Half-Life: Alyx: How to Read Teleport Paths and Move into Cover

Understand Blink, Shift and continuous movement

Valve documents three locomotion options: Blink teleport, Shift teleport and continuous movement. Blink briefly fades to black while moving the player. Shift moves rapidly to the selected position without the black-screen transition. Continuous movement moves smoothly through the environment. The following path-reading advice concerns the two teleport options. [1]

Read the feet at the destination

Both teleport options use a targeting interface to select the destination. The displayed feet indicate the space the player’s body will occupy and let the player choose the arrival orientation. Check that body-sized destination when moving to cover: a point on the floor is not the only spatial consideration. [1]

Steps

1. Use the teleport targeting interface to choose the destination and read the feet indicator before committing to the move. [1]

Inspect the footprints through obstacles

The footprints along the route visualize the path the player will travel, helping explain movement around or over obstacles and why another route is invalid. Valve validates both the destination’s body space and a viable path. Teleporting does not allow a body to pass through jail bars, tiny holes or an arbitrarily high ledge. [1]

Steps

1. Read the route footprints as well as the arrival position. Choose another viable destination when the desired path cannot fit the player’s body. [1]

Recognize floor priority and partial movement

In combat, the system prioritizes remaining on the floor. It can move the player only partway along an intended path when that is the nearest valid position. This supports quick repositioning, but it also means a coarse gesture may not end at the exact point first imagined. Recheck the actual arrival position before the next action. [1]

Steps

1. After a partial move, use the actual new position to select the next destination rather than assuming the first gesture reached its full distance. [1]

Inspect hidden drop-offs before descending

A second partial-movement rule stops at a drop-off when the end position cannot be seen from the start. The pause lets the player look below before deciding how to continue. Treat that edge stop as a chance to examine the destination, then select the onward route from the new viewpoint. [1]

Steps

1. Look at the terrain below from the edge and decide where to move next. [1]