5 ms·

Yeah, this is an awesome change of pace for an industry that notoriously locks down its hardware.

by css 5y ago

novok 5y ago
Steam is the platform for games on non locked computers
- moron4hire 5y ago
  Yeah, they're more focused on screwing the content creators rather than the consumers.
  - spiraling_shape 5y ago
    Steam is the only place I ever actually pay for software. They earned my trust where so many others have lost it.
    - serf 5y ago
      I pay for software on Steam, too -- but it makes me incredibly nervous consolidating lots of purchased goods with a single walled-garden vendor who holds the keys ; and they never really earned my trust, they're just the only game in town for most titles now. The internet is filled with stories about locked accounts, lost libraries, games being pulled out of the library due to 'low quality of gameplay' while people are actively playing them on Steam, DLC and in-game currency sold that can never be redeemed or used in the game it's bought for (see: 'Wizardry Online' debacle, Steam/Valve continued selling in-game currency far beyond the point that it was being discussed to remove the game from the library all together.. then removed access from the game for Steam users after making a tidy profit. This was a current/active/new game with a bad launch, not an old title.) So just to re-state: Valve never won my trust with their behavior with Steam and associated acts. There is just no one else; let's call this phenomenon 'Walmart Syndrome', perhaps?
      - bbabaraba 5y ago
        If you're concerned about losing your games, you can easily do backups from the Steam application, copying game folders, or using something like SLSK https://github.com/skyformat99/SLSK https://github.com/skyformat99/SLSK Bypassing Steamworks basic DRM is easy. Other DRMs obviously require special workarounds.
        joveian 5y ago
        Or you can buy games on GOG instead and support DRM-free (I think they are unfortunately the only fully DRM-free store at this point).
        account42 5y ago
        Valve are a lot more serious about Linux support though, going as far as employing graphics driver developers. GOG (and CDPR) on the other hand can't even be bothered to port their own client and games. Also, GOG is not 100% DRM-free anymore, even if they want to advertise themselves that way. [0] [0] https://www.gog.com/forum/general/drm_on_gog_list_of_singleplayer_games_with_drm/page1 https://www.gog.com/forum/general/drm_on_gog_list_of_singlep...
        Wowfunhappy 5y ago
        > Also, GOG is not 100% DRM-free anymore, even if they want to advertise themselves that way. [0] I'm not happy about these features requiring an internet connection, but they seem pretty minor. The alternative would probably have been that those features were left out of the GOG versions completely.
        lupire 5y ago
        That doesn't make it OK to lie.
        Wowfunhappy 5y ago
    - Abishek_Muthian 5y ago
      And thanks to the availability of differential pricing, Publishers can ensure many around the world can get a chance to enjoy their work.
  - 411111111111111 5y ago
    In what way, if I may ask? I am not aware of any controversy surrounding the steam store with that regard. Now that the store had that facelift the only issue I am aware of is the honestly pretty lacklustre curation... Which is an extremely hard issue so pretty forgiveable
    - wazanator 5y ago
      They take a bigger cut then most other digital store fronts and they have a history of using the loyalty of fans to do unpaid work such as translations and perform the majority of moderation on Steam.
      - jdmichal 5y ago
        ... So basically they're exactly like every other content network that currently exists?
        efreak 5y ago
        Pretty much, yes. They're just more consumer-friendly in some ways, and they do some cool stuff. Also, trading cards.
    - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
      Some people are deeply upset that a gigantic storefront and distribution network [0] would dare take a 30% cut, despite that being well below brick and mortar rate and also pretty standard for a digital storefront. But hey, you can instead distribute with Epic, a storefront so advanced it doesn't even have a shopping cart. [0] not to mention community forum, reviews, and art gallery.
      - cfjgvjh 5y ago
        I don't even know how to actually check what I have on my Epic account without going to past purchases. It's baffling how a company that's trying to take more marketshare from a platform as polished as Steam without focusing more on UX.
  - antonzabirko 5y ago
    Haha, agree but most places do it anyways, steam screws content creators about equally.
  - ekianjo 5y ago
    > screwing the content creators r Good to know, then devs can sell their games somewhere else? Oh, I guess they don't. Nevermind.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Nullabillity 5y ago
While I am happy to hear this, this is par for the course for Valve. The Steam Machines were also equally open, and the (otherwise streaming-focused) Steam Link supported sideloading.
- j1elo 5y ago
  I still use my Steam Link, and still love how smooth and easy it is to bring the game picture to my living room's TV. (wow that sounded like a commercial) btw to this day it still receives updates! But, what were people sideloading on it? any alternative usage that might be interesting to explore?
  - Fnoord 5y ago
    Its just a small computer, really. You can even run Steam Link on a Pi if you prefer (Steam Link are not made anymore AFAIK). So I suppose you could argue the reverse: run something on it which you'd otherwise run on a Pi.
    - thefunnyman 5y ago
      It can run Kodi and Retroarch natively. They released an SDK for it but it kind of flew under the radar.
      - j1elo 5y ago
        Wait you can get to run Kodi on the Link? I might be missing on some fun there... guess it's time for me to do some searching!
        Nullabillity 5y ago
        It's one of the official SDK examples: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steamlink-sdk/tree/master/examples/kodi https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steamlink-sdk/tree/master/e...
adrr 5y ago
PS3 allowed other OSes like Linux or BSD. It was eventually scrapped due to no market demand for it.
- akaij 5y ago
  Pretty sure the actual reason was to prevent exploits that lead to piracy.
  - TAForObvReasons 5y ago
    Pretty sure the actual reason was console margins and non-gaming buyers. At the time [1], it was believed that Sony lost hundreds of dollars per console. The business case for the losses was that the cost could be recouped with games. But people and organizations buying the PS3 for its computing capabilities, running OtherOS, were not buying enough games to recoup the losses. [1] https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2006/11/8239/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2006/11/8239/
    - lugged 5y ago
      This, it was powering ML clusters irrc.
      - NullPrefix 5y ago
        US Air Force built a PS3 cluster.
    - lupire 5y ago
      Hundreds of dollars sounds bigger than the average game library's licensing fee.
- pharmakom 5y ago
  No that feature was included to sidestep taxes in some markets (general purpose computers usable for research being lower tax category than game specific computers). They never intended it to be used by many consumers. The PS3 was cracked because the feature was removed.
TeeMassive 5y ago
I love Valve.
- ctack 5y ago
  The little bit if gaming I’ve ever managed to do has mostly involved their games and then later their platform. I really couldn’t agree more.

