Quoting: ElectricPrismIs this the case?

Yes.

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Moving forward, we encourage all soundtracks to use the new app type, rather than DLC.

I would prefer this be required rather than optional moving forwards, and applied automatically for prior releases (unless a publisher opts out). Perhaps I'm being too cynical, but I expect that some publishers won't retroactively apply this to older releases even with "a tool [provided to them by Valve] that can automate the conversion of that DLC to use the new app type". I think this subset of publishers would have to believe that the modicum of time required on their part would lead to a marked increase in score/soundtrack revenue for these older releases, otherwise I don't think they would bother, even though changing it requires so little of them; they certainty won't do it for the sake of consumer convenience. I've noticed some publishers who never even apply sales promotions to their scores on Steam. Maybe this will change; one can only hope. I don't think any of the ones I've noticed suffered from issues such as the publisher no longer existing or there being third-party record labels involved (I am more interested in original scores in which often the game publisher is the music rights holder rather than recycled soundtrack collections which obviously can involve a bevy of rights holders).

I do welcome this though. Moving forwards I do think it will bring an end to issues such as when the original game release has a score or soundtrack available as DLC, but the gold/GOTY/etc edition doesn't (or vice versa), since new scores/soundtracks probably won't continue to be categorized as DLC. While I can see some publishers not bothering to lift a finger to recategorize old score/soundtrack DLC (unless they thought it would generate a fair bit more revenue), I can't imagine why any publisher wouldn't use the new app type category for new musical releases. Still, I wish it were required, rather than leaving it to publishers' whims. Anyone who wants to buy a score/soundtrack on Steam without owning the base game should be able to so.

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Quoting: GingerJesusI wouldn't be surprised if that were to happen. The same sort of thing happened in the 90's/early 2000s. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0n5B3fl-bU [External Link]

Dactyl Nightmare [External Link]. Ah, the memories. That was such a novelty they didn't put it inside the arcade at my local shopping mall, instead they placed it in the mall promenade so passersby could gawk at the players. The only other arcade attractions I remember ever being displayed in the promenade were a couple of roller coaster simulators. Even with the public promotion, none of them came close to attracting the throng that Street Fighter II did in the arcade.

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If this were Actuary Simulator, Interactive Pet Rock Collection, or Shuffleboard 2020, I might be interested. But who has ever heard of Half-Life? Sounds like a cheap asset flip to me.

When VR hardware with few compromises reaches the $299 price point and supports Linux, call me. It would probably spend 90% of its life in my tech closet as opposed to actually being used, but at least I would feel less guilty about it.

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For a service like Stadia, family sharing is the type of thing I would want ironed out before launch.

Stadia's code of conduct (http://g.co/stadia/conduct [External Link] isn't available as of the time of this post, but I would like to see it, particularly if Stadia has or will have integrated chat. I don't watch Markiplier, but as I understand it, some of his viewers recently had their accounts suspended for spamming emoticons (with his blessing) in his YouTube chat.

Given that Stadia currently doesn't feature ads in the UI (based on what I've seen of it), I am interested to know what cut of game sales Google receives. I am also curious to see the degree to which Stadia will be integrated with YouTube. Most conjecture I have seen has been focused on whether Stadia is targeted at the console market or the PC market (or both), but it may prove to be as much of a salvo against Twitch (encourage and facilitate Stadia users to stream gameplay on YouTube, and encourage and facilitate YouTube views such as having a Stadia overlay which accesses relevant game-related YouTube content).
"Twitch Continues to Dominate Live Streaming with Its Second Biggest Quarter to Date [External Link]" (2019 July)
"More People Are Streaming on Twitch but YouTube Is the Platform of Choice for Mobile Game Streamers [External Link]" (2019 Feb)

Chrome already dominates the browser market, but I'm not enthusiastic about Stadia essentially promoting the Chrome (and wider Google) ecosystem. It increasingly feels to me like the Internet is Google's world, we just live in it. While I do not deny the investment Google has in open source and the code contributions it has made, that Google uses Linux and other open-source software to advance its holdings is of little comfort to me, just as Microsoft having more (identifiable) employees actively contributing to open-source projects on GitHub than any other company [External Link] (dating back to at least 2016) is of little comfort to me.

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When taking total cost of ownership into account, I do hope a library of Stadia games proves to be an accessible luxury for people who have heretofore been priced out of the market. Games preservation, mod support, lack of offline access, etc are further removed on the hierarchy of wants/values for the person who doesn't have particularly viable means of gaming without cloud gaming. As it currently stands, cloud gaming isn't for me; I lose more value than I gain.

