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[crimsonheadGCN]

Thanks Andrex for supplying the screenshots.

Official Press Release:

http://store.steampowered.com/news/9943/

Feb 14, 2013–Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the release of its Steam for Linux client. In celebration of the release, over 50 Linux titles are now 50-75% off until Wednesday, February 21st at 10 AM PST.

The Steam client is now available to download for free from the Ubuntu Software Center. Ubuntu is the most popular distribution of Linux used by millions of people globally and known for its well-designed, easy-to-use customer experience.

“The introduction of Steam to Ubuntu demonstrates growing demand for open systems from gamers and game developers,” said David Pitkin, Director of Consumer Applications at Canonical. “We expect a growing number of game developers to include Ubuntu among their target platforms. We’re looking forward to seeing AAA games developed with Ubuntu in mind as part of a multi-platform day and date release on Steam.”

“We’re huge fans of Linux. It’s like the indie OS–a perfect home for our indie game,” said Alen Ladavac, CTO of Croteam, creator of the Serious Sam franchise of games. “And who better to lead the charge into Linux gaming than Valve? With Steam distribution on Windows, Mac OS, and now Linux, plus the buy-once, play-anywhere promise of Steam Play, our games are available to everyone, regardless what type of computer they’re running. That’s huge.”

Team Fortress 2, the Free to Play game, is also now available on Steam for Linux. For a limited time, Steam users who play the game on Linux will automatically receive a free, exclusive in-game item: Tux, the Linux mascot, can be carried by any of the game’s classes and traded between players. Additional Valve titles available on Steam for Linux include Half-Life, Counter-Strike 1.6, and Counter-Strike: Source.

In addition to games, the Steam for Linux client includes Big Picture, the new mode of Steam designed for use with a TV and game controller. With Steam for Linux and Big Picture mode, Valve anticipates a growing number of gamers will use Steam in the living room.

Steam is a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC and Mac games with over 50 million accounts around the world and over 2,000 titles offered. More details regarding Steam for Linux, including community discussion, official announcements and syndicated news can all be tracked on the Steam for Linux Community Hub at http://steamcommunity.com/linux.

Team Fortress 2 Item and Note:

You won't get your Penguin in TF2 until later tonight, it hasn't been patched in yet

Ubuntu:



Sales Page:



Latest Steam update:

Features
- Added support for Linux
- Offline messaging: You can now send messages to users who are offline. They will receive the message when they next log in
- Opening a chat dialog with a friend will show some recent chat history
- A web chat interface is available, you can find it by navigating to the Steam Community Friend Activity page in your web browser
- Added a caps lock warning indicator to the login dialog password textbox
- Added support for better content sharing between games
- Improved performance and responsiveness of client UI
- Improved startup time for users with large screenshot folders
- Prevent users from selecting an invalid screenshots folder
- Suspend all downloads automatically when a game is launched
- Added third party Mod support for games on new content system
- Big Picture: Users can now add wallet funds and authorize microtransactions
- Big Picture: In-game overlay now moves back on ESC when appropriate rather than closing directly
- Added the date that SteamGuard was enabled in the settings dialog
- Improved handling of international characters

Fixes
- Fixed several issues with scroll bars in the store and community views
- Fixed forum links opening in external browser windows
- Reduced retail install time when reading from optical disc on Windows XP/Vista
- Removed "/me" chat command, which allowed some users to modify the color of their chat text
- Fixed crash on startup caused by corrupt ClientRegistry.blob file
- Fixed a top crash related to video streaming
- Fixed an issue with cascading menu items
- Fixed issue where some game installers cannot write to the registry
- Fixed screenshots sometimes not showing up in screenshot manager when copied from another Steam installation
- Big Picture: Fixed left/right navigation of game related sections in the in-game overlay
- Big Picture: Fixed default font used by the in-game overlay
- Fixed launching 64-bit games and applications
- When a friend's status changes multiple times consecutively, only the last change will be shown (ie "Friend is now Online", "Friend is now Away" messages)
- Fixed Windows error message "Disk not ready" in game install wizard
- Made the preview image for guides smaller in the overlay
- Caching guide preview images when viewed in the overlay
- Added Ctrl+A select-all for system info text

Mac
- Greatly reduced CPU usage and power consumption
- Fixed command-W and other keyboard shortcuts
- Fixed bugs with window management and the Window menu
- Fixed leaks which caused memory usage to increase over time
- Added partial support for Retina displays
- Fixed bug with tooltips showing through Windows
- Notification popups now respond on the first click
- Web page views no longer freeze up after clicking and dragging the mouse
- Clicking the dock icon now brings all Steam windows to the front

 

[ComputerMKII]

Nice, but I'll still use Windows since it has many more games than Linux has.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

> In the OP. <

 

[TheNatural]

Its a start. I thought they were working on L4D for Linux though?

 

[balladofwindfishes]

You won't get your Penguin in TF2 until later tonight, it hasn't been patched in yet

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

http://i.minus.com/ib2xy8dTzfaUO1.png]

http://i.imgur.com/5h6hlte.png http://i.imgur.com/Plx7Uwx.png[/URL][/QUOTE]

Thanks. Updating the OP with it.

