Animation Update #1 is Out Now! news - Half-Life Alyx NoVR mod for Half-Life: Alyx

This is it! The first of many animation updates for Half-Life Alyx No-VR is out now! You can either update via the launcher if you have the mod already installed or you can pull the newest version from GitHub or from here on ModDB!

We are adding Alyx's arms, hands and weapons, all with proper animations, for this update, making it likely the most expansive Animation Update we will release. However, as mentioned this is only the first of many animation updates, with this one focusing on the most important animations and viewmodels that affect minute to minute gameplay. In this case it is using Alyx's weapons that is the most important and why we started with these animations and models.

So given that, this update does not include non-gameplay affecting animations such as Alyx's hand being placed on the Health Station when getting first aid and similar animations. These will be added in future updates so don't worry, but given they don't affect gameplay they were not prioritized. If you want to skip the article and get downloading now here are the links:

As always, we have regular updates that go live on GitHub on a weekly basis in between the major releases here on ModDB so feel free to check in there in the weeks ahead:

So what does the update include? We have full patch notes posted below if you want all the very specific details of what the update adds. Here is a brief overview to start:

• Alyx’s animated arms and hands
• Firing, idle, reload and holster animations for all weapons and grenades
• Upgrades for all weapons that can be visually seen with each enhancement
• Combine Fabricator changes for easier use by the player
• Reflex sight upgrades highlighting enemy weak points
• Dedicated inspect button
• Additional toner puzzles added throughout the game
• Enhanced flashlight
• Updated HUD with 3 animated hearts (not available on Steam Deck)
• Fixes to the Jeff and Strider encounters for a smoother gameplay experience
• Other bug fixes and updates throughout the entire game
• Multi-tool (can be equipped and is animated but currently not functional)

You can find the full patch notes here:

We also have a full FAQ that we regularly update and has been updated for the Animation Update:

Enjoy a short video showcasing the updates to movement, viewmodels, weapon upgrades and more!

If you are like many of us on the development team, you probably have a physical collection of PC games and maybe a Half-Life collection too! We have teamed up with one of the best designers from the Videogame Box Art (VGBA) website to create the digital assets you need to make a physical version a reality for your collection. Daniil Brutskiy has created many amazing boxes, slipcases and more for a variety of videogames and mods included. You can find his entire collection, including Half-Life Alyx No-VR, on his page here:

Thank you again so much to Daniil for putting this together for us and the players! We had a lot of fun printing out our own copy and taking pictures in a suitable outdoor scene, along with placing it on the shelf with the other games in the series!

There have been numerous changes to the animations, viewmodels, game mechanics and much more throughout the game. As noted the HUD now has the exact same type of heart counter as in VR, where Alyx has it displayed on one of her gravity gloves, except here in the traditional Half-Life yellow and on the bottom left corner of the screen:

Alyx's arms, hands and clothing went through a few iterations, always basing it on Valve's art of Alyx for HLA, which is a different appearance. Also, in VR you only have floating hands, so there were no modelled arms with hands to work from. We reduced the glossiness of her jacket and added more detail and wear to it along with other small touches.

As for most projects these days, our animations are being created in Blender before being imported into Source 2 and Half-Life Alyx. There have been some limitations to what we can do due to the tools we have available to us at this time, the shotgun reload, while perfect in Blender, can have some animation issues in game. These issues are being worked on and will be solved in future updates.

While the weapon upgrades from the Combine Fabricators has been working for awhile, we made changes to make it easier to use them and we have enhanced the upgrades as much as we can. For example, we ensured that the reflex sights now properly highlight enemy weak points just like in VR.

This extended video gameplay showcase below will give you a nice in depth look at the updates in action:

We have also made drastic overhauls to how two main "boss" encounters work in the game, fixing bugs, better streamlining gameplay and making the controls much more intuitive. One example is the Strider fight near the end of the game. The controls, viewmodel and more have all been updated for a much smoother and enjoyable experience. This video below showcases how much better the fight with the strider now works:

With all these enhancements, now is the best time to play Half-Life Alyx for the first time. This is an essential story in the franchise and we are so happy to make the game more accessible to everyone. Whether its budgetary or due to health limitations, VR is not something everyone can play and even non-VR games require a lot of accessibility options for some players to be able to engage. We hope to bring even more accessibility options into Half-Life Alyx NoVR such as the subtitles and control options we have provided so far.

Join Alyx on her adventure through City 17 in this prequel to Half-Life 2 that will answer many questions but leave us with even more...but hasn't every Half-Life left us feeling that way?

To get you excited here is our second Action Trailer for this animation update:

We also had the honour of the amazing YouTube videogame lore keeper Skyrionn, use our mod to engage us again with the lore of Jeff...just in time for Halloween. Check out his video below:

Thank you again to all our amazing fans for the support! This mod took its first steps in mid-March 2023 and in just over 6 months we have created a very solid foundation for Half-Life Alyx NoVR and we cannot wait to keep improving on it with the help of your feedback.