I decided to write down some thoughts on Steam Machines, and Linux Gaming in general as I've seen quite a few articles on other publications about the imminent demise of Steam Machines and Linux Gaming that are rammed full of annoyances from writers who seem to want it to fail.
Let's get this straight, the Streaming feature of Steam and SteamOS is not the main aim of Steam Machines, but it is a complementary feature designed to help Windows gamers who can't get their entire catalogue on SteamOS right away. I've seen some writers mention the Streaming feature as if that is what SteamOS was mainly designed for, but it’s the tip of the iceberg. It’s certainly a nice feature, but there’s a lot more to Steam Machines.
Steam Machines
The main problem right now is the watered-down term "Steam Machine" thanks to the hardware manufacturers that jumped-ship early, and they released what would have been a SteamOS machine as a customized Windows machine. We can't blame them due to how long Valve has taken, and it certainly hasn't helped our cause. This doesn't mean Steam Machines will fail as soon as they arrive though, but if they do fail, we will still be fine.
It has always been my opinion that SteamOS & Steam Machines were never going to be an overnight success, and that's as simple as I can put it. They haven't even been released, but that hasn't stopped a tsunami of people claiming it's already dead!
Like all things Valve, they are taking their time, and the end results should be good for all of us.
SteamOS and Steam Machines are complementary to Linux Gaming, but they aren't Linux Gaming. Either way, Linux Gaming is strong, and will continue being strong, and here’s why.
Let's look at the games
Look at how many games Linux/SteamOS now has on Steam alone (946 going by Steam's own counter), and you have to remember this is before any official Steam Machine has ever been released. We have many more games due to be released soon, and tons more in development for our platform, it isn’t about to stop or slow down. If anything, the amount of ports we are getting is speeding up, and our many many pages of news can attest to that.
That’s just a number though, and some of the games (being honest here) are terrible mobile ports placed onto Steam with no additions, poor controls, and this leads into the next part.
We haven't had developers like Aspyr Media and Feral Interactive support us for very long, and with their commitment to our platform with their current catalogue and teased future games, we still have a lot of higher-budget games to look forward to. For the short time they have supported our platform we have already gained some massive games, and they haven’t even been supporting us for a year yet. Both of their first Linux games came to us last summer, so that’s a bit premature to call Linux/SteamOS gaming dead or dying when in the last part of 2014 we gained some huge releases.
Who could honestly say at the start of last year they would think Linux would see a same-day release for a game like Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel? No one, Linux gaming improves month after month with not just the number, but the quality of games we are seeing.
We are a small platform, and no one should think that pumping out a Linux version is suddenly going to make them rich. It's all about understanding the market, we pay well for good-quality games that are fun to play. We are still starving for certain game genre's like MMORPG's or more realistic shooters, to which we have hardly any.
Porting games to Linux can also help to make your code cleaner, and help the overall portability of it to other platforms.
For one example, the developer of hit game “Octodad” spoke to us directly on twitter, and they mentioned that porting the game to Linux actually made it easier to bring their game to the PS4.
Valve has shown zero signs of halting their support for Linux, and SteamOS is still being worked on. Anyone who says otherwise either doesn't have all the facts from their research, or likes to help spread speculation. We have to remember that Valve is the company that has been paying developers to look into improving our drivers.
We have a very healthy list of games coming to Linux this year, and this list seems to just keep growing.
When it comes to game engines, Godot, Unity 4/5, Unreal Engine 4, CryEngine, Construct 3 and many more will/do fully support Linux games, and we imagine many more engines will support us in future too.
Next we move onto how developers have flocked to Linux, and what they have been up to.
Feral Interactive have been teasing at least two more ports for Linux on their radar, and going by that it looks like one of them will be released soon. We can be easily excited by this, as it won’t be some small indie game, but a game with a much higher budget as usual from Feral.
Some bigger developers have also ported their own in-house engines to bring their games to Linux, like Techland with their Chrome Engine that powers Dead Island and Dying Light.
Yeah, I realise Dying Light isn't an amazing example right now, but hopefully the performance will be fixed up.
