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Valve engineer confirms Linux-based Steambox for 2013, could appear at GDC or E3

F

fluffydelusions

Member
So to people complaining about Linux is it because they think it's going to be a Linux desktop e.g. Ubuntu like environment with Gnome and such or because it won't play their collection of games? 2 things:

1) Linux is NOT a desktop environment, it's a kernel. BPM could very well be the UI for the whole thing or something similar anyway
2) Steambox is likely not for people who own a gaming PC already w/ tons of titles on Steam.
 
M

MutFox

Banned
Do people on here know that Android is based on Linux?
Linux is pretty flexible, you won't see lines of code everywhere, if that's the reason you're scared...
 
K

Krowley

Member
Syphon Filter said:
Not a full on competitor because they will put their titles on the other machines too.
Click to expand...

This is not guaranteed.

I think they'll release them on PC, but you don't get into hardware unless you're willing to take a little bit of a risk. Some kind of exclusivity for their own excellent software seems like a must. Every piece of hardware needs a killer app. Having steambox be the only console that runs HL3 would fit the bill nicely.

Then they could still hedge their bets by releasing a PC version, too.
 
F

fluffydelusions

Member
Krowley said:
This is not guaranteed.

I think they'll release them on PC, but you don't get into hardware unless you're willing to take a little bit of a risk. Some kind of exclusivity for their own excellent software seems like a must. Every piece of hardware needs a killer app. Having the only console that runs HL3 would fit the bill nicely.
Click to expand...

Yep...PC+Steambox exclusive. No way Valve abandons PC
 
S

Suite Pee

Willing to learn
I imagine most of the concerns voiced in this thread were covered in a brainstorming session at Valve. They're not stupid people, far from it.

edit: Also, they'd be stupid to make HL3 a Steambox exclusive.
 
K

Koren

Member
goomba said:
Wtf is with all the Linux hate in here ? Other than backwards compatibility, what does windows offer?
Click to expand...
DirectX.

Games don't need Windows, indeed. But they need a graphical API and optimized drivers for the API, and a good gaming framework.

OpenGL 2 and OpenGL 3 have disappointed most people, and DirectX is more than just OpenGL. The raw capabilities may be similar now, but DirectX filled a gap 10 years ago for game development, and OpenGL nearly went to oblivion with PC games. There has been hundreds of tools and framework based on DirectX.

Everything has been helped by the fact that Microsoft labs are REALLY productive in the graphical research community (go to any big conference in computer graphics, you'll see microsoft labs talks, and those are selected by peer reviews).

Besides, DirectX is more than just a graphical set of functions, it's truly a base for games. You have to find an equivalent on Linux.

That's not as if there's anything impossible to do without DirectX, but it's like asking programmers to get rid of C computing language for a new one, which they don't know well, for which they lack tools, etc.

Assuming there's enough people wanting to buy games on Linux (or MacOS), I'm sure developpers will do their best to port their engines. But it'll take some times, a LOT of arguments from Valve, and probably a good alternative framework, well documented and easy to use from them. The question is whether Valve can provide this...
 
K

Krowley

Member
scitek said:
Especially when the Steambox will basically be a PC.
Click to expand...

Except I don't think it will... Under the surface, yeah, but I bet it will be closed off in a big way.

They'll have a linux kernel, and a simple gui front-end designed for TV use that lets you access steam.. Kind of like the IOS/Android marketplaces.... I'm thinking it won't function like a Linux PC at all.

edit// but it will probably be infinitely hackable
 
T

Tobor

Member
DarkFlow said:
I just hope alongside the premade box they sale, they also have a distro of the stream OS and basic specs to meet for a homemade box. I would much rather build my own and dual boot it then just having a separate steam box.
Click to expand...

I'd say that's a lock, along with being able to buy the Valve controller for use on PC and Mac.

Flexibility will be the name of the game for Valve. Something for everybody.
 
B

Baconsammy

Banned
fluffydelusions said:
Steambox is probably not for people like us anyway (PC gamers I mean)
Click to expand...

Nor does it sound like its for people like me (Console gamers). If PC gaming is something I feel like returning to, I'll build my own. I see this as a curious, interesting upcoming bomb. But one I'm definitely intrigued in seeing played out, and quietly hoping it works out well for them.
 
undu

undu

Member
Syphon Filter said:
What's wrong with linux?
Click to expand...

