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[Waaghals]

"Your PC is also a Steambox" - Director M. Night Shyamalan, commenting on SteamOS announcement

haha!

 

[NinjaCatfish]

This is such a terrible idea.

It's either for people who don't already PC game, and would sooner buy a console if they wanted to dip their toe in, or it's for Valve fans who don't need it, and would never choose what is basically a console with a gamepad over a new PC.

Who is this box for? Not non-gamers, not PC gamers, not console gamers. There's no one else left.

I could see a basic SteamOS Box as a compelling purchase for the PC gamer who wants to play games better played with a couch/controller/TV, but whose PC is not physically situated in the living room.
That's exactly what has me (a console and PC gamer) very excited.

 

[Dario ff]

no.

errr... yes?

Yeah, I'm not sure what c0de means. A lot of the shading stuff is probably native to the hardware for the sake of optimization, but I believe the basic framework in most of them is OpenGL.

 

[pixlexic]

Don't worry I'm sure the thousands of games currently out that stretch back across 20 years will get patched. Devs will just stop what they're doing and patch in Linux support.

If not don't worry you can stream them from your current PC and risk lag issues instead of just...playing them on your current PC.

Or just play them on your windows PC like always? :/

 

[Wiktor]

4A Games already confirmed that they are currently porting Metro Last Light to Linux weeks ago. It's somewhat old news. Football Manager 2014 is already available for pre-order on Linux, so I could see Sega trying the get Creative Assembly to do the same with Total War II.

Both Rome and Football Manager are pretty terribly not suited for living room big screen comfy couch gaming.

 

[maabus1999]

I came all over myself when I realized this was real, passed out, woke up, realized it wasn't a dream and repeated that process two more times.

This is the last gen of Xbox if this thing takes off.

Why would this affect Xbox brand only and not the Playstation or Nintendo console brands?

 

[Giard]

Serious question: Why would I get this if I could just plug my computer with an HDMI cable in the TV?

 

[TouchMyBox]

Don't worry I'm sure the thousands of games currently out that stretch back across 20 years will get patched. Devs will just stop what they're doing and patch in Linux support.

If not don't worry you can stream them from your current PC and risk lag issues instead of just...playing them on your current PC.

Do you also say this in every PS4 thread?

 

[Anteater]

This will be a such a disaster; Linux is simply dead.

Linux community is pretty lively last I checked I think. A lot of people still would like alternatives and options on PC.

 

[low-G]

Gaming OS for PC is huge, people who doesn't get it will get it pretty soon. It will depend on proper execution of course but this is where I have faith in Valve. Steam started slow and look where we are now. I'm sure that this announce is just the top of the iceberg. Anyone thinking that Valve won't apply the same rapid updates style to SteamOS as they've had going for Steam is delusional. Possibilities are endless.

Am I going to dual boot Windows for work and Steam OS for Steam games? We all know that the performance increases an OS can provide are minimal (compare like console HW to like PC HW, most of the performance on console is due to 1 make of hardware).

I think it only makes sense for a 'Steambox' or if MS is really ready to actually nuke Windows.

 

[Dicer]

This will be a such a disaster; Linux is simply dead.

 

[Timeaisis]

So we got a new OS that I have to either buy a completely new rig to run in my living room, or I have to partition my current rig and dual boot SteamOS.

Sounds great...

Spoiler

not really.

I use Windows because everything uses Windows, same as ya'll. I'm not changing because just because Steam has a steam-skinned version of Linux. As much as I love Steam.

 

[c0de]

I think getting rid of X will boost a little bit if they do but I am interested in optimizations they did in general.

 

[Einbroch]

I agree the core won't but the upgrades could.

Maybe. But then you're just building a PC. They could make it more user friendly, but if this thing is going to be big (sold in retail stores) it has be "pre-built" and not really upgradable.

 

[MaximoffZero]

As a PC Gamer, this sounds great.

Time to get Microsoft out of the equation.