We also have Virtual Programming (a touchy subject for some, I realise this), who have their eON porting technology, which has seen incredible improvements in performance, and they will most likely bring us more ports. Considering how far The Witcher 2’s port has come along, I think their next port will be pretty solid at release. Every bug fixed in their porting technology will mean that future ports will be even better at release.
Let’s not forget we have new indie games being released almost every day, and with new developers appearing constantly this is also a very healthy sign. A healthy sign for PC gaming in general, but especially good for Linux to see wave after wave of indie games announce day one support for Linux.
GDC
The Game Developers Conference is next month, and it will bring with it much more information about the new OpenGL dubbed "glNext". This next-generation API could hopefully help solve a lot of performance problems we have with OpenGL for future games on Linux.
We expect either during, or after GDC more developers will announce or release Linux ports as well. We know that Stardock has something in store for us.
Final Note
Right now is the healthiest Linux Gaming has ever been, remember that. If anyone ever claims Linux (and/or SteamOS) gaming is pointless, or dying, we hope we have given them some things to think about. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Let's get this straight, the Streaming feature of Steam and SteamOS is not the main aim of Steam Machines, but it is a complementary feature designed to help Windows gamers who can't get their entire catalogue on SteamOS right away. I've seen some writers mention the Streaming feature as if that is what SteamOS was mainly designed for, but it’s the tip of the iceberg. It’s certainly a nice feature, but there’s a lot more to Steam Machines.
Steam Machines
The main problem right now is the watered-down term "Steam Machine" thanks to the hardware manufacturers that jumped-ship early, and they released what would have been a SteamOS machine as a customized Windows machine. We can't blame them due to how long Valve has taken, and it certainly hasn't helped our cause. This doesn't mean Steam Machines will fail as soon as they arrive though, but if they do fail, we will still be fine.
It has always been my opinion that SteamOS & Steam Machines were never going to be an overnight success, and that's as simple as I can put it. They haven't even been released, but that hasn't stopped a tsunami of people claiming it's already dead!
Like all things Valve, they are taking their time, and the end results should be good for all of us.
SteamOS and Steam Machines are complementary to Linux Gaming, but they aren't Linux Gaming. Either way, Linux Gaming is strong, and will continue being strong, and here’s why.
Let's look at the games
Look at how many games Linux/SteamOS now has on Steam alone (946 going by Steam's own counter), and you have to remember this is before any official Steam Machine has ever been released. We have many more games due to be released soon, and tons more in development for our platform, it isn’t about to stop or slow down. If anything, the amount of ports we are getting is speeding up, and our many many pages of news can attest to that.
That’s just a number though, and some of the games (being honest here) are terrible mobile ports placed onto Steam with no additions, poor controls, and this leads into the next part.
We haven't had developers like Aspyr Media and Feral Interactive support us for very long, and with their commitment to our platform with their current catalogue and teased future games, we still have a lot of higher-budget games to look forward to. For the short time they have supported our platform we have already gained some massive games, and they haven’t even been supporting us for a year yet. Both of their first Linux games came to us last summer, so that’s a bit premature to call Linux/SteamOS gaming dead or dying when in the last part of 2014 we gained some huge releases.
Who could honestly say at the start of last year they would think Linux would see a same-day release for a game like Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel? No one, Linux gaming improves month after month with not just the number, but the quality of games we are seeing.
We are a small platform, and no one should think that pumping out a Linux version is suddenly going to make them rich. It's all about understanding the market, we pay well for good-quality games that are fun to play. We are still starving for certain game genre's like MMORPG's or more realistic shooters, to which we have hardly any.
Porting games to Linux can also help to make your code cleaner, and help the overall portability of it to other platforms.
For one example, the developer of hit game “Octodad” spoke to us directly on twitter, and they mentioned that porting the game to Linux actually made it easier to bring their game to the PS4.
Valve has shown zero signs of halting their support for Linux, and SteamOS is still being worked on. Anyone who says otherwise either doesn't have all the facts from their research, or likes to help spread speculation. We have to remember that Valve is the company that has been paying developers to look into improving our drivers.
