In an unsurprising move, Steam has replaced the Linux icon of "tux" with their own SteamOS icon. I completely understand why they did this, but it does make things confusing.
I can see plenty of people getting confused about what the icon is for, as it's so close to Steam's own icon. At least Tux was a clear separation to the Windows and Mac icons. I hope people don't get confused by it, but I can guarantee people will be.
They do need their own clear SteamOS branding of course, as they need to constantly keep it in gamers and developers minds. The problem is, how long before SteamOS is the only "distribution" supported on Steam? I hope game developers and Valve don't become that silly, but there are some problematic developers out there already. At least as long as Valve keep the Steam Runtime working as it is now, other distributions shouldn't have any problems.
For those that don't have the new version:
Looks like that little saying going around of "No tux no bux" is going to have to be tweaked?
I'm still excited to see what happens with SteamOS and Steam Machines, and what would happen if they fail miserably. I hope they don't of course, but they obviously won't be an overnight success. I will eat a tux teddy live on air if they are an overnight success (please don't hold me to that).
Well, at least it still says "SteamOS + Linux" right? Let's hope there's never a hint of Microsoft style "embrace extend extinguish".
It's easily possible this change will be reverted though, as certain parts of the site keep breaking, like the title now being "#title_welcome_to_steam". Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I can see plenty of people getting confused about what the icon is for, as it's so close to Steam's own icon. At least Tux was a clear separation to the Windows and Mac icons. I hope people don't get confused by it, but I can guarantee people will be.
They do need their own clear SteamOS branding of course, as they need to constantly keep it in gamers and developers minds. The problem is, how long before SteamOS is the only "distribution" supported on Steam? I hope game developers and Valve don't become that silly, but there are some problematic developers out there already. At least as long as Valve keep the Steam Runtime working as it is now, other distributions shouldn't have any problems.
For those that don't have the new version:
Looks like that little saying going around of "No tux no bux" is going to have to be tweaked?
I'm still excited to see what happens with SteamOS and Steam Machines, and what would happen if they fail miserably. I hope they don't of course, but they obviously won't be an overnight success. I will eat a tux teddy live on air if they are an overnight success (please don't hold me to that).
Well, at least it still says "SteamOS + Linux" right? Let's hope there's never a hint of Microsoft style "embrace extend extinguish".
It's easily possible this change will be reverted though, as certain parts of the site keep breaking, like the title now being "#title_welcome_to_steam". Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I don't find it confusing... it shows that the game runs on steam right? lol. I'm not going to make a mountain out of a molehill, at least they are dedicated to bringing more titles to linux. the less i have to use windows... the happier I become.
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STEAM FTW!
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What I was saying is that the bugs I've come across I have tested on multiple distributions on my PC, Ubuntu, Mint, Funtoo, Debian, Arch, Opensuse, etc, and discovered that most of these bugs are not related to non Ubuntu, non Debian distributions.
I think you overdid things. Normally non-indy developers do not need people to test there games on many different distros only on those which they are supporting. So adding information that you tested something on anything what they do not support is actually not beneficial. Because usually those people which accepts bugs and those which fix them aren't the same people and they are flowing strict procedures
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They are basically betting parts of their "corporate identity" on SteamOS.You're right. Valve is only one of the most successful companies in the gaming industry. I'm sure they don't know what they're doing.
Unfortunataly I'm not sure if this company is totally aware of that.
I really think they are very successful despite being not very professional about some things. Every AAA game gets far better marketing than Valve does. Look at the timeline of Steam Box / SteamOS / Steam Machines, look at why the word "Valve time" has been coined, look at the recent PR desaster...
It's not that I personally find that dislikable. It just doesn't point at people being very aware of stuff like corporate ientity.
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The fact that they aren't calling it Steam Linux is a testament to them not caring one bit for Linux as a whole.
Valve loves Linux, and they're doing lots to help Linux. That's why they joined the Linux Foundation.
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oldrocker99 May 29, 2015
Valve had it wrong from the start, they should always have placed a GNU icon before the Linux icon.
(But seriously, the Tux icon looks rubbish. It doesn't really work in two colour. The head-alone logo looks even worse. SteamOS looks gooooood.)
Steam, and Gabe Newell, have done more to support our beloved OS than perhaps even Canonical, and Mark Shuttleworth. I will also note that most, if not all, distros (including Debian and its derivatives, Red Hat/ Fedora and its derivatives, Open SuSE and its, Arch and its, and, yes, Slackware, run Steam and its games very well indeed. At least, that's what was reported on the CIV V "thanks for the port!" thread, and it was specifically written for SteamOS.
YES. I know LT calls GNU/Linux "Linux," but RMS, the creator of GNU, which is the OS we're actually using, asks (and reasonably politely) that we call it GNU/Linux, inasmuch as he correctly points out that in a running distro, about 5% of the whole system is the kernel. I have test-driven this rant on Ubuntu Formus, and got pretty promptly shot down, but I still feel that RMS' contributions are worthy of recognition.
And what's wrong with the Tux logo? Note my avatar...
