HLA Developer Commentary - Chapter 3 - Is or Will be

[@rappy470]

26:02 should've just added a sign that read "In case of train crash, look directly at train crash"

[@RidentGaming]

this is the coolest way ever to do a developer commentary. I remember in Mob of the Dead zombies in black ops 2, the main quest allows you to take an audio tour of alcatraz in game, which I thought was cool. Doing this in VR is just so fucking sick.

[@cURLybOi]

half life episode 1, 2 and both portals have these commentaries, and it's the best. the vr version is a fine addition

[@Wozza365]

AC Origins and Odyssey have an educational type mode as well. Making the most of the world that's been built.

[@alfos.192]

Not the greatest implementation. Whenever I reached behind my back to grab ammo, I would sometimes take off my headset and would have to go back to the previous area to put it back on, then go back to where I was before it happened while waiting until the playback got to where Ieft off. This happened too many times. Once it happened in the Jeff chapter and I couldn't go back. That's why these videos are also useful for someone who already owns the game.

[@caz8135]

Those playtesters who fired the gun repeatedly as a flash light has 1000 iq

[@caz8135]

@@Neo2266. never played hl2 ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ

[@NotWendy3]

@@caz8135 Pick up HL1, 2, and episodes during a sale, maybe. They're all worth playing.

[@caz8135]

@@NotWendy3 will do

[@maxwellsope1080]

@@caz8135 Play black mesa definitive edition. It's a remake of half life 1 and given the go ahead by valve and gaben personally.

[@randomcatdude]

@@Neo2266. Not possible, actually. In default HL2, weapon muzzleflashes don't illuminate the world itself at all. The dlight only illuminates entities for performance reasons.

[@MatthewCampbell765]

"Players did not like being shot at"

[@mb2001]

Especially since it was they who were being shot at directly, not an "avatar" separate from the player by a flatscreen.

[@Tyretes]

classic valve humour.

[@birdroll]

19:19 Not is missing an o. Literally unplayable.

[@A2ne]

Valve, please fix.

[@askplays]

1/5 ign unplayable

[@Randarrradara]

I wonder if they’ve fixed it

[@constantinezh7156]

Will Smith in the previous one, Charlie Brown in this one, lol. . . Valve is full of celebs

[@rajan8616]

Where

[@TheMultiverseTraveller]

@@rajan8616 Armored Headcrabs 2

[@debtmaster]

There's also, uh... Greg Coomer.

[@redcatjack]

​@@rajan8616 ffs are you blind?

[@BubblegumDog_]

I haven't listened to valve commentaries before, so I never knew how informative and in depth they'd be! It really shows how much thought the game designers actually put behind every detail in the game.

[@jacobshirley3457]

Go ahead and listen to the old ones, especially if you've played those games before.

[@randomcatdude]

Seriously, play through all the other developer commentaries. They're all super informative and interesting.

[@rambolambo3441]

I think the Eli rescue sequence could’ve been better. A lot of players (myself included), thought they HAD to grab Eli, thus leaning too far forward and falling down. Perhaps some railing would’ve done the trick.

[@pt8306]

I doubt this. You literally cannot fall down unless you use the controller "move forward" button. I have literally walked forware 3-4 steps, been right over the gap, and not fallen down.

[@rambolambo3441]

@@pt8306 Well I don't have enough space to physically walk around, so I used the "move forward" button while leaning... I wish they'd put some railing in front of your feet, so you could only lean and not move forward any further.

[@dormin1850]

This also happened to my friend when playing, he accidentally knocked the joystick which teleported him to his death. I thought it was very odd that Valve didn't put a teleport clip in there to prevent this from happening. Reloading really killed the momentum of that moment for him.

[@z4r5hnbuzfrhxtf22]

thank you for rolling them out so quickly, always loved listening to the commentaries in the previous games

[@drverano1918]

this is the first time I have looked at games differently, this series has shown the actual work that goes into a game. Great to see and actually eye opening. Will look at games differently from now on

[@JCtheSpy]

2:25 *Detailed explanation of game mechanics and how the developers approach giving players a unique experience* 2kliksphilip: JIGGLE PHYSICS

[@KizaruB]

I didn’t realize these were introduced. I gotta catch up!

