As usual, the wider media and people who like to generate clicky headlines like to claim Steam Machines are dead in the water. The truth is though, that it's not quite so simple.
First up is a nicely presented video from The Linux Gamer that's worth a watch:
Now onto my current thoughts on the matter.
Valve have recently hired new people to work on Mesa directly, which are our open source graphics drivers. We've already seen quite a bit of work done on Mesa thanks to Valve, like increased performance, supporting higher OpenGL versions and Vulkan support and this is set to continue.
Valve also only a few days ago released SteamVR in Beta for Linux, so in future a Steam Machine should work out of the box with the Vive headset.
Valve aren't stupid. They aren't about to stop developing Steam Machines. They are clearly still heavily invested in Linux to actually pay people to make our open source graphics drivers better. I imagine their business folks are keeping a very close eye on movements inside Microsoft for how their Windows Store will progress. That is still a very real threat to Steam, especially if more developers choose to release their games on it. In reality, any store is a threat to Valve, but one tied directly to the biggest operating system around in terms of use, Valve would be idiotic to move away from SteamOS and run off into the sunset with Microsoft.
Last year we saw the largest number of AAA/bigger budget games released on Linux, ever. We had Rocket League, Total War: WARHAMMER, XCOM 2, Tomb Raider, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Mad Max and so on. That's only some of the major releases quickly off the top of my head, but we had tons of other high quality game releases last year too.
This year has already started extremely well for us with Civilization VI and HITMAN both already out and with DiRT Rally to follow soon. We then also have Torment: Tides of Numenera, Sudden Strike 4, Dungeons 3, Cossacks 3, Total War: SHOGUN 2 (not yet confirmed, but it looks likely) and probably many others.
Aside from games, we also have Vulkan which will see much greater traction this year. Vulkan will help to level out the performance difference for Linux vs Windows in terms of game performance. We've already seen what it can do for some games, but in time Vulkan should do better and better as developers learn more about the ins and outs of the newer API and the big games engines incorporate better support overall.
Part of the problem was that expectation was just too high, but I've always maintained that Steam Machines were never going to be an overnight success. The odds were heavily stacked against them, and yet they have still given Linux gaming plenty of wins with tons more games, better drivers, more users and so on. For those wondering about my "more users" comment, remember that the Steam Hardware Survey percentage for operating system use is a ratio, so even when the percentage drops the overall user count is probably higher due to Steam's constant growth in terms of overall user-base.
As for SteamOS itself, it will be a constant evolution that goes hand in hand with all the work Valve is doing on the Steam store directly. All the improvements they do to Steam do directly benefit SteamOS. Things like better searching tools, better recommendations, requiring developers to use proper in-game screenshots, the constant and ever improving Steam Controller (and proper config support for more gamepads) and so on. These are just some examples of things that perhaps people aren't thinking about in relation to SteamOS and Steam Machines.
Simply put, Steam Machines are not dead. Not selling like hot cakes, sure, but Valve are putting in a lot of effort behind the scenes that the wider media don't bother to look into. Why would they though? Since that wouldn't generate great headlines. Bad news sells, sad, but true.
Right now, I see SteamOS and Steam Machines as being on a temporary hiatus while Valve helps to sort out some of the inner workings to make sure future games actually work well. Progress has been good on that and I'm pretty damn happy with the way things are going right now and you should be too.
What are your current thoughts? Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
First up is a nicely presented video from The Linux Gamer that's worth a watch:
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Now onto my current thoughts on the matter.
Valve have recently hired new people to work on Mesa directly, which are our open source graphics drivers. We've already seen quite a bit of work done on Mesa thanks to Valve, like increased performance, supporting higher OpenGL versions and Vulkan support and this is set to continue.
Valve also only a few days ago released SteamVR in Beta for Linux, so in future a Steam Machine should work out of the box with the Vive headset.