We have a very healthy list of games coming to Linux this year, and this list seems to just keep growing.
When it comes to game engines, Godot, Unity 4/5, Unreal Engine 4, CryEngine, Construct 3 and many more will/do fully support Linux games, and we imagine many more engines will support us in future too.
Next we move onto how developers have flocked to Linux, and what they have been up to.
Feral Interactive have been teasing at least two more ports for Linux on their radar, and going by that it looks like one of them will be released soon. We can be easily excited by this, as it won’t be some small indie game, but a game with a much higher budget as usual from Feral.
Some bigger developers have also ported their own in-house engines to bring their games to Linux, like Techland with their Chrome Engine that powers Dead Island and Dying Light.
Yeah, I realise Dying Light isn't an amazing example right now, but hopefully the performance will be fixed up.
We also have Virtual Programming (a touchy subject for some, I realise this), who have their eON porting technology, which has seen incredible improvements in performance, and they will most likely bring us more ports. Considering how far The Witcher 2’s port has come along, I think their next port will be pretty solid at release. Every bug fixed in their porting technology will mean that future ports will be even better at release.
Let’s not forget we have new indie games being released almost every day, and with new developers appearing constantly this is also a very healthy sign. A healthy sign for PC gaming in general, but especially good for Linux to see wave after wave of indie games announce day one support for Linux.
GDC
The Game Developers Conference is next month, and it will bring with it much more information about the new OpenGL dubbed "glNext". This next-generation API could hopefully help solve a lot of performance problems we have with OpenGL for future games on Linux.
We expect either during, or after GDC more developers will announce or release Linux ports as well. We know that Stardock has something in store for us.
Final Note
Right now is the healthiest Linux Gaming has ever been, remember that. If anyone ever claims Linux (and/or SteamOS) gaming is pointless, or dying, we hope we have given them some things to think about. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The Steam machines will do very very successful because big companies like Nvidia and Intel are together in this project
Another advantage is the price of the games
The steam machines will evolve and the current consoles not
Long-term Al the steam machines vain show better options in the console market
Another advantage is the price of the games
The steam machines will evolve and the current consoles not
Long-term Al the steam machines vain show better options in the console market
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There are some pretty important reasons why SteamOS in the long-term may (and hopefully) succeed but also one super-feature at release.
LONG TERM
Of course the engine support as mentioned is pretty much one of the most important reasons. This means developers (in the future) has to do less to release their games on Linux - of course, of course, of course.....
The ability to choose your own hardware. Now many "console" players may not have the same experience dealing with hardware as many PC-gamers has, and there's no need to. They can buy a console of their choice, and most people do know that price often goes with features and performance.
This is very important in the long-term, as consoles today are underpriced (or at least sold with almost no profit), because MS or Sony earns the money through game selling. Of course the production cost will degrade over time, but so will the relative performance compared to PC's or potential Steam Machines. In the end of every console generation the Steam Machines may sell much better solely due to the better performance of the Steam Machines (of course it depends of the consumers needs and choice). Also the performance helps competing in areas like screen resolution, which seems to be a quite hot subject for console players; 30fps@1080p 60fps@900p etc. versus SteamMachine 4k@30fps or maybe even 4k@60fps.
Choice. It has proven quite successful with Android and smartphones, why shouldn't that be possible with consoles?
Steam Sales and general price of games. Neither Sony or MS can compete with that, solely due this being their main income. People will eventually notice that games on Steam often costs 10-30$ less than their "console" versions. I'm not saying that every game on Steam is cheap, but still far cheaper than PSN or Xbox Store. Also the Steam Sales easily compete with PS Plus, even though you get "free games" with PS Plus. Gaben.tv :D
There is NO generation numbering for SteamOS - at least not something that makes old games unplayable on a new Steam Machine. This means you don't have to buy all your old games as HD-remakes. Buy a new console, and KEEP and take your whole game library with you.
You can enjoy your games PC, Mac and SteamOS (ofc requires game support) with no extra cost. You can also play online with your PC friends on SteamOS.
