Topic: Valve Announcement Trifecta (Read 11335 times)

Masterpiece · « **on:** 21 Sep 2013, 02:35 »

So Valve has put up an announcement page with room for three different countdown watches. The first one is set to expire on Monday, and according to Geoff Keighleys Twitter, the company is going to announce three new products next week.

There's been rumors of the arrival of the Steam Box, which would make sense considering that the imminent launch of the new console generation. There's also been some leaks as to a new source engine, which Valve desperately needs if it wants to stay up to date (friggin Source doesn't stream, and every engine I've used in recent times had some sort of streaming functionality). And of course, there's the few hopeful that are expecting some sort of Half Life 3 announcement (THREE BUTTONS ON THE CONTROLLER!!!). I'm guessing they're going to announce Ricochet 2.

What are your thoughts?

LTK · « **Reply #1 on:** 21 Sep 2013, 06:59 »

The image on the announcement page is hiding additional information, including a textbook graph of particle decay and the text "THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE". If there isn't an ARG behind this I'll eat my hat.

Pilchard123 · « **Reply #2 on:** 21 Sep 2013, 07:59 »

How'd you get the graph and text?

LTK · « **Reply #3 on:** 21 Sep 2013, 08:07 »

Messing around with filters or something. I don't know, I only have third-hand information. It might not even be true.

Yes, actually, now that I take a closer look, the "THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE" thing was a joke, not sure about the textbook graph. That apparently came from Reddit.

Similarly, this is unquestionably fake.

ackblom12 · « **Reply #4 on:** 25 Sep 2013, 11:42 »

Steambox and prototype beta testing officially announced today.

http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamMachines/

Masterpiece · « **Reply #5 on:** 25 Sep 2013, 12:31 »

Okay, that was sort of predictable... I wonder what the specifications of that machine are. And how they're going to make it an "open" design.

Judging by the icons that lead to the announcements, I'm guessing that the last announcement is the Steam Sharing feature. (because the sphere was SteamOS, the sphere in a cube was the Steam Box, I'm guessing one sphere plus the other means groups or sharing?)

ackblom12 · « **Reply #6 on:** 25 Sep 2013, 12:34 »

I'm guessing it's essentially going to be a MicroATX box, but with the benefit of having a manufacturer who can order parts wholesale for cheap and not have to include a licensed OS.

Masterpiece · « **Reply #7 on:** 25 Sep 2013, 12:35 »

The problem I have with the Steam Box is that I just can't for the love of it get hyped about the concept of a Steam Box.

But I'm sure that's just because I've burned my bridges with the community I was in on Steam.

ackblom12 · « **Reply #8 on:** 25 Sep 2013, 12:40 »

I love the concept, but that largely has to do with a lifetime of tiny spaces to live in that there is no possible way to move the PC into an area to hook up to the TV. Even if I could, I don't want to monopolize the Television anytime I want to play a game or listen to music. It's something that would fit me perfectly, and if it's cheap enough to be economical in comparison to building my own, I'd rather start with it and be able to upgrade from that rather than build my own.

LTK · « **Reply #9 on:** 25 Sep 2013, 12:49 »

Steam Machine? That's a cool name. Anyway, I think it's not meant for us - us being the ones who already know the ins and outs of PC gaming and are comfortable here. They're targeting the console demographic more than the people who are most invested in Steam. Maybe the people who have Steam installed on a laptop and have a playstation hooked up to their TV. I wouldn't have any use for a Steam Machine either.

Quote from: Masterpiece on 25 Sep 2013, 12:35

The problem I have with the Steam Box is that I just can't for the love of it get hyped about the concept of a Steam Box.

But I'm sure that's just because I've burned my bridges with the community I was in on Steam.

That doesn't sound like you have a problem at all.

On another note:

ChaoSera · « **Reply #10 on:** 25 Sep 2013, 14:24 »

Why is that man eating a hat? Do hats taste good when salted?

de_la_Nae · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 Sep 2013, 14:25 »

Good man, LTK. I was going to say something, but you remembered!

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #12 on:** 25 Sep 2013, 14:46 »

I was thinking at first that they were aiming towards the console crowd, but I think they are trying to bridge the gap between console and PC peeps here. One of the biggest selling points of consoles is being plug and play. You hook it up, put in the disk and it works.. No worrying about hardware power or comparability, no fiddling with driver updates or any of that. The flip side of course is lack up upgrade ability with consoles... All you can do most of the time is replace it when the system gets out powered... a fact console manufacturers count on, of course. This advertised 'open architecture' seems to be implying that the end user can swap out components. Or it could be that you can tailor your system build to fit your needs.

