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Valve announces SteamOS

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E

EVIL

Member
Grief.exe said:
If Laidlaw was a marketing/PR rep I would take those statements with a grain of salt.

Since he isn't, I will take them more literally. I doubt there will be a game announcement this week.
Click to expand...

We might be able to expect a game announcements or plans of their software lineup in the weeks after

from the SteamOS page
Hundreds of great games are already running natively on SteamOS. Watch for announcements in the coming weeks about all the AAA titles coming natively to SteamOS in 2014. Access the full Steam catalog of nearly 3000 games and desktop software titles via in-home streaming.
Click to expand...

This is ofcourse not limited to only external developers but could include Valve as well
 
R

RedSwirl

Junior Member
GravityMan said:
I have a feeling that a lot of confusion in this thread will be cleared up after Valve reveals their 2nd and 3rd announcements on Wednesday and (presumably) Friday. Likely including the unveiling of Steambox itself, and their plans for involving the community in shaping Steam's future. By then we should have a clearer picture of Valve's overall vision and direction here. Hopefully Gabe and others at Valve will make themselves available for interviews in the near future to further clarify some things.

I suspect Valve has three main goals here:

- Make further inroads into integrating PC gaming into the living room, obviously...and entice the "living room" audience, while still retaining most of the advantages of PC (mods, openness, etc.) BPM was a clear first step in that direction. However, there is still a belief among many people that PC gaming is some crazy expensive uber-complicated mess that requires editing hex values in some obscure file to get a game to run. There is still a lingering psychological barrier that needs to be overcome.

- Expand the Steam userbase by getting more people onto it. After all this is where Valve makes its money. I don't think Valve really cares how you access Steam...be it SteamOS, Windows, OSX, a monstrous Windows desktop running dual GTX Titans, a mid-range HTPC, a laptop, a Steambox from Valve themselves or one of their HW partners. As long as you're on STEAM. SteamOS (and Steambox) is just another option aimed at certain niche markets. Those of you who are struggling to see the point and the appeal of SteamOS...you're not seeing the forest from the trees. If you already have a Windows living-room HTPC for BPM, then SteamOS isn't for you. If you already have a decent desktop PC in your study and are uninterested in streaming to another room, then SteamOS probably isn't for you. If you're looking to get into PC gaming or upgrade your ancient hardware then a Steambox may be viable option if the specs and price are good.

- Further diversify what OSes Steam can run on, to try and protect itself and the openness of PC gaming from the possibility of Windows someday going fully walled garden (which I doubt will happen even if that's what MS wants). This is more of a long term strategy; it will likely take years to pay dividends. SteamOS may be their primary focus, but Valve isn't going to stop supporting Windows and Mac.

I am eager to learn about Valve's controller and about these "many" AAA game announcements for SteamOS. I've always felt that Valve's biggest challenge will be convincing large devs to natively support SteamOS and OpenGL...it looks like they may have had some success here.

SteamOS isn't for everyone, and for most people it may be lacking in short-term and/or immediate tangible advantages (as opposed to long term), but I think this is a good move by Valve.

I still wish they'd spend some time overhauling and optimizing the current Steam client, though.
Click to expand...

This is basically how I see it.

If you're already using Steam on Windows, then you can just keep using Steam on Windows. This probably won't affect you at all.

What Steam OS probably is, is a bid to bring Steam to another market -- probably console gamers, while still maintaining the benefits of the open platform that is PC gaming.
 
oneils

oneils

Member
EatChildren said:
Announcement 2: SteamBox.
Announcement 3: Valve controller, Greenlight revamp, or some connectivity/community thing.

Source 2 and Left 4 Dead 3 revealed later as a Game Informer cover story, maybe before the year is out, if not very early next year.
Click to expand...

My guess is that it's the controller first and the box last. :p
 
K

Khaz

Member
I honestly have no idea what could be the third anouncement. Some people separate the SteamBox and SteamPad into two announcements but I find it unlikely. Other put their wild dreams in the third announcement like half-life 3 or Left4Dead 3 (which will most likely have its own announcement with arg etc) or a general source2 anouncement. If find this dubious too.

So while tomorrow will be interesting, I'm really waiting for friday. I expect megaton.



[edit]
angular graphics said:
I also remember when Gabe said he wishes they had time to release an SDK for Steam like they release for Source. He was interested to see what mods for Steam the community would make.

So let's see if the third announcement is going to be SteamDev.
Click to expand...
I dig it. After all they did say
Soon, we’ll be adding you to our design process, so that you can help us shape the future of Steam.
Click to expand...
Open source client. Me like.
 
A

ashecitism

Member
Just to speculate a bit on the hardware parts, is it safe to say it'll be Intel+Nvidia based? I mean there's been hints about them. There was that bugtracker report with an i5 CPU and Nvidia drivers, Gabe has been featured in that Intel vid about Miracast and Perceptual Computing praising them and seeing opportunity for the future (alright, this might be a stretch), and well, we know Valve have been working with Nvidia for some time now.

Since we know streaming is a function of SteamOS, I guess for that the GPU has to be at least from the GTX600 series (basing this on Shield)? Umm, could be a GTX670/GTX760 be a realistic scenario?