THIS

 

[walking fiend]

I don't understand why this is so fantastic.

my PC is hooked up to my TV already. I can sit on my couch or in front of my monitor and play my games/watch movies/browse the net, do whatever I want.

Why would I ever need this? Why is this so amazing if any normal PC does everything this does?

The only [possible] advantage is that it may provide a better performance by removing the OS overhead; but obviously that requires the hardware manufacturers to collaborate with them.

 

[StuBurns]

I could see a basic SteamOS Box as a compelling purchase for the PC gamer who wants to play games better played with a couch/controller/TV, but whose PC is not physically situated in the living room.
That's exactly what has me (a console and PC gamer) very excited.

So instead of somehow getting a long HDMI cable to your TV, you're going to choose to buy a far more expensive box, which is going to cause latency and compression artifacting?

 

[imBask]

Serious question: Why would I get this if I could just plug my computer with an HDMI cable in the TV?

Many people are asking this question, including myself

i'm guessing Valve will answer this soon enough, they're not that stupid...

 

[zephervack]

Is the streaming of dx games still a rumor or confirmed?

 

[phosphor112]

Keep your current windows PC and use it to stream games to it while Valve works on support on the Linux side of things. I think it's a good balance. Between this and VitaTV I can have all the games I need in any room of my house (assuming I ever buy another one!).

You still need windows for now if you want to play your entire library. You can play hundreds of games natively, and stream thousands from a windows PC.

If there are as many AAA games coming to linux as valve hints, then going linux-only might be alright if you're not trudging through a backlog.

Here's to hoping support only gets better.

You know what this means though? OpenGL support is going to be nuts.

 

[JNT]

Other than this costs $100 less.

EDIT:



errr... yes?

No. PS3 has support for an OpenGL ES derivative, but most games are written using LibGCM. As far as I can tell, this is the main API used by Vita and PS4 as well.

 

[BadAss2961]

What is a "living room machine"?

I'm still trying to figure this out... I guess whatever this "living room machine" is will have to be capable of installing this OS on it -- HTPC or Steambox. Meaning you can't just run SteamOS on anything like they're suggesting.

Either way, I don't see why this is a big deal.

 

[Derrick01]

Or just play them on your windows PC like always? :/

We have a winner!

You just provided the solution to the problems this announcement has brought up.

 

[elementalsin]

More like one mid-to-high end PC to run your entire library, and one shitty spec netbook with HDMI out to run all of that on your TV.

Not if we end up with exclusive native steamOS... and then again, it begs the question whats the point of the device other than a streaming box?

The openness that makes this great is also what's going to kill it for the mass market. Once you start having to explain to people which games their steam box can and cannot run, the vast majority of non-core gamers will drop out. The advantage with consoles is the simplicity of knowing when you put a game in the disk drive, it's going to run no matter what.

I love the idea of a steam box, especially for the streaming solutions. I just don't see the appeal to people not already involved in PC gaming.

Totally agree. If anything as others have said I could see this fragmenting/confusing the PC market even further, NOT moving it forward.

 

[mug]

It'd be nice if there was a server form of this OS that would allow you to store games on that machine and stream them over your network to a lower powered machine regardless of OS.

 

[pixlexic]

Maybe. But then you're just building a PC. They could make it more user friendly, but if this thing is going to be big (sold in retail stores) it has be "pre-built" and not really upgradable.

But even then you could still have hardware and price options.

Like buying a android tablet.

 

[kingslunk]

More than serious. Every major linux project has been a failure; just look at its main two office programs, they are nearly 10 years behind Microsoft Office, and one was abandoned for quite a few years; no major smartphone producer makes devices supporting them; Gnome and KDE desktop haven't seen any major change in nearly a decade; the kernel barely has started working with hybrid graphics which are so common on laptops; it's still buggy as hell and a pain to troubleshoot.

Every major linux project has been a failure? No major smartphone producer makes device supporting them? The office programs?

^Linux based. By the way. Android is a behemoth right now.

 

[shandy706]

Well these features are being added to steam as well so it does sorta affect you..

