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Valve is about to win the console generation

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Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#341

Post by pzo »

what I wish this device had:

1) front speaker instead of this magnetic panel that is only for esthetic

2) wireless charging pad on top

3) home router functionality - just attach 4g modem to usb-a

4) matter hub for smart home

They could advertise you getting 7in1 devices for the same price:

- game console

- smart speaker like alexa

- smart tv (miracast, google cast, airplay)

- smart home hub for matter devices

- home router

- wireless charging pad

- mini home server (private cloud, home backup, vpn, pihole)

Then with software wish it could easily have app store like umbrel: https://umbrel.com

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#342

Post by Kbelicius »

rkangel wrote: post #280
Normal_gaussian wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably not. Kernel level anti cheat is the problem. I know BF6 isn't proton safe. Fortnite is the same. GTA VI will probably run single player on proton fine, GTA V does. Multiplayer will probably not. The multiplayer with kernel level anti cheat will keep Sony safe through at least another generation; Microsoft is less safe as they're so vulnerable this generation anyway.

There's a circular opportunity though - if the SteamOS market share gets anywhere, then it might become worth it for these developers to support anti-cheat on the that platform. Some systems (notably BattleEye) actually have Linux support, they just need to enable it, but there's no incentive for them to do so.

> Some systems (notably BattleEye) actually have Linux support, they just need to enable it, but there's no incentive for them to do so.

This isn't really true. As GP said, there isn't a kernel level anti cheat for linux. You can switch a flick on BattleEye to run on linux but it wont be a kernel level as it is on windows. So there is an incentive for them to not turn it on because it simply is the worse version than the windows one. As far as I know even on windows you get cheats even if it is kernel level. Meaning, allowing linux you'd probably be flooded with cheaters if you already get them on windows.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#343

Post by linuxftw »

jsmailes wrote: post #242

For me, the big killer feature would be if this device is approved for modern media DRM. As much as I'm tired of streaming and its level of control over how I watch TV, it's still a decent part of my media consumption, but any Linux mini-PC I connect to the TV can only do low-resolution streaming from most providers. If the steam machine is approved for high-resolution streaming, it could totally replace the smart TV…

But if more people didn't have locked down devices, the streamers would be forced to open up.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#344

Post by slightwinder »

Aerroon wrote: post #276
slightwinder wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a misconception. Majority of players are with the big Franchises, and they stay with them. The variety-gamers who are playing multiple different games are a minority, though they are a big crowd, loud and have for obvious reasons more attention, leading to this misconception. For example, Escape from Duckov, which you are speaking about, had at it's peak "just" roughly as many players as Battlefield 6 has on a…

I don't think it's entirely the case. They are on franchises, but not the ones you think of - they're playing live service games that have been around for years. Games like League of Legends, Counterstrike, Fortnite, Dota, WoW, PUBG etc. Games like Battlefield are up there, but I don't think they're the games people mainly play over the years. (Although Fifa and GTA definitely are.) For example, the top 10 games in K…

> I don't think it's entirely the case. They are on franchises, but not the ones you think of

I didn't name any franchise. I only mentioned Battlefield to compare it with the mentioned Duck-Game, as they are both on Steam where everyone can see the numbers. I mean if we are talking about the real big numbers, then we would be with Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnite, LoL, which are all not on Steam; making number-checking a tad harder.

> Games like Battlefield are up there, but I don't think they're the games people mainly play over the years.

As a Franchise it seems moving Fifa, very popular, but also seasonal peaks. Each new version shoves in players for a while, until they are satisfied again. Though, I don't really play them, so it's just external observation.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#345

Post by nobodyandproud »

testdelacc1 wrote: post #189
Normal_gaussian wrote: post #46

Valve certainly won't win it, but they're bringing the heat where it wasn't before. SteamOS is the important part here - if it is proven to be a good console experience (which the deck has basically proven already) then licensing of the OS to other manufacturers will put a lot of pressure on integrated h/w s/w manufacturers. Unlike the handheld format, the tvbox console is fairly easy to manufacture and is tolerant o…

Current OS split of Steam users - 94.84% windows, 2.11% mac, 3.05% Linux. Valve has fought tooth and nail for a decade to make that 3.05% a reality. Linux means they control their own destiny, instead of being at the mercy of Microsoft. Valve has their eyes on this prize and they’re willing to play the long game. Everyone’s going to talk about “winning” the console generation, but winning could mean an increase of Li…

Valve’s strategy being that Microsoft will continue down this user-hostile and privacy-hostile experience.