Linux is scary because Linux is associated with walls of text in console mode, as you can see in this same thread.

It's the main reason why android phone aren't "android Linux" phones and they don't bear tux the penguin in their boxes, consumers have a lot of premade (and wrong) ideas about Linux which scares them away.

That's why I think valve would be wise to market the OS as steam OS or something similar and get away from the Linux brand, just like Google did.
 
L

Lulubop

Member
Krowley said:
This is not guaranteed.

I think they'll release them on PC, but you don't get into hardware unless you're willing to take a little bit of a risk. Some kind of exclusivity for their own excellent software seems like a must. Every piece of hardware needs a killer app. Having steambox be the only console that runs HL3 would fit the bill nicely.

Then they could still hedge their bets by releasing a PC version, too.
Click to expand...

You think? Come on, they're not going to abandon people who use steam on Windows PC.
 
P

Painraze

Unconfirmed Member
Why would anyone be negative about this? A Valve console sounds exciting. Are we gamers or shareholders who only care about potential marketshare?
 
W

Withnail

Member
The PC is dying outside of businesses and a relatively small enthusiast crowd. This is Valve making sure they stay relevant and attempting to grab a place under the TV.
 
K

Krowley

Member
Lulubop said:
You think? Come on, they're not going to abandon people who use steam on Windows PC.
Click to expand...

No, you're probably right on that, and I never said otherwise...

But the other consoles can probably forget about any new valve software in the near future.
 
P

peakish

Member
I don't expect this to be a hit, but then again I've been wrong about just about everything that Valve has ever tried. Regardless, I'll likely keep building machines on my own and it will be interesting to see if they can successfully target those who don't care about that.
 
D

Derrick01

Banned
Painraze said:
Why would anyone be negative about this? A Valve console sounds exciting. Are we gamers or shareholders who only care about potential marketshare?
Click to expand...

I am definitely worried about Valve throwing money away on something potentially useless. It could affect how Steam is handled in the future.
 
P

Painraze

Unconfirmed Member
Derrick01 said:
I am definitely worried about Valve throwing money away on something potentially useless. It could affect how Steam is handled in the future.
Click to expand...

The eroding interest in desktop PCs in general could affect how Steam is handled in the future. What's wrong with Valve dipping it's feet in the water in this area? You'd rather just let MS and/or Sony handle it?
 
Z

Zimbardo

Member
i wonder if EA will be on board?

they've been trying to push their own service, Origin, and have completely by passed Steam with many of their titles over the last while ...so its interesting to see what happens there.

i feel that EA would need to be on board with Steam here in order for the Steambox to be a major success. their sports titles like Madden and the NHL series are major draws for a lot of people out there.

stuff like Battlefield and Crysis would have to be on there as well.

i know that if i was in the market for a console type experience and there was one console that offered me Madden, NHL, Battlefield, etc, while another one didn't ...well, its safe to say that i wouldn't bother with the one lacking those titles.

EA are huge. Steam needs them, imo.
 
D

Darkkn

Member
I wonder what kind of controller design they come up with. 360 Controller is great and it probably won't work plug-and-play on Linux?

The lack of DirectX seems to be a big problem also more than the lack of backwards compatibility. Engines like Frostbite 2 are very heavily optimized for DX11 only on PC's and FB2 is going to be used on a lot of future EA games. Other developers are also banking on DX11 because of NextBox.

Oh, and EA, Blizzard and some others aren't even on Steam so you are out of luck with some of the most popular games/franchises currently on PC.

It's going to be a tough sell. Maybe they pull 'HL2'(had to get Steam account to play) and make HL3 a SteamBox exclusive. That would be an incentive people care about.
 
T

Tobor

Member
Derrick01 said:
I am definitely worried about Valve throwing money away on something potentially useless. It could affect how Steam is handled in the future.
Click to expand...

Doing nothing could also affect how Steam is handled in the future. The success of this new box and OS could potentially ensure Steam as a viable service no matter what Microsoft does in the future.
 
L

lefantome

Member
Koren said:
DirectX.

Games don't need Windows, indeed. But they need a graphical API and optimized drivers for the API, and a good gaming framework.

