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Steam Machines to launch during GDC 2015, Controller design finalized, SteamOS ready

Iron Badger said:
you can run games better on steamos and you can do word processing on windows

and there are already 1626 titles on steamos so you won't get bored

edit: sorry, 800 titles
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"Run better" has yet to be universally proved. 800 titles is nothing compared to the Steam library. Very few of my recent purchases run on SteamOs.
 
I'm incredibly excited for the steam controller and os. The trackpads look cool, finally an easy way to aim accurately with a controller. I'm looking forward to the alienware alpha 2nd gen with both of these things in the box.
 
70s Style Pimp said:
"Run better" has yet to be universally proved. 800 titles is nothing compared to the Steam library. Very few of my recent purchases run on SteamOs.
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It's really something that needs to be addressed before SteamOS will ever get widespread adoption. At the very least an emulation layer for older games. How's Wine looking these days?
 
Doesn't Mantel make Steam OS somewhat pointless?

Will be very interested in the controller. I doubt they can best the consoles in this regard.
 
Feel bad for those who buys this, valve are arguing in Australia that retail pc games are subscription licenses and don't need refunds and warranties, goodluck when your steamOS box dies.

For something thats designed to counter MS, its way more dodgy.
 
r.i.p. steam machines.
fb0.jpg
 
I don't think it will be dead. I don't think it is trying to directly compete with the consoles, rather it is something that is meant to help keep PC gaming alive, which I think it will help to do.

Plus, Occulus is sure to become at the very least a minor hit, and many people are not going to want to bother with any technical details whatsoever, so I think Occulus could drive sales for Steam Machines a bit.

Personally, I think the controller is a big deal. If they can guarantee all the games are optimized for single controller, that they will all work well on it, then this could go a long way toward allowing new gamers into the fold.

I don't think any of this is a homerun, but it doesn't need to be.
 
nephilimdj said:
Feel bad for those who buys this, valve are arguing in Australia that retail pc games are subscription licenses and don't need refunds and warranties, goodluck when your steamOS box dies.

For something thats designed to counter MS, its way more dodgy.
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Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Valve, EA, Ubisoft, etc, all treat their digital game distribution services as 'subscription licenses'. It's fairly standard.

GreenRobot said:
Doesn't Mantel make Steam OS somewhat pointless?
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In what way? I'm confused as to where you believe the overlap is. SteamOS is designed to be:

A) An operating system designed for living room use from top to bottom, to be configured and used entirely with a controller.
B) Free (so no licensing fees for Windows).

I'm not sure where Mantle comes into that.
 
charlequin said:
I was really interested in what the Steam Controller could bring to the table back when they announced it, but right now I'm feeling pretty skeptical. The analog stick was a big downer for sure.
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Sometimes different for different sample doesn't work. I think an align stick on the left side is a good option for walking/running around in games where you need constant movement - a trackpad thing might not give enough feedback to be comfortable for that.


I do hope they don't force steam OS to be bundled with steam boxes. I'd be quite interested in one, but I'd also want windows on it. This is a great opportunity to encourage companies to make interesting SFF gaming PCs and I don't want to be limited to steam OS (or want the hassle of installing windows myself)
 
On the upside its a free OS, so if valve can make it magically autoconfigure dual-boot (or just make it really really easy) there is a chance the OS penetration might come.
The main problem I see is the question WHY?

I mean, sure I can win about 100 € on the OS and some random steam machine will cost aroud 500 € making it quite affordable, but there are not a a lot of big titles on it.

This is perhaps the best indication of whats there:
http://store.steampowered.com/searc...t_by=Price_DESC&category1=998&os=linux&page=1

... people are gonna expect to play the next sassyass adventures (assasin's creed) in its broken state on day 1. There is no way around it. And if they dont get it, they just dont buy/use it.

The hardware I have no concerns for. You can have a mini GTX 970, making it a very capable gaming machine while remaining very compact. A nice edition to any living room. But for the OS, I still go for Windows and thats a problem that Valve has to solve somehow.
 
I'm still keeping an open mind on the controller design. Keep in mind that they've been constantly iterating on the whole thing and getting a lot of feedback from players and devs. As others have noted, apparently the left trackpad already works well enough as a d-pad, but isn't so suited for analog movement, requiring the left stick.