Being computer-savvy means I’m still a relative outlier, but given the renewed shift away from Windows and Office; Windows unfortunately may become niche.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#346

Post by Fnoord »

tombert wrote: post #105
Normal_gaussian wrote: post #46

Valve certainly won't win it, but they're bringing the heat where it wasn't before. SteamOS is the important part here - if it is proven to be a good console experience (which the deck has basically proven already) then licensing of the OS to other manufacturers will put a lot of pressure on integrated h/w s/w manufacturers. Unlike the handheld format, the tvbox console is fairly easy to manufacture and is tolerant o…

My main game console right now is one of those little gaming boxes you can buy on Amazon for about $400, where I have installed NixOS + Jovian to get the "SteamOS" interface. I really like it. It really does feel like a "game console"; usually when I've made my own console using Linux, it always feels kind of janky. For example, RetroPie on the Raspberry Pi is pretty cool, but it doesn't feel like a proper commercial…

That sounds interesting because with NixOS it should be very easy to move your config to the next thing, and honestly I prefer NixOS over Arch.

What I wanted to ask you: have you converted the device into a STB as well or is that still standalone?

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#347

Post by teamonkey »

estimator7292 wrote: post #328
crote wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think they could possibly make it cheap enough for that - especially once you consider all the money being wasted on RGB/Bluetooth/a GPU you won't use. Messing around with weird consumer hardware in a datacenter context isn't exactly attractive. If all you need is some x86 cores, an off-the-shelf blade server approach gets you far more compute in the same space with far less hassle. Even if the purchase cost…

It happened to the PS3

The PS3 was weird. It had a unique architecture that made it especially useful for HPC in an era before GPUs were useful for that purpose. The CPU and GPU in the Steam Machine are not particularly high-end.

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#348

Post by mschuster91 »

Something I haven't seen discussed at all is HDCP compliance.

Of course, games don't need that - I'd say that every game studio is aware that without streamers, you don't sell games, and streamers can't stream when HDCP gets in their way.

But for the use case of a home theater? PS4 and 5 as well as some Xbox varieties can do 4K Netflix [1], no issues. Installing Windows, I'd guess that's fine too. But Steam OS? Nope. Anything too "open" gets the boot, including Android if you dare root your device, Widevine L1 refuses to work as the TEE doesn't reveal the keys if it detects an unlocked bootloader.

[1] https://help.netflix.com/de/node/23888

[2] https://help.netflix.com/de/node/23889

Re: Valve is about to win the console generation

#349

Post by mschuster91 »

Kbelicius wrote: post #342
rkangel wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a circular opportunity though - if the SteamOS market share gets anywhere, then it might become worth it for these developers to support anti-cheat on the that platform. Some systems (notably BattleEye) actually have Linux support, they just need to enable it, but there's no incentive for them to do so.

> Some systems (notably BattleEye) actually have Linux support, they just need to enable it, but there's no incentive for them to do so. This isn't really true. As GP said, there isn't a kernel level anti cheat for linux. You can switch a flick on BattleEye to run on linux but it wont be a kernel level as it is on windows. So there is an incentive for them to not turn it on because it simply is the worse version than…

> Meaning, allowing linux you'd probably be flooded with cheaters if you already get them on windows.

There's an easy way to not get cheaters, or at least to slow down their impact: stop making your games "free to play". When cheaters have to buy 60€ games everytime they get b&, eventually they'll run out of money.

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