SteamOS!

[DazzleHP]

So, if you are not aware yesterday Valve announced their brand new gaming OS based on Linux - SteamOS! (Valve's own teaser page) I've been running the steam client in linux for a couple of months and am very pleased with the pace at which games are getting converted to run on linux. With Valve supporting Linux more developers are likely to aswell which in turn will likely force OpenGL to become a real alternative to DirectX, as it used to be. Good news!

I know for a lot of people Linux seems to be a big green scary monster, really it isn't, but now may be the time to start getting familiar with it

Checkout GameSpot's article for more infos.

[nullPointer]

Pretty cool stuff. As you discussed I'm actually a bit more excited about Steam's support of Linux than I am about having another distro to choose from. It will definitely be interesting to see what they do with it. I'm guessing this is the next shot across the bow on the way towards the development of the Steam console. Thanks for the share!

[jackhammersalm]

This looks a good start really. might actually damage windows stranglehold on the market. Right now it looks like Gabe and co are trying to punish those AAA companies that doubt steams capabilities of changing there scene

[Draco1962]

Sudo CHOP!

[DazzleHP]

Nice one Dracs

@null - Yeah me too, the Linux catalogue has been growing at nice pace and i'm more interested in what Valves influence will do for Linux as a whole rather than the SteamOS itself. Saying that though how many of us have dreamed of an OS designed solely for gaming?! I know i have! For years! Imagine nearly all your hardware resources being used to power your games. It could potentially mean knocking off 100's of dollars to your future rigs, if all you're going to run is SteamOS. I'm certainly excited about it and hope it goes well for them.

[Adultery]

This looks cool although I will probably stay with Ubuntu and run the steam client that way... Most notably when the family game sharing plan comes into play.

[nullPointer]

So Steam is slated to make 3 "big announcements" this week with SteamOS being the first. Here's the official Steam announcement page. If I were a betting man I would practically put money down that one of those announcements will be official news about their upcoming Steam Box console. I bet it's kind of a trifecta. Announce the OS, announce the official Steam hardware platform for running the OS, then (maybe) announce how the two will interact. The symbols displayed on the page in the first link would seem to indicate that it's something like that. (See I did learn something from Tomb Raider ... besides anatomy)

[Draco1962]

I may have to setup my machine for a dual-boot to kick the tires on the SteamOS and the install will set that up like other distros. Hopefully, it will be a relative no-brainer to setup. My Linux is a bit rusty and inexperienced.

[nullPointer]

And further more what's the mysterious third announcement from Steam this week? Half Life 3 (or Half Life 2: Episode 3 if you prefer)!? We can certainly hope so!

Half-Life 3... here ya go!

[DazzleHP]

5. Play a game using a gamepad in Big Picture mode

Well that's me out then. It doesn't work in XP and crashes in Linux. Oh well good luck chaps.

-EDIT- Although i haven't bothered with it much in linux because i had no reason to. Hmmmm i may just have a lil tinker then and find out why it don't like BigPicture.

[Draco1962]

I came across a blog that breaks things down a bit for the SteamOS. Looks like it may possibly be based upon Ubuntu 12.04 LTS although we'll have to wait for the official release to know if they stuck with Ubuntu, whether or not it will be will be a lite version or chock full of bloat. I would imagine that they will not use the Unity desktop since the push is towards the "Big Picture" interface. I would imagine that the end-user will be able to drop down to a standard interface for making system tweaks and adding/adjusting their own content so as not to be confined to Big Pic. Who knows? I am not a Linuxphile but it makes sense and I think that the folks at Steam will want it to make sense for its customers.

[Draco1962]

Just a thought - if everyone friends everyone in the GameEx Group on Steam then you will have 10 friends easily!

[nullPointer]

Just a thought - if everyone friends everyone in the GameEx Group on Steam then you will have 10 friends easily!

I was thinking the same thing! The only potential hold-up is that some of the folks in the GameEx Group haven't logged into Steam for quite a while. If anyone in the GameEx Steam Group is reading this, check your Steam friend requests! I'd be on the moon if someone within the GameEx community was lucky enough to be selected for Steam hardware beta testing.

[Draco1962]

Same here! Send me requests and I will accept! And, if you haven't joined the Steam GameEx Community now is a good time to do so!

[DazzleHP]

I would imagine that they will not use the Unity desktop since the push is towards the "Big Picture" interface. I would imagine that the end-user will be able to drop down to a standard interface for making system tweaks and adding/adjusting their own content so as not to be confined to Big Pic.

