain why the pulse rifle magazine is also bigger than the 2 or 3 rounds it storages, and maybe thats something that MMOD developers didn´t think aboot (very understandable anyway)

[@mrpatata9640]

@@imperialwaifu3485 Well i´m aware that this could be also a design choise because of the reasons you gave me (I agree, the AR2 is very powerful), something similar happens with the magazine of the pulse smg, or the new tape grenades: just a design choise to make the reload more easy and combat more fluid, but anyway, if there is a way to explain why is something like it is (at least in the context of the game) then it makes the game more expanded I think

[@CaptainGrief66]

Everyone is loosing their shit over what I'd call the _energy cell stabilization device_ Think about it, the Combine managed to create self contained and miniaturized energy cartridges with enough storage to dispense so much firepower without compromising damage output, therefore a tradeoff must have been made: storage and containment stability. The huge device to the side of the cells (also provide better in game visibility to spot the ammo) could very well stabilize the cells and stop the energy from dissipating away over time, cost isn't an issue for such a trade off because of mass production, plus the Combine Empire is a transdimensional one, they most likely own several _suns_ as energy production (Dyson Spheres) and several planets for resource mining, they couldn't care any less about a hunk of composite material with what they think of as very inexpensive technology It's _more or less_ the same philosophy behind stripper clips or magazines for firearms, they are absolutely disposable, yes they cost material, but their material usage is efficient and marginal, you don't really have to care about them.

[@Horseshoecrabwarrior]

Exactly. It's government issue, and you know how much money modern governments waste? Imagine that, but scaled up for the combine. It may very well be that they have better technology available, they just aren't willing to pay to upgrade *every* planet's *entire* arsenal.

[@mrpatata9640]

T H I S. I love the explanation, and it would also explain why AR2 magazines are bigger than the 3 rounds it storages

[@CaptainGrief66]

@@mrpatata9640 I'm not big in Half Life lore, but isn't the AR2 a human made gun from Combine stuff?

[@gabos2893]

@@CaptainGrief66 no

[@SeedemFeedemRobots]

the holding clips analogy is probably the best explanation for now

[@mdecaydee1866]

It goes from tiny babby look to meaning business in 30 resin.

[@somethingtheoneandonly]

i read that in the gnome voice

[@djcuevas1057]

I like how for the full size pulse rifle it’s essentially a box magazine the contains dozens of these power cells. Ammo’s only so low because of gameplay when in reality it probably contains hundreds to even over a thousand rounds for a single magazine.

[@juliet4093]

Like the AR2 in HL2

[@TheONLYFeli0]

I think that firing a big laser that destroys whatever is at the end of it takes up a lot of power. The ammo makes sense to me

[@autistichades5552]

@@TheONLYFeli0 I mean, it’s not far off, in lore it distorts time and space to the point that nuclear fission starts to occur in the atmosphere. If you’re armour plating is lucky enough to survive the reactions, then it definitely won’t survive the impact of the exotic high-energy plasma itself, which will displace and totally annihilate anything regardless of it’s composition. Better keep some force fields 12 o’ clock.

[@jabba334]

There aren't a lot of guns in HL:A but the mechanical detail of the guns is the best I've ever seen.

[@JollyJuiice]

This makes the default reload animation for the pulse rifle in Half Life 2 make a whole lot more sense.

[@rustykerman1678]

I love the look of the combine weaponry.

[@MaximG.]

1:00 - lol, that means AR2 reload and shooting in vanilla HL2 actually makes sense, while MMod version has taken too much liberty with it?

[@shellsheridan8056]

Yeah

[@SeedemFeedemRobots]

in MMod's defense, does anybody really know how the pulse rifle reloading even is supposed to be.

[@MaximG.]

@@SeedemFeedemRobots True. Considering how undercooked some of animations and models are, you never know what was made on purpose and what was an mere oversight.

[@shellsheridan8056]

@@SeedemFeedemRobots that hard. In hl2 npc reload ar2 as basic clip, when player reload as in hla.

[@F1stBr34k3r]

The NPCs reload it just like how MMOD reloads it, that's why they changed it, because we all thought it was strange that rebels replace the entire mag.

[@mrpatata9640]

Dude, I love how with the extended magazine looks more identical to the AR2 of HL2

[@Hoot]

Propably the most inneficient ammunition system in any weapon ever when it comes to disposing the whole "magazine"-thingy that holds the pulse plug

[@danialabdullah29]

Yeah that thing look expensive.