[@ratpunkgurl]

Thank you for uploading these, I always find the Valve commentaries very interesting.

[@dan8ball22]

So I have been in a car accident as a passenger almost 4 years ago (I just got a few scars, nothing too serious) and I'm about to get some money because I sued the driver at fault. Maybe this is not the best resource allocation, but fuck it I will buy a Valve Index even if I only get 1000 euros, Half-Life Alyx being 90% of the reason. These developer commentaries are only making me want to play it even more, it's refreshing to listen to people explain their well mastered craft so well. Thanks Philip for uploading these!

[@hugolbr2498]

I hope the one you sued wasn't your driver. You seem to take this accident quite lightly so suing seems like a bitch move, but you do you, I hope you get what you're looking for!

[@dan8ball22]

@@hugolbr2498 It might seem like it now, but I did not take it lightly since those scars that I mentioned are on my face which affected my mental health (and subsequently other things because of that) quite a bit and I am still missing a center tooth 4 years after the accident because I did not have money to put an artificial one in. So beside the Index, I will also be replacing the tooth with the money from the lawsuit. As to how it happened, I was in a taxi at night returning from work when the other driver crossed a red light right in front of us; the driver of the taxi did not have time to avoid the collision and we hit their back door. Both the other driver and their only passenger did not suffer any injury while all of the people in our car did (I was with two other colleagues). So yeah, I might give the impression that I took it lightly, but that's just because quite a lot of time has passed. If you still think it was a bitch move to sue, to each their own I guess, but I personally think that she deserves being sued and also I could use some "free" money.

[@Ultra289]

You know you can play with every VR headset right? If you rly dont have money

[@dan8ball22]

@@Ultra289 Well yeah, but are the other ones offering 1440p 144hz and individual finger tracking on their controllers? Call me an elitist if you want, but refresh rate is a big factor for me and the higher resolution is quite a plus. The thing I would say it's optional, but nice to have is the individual finger tracking.

[@hugolbr2498]

@@dan8ball22 Obviously I didn't know the full picture, I don't know why I commented this. If it feels right to you, that's what matters, I'm also sorry for saying it's a bitch move. I personally didn't sue when it happened to me because the driver was an old man that seemed sorry enough, just didn't see me. Now if it was reckless behavior or just plain fuckery I would probably just went with it. I hope you're okay now and I wish you well, happy VR gaming!

[@pchris]

if you try and force your way into the dark without the flashlight - as I did - you encounter an invisible wall. It was very immersion breaking.

[@LyziShadow]

I guess, but honestly, I understand their choice. You don't want the player to go forward without the flashlight they're going to need later. You're giving me flashbacks from old point&click games of the early 90s where you could get stuck because you did not pick up some item three points of no return ago. That was very frustrating. Most people don't want this kind of irritating gameplay anymore, especially in games that play for more than 10 hours. Even though some veteran players hate the amount of handholding the modern games tend to have now.

[@pchris]

@@LyziShadow I understand why they did it but wish they had found another way of doing it. For one; did it need to be a branch? Did they have to show you the dark hallway first, before you had the flashlight? couldn't they place it somewhere after you already encountered the flashlight? They also could have done something more cleaver like, if you try and force your way into the darkness eventually it gets so dark that your screen goes completely black and if you keep moving forward then the game just flips you around so even if you're just holding forward on the joystick the whole time you'll still end up coming out the way you went in and Russell can just say something like "you're just going to keep getting turned around without a light". It would be less jarring than an invisible wall.

[@pchris]

@@Neo2266. that would still be jarring because the flashlight wouldn't really be needed for it. It's just another meaningless blockage of passage like an invisible wall. Something better might be a light sensor or a zombie that gets pissed when you shine a light on it and smashes something open (which lets you pass) or a hazzard on the floor you can only identify with a light source

[@pchris]

@@Neo2266. I see what you mean. That could work as well.

[@itsTbomber]

I love your gameplay in these videos, there is something about it that feels really different from most youtubers. Thank you philip.