Quite frankly, as long as they keep both trackpads and the buttons on the back of the controller (how has none of the big three have actually done that one before), it's fine, IMO, it keeps what makes it unique while keeping it versatile.
 
Yeah, I think it'll take years before these things will get any real traction - and who knows if Valve is still interested in supporting them by then.

Weren't there already a bunch of Youtubers who got Steam Machines ranting about them?

So far, the Steam Big Picture experience is nowhere near the usability of a real console, simply because the games are just made for the PC and often times need PC Input. Yes, I know that the controller might solve that issue to some degree, but I've only heard bad things about the controller from the people who've tried it...

So yeah, not terribly excited about Steam Machines.
 
Qassim said:
In what way? I'm confused as to where you believe the overlap is. SteamOS is designed to be:

A) An operating system designed for living room use from top to bottom, to be configured and used entirely with a controller.
B) Free (so no licensing fees for Windows).

I'm not sure where Mantle comes into that.
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A) Doesnt Steam in Big Picture mode on Windows do the same thing?
B) Will need to see how much the Linux Steam Machines are before we know if that is much of a positive at all.

How much does a Windows license cost OEMs? 5% of retail price? Flat fee? It cant be much on PCs of $500 or less.
 
Lynn616 said:
A) Doesnt Steam in Big Picture mode on Windows do the same thing?
B) Will need to see how much the Linux Steam Machines are before we know if that is much of a positive at all.

How much does a Windows license cost OEMs? 5% of retail price? Flat fee? It cant be much on PCs of $500 or less.
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Here's something I posted the other day in response to very similar questions.

Qassim said:
It (Windows) still isn't the perfect living room experience. I use BigPicture on WIndows quite a bit, but it still has a lot of Windows jank that can sometimes mean I have to get up and mess with a keyboard and mouse - not something I want to do when I'm sat back with a controller in hand. SteamOS is designed to work with no interruptions with a controller. They can control the experience from top to bottom, things like OS to Game transitions are super smooth, no installing third part dependencies with different inputs, everything you need to access in the OS will be accessible with a controller. That isn't the case with a Windows based 'Steam machine'. Valve cannot modify the operating system to that extent.

SteamOS came at a time where Valve was clearly uncertain about the future of Windows, but also provided a potential way for them to break from Windows. Sure, it may not be competitive for 5 or 10 years, but that's okay, it doesn't necessarily have to be. It'd be great if it was, because that living room PC push would happen quicker with a better experience, but for now - we'll have to either have Steam machines that can be (dual) booted into Windows when necessary or simply just ship with WIndows. Remember, all the functionality of a "Steam machine" is built into the Steam client which is across multiple platforms. SteamOS is a bet on the future where it'll provide a more appropriate experience for the living room without all the jank of traditional desktop operating systems.

Steam machines in general are designed to be an out of the box solution. Plug and play, no need to mess around setting up a Windows sytem to be more living room friendly. Someone who isn't particularly tech savvy can buy one, plug it in, and it'll work and it'll be a good experience. Maybe OEMs could offer the option of a dual boot Windows solution for when a game they want to play doesn't support Linux yet, there is nothing technically stopping them. For a person like myself, the branded Steam Machines running SteamOS offer almost nothing, I'm interested and excited at the development of the OS, because I tried it back on the first public release and it seemed to make legitimate improvements even then, but it still wouldn't be for me, not yet at least.
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TL;DR - No Windows isn't the same thing, the big picture mode is *far* from perfect due to lots of Windows jank and there are more long term goals outside of that.

Also regarding B) Not really, SteamOS being freely available will mean anyone can download it and run it on their own hardware. It doesn't all revolve around what OEMs do.

If you want a "Steam machine running Windows" - buy a standard small form factor PC. It's exactly the same thing in every other way.
 
I don't really care about the Machines ... but I sure hope SteamOS gives Linux gaming a big boost. A windows free future would be great.
 
Going to build my own steam machine this year.

See how small and cheaply I can make a machine to stream from my main pc.
 
iceatcs said:
Nice but if we don't see this GDC then we can assume it vaporise to cancel.
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Its no where near a vapourware console like the Phantom was.

There major hardware partners involved, Alienware just lauched the Alpha to good reviews (unknown sale figures).

The only concerns are SteamOS, the controller and the future of Linux games.
 
General_Frags said:
The only concerns are SteamOS, the controller and the future of Linux games.
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I would say price as well. They are $500+ machines that run Linux.
Probably someone can figure out how to hack Mac/Windows OS in there and the machines will probably be better valued since they can do more than just Steam.