[@alephkasai9384]

Maybe it's for safety? The fact that that little thing holds 30 rounds probably means it has about the same energy as a grenade, maybe more

[@danialabdullah29]

@@alephkasai9384 I'm pretty sure he's talking about the thing that hold the plug. The one that you throws away once you reload the gun.

[@Hoot]

@@alephkasai9384 You could try to make logic of it like that, but I feel it's a game design choice. Players don't have to search for small energy pellets but instead just easy to spot- and use magazines. Then again I haven't played Alyx so I don't know if, for example, shotgun shells are always given to the player in boxes. Those are pretty small as well.

[@dassatisfan]

In Half-Life 2 the mag(from AR2) was big and could hold up to 2-3 plugs, maybe combine were issued with clips for early time and extended mag came later.

[@The-Urban-Goose]

02:35 the con is a pro IMO. If it were to mark the center of the reticle it would be inaccurate, it actually marks where the bullet will go, so if you aim at a wall Infront of you the reticle will move down to show where the bullets will hit. The further away you aim, the more central it gets.

[@GremlinSciences]

I was about to point that out, the SMG isn't perfectly accurate like the pistol, so the sight actually works better than just a central dot since it shows the spread where the bullets _might_ go, much like the laser sight on the shotgun.

[@IxodesPersulcatus]

I really like how the lack of release is compensated by the multi-cell feed system

[@asteroidrules]

I like how for years the HL2 community has been debating over whether you reload a pulse rifle by replacing the plug or by refilling/replacing the plug magazine, and then Alyx just came in a said "yes."

[@ayaxmcgill635]

I just realized, there IS an ammo counter for the smg, the red ring in the plug depletes as you fire

[@desmeister2110]

in vr gun games it might be an advantage to hold a spare magazine off hand for faster reload

[@FalbereChan]

it works!

[@fluffypinkpandas]

or be feeding guns like these as you are shooting them

[@capnomonkeys8876]

It's a good strat for fights, but when you aren't fighting you usually want to have an open hand to grab items

[@shallot4991]

The design for these weapons and weapon upgrades is so unnecessarily utilitarian it’s badass

[@coilovercat]

I like how you handle the weapons like if you were going to be playing an fps. It's the little things that count, and it makes all of difference.

[@channelchannelchannelchannel]

Now the ar2 from hl2 actually makes sense with the ammo

[@Slipfox_xyz]

Wow, this really shines a light on how the Pulse Rifle's loading mechanism works.

[@luckylarry71]

For my personal playstyle preference, I opted only to upgrade laser sight on this baby. I found that prioritizing (most) of the pistol upgrades + essential upgrades on the shotgun were more optimal, and only got the extended mag for the Pulse SMG toward the end of the game.

[@emeraldnext]

That is a difficult weapon to get a sight picture on. I like the like Ring on the side which makes it real fast to get the weapon aligned but it's hard to tell which of the rails to use - the center rail is really obstructed, and using the rings you're not shooting on-target so you're dependent upon the tracers which kind of negates the point of aligning the weapon. Any thoughts? I don't like that tiny hole in the middle, because I don't think it has a corresponding front post?

[@NamelessBody]

This weapon has no real iron sights, I think it is meant to assist in quick rough alignment, not precise aiming. It is clearly designed to be used in conjunction with a targetting device - but even the holo sight does not project a dot, but an 'area'. The game devel---- the Combine clearly designed it to make it easy to aim in the general direction of something, but hard to get a clean shot. Why? For balancin--- because it may have proven statistically superior to spray and pray with a weapon like this, not take precise single shots. A similar thing is true of the reload mechnaism. it's clearly not designed to be seriously used without the reload attachment. But even with it, it has random fire pauses that you cannot possibly change. You can't tell the weapon that you'd rather it reload now than later. The only solution? Shooting. Such a reload mechnism would make no sense for a deliberate, precise approach. Someone who counts their shots and makes every shot a hit would be hugely annoyed by knowing they have exactly two shots left but would want to perform a shooting technique requiring three, like a failure drill. Someone who just sprays and prays doesn't care as much. Make sure to always empty the mag into the enemy. The result? Troops 'overkilling' targets. Might help in increasing lethality and reducing wounded casualties. Normally you want to keep the enemy busy by creating many wounded but few dead. But the Combine aren't fighting a war. They want obedience. They want to make an example without having to lose workforce of people caring for the wounded. Or maybe they didn't think it through.

