SteamOS - SteamWare

Nostrovia_sl · Jan 9, 2013

Sean_sl said:
I can't say I'm excited about this with so little information. What OS is it going to run? Will it be customizable? Why would I use it over my PC running Steam?

If it's a closed hardware system then it's just another console. I don't need a third (or fourth if Nintendo gets their act together with the WiiU and convinces me to buy one) system like that.

Need more information on what it can/can't do and what their plans are for it.

This may answer some of your questions.

Nostrovia_sl · Jan 9, 2013

Man0warr_sl said:
The Linux version of Steam hardly has any games, don't see how this Steam Box will be able to. Unless Valve is working hard on an emulator that doesn't exist yet.

Ubuntu is going to be going through a shitton of changes in the near future. With their new phone and now that Steam has "picked them up" and various other companies you're going to start seeing a lot more games being made for Linux.

Man0warr · Jan 9, 2013

Doesn't Google have a desktop OS coming out soon too?

I haven't been impressed by Windows 8 as a desktop OS so it wouldn't take me much to hop over if there was gaming support.

We already use Ubuntu a bunch at work.

Laerazi_sl · Jan 9, 2013

Piston isjust one of many hardware prototypesthey (Steam) brought to the show

This reads like it's one company showing off their version of the Steambox .. not THE steambox. It sounds like Valve has multiple companies building their own prototypes

Gadrel_sl · Jan 9, 2013

The "Gaben" meme is stupid.

gogusrl · Jan 9, 2013

Celestein_sl said:
I think a lot of people are really under-estimating the amount of graphical power lower-end hardware can put out these days.

The integrated GPU in ivy bridge can play most games at low-to-medium settings at 1080p(I know, I use steam big picture on my macbook air a lot when I'm traveling), and the HD4000 is a POS compared to the AMD APU's, especially when you use hybrid mode with another video card.

As PC gamers I think we're used to the higher end, and kind of forget that a mid-range setup of this generation is still about as good as the $700 monster card of just 2 1/2 years ago(which can still run games at high settings). The gap between the top and the mid isn't as big as we think, though it sure is a lot more expensive.

I didn't really notice it until myself until I got into development and pulled out a bunch of old systems to test for compatibility and performance with older hardware, and realized a system I built 4 years ago could still perform better than I needed it to.

You have to realize that the main target for this thing are Steam users (as in PC users) and no one will pay 500-1000$ to play shit on low-to-medium settings. Also there's no macbook air with 1080 displays so I guess you were using a TV ?

Man0warr · Jan 9, 2013

Not to mention most games (especially cross platform ones) are optimized for 5-6 year old hardware in the last console gen.

I've been using the same GTX 560ti forever.

Lunis · Jan 9, 2013

Beef Supreme_sl · Jan 9, 2013

http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/8/385...ture-of-gaming

Looks like "Steam Box" isn't gonna be one specific thing but a tier of products that range from streaming content to your TV to a full-fledged gaming htpc.

I would buy it as an XBMC alternative if they keep the price around 100-150.

meStevo · Jan 9, 2013

I don't really see this being the next big thing at all for living rooms, but look forward to what becomes of it more out of curiosity than anything. I expect in the short term (next couple years) the end result will just be big picture mode on relatively overpriced living room PC hardware.

Also, a lot of the rumors came from this guy, who has now debunked a lot of the misunderstanding of hardware being released anytime soon:http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/08/v...snow-steambox/

Valve engineer explains Steambox comments: 'No current plans to announce anything in 2013'

When Valve hardware engineer Ben Krasnow gave a speech at a German technology conference back in December, he spoke to the much ballyhooed "Steambox" concept we've been hearing so much about in recent months (among other, vastly different subjects). Following that speech, a report on Golem.de (translated at the Neogaf gaming forums) posited that Krasnow indicated a reveal of said Steambox at this March's Game Developer's Conference, or perhaps at this June's E3 gaming trade show -- but Krasnow tells us he didn't say that exactly. "With regards to the Steambox news -- there has been a lot of things stated in the media which I didn't say. For example, it's true that we are working on getting Steam into the living room, and are planning for a hardware box, but we have no current plans to announce anything in 2013," Krasnow said in an email.
"The box might be linux-based, but it might not," he continued. "It's true that we are beta-testing Left for Dead 2 on Linux, and have also been public about Steam Big Picture Mode. We are also working on virtual and augmented reality hardware, and also have other hardware projects that have not been disclosed yet, but probably will be in 2013."
Valve also chimed in with a boilerplate statement, which explained the company's presence at this week's big consumer electronics show. "Yes, Valve will be at the show to meet with hardware and content developers in our booth space. Many PCs optimized for Steam and Big Picture will be shipping later this year. We are bringing some of these as well as some custom HW prototypes to our CES meetings." We saw one such example of a PC optimized for use with Steam's Big Picture Mode last night in Xi3's Piston modular PC -- the first of many of these setups we expect to see in 2013. Valve continued, "These custom prototypes are low-cost, high performance designs for the living room that also incorporate Steam and Big Picture. We will be sharing more information to the press and public in the coming months."

