The Valve and Steam Platform Discussion Thread

[Sentinel]

https://steamcommunity.com/groups/SteamClientBeta/announcements/detail/1591383946853725148

Steam Client Beta - September 30, 2019
30 SEP @ 11:43PM - JMCCASKEY
The Steam Client Beta has been updated with the following changes:

Note: This update includes a number of fixes for making sure users can keep GPU web view acceleration on without negatively impacting GPU usage when Steam is not in use or a game is running. GPU web view acceleration is important for good new library and friends ui performance. If you have previously disabled GPU acceleration this update would be a good time to try it again.

General:

• Improvements to prevent new library doing any animation/GPU work when the library window is covered by other windows or games regardless of GPU acceleration settings
  
• Some library animations now pause when the library window does not have keyboard focus or mouse hover, even if the window may be visible
  
• Fixed a steamwebhelper memory leak impacting Mac and Linux users and some Windows overlay browser usage if GPU acceleration for web views was on
  
• Fixed web view GPU acceleration to default on for Mac and Linux
  
• Fixed library failing to load for some users with very large numbers of non-Steam games

Linux:

• Steam Linux Runtime updated (0.20190927.0):
  • Disable obsolete SSLv3 in libcurl, fixing a libcurl problem on Arch
    
  • Disable LDAP in libcurl
    
  • Update SDL2

 

[Rahdulan]

Update on Steam Lab's Deep Dive: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/SteamLabs/announcements/detail/1589132147039074356

I actually managed to get some worthwhile recommendations from Deep Dive and I tested it with the "played on another platform" ignore option. It seems to actually take it into account. I do hear my fan acting up whenever it loads the recommendations and those six second videos, though. Lots of new front end additions from Valve this year, it seems.

 

[Sentinel]

Release Notes for 9/30/2019
2019.09.30 -

[ FRANCE ]

– Introducing the X-ray Scanner for users in France:

— The X-ray Scanner allows users to reveal the item inside any container.
— Each user’s x-ray scanner comes preloaded with a one-time exclusive non-tradable item—the P250 | X-Ray.
— Users in France must first claim this item to use the x-ray scanner again.

In France, every container must first be placed into the X-ray Scanner to reveal the item inside before purchasing a key. The X-ray Scanner will consume the container and reveal the item inside. To use the X-ray Scanner again, the revealed item must be claimed; it is not possible to scan another Container without claiming the revealed item.

In France containers can no longer be purchased from Steam Community Market, but can still be sold.

Instead of paying for a key to open a case, its now like a magical xray box. You put a skin case into the xray machine, you get told what it is. To be able to scan a case in the machine you must take the skin inside the machine out, which will cost you a key to get the skin out. You can't scan for something until you pay for the skin, you just get to see what you get out of the case first basically. Also the first scan is always a trade banned exclusive skin so you have to pay to be able to use the system to begin with. [This is likely to stop people from making new accounts to get free skin reveals].

 

[passerby]

Genius...

 

[Tehdagah]

So Valve is trying to counter the anti-lootbox measures in France? Such a pro-consumer company. Bet Valve will also find a way to punish people who resell their games.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Reminder that people in that thread unironically thought it would lead to a used digital game market and not mandatory game streaming.
Stop playing with the monkey's paw.

 

[Tehdagah]

Reminder that people in that thread unironically thought it would lead to a used digital game market and not mandatory game streaming.
Stop playing with the monkey's paw.

I also hate owning games. Please lord Gaben receive all my money.

Spoiler

Considering Steam killed the PC physical market, the least they should do is to allow people to own their games

 

[Sentinel]

So Valve is trying to counter the anti-lootbox measures in France? Such a pro-consumer company. Bet Valve will also find a way to punish people who resell their games.

Is this surprising? Maybe "consumer rights" morons should stop being dogmatic and actually analyzing the court decisions and ineffective legislation that gets passed, and thinking about the consequences.

 

[passerby]

So Valve is trying to counter the anti-lootbox measures in France? Such a pro-consumer company. Bet Valve will also find a way to punish people who resell their games.

It is very pro consumer, since it's the consumers who want to buy randomised lootboxes and the court wants to take them away.
Just like it's the consumers who want to buy upfront paid, lifetime long subscription to a service that provides access to a digital copy of a software with personal license to use.
Only a subscription with recurring payment is supposedly a real subscription, so the courts want to assure that consumers will get the real deal.

