It's Official: Valve Releasing Steam, Source Engine For Linux!

[Yfrwlf]

So, is it official yet?

Nope, still just rumors and some files to suggest the possibility of a future commitment to supporting Linux. Far from official.

[V!NCENT]

@Yfrwlf,
Log in with your stored credentials. You have to do this only once, just like you would have to go to a store to buy the retail DVD...

OK I am a DRM corporate sellout, you got me! But you are an overly frustrated dude. Don't know which is worse...

PS: I get $9999,99/month for astroturfing

[pingufunkybeat]

Yfrwlf, "Amnesia" is accepting pre-orders, and they are considerably cheaper than the full price. It's a new game (similar to the Penumbra series), not an expansion pack.

[benmoran]

From the Half-Life 2 banner in the Steam store:

Supports cross-platform Steam Cloud: continue your game on [B]any supported OS[/B]

Ah HA!



I'd be happy if this was indeed true. I actually went ahead and bought the Orange Box, and one other indie game that runs well on Wine. I figure i'll stick to buying Source Engine stuff just in case we do get Steam, as those titles will surely be ported. If we never do, at least those games are always playable through Wine.

[Yfrwlf]

@Yfrwlf,
Log in with your stored credentials. You have to do this only once, just like you would have to go to a store to buy the retail DVD...

OK I am a DRM corporate sellout, you got me! But you are an overly frustrated dude. Don't know which is worse...

PS: I get $9999,99/month for astroturfing

Frustration with corporations, since they've managed to steal the majority of everyone's pie and brought the quality of life down for the entire world, for one thing, yes, not that some corporations can't have morals, though I can definitely say many do not (particularly the big ones).

I can fully understand your reasons for putting up with DRM and I sympathize. Your choice is either that giant bandwagon, or what remains, which with Linux you're already a minority and somewhat hard-pressed for entertainment of that nature. At least Linux is a community in which there's already a push for freedom in general, so that helps models other than the typical closed-source DRM models used by the majority of programmers, or at least their companies, as a whole.

You can buy into these models which lock you down and take away some of your freedom as you wish, but the point I mean to make is simply that DRM = bad, always, period, because it takes away some of your freedom. Which is more free, open source DRM-less software, or close source DRM-full software? They WOULD find alternatives if they were forced to, and they will be forced to when you decide to not buy into DRMed models. Your wallet is the only vote you have really, so use it wisely.

What's important is that the more consumers who say "no" to DRM, the more companies would, and should, push products and methods for delivering them which are successful while still granting maximum freedom for you. If everyone said no to DRMed software, there would be a MAJOR push for alternate systems like bounties.

If you think such a system is too far away from happening right now, on the contrary, I think the consumers are primed for bounty systems due to the already years in advance hype which are generated for programs that aren't even out yet. If every gaming company, for example, wanted to switch to a bounty model, it could easily be done. Sure, they'd get much less money than they get now, but they would soon begin to recoup that money especially going with an open source bounty model, because developing games would become much easier as there would be much better code recycling. So much development effort is wasted just because so much code is closed.

Any way, I prefer to support those models instead, and say no to any DRM. My choice. ^^

Yfrwlf, "Amnesia" is accepting pre-orders, and they are considerably cheaper than the full price. It's a new game (similar to the Penumbra series), not an expansion pack.

Yes, which was the main thing I was thinking of, but of course many projects including open source ones do pre-orders/bounties. I didn't care too much for the series myself, not enough physics puzzles, and the rest was just atmosphere and wandering, which could be good but I just found the gameplay and other aspects a bit lacking and a turnoff and the movies I've seen just haven't convinced me that the gameplay would be enjoyable.

The pre-orders get you some bonus content which is cool, and they don't support DRM which is also good.

From the Half-Life 2 banner in the Steam store:

Supports cross-platform Steam Cloud: continue your game on [B]any supported OS[/B]

Ah HA!

I'd be happy if this was indeed true. I actually went ahead and bought the Orange Box, and one other indie game that runs well on Wine. I figure i'll stick to buying Source Engine stuff just in case we do get Steam, as those titles will surely be ported. If we never do, at least those games are always playable through Wine.

On any OS which they support, yeah, which is not currently Linux.

For your sake, they better allow Mac and Windows users the ability to pay once and play either version, otherwise you'll be stuck playing the Windows version of the Orange Box even if they do start supporting Linux.

[murak]

[IMG] Uploaded with ImageShack.us[/IMG]

[Dragonlord]

It's hilarious to speak of "freedom" and to praise "open source". OS is crap. It's a disguise to make you belief you get actually free software (aka FS) but in truth it gives you only a glass cube with the sources inside: view yes, touching prohibited!

Now concerning the pay what you want model I think it's bad. It should be pay to support future projects. Because if you play a game why pay afterwards for what you just "had"? It's better to pay for upcoming titles, to support the company/indie-team in question to bring you another stunning game. Of course adding an option to also pay for the current title for those feeling the need for it is a good idea but I expect not many people to pay for what they had. It's just the entirely wrong label, especially a label which marks linux as "cheap bastards" or a platform where you can "play without pay". In my opinion these indie moves there are as bad as (possibly but not happening soon) Steam on Linux (and therefore DRM on linux).

[pingufunkybeat]

It's hilarious to speak of "freedom" and to praise "open source". OS is crap. It's a disguise to make you belief you get actually free software (aka FS) but in truth it gives you only a glass cube with the sources inside: view yes, touching prohibited!

No, I can't resist this.

I have to ask.

Would you mind explaining this in more detail?

[thebwt]

No, I can't resist this.

I have to ask.

Would you mind explaining this in more detail?

lol I know right... I'm wondering why that one is here, he obviously doesn't know anything about the topic...

[pingufunkybeat]

I'm thinking that it might have to do something about ESR vs. RMS and OSI vs. FSF, but it still wouldn't make much sense, so I asked.