[@RexOrbis]

@@NamelessBody It's also possible that they merely didn't care that much about making the weapon fully designed around humans, as not every alien body plan is going to use a pistol grip, trigger and iron sights. The design feels to me to just be a tube structure designed to extract the energy from the pods in a certain direction, and can be rigged to a number of different purposes or species.

[@FurgusFungus]

I like how the combat is unseamingly well balanced that the prt with the train is just really easy with this gun

[@MaverickNALM]

I believe the reason the SMG plug cost so much to make is because of the amount of engineering it takes to hold dark matter ammunition

[@gintonic5770]

Thank you! I have been checking every now and then on your channel for this video :)

[@Scorchlette]

Extended Magazine? Nah. Autoloader? Yeah.

[@xandercage2107]

Well the extended mag for the SMG is a lot like the shotgun's autoloader, except you don't have to press and hold down the mag release button to reload your next shots like the shotgun. Instead, it's just a clean autoload like the Pulse Rifle from HL2.

[@Scorchlette]

That's what I was referring to.

[@jetslizer2570]

Once I got this it completely invalidated ever pulling out my pistol again, especially towards the end when ammo got plentiful. The mag extension/autoloader turns it in to a pocket LMG.

[@Aurich88]

It still can't quite do some of the long shots the pistol can do. The pistol also does like 3 times as much damage per round, so if you have burst fire and don't miss you can get lower TTK with the pistol.

[@tharrcore5867]

Glad to see a small KZbinr viewers. This is the moment you can decide to be a KZbinr fulltime

[@bilaerbilaer2135]

Probably one of the coolest weapon design I have ever seen, and it somehow remain me of weapons in Dead Space

[@roger5555ful]

I swear the sound the fabricator makes is very similar to the workbench from Dead Space

[@dannyzero692]

I like how you have to do all the actions yourself instead of pressing F or H, etc to inspect weapon like normal games

[@KessieCS]

Yes ... because it's VR.

[@ploopydre]

I like how you can see the stick hit the back of the bullet thus causing the firing sequence to start

[@Funnel2TV]

huh, i guess the extended magazine tells up how the vanilla hl2 ar2 works.

[@DrSabot-A]

Technically this is an AR2, scaled down with the stock removed. Kinda gets you on the familiarity side

[@xxfalconarasxx5659]

@Caco It still never explains how Gordon never has to manually load the magazine.

[@madman9565]

xxFalconArasxx simple, valve didn’t think of it

[@dubspool]

xxFalconArasxx I guess Gordon loads it into the auto loader once he picks it up and the ammo cap is how many can fit in the auto loader?

[@captaintrainer9490]

Love the Way you showoff a Gun, its like Inspection Mode

[@desfox3685]

The one thing I hate about the Pulse SMG is that it had almost no reload sounds, the Ar2 in hl2 had a nice reload sound.

[@xandercage2107]

I think the only issue with the laser sight is that it is a tad difficult to see it. If Valve were to make the beam a little larger and easier to see, then it will not only be easier to utilize, but it will also make aiming with the reflex sight a lot easier too, because the laser sight will help to pipoint the center of the reflex sight's reticle.

[@juliet4093]

I don't know if you own the game or not, but the laser sight is one of the most OP upgrades in the game

[@ForFurtherNotice]

Look, the shotgun looks so powerful and hunk-like, the handgun is a minimal design, and the pulse smg is sexy. I don't know which fully upgraded design looks better though, they all look amazing

[@danielbedrossian5986]

Hmmm, so each slug has to hold 30 pulses, it was not an animation mistake. Oh well MMod's animation still awesome, there the slugs are coming out of the magazine each and every shots, not only as reloading. Funny to see the puls gun upgraded has even more slug contained than the R2 puls rifle.

[@seamuspink9098]

I think it looks better with the 30 pulses per cell, looks exotic and alien like. I mean, holding that amount of energy within a cilinder of a really small volume proves that the combine are centuries ahead of us technologically

[@danielbedrossian5986]

@@seamuspink9098 , yet a bright orange H.A.V. suit crowbar maniec can stop them... Anyway, the huge magazine remain a mistery that way.

[@xxfalconarasxx5659]

What is an oversight is how Gordon never manually loads the weapon, and how we are expected to believe a giant box magazine only holds 2 charges, even though it is clearly big enough to hold 10 times that.

[@danielbedrossian5986]

@@xxfalconarasxx5659 , well, we see how the NPCs reload it by change the magazines, than agan, if you look at the magazines you can see the texture has black holes/noches there the plates of the weapon cowers shold be wellded or combine scienced.