I think Alienware did the best thing and abandon the SteamOS, but who knows?
 
General_Frags said:
Its no where near a vapourware console like the Phantom was.

There major hardware partners involved, Alienware just lauched the Alpha to good reviews (unknown sale figures).

The only concerns are SteamOS, the controller and the future of Linux games.
Click to expand...

I would argue this is no longer a concern either. Sure, for people living in the developed world who won't skip a beat spending $100 for an OS, the disparity of games between Windows and Linux is a problem, but for about 80% of the rest of the world, that Windows license is a pretty damn big barrier to PC gaming, and I would wager 800+ games running on Linux plus more coming daily plus many of the most popular games on Steam (ahem, Dota 2) already on Linux is more than "good enough".
 
pixlexic said:
Going to build my own steam machine this year.

See how small and cheaply I can make a machine to stream from my main pc.
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$100 windows 8 tablet with HDMI out, with Xbox 360 wireless adapter and controller.

Or the Razer streaming software sounds interesting - $40 and it'll stream to your android lollipop device, so a cheap android stick should be good for that.
 
General_Frags said:
Its no where near a vapourware console like the Phantom was.

There major hardware partners involved, Alienware just lauched the Alpha to good reviews (unknown sale figures).

The only concerns are SteamOS, the controller and the future of Linux games.
Click to expand...

Exactly, they have no excuse to not show soon if SteamOS out of beta.

If we don't see it sooner, then it might be problem or 100% vaporware.
 
What I am struggling to understand, is what is the benefit of SteamOS over steam big picture mode on windows, where... There is more variety of games...?
 
Let's see if they can get me interested. I was interested it getting deeper into PC gaming and getting a PC instead of a PS4 but the radio silence from Valve and the horribly disappointing PC rigs they were showing off totally killed off any desire I had for a SteamMachine and how me about to buy a PS4 soon.
 
I'm not interested in the controller at all. I already own the 360 one and I'm fine. Anyway, I have curiosity about the Machines, their specs, prices,... If I need a new computer, would be interesting to get one of them, even if I install Windows later, it's great to know that it will contain a hardware and a Linux distribution ready for gaming. And I hope they release some Steam Machine laptops as well, I'm more interested in them.

I have a HP Pavilion DV3 laptop, graphics card drivers are incompatible with Ubuntu, Mint,... It's impossible to play properly with any games there, I must use Windows even with games that do not need powerful hardware. I'm fed up of this.

Now we need all Steam library supported for Steam OS. I hope it's not hard developers to make ports, so we can also play old games, not just the new releases.
 
Dolor said:
I would argue this is no longer a concern either. Sure, for people living in the developed world who won't skip a beat spending $100 for an OS, the disparity of games between Windows and Linux is a problem, but for about 80% of the rest of the world, that Windows license is a pretty damn big barrier to PC gaming, and I would wager 800+ games running on Linux plus more coming daily plus many of the most popular games on Steam (ahem, Dota 2) already on Linux is more than "good enough".
Click to expand...

What I meant was theres no big ticket titles such as Shadows of Mordor or Wolfenstein or Assassins Creed to drive up publicity and promotions.
 
Pudge said:
Because it started out as this crazy unique design with a touchscreen in the center and neat button placement, and then every revision has gotten further and further into bog standard territory. The latest revision even has a Thumbstick instead of a D-Pad!

Alpha-controller-valve.jpg




I'm sorry I have to explain this, I was trying to be sad and sarcastic since I'm depressed at how normal the Steam controller looks now.
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If you actually kept an eye on the reasoning behind such changes, you'd probably see that the controller is still as "crazy" as it was. The removal of the touch screen is because that functionality is now a part of something called "ghost mode" via the touchpads and on screen overlay, along with mode switching (there was apparently disparity when having to switch between two screens when playing with the touchscreen). These apparently use the grip buttons, so they may not he as useful as you originally thought. Analogue stick has been added on the movement side (left) because of the apparent difficulty users are having adjusting to the touchpad for that function.

