The GB_2 Development Team of modders released a major animation update for their Half-Life Alyx NoVR mod, launched in early access earlier this year.
This update introduced significant additions to the Half-Life Alyx NoVR experience by adding proper hands and arms to the game’s protagonist since they were missing in the VR game created by Valve.
- Alyx’s arms and hands are now fully modeled and animated.
- Alyx now has proper arms and hands, and she will now hold all weapons in her hands – no more floating guns!
- Weapon firing animations for all 3 guns.
- Weapon idle animations for all 3 guns.
- Reload, draw, and inspect animations for all 3 guns.
- Upgrades for all 3 guns with visual upgrades as you improve the weapon throughout the game.
- Dedicated inspect button to trigger the inspect animation for each weapon (only 1 inspect animation per weapon to start with more to be added in the future – the shotgun currently does not have an inspect animation).
- Proper aim-down sights (ADS) has been implemented once you upgrade the relevant weapons with a sight.
- Reflex sights on the pistol and SMG highlight enemy weak points
GB_2 Development Team revealed that many more animation improvements are on the way, such as Alyx putting her hand on the health station, using gravity gloves, more inspect animations for each weapon, and more.
If you don’t plan to ever purchase a SteamVR-compatible headset, the Half-Life Alyx NoVR mod is probably the best way to experience Valve’s latest installment in the acclaimed sci-fi first-person shooter series. The installation process is described quite clearly here; the launcher will also let you easily update the mod. The authors recommend installing the NoVR Map Edits addon, too, since it enables smoother traversal and reduces out-of-bounds glitches.
In other Half-Life Alyx news, Orbifold Studios confirmed it will take advantage of the game’s assets in the making of the Half-Life 2 RTX project.
