Quoting: NeverthelessMohandevir said it should support 64bit Linux and Vulkan only.

False... You assumed. I meant x64 hardware. Our actual hardware configs are such devices. As for Vulkan, I meant for future releases... This is my bad, this time, I wasn't clear enough.

Quoting: Purple Library GuyThe major problems with Steam Machines were not, even then, that there weren't enough games in terms of numbers. The problems were lack of multimedia integration, lack of polish/finish, insufficient big high profile current AAA games, lack of a massive marketing push, and price. And some technical issues around graphics and drivers.

Exactly. As for the price, this is whre I think that Valve could have a major advantage with a specific set of harware; it's possible to produce it in large quantity... Economies of scale, they say in english? Add to this some form of promotion... Sell it under cost or give some form of Steam store credit... Just ideas.

Thing is, 1000$ USD for a mid range mini gaming rig... The PC gamers said "I can do better on my own" and the console gamers said "Way too expensive". It missed both marks.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: Nevertheless

Quoting: Mohandevir

Quoting: Nevertheless

Quoting: MohandevirGoogle Stadia... Atari VCS... I still wonder if we'll ever see a Linux gaming system that starts with a "Bang! Nailed it!".

It's not impossible... Sony's Playstation is similar to a BSD platform... They did it.

They did it because they could legally own the underlying pre-existing operating system, and because it's relatively easy to support uniform hardware of dedicated vendors with drivers. It did not help people wanting to play games on their BSD boxes.
To support Desktop Linux means wanting to support open gaming on a wide variety of hardware and drivers.

Totally... Still, I'm wondering what would have happened if Valve decided to go all in in the Console market with a Steam Machine initiative like Microsoft's Xbox. I mean, with a dedicated Steam Machine store that's a subset of what you may find in the desktop client (100% Linux/Proton and controller supported titles only) and optimized for the Steam Machine (dedicated hardware built by Valve)... But the games you buy on the Steam Machines' store are then available and synced on any other desktop clients...

Well we'll never know, I guess...

Maybe Valve is sort of "all in" already. The question is what they want to achieve.
I think you have to look at the revenue side and the expenditure side. Someone who wants to market a closed console system like XBox, has to spend money to solve a manageable technical problem. The more defined the hardware and OS to be supported, the smaller the amount of money needed. Much more money is needed to get developers to support the console with games and to establish the platform on the market. In return, the owner of the platform earns an exclusive share on the software, while the hardware is often sold at a loss in the beginning.
Valve seems to pursue (or have to pursue) the exact opposite goal with its Linux initiative. An open system consisting of various hardware and OS variants, which even starts the (partly outdated) software of other platforms, sometimes even coming from other distribution platforms. It is the approach which needs the biggest technical effort, but has the advantage of lots of existing software. They get money for all they sell on the Steam shop and support the software they already sold. The Steam Machine plus Steam Controller could have been an attempt to standardize the hardware and the controller concept. This didn't work very well, baybe partly because the Steam Machines weren't nessessary to use the software.
I also see the VCS as a kind of in-between thing with a uniform controller concept for Atari retro software and the possibility for other more open uses, which probably will be very limited considering the performance of the hardware, and from which Atari won't earn anything or at least not much.

You got my point. Thing is Valve tried a "middle" solution that resulted in a confusing offer... Was it to bring PC gamers to the console market, or console gamers to the PC market? They failed at both. Nobody knew who it was for.

I think it could have been possible to create a pure Linux based console (SteamOS, remember?), based on one or two sets of x64 PC hardware built by Valve (Just like the Atari VCS) and support the PC market as two separate offers, that would benefit both, software side (it's all open source afterall); one for the console gamers and one for the PC gamers. Yes, it requires more investments and that's what I would have liked to see. More investments also means more determination.

This said, don't get me wrong, Valve is doing awesome things for Linux on the desktop and I'm really thankful for that, but for the Steam Machine thing, they seem to have got it off the door, and never looked at it again. Like they knew, from the start, that it would fail. Just maintaining SteamOS looked like it became a burden, early on.

But I'm no insider and I don't want to underestimate the work of anyone. The guys who worked directly on the project have all my admiration (PLGriffais, Timothee Besset, JVert and others I can't remember)... It's just my impressions.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: dubigrasuIt does look a bit cheap. Looks like a crappy router or something, not a console.

So true! :D

View this comment - View article - View full comments

From the official Q&A (bold from me):

"Q: Will the Atari VCS have original games, native apps, or a browser experience?

Michael Arzt: All three. The Atari VCS will be a gateway to a mix of original games and native apps. The primary way to access games and services will be through the proprietary Atari VCS interface and app store. If a service is not available as an app on our platform at launch, it can still be accessed through the internet browser. Content will include classic, new, and indie games from both Atari and third-party developers, along with entertainment apps for streaming video content, including TV shows and movies."

If it's true, that could make it interresting. The Anstream service announcment they made, a couple of months ago, was a major let down.

But I'm still very skeptical of the whole process. Too many weird things happened during development not to be...

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: ShmerlDP is also more advanced technology, HDMI is limited in comparison.

Yeah, remember that part. Nearly twice the bandwidth.

Found my original read:
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2030669/hdmi-vs-displayport-which-display-interface-reigns-supreme.html

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: Shmerl

Quoting: tuubiPlenty of TV sets with no DP inputs, but all of them have HDMI. I doubt this is such a no-go for most of their target audience.

That's due to HDMI cartel, not the reason to skip proper DP on any computer.

Am I wrong to say that HDMI is a proprietary tech and DP is open source (or at least free)?
Read something about that, not long ago...

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Am I seeing right? The power button is behind the unit? I suppose it can be turned on/off with the controllers... But it's still a weird decision, imo. :)

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: Nevertheless

Quoting: MohandevirGoogle Stadia... Atari VCS... I still wonder if we'll ever see a Linux gaming system that starts with a "Bang! Nailed it!".

It's not impossible... Sony's Playstation is similar to a BSD platform... They did it.

They did it because they could legally own the underlying pre-existing operating system, and because it's relatively easy to support uniform hardware of dedicated vendors with drivers. It did not help people wanting to play games on their BSD boxes.
To support Desktop Linux means wanting to support open gaming on a wide variety of hardware and drivers.

Totally... Still, I'm wondering what would have happened if Valve decided to go all in in the Console market with a Steam Machine initiative like Microsoft's Xbox. I mean, with a dedicated Steam Machine store that's a subset of what you may find in the desktop client (100% Linux/Proton and controller supported titles only) and optimized for the Steam Machine (dedicated hardware built by Valve)... But the games you buy on the Steam Machines' store are then available and synced on any other desktop clients...

Well we'll never know, I guess...

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Google Stadia... Atari VCS... I still wonder if we'll ever see a Linux gaming system that starts with a "Bang! Nailed it!".

It's not impossible... Sony's Playstation is similar to a BSD platform... They did it.

Steam Machines had a lot of hype and were well tought, but the ecosystem was too lacking... If it could get a second chance, as things stand currently, it might be different, but Valve seems to be geared toward VR only.

Oh well...

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: SalvatosAre you guys saying that you can control the camera by just tilting the SC sideways?

Exactly! Right thumb on the trackpad activates the gyroscope (even that is configurable). You may even make it a steering wheel for a racing game! Did it for Dirt and Grid games.

Edit:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/353370/discussions/0/496881136922527792/

Thing is, there are many community created templates that you don't need to tweak... Just a quick search should be enough to load one that fits your needs.

View this comment - View article - View full comments