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SteamOS

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Re: SteamOS

#301

Post by wtracy »

bloaf wrote: post #167
NotOscarWilde wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I'm fine with Steam remaining closed-source, as this is both inevitable because of it being both a store and a DRM provider. The key question here is whether Valve's future extensions to the graphics subsystems (which seem to be advertised, to some extent) will be released as open-source and be admitted to the (free software) kernel and libraries that exist today.

It'd be cool if Valve incentivized contributions to open source parts of their OS through Steam. E.g. if you fix a bug you get some sort of achievement, and if you fix several bugs you get something valuable like game coupons.

At the very least they should have some TF2 hats for code contributors!

Re: SteamOS

#302

Post by Symmetry »

toblender wrote: post #179

I wonder if history will repeat itself, will Valve be the next Apple? Apple took FreeBSD and makes it into OSX. > Valve takes Linux and makes it into SteamOS. Apple makes iTunes for music, unifying digital music download > Valve makes Steam for games, unifying digital game download Apple make IPOD for digital music playing > Valve make (SteamBox?) for game playing Damn I wish I could own some Valve stock...

The differences in licensing between the BSD license and GPL are designed to prevent them from doing all of what Apple did with FreeBSD.

Re: SteamOS

#303

Post by suby »

jsz0 wrote: post #263
rkalla wrote: post #26

This is effectively the software-only equivalent of a console launch. Is anyone else skeptical that they can motivate publishers to spend time/money porting their games to the Linux platform? Valve certainly has a better chance than most at pulling this off (and likely enough user/market data to make this seem like a valid investment) I am still super skeptical that these publishers are going to spend the time portin…

Aren't games pretty damn portable these days? It seems like most non-firsty party titles are all multi-platform now. I don't know anything about game development but they must be developing with portability in mind.

Almost every major engine out there (ie: IdTech, Unreal Engine, Unity, Frostbite) is cross platform off the shelf.

Re: SteamOS

#304

Post by jaegerpicker »

hamburglar wrote: post #121
rkalla wrote: post #26

This is effectively the software-only equivalent of a console launch. Is anyone else skeptical that they can motivate publishers to spend time/money porting their games to the Linux platform? Valve certainly has a better chance than most at pulling this off (and likely enough user/market data to make this seem like a valid investment) I am still super skeptical that these publishers are going to spend the time portin…

I'm skeptical that they can convince regular people to put PC hardware in their living rooms. Microsoft and manufacturers made a ton of effort in this direction last decade, and it wasn't half bad: Windows Media Center was a pretty decent user interface for TV-watching, and lots of "living room PC" form factors popped up (remember the ubiquitous Shuttle case?). But nobody cares. It was just too weird and clunky for t…

This is alot closer to an xbox than a pc. Value just doing it via slightly different (and smarter) process. This is still aimed squarely at the gaming market it's just a bigger pass at it.

Re: SteamOS

#305

Post by jeltz »

wonderzombie wrote: post #210
aroman wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but it's virtually the same core software stack as on the desktop. So the linux distros get a huge leg up in that arena.

Are you sure about that? Why wouldn't this be more similar to Android than, say, Linux Mint? Who says they're even using any of the typical userspace bits? I would bet a money (albeit a small amount) that, to a first approximation, they're really only using the Linux kernel.

Because they already ported Steam to Linux and have about 200 titles native on Linux. That fits quite well with "Hundreds of great games are already running natively on SteamOS." statement. I do not see why they would force game developers to do the work again.

Re: SteamOS

#306

Post by CamperBob2 »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #248
XorNot wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to see Linux get 1st class graphics driver support from vendors. I pay as much for my Radeon card as anyone else, but the fglrx drivers STILL don't support X composite. But other then gaming I never boot into Windows these days anyway.

Nvidia's Linux drivers are at feature parity with their Windows drivers. And perform at least as well...

Meaning they randomly lock up the system about once every three days?

Re: SteamOS

#307

Post by jmomo »

How is "Windows 8" NOT found on this discussion???

It is very unlikely, had Microsoft not decided to go nuts and release a dead-end train wreck of an OS that thew it's passengers/users into the ravine in the name of chasing MacOS and touchscreens that everyone wanted with the same enthusiasm as to 3DTV, that Valve would be so scared of the future on Windows that they would need their own Linux-based platform. Not to mention Mac support.

I am a huge Linux advocate, but this is much more about Valve being scared and running away from Microsoft Windows than it was the greatness of GNU/Linux.

I wonder how Steve Ballmer being fired will change the direction of Microsoft and it's products. What will be the future of Windows?

If they keep trying to actively throw their users off the train with wildly backwards-incompatible user experiences, you can expect even Microsoft Office to start supporting GNU/Linux for fear of the future of Windows.

Re: SteamOS

#308

Post by sa1 »

wonderzombie wrote: post #210
aroman wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but it's virtually the same core software stack as on the desktop. So the linux distros get a huge leg up in that arena.

Are you sure about that? Why wouldn't this be more similar to Android than, say, Linux Mint? Who says they're even using any of the typical userspace bits? I would bet a money (albeit a small amount) that, to a first approximation, they're really only using the Linux kernel.

The release of Steam on Ubuntu was a precursor to this. Valve encouraged developers to port their games to Ubuntu and ported their own games. It is unlikely that they would do that again. This will likely be a linux system with gnu userspace for now, even though they would have a custom UI.

Re: SteamOS

#309

Post by nullymcnull »

gcb0 wrote: post #298
makmanalp wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The interesting thing is that convincing AAA publishers to port merely requires them to think it'd be profitable. 20 years ago, if someone asked to raise a quarter of a billion into a video game, they'd be laughed out of the building. Now it happens often. Over the years, increasingly big-budget games got funded and created. So, all they need to do is to replicate a similar process. First you move all the indie games…

Not so simple nowadays. Games are not fire and forget anymore. Now it's all about downloadable content and In-Game-Currency (which is basically a way to allow gambling legally) Just being profitable initially doesn't mean jack. I think everyone learned that from the emails from Jobs and the Printing industry (and what i'd give to read the ones with the music industry...)

Pfft. Most big ticket games continue to be the familiar standalone titles without any in-game purchasing models. Sure, DLCs and 'season passes' and the like are more common. But the vast majority of money that a big AAA title is going to make continues to be made in the first few weeks of its release. Being profitable initially still means a great deal indeed. It's still what franchises are made, or broken upon. You have to really be drinking the kool-aid to believe that the fundamental economics of gaming have been upended by a few obnoxious trends du jour.

Re: SteamOS

#310

Post by jdavid »

jon-wood wrote: post #295
rkalla wrote: post #26

This is effectively the software-only equivalent of a console launch. Is anyone else skeptical that they can motivate publishers to spend time/money porting their games to the Linux platform? Valve certainly has a better chance than most at pulling this off (and likely enough user/market data to make this seem like a valid investment) I am still super skeptical that these publishers are going to spend the time portin…

"In-home Streaming" This one is going to be the killer I think - it means two things to me. 1. Not everything has to be ported to Linux straight out of the gate. 2. Its going straight on my living room machine! I've been waiting for the ability to use my beafy gaming PC (which is at a desk, with a keyboard and mouse) to drive games on the TV for a long time.

I don't know if that means intra-home streaming or inter-home streaming. Basically i'm not sure if that means Valve/Steam is doing what nVidia, AMD, MS, and onLive are doing or if they are doing something else.
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