Valve: Linux More Viable Than Windows 8 for Gaming - Polidicks

[quote] In a presentation at Ubuntu Developer Summit currently going on in Denmark, Drew Bliss from Valve said that [B]Linux is more viable than Windows 8 for gaming[/B]. Windows 8 ships with its own app store and it is moving away from an open platform model. Some other points from the talk: - Steam client is running nicely on Ubuntu and [B]many developers have approached them with good game products[/B]. - Cooperation with Canonical has been good. - Ubuntu is preferred platform as it has a large user base and good community support with a strong company like Canonical behind it. - Linux has everything they need: good OpenGL, pulseaudio, OpenAL and input support. - [B]New Source engine games will be available for Linux.[/B] - [B]No firm time frame for Steam Linux release, but soon.[/B] - Copy protection is up to the game publishers. Drew announced that [B]anyone with a Launchpad account attending UDS will be given Steam access through a beta key[/B]. [B]When asked about new Team Fortress 2 Hats, he said that some rumors have been circulating but he has no information about it.[/B] At the moment no video feed is available but a recording should be uploaded in couple of days on Ubuntu Developers channel.[/QUOTE] [url=http://www.ubuntuvibes.com/2012/10/valve-linux-more-viable-than-windows-8.html]Source[/url] Extra link: [b][url=http://www.ubuntuvibes.com/2012/10/steam-linux-beta-will-have-portal-team.html]Steam Linux Beta will have Portal, Team Fortress 2 and Serious Sam 3: BFE[/url][/b]

I'm just happy to see Linux is finally starting to get some attention. The idea of not being able to play games because of my perfectly fine OS isn't supported just sucks.

Steam runs exactly the same on Windows 8, what exactly is the problem with it? EDIT: I should also add that the games run exactly the same as well. Faster even, due to the performance improvements.

The app store is kind of shitty, yeah but frankly windows 8 is great

[QUOTE=noodleboy347;38237592]Steam runs exactly the same on Windows 8, what exactly is the problem with it?[/QUOTE] It's about the games.. not the Steam client.

[QUOTE=noodleboy347;38237592]Steam runs exactly the same on Windows 8, what exactly is the problem with it?[/QUOTE] A new start menu apparently kills the platform. Valve is a good company but they're wrong here. They're just afraid of competition from the Windows store.

What, I thought linux is only for servers. Valve is dropping the ball on this one for me.

Windows 8 is the best version of Windows to date. It runs all of my games just as well as Windows 7. I'm not going to Linux until all of my games work flawlessly on it.

Gabe Newell is extremely anti-windows, no shit he'll come up with bullshit like this to defame W8 Everyone kisses his ass too much to see through his bullshit sometimes

[QUOTE=SA Spyder;38237613]A new start menu apparently kills the platform. Valve is a good company but they're wrong here. They're just afraid of competition from the Windows store.[/QUOTE] Yes I'm sure Valve are basing this off the Start Menu and nothing else because it's not like Valve know what they're doing when it comes to coding or anything.

[QUOTE=0FucksGiven;38237650]Gabe Newell is extremely anti-windows, no shit he'll come up with bullshit like this to defame W8[/QUOTE] How do you even be anti-Windows? Isn't that what pretty much everyone uses? Doesn't make sense at all.

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[QUOTE=hamar;38237616]What, I thought linux is only for servers. Valve is dropping the ball on this one for me.[/QUOTE] Is this a joke? Please tell me it's a joke.

[QUOTE=noodleboy347;38237592]Steam runs exactly the same on Windows 8, what exactly is the problem with it?[/QUOTE] Eh, I personaly don't care about Windows 8 or Valve's opinion on it. I do care that Steam comes to Linux though. [QUOTE=hamar;38237616]What, I thought linux is only for servers. Valve is dropping the ball on this one for me.[/QUOTE] Servers, satellites, phones, desktops, heaters, GPSes.

