Valve: Linux More Viable Than Windows 8 for Gaming

[f0rk_b0mb]

I searched for steam on my android device, and all I found was a steam community app that let's me chat and see what's on th store, not download stuff...

So steam on this open platform can only do the same things they are allowed to do if they did a steam metro app...

So you think Steam is just a way to chat? LOL!

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

I see valve losing steam at this point (pun intended)

[hagjohn]

Sorry, but every comment they makes about Windows 8 makes him look dumber and dumber.

[Noir Angel]

Already covered that in my edit, and that's just BS. Tablets today can run the ancient source games just fine, even on high settings.

Some of them can still tax the hardware I use in parts, at 1080p, so I'd love to see that happen, especially with full AA and AF

I suggest you take a look at the Tegra 3 chipset sometime. It's easily on par with consoles and mid-range PC GPU's, and there are plenty of quality FPS's on the platform already.

If Gabe's going to port Valve's games over to Linux, I would expect him to make sure they run on Android and iOS/OSX too, as they're all unix based.

You'll have to ask them why they haven't. Point is, if they had wanted to they could have made Steam do those things on Android, the crux of the original argument is that Android is closed off which is false, not whether they have the technical capacity to make those games work on Android.

[BobSlob]

Given that someone brought up the Greenlight fee to try and say that Valve are just as greedy as Microsoft, i'd say plenty

"Microsoft employees gave $96 million to charity in 2010, the company said Friday... (also) Microsoft matches charitable donations dollar for dollar up to $12,000 per employee annually" Source: http://www.onlinecar...ws/archives/147

That's just donations that Microsoft matched... not the total the company donated. The $100 per "Greenlight Project" seems awful small now doesnt it?

[f0rk_b0mb]

Already covered that in my edit, and that's just BS. Tablets today can run the ancient source games just fine, even on high settings.

Ancient!?! Just because it came out in 2004 does not mean it's crappy. It's modular--they add and remove things constantly to update the graphics and what not. Please google and do your research before you post ignorance. And no, a tablet could not handle source. LOL! I have a 1GB GDDR3 card and I'm stressing my system with Portal 2 on ultra with some antialiasing and filtering tweaks.

[BobSlob]

So you think Steam is just a way to chat? LOL!

Re-read what he said... spend two seconds trying to comprehend it... then edit your post to reflect that you didnt bother to do those things first time around.

[Noir Angel]

Valve turn over substantially less money than Microsoft, and work on much tighter lines. As I stated I'm interested in % of turnover not raw amounts.

Ancient!?! Just because it came out in 2004 does not mean it's crappy. It's modular--they add and remove things and constantly update the graphics and what not. Please google and do your research before you post ignorance. And no, a tablet could not handle source. LOL! I have a 1GB GDDR3 card and I'm stressing my system with Portal 2 on ultra with some antialiasing and filtering tweaks.

They also updated HL2 to bring HDR lightmaps and threaded rendering to it, now it's in line with the functionality of newer source games.

[ahhell]

Apple, Google, and Microsoft (the newest), are creating their wall gardens, Microsoft just late to the game.

Windows 8 sends a clear signal MS is started going in this direction of a closed system.

This is why people are being really vocal about it now.

Bull ****.

The whole point of the store is to get apps to work across different devices (Windows, Phone, xbox, etc). MS has never mandated that you need to use the store for any desktop apps.

[spaceelf]

I suggest you take a look at the Tegra 3 chipset sometime. It's easily on par with consoles and mid-range PC GPU's, and there are plenty of quality FPS's on the platform already.

If Gabe's going to port Valve's games over to Linux, I would expect him to make sure they run on Android and iOS/OSX too, as they're all unix based.

http://timothylottes.blogspot.com/2012/09/please-people-iphone5-xbox360.html

I really doubt Tegra 3 matches up either. It's a lot of talk and not much to back it up.

[f0rk_b0mb]

Re-read what he said... spend two seconds trying to comprehend it... then edit your post to reflect that you didnt bother to do those things first time around.

I did. He thinks It's a chat client and is confused as to why it won't let him download "crappy" source apps because they can "easily" be ran on tablets when my mid-range machine can barely handle it on ultra. My point is he's ignorant and doesn't know what he's talking about. Maybe you're the one that should stop skimming. ;)

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Bull ****.

The whole point of the store is to get apps to work across different devices (Windows, Phone, xbox, etc). MS has never mandated that you need to use the store for any desktop apps.

No, the purpose of the store is to ensure MS gets the chance to siphon money out of the Windows ecosystem in the way Apple does in mobile. 30% of all of the app sales for Windows is a lions share of revenue that they see themselves as leaving on the table. To argue anything else is either delusional or intentionally misleading.

The potential for this is the reason the Desktop is made into an "app" on Windows 8 and the strong push for Metro apps even when they represent a tiny fraction of applications available on the Windows platform.

Microsoft has shown that they want Windows to be a closed platform and this policy will show itself more and more between Windows 9 and later as the Desktop becomes less and less emphasized.

Even Steve Ballmer has admitted this... He now calls Microsoft a "Device and Services" company, not a software company. This is a big deal... Microsoft is no longer the software company that we all knew them as up until Windows 7.

[torrentthief]

They're wasting their money with Steam on Linux. BTW, Why isn't Valve ripping on OSX/Apple with the same hostility?

