
SteamOS: What we know so far and what to expect - galapago
http://steamdb.info/blog/34/
======
sandGorgon
I'm seriously curious about their sound and graphics framework more than the
actual games (unless it is HL3).

I am betting (and hoping) that they are going to start using Wayland as well
as a custom sound framework.

I also wonder if they are using a custom packaging format based on top of .deb
.

~~~
jcastro
From what they've said publicly they're pushing OpenGL and SDL, I don't see
why they would make up another sound framework.

~~~
sandGorgon
This is taken from their website - I dont know what they intended, but it sure
looks like a possibility.

 _In SteamOS, we have achieved significant performance increases in graphics
processing, and we’re now targeting audio performance and reductions in input
latency at the operating system level._

~~~
jcastro
They have a guy working on SDL directly, and they've been doing a bunch of
work around GL and working with driver manufacturers:

\-
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btNVfUygvio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btNVfUygvio)

\- [http://www.paranormal-
entertainment.com/idr/blog/posts/2012-...](http://www.paranormal-
entertainment.com/idr/blog/posts/2012-07-19T18:54:37Z-The_zombies_cometh/)

You could take the statement on the site to seem that they could be working on
their own stuff, but if you watch their video it seems that they are keen on
working on existing things like SDL and participating in the Khronos group
than building things from scratch.

~~~
cheald
They don't just have "a guy", they have Sam Lantinga, the guy who created SDL.
I don't know if he's working on it or not, but the fact that they have him at
the company speaks volumes about where they're headed.

------
sliverstorm
I'm surprised more people aren't talking about in-home streaming. To me, this
is something I've wanted for years. I've got a state-of-the-art machine I like
to keep in my basement (cooling), and with this I'll (hopefully) be able to
play hardware-intense games on my media center PC upstairs.

Just crossing my fingers that my 5-10Mbit powerline network is good enough.

~~~
nwh
Not something I've ever desired. Either in the home or externally rendered. In
the home there's absolutely no way my consumer hardware is going to to keep up
with 1080p or 2160p streaming over a network (heck HDMI barely manages), and
externally there's no way you can possibly play a game with the sort of
latency (400ms+) you get on Australian internet connections.

I can see why it would be attractive if you had a basement, but why not just
run a DisplayPort cable and USB?

~~~
jcastro
Consumer hardware handles 1080p streaming over a network just fine, have you
ever seen an Nvidia shield?

It streams PC games in 1080p to the mobile device and the control is then sent
back to the PC game. It works surprisingly well.

~~~
TsiCClawOfLight
He was talking about the future, and he's correct - what's gonna happen with
4k?

~~~
recursive
One of two things. 1) Network speeds and latency never improve, and it remains
forever impossible to stream 4k video. In this scenario, we can still stream
current "HD" video. 2) Network capacity improves, like it always has. 4k video
is no problem.

~~~
TillE
> The bit rate of the uncompressed 4K video stream can exceed 6 Gbit/s, which
> can be transmitted via a 10 Gbit/s network

[http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=444594...](http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/login.jsp?tp=&arnumber=4445944&url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fxpls%2Fabs_all.jsp%3Farnumber%3D4445944)

So we're already there, as long as you're set up for 10Gbit ethernet.

------
timc3
My serious hope for this is XBMC/Plex integrated and not some homegrown
TV/Video playback mechanism (Or the APIs for me to do it).

XBMC has many of the problems of video/movie/TV playback and library support
sorted and they can't hope to match it in the early days.

~~~
cbhl
Would codec patents would prevent them from bundling XBMC wholesale into
SteamOS?

~~~
Nikker
If it has a repo it could be easily installed via a meta package or a GUI
element. Integration of 'apt' and the Steam Store would be cool.

I may be incorrect but I believe most codec patents revolve around the
hardware implementations which would be covered through the hardware
acceleration components that exist in most modern CPU/GPUs.

------
thenomad
Hmm, I wonder if they'll manage to find some way to include Netflix support?

I know it's tricky for any Linux-based distribution to do, but if they did, I
know I'd be looking seriously at a Steam Box as my next media center,
replacing the PS3 that currently gently warms my TV stand.

------
je_bailey
Understanding that this is conjecture, I'm wondering if the list of games that
have steam controller configurations are indicators of games that they are
planning on running directly on the steam box itself. i.e. running native on
linux

~~~
valarauca1
I'll just go down the list and try to hit each item.

Counter-Strike: All versions are already linux supported.

Half-Life 2: Most are ported, the game engine is ported to linux.

Team Fortress 2: Ported to linux.

Left 4 Dead 2: Used as the original test bed of steam for linux [1], I'm
unware of if it has been ported.

Portal 2: Game Engine Ported, unaware of game's state.

Natural Selection 2: Developer has plans too, but game engine needs Direct3D
layer. Claims it can be over come. [2]

Bioshock Infinite: Has no plans to be ported to linux, but has been ported to
mac [3].

