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Valve announces SteamOS
- Thread starter PartTimeWarrior
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You're right, there will probably some resistance from the publishers who happen to also have a store on Windows. But it means looking at SteamOS just as another distro, competing with Windows. Or we know SteamOS is madly bipolar and when bundled with a Steambox can be considered as a console, or "a new system to play games in the living room".
Technically speaking nothing prevents EA and Ubi to port their games on Linux, They already make ports for a thousand machines, if they think the userbase is /will be important enough to recoup their cost, they will want to do it. What may prevent them doing so is your argumentation and my first paragraph. however there is a third way that could be explored.
Publish games on Steam for SteamOS only. No cross-platform. Games can be bought on Steam but can only be played on SteamOS (just like we can already buy games on Steam and only play them on Windows). If the user wants to play them on Windows they have to buy on Origin. (Possibly make a gracious SteamOS key offer on Origin and at retail?) EA and Ubi are already perfectly contempt publishing on consoles, which don't sport Origin nor Uplay stores and have them fork a bit of their money on digital.
SteamOS port would be seen as "just another console port", would not invade the Windows only Origin market, and Valve would be happy to have its userbase grow. This is pure speculation on my part obviously but such a way would bring more money for both parties while not take a cut from Origin. I'm pretty sure right now Valve only care for crossplatform to go Windows -> Linux but have no interest at all to have it the other way around. i find such a deal with EA (we'll publish on SteamOS if you leave us the Windows space) perfectly reasonable.
publicpwnerer
Member
What I'm dying to know is, are they going to get PC games with "preset" optimisations / settings tuned for their Steambox?
If I was even remotely interested, It'd have to be a subsidised device, akin to the PS4. The PS4 is cheaper than than buying a comparative PC in terms of individual parts. But somehow I highly doubt that.
As someone with a higher end system, sub 60 FPS just isn't fully enjoyable / acceptable on PC, so I'd have similar expectations from a Steabox.
And lastly, what about the rapid iteration of PC hardware? New series of Steambox every 2 years, with newer hardware? I doubt it.
If I was even remotely interested, It'd have to be a subsidised device, akin to the PS4. The PS4 is cheaper than than buying a comparative PC in terms of individual parts. But somehow I highly doubt that.
As someone with a higher end system, sub 60 FPS just isn't fully enjoyable / acceptable on PC, so I'd have similar expectations from a Steabox.
And lastly, what about the rapid iteration of PC hardware? New series of Steambox every 2 years, with newer hardware? I doubt it.
Extremely likely, especially if they partner with Nvidia, since high optimized pre-sets are something they've been pushing for as well.
I'd think it would be incremental, more like cell phones and Apple devices.
Also, there's a good chance that you'd be able to upgrade at least some of the components yourself.
IAmRandom31
Banned
Exactly, and I don't know about you but my gaming PC case is MASSIVE. Regular sized Cooler Master HAF case.
Def. not going to put that thing next to my living room TV lol. Or anywhere in the living room.
Now give me the ability to buy a cheaper, gaming only PC for the living room and I'm on that like flies on shit. Especially running a pure gaming OS that allows me to customize the software that is within and maybe even make games utilizing built in API's and such. Upload straight to Steam for review and possible distribution. Who knows.
I think the idea behind this from Valve is to eliminate the headaches involved with PC gaming as we know them. Make it a pure gaming only PC using a gaming only OS. Just like a console, just well .. for the PC realm. Upgrade the hardware, mod the software, etc. It is brilliant.
Why do people here still think its all about switching the current pc gamer to linux?
Is it that hard to understand? there are 2 big opportunities here.
- One it brings a new level of "console" type gaming to console gamers. its like having an xbox or playstation with the ability to upgrade your hardware.
- Two and Gabe has even talked about this... going from linux to android is a natural evolution. getting pc gaming going on linux means one day when android is being released on powerful hardware steam games will make a natural easy progression to that platform as well.
sticking with windows severely limits gaming from growing.
Is it that hard to understand? there are 2 big opportunities here.
- One it brings a new level of "console" type gaming to console gamers. its like having an xbox or playstation with the ability to upgrade your hardware.
