The Valve and Steam Platform Discussion Thread

[Caim]

https://steamdb.info/sub/0/history/?changeid=13278979

End of the romance with EGS?

They figured out that people will actually buy games on Steam rather than on the timegated Epic Game Store.

 

[ferratilis]

Everyone eventually comes back to Steam, including those cocksuckers at EA. And Valve even managed to force them to use Origin Lite. Same will probably be true for Ubisoft, a stripped down client without the store. But I still don't want to buy games that require you to launch another client, that's just plain dumb. At least they should enable games like Rayman Legends and Origins to be launched without Uplay (the only good games they made in the last decade).

 

[Sentinel]

https://www.pcgamesn.com/half-life-3/citadel-steam-deck

Half-Life 3 reportedly “not taking place” but a Steam Deck FPS/RTS may be coming

Despite some reports floating around the internet, Half-Life 3 is still likely to not be in active development. However, Valve is rumoured to have other Half-Life projects in various stages of development – including an RTS/FPS co-op title designed “to best showcase what the Steam Deck is capable of”.

These details come via Valve News Network creator Tyler McVicker, who posted a new video on his YouTube channel detailing the various projects Valve has rumoured to be in development – with the most interesting being the project codenamed Citadel, an FPS/RTS co-op game described as “a nostalgia fest” and like “Left 4 Dead, Alien Swarm, an RTS and Half-Life all having a baby”.

Citadel is also supposedly “being created with the Steam Deck in mind” due to how it’s meant to be controlled. We got in touch with Tyler McVicker, who confirmed to us that he received his information through datamines of regularly-updated Valve software – Steam, DOTA2, etc – and he has been researching Citadel in particular “since early 2018”.

Unlike many other projects, Citadel seems to be “still very much in development” despite most of Valve moving to ship the much-delayed Steam Deck – and McVicker estimates we will see “within the next year-and-a-half to two years”. The same can’t be said of Half-Life 3, which still has a few Valve developers working on it but doesn’t seem to be in active development. “Any kind of traditional mouse and keyboard FPS at Valve is not taking place,” states McVicker.

McVicker also touches on “HLX”, which seems to be the VR-based follow-up to Half-Life: Alyx. This has appeared in datamines throughout 2021 but is apparently just in “the mechanical testing phases”, although he also says that there is “growing internal disappointment with the VR platform on the PC” at Valve and “fewer and fewer people continue to work on that hardware base” there.

All of which is a shame, because Half-Life: Alyx was fantastic and definitely opened up possibilities for a sequel or Half-Life 3. Nevertheless, as McVicker himself reminded us, everything here is just rumour and “needs to be taken with a healthy grain of salt… I am not Valve, and Valve can decide what is fact or fiction about their own projects.”

Stop posting this retard.

Valve has provided IGN with a comment about the reported Half-Life shooter-strategy game:

"It’s good to view [Valve News Network content creator Tyler McVicker's] coverage with a healthy dose of skepticism. We think it’s important to reiterate that while Tyler is a passionate gamer, he has no inside information about what goes on at Valve. As you know, any important announcements on projects that we are or aren’t working on will come directly from us."

 

[Infinitron]

Valve has provided IGN with a comment about the reported Half-Life shooter-strategy game:

"It’s good to view [Valve News Network content creator Tyler McVicker's] coverage with a healthy dose of skepticism. We think it’s important to reiterate that while Tyler is a passionate gamer, he has no inside information about what goes on at Valve. As you know, any important announcements on projects that we are or aren’t working on will come directly from us."

Yeah, he told PCGamesN he got his information via datamining.

 

[ADL]

He definitely has contacts within Valve, it's just a question of whether or not they still talk to him after this.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Anything not VR would feel like a downgrade after Alyx. Not sure how you continue Gordon's story in VR but that's up to them to figure out. I really hope that bit about Valve's negative outlook on PCVR isn't true.

It sucks that Facebook is acquiring everyone worth a damn in the VR space but there's so much room for innovation and weird experimentation, they could spend the next twenty years buying anyone who makes something interesting. Yeah, it sucks that a whole bunch of studios that made interesting PCVR games are now stuck developing shit for Facebook's proprietary untethered ARM devices but I'm not sure if I'll ever miss them.

