|
 It finally happened, for ValVe to rise to the top of the proverbial food chain, they needed to get rid of necessities like Microsoft Windows or unpopular platforms like the Personal Computer. To do this, they are going to produce the Steam Operating System: a Linux based platform that will completely free to aspiring hardware makers. Speaking of other companies, ValVe's second plan of operation is to have a host of companies willing to build Steam "Machines" that will run the "SteamOS". All that's left is to figure out which AAA developers will be willing to produce their next console/PC games on the Linux-based console. Expect to see these consoles in early to mid 2014. Below is a list of links that contain information on the new SteamOS and Machines.  SteamOS: Valve posted:As we’ve been working on bringing Steam to the living room, we’ve come to the conclusion that the Kotaku Rock Paper Shotgun IGN  Steam Machines:  Valve posted:Entertainment is not a one-size-fits-all world. We want you to be able to choose the hardware that makes sense for you, so we are working with multiple partners to bring a variety of Steam gaming machines to market during 2014, all of them running SteamOS. Kotaku + Guide on how to win a Steam-Machine Rock, Paper, Shotgun IGN  Steam Controller: Valve posted:"We set out with a singular goal: bring the Steam experience, in its entirety, into the living-room. We knew how to build the user interface, we knew how to build a machine, and even an operating system. But that still left input — our biggest missing link. We realized early on that our goals required a new kind of input technology — one that could bridge the gap from the desk to the living room without compromises. So we spent a year experimenting with new approaches to input and we now believe we’ve arrived at something worth sharing and testing with you." First Impressions of the Steam Controller   Giveaway boxes are here! See an unboxing here  Extra Reading: Gabe's first hints at future of gaming. Valve's Patent on a Video-Game Controller -25SEP2013- Nvidia announces more support to Linux Driver Community -24SEP2013- AMD support of Linux possible Thor-Stryker fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Dec 15, 2013 |
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 19:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 20:53 |
|
|
I can't wait for the cheap Chinese Steam Box. Also all hell will break loose when the specs of the prototype get revealed.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 19:57
|
|
|
please let the third announcement be half-life 3 please let the third announcement be half-life 3 I think the biggest way Valve could get the upper hand on the current console market is by making it easy and cheaper to upgrade the internal parts of the machine every few years instead of having to buy a new console. Developers would no longer be constrained by aging console hardware and Valve/hardware manufacturers could get a steady stream of income instead of a trickle followed by a gusher every cycle.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:00
|
|
|
I just want to see their tower designs. Probably so I can buy a barebones and just transplant my gaming PC hardware.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:00
|
|
|
The only, and I mean only, thing I really care about is price. Is this going to be a cheaper investment than my PS4. I've been waiting for this for a while because I love the idea of PC games; but I don't have the time or money to build a box.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:02
|
|
|
To me, SteamOS seems like it lay down a pretty good foundation for customizable living room entertainment solutions. From the information released so far it looks like the end user will have a lot of choice and control on how they can implement their setup.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:03
|
|
|
I still balk at the idea that this is in any way stepping into the console market. I still don't really know what the market for this OS/product is. There are people who enjoy using a controller with their PC games and even playing them on a TV, but it can't be a significant percentile. As a free alternative OS for those people who have an HTPC or are interested in getting one, it's a nice bit of news. But that will get you about as far as the OUYA in market share.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:04
|
|
|
Bruiser posted:The only, and I mean only, thing I really care about is price. Is this going to be a cheaper investment than my PS4.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:05
|
|
|
This is a very misleading title and I don't think Valve really gives a poo poo about the console market right now. My current feeling for what the third announcement will be is a controller announcement. Valve has been designing a controller for some time and filed a patent for a modular controller (able to swap in different joysticks/trackballs/dpads/whatever) in 2009 and presumably has been working on controllers ever since. SteamOS will not support XInput, therefore native 360 controller support for every game won't be a thing for Linux ports. Valve will want to design their own official controller, release a series of standards, and their own API to go along with it to replicate the 360 controller's function as a universal standard.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:06
