In the video above, I didn’t have Flash installed, but it turns out you can easily install Flash for the Steam web browser to view YouTube and other Flash-based content in VR: just head to Adobe’s Flash installer page and select “Flash Player for Other Browsers.” Looking at online photos displayed massively in front of you is actually quite a cool experience, requiring you to look around them with head tracking-they become immersive by wrapping around you, even if they lack stereoscopic 3D. I found it very cool to have my favorite websites wrapping around me on either side. You can navigate using the favorites tabs in front of you, or type a URL at the top of any tab. Click it with your mouse and you’ll be greeted with the browser. To access the browser inside of SteamVR, look to the bottom left of the screen for the ‘Web’ button. SteamVR provides a cool wrap-around view of the Big Picture interface, including the Steam web browser. It turns out the Big Picture interface works quite well in VR. PSVR 2 is Getting a Made-for-VR Game in the 'Horizon Zero Dawn' Universe When Big Picture mode came into the fray in 2012, the Steam browser got an interface facelift to make it easier to use for those using Big Picture on a TV-sized displays. Smartly, Valve has also offered up the browser for users to use in-game through the Steam overlay (shift+tab while playing a game), allowing them to check guides, cheats, forums, and more, without exiting their game. The Steam web browser is a bit hidden-you can’t launch it from the normal client, but it’s what shows all of the games pages and much of the other content within the Steam client. Once you launch SteamVR, you’ll be greeted with a wrap-around virtual reality version of ‘Big Picture’ mode, allowing you to easily browse the Steam store, your game library, user profile, and make use of Steam’s full-featured web browser. Mac and Linux users will need to opt-in to the client beta (look in Steam->Settings and then change your beta participation). With a supported Steam client, just plug in your Oculus Rift and go to View > Virtual Reality Mode (BETA). Recently the software, which is a conversion of Steam’s ‘Big Picture’ mode for VR, has been updated to run on the Mac and Linux Steam beta clients and it’s easier than ever to use. SteamVR launched in beta a bit rough around the edges back in January. Hammer, Valve’s level authoring tool, has been updated with all of the game's virtual reality gameplay tools and components.While there are a number of people and projects currently working on what the future of VR on the web might look like, the question remains: how do we use the internet-as we know it today-in VR? One of SteamVR’s best features has nothing to do with gaming-its built-in web browser is the best way to view the 2D web in VR. Rip a Headcrab off your face and throw it out the window.Ī set of Source 2 tools for building new levels is included with the game, enabling any player to build and contribute new environments for the community to enjoy through Half-Life: Alyx's Steam Workshop.
Toss a bottle through a window to distract an enemy. Manipulate tools to hack alien interfaces. Rummage through shelves to find a healing syringe and some shotgun shells. Lean to aim around a broken wall and under a Barnacle to make an impossible shot. Immerse yourself in deep environmental interactions, puzzle solving, world exploration, and visceral combat. VR was built to enable the gameplay that sits at the heart of Half-Life. Valve’s return to the Half-Life universe that started it all was built from the ground up for virtual reality. Eli Vance.Īs founders of a fledgling resistance, you’ve continued your clandestine scientific activity-performing critical research, and building invaluable tools for the few humans brave enough to defy the Combine.Įvery day, you learn more about your enemy, and every day you work toward finding a weakness. Among them are some of Earth’s greatest scientists: you and your father, Dr. The Combine’s control of the planet since the Black Mesa incident has only strengthened as they corral the remaining population in cities. Playing as Alyx Vance, you are humanity’s only chance for survival. It’s the story of an impossible fight against a vicious alien race known as the Combine, set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2. Half-Life: Alyx is Valve’s VR return to the Half-Life series.