Even if I did, there'll be an emulator to account for Facebook's bullshit somewhere down the line.

VRcuck cope posting

 

[ADL]

VRcuck cope posting

A rating isn't enough for this

 

[rusty_shackleford]

VRcuck cope posting

A rating isn't enough for this

Vrcucks have to wear a vr headset to see a reality where they aren't jokes.

 

[OSK]

Looks like Steam is coming to ChromeOS very soon: https://www.androidpolice.com/official-steam-for-chromebooks-support-could-launch-this-month/

LinuxSupport++

Hopefully this results in Google providing direct support to Proton.

 

[Poseidon00]

VR is based and the best way to experience an rpg, actually.

 

[pakoito]

Hopefully this results in Google providing direct support to Proton.

I've been in Big Tech long enough to know they won't. There's no real benefit for them as they don't need the core gamer demographic, and I wouldn't be surprised if they worked against it because it threatens their walled garden model.

 

[OSK]

Hopefully this results in Google providing direct support to Proton.

I've been in Big Tech long enough to know they won't. There's no real benefit for them as they don't need the core gamer demographic, and I wouldn't be surprised if they worked against it because it threatens their walled garden model.

Normally I'd agree with you. Google in particular likes to benefit from from Linux, and open source in general, while giving as little back as possible. Just looking at gaming in particular, Google Stadia runs all their games on Linux servers and I don't think I've seen anything come out of that to benefit Linux gaming at all.

I think this situation could be different. Google wants to take over the PC market like they have the mobile one. They've been following the same footsteps Microsoft took to make Windows the most used desktop operating system. Microsoft aggressively attacked schools with free or reduced hardware running Windows. Those children grew up only knowing Windows. When those children entered the workforce, employers were pretty much forced to use Windows because that's what the entire workforce was trained on. Google has already made tremendous headway into schools by undercutting Microsoft with cheap Chromebooks. Instead of one or two computer labs, elementary schools now have a cart of Chromebooks for each classroom. The pandemic helped bring those Chromebooks out of schools and into children's homes. Now Google needs to make sure those children continue to use Chromebooks as they get older. They do that by creating beefier Chromebooks and expanding their uses. I think gaming is a key piece for them to get right to keep those children on Chromebooks as they become teens and young adults. I don't think Google would be satisfied with just having Android games running on their Chromebooks. The easiest route to get serious gaming on their machines is via Proton with Valve's help.

Google has already shown they have enough muscle to get developers to release Vulkan versions of their games for running on Google Stadia. If Google can just get developers to release Vulkan builds of their games, that alone is a pretty large boon to Linux gaming. But the rumors are that there is going to have a Chromebook compatibility rating, just like what Valve is doing with Steam Deck, and that's going to be done with a dedicated team at Google. Hopefully that's not just QA, but also development directly to Proton to help ensure big titles run on their machines.

Even if Google never directly supports Proton, at the very least, the combined market share of Linux, the Steam Deck, and Chromebooks might start forcing developers to start caring about how their games run on Linux.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/4145017/view/3104663180636096966

December 3rd Update


Four more titles have been added to the list of Proton enabled BattlEye games. The complete list of supported games is now:

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
ARK: Survival Evolved
Arma 3
DayZ
Unturned
Planetside 2

Wonder if the real reason Valve delayed the Steam deck was to give developers of popular games with anticheat more time to get their games working on proton. The difference in games that work on linux in singleplayer vs multiplayer is massive due to anticheat. There's only 1 singleplayer game in the top 100 singleplayer games that doesn't work. Top 10 with multiplayer included has 6 games that don't work.

 

[OSK]

The reason we've been seeing BattlEye games adding support is that the developers just need to fire off an email: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2021/...on-linux-including-dayz-arma-3-now-supported/

EAC requires an SDK update.

