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SteamOS

store.steampowered.com

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Re: SteamOS

#421

Post by gtaylor »

lbenes wrote: post #370
lelandbatey wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, I think that what Valve's going for here is they're trying to generate hype around a "new platform" that's actually an existing platform that's underutilized. Valve sees that there's a lot of what's effectively free RND work going into Linux as a platform for gaming, but that no one's taking advantage of that. I think SteamOS is just going to be a highly tuned distro, since Valve really doesn't have the man…

Valve has the resources; it's more a issue of internal commitment, which I agree they don't seem willing to make. To make SteamOS a serious contender to NXE Dashboard or CellOS they'd need to: * Develop a XrossMediaBar like UI * Devote resources to Wayland or Mir to reach production quality * Create a new audio subsystem, or bring OSS v4 up to date for Linux If I heard something like Valve dedicating 5 programmers on…

They don't really need Wayland right now, and OSS isn't required for gaming on Linux. I've been pretty happy with xorg + pulseaudio + alsa and their Steam for Linux client. I've been surprised at the quality this early in the game.

I'm still a bit amazed that they've released a Steam for Linux client that works as well as it does, and that they are iterating and improving it so quickly. They've done everything right so far, let's see where it goes.

Re: SteamOS

#422

Post by ekianjo »

rkalla wrote: post #188
jsnell wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, there is some teasing along those lines there: > Watch for announcements in the coming weeks about all the AAA titles coming natively to SteamOS in 2014. But more importantly, control of Steam gives Valve a lot of leverage in this. It's easy to see the reasons for Linux support in indie games. But harder to see why mid-tier developers like Paradox or Eugen started to port their latest games to Linux. It's a goo…

Juho, great call-out with the "Steam-related carrot", I hadn't really thought down that path but you are absolutely right. Valve could easily offer big discounts in their split with the publishers for the first few years for Linux sales. My (possibly very incorrect) assumption was that the profit from the Linux sales were so low as to not matter, but maybe they can provide a catalog-wide carrot... something more sign…

Even if the market is small, it's critical to be "first" than later. That way you get a bigger share of the market instead of being drowned in an ocean of software like on many app stores these days.

Re: SteamOS

#423

Post by ekianjo »

dkbk wrote: post #411
wonderzombie wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Traditional Linux userspace software" is an informal definition, but let's say something like X. Or your average window manager. Or, say, almost anything from GNOME. "Traditional Linux users" is another informal definition, but if you use a distro, you're probably a traditional Linux user. Contrast this with an Android user. They run the Linux kernel but the software they interface with is an entirely different bree…

The closeness of the SteamOS experience to that of a typical desktop Linux distro is irrelevant. If it runs on the Steam Box, it will run on a Linux desktop of compatible architecture. Considering there is already Steam for Linux, its probable that Valve will ensure Linux games run on both platforms equally well. In any case, if there is no need for "all the trimmings", if Valve just wants to make an entertainment pi…

> on both platforms equally well

But if they are optimizing a number of things in their own distribution, it's not far-fetched to think that games would run marginally better on the SteamOS.

Re: SteamOS

#424

Post by asabjorn »

rkalla wrote: post #188
jsnell wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, there is some teasing along those lines there: > Watch for announcements in the coming weeks about all the AAA titles coming natively to SteamOS in 2014. But more importantly, control of Steam gives Valve a lot of leverage in this. It's easy to see the reasons for Linux support in indie games. But harder to see why mid-tier developers like Paradox or Eugen started to port their latest games to Linux. It's a goo…

Juho, great call-out with the "Steam-related carrot", I hadn't really thought down that path but you are absolutely right. Valve could easily offer big discounts in their split with the publishers for the first few years for Linux sales. My (possibly very incorrect) assumption was that the profit from the Linux sales were so low as to not matter, but maybe they can provide a catalog-wide carrot... something more sign…

A steam-related carrot with lower fees might be a huge incentive. But when we are speculating a gaming company in the business of selling $60-$100 games might be more worried about their ability to differentiate their products from sub-$10 games. If they believe steambox could provide that then it might be an easy sell.

Re: SteamOS

#425

Post by damian2000 »

pippy wrote: post #420
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…

One thing people haven't mentioned in this thread is the Windows Store. Windows is already following OS X in creating a walled garden with signed software. Microsoft implementing more controls on the Windows software ecosystem could be catastrophic for companies like Valve. Steam OS will ensure Valve has something to rely on, it will also force Windows to keep tabs on their software ecosystem.

Microsoft isn't killing the Windows Desktop (i.e. traditional windows apps) anytime soon. 99.9% of Windows users rely on it.

Re: SteamOS

#426

Post by ekianjo »

vacri wrote: post #394
bsimpson wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe Humble Bundle has a partnership with a consultancy that will take care of porting a game to other platforms to enable their Mac/Linux/Windows value proposition. Valve could probably do something similar (though I imagine it's a lot more work to port a AAA game than an indie platformer).

I can't speak for recent Humble Bundles, but the linux experience of earlier ones was inconsistent to say the least. Some games were as if they were intended to be native. Others just didn't work or actually didn't exist. Others worked, but were buggy... and never got the update fixes. Maybe they have become better?

Yeah in the recent bundles it has been much better.

Re: SteamOS

#427

Post by Jaecen »

pekk wrote: post #352
Jaecen wrote: post #165

Having a machine boot into Steam will have an interesting effect on other similar services like Origin and Desura. It will no longer be sufficient to request customers install yet another download manager/DRM platform; instead customers would have to boot in to a different OS to play their Origin games.

So much the worse for Origin, which was a stupid idea anyway. Desura runs on Linux.

Desura runs on Linux, but assuming SteamOS is akin to "boot to Stream Big Screen," users won't have a Gnome or KDE desktop to install it to. In such a case, Desura's existence on SteamOS depends on either inclusion in Valve's marketplace or users' willingness to venture off the map.

Re: SteamOS

#429

Post by mwilcox »

evanmoran wrote: post #395

As someone mentioned this is just the first announcement of three: http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/ Announcement 1, SteamOS: is just a fancy way to say you can create custom Steam consoles by just installing some software. Make the box as good or a cheap as you want and everything will just workPretty awesome, but definitely this will be dwarfed by... Announcement 2, people are guessing is a Valve distribute…

O+O

OS + Oculus?

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