Discussion of possible Steam for Linux

[Surplus]

@Door

You can safely bet a good chunk of Windows XP machines on that measurement system will be Linux boxes.

I seriously hope they bring Steam to Linux though, and it’s apparently been confirmed as coming to Linux by one or two news outlets, but how true those confirmations are will remain to be seen.

From what i saw their proof was a stupid pic they found in the mac files.

[Door]

That’s not what I meant, the Telegraph has stated in one of their articles that Valve have confirmed to them that there’s going to be a Steam client for Linux in the coming months(Probably late next year knowing Valve).

It’s also not a stupid image, it’s code, which some people have hacked to work partially on Linux.

[sersoft]

I think the biggest disadvantage for Valve will be the considerable amount of hackers that will use Valve products on their OS of choice, thus they will attempt to hack the shit out of the games.

[Maxey]

@sersoft

I think the biggest disadvantage for Valve will be the considerable amount of hackers that will use Valve products on their OS of choice, thus they will attempt to hack the shit out of the games.

As if they don’t already do.

[JohnWorfin]

@popsUlfr

I think there’s potential.
Although I know most people would be reluctant to operate a client in order to play their games, also considering the games that would have Linux counterparts are for most available DRM-Free from the developer’s website anyway.
One might also consider that people are using more than one operating, and they didn’t make the jump because of lack of certain features.
If one major player of the games industry was to embrace the Linux platform, it could potentially lead to a wider range of OSes being supported by more developers.

The thing about windows is sheer market share. The thing about macs is the high end refined functionality. Both of these thing allow for money. Linux is about open source and free as in beer/speech/advice. There is very little money in free unless it it involves subscription services. Thats why none of the good graphics card companies have really good linux drivers for their products. What comes first, the penguin or the egg? There is not a lot of games for linux so the graphics companies don’t suport it well and that means no incentive to make games for linux. Back in the day UT had a linux server client, but the playable game was ported by the now defunct loki software. “Now defunct” is the key term. They ported hot games to linux and went bankrupt in the process

[DrasarSalman]

I don’t think steam will come on Linux for two reasons:

1. Too much work.
2. Linux sucks!

In Scandinavia Norway: We don’t use penguin computers, we use them to watch porn! (What did you think I would say huh?)

[Savant]

linux sucks is such a good argument

[Bolteh]

@DrasarSalman

I don’t think steam will come on Linux for two reasons:

1. Too much work.
2. Linux sucks!

In Scandinavia Norway: We don’t use penguin computers, we use them to watch porn! (What did you think I would say huh?)

If OSX gets Steam, I don’t see why it wouldn’t head over to Linux. Especially not with all of the evidence pointing towards a Linux release.

[jerry]

Steam for Linux would make ATI and Nvidia make linux compatible graphics drivers.

[Surplus]

@DrasarSalman

I don’t think steam will come on Linux for two reasons:

1. Too much work.
2. Linux sucks!

In Scandinavia Norway: We don’t use penguin computers, we use them to watch porn! (What did you think I would say huh?)

Mac sucks, it got Steam.

[JohnWorfin]

@jerry

Steam for Linux would make ATI and Nvidia make linux compatible graphics drivers.

There would need to be “popular” games for linux, not just steam

[Door]

@SURPLUS_NiNjA

Mac sucks, it got Steam.

With that logic, the only major OS that doesn’t suck is Linux.

EDIT: BRB, waking up properly, density is my forté when I’ve just woken up.

[DrasarSalman]

@Bolteh

If OSX gets Steam, I don’t see why it wouldn’t head over to Linux. Especially not with all of the evidence pointing towards a Linux release.

I began to laugh when I saw this, because your sig ripped his head off! :lol:
Anyway, my sarcasm may have crossed the line here, but think about it;

We live in the year 2010, in the 4th dimension! No need for stupid noob OSs!

[jerry]

HOW THE FUCK IS LINUX A NOOB OS?

[Door]

Noob = new…
Does that mean Linux is the most modern OS? I think so.

[HeWhoWatches]

@SURPLUS_NiNjA

From what i saw their proof was a stupid pic they found in the mac files.

See:

1st May: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ODIwNQ
6th May: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ODIxOQ
8th May: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=ODIyOQ

Sadly, nothing since then of course. These things take time.

[jerry]

:awesome:

[Maxey]

Ignore Drasar. He’s about the stupidest new member we’ve ever had.

[Bolteh]

Also: Garry posted a video of him compiling GMod for OSX -and- Linux.

[Picklesworth]

@jerry

Steam for Linux would make ATI and Nvidia make linux compatible graphics drivers.

They already do, and the Nvidia drivers are actually quite excellent. (Barring their lack of kernel mode-setting, which is an awesome feature only geeks really care about).

Valve did (maybe do) have a Linux version of Steam in the works. For a while there was a download for an early version. Barely worked (actually, never launched on my system, but some people have screenshots that may be of it trying to run), but they were obviously working on it. It was run via a shell script which grabbed the latest build from steampowered.com. (More specifically, from /public/client/steam_client_linux). At some point they shut that down, so nobody really knows whether they gave up on said client or just hid it away properly because they didn’t want us breathing down their necks.
Especially Phoronix. Those guys make me crazy.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they released a Linux version at some point. I doubt they are throwing many resources at it, though. It’s the kind of thing that can only improve their presence, but at the same time it’s hard to say how much they would gain.

I like to think that the pragmatic Linux users are the majority, while the annoying “information wants to be free! Content creators and software developers who make money are evil!” types are a puny (albeit noisy) minority.

On the other hand, I am quite happy using Linux for 98% of stuff.
Windows is a fun toy, though I have a dual-boot setup with what is basically vanilla Windows 7 and a lot of games. It’s like switching to a game console, but I only need one box.

It definitely keeps me organized. If Steam does land on Linux, my productivity will take a nose-dive. (It’ll probably be worth it, though).