 

[The Grim Heaper]

I bet that penguin item is going to be worth something good.

Also, if anyone wants Serious Sam 3, it's in the new Indieroyale bundle.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

So where's the 'install linux on a VM and install Steam for the free TF2 vanity item' guide for dummies?

 

[injurai]

I think I'm going to toss mint out and go with Ubuntu and Gnome 3. Andrex you may win, but getting the penguin is the final push I needed to switch.

 

[thiscoldblack]

Well, time to give this a whirl and see how well it performs (compared to Windows).

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Thanks. Updating the OP with it.

Could you remove the quote around it? Would look nicer.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

The penguin will become the new ear buds in the TF2 economy.

 

[MrCunningham]

I'm surprised that they managed to launch this with 100 games. Sure, almost all of them are indie and smaller titles, but still... not a bad start.

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

Its a start. I thought they were working on L4D for Linux though?

They are working on it, but they probably decided to do Team Fortress 2 because it has the version of Source that most of Valve's titles run on (Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Day of Defeat: Source, etc.)

 

[JaseC]

I'm surprised that they managed to launch this with 100 games. Sure, almost all of them are indie and smaller titles, but still... not a bad start.

The "games" number on platform/publisher landing pages actually includes DLC, so while there are ~100 Linux-compatible products on Steam, there are only 59 individual games.

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

Could you remove the quote around it? Would look nicer.

Done.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

tf2 page is live

http://www.teamfortress.com/linux/

Shirts!

 

[Pai Pai Master]

That Penguin is gonna be worth a fortune.

 

[TouchMyBox]

Awesome to see the exposure they're giving it.

A little disappointed that they didn't surprise launch another valve game today (at least not yet) though.

I guess asking for Dota 2 is a bit unrealistic at this point since it's such a moving target code-wise when they have more stagnant titles to release still. Portal 1/2 would suffice.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Done.

Thanks, looks great.

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

Awesome to see the exposure they're giving it.

A little disappointed that they didn't surprise launch another valve game today (at least not yet) though.

I could see them pushing like Team Fortress Classic, Day of Defeat, and Day of Defeat: Source through today. I guess we'll have to wait and see if that happens later on.

 

[Spookie]

That Penguin is gonna be worth a fortune.

I was wondering if the penguin will be the new mac buds. Probably not as EVERYONE will jump on the bandwagon this time.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

I was wondering if the penguin will be the new mac buds. Probably not as EVERYONE will jump on the bandwagon this time.

It's also free and easy to install Linux, whereas you'd have to buy Mac hardware to get the Mac Buds.

 

[Exuro]

Are they planning on officially supporting non-Ubuntu distros? Not a fan of it and last time my friend tried it out he couldn't get anything to launch.

 

[Zia]

I think the real news here is the semi-support for Retina displays. And the TF2 item.

Is running Ubuntu on Boot Camp a thing that can be done?

 

[Polari]

Are they planning on supporting non-Ubuntu distros? Not a fan of it and last time my friend tried it out he couldn't get anything to launch.

I am having a problem with Lubuntu 12.10 where it says I need to be connected to the internet in order for it to update (I am connected to the internet, obviously).

Edit: Working now. Must have been a server problem on their end.

 

[ScepticMatt]

they should try to add Counter-Strike to this list.
Well, Dota 2 and Football Mager would be impressive but that's a harder thing to do.

 

[crimsonheadGCN]

Are they planning on supporting non-Ubuntu distros? Not a fan of it and last time my friend tried it out he couldn't get anything to launch.

Yes, they are planning to officially support non-Ubuntu distros. Canonical just offered the most help in getting the whole thing done so they went with them first, but others will be added later.

You can install Steam on other distros currently, but it's not going to get the same support if you have trouble with it.

 

[cw_sasuke]

Does Ubuntu/Steam Linux support the 360 controller without problems ?

 

[Exuro]

Yes, they are planning to officially support non-Ubuntu distros. Canonical just offered the most help in getting the whole thing done so they went with them first, but others will be added later.

You can install Steam on other distros currently, but it's not going to get the same support if you have trouble with it.

Well running it on Ubuntu I can't even get games to launch, while on Fedora games will launch, but some have missing sound. And BPM doesn't work on Fedora. So as far as I've dealt with it their non supported distros work better. I'd just like bpm to work.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

they should try to add Counter-Strike to this list.
Well, Dota 2 and Football Mager would be impressive but that's a harder thing to do.

I don't think Dota will go multi-platform until it's done. Too many engine changes happen right now.

 

[-COOLIO-]

linux with games is a potent mix.

 

[Visualante2]

The penguin will become the new ear buds in the TF2 economy.

I'm thinking people will be smarter the second time. But that's not going to stop me loading it up to try and get one. Ear buds were 1 weekend only, right? These will never be worth as much. edit. Oh I had no idea it was extended a month, shiiit.

Still installing Linux is cheaper than buying/borrowing a Mac. Barrier to entry is tiny.

