Steam Machine • Hacker News Board

Re: Steam Machine

#771

Post by ragazzina » Thu, Nov 13, 2025, 1:29 PM UTC

babuskov wrote: post #744

serf wrote: post #634

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'm so happy to read this it rings hollow from a company whose entire bedrock for existence is DRM procedures. does Steam still disallow accounts from playing more than one independently owned game at a time without special procedures?

> does Steam still disallow accounts from playing more than one independently owned game at a time without special procedures? Yes. I just tried launching one game on Steam Deck and another one on my desktop and it showed a message: > Error - Steam: You are logged in on another computer already playing Railbound. Launching Clutchtime™: Basketball Deckbuilder here will disconnect the other session from Steam.

This is outrageous.

Re: Steam Machine

#772

Post by chucksmash » Thu, Nov 13, 2025, 1:32 PM UTC

automatic6131 wrote: post #722

lentil_soup wrote: post #711

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's so refreshing to read something like that from a big company, it's weird, but felt like there's still hope? that there's people in power that still care? strange feeling, still curious about it the last few in years in tech have been depressing, like no one cares to make something that's actually better for the consumer, it's made me into a cynic and I hate it

>that there's people in power that still care? strange feeling, still curious about it One day, Gabe Newell will die. Maybe his racer son will inherit the job, or maybe he'll delegate the job. Maybe this new CEO will take Valve public to ensure they get a centi-million dollar payout. Then all the good times end. This is the halcyon for Steam customers.

centi = 10^-2

Re: Steam Machine

#773

Post by weberer » Thu, Nov 13, 2025, 1:35 PM UTC

12_throw_away wrote: post #31

In this big hardware refresh, honestly most excited about finally getting a new steam controller [1], which feels like it might finally give us a better, more extensible standard than the extremely outdated XInput protocol (which still doesn't even support motion controls) [1] https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steamcontroller

I just hope they give us an option to buy a controller with the face buttons in the "Nintendo" order rather than the "Xbox" order. Like how the 8bitdo pro comes in two versions. The only console I actually still care about these days is the Switch/Switch 2, so it would be nice to not have the button placement suddenly reversed when switching between controllers.

https://www.8bitdo.com/pro2/

Re: Steam Machine

#774

Post by lazyfanatic42 » Thu, Nov 13, 2025, 1:39 PM UTC

DiskoHexyl wrote: post #769

SteamOS has way more appeal to gamers in 2025 than it could have had in, say, 2004. On the surface the lack of popular multiplayer titles that require a kernel-level anti-cheat is a heavy downside, but gaming is extremely fragmented these days. In 2004 everyone, save for the casual players, at least tried DOOM3 and Half-Life 2. In 2025 Fortnight has an all-time peak of 12M players, but at the same time there are many…

What made you go with comparing things to 2004? Seems random, there is so much that is different in the Linux ecosystem generally, Valve just put the situation on a rocket and shot it into space.

Point taken, it really is marvelous! When I was running Gentoo Linux, and Windows 2000 back then I never thought things would be so portable and simple!

Re: Steam Machine

#775

Post by lazyfanatic42 » Thu, Nov 13, 2025, 1:41 PM UTC

Ey7NFZ3P0nzAe wrote: post #621

> Install your own apps, or even another operating system. Who are we to tell you how to use your computer? I'm so happy to read this

Valve respects its customers. It is so insane that this isn't a norm; what a world we would be in if all companies did so.

Re: Steam Machine

#776

Post by igravious » Thu, Nov 13, 2025, 1:42 PM UTC

syx wrote: post #659

Ey7NFZ3P0nzAe wrote: post #621

> Install your own apps, or even another operating system. Who are we to tell you how to use your computer? I'm so happy to read this

I'm sure someone will install OpenStep and recreate a NeXT computer 2.0

I mean the Steam Machine's got a replaceable front cover so why not? :)

https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co80944...

https://store.steampowered.com/sale/steammachine

Re: Steam Machine

#777

Post by godzillabrennus » Thu, Nov 13, 2025, 1:44 PM UTC

lazyfanatic42 wrote: post #775

Ey7NFZ3P0nzAe wrote: post #621

> Install your own apps, or even another operating system. Who are we to tell you how to use your computer? I'm so happy to read this

Valve respects its customers. It is so insane that this isn't a norm; what a world we would be in if all companies did so.

Don't sugarcoat it. Valve has to make sure this is advertised as a PC to keep the licensing good on the games you've bought and that they are allowed to sell. Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have closed ecosystems with their consoles. Well, Microsoft seems to be throwing in the towel on consoles.

Re: Steam Machine

#778

Post by a96 » Thu, Nov 13, 2025, 1:44 PM UTC

legitster wrote: post #242

paxys wrote: post #182

A bit too sparse on details. - No price - No indication for whether the CPU/GPU/RAM/SSD are upgradable or all soldered together on the board. - "4K gaming at 60 FPS with FSR" but doesn't mention what kind of games it can run at that quality. - No performance benchmarks, or mention of what the equivalent retail CPU/GPU to their custom one is. At face value this seems like a $500-600 PC, and that's also the price it wo…

> No indication for whether the CPU/GPU/RAM/SSD are upgradable or all soldered together on the board. Almost certainly. This is the direction the industry is heading, and the perverse unavailability of high-end discrete graphics cards is the nail in the coffin. See also the Framework PC.

The Framework Desktop has unified memory, which is the usual excuse.

Re: Steam Machine

#779

Post by spaceman_2020 » Thu, Nov 13, 2025, 1:49 PM UTC

thadt wrote: post #29

Pretty much the only reason I boot to Windows anymore is to play games with my kids and family. The direction of this thing is dangerously close to being all I'd care about from a desktop computer. If Valve pivoted into making a well-supported laptop with good hardware that ran Linux and played games...

Only reason I even had a windows machine too. I got rid of it because I realized after a long tiring day sitting upright, I really did not find sitting even more upright and playing games relaxing. I wanted to plop down on the couch and do it. And it was a gigantic tower that was taking up too much space in my office

If I could have a machine like this instead, I'd happily buy it instead. Windows has zero use for me other than playing games

Re: Steam Machine

#780

Post by spacebanana7 » Thu, Nov 13, 2025, 1:50 PM UTC

carlos_rpn wrote: post #732

tete wrote: post #697

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fingers crossed for a smartphone next. So sick of that force fed walled garden crap from Apple and Google. Might also help to slow down enshittification by a bit if there was a popular alternative. Maybe something like Waydroid could even ease with transition.

Damn, a smartphone made by Valve would make me splurge for more than middle-low end, for the respect they give us alone. It just needs my banking apps, and and I'll be happy to pay for it.

It's actually not that impossible, given how the DRM ecosystem trusts steam I could imagine banking apps doing the same.

Some banks might even be up for putting children's banking apps on the steam deck to start with.