 

[Dexter]

Jeri Ellsworth interview of how Valve stalked her to recruit her for their hardware lab back in ~2010, about how Abrash (who she calls her "Arch Nemesis") stabbed her in the back and shut down AR efforts, then left for Facebook with various VR people and how that decision led to the HTC Vive etc. and talking about how Carmack came by and the VR group shared all their shit with Oculus, also lots of anecdotes about Gabe, also basically called Zuckerberg a dickhead that behaves like he's royalty with all his handlers and security at one point: https://voicesofvr.com/1021-magical...ic-journey-from-valve-to-castar-to-tilt-five/

 

[Infinitron]

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/593110/view/3021345321166094345

Steam Labs Experiment 13: Store Hubs
Browse every niche of Steam with powerful new views



With Steam Labs Experiment 10 last December, we introduced dozens of new genres, categories, and tags to our store’s navigation. Today we're launching Experiment 13, where we’ve revamped these destinations, or store hubs, with powerful new tools for browsing, filtering, and exploring deeper into each category.

When you join the experiment from the Steam Labs page, you will find that every category and tag page on the store has been updated, introducing these new layouts and features to hundreds of niche destinations throughout. You'll encounter these pages by exploring the "Categories" drop-down in the store menu, or by clicking on tags from a game's store page.

Including new ways to browse every niche of Steam

Rich Recommendations Carousel
The most notable feature of the new hubs is the carousel of featured games right at the top of the page. Much like our previous design, this area features new, top-selling, and discounted titles through the lens of our recommendations system which takes into account the games you’ve played, your friends' recommendations, and the curators and developers you follow. The new carousel features more metadata about each game, including tags, release date, and review score, plus a large presentation of the game’s micro trailer, a feature which you may remember from Steam Labs Experiment 1.

Spoiler

Recent & Upcoming Events
Keep up to date on the latest news, updates, and events happening in games across Steam, niche by niche. Within each hub, you'll find a section featuring in-game events, recent updates, and news posts from the developers of games you play, those you wish for, or those which are recommended for you.

More Personalized Recommendations
Our tag-driven recommendations are also listed for you on the new hubs, making it easy to discover titles tagged similarly to the games you've been enjoying.

Items from Your Wishlist
Relevant items you've added to your Wishlist are now conveniently displayed on every Store Hub.

Powerful Sorts & Filters
Our new content hub design features powerful new filtering tools which we first introduced with Steam Labs Experiment 12. This new section allows you to sort by new and trending, top selling, top rated, or discount amount. And you can filter by features, tags, or your own shopping preferences like language support or whether to hide some of the games you've already discovered.


Try it out, then let us know what you think!
To join this experiment and try the new Store Hubs, just visit the Steam Labs page and click on "Join The Store Hubs Experiment" for Experiment 13. It will redirect you to one of the updated hubs so you can start exploring right away.

Join the Experiment


Once you've joined the experiment
, you can find just the thing you're looking for, such as upcoming co-op survival games, the new and trending atmospheric, story-rich, open world games, the top-rated roguelike space games, current deals on third-person, single player action games, or whatever your thing might be.

You can also check out an example of the themes these new hubs enable. Our Space Hub demonstrates this theming in action.

Have a feature request in the new hubs? Spot a bug? Want to express your thoughts? Join us in the discussion forums. We'd love to hear what you think.

 

[El Presidente]

Apparently Steam got banned in China

https://www.thegamer.com/steam-banned-china-christmas-day/

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Apparently Steam got banned in China

https://www.thegamer.com/steam-banned-china-christmas-day/

Best Christmas present in a long time.

 

[Infinitron]

The limited Steam China version is still running. Not so surprising, presumably they created that for a reason.

 

[Baron Dupek]

 

[Lhynn]

Apparently Steam got banned in China

https://www.thegamer.com/steam-banned-china-christmas-day/

Best Christmas present in a long time.

While i find the whole situation funny, i have no clue why you be hating on steam, its easily the best alternative.

 

[Dexter]

Top Selling Games of 2021: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/BestOf2021?cc=us

Spoiler

Top Selling VR Games of 2021: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/BestOf2021?cc=us&tab=5

Spoiler

Most Played Games in 2021: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/BestOf2021?cc=us&tab=3

Spoiler

Top New Releases in 2021 (by month): https://store.steampowered.com/sale/BestOf2021?cc=us&tab=2

 

[OSK]

How is Team Fortress 2 still pulling in so much money?

 

[Caim]

How is Team Fortress 2 still pulling in so much money?

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

Sure do love 600kb patches grinding out near a gig and a half god DAMN it. I realize that's better than downloading a 1.2 gig lump but it still drives me up the wall every time a game fixes precisely one Grimoire-sized micro issue and gets my hard drive grinding like wild.