Games like Star Citizen (who mentioned Linux-support) will now be able to be played on a console. Something the SC developers didn't see on PS4 or Xone due to hardware limitations. Other previously PC-only games will have possibility of being played on a console(SteamOS) too.
SHORT-TERM
One thing that no other console release has even come close to SteamOS is the amount of games on release. Atm almost a thousand games are released on Linux/SteamOS. Of course many of these are small games(but not necessarily insignificant), but there are also a substantial amount of AAA games too.
THREATS
Hardware is a threat in the way of needed knowledge. A typical console gamer doesn't know a clue about hardware. Valve needs a very easy way of showing people if their hardware can run the game smoothly. Maybe do something like Raptr, which bases the information on user statistics. Thereby they can easily support all kinds of hardware and tell if the game works with your hardware.
Valve itself needs to do better marketing outside of Steam. It works pretty well on Steam, but they need to get average console players and >grandparents< to know SteamOS/Steam Machine. Otherwise only people like us will know about it, and we probably aren't the best audience as we already have our beloved PC's.
They need to tell all those things I mentioned above to consumers who has never heard of SteamOS before - also the press needs to know it.... - They often seem quite harsh in their comments about SteamOS, just like some Apple people talk about Android...
SteamOS needs a media-center with access to services like Spotify, Netflix, HBO and all kinds of stuff - especially since you can't use blu-ray or other disks to watch movies on it.
Whoops
This got pretty long, but I hope people who read it, can (or can't?)agree with me in many of my points. I may have forgotten something significant. To that I can only say: I tried, I really did! :D
LONG TERM
Of course the engine support as mentioned is pretty much one of the most important reasons. This means developers (in the future) has to do less to release their games on Linux - of course, of course, of course.....
The ability to choose your own hardware. Now many "console" players may not have the same experience dealing with hardware as many PC-gamers has, and there's no need to. They can buy a console of their choice, and most people do know that price often goes with features and performance.
This is very important in the long-term, as consoles today are underpriced (or at least sold with almost no profit), because MS or Sony earns the money through game selling. Of course the production cost will degrade over time, but so will the relative performance compared to PC's or potential Steam Machines. In the end of every console generation the Steam Machines may sell much better solely due to the better performance of the Steam Machines (of course it depends of the consumers needs and choice). Also the performance helps competing in areas like screen resolution, which seems to be a quite hot subject for console players; 30fps@1080p 60fps@900p etc. versus SteamMachine 4k@30fps or maybe even 4k@60fps.
Choice. It has proven quite successful with Android and smartphones, why shouldn't that be possible with consoles?
Steam Sales and general price of games. Neither Sony or MS can compete with that, solely due this being their main income. People will eventually notice that games on Steam often costs 10-30$ less than their "console" versions. I'm not saying that every game on Steam is cheap, but still far cheaper than PSN or Xbox Store. Also the Steam Sales easily compete with PS Plus, even though you get "free games" with PS Plus. Gaben.tv :D
There is NO generation numbering for SteamOS - at least not something that makes old games unplayable on a new Steam Machine. This means you don't have to buy all your old games as HD-remakes. Buy a new console, and KEEP and take your whole game library with you.
You can enjoy your games PC, Mac and SteamOS (ofc requires game support) with no extra cost. You can also play online with your PC friends on SteamOS.
Games like Star Citizen (who mentioned Linux-support) will now be able to be played on a console. Something the SC developers didn't see on PS4 or Xone due to hardware limitations. Other previously PC-only games will have possibility of being played on a console(SteamOS) too.
SHORT-TERM
One thing that no other console release has even come close to SteamOS is the amount of games on release. Atm almost a thousand games are released on Linux/SteamOS. Of course many of these are small games(but not necessarily insignificant), but there are also a substantial amount of AAA games too.
THREATS
Hardware is a threat in the way of needed knowledge. A typical console gamer doesn't know a clue about hardware. Valve needs a very easy way of showing people if their hardware can run the game smoothly. Maybe do something like Raptr, which bases the information on user statistics. Thereby they can easily support all kinds of hardware and tell if the game works with your hardware.