I'm not really at home with prices though, so yeah.
 
F

Fragamemnon

Member
Khaz said:
Open source client. Me like.
Click to expand...

That is an extremely broad, and very unlikely, interpretation of what Valve posted. I am not expecting the Steam client itself to be open sourced. Other parts of the SteamOS, such as setup, configuration, ancillary usability tooling, etc-yes, I can see that being put into open repository and licensing. But not the bread and butter client program itself.

Also can we get this on a x86 based tablet and some big picture touch support? As interesting as an living room experiment, the idea of a semi-portable gaming and local streaming device has to be something going through their minds and is (IMO) more interesting in the short term as an invested PC gamer.
 
A

androvsky

Member
ashecitism said:
Just to speculate a bit on the hardware parts, is it safe to say it'll be Intel+Nvidia based? I mean there's been hints about them. There was that bugtracker report with an i5 CPU and Nvidia drivers, Gabe has been featured in that Intel vid about Miracast and Perceptual Computing praising them and seeing opportunity for the future (alright, this might be a stretch), and well, we know Valve have been working with Nvidia for some time now.

Since we know streaming is a function of SteamOS, I guess for that the GPU has to be at least from the GTX600 series (basing this on Shield)? Umm, could be a GTX670/GTX760 be a realistic scenario?

I'm not really at home with prices though, so yeah.
Click to expand...
The Steambox/SteamOS isn't the thing that needs the video encoding, it's the Windows computer you're currently using that needs it.
 
D

Durante

Member
Fragamemnon said:
That is an extremely broad, and very unlikely, interpretation of what Valve posted. I am not expecting the Steam client itself to be open sourced. Other parts of the SteamOS, such as setup, configuration, ancillary usability tooling, etc-yes, I can see that being put into open repository and licensing. But not the bread and butter client program itself.
Click to expand...
Why not open source the client though? I mean, I'm not expecting it at all, but I just thought about it for a bit and I don't really see the disadvantage. It's not like the client is worth anything without the platform.
 
The Cowboy

The Cowboy

Member
Look, Valve want to appeal to as many people as possible, so tomorrow its will be like so - "Valve will be releasing an official Windows 8 Steam app next week for free on the Windows store".

I can dream god dam it!.
 
J

Joezie

Member
Don't think it's going to happen, but Open Sourcing the client isn't too out there.
I believe that's how Desura works.

The desktop client is open sourced to help it's development, but the server side client is still proprietary to the company.

Correct me if wrong GAF.
 
A

angular graphics

Banned
ashecitism said:
Just to speculate a bit on the hardware parts, is it safe to say it'll be Intel+Nvidia based? I mean there's been hints about them. There was that bugtracker report with an i5 CPU and Nvidia drivers, Gabe has been featured in that Intel vid about Miracast and Perceptual Computing praising them and seeing opportunity for the future (alright, this might be a stretch), and well, we know Valve have been working with Nvidia for some time now.

Since we know streaming is a function of SteamOS, I guess for that the GPU has to be at least from the GTX600 series (basing this on Shield)? Umm, could be a GTX670/GTX760 be a realistic scenario?

I'm not really at home with prices though, so yeah.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking. Gabe once said the SteamBox would cost $300 but that was before the prices of the nextgen consoles were announced so I hope it now is a bit more expensive (maybe $500) and maybe nvidia can lower a bit (like.. 10% or something) the price of GPUs for bulk orders also because it will be their "we made it into a console" opportunity. So I hope the HW will be surprisingly powerful.

But of course retailers can make their own SteamBoxes with AMD cards or whatever.
 
B

bleachrude

Banned
So valve doesn't want to give a cut to MS...which is understandable.

How exactly are they going to get around NOT giving a cut to Sony for the Hardware in a potential Steambox?
 
D

Dr. Kaos

Banned
The day of linux on the desktop has finally arrived.

This is not really news but it's good to have an official announcement. I might have to buy a 4th home console, though not for a few years, since ps4 will likely beat anything they can produce for the same price in the short term.
 
M

Mrbob

Member
EatChildren said:
Announcement 2: SteamBox.
Announcement 3: Valve controller, Greenlight revamp, or some connectivity/community thing.

Source 2 and Left 4 Dead 3 revealed later as a Game Informer cover story, maybe before the year is out, if not very early next year.
Click to expand...

I hope the system and controller are revealed together. Separate announcements would feel way too drawn out.
 
D

Durante

Member
animlboogy said:
As the announcements come this week, this could change. Looking at it right now, as a free downloadable OS, console gamers aren't really a part of it. Hence streaming from your existing gaming PC being a big part of it.
Click to expand...
It's already a free downloadable and licenseable OS. So, without taking further announcements into account, e.g. Alienware could already sell a "Steambox".
 
M

Momentary

Banned
bleachrude said:
So valve doesn't want to give a cut to MS...which is understandable.

How exactly are they going to get around NOT giving a cut to Sony for the Hardware in a potential Steambox?
Click to expand...

Sony? Hardware? What are you talking about?

If it's about the disc thing... If Valve releases hardware with a disc drive I would laugh my ass off.
 
