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Multiple Steam Machines will be on sale in 2014 following the prototype tests this year.
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Multiple Steam Machines will be on sale in 2014 following the prototype tests this year.
Yes I do, and I look forward to it. I would like to get a quality controller for my gaming machine so a Valve controller would be high on my list of options.
I fully expect a customised controller, and I wouldn't be surprised if at least one manufacturer offered something akin to the nVidia Shield. My biggest concern with this entire concept though is that Steam is trying to become the third console on the market, which leads to even less "PC" games being released as developers struggle to support anything other than a control pad as the interface.
I like my mouse and keyboard combo, and want to keep them and the limitations and advantages that they represent, but with this on the horizon, it's looking less and less likely that I'll succeed.
Chin up. Gaming PC sales are rising in the face of marketwide PC sales droppingQuote:
Originally Posted by Lucio
Will be interesting to see the controller, though I think if it is a controller they will have to go some way to beat the 360 pad though
A lot of people who use the DPad (so not me) hate the DPad on the XBox controller. Some people hate it because it's heavy (but I like something that feels solid). Others (who I'm assuming have malformed limbs) say it's a stupid and uncomfortable shape.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nikumba
The only issues I've actually encountered is that if you buy an expensive genuine wireless controller -> USB adapter, you end up with a poorly made fake that doesn't work very well most of the time (and then breaks permanantly). If you try and buy the cheap one directly, then after 40 days the manufacturer apologises because his postal service stole 50 of these adapters. You get your 99p back, but no adapter. If you do eventually find one made by MS, then after a short while a fuse blows up and you can't use it until you drop a blob of solder over the top. I've sunk £20 into fake adapters and only actually had one arrive, which broke. I've tried to go to a reputable source for a genuine one, but they all seem to be permanently out of stock.
All in all, the XBox 360 gamepad is not unbeatable, but is pretty damn good when it does work.
When the Archos GamePad 2 was announced this week I did think "hmmm, with Steam OS coming out a Steam OS tablet thsat could also stream games from your PC would be pretty cool" - so, SteamOS tablet/mobile device that doubles as a controller, possibly with both touchscreen and physical buttons/pads? That'd be impressive... ;)
PC sales that are dropping though are the prebuilt systems that the big 5 sell, this doesnt account for the market where PC's are build from components. PC sales figures are not generalistic in their figures, It would be interesting to see what the total motherboard and CPU production is for non business selling PCs and part sales. That i feel is where you find out the true health of the PC market cause as far as I know we haven't seen a skyrocket in component prices or a decline in gaming interest, most companies making hardware use economy of scale to sell and I don't see that slide happening so far out side of the business sector.Quote:
Originally Posted by directhex
If you go on the sign up page for the beta it actually states a controller will be provided to beta testers. Most likely it will be their design. Ive signed up. Doubt ill be one of the lucky 300 but hey, you never know :)
Yeah... I think its safe to say Valve has been trolling us. They showed they could in fact count to 3 but I am fairly sure that Half Life 3 or episode 3 will not be the next announcement. My guess is that the next one will be the steam controller.
I think they have been pretty up front with what they are doing. They see Windows 8 as the start of Windows becoming a completely DRM infested closed platform, which would kill off Steam. So this is a way of them continuing to do what they have always done.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucio
I guess they have to make it seem more console like, I think most people would struggle to find space for another desktop PC in their house but could squeeze something under the TV. Whether that pushes us towards console controllers or wireless keyboards only time will tell though.
In for the hardware beta, would love to test this out before it is released!
Yuk. My dislike of gamepads is why I stick with PC gaming. Plus I mostly play first person shooters / sneakers. I don't see the advantage of these Steam machines over a regular console.
I too use a 360 pad on my pc and I'm pretty pleased it pretty much just works although yes that d pad is just terrible. I read that the xbox one controller will get pc drivers in 2014, I just hope the d pad is better on that one (looks like it will be)
You don't like gamepads - fine, as the article says - Valve aren't closing the door on you using a keyboard/mouse if you wish. I'm also a big FPS fan and while I like the precision a mouse gives, using a keyboard as a movement controller fills me with dread.Quote:
Originally Posted by wasabi
Like others above I'm a big fan of the XBox Controller for PC. Okay it's wired, but that cable's long enough for that not to really be an issue for me.
You've really not thought through that last part though have you, just off the top of my head:
- Since the Steam Machine is just a PC running SteamOS, you don't HAVE to buy new hardware to get your own SM. If you've got the disk space then just dual boot;
- Since the Steam Machine is "just a PC" then you'll have choice in whose box you get (assuming that hardware manufacturers come forward, which seems likely). Or, as I guess most Hexiens will do, build your own. To date I don't remember seeing any ability to build your own PS3/PS4/XBox/XBone, or buy from someone other than Sony/Microsoft;
- Since the SteamOS is Linux it's likely to be eminently "hackable", or "extendable" if you'd prefer;
- Again since there's no console costs to support, it's likely that games for a SteamMachine will be cheaper than their console equivalents;
- Due to the "open" nature of what Valve are currently selling then it's likely that you won't have the same level of DRM as is the case with PS3/Xbox.