I'm with you on this - If it's going to be a streamlined or "lite ubuntu" they may well ditch any kind of desktop altogether and build their own tools that you can run straight from big picture (terminal, file manager etc). Afterall if they did include a desktop and other bloats then it would be no different than installing any standard distro and running the Steam client as normal. If there is to be an underlying desktop though please gawd not Unity *prays*

[nullPointer]

If there is to be an underlying desktop though please gawd not Unity *prays*

Amen to avoiding Unity when and if possible! That was probably the driving decision in my conversion to Mint as my distro of choice. I've still got love for most of what Ubuntu has done, but Unity ... eh, not so much.

But all of this really starts driving at the question of, what will the 'openness' of the Steam platform look like? Linux is by it's nature a very open platform. Will SteamOS let you take control of your own package management and installation? Or will they close that portion of the system and drive the process through some sort of Marketplace vis-a-vis Android? Will we start hearing about people rooting their Steam Machines? (answer: Yes)

So many questions! It will be extremely interesting to see how this all pans out.

[Draco1962]

The third entry is a Steam controller. Pretty tight if you ask me. I wonder if it will be available for non-SteamOS/Steambox use?

[nullPointer]

That controller would definitely be cool for some applications. If Steam is able to reliably achieve their stated goal that the controller, "magically recognizes and maps legacy keyboard and mouse games" (paraphrased), then that would be absolutely epic. OTOH I can definitely see some nitpicks with the control layout. I think having A/B and X/Y buttons on opposite sides of the controller would take some getting used to.

The tactile trackpads would work absolutely great for some things First person shooters would probably work a treat (strafe and move maneuvers would be butter smooth), and I would imagine this style of controls would have an awesome feel for driving games (and that's understating it IMO). Conversely though anything requiring fine or precise control/button combinations could turn into a bit of a nightmare. I'm thinking of fighting games and certain shmups here. Attempting Street Fighter moves with twin trackpads? Ugh ... no thanks.

All of that aside, my curiosity is certainly piqued.

[DazzleHP]

Amen to avoiding Unity when and if possible! That was probably the driving decision in my conversion to Mint as my distro of choice.

HA! Same here Well i was dual booting Mint for a couple of years, slowly making the switch but it was the Unity straw that finally made me dump Ubuntu for good. I usually go for KDE these days (since Gnome3) but have been trying Cinnamon for the last few months. It's pretty slick i have to say but not without its flaws. It is still a baby though. I can't shake this itch to reinstall KDE though - it's so... shiny!

I'm going a bit OT and nerdy here so,

The third entry is a Steam controller. Pretty tight if you ask me. I wonder if it will be available for non-SteamOS/Steambox use?

Given the consistent nature and view of Valve toward moddability i suspect that even if initially not packaged to work on other OS's/platforms, i'll bet my left nut they'll make it extremely easy for 3rd parties to develope drivers/software for them. They already say that it will be hackable from the start

OTOH I can definitely see some nitpicks with the control layout. I think having A/B and X/Y buttons on opposite sides of the controller would take some getting used to.

Those were my thoughts exactly. It will be very strange to lift the left thumb to press buttons, but, you remember when dual sticks was the new fandangled thing?? I found that awkward at first but now i feel lost if the right stick is missing (like when using a DC controller for example). I think we all are a little reluctant to change, even more so as we get older and stuck in our ways, but things move on i guess

Conversely though anything requiring fine or precise control/button combinations could turn into a bit of a nightmare. I'm thinking of fighting games and certain shmups here. Attempting Street Fighter moves with twin trackpads? Ugh ... no thanks.

I somewhat agree with this - lifting your left thumb to press buttons while simultaniously trying to do directions could be frustrating, on the otherhand how easy will the infamous Dragon Punch become?! Just drawing a "Z" in lower right of pad - win! Maybe in such instances the right pad will switch to an invisible button layout in the N,S,E&W positions? Who knows! Either way all this makes me want a Tardis more than ever!

[DazzleHP]

Well that's me out then. It doesn't work in XP and crashes in Linux. Oh well good luck chaps.

HA! got it working! It's the first time i seen big picture mode and tbh after being an xbox user for many years - it does look a bit amateurish - that being said it is quite impressive too seeing as this is all new to Steam. Do any of you guys remember the original xbox360 dashboard?! it was horrific! i'm sorry i know there are some hardcore fans of "the blade" style of the original dashboard but in my opinion it was crap beyond all crap. Nuff sed. For a first attempt i'm impressed with the GUI. Major flaws granted but they haven't even pushed a beta out yet so...

I don't kow how many of you follow Valve as a developer - i have for many years. They have an off-ball approach to things and that is to give everybody freedom! Freedom to do what you want, they have always encouraged this and it's because of this, titles like Portal and Garry's mod exist. In a world where you are forevermore choked, restrained and restricted - no longer able to think for yourself companies like Valve and indie devs alike will keep on pushing freedom. I like freedom.