[@Catty872]

15:50 the second drawer down has a lower quality lightmap than the other two wtf valve

[@Zhung36]

literally unplayable!! valve pls fix

[@sznio]

playtesting has shown that the second drawer is rarely opened up by the players, due to this we have reduced the lighting budget for second drawers.

[@jahrazzjahrazz8858]

might just be that this exact light angle causes the lightmap to pixelate the shadow more or smooth it less well

[@randomcatdude]

pretty sure that's a shadow map from a dynamic spotlight, not a lightmap

[@xnopyt13]

1:00 is no one going to mention that the narrator is called Charlie Brown? I can't imagine how many times people had made fun of him in the past. Wait

[@d4lep0ro]

this is how games are made, incredible.

[@NeverSaySandwich1]

Only valve has this amount of insight and consideration

[@weedhopper4786]

I'm a little disappointed to see so many negative criticisms in this comment section. The genius, detail and artistry that went into the creation of this game makes it a masterpiece! The popularity of games like Asgard's Wrath and Half-Life Alyx are going to encourage more studios to increase their budgets and create more incredible VR games like this.

[@tba3625]

if i was a playtester they would have said "one dumbass player thought the shotgun could only hold 2 shells"

[@alfos.192]

I also played through the entire game thinking that.

[@Halefall]

i CANNOT believe how good this game looks

[@tricursor2481]

The most impressive thing to me about it was the detail on pretty much every thing you can pick up. Especially key items. If you own a vr headset and alyx, just try to pick up the grub canister and hold it up to your head. There are so many small details that make it feel like a real thing, like little metal spikes ( :( ) to keep the grub in place. The guns and the gravity gloves are also amazingly detailed. More than I've ever seen in a game before.

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

The longer your videos, the better

[@reinmeiker9024]

The shotgun was my favorite in the game. Glad they added that flick for reload. That was the best part!

[@TDPEquinox]

Thanks again for making these! I know you probably won't get as many views on these as you would on a normal video, but they're appreciated none the less.

[@HamSammichOG]

27:26 hahaha Greg COOMER

[@edk.2045]

Hello, Gordon!

[@SnrubSource]

OOOOOOOHHH I'M GONNA COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

[@btfo420]

@@SnrubSource coomer is cooming again. Someone stop this madman

[@Gzalzi]

yep that's his locker

[@thessalonikiosmusv]

I never know that Coomer is a real name

[@austindavis1686]

Thanks for making these! Really appreciate it!

[@Rusty511]

First rule about Shotgun Gate, is that we never talk about Shotgun Gate.

[@nicksmith701]

19:20 They messed up the script!

[@SpySappingMyKeyboard]

Valve, please fix

[@KizaruB]

Unplayable

[@waldolemmer]

And the captions are out of sync with the audio

[@seanwood4466]

27:27 it’s Dr. Coomer himself

[@stevele5858]

Very informative Mr. Coomer

[@PlanetAlexanderProjects]

Eli, reaching out: "Grab my hand Alyx, I'm going to fall!" 2Kliksphilip: Waves hello

[@azathoth6878]

The shotgun gate was really eye opening

[@LazarusWilhelm]

Destruction Darius VR when

[@corktail7900]

these people are geniuses

[@mefuri_k]

I'm really immersed on 8:07 where Kliks actually count the shotgun shell chamber can actually fit 6 shells

[@larry3828]

Damn. the detail on the inside of the shotgun with all the moving parts 7:53

[@movax20h]

Nothing is random in this and other Valve games. There is a serious research, questions, design and engineering behind everything.

[@iamv0id202]

I got fucking freaked out when I wasn't able to grab the shotgun at 5/12, didn't know you were supposed to put the tube back in for a solid 30 seconds. Thought I was about to die.

[@IconDevco]

if you dont understand an armored headcrab after the 4th one, then it's unlikely you were capable to get to that point anyway, dont worry about it.

[@Zhung36]

Valve - God of playtesting

[@idcrafter-cgi]

23:56 the window on the left blinks

[@bilbostabbins1882]

well there goes my immersion broken game

[@mRswoggY]

Oh, cool, i was waiting for it

[@Yrtay_1]

Mr. Coomer did i very good performance with his com, it made me coom.