[@artemiy9403]

@@danielbedrossian5986 This reload animation is left over from beta

[@yoboikamil525]

Half Life Alyx has some creative and cool designs tbh

[@spamuraigranatabru1149]

I wish the extended magazine could be pulled out and swapped with a loaded one, like how HL2 technically had it. (The Pulse Rifle ammo was in magazines we see the gun automatically load, technically the gun should fire 30, have a cool down where it loads the new round, then to reload Gordon pulls out the magazine and replaces es it. But since this is an earlier version, a magazine you have to load manually in the gun makes sense since it is the combine)

[@juliet4093]

Well, its more or less because it isn't the AR2 it's an unnamed Pulse SMG, the AR2 holds tons of the cells and the "reload" is just cycling another one in

[@spamuraigranatabru1149]

@@juliet4093 I know. In HL2 the pulse ammo is shown to be those large banana magazines shown on the AR2, which also can be seen on some of the more advanced Combine soldiers weapons, the extended magazine we see in game that Alyx makes might just be one made specially for her by the machine, letting her use the speed loaders to load up an extended 'internal' style magazine.

[@TheCoolEevee]

Actually, I looked at the Combine Overwiki and apparently this is supposed to be an earlier model of the AR2 UPDATE: Nevermind, it's its own thing. It's actually the Combine Pulse SMG, or the Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Submachine Gun, or as Doctor Pyro called it, the AR1.

[@Monarch_Prime]

Its the AR1

[@TheCoolEevee]

@@Monarch_Prime That could be true, but it's not confirmed. One thing is for sure: It's not an AR3.

[@Monarch_Prime]

@@TheCoolEevee it's the only explanation. AR doesn't mean assault rifle. Its something else.

[@TheCoolEevee]

@@Monarch_Prime Actually, believe it or don't, it is indeed an assault rifle. If you don't think that it is, I can respect that. ...I can't respect my high school gym teacher, though.

[@Monarch_Prime]

@@TheCoolEevee hmm... okay then

[@ElliFong]

My favourite sci-fi weapon

[@Freezorgium]

Between vtubers, cars, and the love for Valve stuff? We'll get along great. Subbed

[@X1erra]

This is how I really wanted the AR2 Pulse Rifle to be improved upon. It should've been designed like this, especially noting the AR2's shooting animation looks as if it's swapping the pulse plugs every time you shoot. Now that HL:A shoots a related weapon this way, the vanlla HL2 reload animation makes perfect sense.

[@drecknathmagladery9118]

as I suspected it would be its basicly a stripped down version of half life 2s combine rifle without the energy ball

[@avengergames3051]

3:53 imagine the moment you do this an Ordinal comes up to you and says: FlICKING THE CYLINDER COULD DAMAGE THE CRANE

[@qvasic]

there is another slight con to extended magazine: it is bulkier, and it can get in the way when you are aiming behind low covers, like concrete barriers.

[@ilyagamer7287]

I got it! Pulse SMG is a prototype of ar2, since in hl 2 AR2 has the same magazine, only with auto filling, while Pulse SMG also has extended magazine and this means that Pulse SMG is a prototype/lite version of AR2

[@A_Flied_Fly]

Seems like you'll tend to eat up more ammo with the extended mag. Not sure how many pulse plug clips you get throughout the game, but it seems like it'd be a sobering experience, using up half your ammo supply without even realizing...but, not having to reload it manually for at most three times is pretty sick. Usually the SMG is kind of an underwhelming weapon. Now that they've combined the good one with the compact one, it seems like it's pretty great!

[@inconickuous547]

The more you use a weapon, the more ammo for it you will find and you can just put one "mag" in it.

[@A_Flied_Fly]

So you get to use your favorite weapon more often. Seems like you could abuse this mechanic for your own benefit [i.e throwing out your pistol{metaphorically} once you get the shotgun & smg], but for a casual player it'd make the game more enjoyable.

[@richardhan7511]

Noticed there is an ammo cout. It's the red ring of the carriage. It shrinks as you use it.

[@isaacjones748]

damn they really know how to make upgrading shit feel cool much better than "+2 damage to certain enemy when you are standing in water during the winter solstice" type shit

[@johnrobrox8324]

The reflex sight doesn’t seem entirely useless on this gun And holy crap the extended mag is op

[@SirAroace]

I like to thank HL:A for finally dispelling MMOD's stupid interpretation of the Pulse Rifle. I'm only sad that we are unlikely to see what a lore-accurate AR2 would be like.