I don't think they are wasting their money, a lot of gamers are linux users. Apple has a tiny market share on the desktop which is where valve games are played. Hardly any games are available on osx atm too.

I think valve has made a wise decision making steam available on linux, it is a long-term bet and i think it is a good bet. A lot of people like me hate metro and would therefore have to buy a copy of windows 7 or install linux if we bought a new computer with windows 8 pre-installed. Therefore i suspect ubuntu will increase in popularity over the next 12 months.

[x-byte]

I love Valve, but the Win8 hate is just pathetic.

Glad to see Linux to get some gaming love as well. About time!

[f0rk_b0mb]

Microsoft has shown that they want Windows to be a closed platform and this policy will show itself more and more between Windows 9 and later as the Desktop becomes less and less emphasized.

Agree 100%. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft cuts functionality even more from the desktop in Windows 9. 100 bucks says they'll take out the super bar.

I don't think they are wasting their money, a lot of gamers are linux users. Apple has a tiny market share on the desktop which is where valve games are played. Hardly any games are available on osx atm too.

I think valve has made a wise decision making steam available on linux, it is a long-term bet and i think it is a good bet. A lot of people like me hate metro and would therefore have to buy a copy of windows 7 or install linux if we bought a new computer with windows 8 pre-installed. Therefore i suspect ubuntu will increase in popularity over the next 12 months.

You sir, just stated my entire point. +1 and kudos to you.

[Athernar]

They also updated HL2 to bring HDR lightmaps and threaded rendering to it, now it's in line with the functionality of newer source games.

Don't forget Phong shading, updated shadowing and the soft particle system.

Admittedly now even the updated HL2 is somewhat outdated compared to current Source releases, Dota 2 has ambient occlusion and cloth simulation, CS:GO has cascaded shadow maps, Portal 2 has the "blobulator" system for the gels.

[spaceelf]

No, the purpose of the store is to ensure MS gets the chance to siphon money out of the Windows ecosystem in the way Apple does in mobile. 30% of all of the app sales for Windows is a lions share of revenue that they see themselves as leaving on the table. To argue anything else is either delusional or intentionally misleading.

http://blogs.msdn.co...dows-store.aspx

The revenue share base is 70%, but when an app achieves $25k USD in revenue?aggregated across all sales in every market?that app moves to 80% revenue share for the lifetime of that app.

Better than Valves take last I heard.

[HawkMan]

So you think Steam is just a way to chat? LOL!

WOW

:facepalm:

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

That's the sound of the point flying supersonic high above your head. Reading comprehension not a strong suit?

[+LogicalApex MVC]

http://blogs.msdn.co...dows-store.aspx

Better than Valves take last I heard.

Not sure the point of quoting me. My point is the same.

[FloatingFatMan]

I don't think they are wasting their money, a lot of gamers are linux users. Apple has a tiny market share on the desktop which is where valve games are played. Hardly any games are available on osx atm too.

I think valve has made a wise decision making steam available on linux, it is a long-term bet and i think it is a good bet. A lot of people like me hate metro and would therefore have to buy a copy of windows 7 or install linux if we bought a new computer with windows 8 pre-installed. Therefore i suspect ubuntu will increase in popularity over the next 12 months.

No. An insignificant minority of gamers are Linux users, just like an insignificant minority of computer users are Linux users. Also, the vast majority of Linux users expect to get their gaming on for free.

[spaceelf]

Not sure the point of quoting me. My point is the same.

Yes, but your numbers aren't.

[HawkMan]

Ancient!?! Just because it came out in 2004 does not mean it's crappy. It's modular--they add and remove things constantly to update the graphics and what not. Please google and do your research before you post ignorance. And no, a tablet could not handle source. LOL! I have a 1GB GDDR3 card and I'm stressing my system with Portal 2 on ultra with some antialiasing and filtering tweaks.

So.. What is it, is it modular or is it only capable of running on high end hardware? You need to make up your mind.

Also yeah sure it's modular. But you can only go so far before you need to revise the core engine. That's why there isn't one unreal engine or one cry engine, they're both modular. And why they're constantly being updated with new versions that support the new core rendering engines and features that can't just be slapped on in a module.

[f0rk_b0mb]

WOW

:facepalm:

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

That's the sound of the point flying supersonic high above your head. Reading comprehension not a strong suit?

No it's actually not. Writing and making your point clear isn't yours--that's for sure. Care to elaborate on your point?

[HawkMan]

I did. He thinks It's a chat client and is confused as to why it won't let him download "crappy" source apps because they can "easily" be ran on tablets when my mid-range machine can barely handle it on ultra. My point is he's ignorant and doesn't know what he's talking about. Maybe you're the one that should stop skimming. ;)

Nope, you're still not getting it, but I suspect you're just being purposely dim. Or we'll I hope so, otherwise it'd be kinda sad.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

Yes, but your numbers aren't.

:huh: MS is doing 30% with the ability to drop it 10% if you meet some sales target for the application. My numbers were accurate, though thanks for mentioning the discount over a certain threshold, as all apps would be sliced at 30% (the discount only applies to revenue exceeding $25K).

Even still, this does nothing to change my point. That Microsoft sees a large amount of revenue sitting on the table with an open Windows platform and they desire to close it off so they can maximize their revenue by siphoning money off the top of app sales.

There is a reason this is the cheapest version of Windows so far...