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Thank You, Valve

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Re: Thank You, Valve

#11

Post by chaps »

Absolutely. I've been stubborn in the past five years or so about Linux gaming where if a game doesn't work, I just don't play it. And as time went on in the past few years, more and more games just... started working out of the box. Maybe 30% of games worked a few years back and now probably 98% work.

It's not always perfect (looking at you, borderlands 3), but it works in a vast majority of games I've played. If gaming is a reason preventing others from stepping into Linux based on experiences from even two years ago, definitely check it out again -- it's night and day. It's been incredible to see how quickly they've been able to make Linux completely viable for gaming.

Now about my productivity..

Re: Thank You, Valve

#12

Post by riidom »

I feel like I am in a "late-game" stage of gaming. I have sort of an overview of what is going on, but a major percentage of games simply look not interesting (anymore) to me.

The collection of games I end up playing is somewhere between special and weird, I'd say.

And, to get back to the topic, for people in a comparable situation like me, Linux is a great alternative. So if hear or read other people comparing pros and cons of Win vs. Linux (or Apple vs. Linux), and gaming was the major drawback, think carefully if that applies to you as well.

Having a pile of shame on Linux is as easy to do as on Windows, just it's smaller (which is good, right?). But having one at all means that you don't have a lack of games, but quite the opposite.

Of course, when you deeply into AAA and big franchises, and need to play a game when it's published and everyone talks about it - then probably not.

Re: Thank You, Valve

#13

Post by chrisseaton »

vietvu wrote: post #9
regnerba wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does them being private make what they have done impressive?

Money. By being private, they might have the freedom to do whatever they see fit, but without money, it must be tough sometimes.

> but without money

They do have money. They made tons from Half-Life etc. Then they now have a huge continual income stream from Steam.

Re: Thank You, Valve

#14

Post by erwincoumans »

And damn Valve for not supporting a 64 bit Linux Steam client. Having to mess with installing 32bit OpenGL drivers just for Valve, sometimes messing up the installation left a bad taste.

At least give users the option to pick either 32bit or 64bit client. I'm sure many would happily drop 32bit games support for that. And people who want 32bit games pick the 32bit client.

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/179#...

"Please provide a 64-bit Steam package, so that those of us on 64-bit distros don't have to install a gazillion 32-bit packages."

Re: Thank You, Valve

#15

Post by alexb_ »

vietvu wrote: post #9
regnerba wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does them being private make what they have done impressive?

Money. By being private, they might have the freedom to do whatever they see fit, but without money, it must be tough sometimes.

Steam is a money printing machine, I don't think they have a money problem

Re: Thank You, Valve

#16

Post by nimajneb »

raxxorrax wrote: post #2

Indeed. Valve established DRM to a degree many previously hoped it would get rejected. But they offered a decent service and proved that piracy is a service problem. What they did for Linux as a gaming platform is spectacular. Not many people use it yet, but Windows does look less and less like a dependable long term solution, especially with Microsofts other ambitions in that industry.

I remember how difficult it was to setup Wine and to play a game, Valve made it much easier. I remember some games even with Wine, wouldn't run with complete compatibility or wouldn't work. Installing Steam on Linux is pretty easy.

Re: Thank You, Valve

#17

Post by sillysaurusx »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #8
raxxorrax wrote: post #2

Indeed. Valve established DRM to a degree many previously hoped it would get rejected. But they offered a decent service and proved that piracy is a service problem. What they did for Linux as a gaming platform is spectacular. Not many people use it yet, but Windows does look less and less like a dependable long term solution, especially with Microsofts other ambitions in that industry.

>What they did for Linux as a gaming platform is spectacular. Definitely yes, but let's not kid ourselves. Valve is not doing this from the generosity of their hearts or love for the Linux community, or the gaming community, but Proton and the Steam Deck are their future insurance policy against Microsoft coming after their profits in the future. The writing was on the wall, they saw how much money Epic was giving to…

Oh please. Any time a company does something good. "Let's not kid ourselves. It's all for the money, honey!"

Well yeah. That's what a company is. Companies are also people, and people make decisions, and those decisions are sometimes influenced by more than the mere bottom line. You can't read their minds, and it's the opposite of charitable to assume the worst.

Fully agree about the rest though. It certainly makes business sense. But it took around a decade to maneuver themselves into this position, and it's pretty hard to believe they did it all solely for the green.

I used to exchange MSN messenger messages with Zoid, one of their most productive Dota 2 programmers. (Boy that sounds like ancient history.) He didn't strike me as a person who was particularly ruthless and mercantile. Just a driven programmer trying to do good.

Re: Thank You, Valve

#18

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0 »

In a very practical way, I agree with the thought behind the post.

Still, I want to offer a counter, because as linux is becoming more and more popular ( I myself am an anecdote since I recently jumped to PopOS as my main driver ), I worry that it will become another Windows. Linux principles are slowly being eroded for the ease and convenience of the user. It is both awesome and awful. Convenience destroyed mobile to me.

Re: Thank You, Valve

#19

Post by snowgrove »

alexb_ wrote: post #15
vietvu wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Money. By being private, they might have the freedom to do whatever they see fit, but without money, it must be tough sometimes.

Steam is a money printing machine, I don't think they have a money problem

Valve predates Steam by a number of years, and Steam wasn’t always in the dominant position it’s in now.

Re: Thank You, Valve

#20

Post by INTPenis »

Claiming will be the year of the Linux desktop has become a running joke among me and my friends.

So I wouldn't make such bold claims.

But other than that I am completely on board with what the author is saying. I come from the same background. Until just a couple years ago I had a Windows PC solely for gaming. Now I can't remember when I last booted Windows on it.

Another weird side effect of this gaming revolution on Linux is that I prefer X11 over Wayland.

When Wayland became the default in Fedora I was on board, thinking it was the new cool thing. But gradually I realized that it's really not ready for the big time. I still need X11 to share my desktop on MS Teams (thanks Microsoft for that btw), and I still need it for most games.

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