Valve itself needs to do better marketing outside of Steam. It works pretty well on Steam, but they need to get average console players and >grandparents< to know SteamOS/Steam Machine. Otherwise only people like us will know about it, and we probably aren't the best audience as we already have our beloved PC's.
They need to tell all those things I mentioned above to consumers who has never heard of SteamOS before - also the press needs to know it.... - They often seem quite harsh in their comments about SteamOS, just like some Apple people talk about Android...
SteamOS needs a media-center with access to services like Spotify, Netflix, HBO and all kinds of stuff - especially since you can't use blu-ray or other disks to watch movies on it.
Whoops
This got pretty long, but I hope people who read it, can (or can't?)agree with me in many of my points. I may have forgotten something significant. To that I can only say: I tried, I really did! :D
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The main article and @sleort's post are very good reads
Also, I think UE4's particular take on development is worth mentioning. (from https://www.unrealengine.com/blog/unreal-engine-4-and-linux)
UE4 alone should be able to bring many new Linux games, and hopefully more developers will come to adhere to their same mentality as time goes on.
Also, I think UE4's particular take on development is worth mentioning. (from https://www.unrealengine.com/blog/unreal-engine-4-and-linux)
QuoteThat is why, somewhat counter intuitively, we need robust Windows and Mac OS tools that would allow anyone to target Linux by just recompiling and repackaging the project.They aren't just supporting Linux, but trying to make it as effortless as possible for developers who might only care about windows/mac, so that at some point it would almost make no sense for those devs to not port to Linux regardless of how bad they think Linux sales might be.
UE4 alone should be able to bring many new Linux games, and hopefully more developers will come to adhere to their same mentality as time goes on.
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I think glNext could prove much more beneficial in helping make the linux game platform more competitive with Windows than Steam Machines.
And the problems with OpenGL right now aren't performance related. It's that generally Direct3D has been a much easier and more convenient API for developers than OpenGL. If glNext isn't considerably more convenient for video game developers then we will most likely see the same trend in the future with DirectX 12 representing 80% of all AAA game titles and glNext only 20%. If that turns out be the case with these new completely overhauled API's then Microsoft will maintain its vast exclusive platform status for probably the next 10 years and Linux will most likely not ever really take off as a go-to AAA gaming platform. A lot rides on glNext for gamers that would like to get rid of their Windows partitions.
And the problems with OpenGL right now aren't performance related. It's that generally Direct3D has been a much easier and more convenient API for developers than OpenGL. If glNext isn't considerably more convenient for video game developers then we will most likely see the same trend in the future with DirectX 12 representing 80% of all AAA game titles and glNext only 20%. If that turns out be the case with these new completely overhauled API's then Microsoft will maintain its vast exclusive platform status for probably the next 10 years and Linux will most likely not ever really take off as a go-to AAA gaming platform. A lot rides on glNext for gamers that would like to get rid of their Windows partitions.
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Valve is a company that is way more methodical about their approach. They seem to be perfectionists so we may not see the steam machines for awhile yet. Because I've noticed how Valve has been working with hardware companies and open source software to create a development ecosystem for Linux with development like glNext.
The day that my physics processor works on my Nvidia video card within games will be the day it's official that things are getting serious for Linux in the gaming industry. and most likely the steam machines will be released around that same time, i'd wager.
Personally I just want the controller :)
The day that my physics processor works on my Nvidia video card within games will be the day it's official that things are getting serious for Linux in the gaming industry. and most likely the steam machines will be released around that same time, i'd wager.
Personally I just want the controller :)
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Quoting: aLlinux gaming might not hinge on steam machines specifically, but it does hinge on valve...
If they stopped pushing it right now, the inertia would take us for a while, but dont fool yourself, not for very long
I think you're right: To be honest, I think the editorial is a little misleading: Many of the examples Liam lists are only happening because Valve are acting as a catalyst and investing in Linux as a gaming platform. I think if a high-profile project of theirs like SteamMachines failed, that would be very bad for us.
But I prefer stss' more positive perspective.