However, a potential exception for me is that I am interested in how cloud-computing resources could aid in rendering seamless, incredibly expansive and detailed experiences that wouldn't be feasible on even the beefiest gaming rig. That being said, I am skeptical. Game developers frequently don't do an outstanding job fleshing out content on a small scale let alone on a massive scale. This is not necessarily their fault; they are subject to resource constraints as well as internal and external pressures. I don't think most publishers would be receptive to letting games incubate longer in development than they already do even if the games were much more intricate, and I'm not interested in a half-assed game in which the actual content is sparse, it's just spread over a procedurally-generated sprawling expanse, or a game where character models and mannerisms are incredibly detailed but the game is bereft of story, purpose, or entertainment.

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Quoting: Luke_NukemCan someone GIMP this image? You know what needs to be done.

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We all know who really loves Linux.

My only previous experience with image manipulation was inserting Janet Yellen [External Link] and Jack Lew [External Link] into American Gothic [External Link], so you get what you pay for:


Image References
1. https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2018/04/microsoft-linux-custom-kernel-azure-sphere [External Link]
2. https://www.geekwire.com/2019/valve-hit-illegal-gambling-lawsuit-native-american-nation-operates-casino-washington-state/ [External Link]
3. https://www.wired.com/2013/07/wireduk-valve-jeri-ellsworth/ [External Link]

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Quoting: rustybroomhandleThe wall in this case is shifting from being Windows, to Microsoft services that can exist on other platforms.

A point I've argued for a few years is that in this day and age the core platform shouldn't necessarily be thought of at the operating system level, at least not locally. While I think Bill Gates is an asshole (and no amount of charity is going to change that), I will credit him for saying as much in 1995 (i.e. the potential to essentially commoditize the operating system such that it doesn't matter if you're running Windows, macOS, or Linux, what matters is what browser you use, what cloud computing platform you use, etc). We are on the cusp of this. The gates (no pun intended) and the gatekeepers become more obfuscated, but they are still there.

These are all corporations, and they act in their own interests. Sometimes those interests align with things we care about (e.g. open source, cross-platform multiplayer, etc), but when any of these companies support those things, it is merely a means to an end for them, not the end in and of itself. Let me be clear that I am not suggesting that they have all been equal in their positive and/or negative impacts. Obviously, Valve stands head and shoulders above Epic Games, Activision Blizzard, etc in terms of desirability, but Valve doesn't do what it does in order to be the good guy. Valve could have brought its games to other digital distribution platforms for example, but there is no real percentage in it for Valve to do that, so it hasn't happened.

Sheesh, remember when Tim Sweeney railed against UWP, and mentioned that Microsoft wanted to "monopolise games development on PC [External Link]" and that "they’re trying to force this thing on the industry and it’s woefully inadequate for the tasks they’re trying to serve it for [External Link]"? Seems like a lifetime ago, given Epic Game's current exclusives strategy and its woefully inadequate store and launcher. Tim is a shining example that all of these actors should be regarded with a healthy dose of skepticism.

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I've been organizing my library (across games, videos, and tools), and I find myself wishing I could create hierarchies to collections.

E.g. Rather than jumbling 52 Steam Dev Days videos with other videos, I would prefer to create a collection (e.g. "Steam Dev Days") or two (e.g. "Steam Dev Days 2016" and "Steam Dev Days 2014") for just those Steam Dev Days videos, but have the ability to include that collection in one or more broader video collections (e.g. "Gaming Industry" or "Valve", etc).

E.g. Rather than have 16 Telltale Games Sam & Max episodic listings mixed with single-listing games, instead create 3 collections (specifically "Sam & Max Save the World", "Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space", and "Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse"), then include those 3 collections in broader collections (e.g. "Telltale Games" or "Adventure Games" or "LucasArts Spiritual Successors" or "Sam & Max", etc).

Edit: I am glad that microtransactionless free-to-play games are now visible in my library while they are uninstalled (without needing to hide them).

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As to be expected, the dynamic collections are only as accurate as the individual games' details are. As a test, I created two dynamic collections, one for games with achievements, and one for games with trading cards, but some games with achievements (e.g. 103, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, etc.) and/or trading cards (Stacking, Super Hexagon, etc.) are left uncategorized as they exclude mention of achievements and/or trading cards in their app details block [External Link].

At least they don't rely on user-defined tags for filtering dynamic collections. Cyberpunk 2077 is still tagged "dating sim".

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