[@scarthewerewolf]

Now that ext mags will make the SMG become compact pulse rifle

[@makthemaniac1]

does anyone else notice the back looks incomplete, like the combine are/were planning to add some sort of stock?

[@Gojiro7]

I love that this game took my favorite weapon from HL2 and turned it into a lazer uzi XD

[@LineOfThy]

i will say this once, but hologram reflex sights are f8cking COOL

[@meleman126]

I think what I love the most about Combine technology is how ugly it is. It's not sleek, and it doesn't have to be, they purely go for function over form.

[@DrSabot-A]

That can be both it's charm and it's horror. Because we've seen how far they'd go for Function-over-Form in the shape of Combine Elite and Stalkers

[@TonkarzOfSolSystem]

That's interesting that it uses that little plug thing for ammo. In Half Life 2 that plug thing on the pulse rifle was the energy grenade. Yes, the rifle mechanism would replace the plug when you reloaded bullets - but that was a production error! When you pick up bullets for the rifle they came in crescent shaped clips (like the one on the side of the rifle), while energy grenade ammo looked like the plugs.

[@nipcoyote1140]

It wasn't an error, the plugs hold 30 shots each. There is no evidence suggesting it was an error. The large magazines and NPC reloading animations were done so the player could see them better

[@TonkarzOfSolSystem]

@@nipcoyote1140 What? There's tons of evidence. It's well known that the pulse rifle's model was originally for a different weapon and that seems to be the root of the issue.

[@ismaciodismorphus3320]

Stop spreading bullshit

[@badideagenerator2315]

the plugs visibly come out of the magazine during the reloading animation and are struck with a pin from behind during the firing animation. the orb ammo looks completely different.

[@Kream_Komi]

Seeing the comments, while I was excited for finally see things like "Ooohh! It's a small Combine Pulse Rifle!" but then, everyone talks how they thought the reload animation of the Pulse Rifle in HL2 was "broken" or something like that, and, I don't freaking know how the heck nobody thought that was how it was supposed to be, when I was like... Eight years old or something, when I played HL2 with my brother, I always thought that THAT reload animation was just... Like that. And before HL:Alyx, I was still thinking that, it's literally a super technologycal rifle, how didn't anyone get that? Nvm, I loved these little videos to show in detail the weapons in the game.

[@Ixb3rs3rkxI]

I think the speculation of missing reload animation stems from the fact that in HL2 the Combine actually reload their Pulse Rifles by removing the whole magazine and putting in a new one, whereas the first person reload animation is just an automatic thingy. I think at this point now we can just assume that the large magazine on the AR2 is an extended mag just like this one, and that Gordon just reloads in downtime and it is not shown to the player

[@Kream_Komi]

@@Ixb3rs3rkxI The Combines Soldiers never takes out the "metal thing" of the Pulse Rifle in HL2, that's supposed to be the extended magazine that the upgraded Pulse Smg has in HL:A, unlike the Pulse Smg, the Pulse Rifle seems to have that extended magazine by default. The animations of reload of the Combines Soldiers in HL2 just seems that they aren't using the extended and automatic reload, and they just reload manually by putting the Pulse Plug in the Pulse Rifle, which, we do with the Pulse Smg in HL:A sometimes. However, your point it's actually good, but... Freeman seems to actually USE the extended and automatic magazine, but the reload animation only show us the automatic animation, I guess that they didn't want to make a second animation and a complex system of programming to show a second animation of Freeman's hands putting the Pulse Plugs in the Rifle.

[@robojunkie7169]

I'm fairly sure the reason the Reload made everyone freak out was because the Pulse Rifle's model and Animations were originally for a strange Combine Flare gun and the 'cells' were individual shots/flares. Valve then reused the model/animations and then patched it up to appear as the Standard Pulse Rifle. They never fixed the reload animation though and by the looks of it the Alyx team just rolled with it.

[@Kream_Komi]

@@robojunkie7169 Oh yeah, It was more like the flare gun that was in the Beta, it makes sense that they cut out the Combine flare rifle, 'cause there were a regular flare pistol already (That was a problem that Valve Had in the Beta of HL2, too much useless weapons) althoug werever if it's a rifle or a flare gun, it would still make sense that has an automatic reload, it's a weapon with an unknown technology, Idk why people still complain about that. It's like making a grenade launcher with an automatic reload.