Civ V: Apparently supports PC/Mac/Linux/Unix according to its amazon page.

Serious Same BFE: Ported.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Can run in linux via wine [4] if you trust
that source, seems sketchy. But the publisher isn't linux friendly. [5] or
maybe it is [6]. We don't know for sure, this is a developping story.

Metro LL: Is ported.

DiRT3: Uses Games for Windows Live. There's a few non-legal hacks to get it
working but nothing offical.

BoardLands 2: Unreal Supports Linux [7], but there are no developer statements

A:tDD: Ported

Skyrim: Is actually Unsupported by their Developers (they've moved on to other
projects). So porting it now seems unlikely. [8]

At this point we can say Controller =/= Linux Support.

[1] [http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/faster-
zombies/](http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/faster-zombies/)

[2] [http://unknownworlds.com/ns2/spark-engine-questions-and-
answ...](http://unknownworlds.com/ns2/spark-engine-questions-and-answers-1-2/)

[3] [http://forums.2k.com/showthread.php?221791-Please-port-
Biosh...](http://forums.2k.com/showthread.php?221791-Please-port-Bioshock-
Infinite-to-Linux!&p=3056926#post3056926)

[4]
[http://community.callofduty.com/thread/200382760#.UqstR7TyRH...](http://community.callofduty.com/thread/200382760#.UqstR7TyRHY)

[5]
[http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTU0MTA](http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTU0MTA)

[6]
[http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTU0MjE](http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTU0MjE)

[7]
[http://www.unrealengine.com/licensing/faq/](http://www.unrealengine.com/licensing/faq/)

[8]
[http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/8469626270...](http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/846962627045969760/)

~~~
simoncion
NS2 is currently ported and works on Linux. They have an OGL, D3D9, and D3D11
renderer for the game: [http://unknownworlds.com/ns2/reinforced-expansion-
released/](http://unknownworlds.com/ns2/reinforced-expansion-released/)
(Search for "OpenGL")

~~~
TsiCClawOfLight
But it's AFAIK unplayable because of abysmal performance and random crashes.

~~~
simoncion
Yikes. It _is_ unplayable on ATI cards on the latest Ubuntu. I'll try rolling
a Gentoo install to see if the latest work on Mesa makes any of that shit
better.

FWIW, the OGL renderer works fine on Windows, albeit more slowly than the D3D9
renderer.

------
fit2rule
I'm totally ready to buy a Steam box. As soon as I possibly can, here in
Austria, Europe, I will.

Hurry up, because the only thing stopping me from doing it is the Valve Inc.'s
inability to navigate all the regulatory/cultural nonsense from: DELIVERING.

Steam delivers, so far. When it manifests in the hardware sense, it has got to
be global. The perception of locality is a real drag.

------
galapago
SteamOS will be available here:

[http://steampowered.com/steamosbeta](http://steampowered.com/steamosbeta)

(now it's 404)

------
Shorel
Yes, they have to make a custom distro.

Currently Ubuntu's Unity in Saucy has big drawbacks for gaming. I just tried
last night to play Brutal Legend, to test my new gamepad.

Unity makes the game unable to fully be fullscreen.

The same happens with any Windows game via Wine.

I love Ubuntu for developing stuff, but they need to fix a lot of stuff to
compete with Windows in gaming.

~~~
k_bx
Removing Unity is completely different from removing whole Ubuntu, really.

p.s.: I hope Unity gets these sorted out, since it's really the best DE I
know.

~~~
TsiCClawOfLight
try awesome, it's awesome. :P

------
jljljl
I'm sure this has already been described somewhere, but if I install SteamOS,
do they provide a compatibility layer so that I can play games without Linux
support? Or will I need to dual boot Windows?

~~~
fluffyllemon
Well, there's this:

"In-home Streaming

You can play all your Windows and Mac games on your SteamOS machine, too. Just
turn on your existing computer and run Steam as you always have - then your
SteamOS machine can stream those games over your home network straight to your
TV!"

[http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/](http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/)

------
paigosa
Are the steam-specific parts open or closed source? If closed is there any
chance of them providing a blob for other distros?

------
philliphaydon
Based on Valves inability to update DOTA2 without 3-5 days of no server
accesss, every time they update... I have absolutely NO hope for SteamOS...

~~~
philliphaydon
Clearly theres no gamers posting in this thread then.

~~~
TsiCClawOfLight
Valve is doing a pretty good job in my experience. I don't play DOTA, but I
was pretty hardcore CS gamer for a time.

~~~
philliphaydon
The last 4 major updates to DOTA 2, have been unplayable for about 2-5 days.
They did an update earlier today, my friend in Australia hasn't played all day
because servers are down. I can't play in Singapore at 2-10am, servers are
still down...

[http://steamcommunity.com/app/570/discussions/0/648814395709...](http://steamcommunity.com/app/570/discussions/0/648814395709439676/)