Kinda reminds me of the situation with G2A from the beginning of this year. I used to sell there unwanted bundlefodder and buy bundlefodder from bundles I didn't purchased.
After some new EU regulations, regarding fraud, banking services, virtual currencies and gambling you have to register a company to sell keys on G2A and they are no longer allowed to provide a payment with virtual wallet to their customers. So, since the beginning of this year:
1) I have to sell keys on ebay where prices are worse and more obscure indietrash is unsellable.
2) When I buy on G2A I can't pay with G2A wallet without processing fees, but have to go through external payment processor and cover the fees.

What could possibly go wrong, when the glorious European United Socialist Republics beurocrats have always only your rights and best interest in mind, right ?

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Reviews should be weighted by how much the game costs in your country. If I'm paying 4x as much as third worlders then I should get 4x as much say in how shit the game is.

 

[Fedora Master]

Reviews should be weighted by how much the game costs in your country. If I'm paying 4x as much as third worlders then I should get 4x as much say in how shit the game is.

I don't want third worlders on Steam at all. Segregate the Chinks and browns into their own specific Steam clients.

 

[Tehdagah]

Is this surprising? Maybe "consumer rights" morons should stop being dogmatic and actually analyzing the court decisions and ineffective legislation that gets passed, and thinking about the consequences.

Maybe Valve should drop the lootboxes? Something like this:
https://www.polygon.com/2019/1/26/18198543/fortnite-save-the-world-upgrade-llamas-loot-boxes-x-ray

It is very pro consumer, since it's the consumers who want to buy randomised lootboxes and the court wants to take them away.
Just like it's the consumers who want to buy upfront paid, lifetime long subscription to a service that provides access to a digital copy of a software with personal license to use.
Only a subscription with recurring payment is supposedly a real subscription, so the courts want to assure that consumers will get the real deal.

Kinda reminds me of the situation with G2A from the beginning of this year. I used to sell there unwanted bundlefodder and buy bundlefodder from bundles I didn't purchased.
After some new EU regulations, regarding fraud, banking services, virtual currencies and gambling you have to register a company to sell keys on G2A and they are no longer allowed to provide a payment with virtual wallet to their customers. So, since the beginning of this year:
1) I have to sell keys on ebay where prices are worse and more obscure indietrash is unsellable.
2) When I buy on G2A I can't pay with G2A wallet without processing fees, but have to go through external payment processor and cover the fees.

What could possibly go wrong, when the glorious European United Socialist Republics beurocrats have always only your rights and best interest in mind, right ?

This is why companies should step forward and allow the resale of digital goods by themselves.

 

[Sentinel]

Maybe Valve should drop the lootboxes? Something like this:
https://www.polygon.com/2019/1/26/18198543/fortnite-save-the-world-upgrade-llamas-loot-boxes-x-ray

What are you implying with that link? Valve did that in their games already like 1 or 2 years ago.

Maybe Valve should drop the lootboxes

I too am a dreamer.

 

[Country_Gravy]

Valve should squeeze every nickle they can from both consumer and developer and then Gaben should sell it before it all falls apart and live large on his own private tropical island with his own Valve Insex VR whore system.

 

[LESS T_T]

Valve charged Swen for burglary, and now he is a fugitive. Baldur's Gate 3 is canceled: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/artic...nto-valve-steals-USD40-000-of-equipment-games

Man breaks into Valve, steals $40,000 of equipment, games
Same suspect has been previously arrested for burglary, stealing a FedEx truck

A man is being summoned to appear in court in Washington after breaking into Valve last month and stealing over $40,000 of games and equipment.

According to local news station KIRO 7, 32-year-old Shawn Shaputis already had six warrants out for his arrest when Valve brought burglary charges against him in September. He has since been captured on camera selling stolen games at a Game Stop.

Should he fail to appear in court, another warrant will be issued.

Police say Shaputis is the same suspect who stole a FedEx truck in July and was caught, just one week after being arrested for a different string of burglaries.

 

[sullynathan]

Epic

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Shawn Shaputis, Gabe's next lunch.

