Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

kotaku.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 199 posts

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#131

Post by recoiledsnake »

james4k wrote: post #97
recoiledsnake wrote: post #12

I think the headline of the article is pretty misleading as he means that Windows 8 is a catastrophe for Steam because of the Windows 8 app store. Looks like everyone's upvoting the article because they seem to think that Gabe meant that Windows 8 will be a failure. Instead of having to go through Steam's distribution, games will have the option of going directly to the Windows 8 app store and get featured there, not…

Steam's cut is 30%. However, for that 30% you get to update your game whenever you want, and virtually as often as you want. By that I mean they don't impose any direct limits on how often you update, but the general rule is no more than once a week aside from hotfixes and the like. I'm not aware of any digital marketplace that gives you this much control, especially as video game updates will often be hundreds of me…

>Steam's cut is 30%. However, for that 30% you get to update your game whenever you want, and virtually as often as you want. By that I mean they don't impose any direct limits on how often you update, but the general rule is no more than once a week aside from hotfixes and the like.

Is there any reference for that?

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#132

Post by james4k »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #131
james4k wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Steam's cut is 30%. However, for that 30% you get to update your game whenever you want, and virtually as often as you want. By that I mean they don't impose any direct limits on how often you update, but the general rule is no more than once a week aside from hotfixes and the like. I'm not aware of any digital marketplace that gives you this much control, especially as video game updates will often be hundreds of me…

>Steam's cut is 30%. However, for that 30% you get to update your game whenever you want, and virtually as often as you want. By that I mean they don't impose any direct limits on how often you update, but the general rule is no more than once a week aside from hotfixes and the like. Is there any reference for that?

Officially, they are flexible on the actual rate, but I believe 30% is pretty standard.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0228/technology-gabe-newel...

Edit: Oh, and PC Gamer has a good bit about the update process.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/07/12/how-steam-is-about-to-chan...

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#133

Post by wtracy »

GlennS wrote: post #76
wtracy wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to reply that UBC doesn't support paid apps, but apparently now it does. That said, Valve appears to be going for a play based on being a cross-platform app store (Windows, OS X, Linux). It's not obvious to me that they can add much value that way (after you've gone to the work to implement support for three platforms, submitting to three app stores is not a lot of overhead) but we'll see.

A cross-platform store is something that appeals to the consumer rather than the game developer I would think?

If you're using multiple platforms, I could see the benefit of not having to enter your credit card multiple times. But honestly, if you're going to buy a program on your PC, then walk over to your Mac and buy it again, do you really care if you're buying it from the same store both times?

I know that Steam lets you take your games from one machine to another, but I don't expect that to be the norm for most app stores.

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#134

Post by csense »

fpp wrote: post #77

After the Vista Candy shop its toy blocks now... - haven't looked under the hood of W8 yet but if MS wants to limit me what I can install on my computer / take over boot / BIOS control this one will certainly find no home on any of my computers. Call me old fashioned but if I go to a shop and buy a computer (or have it send to my place) I actually want to own it and not find a clause on line 432'678 of the license ag…

Most EULA's contain a clause that says "This EULA may be changed by us at any time without notice to you. Your continued use of the product after any such change constitutes acceptance of such terms."

Seems like, if you don't have a script polling their website hourly for EULA updates, they can insert terms like "By continuing use of our product, you agree that we now own your computer, your house, your bank accounts, your first-born son and your immortal soul." And you'll have no choice but to pay up.

I'm surprised I haven't seen more headlines about companies trying this kind of s*.

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#135

Post by bloaf »

macspoofing wrote: post #116
jmcqk6 wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think most games can be published in the windows 8 app store. They have very strict guidelines about the types of apps that will be listed. Specifically, only metro-style, full screen apps that use a specific subset of the .NET framework. I don't know of any games right now that would fit that requirement, certainly not the types of games that make steam popular. Especially when you consider the most popular…

They can change that

That's not what matters. What matters is whether or not they can change it in time.

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#136

Post by GeneralMaximus »

zanny wrote: post #121
notatoad wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of those things are true. Microsoft will not limit what you can install, take over your bios, or control your boot. In fact, windows 8 is the first windows to play nice with Linux boot loaders. Windows RT (aka tablets) is the only space where bootloaders will be locked. Don't get me wrong, locking it down anywhere is a shitty thing to do, but spreading misinformation is also a shitty thing to do.

Secure Boot and signed kernels called. Microsoft is pushing OEMs to sell laptops in the next several years with forced secure boot for x86 platforms.

On x86, it's mandatory for OEMs to allow the user to opt-out of Secure Boot. So even if your new laptop has Secure Boot enabled, you can simply reboot into the EFI settings and flip a switch to turn it off.

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#137

Post by b0rsuk »

ralfn wrote: post #105
cooldeal wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, and I also wouldn't trust anything he says about Windows 8 since he has a vested interest in keeping easy distribution restricted to Steam. He will face no such competition on Linux.

The headline is misleading. He was talking very much, from his vested interest point of view. He was not dismissing the quality or value of win8 for consumers. But he is allowed to be a bit upset: Steam is effectively not allowed on Metro. And there was loyalty between Valve and Microsoft. In general, he dislikes the verticalisation in the market; how consumer devices will all be (media,game,app) consoles. But to see…

Nitpick: without Steam and without any equivalent of it, PC gaming would have (probably) died 5 years ago.

Your sentence is like saying that without Internet Explorer, we would still be paying for internet browsers. It's praising Microsoft for what it did and mysteriously assuming that in absence of it, no one else would bring the cost of browsers down.

This is my nitpick with "what if X didn't exist" scenarios: people imply that nothing would fill the vacuum.

Another example I just made up: "If Linux didn't exist, we wouldn't have a free, open source OS". I'm pretty sure FreeBSD or something like that would grow like Linux instead. Not saying it would be better or worse, because, frankly, I don't know.

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#138

Post by gnufied »

It is one thing porting Steam to Linux and quite another making actual games available on Linux. Take OSX for example,a platform where Steam has been available for awhile now. and yet around half of most played titles on Steam are not available on OSX. What is more - Dota2 valve's own game is not available.

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#139

Post by dclowd9901 »

trotsky wrote: post #3

I'm all for linux support, but clearly he's more worried about a future with microsoft taking their digital delivery business, not usability.

Can someone explain to me how the App Store model is a viable business model? It seems like, at some point, it just becomes a race to the bottom in terms of the cut of sales revenues, or an abusive oligopoly of stores that force burdening arbitrary rules and limitations down peoples' throats.

Isn't it really just a modern day record label?

Re: Gabe Newell Wants to Support Linux, Because Windows 8 is a 'Catastrophe'

#140

Post by andyzweb »

b0rsuk wrote: post #137
ralfn wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The headline is misleading. He was talking very much, from his vested interest point of view. He was not dismissing the quality or value of win8 for consumers. But he is allowed to be a bit upset: Steam is effectively not allowed on Metro. And there was loyalty between Valve and Microsoft. In general, he dislikes the verticalisation in the market; how consumer devices will all be (media,game,app) consoles. But to see…

Nitpick: without Steam and without any equivalent of it, PC gaming would have (probably) died 5 years ago. Your sentence is like saying that without Internet Explorer, we would still be paying for internet browsers. It's praising Microsoft for what it did and mysteriously assuming that in absence of it, no one else would bring the cost of browsers down. This is my nitpick with "what if X didn't exist" scenarios: peop…

this might shed some light on the why Linux beat out BSD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USL_v._BSDi
Post reply on HN