Video Games
Modder Ports ‘Half-Life 2’ to VR Using ‘Half-Life: Alyx’
Half-Life: Alyx has only been out for a couple of days, but already a modder by the name of Vect0r has managed to put the title’s Source 2 engine to good use &endash; by porting over the original Half-Life 2.
Well, the opening map, at least.
The mod isn’t publicly available yet (it’s a “showcase demo”), but Vect0r’s process to bring the classic shooter to VR was pretty straightforward. “I took the original map file and converted to Source 2 format and added to Half-Life: Alyx,” Vect0R writes on YouTube. “In [the] process, I converted assets of Half-Life 2 to Half-Life: Alyx as well.”
This was all done without an SDK for Source 2, so the mod isn’t perfect. Still, if you ever wanted to experience Half-Life 2 in VR, and (somehow) have gotten bored of Alyx, this seems like a neat thing to try. Once it’s available, of course.
Half-Life: Alyx is out now on Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest with PC and link cable, and Windows Mixed Reality devices.
Lovecraft fans will be getting some love in VR form this fall, thanks to Spectral Games’ co-op action title The Lightkeepers. Coming September 10 to Meta Quest, the game has you and your friends facing off against the nightmares of the deep, fight for your life until every dawn.
Set in a mysterious 1920s world inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, The Lightkeepers places you and your friends as sailors venturing to mist-shrouded islands during the day to explore ruins and venture into forgotten undergrounds in order to reap the resources and increase your wealth. At night, however, you’ll be facing off against unearthly creatures, for which you’ll need to keep at bay until sunrise.
Luckily, you can use your wealth to purchase supplies and weapons. But going at it alone is certain doom. You and your team will need to share responsibilities, craft grenades, lay mines, feed the hungry, and heal the wounded. The Lightkeepers also features a progression system that allows players to unlock and upgrade starting weapons and earn cosmetics for their characters.
When night does fall, you’ll have to slash, chop, shoot, and blow your way out of trouble with an array of 20 weapons. Plan your tactics with your crew or revel in the chaos of battle. Any strategy is good, as long as the light doesn’t go out.