That sends warning signs to me about if it is good for that, but that touchpad remains important for mouse driven games requiring greater surface area. Whether that stick makes the final product is to be seen, and arguably remains questionable since that wasn't announced as the other changes were - instead they were leaked via the client beta.
 
mrklaw said:
$100 windows 8 tablet with HDMI out, with Xbox 360 wireless adapter and controller.
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You can hack Android Fire to do that, but you are limited to 720p. So $40 for 720p and probably $300 for 1080p. Streaming requires only low end CPU/GFX card, so that is most costs gone.

I would suggest just googling "HTPC builds" since they work well for streaming games.
 
Vash63 said:
Not surprised that the OS is ready, Steam on Linux runs great (on Nvidia).
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AMD still really needs to pick up the slack on OpenGL performance, or try to implement Mantle on Linux, which may give them an edge. But otherwise, their drivers have been making some real progress over 2014 (both open source and closed) and one thing I noticed is that their drivers have been a lot easier to install on Linux than the Nvidia closed source drivers. Nvidia driver upgrades are still a pain in the ass, while the AMD ones are almost one click installs.
 
charlequin said:
I was really interested in what the Steam Controller could bring to the table back when they announced it, but right now I'm feeling pretty skeptical. The analog stick was a big downer for sure.
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I think I can see the logic in the addition. With kb/m your left hand is using wasd for relative movement, while your right hand uses mouse for absolute positioning. A stick does a decent job of the former, and a trackpad the latter. A trackpad for relative movement however, makes me think of awful virtual joysticks on touchscreens.

Just a theory. But whatever the reason, it's obviously emerged from extensive play testing.
 
If MS really decides to make Windows 10 subscription based just like their server OS's I'm fully on board with Steam OS.
 
General_Frags said:
What I meant was theres no big ticket titles such as Shadows of Mordor or Wolfenstein or Assassins Creed to drive up publicity and promotions.
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1) those big ticket item games get less important all the time as indies rise in prominence
2) Dota 2, CS:GO, Borderlands, Civilization are all pretty meaningful games on linux before SteamOS is out of beta
3) again, you appear to be comparing your options as someone who (I presume) has many viable avenues to playing games at your disposal. I am guessing SteamOS looks a lot more attractive for people with more limited options/money for gaming
 
Nzyme32 said:
If you actually kept an eye on the reasoning behind such changes, you'd probably see that the controller is still as "crazy" as it was. The removal of the touch screen is because that functionality is now a part of something called "ghost mode" via the touchpads and on screen overlay, along with mode switching (there was apparently disparity when having to switch between two screens when playing with the touchscreen). These apparently use the grip buttons, so they may not he as useful as you originally thought. Analogue stick has been added on the movement side (left) because of the apparent difficulty users are having adjusting to the touchpad for that function.

That sends warning signs to me about if it is good for that, but that touchpad remains important for mouse driven games requiring greater surface area. Whether that stick makes the final product is to be seen, and arguably remains questionable since that wasn't announced as the other changes were - instead they were leaked via the client beta.
Click to expand...

Using the back buttons purely for 'ghost mode' seems like an incredible missed opportunity (two extra always-accessible buttons? That expands functionality tremendously), and that would be on a game-by-game basis anyway (not to mention legacy support), so I doubt that's true. I'm more inclined to believe that the possible left stick exists for those who prefer using a stick for analog movement.

Still, the new features the controller touts can seriously expand the scope of what functionality could be done with a controller. While the left pad mainly can play the role of both an analog stick and a d-pad capably well, the right pad, aside from precise and rapid camera control, could potentially double as its own set of buttons without really interfering with camera control - slide your thumb along the pad for the analog function, press down on certain areas to access button-like control. Unlike using the traditional diamond buttons, you don't need to take your thumb off the pad, and could even be sliding your thumb along the pad while you're clicking. Sure, it remains to be seen how practical such a setup would be, but it'd sure as hell be interesting if it works.
 
Still interested in the controller (as long as they don't iterate out the track pad). I really don't see Steam Machines becoming a big deal though. At most, they will be the prebuilt micro PC of choice.
 
Lagamorph said:
Time to prepare for the most pointless thing in gaming since the Nvidia Shield then.
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Nvidia Shield can at least be used as an emulation machine.
I recently got a Lenovo Q for a HTPC and with Razr's stream option for $40, I see zero point in getting a Steam Box.

Edit: I am more excited about the controller. I guess it is Bluetooth?
 
I'm looking forward to both the controller and the box - depending on a good price I'll snag both up later this year :)

The controller is a definite though, I'll look forward to couch Dota 2.
 
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