There is nothing fundamentally different about windows 8 compared to 7 that will be a detriment to gaming on the platform. Outside of Windows RT, developing for Windows 8 is near exact to any other recent versions. Valve are pulling shit from their arse about the "moving away from an open platform" they see happening, as outside of listing your app on the store, there are the exact same restrictions as windows 7, none. The restrictions will only really affect Windows RT users anyway as the app won't be available to them. Desktop users are fine. As cool as Valve are most times. They are being massive fools here. And it does seem to be mostly in retaliation to the windows store. But it is nice to see more news about Linux builds of their games.

I disagree but I don't care because this is very, very good news for Linux

I'm pretty sure he said something along the lines of "Steam is meant for an open platform, and with Windows becoming more and more closed it makes sense for us to look elsewhere"

[QUOTE=noodleboy347;38237592]Steam runs exactly the same on Windows 8, what exactly is the problem with it?[/QUOTE] OpenGL

[QUOTE=FlamingSpaz;38237805]I'm pretty sure he said something along the lines of "Steam is meant for an open platform, and with Windows becoming more and more closed it makes sense for us to look elsewhere"[/QUOTE] Oh, that makes sense then.

[QUOTE=FlamingSpaz;38237805]I'm pretty sure he said something along the lines of "Steam is meant for an open platform, and with Windows becoming more and more closed it makes sense for us to look elsewhere"[/QUOTE] What exactly is "open platform" and how is Windows 8 more closed? (serious question)

So what about Windows 8 isn't open? It's not like Valve can't create start menu shortcuts to games and the client. I welcome advances in Steam for Linux but to say Windows and Steam are becoming incompatible is a bit of an overstatement. You can freely launch Steam from the start menu just like any other desktop application.

[QUOTE=Flubadoo;38237905]What exactly is "open platform" and how is Windows 8 more closed? (serious question)[/QUOTE] From what I understand all the hubbub about Windows 8 on that topic was the integrated app store that Microsoft controls, but that's not to say it interferes with normal software you install yourself.

[QUOTE=Flubadoo;38237905]What exactly is "open platform" and how is Windows 8 more closed? (serious question)[/QUOTE] Microsoft controls the content that appears in the app store, like Apple and their store.

[QUOTE=Chrille;38237951]Microsoft controls the content that appears in the app store, like Apple and their store.[/QUOTE] That would only be a closed system if the App store was the only method to download applications. You are not restricted from buying and installing applications from other places. A central windows marketplace != a closed system. If the issue is that Steam won't receive as much attention being a third party application, you aren't going to solve it moving to a much lesser known operating system.

[QUOTE=SilentOpp;38237972]That would only be a closed system if the App store was the only method to download applications. You are not restricted from buying applications from other places. A central windows marketplace != a closed system.[/QUOTE] I think the point is that it's a step in the wrong direction for an open system. I personally don't think it's a bad thing to have an app store, but it sounds like that's the argument people are making.

I have faith in Valve that what they are doing is to move towards open platforms where they can contnue to expand and not be confined at what they can do and waht games they can deliever. I like windows 8 but i get the point Gabe has made about looking elsewhere. Its a viable concern and i think Linux is a good move.

[QUOTE=SilentOpp;38237929]So what about Windows 8 isn't open? It's not like Valve can't create start menu shortcuts to games and the client. I welcome advances in Steam for Linux but to say Windows and Steam are becoming incompatible is a bit of an overstatement. You can freely launch Steam from the start menu just like any other desktop application.[/QUOTE] The windows store isn't open, and with windows RT you can't create non-store apps. On the proper version though everything that was in windows is still there; saying it's less viable for gaming than linux is frankly retarded; there simply isn't an adequate framework in linux to support gaming as there is with windows; while it's completely open nearly every PC game supports windows and only windows, the graphics drivers and other frameworks such as visual C++ and directx being optimized or completely tailored to windows. While this is more a matter of windows' popularity than anything else it still in its current state remains a far, far more viable gaming platform than any linux distro, as much as I love it.

Read this. It's probably relevant. [url]http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/179420/[/url]

ITT: I know more about how well games could run on different operating systems than actual game developers even though I know nothing about how well games could run on different operating systems.

Windows 8 is terrible and that is why I'm installing it.