Either way, Steam has an advantage over the updating issues... They already do automatic updates on software installed through them. If they have full control over the OS as well, they can do that end too. I am a bit intrigued and will keep watching. All of this are things I could do now but don't bother because it's a bit of a pain and I'm plenty happy to play games on my computer, and just leave the TV for the few things I can't do there. But depending on price and the operating stats.. it might well be worth getting a Steam Machine as a secondary PC/console hybrid... I had given some thought to the Ouya for that, but I see a lot more useful to me potential here.

snalin · « **Reply #13 on:** 25 Sep 2013, 15:33 »

Quote

Can I hack this box? Run another OS? Change the hardware? Install my own software? Use it to build a robot?
Sure.

Can I download the OS to try it out?
You will be able to download it (including the source code, if you're into that) but not yet.

This is what makes me excited about everything they're announcing. This is why I'll buy this over any console from Microsoft or Sony. They're not worried abut secrecy or NDAs or all the bullshit that's in between the consumer and those monolithic companies. They're an immense software developer and publisher, and they're doing this open source.

Also, at the bottom:

Quote

Stay tuned, though - we have some more to say very soon on the topic of input.

That is interesting. Maybe the third announcement is a special gamepad of some sort made for Big Picture? Maybe something including the biometrics Valve has been going on about for a while?

de_la_Nae · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 Sep 2013, 17:31 »

My bet is that it will pour a perfect dirty martini everytime.

ackblom12 · « **Reply #15 on:** 27 Sep 2013, 13:47 »

And the last announcement is the Steam Controller

Masterpiece · « **Reply #16 on:** 27 Sep 2013, 15:50 »

what the eff

ackblom12 · « **Reply #17 on:** 27 Sep 2013, 16:29 »

I actually really like the idea behind it, but I clearly say if it's good or not until I've held one in my hand and had a chance to test out the track pads. The fact that they've kinda said 'fuck off' to the usual controller design has me intrigued though.

de_la_Nae · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Sep 2013, 17:08 »

Yeah but so did the N64.

EDIT: Which, I mean, was probably cool for like, octupodes or something. Octopussies. WHATEVER.

ackblom12 · « **Reply #19 on:** 27 Sep 2013, 17:11 »

It also had a massive impact on how controllers were thought of afterwards. It was also a lot more... oddly shaped.

J · « **Reply #20 on:** 27 Sep 2013, 17:36 »

it's looking at me

ackblom12 · « **Reply #21 on:** 27 Sep 2013, 18:54 »

Also keep in mind that this may not be the final design. Part of the beta period is going to be getting feedback about how the controller actually feels to users.

de_la_Nae · « **Reply #22 on:** 27 Sep 2013, 21:50 »

I almost made a Chernobyl joke here for the N64, but decided against it.

ackblom12 · « **Reply #23 on:** 27 Sep 2013, 22:37 »

Honestly, even if this controller is shit (or good but too expensive) we still have about a billion different options for controls.

They've got some Q&A going now for the controller and all other discussion about the hardware has been moved to the Steam Universe community.

Quote

Questions!

Is this the same beta as the Steam machines one, or is it separate?
Same. So you only need to sign up once.

How does the beta work? When will it start? How will you choose participants?
Please see the FAQ on Steam Machines, because it covers lots of important questions.

I’m a happy Steam customer happily using my happy mouse and keyboard. I don’t want a controller?
You can’t make a sentence into a question by just putting a question-mark at the end. But we’re happy you’re happy, and by all means keep using whatever input method makes sense for you. Rest assured, we won’t abandon you. We love mice and keyboards, too.

Can I use a controller if I don’t have a Steam machine?
Yes. It’ll work very well with any version of Steam.

I’m a developer - how can I include support for the Steam Controller in my game?
On the same day that our prototype controllers ship to customers later this year, the first version of our API will also be made available to game developers.

How will the beta controller differ from the one that’s for sale next year?
There are a couple important differences: the first 300 or so beta units won’t include a touch screen, and they won’t be wireless. Instead, they’ll have four buttons in place of the touch screen, and they’ll require a USB cable.