Valve aren't stupid. They aren't about to stop developing Steam Machines. They are clearly still heavily invested in Linux to actually pay people to make our open source graphics drivers better. I imagine their business folks are keeping a very close eye on movements inside Microsoft for how their Windows Store will progress. That is still a very real threat to Steam, especially if more developers choose to release their games on it. In reality, any store is a threat to Valve, but one tied directly to the biggest operating system around in terms of use, Valve would be idiotic to move away from SteamOS and run off into the sunset with Microsoft.
Last year we saw the largest number of AAA/bigger budget games released on Linux, ever. We had Rocket League, Total War: WARHAMMER, XCOM 2, Tomb Raider, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Mad Max and so on. That's only some of the major releases quickly off the top of my head, but we had tons of other high quality game releases last year too.
This year has already started extremely well for us with Civilization VI and HITMAN both already out and with DiRT Rally to follow soon. We then also have Torment: Tides of Numenera, Sudden Strike 4, Dungeons 3, Cossacks 3, Total War: SHOGUN 2 (not yet confirmed, but it looks likely) and probably many others.
Aside from games, we also have Vulkan which will see much greater traction this year. Vulkan will help to level out the performance difference for Linux vs Windows in terms of game performance. We've already seen what it can do for some games, but in time Vulkan should do better and better as developers learn more about the ins and outs of the newer API and the big games engines incorporate better support overall.
Part of the problem was that expectation was just too high, but I've always maintained that Steam Machines were never going to be an overnight success. The odds were heavily stacked against them, and yet they have still given Linux gaming plenty of wins with tons more games, better drivers, more users and so on. For those wondering about my "more users" comment, remember that the Steam Hardware Survey percentage for operating system use is a ratio, so even when the percentage drops the overall user count is probably higher due to Steam's constant growth in terms of overall user-base.
As for SteamOS itself, it will be a constant evolution that goes hand in hand with all the work Valve is doing on the Steam store directly. All the improvements they do to Steam do directly benefit SteamOS. Things like better searching tools, better recommendations, requiring developers to use proper in-game screenshots, the constant and ever improving Steam Controller (and proper config support for more gamepads) and so on. These are just some examples of things that perhaps people aren't thinking about in relation to SteamOS and Steam Machines.
Simply put, Steam Machines are not dead. Not selling like hot cakes, sure, but Valve are putting in a lot of effort behind the scenes that the wider media don't bother to look into. Why would they though? Since that wouldn't generate great headlines. Bad news sells, sad, but true.
Right now, I see SteamOS and Steam Machines as being on a temporary hiatus while Valve helps to sort out some of the inner workings to make sure future games actually work well. Progress has been good on that and I'm pretty damn happy with the way things are going right now and you should be too.
What are your current thoughts? Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
qptain Nemo Feb 27, 2017
Quoting: Mountain ManThe real question we should be asking is the one we can't answer: Is Valve happy with the current success of Linux/SteamOS/Steam Machines? Because that's what really matters. Is everything going according to plan, and just how far is Valve willing to push this experiment? I have no idea. I hope they're in it for the long-haul, because I'd hate to see commercial gaming on Linux abandoned and have to return to Windows (shudder) or turn to console gaming exclusively.As far as I can see, everything Valve did was for the long haul and it's been working out for them just great. Would be strange of them to stop now, what with all that positive experience reaffirming their approach and everything. (Not to mention the neverending shitton of money they're getting regardless of the success state of SteamOS/Machines.)
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We all know about Valve Time. It takes Valve many many years to get anything done, and they can afford to because they have a cash cow that brings in never ending money. SteamOS and Steam Machines were never going to be an overnight success simply because the drivers and tools situation was in such shoddy shape on Linux when Valve got the ball rolling. While Steam Machines are not exaclty setting any sales records right now, the driver and tools situation on Linux is in a much better state than it was a few years ago and we're getting games we couldn't have begun to dream about back then. Baby steps.
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So tired of the Vulkan hype train. If games don't get ported properly and continue to use D3D wrappers nothing is going to change. Wake up OpenGL isn't the problem, it's a scapegoat for ignorance. Vulkan is not a magic bullet that suddenly makes gaming on Linux what it should be.
