The All New Gabriel Newell's Digital Wonder Emporium, aka, The Steam Update Thread

Scratched wrote:

Have I missed something, because as far as I remember I've heard nothing to link Valve/steam and the PS4. They did that one game, one event isn't really a pattern.

Yeah, but it had the potential to start that pattern, and probably would have, had EA not gone all stupid with the way they dealt with Valve and Origin.

Dysplastic wrote:

Am I the only one who is more excited by Steam Client Updates than by next-gen console announcements?

Not quite, but I'm close to feeling that way (even though I enjoy console gaming too). Valve's done a lot more for Windows gaming in the last decade (primarily the last 5 years) than MS has done since.... I'm not sure. DirectX, maybe? As far as I'm concerned Valve is the de facto platform owner so major client updates are a big deal.

It's also that they're updating their 5+ year old games and keeping them modern, when they could just let them bit-rot. In the case of TF2 they claim it'll be improving loading performance.

Scratched wrote:

It's also that they're updating their 5+ year old games and keeping them modern, when they could just let them bit-rot. In the case of TF2 they claim it'll be improving loading performance.

I'm still waiting for them to add DirectX 10+ support to Source. Really a shame they haven't by now.

shoptroll wrote:
Dysplastic wrote:

Am I the only one who is more excited by Steam Client Updates than by next-gen console announcements?

Not quite, but I'm close to feeling that way (even though I enjoy console gaming too). Valve's done a lot more for Windows gaming in the last decade (primarily the last 5 years) than MS has done since.... I'm not sure. DirectX, maybe? As far as I'm concerned Valve is the de facto platform owner so major client updates are a big deal.

Yup. Gaming on a PC is Steam.

Thoughts that have gone through my head before:
What, I've got a game that's not on Steam? Can I launch it through Steam? What, I can't, well how can I tell people I'm playing / want to play with them if Steam isn't showing I'm in game? Well, guess I'm less inclined to want to play this game that doesn't show up in Steam, now.

shoptroll wrote:
Scratched wrote:

It's also that they're updating their 5+ year old games and keeping them modern, when they could just let them bit-rot. In the case of TF2 they claim it'll be improving loading performance.

I'm still waiting for them to add DirectX 10+ support to Source. Really a shame they haven't by now.

Is OpenGL a good competition to DirectX?

I always wondered, as TF2 (I guess source as well) do run on OpenGL, and it seems nice.

Guess I'll need a quick read on that.

Source engine games run on OpenGL on Mac and Linux. Unfortunately, they tend to run like garbage.

OpenGL graphics wise is on par with DirectX. The main difference is that DirectX includes more than just graphics (including audio and input), while OpenGL focuses only on graphics.

Mac and Linux run poorly just because they don't get the same tender love and care as windows.

Unfortunately, they tend to run like garbage.

On Linux, if you have NVidia hardware, and you're using their closed-source drivers (which are really the Windows drivers, with thin shim layers in the kernel and in the X drivers, so that they make the correct calls into the Windows binaries), then they run lickety-split.

They tend not to run well on the Mac, because Apple usually chooses kind of sh*t video hardware, and then their graphic drivers are focused on correctness, not speed. Source games kind of suck on the Mac. And they're not very good on the open source drivers on any PC hardware.

But on Linux, running the closed NVidia binaries, Source games will usually run faster than under Windows on the same hardware. If you choose your hardware and drivers carefully, you can run Source games, under Linux, better than you do now.

TF2 on this machine is gloriously quick.

shoptroll wrote:
Scratched wrote:

It's also that they're updating their 5+ year old games and keeping them modern, when they could just let them bit-rot. In the case of TF2 they claim it'll be improving loading performance.

I'm still waiting for them to add DirectX 10+ support to Source. Really a shame they haven't by now.

I seem to remember a presentation (from here. I think it's the "Post Processing in The Orange Box." one from 2008) that they have run source in DX10, and also when they were doing the 360 console port.

For an engine that was designed around DX9, and they wouldn't be adding support for the new features or rewriting all their shaders, and they wouldn't be overhauling their games to make use of it, I can't really get too excited about DX10/11. Thinking about the kentie unreal DX10 renderer, the biggest benefit is that it's a modern maintainable game. Any added efficiency/speed is nice, but modern computers can brute force it pretty well.