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YES. I know LT calls GNU/Linux "Linux," but RMS, the creator of GNU, which is the OS we're actually using, asks (and reasonably politely) that we call it GNU/Linux, inasmuch as he correctly points out that in a running distro, about 5% of the whole system is the kernel. I have test-driven this rant on Ubuntu Formus, and got pretty promptly shot down, but I still feel that RMS' contributions are worthy of recognition.
And what's wrong with the Tux logo? Note my avatar...
RE: the GNU thing - Do you jump on every troll? Actually, it wasn't even a troll. It was a flippant joke. It didn't need a response, clearly I was aware people feel strongly about it. I was suggesting that the people upset with the removal of the Tux icon were the same people upset over the lack of a GNU prefix. Why should GNU or even Linux get specific acknowledgement over and above other pieces of enabling software or technologies used? People playing games on SteamOS don't need to be reminded about the GNU project anymore or less than they need to know about Autodesk Gameware, SteamWorks, Chromium or SDL.
Also, as I said the Tux logo doesn't work in two-colours. Even if it did, it's got too much fine detail to work at less than 32 pixel height. It's a mess at that size, in fact it's probably fairly unrecognisable in two-colour 20 pixel high form. It's a designer's nightmare.
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For those of you who want tux back here's a petition that's been created to hopefully do that.
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Folks, no GNU arguments because I get fed up of it. GNU/Linux sounds crap, were as Linux sounds nice.
Neffo it wasn't really clear that was a joke, just FYI.
Also, I've updated our rules to make it perfectly clear any GNU arguments aren't welcome here, it's as bad as stupid distro wars.
Plagues of the wider Linux community are not welcome here.
Neffo it wasn't really clear that was a joke, just FYI.
Also, I've updated our rules to make it perfectly clear any GNU arguments aren't welcome here, it's as bad as stupid distro wars.
Plagues of the wider Linux community are not welcome here.
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fraghopper Jun 1, 2015
I'm fine with this. It's not the brand I care about, it's the platform.
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Who cares what logo they use? It's ther platform, they can use whatever logo they want. The only influence you have is the choice of whether to use it or not. I don't care what logo they use to represent Linux games because I'd rather just be playing the games. You can filter the games by OS anyway, so there's no confusion as to which platforms are supported. Besides, the SteamOS logo is different enough from the windows and mac logos to clearly indicate a different system.
As for the "confusion" issue, if people are confused by a logo because it doesn't look like a penguin, then Linux is not the OS for them.
As for the "confusion" issue, if people are confused by a logo because it doesn't look like a penguin, then Linux is not the OS for them.
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Old topic I missed, but I'll comment anyway. Here's my point of view.
I don't care, as Linux has become synonymous with SteamOS (rightfully), resulting in Linux ports. I have nearly 200 games on Steam, and only had issues with 1-2 of them, which eventually got resolved.
For example, Rockboshers DX had an outdated dependency (libcaca) because of Ubuntu 12.04 and one of the developers initially told me to use that version of Ubuntu for the time being (naturally I refused at downgrading). Having said that, this is a small indie team new to Linux that still rectified the issue and I can now play it on 14.04 (LTS releases should not be written off!).
So what could Valve do for those upset? Simple, use two interchangeable icons. Basically the SteamOS as default, and the penguin for those with identified current OS as Linux (except SteamOS, obviously). Personally, for outsiders, it makes sense to use the SteamOS logo. For the current/new Linux user base, it makes much more sense to use what they recognize from a marketing perspective.
Though, I wouldn't mind using the SteamOS logo as an option regardless. As stated before by a previous comment, the Tux logo is extremely bad at such a size and 2 colours. It just cannot work from an artist's perspective, unless it is cartoonified (which would defeat the purpose and still be unrecognisable). Every Linux distro has their own symbol and would work in 2 colours, except the old Tux logo, how ironic. I love penguins as a symbol, but the original Tux is so dated, I almost wish there was a movement to modernize it (still can be a penguin). But I'm sure somebody or a majority will complain per usual.
I don't care, as Linux has become synonymous with SteamOS (rightfully), resulting in Linux ports. I have nearly 200 games on Steam, and only had issues with 1-2 of them, which eventually got resolved.
For example, Rockboshers DX had an outdated dependency (libcaca) because of Ubuntu 12.04 and one of the developers initially told me to use that version of Ubuntu for the time being (naturally I refused at downgrading). Having said that, this is a small indie team new to Linux that still rectified the issue and I can now play it on 14.04 (LTS releases should not be written off!).
So what could Valve do for those upset? Simple, use two interchangeable icons. Basically the SteamOS as default, and the penguin for those with identified current OS as Linux (except SteamOS, obviously). Personally, for outsiders, it makes sense to use the SteamOS logo. For the current/new Linux user base, it makes much more sense to use what they recognize from a marketing perspective.
Though, I wouldn't mind using the SteamOS logo as an option regardless. As stated before by a previous comment, the Tux logo is extremely bad at such a size and 2 colours. It just cannot work from an artist's perspective, unless it is cartoonified (which would defeat the purpose and still be unrecognisable). Every Linux distro has their own symbol and would work in 2 colours, except the old Tux logo, how ironic. I love penguins as a symbol, but the original Tux is so dated, I almost wish there was a movement to modernize it (still can be a penguin). But I'm sure somebody or a majority will complain per usual.
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muntdefems Jun 11, 2015
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