 

[Gully State]

I'm actually impressed at the library of games with Linux support on Steam so far. Some real quality titles...

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Are they planning on officially supporting non-Ubuntu distros? Not a fan of it and last time my friend tried it out he couldn't get anything to launch.

It should theoretically work on anything that supports .deb packages. .rpm users are out of luck for now.

Edit- I might be totally totally wrong about this, lol.

 

[pmj]

I guess it's time to check out this Crusader Kings 2 thing.

I'd get that TF2 thing, but then I'd have to install TF2, which I don't know what it is, but it's 11 gigs.

Does Ubuntu/Steam Linux support the 360 controller without problems ?

There is a driver so you can just plug it in and use it. As for actual support, but it's by default mapped wrong in Steam, and support in games can be spotty. For instance, I can't map the triggers in Psychonauts.

 

[JaseC]

they should try to add Counter-Strike to this list.
Well, Dota 2 and Football Mager would be impressive but that's a harder thing to do.

1.6 is coming; it's in internal beta at the moment, which, unless Valve has fixed it, you can install and run by removing the Linux filter applied to your library by default (select "All Games"). Said beta is practically useless, though, as it lacks online connectivity.

 

[JustinBB7]

I'm just happy this update fixed my Steam startup breaking!

 

[Tizoc]

lol @ Journey Down Ep. 1 for less than $2.
Ah well I just hope that me buying it for $5 contributes to the work on the future episodes.
Will grab Intrusion 2 though~

 

[ThatObviousUser]

PR is wrong, lol.

Wednesday, February 21st at 10 AM PST

21st is Thursday.

 

[Visualante2]

Might be time I get Penumbra. Don't think that one goes on sale very often.

 

[Chesskid1]

downloading ubuntu now. no idea how linux works.

welp.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

downloading ubuntu now. no idea how linux works.

welp.

Go into the Software Center and search+install Gnome Shell after you do, will make things much better.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

I'd get that TF2 thing, but then I'd have to install TF2, which I don't know what it is, but it's 11 gigs.

:O

http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Team_fortress_2

Like its predecessors, Team Fortress 2 is centered around two opposing teams competing for an objective. These two teams are meant to represent a demolition and a construction company as a part of the backstory: Reliable Excavation Demolition (RED) and Builders League United (BLU). Players can choose to play as one of nine classes in these teams, each with their own unique strengths, weaknesses, abilities, and roles. Although the abilities of a number of classes have changed from earlier Team Fortress incarnations, the basic elements of each class have remained.

Is best game ever

 

[TheNatural]

Im curious as well, how does Steam treat non Linux games in your library when you're in a distro? Does it not let you download them at all?

Probably no way to get it to work, but wondering if older games could run through WINE downloaded through Steam.

 

[pmj]

:O

http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Team_fortress_2


Is best game ever

I've played a few other games of this type, and I've seen a bit of TF2 gamplay youtube. It's this "best game ever" part I don't get. And I'm not willing to download 11 gigs and then spend months getting demolished by veterans for a chance to possibly understand what the special ingredient is that sets this apart from the rest.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Im curious as well, how does Steam treat non Linux games in your library when you're in a distro? Does it not let you download them at all?

Probably no way to get it to work, but wondering if older games could run through WINE downloaded through Steam.

It defaults you to a "Linux Games" selection in a platform dropdown. You can select other platforms to see those games, but the install button isn't there.

 

[TouchMyBox]

Are they planning on officially supporting non-Ubuntu distros? Not a fan of it and last time my friend tried it out he couldn't get anything to launch.

They have recently changed the license on the steam client allowing other linux distributions to repack and distribute steam. So hopefully every major distribution adds the steam client into their official repositories and do what needs doing in terms of making sure it's a good experience.

I've played a few other games of this type, and I've seen a bit of TF2 gamplay youtube. It's this "best game ever" part I don't get. And I'm not willing to download 11 gigs and then spend months getting demolished by veterans for a chance to possibly understand what the special ingredient is that sets this apart from the rest.

It's actually rare that servers are filled with super-skilled players. The only place I see good competition is on tf2lobby.com. Since the game went free-to-play, there's more casual servers than ever.

And to spoil what the special ingredient is: The game is very well supported by the developer and community. Basically it's the main thing which separates shitty online games to ones with some relevance and staying power.

 

[DUFFMCWALIN]

Awesome to see the exposure they're giving it.

A little disappointed that they didn't surprise launch another valve game today (at least not yet) though.

I guess asking for Dota 2 is a bit unrealistic at this point since it's such a moving target code-wise when they have more stagnant titles to release still. Portal 1/2 would suffice.

Dota 2 for mac first please. Then more traditional linux so then I can play it on all three of my platforms .


I'm gonna install steam on fedora later today and see how it works.

 

[TouchMyBox]

Dota 2 for mac first please. Then more traditional linux so then I can play it on all three of my platforms .


I'm gonna install steam on fedora later today and see how it works.

Well, mac and linux support going forward for Valve is pretty much the same thing. I doubt we'll be seeing releases for one and not the other.