131–140 of 291 posts
This cought my eye: > Can I download the OS to try it out? You will be able to download it (including the source code, if you're into that) but not yet. Wondering if that'd include their entire product in source code? probably not, aye?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
From 2012: http://kotaku.com/5890372/is-this-valves-control-pad-design/
This cought my eye: > Can I download the OS to try it out? You will be able to download it (including the source code, if you're into that) but not yet. Wondering if that'd include their entire product in source code? probably not, aye?
Almost assuredly not, since their DRM is a big part of their platform. They may include pieces of it, though.
I want to praise the name choice. "Machine" is very catchy.
SteamEngine would've been rather cool too... unless there is something already called the Steam Engine... or if it didn't confuse the connotation too much with other software types of "engines"
Also SteamMachine might be more unique and thus easier to search for.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
'In a few years any SteamMachine for 300$ will easily outperform PS4/XBone.' Uhh, do you have any support for this claim?
moore's law? Or more specifically, look at charts of cpu/$, gpu/$ memory/$ and flash/$ over time. They all go down over time.
2014 Oculus Rift expected to ship widely demoed and lauded next generation experience. Nov 2013 Sony and MS start shipping new consoles. Oct 2013 Apple likely to announce and immediately ship $129=$199 A7X based console killer. Sep 2013 Valve announces beta opt in for SteamMachine with zero details on product.
Maybe I'm just missing something here, but I'm pretty sure an ARM-based system has exactly zero chance of displacing current gaming platforms. They could whip up a sexy Ouya competitor, sure, but Ouya isn't exactly setting the gaming world on fire. An ARM console would be a competitor to phone/tablet gaming, not to console gaming.
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> "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" a…
FPS games kind of suck on a controller, due to a lack of precision. At the very least, you can't compete with anyone using a mouse. A trackball, on the other hand...
And on top of that, occupy some 'third' control scheme somewhere between "kb/m" and "gamepad" that developers would have to explicitly target, at a time when so few of them even put the time into adding proper kb/m support for their console-first-PC-port-maybe-if-its-cheap-to-farm-out titles.
> 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. This excites me. Valve's bread-and-butter, as a gamedev company and not a game reseller, uses a pointing device. FPS games and Dota are both genres that do far better with a mouse. Obviously, supporting gam…
Did nobody else read the Beta Terms of Agreement? 1. Valve Corporation ("Valve", "We", "Us" or "Our") has developed and produced prototypes of entertainment system hardware and software, including a set-top box running custom software and a game controller A game controller...
http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/2/2840932/exclusive-valve-ste...
Or it may be something to do with Gabe Newell's interest in biometrics.
They want SteamOS to restructure the console market like Android did with the mobile market. They give PC makers a great new customizable way to enter the livingroom-computer market. With their gaming shop built in. This is great for gamers. In a few years any SteamMachine for 300$ will easily outperform PS4/XBone. And have way way more games. And all AAA games (all PC releases).
Makes me wonder when MS will complain that SteamOS is free just like how they complain Android is free.
http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20130409/0212...
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That might have been true in the past (I remember having some trouble with a SideWinder controller on a dedicated control port in the 90's) but these days the 360 wired USB controllers are as plug'n'play as it gets (on windows at least). It Just Works. PS3 controllers are a pity though, you need those shady ad-ridden closed source third party drivers.
Very true, but remember that the issue I'm addressing is more about branding and marketing than about the tech. For example: "Wait, you mean I have to buy an XBox 360 controller to use my Steam Machine?" Well, no, but it's better that way. "What do you mean, isn't there a Steam Controller." Not exactly, you see any Steam Machine is compatible with any number of controllers. "So why can't I buy this other controller I…
"Nah, its compatible with a lot of controllers. In my experience the Xbox 360 one works pretty well so I'd just go with that. You can check the other ones out if you want, too."
"Ok, cool."