Don't get me wrong Vulkan is the future, it's just not adding anything that wasn't already there.
It's amazing the traction this has gotten.
Don't get me wrong Vulkan is the future, it's just not adding anything that wasn't already there.
It's amazing the traction this has gotten.
3 Likes, Who?
Quoting: liamdaweTorment: Tides of Numenera
It has nothing to do with either Valve or Feral. It was financed on Kickstarter and made on Unity3D engine.
Quoting: liamdaweVulkan will help to level out the performance difference for Linux vs Windows in terms of game performance.
Native releases instead of crappy Feral ports: 1, 2 will help us get even (please note the "Metro Last Light Redux" where the devs made the Linux version themselves). Why should I pay for twice more expensive hardware to get on par with Windows?
Quoting: liamdaweFor those wondering about my "more users" comment, remember that the Steam Hardware Survey percentage for operating system use is a ratio, so even when the percentage drops the overall user count is probably higher due to Steam's constant growth in terms of overall user-base.
That's just pure rationalization. By that logic we can conclude that the number of Linux gamers grew solely because of the increasing number of humans on the Earth! That's true but hardly relevant to Valve's push. And the numbers show us the obvious: Linux became less represented on Steam and thus less appealing for developers.
Quoting: liamdaweRight now, I see SteamOS and Steam Machines as being on a temporary hiatus...
In my country we have a saying: "Nothing is more permanent than the temporary".
Last edited by Alm888 on 27 February 2017 at 5:59 am UTC
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Quoting: jnriversSo tired of the Vulkan hype train. If games don't get ported properly and continue to use D3D wrappers nothing is going to change. Wake up OpenGL isn't the problem, it's a scapegoat for ignorance. Vulkan is not a magic bullet that suddenly makes gaming on Linux what it should be.
Don't get me wrong Vulkan is the future, it's just not adding anything that wasn't already there.
It's amazing the traction this has gotten.
The problem with your statement is that at this point we've only seen DX9/DX11 -> OGL wrappers. When Feral releases their first DX12 -> Vulkan wrapped game, then we can finally see if the hype is real or not.
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GoLBuzzkill Feb 27, 2017
Quoting: jnriversSo tired of the Vulkan hype train. If games don't get ported properly and continue to use D3D wrappers nothing is going to change. Wake up OpenGL isn't the problem, it's a scapegoat for ignorance. Vulkan is not a magic bullet that suddenly makes gaming on Linux what it should be.
Don't get me wrong Vulkan is the future, it's just not adding anything that wasn't already there.
It's amazing the traction this has gotten.
Im saying this from when I tried first Linux "ports" and everybody is ignoring it.
99% of ports are garbage, they run bad, they dont use Linux APIS's as they should be used, they are unoptimized, they are using bunch of M$ technologies etc. If Linux is aftertought final product will be inferior to main target platforms, even if game runs perfectly on Linux 400 FPS avg, but 500 FPS on Windows or Consoles we lose, we need 500 FPS or 501 FPS to win, it is just that simple.
There is also Steam, you cant run a lot of games without Steam, Steam is bloatware and it isnt adjusted and optimized for Linux. When Valve decided to go with Linux first thing they needed to do is opensource as much of the Steam client as they can; so our community can fix things in couple of minutes that Valve idiots cant in years (systray icon comes to mind).
Steam machines (with SteamOS) are not dead because they never where alive. You need to compete on price and performance, AMD is good price wise but their drivers and support are shit, so if you want good hardware you need to go with Intel/Nvidia and now you lose price war. If you want to use Linux and Linux "ports" you get worse performance (if you want to compensate you need even more expensive hardware) and bunch of Linux related bugs. Steam machines with SteamOS are worst case scenario, you need to be an idiot to beleve in their success.
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Quoting: Alm888Quoting: liamdaweVulkan will help to level out the performance difference for Linux vs Windows in terms of game performance.
Native releases instead of crappy Feral ports: 1, 2 will help us get even (please note the "Metro Last Light Redux" where the devs made the Linux version themselves). Why should I pay for twice more expensive hardware to get on par with Windows?