What’s next?
We’re done with our announcements, and we promise to switch gears now and talk specifics over here in our Steam Universe community group. Also we’ll talk soon about the design process and how we’ve arrived at our current prototype. (We’ll post detailed specs next week for our living room SteamOS prototype, too.)

We look forward to working together with you to design the future of Steam in the living room.

snalin · « **Reply #24 on:** 28 Sep 2013, 02:05 »

Quote from: snalin on 25 Sep 2013, 15:33

That is interesting. Maybe the third announcement is a special gamepad of some sort made for Big Picture?

Called it!

I like the look of this controller. They're aiming for the living room market in a major way, and want every part of it. Also they're saying that the thing is "hackable", which I assume means that you can take it apart and put it together again with adjustments. Don't like the grip? Maybe you can 3D-print a new one!

LTK · « **Reply #25 on:** 28 Sep 2013, 05:17 »

Let the ridicule begin!

Honestly though, I kinda want one.

~~GarandMarine~~ · « **Reply #26 on:** 28 Sep 2013, 06:25 »

That doesn't look particularly comfortable or user/dev friendly.

LTK · « **Reply #27 on:** 28 Sep 2013, 06:37 »

Tommy Refenes of Team Meat has some things to say about it.

ackblom12 · « **Reply #28 on:** 28 Sep 2013, 12:16 »

That's a lot more positive than I thought it would be.

Masterpiece · « **Reply #29 on:** 28 Sep 2013, 14:07 »

Interesting. Those nubs he is talking of should definitely be included in final hardware.

Masterpiece · « **Reply #30 on:** 28 Sep 2013, 14:07 »

Also I'm a bit left at a blank as to what the haptic feedback will be. Is it feedback on how much you're pressing the circle pads? Or in which direction?

ankhtahr · « **Reply #31 on:** 28 Sep 2013, 16:49 »

Actually I don't really care about the controller, or playing games on a television anyway, but the concept of SteamOS is intriguing to me. I don't see any reason for me to use it, but a real Linux distribution, marketed towards the general crowd is very interesting. Having such a big platform as Steam is move over to Linux should really make developers aware of it. Getting a greater software/games collection for Linux might eradicate the need of Windows on PCs altogether.

Masterpiece · « **Reply #32 on:** 29 Sep 2013, 03:42 »

Quote from: ankhtahr on 28 Sep 2013, 16:49

Having such a big platform as Steam is move over to Linux should really make developers aware of it.

Implying that developers aren't aware of Linux. I've honestly never met a developer who didn't know about Linux.

ankhtahr · « **Reply #33 on:** 29 Sep 2013, 04:02 »

Most game developers think of Linux as a tiny group of users for whom it isn't worth developing games. This has become a lot better in the last two years, with the Humble Bundles and Steam for Linux, but the big Devs still pretty much ignore it.

Is what I wanted to say by this.

de_la_Nae · « **Reply #34 on:** 29 Sep 2013, 04:32 »

Personally I'd think that it might be more apt to say that the people who *pay* the developers tend towards that mindset a little more.

Though you may be right. I'm not a developer.

Masterpiece · « **Reply #35 on:** 29 Sep 2013, 06:35 »

I think the reason as to why people don't program for Linux is that it just adds a bunch of development cost and time. If you're using DirectX, you're already targeting two major platforms out there, Xbox and Windows. That's the main reason why Microsoft uses DirectX on the Xbox platform (DirectXbox?).

Linux (and MacOSX too for that matter) uses the OpenGL platform. Up until recently (and still not by a long run), OpenGL just didn't have a large enough market to be profitable. And Windows still outsells Linux in that regard. I've checked the Humble Bundle Downloads by Platform section, and it verifies my claim.

(click to show/hide)

And DirectX was a more efficient library on Windows PCs so they chose to use DirectX instead. (The efficiency of DirectX is now contested however, according to a Valve engineer)

ankhtahr · « **Reply #36 on:** 29 Sep 2013, 06:43 »

Well, it's a vicious circle, and SteamOS might break it. Gamers/People don't use Linux because the software collection is too small. Developers don't programme for Linux because the userbase is too small. If Steam causes the userbase to go up and the developers (when I say developers in this context I usually mean the big studios, maybe ”the publishers who tell the developers what to do” would be the better term) to see Linux as a valuable market it can be a good way to break the monopoly of Microsoft.

snalin · « **Reply #37 on:** 29 Sep 2013, 07:41 »

Quote from: Masterpiece on 29 Sep 2013, 06:35

I think the reason as to why people don't program for Linux is that it just adds a bunch of development cost and time. If you're using DirectX, you're already targeting two major platforms out there, Xbox and Windows. That's the main reason why Microsoft uses DirectX on the Xbox platform (DirectXbox?).