Malor wrote:
Unfortunately, they tend to run like garbage.

On Linux, if you have NVidia hardware, and you're using their closed-source drivers (which are really the Windows drivers, with thin shim layers in the kernel and in the X drivers, so that they make the correct calls into the Windows binaries), then they run lickety-split.

They tend not to run well on the Mac, because Apple usually chooses kind of sh*t video hardware, and then their graphic drivers are focused on correctness, not speed. Source games kind of suck on the Mac.

On my '09 iMac, TF2, CS:S, and HL2 run as well in OS X as does in XP (i.e. very well). Same with L4D2 (i.e. very poorly, in both).

shoptroll wrote:

Angry Birds Space is now in the store.

The singularity cometh?

Not yet. Wait until it's available for Linux.

Now with Early Access

A category for in development games you can buy now.

Scratched wrote:

Now with Early Access

A category for in development games you can buy now.

Very cool, and given how many games are already using the system to handle private betas I guess this was probably inevitable. Odd that Don't Starve isn't listed in there.

shoptroll wrote:

Odd that Don't Starve isn't listed in there.

I was going to say probably because its release date is next week, but I just checked the store page and apparently it's been pushed to April 23.

MeatMan wrote:
shoptroll wrote:

Odd that Don't Starve isn't listed in there.

I was going to say probably because its release date is next week, but I just checked the store page and apparently it's been pushed to April 23.

That's probably not enough time for them to do the application process and all that to get listed in the Early Access section.

Interesting. Kinetic Void is there. Already kickstarted that and supposed to be getting alpha/beta keys today.

There is a game called Drunken Robot Pornography. I'm tempted to buy it on the name alone.

tanstaafl wrote:

There is a game called Drunken Robot Pornography. I'm tempted to buy it on the name alone.

I'm looking forward to checking that out. It's a local developer and I've liked what I played of Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! even though this looks nothing like that.

tanstaafl wrote:

There is a game called Drunken Robot Pornography. I'm tempted to buy it on the name alone.

That's gotta be the new Sparkle Ponies, regardless of worth.

shoptroll wrote:
tanstaafl wrote:

There is a game called Drunken Robot Pornography. I'm tempted to buy it on the name alone.

I'm looking forward to checking that out. It's a local developer and I've liked what I played of Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! even though this looks nothing like that.

Oh, it's Dejobaan! They are insane, but in a awesome way. Aaaaaaah! was neat and I've heard good things about their previous stuff.

psoplayer wrote:

Aaaaaaah! was neat

Based on your Steam profile, you'd probably like Drop That Beat as well. It looks like that combines Audiosurf's level generation via music files with Aaaaah!'s mechanics. Which reminds me that I should probably re-install it since I haven't touched it since the Portal 2 ARG.

shoptroll wrote:

Based on your Steam profile, you'd probably like Drop That Beat as well.

Thank's for the rec. I noticed that Drop That Beat was one of the few games in the initial launch of Early Access. Wasn't that game out for realzies in 2011?

Just to lighten the mood up a bit, has there ever been any discussion on what will happen to our Steam libraries when we die? Will we be able to pass on our Steam account to one of our kids?

FSeven wrote:

Just to lighten the mood up a bit, has there ever been any discussion on what will happen to our Steam libraries when we die? Will we be able to pass on our Steam account to one of our kids?

Legally, the account is non-transferable as far as I know. I don't see them changing that ever.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
FSeven wrote:

Just to lighten the mood up a bit, has there ever been any discussion on what will happen to our Steam libraries when we die? Will we be able to pass on our Steam account to one of our kids?

Legally, the account is non-transferable as far as I know. I don't see them changing that ever.

I have a deal with my brother-in-law. If I die he will take over my Steam account in exchange for wiping my computer

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
FSeven wrote:

Just to lighten the mood up a bit, has there ever been any discussion on what will happen to our Steam libraries when we die? Will we be able to pass on our Steam account to one of our kids?

Legally, the account is non-transferable as far as I know. I don't see them changing that ever.

Curious to see how they'll deal with my account, that was created in 1996 by a 22-year old, continuing to be used in 2074 apparently by a 100-year old me but actually my 17-year old grandson with a long dead grandpa.

I don't think there's anything they can really do. The instance where they can do something is if there is a record of selling the account on eBay or something like that.