SMACH Z, the portable AMD Steam Machine is on Kickstarter

The SMACH Z is impressive hardware but I agree that the AMD GPU technology might be disapointing due to the trash Linux Catalyst/Crimson drivers that SteamOS uses by default. RadeonSI is shaping to be much faster for OpenGL 4 games than Crimson but while SteamOS's Mesa and FOSS GPU driver stack is newer than Debian Jessie Stable, it isn't updated frequently enough to take advantage of the latest advancements to RadeonSI.

I think when they throw around terms like "play all games" they are referring to the fact that you can use Steam In-Home Streaming to stream demanding Windows-only games from another Windows PC to the SMACH Z much like is the case with the Steam Machines. However, another less talked about option is cloud gaming. Linux and SteamOS will gain native access to an upcoming cloud gaming service that will essentially let any Linux gamer play any game for PC, not just Linux ports and also potentially play on cloud hardware much more powerful than the SMACH Z or baseline Steam Machines, thus offering better graphics and performance.

An example of this for instance is Fallout 4 on SteamOS:


The SMACH Z is impressive hardware but I agree that the AMD GPU technology might be disapointing due to the trash Linux Catalyst/Crimson drivers that SteamOS uses by default. RadeonSI is shaping to be much faster for OpenGL 4 games than Crimson but while SteamOS's Mesa and FOSS GPU driver stack is newer than Debian Jessie Stable, it isn't updated frequently enough to take advantage of the latest advancements to RadeonSI.

The console is coming out in end 2016 if the kickstarter campaing will be successful, so i'm pretty sure the drivers will be much better.

I just love the idea, and i've also already backed the broject on kickstarter, but it seems that it isn't just taking off as it should.
Because... they managed to get around 100.000€ quite fast, but then it seems there are really few people backing the project now.

Maybe it wasn't enough advertized, or maybe people aren't convinced by SteamOS enought to get one.

Actually i'm getting one not for AAA games, but for indies and emulation. And Linux is already great for both of them. Even with the AMD drivers we have right now.


Last edited by Iperpido on 12 December 2015 at 6:42 pm UTC

Anyway, it seems thay actually have a prototype, as thay said on their facebook page.


Last edited by Iperpido on 12 December 2015 at 6:39 pm UTC

I hope the more experienced Linux users don't fall for this. First of all the gameplay sections they showed were not on the handheld itself but a recorded video and that could be from a sturdy desktop system. Secondly I doubt their chip will be able to handle AAA games, especially with such poor drivers and at 1080p? Oh please.

There are plenty of games that it will run fine, but certainly not AAA ones and for god's sakes you don't need a 1080p on a 5 inch Screen, a 720p will do just fine and will boost performance quite a bit.

This project has nailed everything the unwary customer wants to hear: 1080p, AAA game names, Steam, Streaming...etc. Then comes in the lack of a working prototype.

One must be mad to pledge 200e (minimum) for something like this without having any idea what it's going to be capable of.


Last edited by Avehicle7887 on 12 December 2015 at 6:51 pm UTC

An example of this for instance is Fallout 4 on SteamOS:


What :O?! How in the world?!
How did you do that, magic?

To me the questions revolve around the controls. OK, the AMD thing is a little worrisome, but let's imagine someone has gotten drivers much more better by the time it comes out. But the Steam Controller took Valve ages to get right, it almost seems like it was the major bottleneck for the whole project. These people are going to be doing their best to emulate the Steam Controller on this little device, but how well will they succeed?

I'm not really part of the audience for this thing, but it's interesting.

The console is coming out in end 2016 if the kickstarter campaing will be successful, so i'm pretty sure the drivers will be much better.

I don't know. I mean, I hope you're right, but how many years have we been waiting for ATI/AMD Linux drivers to get better? Maybe Vulkan will be the catalyst, pardon the pun, that turns the driver situation around, but I've given up on AMD ever getting their shit together. At this point, open source drivers might be a better bet.

As for cloud gaming, until they solve the latency issue I'm not interested.


Last edited by Keyrock on 12 December 2015 at 7:36 pm UTC

What :O?! How in the world?!
How did you do that, magic?

I think when they throw around terms like "play all games" they are referring to the fact that you can use Steam In-Home Streaming to stream demanding Windows-only games from another Windows PC to the SMACH Z much like is the case with the Steam Machines. However, another less talked about option is cloud gaming. Linux and SteamOS will gain native access to an upcoming cloud gaming service that will essentially let any Linux gamer play any game for PC, not just Linux ports and also potentially play on cloud hardware much more powerful than the SMACH Z or baseline Steam Machines, thus offering better graphics and performance.

An example of this for instance is Fallout 4 on SteamOS:

It's probably only a stream from a Windows PC ;)

I will not feel bad for ANYONE who ignores all the obvious warning signs and plunks down their cash on this, only to be ripped off. This is going to take the Divinity: Original Sin fiasco to a whole new level. Mark my words.

At this point, open source drivers might be a better bet.

Why not? Nobody said the device will use propetary or open drivers. They will probably use the best choice when their console will be released.