|
|
|
I'm skeptical. This is basically a branded Linux intended for HTPCs... or more likely resurrected E-Machines, given how low manufacturers always want to take their own costs. And it's Linux. I know Valve keeps track of every scrap of information they can get from their end users, but even with information on penetration rates for linux installs and games run, and the Big Picture mode, that's going to be a hard sell.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:08
|
|
|
Quest For Glory II posted:I still balk at the idea that this is in any way stepping into the console market. I still don't really know what the market for this OS/product is. There are people who enjoy using a controller with their PC games and even playing them on a TV, but it can't be a significant percentile. About this time last year you were balking at the idea of the Wii U being an underpowered, undersupported flop, weren't you? Your skepticism all but confirms what I've always known: The twilight of the closed console era fast approaches.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:11
|
|
|
Bruiser posted:The only, and I mean only, thing I really care about is price. Is this going to be a cheaper investment than my PS4. You will not see console-equivalent performance coming out of a box at console-equivalent prices. Console manufacturers release hardware at a loss and games are further optimized for the one configuration in order to eke out way more performance per flop than PC games. There will be no singular Steam Machine, as the announcement page states there will be many machines from many manufacturers. They will not be sold at a loss, this is something manufacturers will want to profit from on the hardware alone, because the people selling them won't have many other ways to get your money. In order to get a machine that can run next-gen console ports at 60FPS at high settings you will have to spend much more than the cost of a PS4.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:11
|
|
|
I think Valve has several target audiences. Based on the limited information so far, it will be primarily for end users who like to tinker and for hardware manufactures to release an alternative to PC/consoles. I'm in the "likes to tinker" crowd. I already have a HTPC running a distro of linux and XBMC. Having SteamOS, Steam and XBMC on it would make it a really flexible setup.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:11
|
|
|
If they build a good HTPC interface into this I'll buy one.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:16
|
|
|
Bieeardo posted:I'm skeptical. This is basically a branded Linux intended for HTPCs... or more likely resurrected E-Machines, given how low manufacturers always want to take their own costs. And it's Linux. I know Valve keeps track of every scrap of information they can get from their end users, but even with information on penetration rates for linux installs and games run, and the Big Picture mode, that's going to be a hard sell. There's no way Valve is going to certify something with the quality of an E-Machines rig. It would cripple them once systems start blowing up.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:16
|
|
|
Scyantific posted:There's no way Valve is going to certify something with the quality of an E-Machines rig. It would cripple them once systems start blowing up. They're still going to have a boatload of fun with complaints when low-end machines certed for SOS balk at running popular games at any acceptable combination of speed and prettiness, or at all. That's a big problem. Your tinkers, like bigmandan a few posts up, know what they're doing and what they're getting into. Someone buying a prebuilt machine like as not won't.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:21
|
|
|
Scyantific posted:There's no way Valve is going to certify something with the quality of an E-Machines rig. It would cripple them once systems start blowing up. It is going to be pretty funny where there are a few "SteamOS approved and certified" machines along with a bunch of cheapo "Can run SteamOS" machines floating around on the marketplace.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:22
|
|
|
Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:SteamOS will not support XInput, therefore native 360 controller support for every game won't be a thing for Linux ports. That's not really true. There's no XInput, but you don't need XInput. XBox 360 controllers are exposed the same way other gamepads are in Linux, via the standard Linux joystick interface. You get separate trigger axes, rumble, the works. Also, SDL 2 has a game controller abstraction API that supports many common controllers already, mapping them to a standard XBox 360 controller layout. Steam itself uses SDL 2, and you can even configure your own controller layouts in Big Picture that will be used by games. I mean, that doesn't help games that don't use SDL 2, but it's misleading to say there's no support.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:23
|
|
|