[@AB-vp9mi]

3:55 This explains Half Life 2 Pulse Rifle reloading method. There are mods that teat a single pulse cell like a cartridge, so each cell is ejected after shot and a new one will be inserted. While it looks so cool, it's not how it works.

[@bredoffender]

i gotta love how when you get it it's like a completely stripped-down bare-bones pulse rifle and at the end it's actually quitie similar

[@hunfer394]

Y'all remember when in HL2 the idea was that you'd change the whole box magazine, not a single pulse round in AR2? Well, they full on a different idea

[@msfritz9158]

Ummm I don't think so. In HL2 you can clearly see that the OSIPR's mechanism discards used pulse rounds and replaces them. Reloading is swift and automatic. You never change the whole box

[@wrangler2ful]

@@msfritz9158 Yeah, the whole box replace idea came from MMOD, I believe.

[@marcoseduardocastro781]

@@wrangler2ful It makes more sense though,

[@hunfer394]

Oh, my bad then, I thought the box replacement came from beta files or something like that

[@msfritz9158]

@@marcoseduardocastro781 No it doesn't. It's a fictional sci-fi weapon. Saying that changes made by MMOD to Valve's concepts "make more sense" is just dumb.

[@rei6645]

so...........this is AR1.

[@Mabra51]

No, the AR1 was a typical human assault rifle that got cut from the full game.

[@Mabra51]

@LOAN NGUYEN But way more cool looking.

[@reesecole2031]

So is this the mythical AR3?

[@16caldwellj95]

Mabra Pretty sure the look of the AR-1 was a placeholder from CS, but it likely would’ve been similar.

[@KnoxCarbon]

It feels like a pulse rifle someone stripped down and kitbashed back together with other parts

[@QruisS]

5:28 Everybody gangsta until Alyx goes full gangsta

[@salvatoredelilleorlansino5332]

a con for the extended magazine is that for you to reload you have to press on your controller and when you don't have the upgrade you can instantly just pop on another mag

[@hindenpeter1]

I can see why the combine makes weapons that automatically eject ammunition which can result in faster reload

[@kanden27]

The animations in Half Life are always pretty ASMR. :)

[@BKaattt]

There's another Con to the Extended magazine. Your ammo dies if left unused in it too long. As in the red circle goes away and it will be unable to use it. A pro though is you can load more into it while the weapon is firing.

[@robertwilliams6045]

The combine acquired mp7 The combine now acquired MP pulse

[@nuruddinshah684]

SO....150 max with extended 270. 150 on bagpack with 90 on the gun itself

[@AerisBell]

I kinda miss the original cyan/yellow/blue muzzle flash

[@djcuevas1057]

It looks like it has the energy ball launcher from the AR2 attached to it. I think it was supposed to have that ability but it got cut from the game.

[@weavorjjohanna5619]

You are shaking, like : woah... This gun... This... POWER

[@canadianmaplesyrupball5792]

If you add all the attachments it is basically an AR2 but smaller.

[@whitygoose]

"it was expensive as hell, but we know how to make weapon here"

[@CyberVirtual]

You know what this gun needs? A foregrip so that it's not just a machine pistol.

[@dacool_boe4071]

The first time i played HLA i completely forgot to upgrade the weapon

[@yvesheinrich5013]

More videos keep popping up, while I thought the pistol and the shotgun were the only weapons.

[@melting_gaming4773]

So, basically, just buy the extended magazine, everything I normally can do it with practice

[@andreisechi7871]

The power cells are exactly the coffee pellets of my machine at home .Ence : i take coffee of dark energy

[@hanzo5q]

I see that you have the weapons at the beginning of the game. Or at least in the opening area. How do you do this? I recently beat the game on the hardest difficulty. And now I want to just mess around with the weapons and just go ham on early enemies. Is this possible?

[@rsmstudio4634]

Waiting for a review of this thing from Yen(Gun Jesus) from Forgotten Weapons

[@scouttds1345]

Reflex sight is best ones for X-ray and hit weak points and scanning rooms if they clean or not Cons: orange sport might take a lot of the spot to aim

[@alphariusfuze8089]

Nobody: Town: *_Pew pew pew gun sound_*

[@Ribbons0121R121]

ive had a suspicion based on the mmod pulse riffle design that the plugs themselves can hold more than one round before being expended, after that a new one is put it. a sort of dual clip design

[@JustSomeCanadianGuy]

I didn't notice til the 2nd playthrough that the red circle on the ammo in the gun acts as an ammo counter.

[@crunchysn0w]

i've been waiting for this