Valve: Linux More Viable Than Windows 8 for Gaming

[Athernar]

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.

Would you care to elaborate what a "core engine" actually constitutes?

Also just FYI but, Unreal and CryENGINE are products and core revenue streams for their respecitve companies, maybe moreso in Epic's case. Source doesn't have regular "versions" because it's primary purpose isn't to be sold to 3rd-parties.

Think IE and Chrome.

[spudtrooper]

Users choose what goes and blows with Greenlight.

^THIS!!

It missed the charity quote but last time i checked, MS & its employees have done something like a billion dollars a year in charity work and the Gates foundation does that and then some.. i'm not sure you picked the right organization to point out charity support wirth..

[f0rk_b0mb]

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.

Oh my goodness!!!! I misinterpreted your post. Now I'm dim, right? /s

[Beyond Godlike]

The fact that hes calling ubuntu reliable is a joke. Its undergone huge GUI transformations regularly over the past like 6 versions. Windows gets a new GUI once and theyre making a fuss. Though, its more about the fact that the windows store is competition than anything, they cant hide that. As for the win8 haters, i bet most of them have webbed feet to, cause theyre just dumb.

[HawkMan]

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.

Yeah a lot of games are Linux users... So lets see, games cost up to several a few billion to produce for the top end AAA games today, at minimum several million. Linux has a userbase of 3% at the top end. Converting a game to run on Linux will add at best for a high end game be million, at least. So if the game sells decently well, not COD or BF3 or FIFA well, then we have 500k to a millions sales. Since we know only a very small percentage of the Linux userbase is gamers, lets be generous and say 1% of the buyers will be Linux users. That's 5-10k users.

In WHAT world does it make sense to spend that amount of money for 5-10 000 sales....

[spaceelf]

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.

I wasn't dismissing your point, so I'm not sure why you think I was. But whatever works. I'm done here for the moment.

[HawkMan]

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

Why, I already wrote it, quite clearly. Not my fault you can't read.

And I said steam on android is just chat and community, if they're so angry about not being allowed to have steam on windows RT why don't they offer a full steam client on android as well. Because the point he's trying to make doesn't exist.

Read my full posts next time.

[spudtrooper]

Lets all agree that competition is great, consumers win mmk.. However, i find it hard to agree with Valve that MS is somehow becoming a closed system - they're not. Valve is doing what many people in the 90's called "spreading FUD" when there is no FUD to go around.

Steam works great on X86, maybe they could partner with microsoft for RT - do we know if they asked and got shotdown or something? who knows.. MS will never hand over the "Windows market" to a 3rd party, just as apple won't and quite frankly i'm not sure the fragmented marketplaces we see in android help or hurt it at this time and steam hasn't done much to try and penetrate those either..

[+Eternal Tempest 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.

It's the fear of it that's causing the reaction along the likes of value.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

I wasn't dismissing your point, so I'm not sure why you think I was. But whatever works. I'm done here for the moment.

Then I misunderstood your post. I'll apologize for that.

I'm not in the best mood. I'm a little angry at the Windows Phone 8 launch; if that is what it could be called.

[HawkMan]

Would you care to elaborate what a "core engine" actually constitutes?

Also just FYI but, Unreal and CryENGINE are products and core revenue streams for their respecitve companies, maybe moreso in Epic's case. Source doesn't have regular "versions" because it's primary purpose isn't to be sold to 3rd-parties.

Think IE and Chrome.

Well since we're talking Linux anyway, think of ow Linux kernel is modular, yet they still need to add and remove Tartuffe to the kernel and update the base version.

Sure source is modular and has improved a lot, but even the latest source games are no match to the latest cry engine or UT

[f0rk_b0mb]

Why, I already wrote it, quite clearly. Not my fault you can't read.

And I said steam on android is just chat and community, if they're so angry about not being allowed to have steam on windows RT why don't they offer a full steam client on android as well. Because the point he's trying to make doesn't exist.

Read my full posts next time.

My bad. I see what your saying now. I have that 3PM feeling.

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.

My bad to you too, sir.

[CentralDogma]

I agree with the article. With the Windows Store and the Metro walled garden, Windows 8 is moving away from an open platform model.

Not sure why the OP changed the article, Windows 8 is still an open platform as you can still run tradition applications, but it?s introducing a closed platform.

[Athernar]

Well since we're talking Linux anyway, think of ow Linux kernel is modular, yet they still need to add and remove Tartuffe to the kernel and update the base version.

Sure source is modular and has improved a lot, but even the latest source games are no match to the latest cry engine or UT

I know what "modular" means, I'm asking you what a "engine core" encompasses, and what part of Source's "core" it is that needs replacing.

