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SteamMachines

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Re: SteamMachines

#81

Post by vinkelhake »

simias wrote: post #25
vinkelhake wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since SteamOS is Linux and they're distributing it, they have to. This doesn't mean that any of the Valve applications running on top of it will be open source. I don't expect them to be.

The question is about "SteamOS" however, not the kernel. That means that the userland might be open source as well (like android). Actually it's a must if they want people to actually port their OS to a wide range of hardware. That being said Steam (the app) will obviously remain closed source.

Is there any reason to suspect that the SteamOS userland isn't the same (or at least very similar) to what you'd have on Ubuntu? It seems like asking for trouble to go with a completely custom userland (even if they open source it).

Re: SteamMachines

#82

Post by CrazedGeek »

Pxtl wrote: post #78
scassidy wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are people using a mouse and keyboard going to play against people using a controller? The results will be hilarious (in that anyone using a controller wont stand a chance). Everyone will be forced to use a mouse.

There have been games that have released with this allowance. They achieve balance by offering powerful aim-assist to the gamepad players. In any other context that would be the foulest cheating... but in the context of game-design for vastly different interfaces, it's a perfectly reasonable handicap.

It also works reasonably well for cooperative games. I beat Portal 2 with a friend this way.

Re: SteamMachines

#83

Post by CrazedGeek »

fsckin wrote: post #80
jamesaguilar wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't the next generation of controller simply work over bluetooth? I know the DS3 already does. If that's the case, it shouldn't require any specialized hardware, since almost everything comes with bluetooth these days.

Sony and Nintendo use Bluetooth, while Microsoft uses a proprietary wireless protocol.

Nintendo uses a proprietary connection for the Wii U GamePad as well.

Re: SteamMachines

#84

Post by brymaster »

meritt wrote: post #61
devindotcom wrote: post #55

Why on earth have they not called the hardware "Steam Engine" instead of these strange other names?

Maybe they are saving that for their Unity3D competitor :)

I really like this theory. Seems to me that if Friday's announcement isn't a game reveal, it'll instead be Source Engine 2 and a possible Unity competitor. This would make a lot of sense if Valve is serious about getting developers on board for their SteamMachine/Linux/cross-platform strategy.

Valve has already announced the OS and hardware, dev tools could be next.

Re: SteamMachines

#85

Post by roc »

NoodleIncident wrote: post #56
breckinloggins wrote: post #22

I'm excited about where Valve is going with this, of course, but to be honest I'm concerned about controllers the most. Buying a good controller for a PC is not hard, but it's not simple either. Picture yourself as a "living room console guy" getting into PC gaming. You'd like to use a controller for a certain game. Consider: - You can use your XBox360, PS3 controller, or WiiMote, but that's not obvious. You'll need…

From TFA: >Am I going to be using a mouse and a keyboard in the living-room? >If you want. But Steam and SteamOS work well with gamepads, too. Stay tuned, though - we have some more to say very soon on the topic of input. The third announcement will be the controller Valve patented some time ago. This controller replaces a thumbstick with a trackball, and might let you swap out input devices for different games. Rega…

> "This controller replaces a thumbstick with a trackball"

That sounds like a special hell. What would even be the point? Making it marginally easier to control products that were never properly re-designed as living room software at the expense of compatibility with essentially every piece of contemporary living room software?

Here's to hoping that if such a thing is actually rolled out, it falls under "an option" and isn't an approach they put too much emphasis on.

Re: SteamMachines

#86

Post by girvo »

stonemetal wrote: post #47
fooqux wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Half Life 3 confirmed? If you take the time of the announcement (in seconds elapsed since midnight, March 14th 1993), divided by the amount of letters in the FAQ, and then find the square root of the resulting number, you get 3! Seriously though, are you suggesting that HL3 will only be released (even for a short while) the SteamOS? I agree it's possible, but I think that would piss all kinds of people off due to it…

but I think that would piss all kinds of people off due to it obviously being a marketing ploy. You mean like HL2 and the original steam release?

Everyone has short memories. I remember the uproar when that was announced... Followed by us all dealing with it and getting steam.

Gosh I miss CS1.5

Re: SteamMachines

#87

Post by sillysaurus2 »

Arjuna wrote: post #60
breckinloggins wrote: post #22

I'm excited about where Valve is going with this, of course, but to be honest I'm concerned about controllers the most. Buying a good controller for a PC is not hard, but it's not simple either. Picture yourself as a "living room console guy" getting into PC gaming. You'd like to use a controller for a certain game. Consider: - You can use your XBox360, PS3 controller, or WiiMote, but that's not obvious. You'll need…

I believe that you will find this interesting... https://www.google.com/patents/US8241126 Video game controller having user swappable control components Original Assignee: Valve Corporation Abstract: A game controller is provided. One or more main control input interfaces on the game controller consist of generalized sockets. A variety of modular input interfaces can be plugged into these sockets. Hardware specific t…

This is why I love HN. Were you randomly looking up Valve-assigned patents and happened to stumble on this?

Re: SteamMachines

#88

Post by AimHere »

Touche wrote: post #35
simias wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The question is about "SteamOS" however, not the kernel. That means that the userland might be open source as well (like android). Actually it's a must if they want people to actually port their OS to a wide range of hardware. That being said Steam (the app) will obviously remain closed source.

What userland is there? It runs startx and launches Steam Big Picture, right?

And right there you're going to need a sizeable chunk of X windows, and a C library, and network configuration utilities, hardware management tools (looks like this is aimed at commodity hardware + reference machines from Valve) and the guts of a web browser and Steam itself. I wouldn't be totally surprised to find coreutils or at least busybox in the default install too, for aiding and abetting system initialising (and to please the intrepid few who somehow make their way to a command line).

Re: SteamMachines

#89

Post by snotrockets »

Look at the beta eligibility list: they require the would be participants to get a leg in the steam community facilities, and try playing in living room mode.

That would give a huge crowd an incentive to try Steam the way Valve is hoping it'd be used in the future. So they give 300 boxes, but get thousands of people trying their console-like services.

Evil geniuses, those Valvers are.

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