[@ethernet389]

bout to fall asleep to this thanks :)

[@sangot]

2kliksphilip Thanks for uploading these Developer Commentary videos so ppl ho don't have HL:Alyx can watch

[@DrCoomer_1]

27:24 *Ah, Hello fellow Coomer!*

[@de_corvus]

Will Smith last one, and now Brian Cox's (2:24) step brother Matt Charlesworth. What are you planning Valve? The plot thickens...

[@ariezon]

we really need commentary like this in other game. it seriously interesting

[@pexunfuni]

bruh imagine a vr horror game where you can lose your flashlight sounds terrifying

[@pexunfuni]

not being able to see and getting jumpscared would be completely your fault for dropping the flashlight like a dumbass :D

[@sukablayt489]

28:18 Eli rescue - Greg C O O M E R

[@ethancknight]

Until watching this video, I had no fucking clue you could load more than 1 shell into the shotgun at a time.

[@gub4941]

First we got will smith, now we got Charlie Brown.

[@thessalonikiosmusv]

And greg coomer

[@RaccoonBrigade]

I had no idea armored headcrabs could be flipped with the shotgun.

[@fullyverified7491]

I never made the connection that the shotguns flips them over either lol

[@KrazyCrocodile]

7:12 Kurt Kobain POV

[@MachineWashableKatie]

Devs needing the flashlight to be off when its not needed to save on resources. The more things change, the more they stay the same

[@Nick-wg4bf]

Thanks

[@hardcoretrance3435]

LooOOoOoOk at the flick of the wriiiist...

[@kerbonaut2059]

Sandvich returns to a valve game in 2020.

[@kucingcing]

8:44 Whats up guys desinc ere

[@serdar12455]

8:46 desinc?

[@krowan477]

Good night Philip.

[@Eli-dl2tw]

Phillip was responsible for my death.

[@christoffermaintz781]

It's Adrian FINOL, not FINAL, Phil! :|

[@SKY11211213]

How is the haptic feedback with the index controllers?

[@AwesomeBlackDude]

Is there any way we can get the information for how much calories we had burned for each gate level? 😬

[@Jacksaur_]

The Shotgun "gate" was the only part of the game that felt lacking to me. I grabbed the box of shells, then spent upwards of ten minutes trying to force it into the shotgun somehow, or pull it open with both hands. It really wasn't made clear that you're meant to stash it in your backpack first, which then allows you to draw individual shells out of it.

[@monkeydad47]

they teach you form the moment you get the pistol that ammo goes over the shoulder. Why would it be any different with the shotgun?

[@Jacksaur_]

@@monkeydad47 Because the pistol magazines go directly into the gun. The shotgun rounds were specifically in some form of box, so I thought you had to tear it open somehow to get direct access to the shells. I didn't try the backpack because I assumed that if I did, I'd pull the same box out again when retrieving.

[@darknor1796]

Pretty interresting

[@heinzmueller7975]

Thanks Philip. I sold my oculus s after I played through the game. So I currently have no possibility to play the game.

[@Finndu]

can you use guns in the left hand in this game?

[@Oliepolie]

did you get a mod for the pistol that makes it a colt?

[@Wojtek-The-Mighty]

18:06 beating a man hack to death

[@SneakyJoeRu]

With a shotgun I didn't know I can insert more than 2 bullets to it until someone from my stream said it. It wasn't explained at all.

[@AmBush2048]

The hud hint for when you first reload the shotgun was "Load up to 6 shells in the shotgun", that said, it never shows up again, and I'm guessing you thought that was because double barrelled shotguns are a thing

[@SKY11211213]

ME who uses the guns in Doom3 as a flashlight ahahaha

[@Johncana_]

lol it's listed as fallout 4 in desc

[@mkr9968]

Love you philip :)

[@jonny-b4954]

9:20 Huh they failed there. I had no idea that was meant to be a dark tunnel I couldn't go down, thought game was bugged out or just bad design. Was weird. I didn't get any dialogue at all in that area.

[@henry7696]

they overthought the whole thing imo.