Tuco · Jan 9, 2013

So in other words gamers have no reason to get excited about Piston yet.

And regarding mid-range computers being just fine, that's true. Today. When ps4/xbox720 are released that might change dramatically when cross-platform(read: most) games are optimized for 150-200% of a midrange computer's power instead of 50-75% of it. In other words: It's very likely that we'll return to the days of needing a $1200 PC to play games at high resolutions and reasonable settings.

xrg · Jan 9, 2013

I don't know if it's of interest, butLinus Torvalds talked a bit about working with Valve in this talk.

I run Linux as my main desktop, but I'm still skeptical if they can make it a viable gaming platform. I hope they succeed obviously, but since you can mix and match so much stuff on Linux, some things like the sound stack are a complete mess. That said, since Valve has been involved,Nvidia drivers doubled performance. Who knows, maybe Valve can get some of the other user-space projects to get their shit together too.

meStevo · Jan 9, 2013

I feel like Steambox will be a 1-time linux living room PC experiment that probably won't go too well, and otherwise just be an initiative that got Steam pre-installed on a bunch of devices/PCs thanks in large part to big picture mode.

Windows 8 at almost 7% of Steam users already btw, in spite of their tantrums over it.

Zaphid · Jan 9, 2013

Seems like I guessed correctly that Steam Box is more of a branding than a specific product

Because from what has been presented so far, there's absolutely nothing new it brings to the table so far unless they release a something like Steam Linux OS with it, that somehow squeezes more performance out of the machine than regular HTPC.

Man0warr · Jan 9, 2013

Tuco_sl said:
So in other words gamers have no reason to get excited about Piston yet.

And regarding mid-range computers being just fine, that's true. Today. When ps4/xbox720 are released that might change dramatically when cross-platform(read: most) games are optimized for 150-200% of a midrange computer's power instead of 50-75% of it. In other words: It's very likely that we'll return to the days of needing a $1200 PC to play games at high resolutions and reasonable settings.

Yeah when those 2 consoles come out I'm sure we'll have to upgrade our computers to match the games coming out for them. But, then it will just go into another graphics rut that will last for 5-7 years like the current one - and both Sony and MS want the next generation to last even longer.

I don't think we'll ever get to a point where we need to upgrade our graphics card every year like in the early/mid 2000s. The speed at which technology is advancing has slowed way down - and I don't know that game graphics really need to get much better before they enter the Uncanny Valley range of realism.

Cutlery · Jan 9, 2013

gogusrl_sl said:
You have to realize that the main target for this thing are Steam users (as in PC users) and no one will pay 500-1000$ to play shit on low-to-medium settings. Also there's no macbook air with 1080 displays so I guess you were using a TV ?

I've got a GTX 460. It's a $70 card. It runs FC3 on Ultra just fine at 1080p.

The only reason for anyone to own a $300 graphics card these days is for multi monitor (and you're not doing multi TV's on a console) or for 1440p stuff. The old tech performs just fine still.

Man0warr_sl said:
Yeah when those 2 consoles come out I'm sure we'll have to upgrade our computers to match the games coming out for them. But, then it will just go into another graphics rut that will last for 5-7 years like the current one - and both Sony and MS want the next generation to last even longer.

I don't think we'll ever get to a point where we need to upgrade our graphics card every year like in the early/mid 2000s. The speed at which technology is advancing has slowed way down - and I don't know that game graphics really need to get much better before they enter the Uncanny Valley range of realism.

Upgrade to what? See above. Xbox 720 can't be made of shit better than what's available now, and even if it is, will it make a difference? I've been using the same CPU since 2009, and my graphics card was released in 2010. They run current games and make them look awesome doing it.

Bels_sl · Jan 9, 2013

ShakyJake · Jan 9, 2013

You know, I kinda wonder if Steam could simply release a "gaming" Linux distro targeted towards a specific hardware spec (kinda like Apple Macs). By sticking to specific hardware components they could build highly optimized drivers -- no need to support every combination under the sun. If Steam really wanted to have a physical platform to push they could then release a low-cost unit that conformed to a minimum spec. But this would also allow other manufacturers to release beefier versions as well as allowing the nerds to build their own.

Essentially it would be a PC running Linux, but designed to only run on a specific motherboard, audio, and video chipsets. Hell, they could make money off of license agreements to have hardware stamped "Steam approved".

Zaphid · Jan 9, 2013

That's terrible, it would be pretty much a shittier console, how many gamers use their PCs just for gaming? Photo editing, torrents, music, skype, streaming,...

Araxen · Jan 9, 2013

Celestein_sl said:
The biggest difference in the next gen consoles will be in the ram. As a PC developer you pretty much target 2-4gb because of the large variation in user specs. *knowing* every console will have 8 or 16gb opens up some new possibilities for game architecture that you can't do in pc gaming without limiting your target audience immensely.

Least IMHO.

Consoles are notorious for skimping on RAM. It's usually the first thing that gets put on the chopping block when they need to make the console cheaper. 4GB maybe be the top-end for consoles next gen.

SteamOS - SteamWare

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