A

aeolist

Banned
Dmented said:
For use as a media center too? Only thing I can think of that would make sense.
Click to expand...

are blu-ray disc sales still at all significant? they've already said they want to support all the major streaming apps, i'd think nobody cares enough about discs these days to make the added size and cost worthwhile
 
R

RedSwirl

Junior Member
animlboogy said:
People keep saying this but right now, with just the OS, this is more of a bid to get existing users to keep using Steam with controller-compatible games in the living room instead of buying a console, while beginning a long-term initiative to protect Steam from whatever happens to Windows.

As the announcements come this week, this could change. Looking at it right now, as a free downloadable OS, console gamers aren't really a part of it. Hence streaming from your existing gaming PC being a big part of it.
Click to expand...

Durante said:
It's already a free downloadable and licenseable OS. So, without taking further announcements into account, e.g. Alienware could already sell a "Steambox".
Click to expand...

I agree with Durante's post. Sure anyone can download the OS, but the more significant part is that any hardware manufacturer can license this OS at no cost. If someone like Alienware or Dell or MSI or somebody wants to make a hardcore gaming set top box they can sell it with Steam OS pre-installed instead of licensing Windows or building their own OS.

Plus, any existing Windows gamer can just use a living room box with Windows installed on it (that's what I plan to do) with Steam Big Picture Mode. The streaming is just a band-aid solution to address the fact that most of the Steam library is still primarily Windows.

ashecitism said:
I don't think it'll have an optical drive at all.
Click to expand...

It? That's assuming there's only one Steam Box. Assuming Valve plans on announcing multiple hardware partners tomorrow, most models probably won't have an optical drive, but a few might.
 
V

Veal

Member
Grief.exe said:
ishXpnDqHhMzM.gif
Click to expand...

Antonio Banderas is GAF's new official mascot confirmed.
 
F

Fragamemnon

Member
someone really thinks that the self-branded Valve Steambox designs would have a optical drive? I can see it in a high-end model from a separate OEM, but not part of any reference design.
 
B

bleachrude

Banned
So this is going to be a digital-only device? Because I assume that if this is to get in to the "living room" space it is going to conform to expectations

Aka the ability to PLAY movies.

re: Sony and blu-ray
Sure, Sony is not the ONLY one in the consortium, but that doesn't change the fact that to use a blu-ray device OR a DVD device, you have to pay the consortium

Similarly, have you ever actually tried watching a blu-ray through Linux...you CAN do it, but it sure as hell isn't as easy as popping a disc while running Windows and that's because of the codecs.
 
S

spwolf

Member
angular graphics said:
That's what I'm thinking. Gabe once said the SteamBox would cost $300 but that was before the prices of the nextgen consoles were announced so I hope it now is a bit more expensive (maybe $500) and maybe nvidia can lower a bit (like.. 10% or something) the price of GPUs for bulk orders also because it will be their "we made it into a console" opportunity. So I hope the HW will be surprisingly powerful.

But of course retailers can make their own SteamBoxes with AMD cards or whatever.
Click to expand...

i dont think Valve will produce the box... they will set some rules on what can be "licensed" (for free) as "SteamOS Powered", with some minimum configuration.

However the pricing is up to hardware partners. And they want to make standard margins for these. So take away $50-$80 from Dell desktops to see what the pricing could be. For instance, base Alienware X51 looks like could be easily transferred to SteamBox with $599 price for model with i3, GTX 645 and 6GB of RAM. Maybe use 4GB, and AMD APU to get some lower price?

In any case, nobody is going to be subsidizing the cost or selling at the cost. All the hardware makers will want to sell at standard retail prices.

Latest Tom's best configs for $650:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-fx-6300-overclocking,3617.html
 
E

evlcookie

but ever so delicious
MajorMelchett said:
My biggest worry for the next few years on this will be.

In a few years it would be horrible is it ended up having a load of games that will use SteamOS and not support Windows, and a load of games that support Windows but not SteamOS. Right now most PC games are Windows (with fraction supporting other operating systems), it would be pretty bad IMO if in a few years time it ended up with 50% supporting SteamOS style operating systems only and 50% supporting Windows operating systems only.

Sure people will say "you can dual boot" or "you can have 2 PCs, 1 for each", but I really think that would be a horrible way for PC gaming to end up.

I really hope it ends up with everything being available on everything, all Windows games will support SteamOS etc and all SteamOS games will support Windows etc..
Click to expand...

For me, My theory ages ago was valve would bring out a linux OS, which they have now done.

The other part of that theory was source 2 being OpenGL only so it worked across all platforms including next gen (Apple might be a little harder due to their control of it all). On top of that however would be that Source 2 would be open to developers as long as they integrate the game into steamworks.

It's a bit of a monopoly but it's really the only chance they have of getting bigger studios to switch over to actually making games for Linux. Otherwise it really is just going to be a niche thing for Valve only titles and indies, In which case it's not worth switching over for me personally.

If titanfall can use Source and modify it, what stops someone like Ubisoft jumping on the Source 2 engine and doing something with that.

It's going to be an interesting few years in the PC space and whatever the outcome, I really look forward to it.
 
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