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Steam machines issues is that because of Valve Time the hype about it has come and has gone, it will be pretty hard to get people rallied up about it again in say 2017... wasn't that the thing that failed 2014 ? In that sense I feel Steam Machine or Steam OS does more damage then good at the moment.
OpenGL next will be a big key part to success or failure, if the big developers jump directx 12 and leave OpenGL next where it is then thing will remain like they are now (at a max) and go towards how they where 2 years ago
OpenGL next will be a big key part to success or failure, if the big developers jump directx 12 and leave OpenGL next where it is then thing will remain like they are now (at a max) and go towards how they where 2 years ago
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I think a simple question tells it all really: Are we happy with getting the same amount of ports as Mac do? Cause I'm not.
There's far, far too many important releases not available for Mac today. Therefore, a logical "benchmark" on how sustainable Linux is as a gaming platform is, is whether or not it passes the Mac market share. If it doesn't, there's few rational reasons to think the selection will ever beat the selection for the Mac.
I mean, sure, we can construct some arguments as to why a dev should still favour Linux to Mac. One could speculate if the typical Linux owner buys more games than a Mac owner, but now we are down to decimal points in regards to sales prospects.
So let's be honest now: The Mac share is the first we need to beat, if we are to get anywhere as a gaming platform. And the Linux desktop alone will not reach that mark.
There's far, far too many important releases not available for Mac today. Therefore, a logical "benchmark" on how sustainable Linux is as a gaming platform is, is whether or not it passes the Mac market share. If it doesn't, there's few rational reasons to think the selection will ever beat the selection for the Mac.
I mean, sure, we can construct some arguments as to why a dev should still favour Linux to Mac. One could speculate if the typical Linux owner buys more games than a Mac owner, but now we are down to decimal points in regards to sales prospects.
So let's be honest now: The Mac share is the first we need to beat, if we are to get anywhere as a gaming platform. And the Linux desktop alone will not reach that mark.
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The last year was outrageous for linux gaming. It demonstrated a change in the direction of the fate of gaming in linux. This web demonstrates it well. You have passed from posting a 1 or 2 games, to post several games per week.
In my opinion which has changed the fate of gaming on the linux OS, has been valve and what i call the 'favourite game' factor.
Previously (before 2013), if one wanted to move to linux, was not able to do it, since its 'favourite game' was only on windows. But then, some people's 'favourite's game' were launched on linux, and some of us were able to move.
For example, in my case it was Left 4 Dead 2. Before it was ported I simply could not move from windows, and I had nothing to negotiate with.
I asked companies to port games to linux, and they knew they didnt have to, because I could not escape from windows.
Once it was ported, I could. I mean, I do not have all my games in linux, but my favourite games is on it. Since my favourite game is, I can move to linux, and stay so, and then I could say to developers: 'Im playing on linux right now and I could play only Left 4 Dead only for years . Want me to play your game too? Release it for linux or I wont buy'.
And this was a big difference.
The favourite game factor is what had changed the situation.
Once other people have their favourite games ported, they will move too, and once there is a lot of people with this OS, most companies will have to port their games too, or they wont sell.
In my opinion which has changed the fate of gaming on the linux OS, has been valve and what i call the 'favourite game' factor.
Previously (before 2013), if one wanted to move to linux, was not able to do it, since its 'favourite game' was only on windows. But then, some people's 'favourite's game' were launched on linux, and some of us were able to move.
For example, in my case it was Left 4 Dead 2. Before it was ported I simply could not move from windows, and I had nothing to negotiate with.
I asked companies to port games to linux, and they knew they didnt have to, because I could not escape from windows.
Once it was ported, I could. I mean, I do not have all my games in linux, but my favourite games is on it. Since my favourite game is, I can move to linux, and stay so, and then I could say to developers: 'Im playing on linux right now and I could play only Left 4 Dead only for years . Want me to play your game too? Release it for linux or I wont buy'.
And this was a big difference.
The favourite game factor is what had changed the situation.
Once other people have their favourite games ported, they will move too, and once there is a lot of people with this OS, most companies will have to port their games too, or they wont sell.
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