Well, it didn't take too long for a Half-Life: Alyx leak to pop up online. A few tidbits of computer code have been discovered which give us insight into what we might be getting from Valve's first Half-Life game in many, many years.
Valve News Network's Tyler McVicker has discovered dozens of new variables that have popped up in recent updates to DOTA 2, Underlords, and SteamVR Home. These variables may be related to Half-Life: Alyx, giving us a hint as to what we can expect.
The Half-Life: Alyx leak centers on dozens of variables and pieces of code that have been added to other Valve games.
Half-Life: Alyx Rumored Enemies
- Reviver
- AE_NPC_START_POWERED_RAGDOLL
- AE_NPC_BECOME_TEMPORARY_RAGDOLL
- Zombie
- AE_BLIND_ZOMBIE_SNIFF
- AE_ZOMBIE_POPHEADCRAB
- AE_ZOMBIE_TOGGLE_HEAD
- Vort
- AE_VORTIGAUNT_START_HEAL_GLOW
- AE_VORTIGAUNT_START_HURT_GLOW
- AE_VORTIGAUNT_ZAP_POWERUP
- AE_VORTIGAUNT_ZAP_SHOOT
One interesting item of note relates to the Vortigaunts — it appears that they will have some sort of ability to heal used in-game. Whether this applies to the players, themselves, or something else entirely isn't yet known.
Half-Life: Alyx Rumored Weapons
- Weapon Utility
- AE_HIDE_WEAPON
- vr_interact_clip
- vr_interact_mag
- Physgun
- physgun_interactions
- Physicsmode
- Energy Gun
- Hlvr_weapon_energygun
- prop_hlvr_weapon_energygun_clip
- Prop_hlvr_weapon_energygun_clip_large
- INTERACTION_LARGE_CLIP_TO_ENERGYGUN
- Rapid Fire
- Hlvr_weapon_rapidfire
- prop_hlvr_weapon_rapidfire_clip
- Shotgun
- Hlvr_weapon_shotgun
- prop_hlvr_weapon_shotgun_clip
- prop_hlvr_weapon_shotgun_shellgroup
- Prop_hlvr_weapon_shotgun_speedloader
- INTERACTION_GRENADE_TO_SHOTGUN
- INTERACTION_MULTICLIP_TO_SHOTGUN
- Frag Grenade
- Item_hlvr_grenade_frag
- CROWBAR!
- weapon_crowbar
Judging by the weapon variables in the Half-Life: Alyx leaks, it seems that the shotgun might be able to be modded in a fashion, either with a grenade launcher, multiclip, or both. Also of note is the inclusion of a crowbar. Whether or not it's just in there for funsies or it will be used in the game is up in the air, though.
Half-Life: Alyx Leaks — Demos, Dev Tools, and More
The above bits of code are particularly interesting, but that's not all that was included in other Valve game updates according to Mr. McVicker. As shown in his notes on Google Docs, variables for damage types, IK animation, cloth physics, and more are also included.
The damage types is something that I find particularly intriguing — references to "shatter damage", "shatter drywall", and "shatter glass" are all mentioned. These could be for destructible world objects, damage to the player, both, or something else entirely.
Another interesting item is the variable cl_demo_steadycam_blendframes. "Demos" are gameplay recordings that can be played back in-engine; they've been around since the original Half-Life game. This new piece of code may indicate a new way to record and/or play back demos.
Will We Be Seeing Left 4 Dead VR?
As cool as these Half-Life: Alyx leaks are, this wasn't everything that Tyler McVicker found. He also discovered a few more variables that seem to point to something else entirely.
- Player/NPC references
- "male",
- "femae",
- "namvet",
- "teengirl",
- "biker",
- "manager",
- "gambler",
- "producer",
- "coach",
- "mechanic",
- "ceda",
- "crawler",
- "undistractable",
- "fallen",
- "riot_control",
- "clown",
- "jimmy",
- "hospital_patient",
- "Bride"
- Weapon references
- WEAPON_SOUND_BURST
- WEAPON_SOUND_DOUBLE
- WEAPON_SOUND_DOUBLE_NPC
- WEAPON_SOUND_EMPTY
- WEAPON_SOUND_FAST_RELOAD
- WEAPON_SOUND_MELEE_HIT
- WEAPON_SOUND_MELEE_HIT_WORLD
- WEAPON_SOUND_MELEE_MISS
- WEAPON_SOUND_NUM_TYPES
- WEAPON_SOUND_RELOAD
- WEAPON_SOUND_RELOAD_NPC
- WEAPON_SOUND_SINGLE
- WEAPON_SOUND_SINGLE_NPC
- WEAPON_SOUND_SPECIAL1
- WEAPON_SOUND_SPECIAL2
- WEAPON_SOUND_SPECIAL3
- WEAPON_SOUND_TAUNT
- WEAPON_TEXTURE_ICON_ACTIVE
- WEAPON_TEXTURE_ICON_AMMO
- WEAPON_TEXTURE_ICON_AMMO2
- WEAPON_TEXTURE_ICON_AUTOAIM
- WEAPON_TEXTURE_ICON_CROSSHAIR
- WEAPON_TEXTURE_ICON_INACTIVE
- WEAPON_TEXTURE_ICON_SMALL
- WEAPON_TEXTURE_ICON_ZOOMED_AUTOAIM
- WEAPON_TEXTURE_ICON_ZOOMED_CROSSHAIR
Mr. McVicker raises the point that Valve is going to need something beyond Half-Life: Alyx to move VR headsets, and wouldn't Left 4 Dead VR be a nice way to get that done? The pieces of code we see above certainly seem like they'd fit and could represent a return to what was a previously shelved Left 4 Dead project. You can see what McVicker found in that in the video below:
As always, take these Half-Life: Alyx leaks with a grain of salt. At worst, we'll find out what all of this means when the newest game in the Half-Life franchise releases in March 2020.
What do you think of these Half-Life: Alyx leaks? What do you hope to see from the game? Let us know in the comments below!