My big worry though is that this looks almost too good to be true, and if I was Sony/Microsoft then I'd be leaning on EA, Activision, Ubisoft et al pretty hard to NOT develop for this. Conversely if I was EA, Activision, Ubisoft then I'd want to look at this - if for no other reason than as a bargaining chip with Sony and Microsoft.
I haven't paid much attention to either this, or SteamOS, because I find the entire Steam model, where I buy a game then need permission from Steam to play it, utterly unacceptable. Unless that's changed, and while I haven't checked I rather doubt it has, then I have no more interest in either of these than I do in having a Steam account, which is zero.
I hope they take one particular leaf from the console manufacturers' book: sell hardware at a slight loss, make it back on software.
If Valve can give me a PC that's cheaper than its retail parts, and if I can still use it like my current PC, I'll obviously be very interested.
Looks like the controller that can sense your mood and adjust the game accordingly then,I hope this works on a desk as well, don't want to have to sit on the sofa and use a controller to get he best out of L4D 3..
Totally DISagree. One of the big pluses of the way Valve's approaching this is that you can put this on your current hardware. That being the case, then why on earth should I want to subsidise your PC by a tax on my software purchases. And while the software-tax-subsidised model works with Sony and Microsoft, it wouldn't work well with Steam Machine because (unless I missed the announcement) Valve aren't making their own machines. Unless you want Valve to also set minimum pricing too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Otherhand
Lastly - comparatively speaking - PC hardware isn't that expensive these days ... unless you're looking at the top end stuff. And shopping around can yield decent discounts. Given that the OS is free, I'd assume that some of the large manufacturers will be able to get a pretty good deal on their component purchases and hence deliver a Steam Machine at an attractive price point.
Personally speaking, if you've got basic system using AMD APU then it'll be possible to ship that for around the £300 mark - which undercuts both PS4 and XBone.
How about offline mode? Plus I'm sure that you're not the only one that doesn't like the "nearly always on" aspect, so you can pretty much guarantee that someone out there will figure a way around it - or at least a way to make it more acceptable.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saracen
Personally speaking, I'm not that bothered by the way it does things at the moment - at least I CAN still play my games if I've got no connection at the time. Although the retries are a pain.
Offline mode on Steam is really on suitable for drops in connection or when switching broadband supplier. They havn't made it a feasible option for an "Offline" PC.
Saying that, most Steam sales are through digital download and so most users are able to connect to the internet for that at least. Steam is on my main PC which has a constant stable connection through Wi-Fi. It's always online, therefore so is steam (unless I opt to go Offline).
On a PC, always online is less of an issue. But I hope the steam boxes / steam OS supports full offline play without the need to "authenticate" every 24 hours etc... Mainly because my steam box will likely be used like a console and placed in rooms with no internet connection most of the time. Or taken around friends / families homes for bragging rights where I won't need to connect to the web.
Fingers crossed the new "input" is a Google Glasses type "On-Person Heads Up Display". That would be wicked.
You're right, I don't like 'always on', not least because the machines I use for games don't have a net connection, and they're not getting one.Quote:
Originally Posted by crossy
But that wasn't actually my point.
I buy a game from publisher A, but then it turns out it needs to be "authenticated" by Steam?? Not going to happen. I'm, perhaps, unlike many gamers in that I'm a bit of a gaming magpie .... I collect, hoard and periodically, revisit. I still have, and occasionally play, games I bought in the 70s (for Apple II, etc). Still got the hardware too, obviously.
So .... I buy a game now, and it requires Steam authentication, so what happens in 10, 20 30 years when I decide I'm in the mood for a retro session and want to play today's game? Will Steam still "authenticate"? Will Steam still even exist? Maybe they'll gave released a patch, maybe not. Maybe I'll gave grabbed the patch, and maybe I missed it. Etc.
Sorry, no. If I buy a game, I expect to be able to play it, now or in 30 years, without needing permission from Steam to play the game I've already paid for. Period.
In short, I'm not buying into this "authentication" model, requiring online authentication either at install or play time. Not now, not ever. And if that means there's a lot of games I never do play, well, c'est la vie, and my universe won't implode.
That's why I objected to always, or even periodic "on" requirements onthe XBox One .... because that online authentication process is not something I'm buying, and I stress "buying" into. I'll do without such games, and publishers can, I'm sure, cope without my money.
So, my gaming is effectively limited to DRM-free gaming, because things like CD-checks, which come in the box and are therefore under my direct control, have effectively disappeared, not least due to Steam.
Offline mode, therefore, doesn't address my objection, or at least, doesn't fully address it.
Now to wait and see what Steam is going to do with the controller and how they feel. If a gamer doesn't like it they will go back to the keyboard and mouse to play their games. We keep the PC game sales up and show that there is still need and support for this platform. I have been a PC gamer since the scroll and text D&D games.