Bieeardo posted:They're still going to have a boatload of fun with complaints when low-end machines certed for SOS balk at running popular games at any acceptable combination of speed and prettiness, or at all. My guess is Valve will have an App for their OS that gives the machine a rating which you will then be able to compare to possible playable games. I think it's just a matter of making sure hardware-makers post this on their box and have a comparison of game ratings nearby. Good luck making it easy for Grandma to buy for Little Timmy's birthday however.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:23
|
|
|
They definitely need to establish a hard baseline for what can qualify as a Steam Machine. Valve have an opportunity to expand the PC gaming market by creating something of a standard for developers to tune toward. I feel like that would serve everyone's best interest; even those of us who prefer to sit down with a tool kit and a bag of parts.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:25
|
|
|
Bieeardo posted:They're still going to have a boatload of fun with complaints when low-end machines certed for SOS balk at running popular games at any acceptable combination of speed and prettiness, or at all. Hopefully when the SteamMachines are released, they'll clearly indicate the level of performance and role. Additionally the hardware beta and people trying out SteamOS on their own hardware will give Valve and the hardware manufacturers an idea of what to expect.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:25
|
|
|
mjau posted:That's not really true. There's no XInput, but you don't need XInput. XBox 360 controllers are exposed the same way other gamepads are in Linux, via the standard Linux joystick interface. You get separate trigger axes, rumble, the works. If Linux's default API works like DirectInput's, it won't be able to detect both triggers being pulled at the same time (they're on the same axis and thus would cancel each other out). I'm not familiar enough with Linux to really know much about SDL2, but it still all sounds like it could benefit from there being one true controller and one true API to control that like what XInput brought. it brought a degree of certainty that any decently designed game would just work with your 360 controller, zero hassle, zero configuration required. if SDL2 can provide that, then good. Dr. Video Games 0031 fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Sep 25, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:25
|
|
|
Biggest concern for me is this:quote:What games will be available during the beta? Due to SteamOS being basically Linux only linux-enabled steam games will work on it, and the rest will have to be streamed to you Gaikai style, which sounds like the antithesis of fun.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:26
|
|
|
Hobo Siege posted:About this time last year you were balking at the idea of the Wii U being an underpowered, undersupported flop, weren't you? quote:Your skepticism all but confirms what I've always known: The twilight of the closed console era fast approaches.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:26
|
|
|
Cloud streaming is fine for casual games and puzzle games which is probably what people who want to play video games with a gamepad in their living room are going to play. You're not going to try to play Call of Duty via cloud streaming.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:27
|
|
|
Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:If Linux's default API works like DirectInput's, it won't be able to detect both triggers being pulled at the same time (they're on the same axis and thus would cancel each other out). From the SteamOS announcement page, Valve claims to be working on fine tuning audio and input performance. Hopefully we'll get some more details when SteamOS is available to download and try out.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:28
|
|
|
Bieeardo posted:I'm skeptical. This is basically a branded Linux intended for HTPCs... or more likely resurrected E-Machines, given how low manufacturers always want to take their own costs. And it's Linux. I know Valve keeps track of every scrap of information they can get from their end users, but even with information on penetration rates for linux installs and games run, and the Big Picture mode, that's going to be a hard sell. I would imagine that there would be some kind of minimum specs for a Steambox to avoid this type of scenario. As for Linux, I don't see it being a huge problem. Most older titles can run through WINE and newer titles will likely start targeting the platform directly. A lot of middleware already has a POSIX+OpenGL backend and a lot of developers are starting to realize that being locked exclusively into the Microsoft ecosystem might not be a good idea in the long run given their recent decisions. The_Franz fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Sep 25, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:28
|
|
|
Possible fodder for the OP, one of the interviews where Gaben first talked about his interest in making hardware.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:30
|
|
|