- Two and Gabe has even talked about this... going from linux to android is a natural evolution. getting pc gaming going on linux means one day when android is being released on powerful hardware steam games will make a natural easy progression to that platform as well.
sticking with windows severely limits gaming from growing.
charlequin
Banned
If SteamOS takes off at all, EA/Ubi could release Linux versions of their own clients and piggyback off that success, getting the same benefits (of decoupling themselves from Windows) that Valve does.
Exactly. The parallel here is how Google isn't 100% invested in Android or ChromeOS; they're just invested in making sure that people on every platform (including iOS) can use their services.
About 25% of my library is on Linux, actually.
Doesn't that depend on how Valve has/does streamline SteamOS?
ChiliManiac
Banned
Although Windows is poorly optimized for the functions steam requires, an OS based around steam could in theory alleviate some of those restraints. 8.1 might not be a fully closed environment but it's getting close and Gabe is just prepping for when this happens. He doesn't want to owe Microsoft anything. Microsoft will probably be a closed OS by 9 or 10. Even now it's strictly regulated. Windows 7 is the last Microsoft OS that will be fully open.
Is there a quick way to tell this? I'm curious how much of mine is.
cobragt4001
Banned
OH fucking yes. I hope more devs get with steam's OS like EA because Windows uses too many resources making your system no perform to the best of its abilities.
family_guy
Member
It's hard to believe that a PC gamer would want to subject themselves to lower quality through streaming. I do see benefits to this when you are outside your home, like PS4 streaming and Vita TV.
I could definitely use a streaming box. My gaming PC is in a large Cooler Master case, at least 75 feet away from my entertainment system. I'm not interested in some half-baked job of snaking cables throughout my house to get the PC's display on the TV, and no wireless keyboard or mouse would work in the 'plaster-over-chicken-wire' interior wall construction of my circa-1910 house. A streaming device would fit the bill nicely, especially if the price is right.
As for a more general Steambox, I'm not interested. I doubt they'll be price competitive in the end (even without Windows), because the companies making them will probably be boutique builders and not major PC OEMs (the former charge often huge markups for their products, and the console business doesn't have room for markups of any kind). I'd still like to be pleasantly surprised, though.
ChiliManiac
Banned
and, with it being linux what's stopping us from putting Open Source applications on it such as Open Office :3.
The Cowboy
Member
For me it will work like this.
For the time being (when this comes out), I'll be sticking with Windows because all my current games support it as will all future PC games - and at the start not all PC new releases will support SteamOS (let alone the huge backlog that won't support it). Sure I could dual boot but to me that's just an inconvenience, more so considering if I just run Windows I can access everything already (even if there is a slight performance loss over SteamOS).
In the future (let say 2 years from now), if every single PC game that gets released from that point (or at least the vast majority of them) has SteamOS support AND they get at least some performance increase (however minor), I'd very likely switch OS.
Basically, whilst the SteamOS doesn't support most PC games I see no point in the switch to it, but as soon as most PC games are supported on SteamOS - depending on how good the performance is I may switch to it.
For the time being (when this comes out), I'll be sticking with Windows because all my current games support it as will all future PC games - and at the start not all PC new releases will support SteamOS (let alone the huge backlog that won't support it). Sure I could dual boot but to me that's just an inconvenience, more so considering if I just run Windows I can access everything already (even if there is a slight performance loss over SteamOS).
In the future (let say 2 years from now), if every single PC game that gets released from that point (or at least the vast majority of them) has SteamOS support AND they get at least some performance increase (however minor), I'd very likely switch OS.
Basically, whilst the SteamOS doesn't support most PC games I see no point in the switch to it, but as soon as most PC games are supported on SteamOS - depending on how good the performance is I may switch to it.
I am curious too. I imagine mine is almost 0% Linux.
OEMs like Dell will give this a try but their customers will need more convincing. Valve will need to sweeten the deal with some games from their library.
On a side note. Dell tried to push Ubuntu as a Windows alternative a few years back. It cut the cost of laptops and desktops by a few hundred bucks. Today the only carry Windows on their home PCs.
On a side note. Dell tried to push Ubuntu as a Windows alternative a few years back. It cut the cost of laptops and desktops by a few hundred bucks. Today the only carry Windows on their home PCs.
Vestal
Gold Member
look I love steam. But the steam app is a unoptimized pos. It has nothing to do with windows. If more demanding apps can run fast and snappy on my PC why can't steam?
outunderthestars
Banned
Well, there are 2174 windows games on Steam, and only 184 Linux games, according to Steam Search. While not 99% it certainly qualifies as the overwhelming majority....
the steam app is just a browser plus some custom options. It has nothing to do with being un-optimized. its just constantly grabbing data from a web server.