 

[Sentinel]

*Ahem*
https://steamcommunity.com/games/70/announcements/detail/1586880891220596672

Half-Life update released
An update for Half-Life is now available:

Fixes and Updates

• Fixed setting monitor refresh rates through -freq when used with -nofbo
  
• Fixed unnecessary texture rescaling with NPOT textures
  
• Fixed slist command, will now show servers on the local network
  
• Fixed erroneous return in SV_ClipToLinks (HL #1685)
  
• Fixed inability to reload a partially empty weapon after reloading a save game
  
• Fixed MP5 spread factor, multiplayer factor was being used for single player and single player for multiplayer
  
• Fixed progress bar for individual files in resource download always showing at 100%
  
• Added auto-saving of several cvars (HL #2237)
  
• Fixed missing localizations in spectator UI
  
• Fixed NPC turn rate when running at >60FPS
  
• Reordered columns in server browser to prevent game descriptions from being used to fake server player count
  
• Fixed sv_cheats from being settable by players in a multiplayer game (sv_cheats is controllable by the server)
  
• Added cl_autowepswitch cvar with values 0/1 to disable/enable auto weapon switching when a new weapon is picked up
  
• Fix various weapon animation/sound issues
  
• Security fixes to console commands
  
• Security fixes to resource loading
  
• Security fixes to saving/loading

 

[LESS T_T]

Man breaks into Valve, steals $40,000 of equipment, games
Same suspect has been previously arrested for burglary, stealing a FedEx truck

Some details and photos. He stole GabeN's mini gun: https://www.polygon.com/2019/10/8/2...suspect-gabe-newell-mini-gun-suspect-bellevue

Man stole $40,000 of games and equipment from Valve, police say
The 32-year-old broke into Valve’s Bellevue office and took, among other things, Gabe Newell’s mini gun


A 32-year-old Washington man has been charged for a 2018 break-in at developer Valve Corporation’s Bellevue headquarters.

Shawn Shaputis, who reportedly also stole a FedEx truck in July, was charged on Sept. 25 with one count of burglary and another for the trafficking of stolen property, Bellevue police told Polygon. (Local news station KIRO7 first reported the news.) Police said Shaputis broke into Lincoln Square South by entering through a public restaurant and gained access to Valve’s 11th floor office on June 17, 2018 through a “non-functioning stairwell door.” He reportedly stole more than $42,000 in total from the developer, including video games: 15 Xbox One games and 23 PlayStation 4 games. Shaputis told police he stole “15 to 20” Asus laptops, some Nintendo Switch and Steam machine consoles, and “a metal mini gun looking thing” that he said he saw Valve CEO Gabe Newell holding in a Forbes magazine feature.

According to court documents obtained by Polygon, Shaputis told police “he got so many items, he didn’t even remember what it all was,” adding that he threw “random items” into a rolling recycling bin he used to tote the stolen goods out of Valve’s 11th floor office, which is described as an “unfinished floor” where stuff is prepped for trade shows and tournaments. (Valve occupies floors 11 through 19 in the Lincoln Square South Tower, according to police.)

Valve told police that other items, like “gaming memorabilia” and “archival promotional items,” were stolen, too.

Shaputis was caught on camera selling the stolen goods to a Bellevue GameStop. He sold 43 games to GameStop for a total of $336, according to police. Shaputis reportedly stored the rest of the equipment in his “skillfully packed” Geo Prism, where the items were found by police. Shaputis also had drug paraphernalia in his car, according to court documents.

Charges were filed on Sept. 25 in the King County Superior Court. Shaputis had six active warrants at the time. Shaputis’ arraignment hearing is scheduled for Oct. 9 — though the prosecutor's office told Polygon he’s on “bench warrant status,” meaning he’s missed other hearings before. Another warrant will be issued should he miss tomorrow’s hearing.

Bellevue is located just outside of Seattle. When reached for information, a Seattle police representative was not able supply information about the case — it is a Bellevue crime, after all — but said this: “If you tell me this has something to do with a guy stealing the only known copy of Half-Life 3, I’m going to cry.”

Polygon has reached out to Valve to verify that Half-Life 3, which has never been officially announced by Valve, was not stolen in the burglary.

 

[Don Peste]

I recently installed Heavy Metal Fakk 2 and I don't even know what to do in the first level.

PS: 1st screenshot, signed by Levelord.

 

[Fedora Master]

Why the fuck is this allowed?

More importantly: Why can't I filter games by country?

 

[Alienman]

Why the fuck is this allowed?

More importantly: Why can't I filter games by country?

Hehe, just ignored that product myself.

 

[Country_Gravy]

Shaputis reportedly stored the rest of the equipment in his “skillfully packed” Geo Prism, where the items were found by police. Shaputis also had drug paraphernalia in his car, according to court documents.

Pushing a Prism like a boss.

 

[Sentinel]

 

[LESS T_T]