Evil Canadian posted:Due to SteamOS being basically Linux only linux-enabled steam games will work on it, and the rest will have to be streamed to you Gaikai style, which sounds like the antithesis of fun. Isn't Gabe really really against streamed gaming? I don't think they're planning a Gaikai thing.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:30
|
|
|
Evil Canadian posted:Biggest concern for me is this: quote:Can I hack this box? Run another OS? Change the hardware? Install my own software? Use it to build a robot? It's not going to be that restrictive.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:31
|
|
|
Luigi Thirty posted:Cloud streaming is fine for casual games and puzzle games which is probably what people who want to play video games with a gamepad in their living room are going to play. You're not going to try to play Call of Duty via cloud streaming. Well that's kinda the thing, if you actually do wanna play Call of Duty on it, you won't have a choice but to stream it. The fact that the majority of games are gated behind streaming totally ruins any hype I could have for this.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:31
|
|
|
i poo poo trains posted:Isn't Gabe really really against streamed gaming? I don't think they're planning a Gaikai thing.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:31
|
|
|
It's not streaming from ~the cloud~ it's streaming from your PC locally over wifi.Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:If Linux's default API works like DirectInput's, it won't be able to detect both triggers being pulled at the same time (they're on the same axis and thus would cancel each other out). There's stuff for Linux that fixes this already. xboxdrv let's you change them to be their own axis. VarXX fucked around with this message at 20:34 on Sep 25, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:31
|
|
|
Luigi Thirty posted:Cloud streaming is fine for casual games and puzzle games which is probably what people who want to play video games with a gamepad in their living room are going to play. You're not going to try to play Call of Duty via cloud streaming. SteamOS won't being doing "cloud" streaming. It will be streaming over the LAN and if you have a gigabit network, that'll be plenty fast enough to relay video, audio and input. If you don't have a gigabit network, you can get a cheap gigabit switch for like $30.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:32
|
|
|
Evil Canadian posted:Well that's kinda the thing, if you actually do wanna play Call of Duty on it, you won't have a choice but to stream it. The fact that the majority of games are gated behind streaming totally ruins any hype I could have for this. At first you will want to dual boot windows until most AAA games release with Linux ports. I wouldn't be surprised if next year's CoD has a Linux port.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:32
|
|
|
Quest For Glory II posted:What makes you say this, though? Do you think Playstation 4 and Xbox One will be financial disasters? Or is that just what you want to see happen? Because I can certainly say my speculation in 2012 is what I wanted to believe. I feel like consoles are becoming increasingly redundant. They're just these closed up set-top boxes that can play games and media, but you're forced to play by the manufacturer's rules. If they say you have to pay a fee to use a feature, you have to pay a fee. A PC offers choice. I think Valve are on the cusp of tapping into that ease-of-use factor that's held the PC back from owning gaming outright. It could take five years, it could take ten, but if this works out for Valve consoles are going to be on the way out.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:33
|
|
|
VarXX posted:It's not streaming from ~the cloud~ it's streaming from your PC locally over wifi. Hobo Siege posted:I feel like consoles are becoming increasingly redundant. They're just these closed up set-top boxes that can play games and media, but you're forced to play by the manufacturer's rules. If they say you have to pay a fee to use a feature, you have to pay a fee. A PC offers choice.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:33
|
|
|
Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:At first you will want to dual boot windows until most AAA games release with Linux ports. I wouldn't be surprised if next year's CoD has a Linux port. While dual booting is definitely an option, especially for testing, I don't think that would be an ideal solution for regular use. Why bother when you can already have Steam on windows/mac?
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:35
|
|
|
Dr. Video Games 0031 posted:At first you will want to dual boot windows until most AAA games release with Linux ports. I wouldn't be surprised if next year's CoD has a Linux port. Or they just stop releasing CoD games on the PC completely, like they tried to with the third game.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 20:53 |
|
|
VarXX posted:There's stuff for Linux that fixes this already. xboxdrv let's you change them to be their own axis. Being required to install and configure third party software is not ideal. There needs to be zero configuration, zero installation native plug-and-play controller support. edit: VVVV Alright, that's cool, then.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2013 20:36
|
|