Any update on Steam?

[Extreme Coder]

Hi,
Some months ago, Michael said that Valve was porting the Source engine into Linux.

Is there any update on that?

[Dragonlord]

So far I heard nothing about it. Looks to me currently more like hype than something substantial but you never now. That said... Source on Linux would be good but Steam on Linux... that would be tragic.

[Extreme Coder]

So far I heard nothing about it. Looks to me currently more like hype than something substantial but you never now. That said... Source on Linux would be good but Steam on Linux... that would be tragic.

tragic? why is that?

[me262]

I'm guessing two possibilities to Dragonlord's hesitation.

1: This would bring DRM to the Linux platform. This is essentially the almost opposite ideology of the community, that it should be with no strings attached.
2: The same reason publishers say "use WINE" would stand for steam. No need to develop a native application when they can just develop the game for Steam.

Not to say that Steam wouldn't be a bad thing for the Linux gaming scene.

[Svartalf]

tragic? why is that?

The current anti-DRM stance. Of which, I agree with- but it's a problem of us tilting at too many things at once, in my opinion.

Which do you want?

Games on Linux?
No DRM whatsoever?

Choose one or the other, but you can't have both right at this time- it's just not going to happen. Moreover, if you have the first, you can be in a position to get them to wise up about the other, but you're not going to get the other from the second position unless all the Windows, MacOS, and Console sales all dry up as a result of DRM being in the mix.

[Svartalf]

1: This would bring DRM to the Linux platform. This is essentially the almost opposite ideology of the community, that it should be with no strings attached.

This is the likely position, really, because...

2: The same reason publishers say "use WINE" would stand for steam. No need to develop a native application when they can just develop the game for Steam.

Steam is a content delivery and DRM platform- nothing else. If you make Steam for Linux, you need to have winelib or pure native titles to run under it. Steam won't make WINE like translation layers for you.

[xav1r]

The current anti-DRM stance. Of which, I agree with- but it's a problem of us tilting at too many things at once, in my opinion.

Which do you want?

Games on Linux?
No DRM whatsoever?

Choose one or the other, but you can't have both right at this time- it's just not going to happen. Moreover, if you have the first, you can be in a position to get them to wise up about the other, but you're not going to get the other from the second position unless all the Windows, MacOS, and Console sales all dry up as a result of DRM being in the mix.

If i may disagree, I think you can have both. Or at least a different kind of DRM. One that isnt really DRM. Im working on such a workaround.

[grantek]

Steam is a content delivery and DRM platform- nothing else.

Exactly - it's an application, and although I have issues with DRM in general, calling home with a CD key is a pretty non-intrusive way of doing it if you must.

I think it'd be a huge benefit to see non-Windows platforms represented in Valve's software/hardware surveys though, where Wine has traditionally masked them

[panda84]

tragic? why is that?

Forgetting the DRM for a moment i should say that on my system it uses *tons* of RAM and that it has caused me several headaches:
- back when I got a 56KB connection I spent more than 2 hours to get my original Half Life 2 copy to install;
- it crashes and burns from time to time (well, roughly 20% of the times);
- another time I wanted to start HL2 after more than a year I didn't played it Steam gave me a weird error that prevented the game to update. And if you don't update you can't play. I had to search the forums, delete some configuration files, reboot, dance, swim, pray, start steam, update, start half life, wait 3 minutes and then I can finally play.

Pleasing experience all in all...

So I personally rate Steam as one of the best crapware™ ever shipped by a software house (just after Windows ME and before the Norton Antivirus "make my Athlon XP behave like a 386" version).

[Extreme Coder]

Still, you have to admit that Steam on Linux would mean a lot of games for Linux, which we really need ATM And it would convince other publishers to make Linux games..