OpenGL 2 and OpenGL 3 have disappointed most people, and DirectX is more than just OpenGL. The raw capabilities may be similar now, but DirectX filled a gap 10 years ago for game development, and OpenGL nearly went to oblivion with PC games. There has been hundreds of tools and framework based on DirectX.

Everything has been helped by the fact that Microsoft labs are REALLY productive in the graphical research community (go to any big conference in computer graphics, you'll see microsoft labs talks, and those are selected by peer reviews).

Besides, DirectX is more than just a graphical set of functions, it's truly a base for games. You have to find an equivalent on Linux.

That's not as if there's anything impossible to do without DirectX, but it's like asking programmers to get rid of C computing language for a new one, which they don't know well, for which they lack tools, etc.

Assuming there's enough people wanting to buy games on Linux (or MacOS), I'm sure developpers will do their best to port their engines. But it'll take some times, a LOT of arguments from Valve, and probably a good alternative framework, well documented and easy to use from them. The question is whether Valve can provide this...
Click to expand...


Dafuq did,i just read?

Opengl are modern APIs used in lots of platforms. The most successfull engines support them. On windows directx are preferred but it won't be a problem to use opengl.

Also expect optimized drivers, whatever producer they choose it will support steamgox with great drivers. You are thinking of steambox as a pc with ubuntu. It will never be like that, probably it will use an heavily customised distro based on the linux kermel.

http://www.unrealengine.com/platforms/

Also star citizen is going to be released n linux and it uses cry engine 3 ... Guess what?
 
C

Cerebral Assassin

Member
Conor 419 said:
Twilight Princess is on track to be the best selling in the series. As SS is the fastest ever selling Zelda title, it's fair to assume even it will eventually surpass Twilight Princess.

Zelda's no Mario or Pokémon, I agree, but there are very very few IP's that could go toe to toe with those two.
Click to expand...

That assumption has very little basis in fact(TP & SS came out in vastly different circumstances), but even if you are right there are still plenty of franchises that sell better than Zelda currently does.

Nimajneb said:
It would have to be fixed. Making it modular would throw out all the advantages it has over a regular PC.
Click to expand...

Not if they control what components are being used, if it was fixed it would have all the disadvantages of consoles & have none of the advantages of PC's(outside of Steam sales).
 
D

dragonelite

Member
Zimbardo said:
i wonder if EA will be on board?

they've been trying to push their own service, Origin, and have completely by passed Steam with many of their titles over the last while ...so its interesting to see what happens there.

i feel that EA would need to be on board with Steam here in order for the Steambox to be a major success. their sports titles like Madden and the NHL series are major draws for a lot of people out there.

stuff like Battlefield and Crysis would have to be on there as well.

i know that if i was in the market for a console type experience and there was one console that offered me Madden, NHL, Battlefield, etc, while another one didn't ...well, its safe to say that i wouldn't bother with the one lacking those titles.

EA are huge. Steam needs them, imo.
Click to expand...

I think EA would rather try to make their own console too. :(
Would love to have all my titles on steam instead of Origin plus steam.
 
L

lefantome

Member
Zimbardo said:
i wonder if EA will be on board?

they've been trying to push their own service, Origin, and have completely by passed Steam with many of their titles over the last while ...so its interesting to see what happens there.

i feel that EA would need to be on board with Steam here in order for the Steambox to be a major success. their sports titles like Madden and the NHL series are major draws for a lot of people out there.

stuff like Battlefield and Crysis would have to be on there as well.

i know that if i was in the market for a console type experience and there was one console that offered me Madden, NHL, Battlefield, etc, while another one didn't ...well, its safe to say that i wouldn't bother with the one lacking those titles.

EA are huge. Steam needs them, imo.
Click to expand...


Gabe said steambox will support other services like origin if i remember right
 
C

Coolwhip

Banned
Conor 419 said:
Pretty much.

Got a feeling one of the 'big three' will be ko'd.
Click to expand...

That's a bit optimistic. Valve will have to go through a lot of growing pains.

It's getting crazy how many different companies are fighting for the tv screen btw. Apple, Google, Sony, MS, Samsung, Nintendo, Valve, Ouya who did I miss?
 
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