Quoting: liamdaweFor those wondering about my "more users" comment, remember that the Steam Hardware Survey percentage for operating system use is a ratio, so even when the percentage drops the overall user count is probably higher due to Steam's constant growth in terms of overall user-base.
That's just pure rationalization. By that logic we can conclude that the number of Linux gamers grew solely because of the increasing number of humans on the Earth! That's true but hardly relevant to Valve's push. And the numbers show us the obvious: Linux became less represented on Steam and thus less appealing for developers.
In my country we have a saying: "Nothing is more permanent than the temporary".
Feral ports are native. I think what you meant is that we need games developed for Linux, not ported to Linux from another platform as an afterthought. It isn't about being on par with Windows, not for me. If I wanted to be on par with Windows I would be on Windows. It is about being able to play games I like on a platform I like, a platform that respects me as a user and that I actually have control over.
Every argument for everything is a rationalization. Steam is growing quickly and Linux use is growing also. Windows use just happens to be growing faster, which when you look at it from a total percentage makes it look as though Linux use is shrinking. If you want to know if Linux use is growing you would have to look at only the number of Linux users. Obviously we are a small market. Hopefully we will become a more appealing one as time goes by.
Obviously Steam Machines are not doing great right now. Doesn't surprise me as they aren't ready for mainstream. If at some point they become ready and Valve gives them a real push they could be great. Only time will tell.
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Quoting: m2mg2Feral ports are native. I think what you meant is that we need games developed for Linux, not ported to Linux from another platform as an afterthought.
Yes, you are correct, of course.
Quoting: m2mg2It isn't about being on par with Windows, not for me. If I wanted to be on par with Windows I would be on Windows. It is about being able to play games I like on a platform I like, a platform that respects me as a user and that I actually have control over.
But it is for general gamer. We are talking about Linux expansion and for this we need to persuade Windows users (I, for one, do not know a Linux user who did not start on Windows -- that's just how our education system works: everyone gets his/her "first dose" of Windows in the elementary school up to the point that the majority does not know Linux exist at all). And your "average John Smith" has "middle-end" (how the middle can have an end? :-) ) cards like GeForce GTX 950(Ti)/1050(Ti), not monsters like dual "GTX 1080" ot "Titan". One can say "it runs great on my 1080" as much as (s)he wants, this will not help the cause.
Quoting: m2mg2Windows use just happens to be growing faster, which when you look at it from a total percentage makes it look as though Linux use is shrinking.
Exactly! And this is what matters during "business decision" time for game developers. They are aiming for the most profitable market segment and Linux is getting less and less appealing.
Quoting: m2mg2Hopefully we will become a more appealing one as time goes by.
This will not happen automatically without our involvement.
Valve will not guide us towards the brightest future. And definitely, it will not be Feral either (sometimes I am thinking we could be doing better without Feral and its "ports" as they are doing disservice in advertisement).
We need to take more direct approach: to reach out to developers, persuade them we matter and we are passionate, starting from the small ones from Kickstarter or "indie" developers (we have the weight there as was shown by Humble Bundles) and aggregate the "critical mass" up to the point where even AAA-devs will not be able to dismiss us.
Last edited by Alm888 on 27 February 2017 at 7:06 am UTC
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Quoting: jnriversSo tired of the Vulkan hype train. If games don't get ported properly and continue to use D3D wrappers nothing is going to change. Wake up OpenGL isn't the problem, it's a scapegoat for ignorance. Vulkan is not a magic bullet that suddenly makes gaming on Linux what it should be.No offence, but you sound like someone who is parroting what I've seen others say without a) ever testing Vulkan and b) just not actually understanding any of the problems of OpenGL (we did have a recent editorial about this, maybe you missed it).
Don't get me wrong Vulkan is the future, it's just not adding anything that wasn't already there.
I've tested 3-4 games that are using Vulkan that I cannot name and I can say without a doubt their performance vs their OpenGL counterparts are much, much better. You don't need to take my word for it, as you will see for yourself at release. By now, I think I've proven myself enough that my word can be trusted.