Whiskeymatt
Member
Half-Life Ozone! Of course!
Vestal
Gold Member
I don't fucking get this statement.
Are you guys running Windows ME or something??
The OS footprint on 7 and 8 is negligible at best with at most 1% CPU when idle.
IAmRandom31
Banned
Well if you do not have a steambox, then yeah using the SteamOS on another device would allow you to just stream the games. But that is what the SteamBox is about. It will have SteamOS built in. So you will be able to re-download your steam games onto the HDD of the SteamBox and then play your PC games. If a PC game is not on Steam, you can also stream that game to your Steambox and into the Television.
Then you have have a small game library, or you don't play very many mainstream games. For the vast majority of people Linux severely limits their gaming choices.
rudieboy77
Member
Will the PS4 run Steam OS?
Syphon Filter
Member
No, why would sony want another os within theirs?
Eaten By A Grue
Member
Gaben has given you the nectar of the gods with a dedicated gaming OS and you are spitting in his face with non-gaming filth.
but this will change that :/ you will never have a situation where something will come up with a vast library at the start. Next gen consoles don't have a vast library of games.
But if you never build a situation for that to happen it will never happen.
Shows 300 listed here. Interesting to note that they started just a few months ago with 30.
This is honestly a temporary solution. DX wrapper for OGL looks to be coming down the pipe.
Sentenza
Member
Opening Steam right now, it lists roughly 300 Linux games, and I'm quite confident that's a number bound to increase substantially in the near future.
The Cowboy
Member
Just had a count, out of my Steam games collection 30 support Linux (I have 145 games on Steam). A vast majority of the 30 are indie and a lot are also the Source game (HL2/CS/Portal etc).
This is just my Steam collection though (I own a load across various other DD platforms and sites), but right now if I made a switch to Linux I'd have easily less than 40 games playable out of an easy 300+. owned games (and again most of those 40 would be indie games).
Sauna. Steam in a box.
( yeah I know not all saunas are outside boxes, majority are though)
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
If you click on it, it only lists 184 games. It doesn't change your point significantly, though.
Yes. Steamplay feature will be in use to allow your games to be played on Linux, Mac, Windows.
Android is ARM based.
No game announcements this week.
Beautifully Shaped Monsters
Member
Microsoft's one big contribution to PC gaming was DirectX which, as a unified API for Sound and Graphics was pretty amazing, and up to and including version 9.0c was a great thing.
However, after 9.0c DirectX got gobbled up in Microsoft politics. It was used, along side Halo2 to push Windows Vista, despite Windows XP still being a fully supported platform back then. Around the same time Xbox was released, which meant that Microsoft no longer had an incentive to make PC focused games.
2003-2004 was the year they started turning in my mind with the sale of Access Software, which they had first acquired for the Links series in order to have a golf game (or at rumours would have it, in order to gain control over the Access name).
However, after 9.0c DirectX got gobbled up in Microsoft politics. It was used, along side Halo2 to push Windows Vista, despite Windows XP still being a fully supported platform back then. Around the same time Xbox was released, which meant that Microsoft no longer had an incentive to make PC focused games.
2003-2004 was the year they started turning in my mind with the sale of Access Software, which they had first acquired for the Links series in order to have a golf game (or at rumours would have it, in order to gain control over the Access name).
Ozzy Onya A2Z
Member
I do like the idea but I have some questions.
I wonder what device support will be like? One; it's not windows so DirectX isn't going to be the latest versions and fixes etc. Two; what about video card drivers, audio drivers, capture devices etc? Three; games and developer support?
I wonder what device support will be like? One; it's not windows so DirectX isn't going to be the latest versions and fixes etc. Two; what about video card drivers, audio drivers, capture devices etc? Three; games and developer support?
KojiKnight
Member
There are x86 builds of ARM. There are quite a few higher end tablet models that are x86 based and use either windows RT or Android.
jediyoshi
Member
Now that's a name.
Steam Engine would make sense if game engines weren't already referred to as engines and might be confusing. Still not the biggest fan of the name 'Source' either.
Zuhzuhzombie!!
Member
Sure, sure.
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