Only in that it ads some things I won't use. It is a neat feature, but only a meh in my case.

I'm sure it's great for those that could use it.

I'm curious as to if this will have any impact at all in the console space. I sort of doubt it outside of hardcore PC gamers.

 

[Interceptor]

This could be really big. But while i like the service, the convience and the cheap prices i hate the software. It drags the system down. There ´s always an update and it is laggy and slow as fuck if it not crashes. A whole OS? I am very sceptical.

 

[Deadly Cyclone]

So, if Steambox uses this why would anyone pay $400-$500 for it if it cannot play 75% of your games?

 

[walking fiend]

Linux community is pretty lively last I checked I think. A lot of people still would like alternatives and options on PC.

IS it though? All major community applications are several years behind their alternatives on Windows and Mac. Kernel is behind the trend even more.

 

[c0de]

Yeah, I'm not sure what c0de means. A lot of the shading stuff is probably native to the hardware for the sake of optimization, but I believe the basic framework in most of them is OpenGL.

http://scalibq.wordpress.com/2010/05/15/sony’s-playstation-3’s-main-graphics-api-is-not-opengl/

 

[Anteo]

Oh this is nice, I was thinking about having my games in a different partition, now I will do it.

 

[Wiktor]

I don't understand why this is so fantastic.

my PC is hooked up to my TV already. I can sit on my couch or in front of my monitor and play my games/watch movies/browse the net, do whatever I want.

Why would I ever need this? Why is this so amazing if any normal PC does everything this does?

I don't think it's really for existing pc users aside from rare cases, as it will be vastly inferior to Windows. It seems more about getting new users and heding bets aginst Microsoft going crazy in the future.

 

[trixx]

Think of it this way..as a console player... Say this year you buy a $200 asus steam box that plays games at settings that consoles are getting . In three years Samsung puts out another steam box that triples the specs you currently have for $200 that is not only backwards compatible but now allows you to up the settings on those games you couldn't before.

This is what i'm looking forward to primarily as a console player. But currently i would rather just get a ps4 becan't it doesn't really seem to have additional/significant benefits at the moment pertaining to me. This announcement at it's current state only seems beneficial to pc gamers that have high end pc's

 

[Proelite]

I really don't get what's so confusing about any of this. It seems fairly obvious to me.

It's a Linux distribution that
1) Will run on Steambox (Or Steamboxes)
2) Can be used by manufacturers of HTPCs (which will also incidentally make their products ~80 USD cheaper than were they running Windows)
3) Can be integrated into future consumer electronics, e.g. TVs.
4) Can be installed by anyone on their PC, if they want to.

It serves to broaden the Steam userbase, and is complementary to the PC (Windows, OSX, Linux) Steam client.

As someone with a PC connected to all his display devices I'm not particularly interested, but I'm also not "confused".

I expect Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, and all OEMs that is forced to use Windows have a free option just like the OEMs in the smartphone market. If Steam Os is successful, it can be the Android of the dedicated machines. Best case for Valve, Windows will be marginalized to enterprise only.

 

[RulkezX]

Both Rome and Football Manager are pretty terribly not suited for living room big screen comfy couch gaming.

SI have admitted this themselves and is part of the reason they won't ever make another console version.

And Rome 2 from 10ft away and a pad ?

Yuk

 

[Felix Lighter]

This is such a terrible idea.

It's either for people who don't already PC game, and would sooner buy a console if they wanted to dip their toe in, or it's for Valve fans who don't need it, and would never choose what is basically a console with a gamepad over a new PC.

Who is this box for? Not non-gamers, not PC gamers, not console gamers. There's no one else left.

It's planning for the future. Freeing their business from almost 100% complete reliance on Microsoft's operating system. You game on a Windows PC and you use Steam? Cool, you're Valve's customer already.

In 2 years, affordable PC hardware out performs the game consoles and a solid library has been built, Steambox looks very appealing to console gamers.

In 5 years, Windows goes in a direction that makes running a business like Steam very difficult? Thank god Valve laid the ground work years ago for a shift to a new operating system for gaming!

