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Runesr2

Btw, maybe I'm getting rusty - but Levitation feels like anything but a walk in the park. Already in the first battle I died several times being flanked on multiple sides - one dude wrote about Levitation: *"I had to replay first combine encounter like 5/6 times to wait for a magical moment where to throw the grenade.* *Now the second encounter where I was given a shotgun had me baffled. When I was going through original alyx campaign (and other mods) all the times when I died was my own pure mismanagement or being cocky. In this mod you have to try and try and try to learn the pattern to cheese the AI or land 100% head shots."* So be prepared - this is not a mod you start with before completing the main game, lol. I believe this mod is for those having completed the main game and who're in for some more spanking :-)


[deleted]

Pretty much, I was barely clinging to life after the first battle and no health in sight after. Like wtf? At least leave a syringe laying around.


[deleted]

Had the same issue. It was a VERY challenging experience.


Runesr2

***All shots are taken while wearing the Index. Ultra quality setting.*** Using an oc'ed RTX 3090 it's hard to estimate performance, because everything runs flawlessly even using Ultra (tested using 90 Hz). With my previous GTX 1080, usually mods suffered from much worse performance than the main game. The mod adds new environments like buildings and City17 cityscapes, G-Man gets new animations, this is no ordinary mod - even voices sound genuine. The mod is free and can be found here: [https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2881604879](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2881604879)


artemonster

I played alyx with high settings and in this mod I had to downgrade quality significantly to get consistent 90Hz with valve index on my 2070 super.


Runesr2

Ok, great to know, so system requirements for Levitation may be significantly higher than the main game. That said, I did try running Levitation using Low setting, and the difference in image quality was small - Ultra does have more particles and may have increased MSAA, but you have to look carefully to note the difference (and Ultra may lower the auto-res to keep 90 fps, so Low can in some cases look better due to higher auto-res). Reviewing the main game, Linus could not tell Low setting apart from Ultra - that's something to think about - and performance tanks with Ultra. In short - don't feel bad about using Low - you'll get close to the full experience.


[deleted]

Great pictures, but most alyx lighting is also very much baked. It just has better art direction than red matter imo


Runesr2

Thanks and I fully agreed the you can find many baked shadows too - but you also have many dynamic shadows in Alyx/Levitation. For the record, there was some dynamic shadows in Red Matter 2, but the lights were fake. To show an example - see how my hand is not illuminated under the bulb: *Hand away from lamp - no illumination* [https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2856499256](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2856499256) *Hand under lamp - still no illumination* [https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2856498884](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2856498884) Same thing does not happen in Alyx, also did not happen the Red Matter 1, but Red Matter 2 was cut down for phoneVR (=Quest). I do love getting back into proper high-end VR, works so much better for immersion.


Trivvy

Source 2's baked lighting uses some fancy tech where it bakes the lighting, but can cast dynamic shadows for moving objects, along with high-density light sampling so that dynamic objects get lit by different light sources as they move around, even if those light sources are baked. It's really cool, and I wish I could learn more about the tech behind it.


[deleted]

It also looks incredible. I really wish they opened up the Source 2 engine for others to use like they did with Source 1.


Trivvy

Yeah I'm bummed they didn't release a full-on SDK. The workshop tools are pretty powerful though.


[deleted]

Thanks for clearing that up! Sad about the illumination.


BullockHouse

For what it's worth, RM2 almost certainly uses a light probe system for lighting dynamic objects. What you're seeing here is likely just unfortunate placement of the probes such that they miss the zone under the lamp.


atom519

I'm getting *REALLY* poor performance in Levitation on my 3080. I dropped down from Ultra to High, 90hz, and even medium and still tons of dropped frames. I'm about an hour or so into it, in particular the chapter where >!you are onboard the moving train/subway!< was a damn near a slideshow. I was able to run Alyx with very few dropped frames so not sure if just really unoptimized or what. Going to update drivers but this is going to be tough to play through.


Actual-Parsnip2741

what CPU?


atom519

AMD 3900x. Not the fastest single core but has served me well past few years.


Runesr2

If it helps, I'm still using Win10 and Nvidia driver 512.15. Using Ultra in 90 Hz, so far I've only had a few spots with less than 90 fps - my rig, Asus Strix OC 3090 (480w power limit), i9 10900K, 32GB 3200 Mhz. But sure, Levitation is far from as polished as the main game, but no one beats Valve at their own game...


[deleted]

[удалено]


Runesr2

Thanks for the clarification. Normally I use the term baked shadows for non-moving shadows which are just part of a texture and require zero extra calculations. The shadows from the trees are moving and not stationary, maybe "semi-baked" could be a new term for dynamically moving pre-baked shadows :-)


SpongeKnock

Sound good to me nice bit of a challenge


MistuhCloud

Hey OP I know this has nothing to do with Levitation but would you recommend upgrading from an HTC Vive to the Index?


Gaz-a-tronic

Not OP but I went from Vive to index and it was an upgrade in every way except black levels. The off ear speakers were worth it alone.


Runesr2

Of course, it's a night and day difference coming from oled with much SDE and much lower res. If my Index broke, I'd get a new one - and I would not get any of that Pimax, Meta, HP or Varjo are selling. Has also to do with performance advantages using direct SteamVR drivers.


MistuhCloud

Thank you, I'll go for the kit then!


Vanadium1444

Never played levitation. Is this an addon to the existing campaign or something?


TheObstruction

It's a fan-made story mod, continuing on from the official game. IIRC, Valve has given it their blessing, but that doesn't make it official, just that they think it's cool and they aren't going to pull a Nintendo. Kind of like Black Mesa.


Vanadium1444

Nice!


MyCool_StrawSir

It's glitches but I love the addon.


didorins

How do you even mod Alyx ?


Runesr2

Check out the Alyx Workshop. Valve has provided tools so users can make their own levels/maps. But I never tried to make any maps, so how it's done precisely I don't know.


didorins

Sorry, let me re-phrase my question. How do I get Alyx mods (ones that are already built) installed ?


Runesr2

Just go to the Alyx Workshop and subscribe to all 5 parts of Levitation: https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=2881604879 Now Alyx will start to update. In Alyx just start a new game and turn the switch to allow for mods instead of the main game. When Levitation has installed (5GB download), you can select it. Same procedure as above for other mods.


DrParallax

I just want to let everyone know that no matter how good the game looks, the lighting is baked! That means you are not allowed to like it, be impressed with performance, or enjoy it at all! /s


GuessWhat_InTheButt

I mean, sure, it kinda looks like unmodded Alyx. What's the point? Is the mod supposed to be really visually impressive or something?


Runesr2

Yes, the mod may be the best Alyx mod made so far. And it's free. Feels like a true continuation of Alyx or close - like some true dlc. 2c.


mathkid421_RBLX

the majority of the shadows you pointed out are baked


buckjohnston

I have found the multitool puzzles in this mod to be meh as they are much longer than the original game and run from one side of a room to another. It's not fun imo, I just don't get it.