News Valve encouraging gamers to try Linux

Yeah, sucks to be in a low-budget family....


I'd love to use Linux, as I prefer it, and have little Windows dependency... Other than the wireless card.

 

Based on what I saw, most articles relating to your wifi driver not working in 64 bit were pretty old (old in linux terms is like 2 years). Worst case scenario, you could just stick with 32 bit. Most proprietary linux software is 32 bit x86 and if you have more than 4GB of RAM, the PAE extension has a miniscule performance impact.

 

When Valve move some more games over I'll be more than happy to dual boot again (which has become more of an issue since my UEFI install of Win 7).

 

The chicken came first. The chicken produces the OC-17 protein that is involved in egg shell formation.

Anyhoo...

I've tried linux, I've liked some of them - in parts. The one reason I didn't stick with any distro is because I like to game and, at for the time being, that means I run Windows.

Steam are taking a first step, I would happily change in the future but for the time being I won't be joining (I have very few Steam games anyway). I will keep an eye on how it goes and good on them for dipping their toe in.

 

Fedora boots nicely with secure boot, but it is not as painless to install Steam.

 

Actually the egg came first. Chickens evolved from creatures that also laid eggs. After all, lots of different animals lay eggs...

 

I have Ubuntu 12.04 and steam on its own SSD and it was totally painless. Install Ubuntu>update>go to steam webby>download & install. Had some issues with 12.10 and Linux mint, so ditched them off (I could have got steam working but I'm doing this n00b mode). TF2 works fine with the steam recommended driver, love the fact I can quickly pick which one i want to use and just run it - this is much easier than the uninstall / install / reboot you would have to do in windows. If your new to Linux use the supported Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

I have W7 on another drive just for windows games, which i can access via bbs otherwise it boots straight into Ubuntu. Anyone bitching about Linux not being ready or usable for the average user is either trolling or smoking crack. Some Linux distros are not ready for the average user - but then they probably weren't made for the average user. Anyone that says its hard to learn/use needs to STFU, as Ubuntu and Mint (Mint especially - I'll move over to Mint once Steam works on it fine with little to no input) are a lot easier to pick up and use then Windows 8. It also does what most users want web/word/fb.

Are there any benefits to running Games on Linux/OpenGL over Windows/DX? Valve had L4D2 running faster in OpenGL than DX - not by much, but the fact that they got it running faster while still in house with testing amazes me. Especially when you think how much testing and feedback it'll have had on Windows/DX plus everything from L4D too.

 

newell has two Ls at the end, misspelled in the first sentence

 

Bunch of babies.
You aren't being forced to use it, it is an OPTION for those who use, or would like to use, Linux in general or Ubuntu in particular.

Don't like it? Don't use it.
Don't understand it? Don't use it.
Can't use it? Don't use it.
Your favourite game hasn't been ported? Don't use it.
Hardware not supported? Don't use it.

There are plenty of games out there that have been ported to Linux or Mac OS, or can easily be ported in the future. It is not going to be for everyone. I am a Linux user, I am typing this on a Linux system, but even I am not going to entirely abandon Windows for gaming.

If you want easy, buy a console.
Or stick with Windows, be happy with your completely valid choice of OS, and leave this to those who are interested in Steam on Linux.
But if you wish to give it a go, and bring with it a spirit of exploration and enthusiasm, you will find that there are plenty of people who will also expend effort to help you.

PS. I will modify my own snotty attitude when the level of discourse regarding Linux is raised a notch.

 

I don't really see the problem. Ubuntu is about as close to windows as it can possibly get, and the only reason I use windows is because its easier. If games ran quicker or easier on linux, I would probably switch. Its not like they're stopping support of windows (that would be stupid).

 

...Well, I'm just going by the scientific research currently out there including that of fossilised dinosaur eggs, it's pretty easy to google it if you fancy a look.

Great way to get people on board with Linux, keep it up mate.

 

Yay........ Another Linux vs Windows pissing contest. Why do all articles on Linux seem to end up this way on BT lately? I really do not care whose OS has the biggest penis. I use steam on both windows and Linux and each has their appeal and use. Over time I can see the Linux client actually being better than the windows one, providing steam can get the devs on board. This is something I wouldn't rule out.

Using the Linux beta and have found it to be really good. I'm using an Asrock Ion 330 nettop (the same one BT reviewed a few years back) and it runs great, I have 1 issue with a game not working so far, but then this is a beta.
The games that do run, perform much better than they do under windows on the same hardware.

The only issues with the actual steam client I have found are the steam overlay does not like desktop announcement popups from Lubuntu and the big picture feature runs like treacle, but then it runs badly on my main windows desktop too.

The choice of games is smaller than that of windows or Mac, but it is not unexpected considering that it is a beta and has only been really going for a year at most.

With regards to the complexity of using Linux, specifically Ubuntu, My late 70 year old mother-in-law had no issues with it and it caused me a lot less hassle with support compared to her previous windows XP system.

 

Gabe...pipe down and get on with Half-Life 3.

 

The problem I see with this "steam box" is its not going to be cheap its probably going to cost on the same level as a mid range PC, so people are going to expect it do more things than play steam and comparing it to console is silly.

Consoles at the moment can do a lot more, you have streaming media, you can have them access NAS for media, Netflix, iPlayer etc.

Now Steam would need to include all this I think for them to make any headway but as soon as you put that in Steam, why should I change out my windows based media PC in the lounge.

Most people who will buy the Steam box will put it in their lounge as another console rather than putting them on their desk.

In terms of people bitching about problems with Linux I can see your point, I have stuffed mine up enough in the past when I was using my 8800GTS Ubuntu would not install would just go to a black screen, ok that card is a bit old now, but problems like that hamper the use of Linux.

Yes things have got a lot better, effectively having an App store built into the distro is good but still if something goes wrong you are back to scraping around in a command line and using google and hoping you find a post that is not written by some self-proclaimed linux god who thinks you should know all this.

So I think Steam for Linux will fail for all but a niche market of people, and the Steam box will work to a certain extent but its release will be coming out after the next gen of consoles so would be thinking what market is really there?

Kimbie

 

I look forward to the day when the majority of titles are released for Linux....where the Steam Box sells in the millions and Big Picture mode becomes the de facto interface for PC gaming, where game controllers have become the standard control system for PC gaming and keyboard and mouse control becomes even more of an after-thought....

No...wait.....

 

To all those that said that have broken an Ubuntu installation, I'd love to hear details about it.

I say this, because, unless you start haking into it or following random guides at the internet, without paying attention/knowing what you are doing, it's very difficult to break Ubuntu.

Exactly, I've installed Xubuntu on many of my relative's PCs (ages ranging from 15 to 67) and they didn't have any problems adjusting. Besides, they just love how their PC/laptop is so much faster. I've installed it on six different machines so far, and none of them has problems has of yet (almost after 2 years and a smooth upgrade to 12.04).

 

HL3 would make for the ideal launch title for a steam box.

 

Greetings!

Released two weeks before on Linux than on Windows or Mac.

 

I HATE STEAM..there said it, an unnecessary layer of software for no other reason than to make money for the middlemen, don't use Steam on windows or Linux and don't intend to, so f-ck em all

 

Where else is convenient to get your games from? I'd rather buy from steam and then be able to instantly start my download, than order from amazon and have to wait for delivery.

Also with regards to the "middleman" comment, just about everything you buy goes via someone else first, Why hate on just a single instance?
Do you buy your groceries direct from the farmer, or from your local supermarket? If the answer is supermarket, then why not go to the producers directly and cut out the money making middlemen?