Interestingly, AMD is trying to one up everyone by making their own API for low level GPU access - mantle. It's designed to compete with DirectX, and it's cross platform. With AMD supplying chips for both the XBone and the PS4, it's pretty likely that we'll be seeing games using it soon, which will considerably lower the costs of porting to Linux-based systems.

Trust me, if you can avoid changing the API for the graphics when you port to a different platform, you avoid it. Putting a DirectX game natively on Linux means either going through all the code that does anything graphics-related, and switching it out with OpenGL code, or putting a layer of simulation in between to mimic DirectX with OpenGL, which will cost performance.

ackblom12 · « **Reply #38 on:** 04 Oct 2013, 15:18 »

Jesus Tapdancing Christ, Valve released the hardware specs for the protoypes they are gonna send out for the beta of the Steam Machine.

http://www.destructoid.com/valve-details-its-high-end-steam-machine-prototype-262998.phtml

Quote

GPU: some units with Nvidia Titan, some GTX 780, some GTX 760, and some GTX 660
CPU: some boxes with Intel : i7-4770, some i5-4570, and some i3
RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600 (CPU), 3GB DDR5 (GPU)
Storage: 1TB/8GB Hybrid SSHD
Power Supply: Internal 450w 80Plus Gold
Dimensions: approx. 12 x 12.4 x 2.9 in high

snalin · « **Reply #39 on:** 04 Oct 2013, 16:18 »

That's more powerful than my gaming rig. Do we know the price points on these things? Because if they're able to mass produce them with one exact combination of hardware, they'll probably be able to be a good bit cheaper than comparative computers. Though there's no way in hell they'll be as cheap as say an Xbone or PS4.

ackblom12 · « **Reply #40 on:** 04 Oct 2013, 16:20 »

Nope, nothing said about price yet. The Titan card I assume is just them seeing what they can cram in the box for testing purposes, considering it's about $1,000 USD by itself.

Masterpiece · « **Reply #41 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 15:26 »

A demo of the controller in action:

Not a valid youtube URL

LTK · « **Reply #42 on:** 11 Oct 2013, 16:46 »

I'd kill someone to get my hands on one of those right now.

Man, why does the Valve hardware beta require a controller to become eligible? I don't have a controller, and the only reason for that is that no one has ever made one like that before!

How do we call that thing anyway? A steampad? That sounds boring.

snalin · « **Reply #43 on:** 13 Feb 2014, 11:27 »

Ermargerd, I wanted to share some Valve-stuff, but didn't want to make a thread about, it, so I grabbed a random thread to necro.

Aaaanyways, so if you've logged on to your Steam frontpage recently, you've seen "Introducing Steam Tags" in a big banner. The idea is that users can tag games, and you can then use those tags to search for games. Since video game genres these days are largely bullshit, and searching for games based on that is futile at best, this is a great idea, right?

Have anybody working at Valve ever been on the internet?

There was some problems. It seems like the "Jews did 9/11" and "holocaust never happened" taggs has been taken down, so that's good, but Rome 2 is still tagged with "Rome Wasn't Patched In A Day", which is pretty fucking funny. I'm pretty sure they'll want to do something about the tags "bad" and "garbage" eventually - while they might be accurate, that's not something the game dev or Steam wants on a game.

The "Walking simulator" tag has been given to Dear Esther and Gone Home, who's also sitting on the "Not A Game" tag. TF2 is tagged with "hats" AND "hat simulator". 39 games are "Better Than League". 23 games are tagged with ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ, which is now my favourite smiley of all time. I can see some potential in this system, but it'll need a tad bit more moderation than what it has right now, I think.

de_la_Nae · « **Reply #44 on:** 13 Feb 2014, 14:26 »

Derail: I don't get the 'not a game' thing about Gone Home. It's an exploration game.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Valve Announcement Trifecta (Read 11335 times)

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