The Valve and Steam Platform Discussion Thread

[DalekFlay]

The performance gain will have to be pretty damn good to bother dual-booting.

 

[Metro]

No need -- you'll be using it EXCLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSIVELY.

 

[Gord]

Well, there's one thing that sounds a bit overly like some Linux-fag trolling /v/, which is the whole performance thing.
Because honestly, in several years of using Linux I haven't seen any significant performance differences between Linux and Windows in most applications/day-to-day work/games if both are set up correctly.
If anything, usually Windows was a bit faster - although I guess that there is a lot of potential in Linux due to bad drivers.

 

[Metro]

At least we only have to wait another couple of days to find out.

 

[evdk]

No need -- you'll be using it EXCLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSIVELY.

Not until Corel ports its soft for Loonix.

 

[Metro]

 

[Dexter]

Yeah, that sounds like random /v/ trolling right there, but he might be true on more than a few things.

We already know they are working on a "Steam Box" reference design since like last year, that this will be the second Announcement is very likely, moreson now that they announced "SteamOS": http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/2/2840932/exclusive-valve-steam-box-gaming-console
We already know that they are working on Source 2 since they announced it, we also know that they are working on Left4Dead 3 and Half Life 3 at least and they will need software to sell their "Steam Box".

AMD has also rather overtly dropped some hints like this so they'll likely be involved in some ways: https://twitter.com/amd_roy/status/380223088446939136

That entire part about Streaming and video capturing as well as Optimization sound largely like bullshit.

 

[Metro]

If they announce a bundling of the game with Nvidia cards it would be specific enough to confirm it. Granted it's something you could guess at but... at that point... the guess would coincide so closely with reality it wouldn't matter.

 

[Gord]

There's another somewhat strange thing about it:
Allegedly they don't go Intel, which I assume would mean CPUs here, as Intel iGPUs are still not really ready for gaming, so that leaves AMD. And sure enough, there's a twitter hinting at some involvement of AMD with the SteamBox.
Yet in the next paragraph, suddenly NVidia is the partner of choice for GPUs since AMD proved too non-committal and although AMD is a partner for CPUs, they don't have an issue with raining onto their new GPU-presentation parade?

 

[IDtenT]

Well, there's one thing that sounds a bit overly like some Linux-fag trolling /v/, which is the whole performance thing.
Because honestly, in several years of using Linux I haven't seen any significant performance differences between Linux and Windows in most applications/day-to-day work/games if both are set up correctly.
If anything, usually Windows was a bit faster - although I guess that there is a lot of potential in Linux due to bad drivers.

This. Even if his predictions ring true (which is possible and even likely in some circumstances), I would still doubt his authenticity. My own experience with Linux desktops was that it was slower than Windows.

 

[Jick Magger]

This is hardly the first 'leak' that's been posted there. Whenever there's some big controversy/annoucement I can barely make it two steps in the front page without a "Marketer has had enough of the corporate bullshit and exposes the truth/Internal source leaks information about the company or a project in the works" thread popping. Most of them either don't post any proof of their involvement with these publishers/developers, post information that can't be corroborated or confirmed in any way until release day (at which point most of it turns out to be bullshit and the screencap is quietly shelved, with revisionists pretending they never actually believed it when it's brought up), and most importantly of all; almost always post exactly what your average /v/-goer wants to hear.

And don't pull the "Nobody's THAT dedicated" argument, because we all fucking know that's not true.

 

[nihil]

In SteamOS, we have achieved significant performance increases in graphics processing, and we’re now targeting audio performance and reductions in input latency at the operating system level

I hope they're serious about the input lag. That other Linux based console is really bad in that regard, I've heard. Maybe Android makes it even worse, though.

Related: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/2547

 

[Bruticis]

If true... what now Bruticis and MetalCraze ?!? 'Derp derp Nvidia won't work with Valve derp derp!'

There's nothing worth discussing with Linux and Kodex retards, we can debate this in CDS as usual. That "leaked" post sounds like a massively butthurt fan boy. If that's a Valve employee, their fucked. PS I use twitch stream on the worlds worst client (Origin) all the time and have zero performance problems.

 

[Metro]

Repent now, sinner!

 

[Spectacle]

In SteamOS, we have achieved significant performance increases in graphics processing, and we’re now targeting audio performance and reductions in input latency at the operating system level

I hope they're serious about the input lag. That other Linux based console is really bad in that regard, I've heard. Maybe Android makes it even worse, though.

Shit hardware + an OS made for phones isn't the best start if you want high performance computing

 

[Kingston]

HOOOOOOOOOOOLYYY SHIT U GUISE

DID U GUIY S HEAR!!!????? WE'RE GETTING A NEW OS!11
OH FUCK YES
ITS WHAT I ALWAYS AWNTED
FINALLY I GET TO PLAYA NEW OPERATING SYSTEM

 

[Cowboy Moment]

One thing they could accomplish in terms of performance is pushing OpenGL on desktops and forcing NVIDIA and AMD to maintain low-level hardware access extensions.

About the low-latency kernel and cpu scheduler claims, they're probably bogus. Well, CFS is indeed a very catch-all solution which doesn't even have the concept of an interactive process, but afaik there's been some experimentation into this, and it hasn't amounted to much.

 

[tuluse]

...

Windows' business focus makes a closed system seem slightly far-fetched to me. I'm sure they want it, but I think that is why they have tried to separate Windows from the media center of the Xbox.

Windows RT is the merging of the two. The next step is laptops with Windows RT, then office computers with Windows RT.

Bullshit.

If Valve was serious about the OS space it would have gone with BSD. This is just politics.

What does that have to do with my post?

And what makes BSD a superior choice to Linux?

 

[tuluse]

I hope they're serious about the input lag. That other Linux based console is really bad in that regard, I've heard. Maybe Android makes it even worse, though.

Related: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/2547

Android runs almost everything through a Java interpreter. This makes it much slower than it could be, but easy to program for.

 

[IDtenT]

...

Windows' business focus makes a closed system seem slightly far-fetched to me. I'm sure they want it, but I think that is why they have tried to separate Windows from the media center of the Xbox.

Windows RT is the merging of the two. The next step is laptops with Windows RT, then office computers with Windows RT.

Bullshit.

If Valve was serious about the OS space it would have gone with BSD. This is just politics.

What does that have to do with my post?

Nothing. Notice the change in paragraph.

And what makes BSD a superior choice to Linux?

License.

 

[Dexter]

STOP QUOTING ME.

 

[IDtenT]

STOP QUOTING ME.

MAKE ME, BRO.

 

[tuluse]

License.

I don't see why this is really a problem. I doubt Valve is going to be making any changes to the kernel. Anything they add will be proprietary and most likely closed source.

The only downside is that they'll have to provide a free download of the open source stuff they use, but I assume they were going to do that anyways.

 

[Morgoth]

 

[Sranchammer]

This. Even if his predictions ring true (which is possible and even likely in some circumstances), I would still doubt his authenticity. My own experience with Linux desktops was that it was slower than Windows.

My experience has been vice versa.