[@cookie572]

Wicked

[@Sandvichin]

Is this really the first comment in 2 years? Lmfao?

[@arrtemfly]

4 in the morning. nice. (oh jk it's almost 10 am for me now already)

[@Gocnak]

16:11 They *only* had a finite *13 years* to develop the game so rapid prototyping and early playtesting was a must!

[@VergosChannel]

Oh, how I`d love to finally be able to play alyx, but alas VR is just 2 expensive for a pleb like me.

[@hoffedemann5370]

I know you read every comment, so here's my opinion on these videos: I don't watch them because I want to play Half Life Alyx in the future. I don't think you produce bad videos (your craving for perfection tells otherwise). This video would most likely entertain me - but spoil my future experience.

[@dimitar4y]

the speed of HL2 combat in VR was EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO, REEE

[@edk.2045]

It sounds thrilling, but doing that for long stretches of time like in HL2 would be exhausting, and the developers say this.

[@AmBush2048]

The soldiers are still way too passive on easy imo, it takes them 6 seconds to start firing when they first see you, and take way too long to move when fired on

[@WooberJig]

Well, now you can play HL2 in VR.

[@dimitar4y]

@@WooberJig doesn't have the VR vr-ness. It's too scuffed.

[@WooberJig]

@@dimitar4y If you say so. It plays exactly like a less polished, amped up game speed version of Alyx to me. They went out of their way to make the controls the same. The vehicle sections are really fun in VR, but as they mention in the commentary, the gameplay speed in HL2 would make the average person motion sick. I've had enough practice that nothing in VR makes me motion sick anymore.

[@HueyTheDoctor]

Imagine designing something this intricate and needing to accommodate for profoundly stupid people who cannot grasp simple game mechanics. Designing around the lowest common denominator must be extremely frustrating.

[@Smile-wd6rz]

Does Valve just grab any mofo from the street to playtest their games? I mean, as long as it doesn't hinder gameplay, teaching things is cool, better than text or some annoying fuck of a character telling you that. But man, the amount of stuff these playtesters get away with is insane.

[@Zetsukun12]

That's one of the most basic UX design principles. You should generally try to design things to be fool proof because you don't know if the user plays games all the time and quickly picks up on the usual cues or if this is their first game and they struggle with the more basic concepts.

[@eppyfourtwenny4013]

SADG

[@ursa_margo]

If they went with "automatic" flashlight, they should've done it better. More than once I wanted to turn the flashlight on in better-lit areas, but the game won't let me.

[@TheGodEmperorOfMankind_]

>Greg Coomer

[@bilbostabbins1882]

hehe greg coomer

[@harou9457]

30 sec in record time baby :D

[@skyguy377]

Sub club

[@MyOldNameWasTaken]

The biggest takeaway I've gotten from these videos is Valve must employ some of the dumbest playtesters in the industry.

[@tenmamut]

finite amount of time to complete the game.. yeah yeah yeah sure

[@CarlosAlola]

Your movements are so distracting please keep doing that

[@Zopporillo]

Пасыба КлыкПхылып

[@Anthonysbasement]

not first

[@justsometimber1nthelake873]

first commen not lmao

[@UPsideDOWNworld321]

where is the spoil alert like what the hell

[@MrMoon-hy6pn]

Well a commentary implies they are COMMENTING over the gameplay

[@sugoha_2548]

I mean don't you have a working brain? You shouldn't be watching hl:a gameplay in the first place if you don't wanna be spoiled but this is clearly labelled as "developers commentary" of course there's gonna be spoilers dumbass

[@AmBush2048]

Don't be too hard on him, he's a HL:A playtester

[@sugoha_2548]

@@AmBush2048 and despite picking up the stupidest playtesters to ensure that the game is idiot proof i still see twitch streamers struggling to understand that you don't have to chamber a new round after each reload if you already have one chambered

[@sunnysideeggs]

The xen overgrowth commentary has the word “Not” spelled as “Nt”, come on valve this game is literally unplayable

[@ursa_margo]

VALVE YOU DON'T GET TO SPEAK ABOUT FINITE TIME AND TRADEOFFS YA HEAR