 

[neoanarch]

Who will be the first to make this their SMART TV platform? That will be the true MEGATON.

 

[yami4ct]

I don't understand why this is so fantastic.

my PC is hooked up to my TV already. I can sit on my couch or in front of my monitor and play my games/watch movies/browse the net, do whatever I want.

Why would I ever need this? Why is this so amazing if any normal PC does everything this does?

For you, there is no use. For some people, getting the signal from their PC to the TV they'd like to play it on is quite difficult. The office where my PC is setup is a ways away from my living room where I might want to play PC games on the couch. This way, I would also not have to deal with the large amount of fan noise my PC produces if I choose to stream to a box in my living room.

 

[Betta Lines]

o = SteamOS
[o ] = Steambox (the box where the OS is), obviously.
whats o+o?

Two OSes. You can install Windows onto the SteamBox if you wish, and you and install SteamOS onto your gaming PC if you wish. Dual booting ftw!


I dunno though... why would that be the amazing third feature... it's not that amazing.

Spoiler

Clearly Half-Life 3.

 

[Bel_Air_Jeff]

So there are rules in place to ensure no game will ever be SteamOS exclusive?

HL3 will be the only exclusive.

Valve has probably came up with a way to convert the coding between different OS' very easily. From here on out there will only be STEAMOS exclusives, so there's no reason not to have john steamos

 

[MrCunningham]

Wait, I may have spoke to soon.

Couldn't Valve possibly make sort of a "Steam Stick", that plugs into your TV, and let's you stream games wirelessly from your PC?

I think it is best to think of SteamOS like Android. Valve makes the software, releases it for free (well they have to, since it is open source) and they let other hardware manufacturers release their own Steam boxes and streaming hardware.

Where is it srared that it's ubuntu based?

I think that it makes the most seance that this will be an off shoot of Ubuntu. It's the only Linux distro that Valve currently supports, even though many distros already have Steam packages and run it with little to no problems.

 

[wsippel]

I think getting rid of X will boost a little bit if they do but I am interested in optimizations they did in general.

X isn't the problem here. Even with X, most 3D apps perform exceptionally well on Linux.

 

[L.O.R.D]

Great poem.

lol
that was Unintentional

 

[Einbroch]

But even then you could still have hardware and price options.

Like buying a android tablet.

I agree. Like I said, if they want to sell these to the masses they have to be modeled. They need a SKU.

But you threw out an upgrade path, or something like that. That just can't happen with a model-system, unless Valve buys them up for a loss, which doesn't make much business sense. And they won't sell stronger-than-PS4 level compete systems for cheap. Maybe in two years they'll come out with a stronger PS4 model for $400 and discount the weaker model to $300 like Apple does, but they will not be super cheap.

 

[ChosenPredator]

Somebody tell me why I'm supposed to be excited?

the only reason im exited is because sony/ms/steam will all be competing with neat ideas to beat each other out or taking the same ideas and improving them, sort of like steam/ms family sharing

just a good time to be a gamer in general

 

[John_B]

Awesome. The timing is right. Sleek boxes and a total native experience. Blessings to Valve.

They need everyone else to jump on board the train though. Blizzard and EA won't put their games on the Steam store, but their Battle.net and Origin apps needs to be compatible with the OS. Blizzard was not happy with Windows 8, and they would probably migrate before Microsoft asks for 30% of every game sold on Windows.

Exciting times. The Windows stronghold will not be the same in a decade or two.

 

[Dario ff]

No. PS3 has support for an OpenGL ES derivative, but most games are written using LibGCM. As far as I can tell, this is the main API used by Vita and PS4 as well.

Ah, that makes more sense now. Thanks.

 

[Durante]

Totally agree. If anything as others have said I could see this fragmenting/confusing the PC market even further, NOT moving it forward.

Yes, the total failure of Android in the smartphone and tablet market has conclusively demonstrated that providing a Linux-based OS targeted at a specific market and letting manufacturers use it on a wide variety of devices is doomed to failure.