AMD is also investing on the open source stack, so... they could indeed turn to be the best choice in the future.

And... probably that's not what most of the backers are looking for, but i backed this console for small indie games, not for AAA titles. And for those games the current drivers are already enough.


Last edited by Iperpido on 12 December 2015 at 8:32 pm UTC

Agree with Iperpido! Why so much negativity from the posters on page 1?

How is this not a good thing? Handhelds might just be the answer to help SteamOS gain mass adoption?

*THE* biggest challenge for driver developers is to get the best outcome across the widest range of supported hardware.

For example…
Take the Playstation 4 for example, AMD delivered amazing linux/FreeBSD drivers (integrate with Sonys own GPU API) that run flawlessly because the hardware is predictable and they are better able to deliver a better outcome in a much shorter development cycle.

If SMACH gets their backing for this device, it means the demand is there and companies like AMD respond to demand. In fact it might just get them taking us TUX gamers seriously which would be great for all of us!

So please people, buck up a bit, if you don't have anything positive to add…


Last edited by Xelancer on 13 December 2015 at 12:22 am UTC

...
An example of this for instance is Fallout 4 on SteamOS:


...
It's probably only a stream from a Windows PC ;)

I could have one that with just a screenshot and my decent C++ knowledge :D (Probably I just need the right imageviewer)

It's probably only a stream from a Windows PC ;)

Of course that's what it is, except that it isn't a PC in my home nor that I own. It's streamed from a data center with Nvidia GRID vGPU servers about 400 miles from me (closest data center). There are several data centers around the world and I can play FPS type games from selectable data centers upto 2000 miles away before latency/input lag starts becoming fairly noticable. It's all closed beta ATM and not taking new testers until general rollout early next year and I don't want to advertise for a 3rd party so use google and find out about it yourself, if you want.

The point of all this is the SMACH Z could techincally have access to all games on SteamOS because unlike Playstation Now or GeForce Now, which only have a small selection of games, this service gives you a full cloud Windows desktop and therefore full access to almost any type of app and of course your Steam, Origin, Uplay, etc. accounts and all the games on them.

Anyway, it seems thay actually have a prototype, as thay said on their facebook page.

I don't think that's a working prototype, just the prototype for the casing. According to their reply in the kickstarter comments:

Prototype: Next week we're going to upload a new video showing and explaining better the current prototype and plan. But the current prototype is the "motherboard" that you see in the video, it's not encapsulated. To create an encapsulated prototype we need $200.000 and 4 months of work of IMASD. And that's why we need the funds from Kickstarter. Take a look at the timeline image to better understand the steps of the production.

So it's basically this
It's a tiny screen hooked up to a big mobo placed in front of an empty shell...

It's a tiny screen hooked up to a big mobo placed in front of an empty shell...

Asking that they have a finished product like prototype at this stage is greatly exaggerated. I also do have my doubt but I hope they succeed.

I like the project, I like the idea, I like what I see about cloud gaming and I dream about Nintendo games being on Steam, specially if this handheld becomes true.

Don't know whether I'll back them but I wish them the best of the lucks.

I don't know why you guys are complaining about AMD — Nvidia don't have a x86_64 SoC available do they?

To me the questions revolve around the controls. OK, the AMD thing is a little worrisome, but let's imagine someone has gotten drivers much more better by the time it comes out. But the Steam Controller took Valve ages to get right, it almost seems like it was the major bottleneck for the whole project. These people are going to be doing their best to emulate the Steam Controller on this little device, but how well will they succeed?

Indeed. The broken the controller ergonomics was immediately apparent to me. And then there's also the Z-Pads…


Last edited by N30N on 13 December 2015 at 12:25 pm UTC

Asking that they have a finished product like prototype at this stage is greatly exaggerated. I also do have my doubt but I hope they succeed.

Of course I wouldn't expect a finished product at this stage. But calling that picture they posted on facebook a real prototype is misleading. The challenge with this project isn't hooking up a PC to a small screen, that's the easy part, it's fitting all of that PC into a handheld with nothing overheating (plus the 5hr battery life they claim). And then having enough power to run games. That they claim it runs 'any game' is also misleading I think, since it seems they are referring to streaming, but that isn't clear from the pitch video which gives the impression that the thing will run The Witcher 2 at playable framerates. I'd love to have a handheld Linux gaming PC, but this project has so many red flags that I have serious doubts it'll succeed. I hope I'm wrong and they do succeed, but anyone who considers backing this should at least be aware what the current state of the prototype is and what games you can realistically expect to play.

I wish them all the luck and will seriously consider buying one if the project is successful (and the price is reasonable), but I'm extremely skeptical at the moment.

And they also need to come up with a better name, because Smach Z is terrible.


Last edited by Mountain Man on 14 December 2015 at 12:42 pm UTC

The Kickstarter campaign is closed. The project is back to the draw table... they need to redefine and to explain it better.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/smachteam/smach-z-the-first-handheld-steam-machine/posts/1445260

Its their second attempt... (the first one was the "SteamBoy") :)