Gabe Newell Showing Valve On Linux To Partners

[MonkeyPaw]

Even if we get nearly as many games for linux as there are on the mac, it's already a huge win.

I hope that anything on Mac might also end up on Linux, since both will use OpenGL. DirectX titles will be the real issue.

My big problem is getting my Sixaxis to work in Ubuntu. It appears to connect fine but not one button works.

[Dukenukemx]

That somehow doesn't convince me.

VALVE directly benefits from each game on Steam sold to a Mac user. Apple doesn't.
It's not like Apple gets license fees from game developers as is the case for console-selling companies.
And since Apple user typically won't buy this platform mainly for gaming you cannot even consider the availability
of a large number of games a strong incentive to buy this (IMHO) overpriced platform.

I think when Valve started porting their games over to Mac, it was in anticipation that Apple's Mac OS X market share would substantially grow. In that respect they were right. The problem is that even Apple doesn't see much of a future for Mac OS X. At best you have another 2 more versions of it left before Apple pretty much just puts iOS in everything.

iOS and Windows 8 don't need Steam, and would substantially hurt Valve's profits. Valve wants to convince developers that Linux is worth the effort, cause they want customers to eventually move over to that OS.

The games Valve makes will always be dependent on Laptops and Desktops, a market that many predict is dying due to tablets. Tablets are an attractive business move because of app stores. I personally don't buy into this but Microsoft sure does.

[Kano]

@MonkeyPaw

poor boy, xbox 360 (usb) controllers work perfectly, take a look there:

http://forum.winehq.org/viewtopic.php?p=68035

[DMJC]

Steam on Linux is going to be superior to Steam on Mac. I own a Macintosh machine and I already know why the Linux version will be superior: Aspyr Media Inc. See ID Software handled their own linux ports, so there will be Quake 1/2/3/4 ET/ET:QW/Doom 1/2/3 all available on Linux from day 1. On Macintosh, Aspyr are trying to force people to their own service, so none of the Aspyr ported games are available on Steam (no Quake packs or Doom). Unreal Tournament 99, UT2k3, UT2k4, Raptor: Call of the Shadows, all the Dosbox + Steam titles should all run on day 1. If someone can get the licenses sorted, Descent 1/2/3 all have native ports. So there's a lot of titles Linux will pickup which Mac won't. By having a bigger launch catalogue of AAA titles Linux Steam has a lot more to offer the FPS player than Steam for Mac does. Basically the only huge FPS games that don't have ports are Battlefield and CoD, and CoD is Quake engine based anyway. Exciting times for Linux gaming.

[archibald]

(snip) Laptops and Desktops, a market that many predict is dying due to tablets. Tablets are an attractive business move because of app stores. I personally don't buy into this but Microsoft sure does.

To say that the laptop and desktop market is dying seems rather far-fetched. Try playing Skyrim on an Ipad, or Doom 3, or any marginally complex game. Try running MS Office 2010 (and then, try using it for a full day). Try suggesting to ordinary people that they replace their PC with a tablet: "It's like your PC but with a smaller screen that doesn't hold itself upright, and if you want to type then half of what you are looking at gets covered up!" (I'm being facetious of course, but I think my point still stands).

Tablets don't strike me as an attractive business move because there is simply no need for people to replace their PCs with tablets. What does an app store bring to the table? It restricts what apps people can install, but so does an appropriate (and enforced) security policy (not allowing the running of installers or unsigned binaries etc.)

Edit: my apologies, you already said you didn't buy into it.

[ninez]

So we have...

- A video driver debacle
- A kernel that changes every three minutes
- A sound system that consistently produces audio skips
- Window managers and desktop environments that simply don't work

Now ask oneself... what could possibly go wrong?

My guess;

video driver - if you are a real-gamer, you likely will be using amd/nvidia blobs, as the OSS aren't (really) good enough, if you want all of the bells and whistles....the OSS drivers might (at least radeon/intel) be good enough for lighter game play, while nouveau will likely blow the big one. I know (personally) i probably won't have any serious issues with Nvidia (blob).

Kernel that changes - That shouldn't be a big deal, and it's not like you have to upgrade your kernel every five-minutes. I just upgraded my kernel, a few days ago, but before that had been using the same kernel for months ~ after all, you can have more than 1 kernel installed... it is easy to install a kernel that your distro doesn't maintain/provide updates for.

skipping audio - I assume you mean PA, as i don't get skipping audio with ALSA or JACK, in any application. But i thought PA 2.0 was supposed to have resolved a lot of the issues, like skipping, poor audio, etc?

WM/DEs that don't work - Don't use one if it 'doesn't work', or report the problem (bug). Stick with a WM/DEs that DO work.

But i think we will see some improvements to linux and our software stacks, with gaming becoming more popular on the platform. Hell, i am not even a gamer, but i intend on purchasing some games/titles when steam is available for linux, as i would really like to see it be a success/win.

[XorEaxEax]

So we have...

- A video driver debacle
- A kernel that changes every three minutes
- A sound system that consistently produces audio skips
- Window managers and desktop environments that simply don't work

Now ask oneself... what could possibly go wrong?

Atleast you've dropped the pretense and just resort to trolling now. Go figure.

[MonkeyPaw]

@MonkeyPaw

poor boy, xbox 360 (usb) controllers work perfectly, take a look there:

http://forum.winehq.org/viewtopic.php?p=68035

I only have wireless 360 controllers, and a Sixaxis. I was hoping to not have to buy yet another controller. I just want to emulate some SNES and N64 games at the moment.

[johnc]

Atleast you've dropped the pretense and just resort to trolling now. Go figure.

What can I say -- I'm amazing.

video driver - if you are a real-gamer, you likely will be using amd/nvidia blobs, as the OSS aren't (really) good enough, if you want all of the bells and whistles....the OSS drivers might (at least radeon/intel) be good enough for lighter game play, while nouveau will likely blow the big one. I know (personally) i probably won't have any serious issues with Nvidia (blob).

If the compiz devs can't even get a smooth experience with the blobs, how are these game publishers going to deal with the headache? And if even nvidia can't keep up with the moving target that is the wide variety of kernel and userspace configurations out there, how is Valve going to handle that kind of user support?

And it seems that with each compiz revision a tear-free desktop becomes further out of reach. Gameplay is obnoxious on Ubuntu 12.04 now.

Now us enthusiasts are probably going to find ways around the fact that all the pieces are a hacked-together mess... but if Valve is looking to move some gamers over to Linux to avoid the Windows 8 fubar, then they're going to have a hard time supporting some of the newer users IMO. Even the Humble Bundles don't roll out particularly smoothly on Linux.

[MonkeyPaw]

What can I say -- I'm amazing.



If the compiz devs can't even get a smooth experience with the blobs, how are these game publishers going to deal with the headache? And if even nvidia can't keep up with the moving target that is the wide variety of kernel and userspace configurations out there, how is Valve going to handle that kind of user support?

And it seems that with each compiz revision a tear-free desktop becomes further out of reach. Gameplay is obnoxious on Ubuntu 12.04 now.

Now us enthusiasts are probably going to find ways around the fact that all the pieces are a hacked-together mess... but if Valve is looking to move some gamers over to Linux to avoid the Windows 8 fubar, then they're going to have a hard time supporting some of the newer users IMO. Even the Humble Bundles don't roll out particularly smoothly on Linux.

You may have valid concerns, but obviously Gabe and company feel that the time for Steam on Linux is now. Valve has been known to hold its products until they are ready, and with the promise of a launch this year, things might not be as bad as you think.