Quoting: Alm888I never said it did, I was talking about how healthy Linux gaming is. The fact still is most developers would still be ignoring Linux or would have stopped doing Linux versions by now if it wasn't for Steam.Quoting: liamdaweTorment: Tides of Numenera
It has nothing to do with either Valve or Feral. It was financed on Kickstarter and made on Unity3D engine.
Quoting: Alm888I...don't think you understand how percentages work my friend. A very basic example: 0.8% of 100 million and 0.8% of 115 million is a different number, you know that right? A basic example, but it should make my point very clear.Quoting: liamdaweFor those wondering about my "more users" comment, remember that the Steam Hardware Survey percentage for operating system use is a ratio, so even when the percentage drops the overall user count is probably higher due to Steam's constant growth in terms of overall user-base.
That's just pure rationalization. By that logic we can conclude that the number of Linux gamers grew solely because of the increasing number of humans on the Earth! That's true but hardly relevant to Valve's push. And the numbers show us the obvious: Linux became less represented on Steam and thus less appealing for developers.
You cannot wipe away my argument by using something outright idiotic like the amount of humans on Earth. Steam IS growing, every time Valve talk about it the number is significantly higher. If you choose to ignore that or try to wipe it away with an outright ludicrous argument then you just cannot be reasoned with.
Quoting: Alm888A nice saying, but again, why on earth would Valve be continuing to invest in Linux including paying people to fix up our drivers if they weren't going to continue? It would be a massive waste of time and money for them.Quoting: liamdaweRight now, I see SteamOS and Steam Machines as being on a temporary hiatus...
In my country we have a saying: "Nothing is more permanent than the temporary".
Quoting: m2mg2Every argument for everything is a rationalization. Steam is growing quickly and Linux use is growing also. Windows use just happens to be growing faster, which when you look at it from a total percentage makes it look as though Linux use is shrinking. If you want to know if Linux use is growing you would have to look at only the number of Linux users. Obviously we are a small market. Hopefully we will become a more appealing one as time goes by.Thank the stars someone understands :)
@GoLBuzzkill's comment, with a username like that, why am I not surprised by your tone? :) Still, I don't disagree, you're right on a few points, but things are progressing on all fronts, especially the AMD driver situation.
Last edited by Liam Dawe on 27 February 2017 at 9:42 am UTC
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I think Valve speculates that in 10 or 20 years everything is based on SteamOS. Also the PlayStation, Nintendo and the XBox. This sounds crazy, but is realistic. All these companies also want to make just money and to grow. With their current technologies they limit themselves.
Linux is already omnipresent in the areas of Cloud, IoT and mobile. Microsoft is today Platinum member in the Linux Foundation and carries more open sources than anybody else. The concept of open source has prevailed, just different than we thought.
In 20 years only dinosaurs like us will still use a desktop PC at home. I do not know if Steam Machines or SteamOS will spread as much as Android. Maybe Valve is not the right company for that. Perhaps not even Linux is the right technology and will be replaced by something else. But the basic idea which Valve has is exactly right. I really can not imagine that in 20 years gaming is still based on Windows PCs. Not even Microsoft believes this.
Valve apparently believes in its future as a gaming platform. Only time will show.
Last edited by 0aTT on 27 February 2017 at 9:43 am UTC
Linux is already omnipresent in the areas of Cloud, IoT and mobile. Microsoft is today Platinum member in the Linux Foundation and carries more open sources than anybody else. The concept of open source has prevailed, just different than we thought.
In 20 years only dinosaurs like us will still use a desktop PC at home. I do not know if Steam Machines or SteamOS will spread as much as Android. Maybe Valve is not the right company for that. Perhaps not even Linux is the right technology and will be replaced by something else. But the basic idea which Valve has is exactly right. I really can not imagine that in 20 years gaming is still based on Windows PCs. Not even Microsoft believes this.
Valve apparently believes in its future as a gaming platform. Only time will show.
Last edited by 0aTT on 27 February 2017 at 9:43 am UTC
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