On a more personal note, while CryENGINE and UE are certainly technically more advanced than Source, I find Valve's recent Source titles to look far superior due to a focus on artstyle over raw graphics. CE/UE titles seem to be little more than low resolution textures with flagrant abuse of shaders to sweep said textures under.

[HawkMan]

Lets face it, this is just a ****ing match because MS would let valve fragment their steam engine backend into XBL. And let's also face it, that the oly reason Sony did was because they had to since they'd already let EA and a few others attach their own back ends to it, which only happened because PSN was incomplete at launch. I suspect when the next gen comes around I bet Sony will do what they can do get rid of the third party backend plugged into their system, though I think it's to late now.

MS however had a working solid online system and they had plans for a universal online system, and had most of it in place, for Xbox, phone and windows. With a fully working platform like this, they didn't need third parties to plug into it and make the experience unequal and inconsistent.

Wold it be nice if you could load your Xbox xcom save games from the steam cloud on PS xcom, sure for a very few users yeah, but it's hardly in MS interest, especially with what they'd have to sacrifice in control and potential stability. And what about the user, is the ate supposed to decide if they're saving to the live cloud or steam cloud, should it save to both, is the confused user supposed to decide ?

[Aergan]

To Gabe Newall & Steam Management Team:

Grow the **** up.

Kind regards,

Aergan

[HawkMan]

I know what "modular" means, I'm asking you what a "engine core" encompasses, and what part of Source's "core" it is that needs replacing.

On a more personal note, while CryENGINE and UE are certainly technically more advanced than Source, I find Valve's recent Source titles to look far superior due to a focus on artstyle over raw graphics. CE/UE titles seem to be little more than low resolution textures with flagrant abuse of shaders to sweep said textures under.

It's easy to make something look good when it's all white clean scifi. Not sure how you use the art style argument with CS:GO though... And it's a very limited view of game graphics and art. Or are you saying that CS:GO looks better than the recent frostbite games.

[deleted_acc]

this crap gets more boring each time

but okay, they should put their money where their mouth is: lock down steam client for windows version number 6.2 and go linux, then queue the army of angry gamers who had the bare faced cheek to buy a machine with windows 8

this is just demonising the competition, nothing new - go and have some lessons from the big guys Gabe

[NeoPogo]

Macintosh is an open platform. They have a optional App Store in case you want to use that. If you don't you can download ANYTHING from ANYWHERE by DEFAULT.

[Melfster]

Macintosh is an open platform. They have a optional App Store in case you want to use that. If you don't you can download ANYTHING from ANYWHERE by DEFAULT.

With desktop windows you can do the same thing. In fact it more open then anything apple has. Also the hardware is way more open then the Macintosh EVER will be.

[Athernar]

It's easy to make something look good when it's all white clean scifi. Not sure how you use the art style argument with CS:GO though... And it's a very limited view of game graphics and art. Or are you saying that CS:GO looks better than the recent frostbite games.

I'm still waiting for you to answer the question about the engine.

I was thinking more along the lines of Dota 2 and Portal 2, but sure. (You must not of actually played Portal 2 if you think it's all "white clean scifi".) Anyway, as I said, it's on a personal level - aka my opinion. I want to know your technical basis for saying why the "core engine" of Source needs to be replaced.

[ahhell]

Macintosh is an open platform. They have a optional App Store in case you want to use that. If you don't you can download ANYTHING from ANYWHERE by DEFAULT.

:rofl:

[PGHammer]

I care. I probably have 300-400 $ of games with them.

Valve is referring to "Metro" apps. It's a closed platform. The desktop you can install whatever the you want.

And if Valve is thinking that gamers have interest in WindowsRT, they need to change their pharmaceutical suppliers.

With limited exceptions for now, the sort of games the WinRT API is seeing are the same sort of games (if not the same games) common on iOS or Android - if anyone at Valve has been following Windows 8 at all, they would see this.

Is Valve the real-world model for GLaDoS (basically living in a bubble isolated from reality)?

[Azies]

Wow so many Windows 8 fanboys posting their one sided views here. Luckily for Valve and everyone else in the world, you guys don't have a say in what Valve does with their own products, and they're certainly entitled to their own opinion when it comes to their platform. If they want to bring it to Linux, then they can certainly bring it to Linux, it's not like they're going to drop Windows support, not when so many Non-Valve games support only Windows.

[PsYcHoKiLLa]

Literally stopped reading right there. This stuff is beyond nauseating at this point. Just stop, Valve.

It should read "Windows is now a competing store so we're going to do everything we can to bad mouth it"