It's Been Four Years Since Revealing Many Early Steam Linux Details

[phoronix]

Phoronix: It's Been Four Years Since Revealing Many Early Steam Linux Details

I just realized this morning it's been four years since I was out at Valve HQ learning the early, exclusive details about their Steam Linux plans (and what would become SteamOS and Steam Machines) from Gabe Newell and their Linux cabal...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Steam-Linux-Details-Trip-Four

[boxie]

The biggest contribution I think Valve have made reflects in the > 50% of my steam games being available on Linux. Thanks Valve!

And with that extra focus on getting games working on Linux - the graphics drivers have had renewed focus.

And with that - AMD have become much, much more open to open source.

Times are good

[AsuMagic]

I'd totally love being able to enforce starting Windows games under Linux/SteamOS with a custom commandline easily so advanced users could bridge it with Wine or anything else (or binding to another executable, e.g. start SKSE for Skyrim instead of the launcher), and that wouldn't only apply to this. That would be the kind of easy thing to implement, it's not the best solution but at least it would give a decent workaround.

[Kushan]

It's all good stuff, but I am slightly worried that the uptake in Linux doesn't seem to be there. Each time the platform numbers are released, Linux just doesn't move.

[Saladien]

I think they really need to put money in the steam machines(and port games themselves or make huge steamos only sales etc). But if they dont want to give people great hardware for a low price then there wont be an uptake.

[Aisyk]

I think valve is a great company for Linux, Their work for SteamOS brings more and more avancements for softwares and drivers (think about inputs, graphics...).

I hope Vulkan and others can bring to Linux more power efficiency and performances for newest and older hardware on Linux.

[AsuMagic]

I think valve is a great company for Linux, Their work for SteamOS brings more and more avancements for softwares and drivers (think about inputs, graphics...).

I hope Vulkan and others can bring to Linux more power efficiency and performances for newest and older hardware on Linux.

It already does. But if Microsoft keeps boycotting Vulkan to promote DX12 as they always did with OpenGL, not much will change. I just don't believe Vulkan is going to be a revolution for Linux sale counts.

[hajj_3]

and yet no-one uses steam os and no-one buys steamboxes. From a commercial standpoint valve really messed up with the steambox/steamos thing. They should have just created their own console called steambox, that way people would actually use it. I suspect that there are a lot of game developers that regret creating linux ports thinking that the steambox concept was going to be a success.

[bridgman]

It's amazing what people will do for a case of good beer, isn't it

It's all good stuff, but I am slightly worried that the uptake in Linux doesn't seem to be there. Each time the platform numbers are released, Linux just doesn't move.

AFAIK SteamOS systems don't get counted as "Linux" yet... I think it's because the survey code doesn't run on them, but don't remember for sure.

[AsuMagic]

It's amazing what people will do for a case of good beer, isn't it



AFAIK SteamOS systems don't get counted as "Linux" yet... I think it's because the survey code doesn't run on them, but don't remember for sure.

That's kinda... Surprising. I don't see what would prevent this. Isn't it just Steam running in big picture ontop of Debian, isn't it?
And there's another problem : All Wine users are counted as Windows users, aren't they? If they don't fix all of those issues, the surveys are useless to rely on.