Yeah, this is an awesome change of pace for an industry that notoriously locks down its hardware.

by css 5y ago

Yeah, this is an awesome change of pace for an industry that notoriously locks down its hardware.

novok 5y ago

Steam is the platform for games on non locked computers

moron4hire 5y ago
Yeah, they're more focused on screwing the content creators rather than the consumers.
- spiraling_shape 5y ago
  Steam is the only place I ever actually pay for software. They earned my trust where so many others have lost it.
  - serf 5y ago
    I pay for software on Steam, too -- but it makes me incredibly nervous consolidating lots of purchased goods with a single walled-garden vendor who holds the keys ; and they never really earned my trust, they're just the only game in town for most titles now. The internet is filled with stories about locked accounts, lost libraries, games being pulled out of the library due to 'low quality of gameplay' while people are actively playing them on Steam, DLC and in-game currency sold that can never be redeemed or used in the game it's bought for (see: 'Wizardry Online' debacle, Steam/Valve continued selling in-game currency far beyond the point that it was being discussed to remove the game from the library all together.. then removed access from the game for Steam users after making a tidy profit. This was a current/active/new game with a bad launch, not an old title.) So just to re-state: Valve never won my trust with their behavior with Steam and associated acts. There is just no one else; let's call this phenomenon 'Walmart Syndrome', perhaps?
    - bbabaraba 5y ago
      If you're concerned about losing your games, you can easily do backups from the Steam application, copying game folders, or using something like SLSK https://github.com/skyformat99/SLSK https://github.com/skyformat99/SLSK Bypassing Steamworks basic DRM is easy. Other DRMs obviously require special workarounds.
      - joveian 5y ago
        Or you can buy games on GOG instead and support DRM-free (I think they are unfortunately the only fully DRM-free store at this point).
        account42 5y ago
        Valve are a lot more serious about Linux support though, going as far as employing graphics driver developers. GOG (and CDPR) on the other hand can't even be bothered to port their own client and games. Also, GOG is not 100% DRM-free anymore, even if they want to advertise themselves that way. [0] [0] https://www.gog.com/forum/general/drm_on_gog_list_of_singleplayer_games_with_drm/page1 https://www.gog.com/forum/general/drm_on_gog_list_of_singlep...
        Wowfunhappy 5y ago
        > Also, GOG is not 100% DRM-free anymore, even if they want to advertise themselves that way. [0] I'm not happy about these features requiring an internet connection, but they seem pretty minor. The alternative would probably have been that those features were left out of the GOG versions completely.
        lupire 5y ago
        That doesn't make it OK to lie.
        Wowfunhappy 5y ago
  - Abishek_Muthian 5y ago
    And thanks to the availability of differential pricing, Publishers can ensure many around the world can get a chance to enjoy their work.
- 411111111111111 5y ago
  In what way, if I may ask? I am not aware of any controversy surrounding the steam store with that regard. Now that the store had that facelift the only issue I am aware of is the honestly pretty lacklustre curation... Which is an extremely hard issue so pretty forgiveable
  - wazanator 5y ago
    They take a bigger cut then most other digital store fronts and they have a history of using the loyalty of fans to do unpaid work such as translations and perform the majority of moderation on Steam.
    - jdmichal 5y ago
      ... So basically they're exactly like every other content network that currently exists?
      - efreak 5y ago
        Pretty much, yes. They're just more consumer-friendly in some ways, and they do some cool stuff. Also, trading cards.
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
    Some people are deeply upset that a gigantic storefront and distribution network [0] would dare take a 30% cut, despite that being well below brick and mortar rate and also pretty standard for a digital storefront. But hey, you can instead distribute with Epic, a storefront so advanced it doesn't even have a shopping cart. [0] not to mention community forum, reviews, and art gallery.
    - cfjgvjh 5y ago
      I don't even know how to actually check what I have on my Epic account without going to past purchases. It's baffling how a company that's trying to take more marketshare from a platform as polished as Steam without focusing more on UX.
- antonzabirko 5y ago
  Haha, agree but most places do it anyways, steam screws content creators about equally.
- ekianjo 5y ago
  > screwing the content creators r Good to know, then devs can sell their games somewhere else? Oh, I guess they don't. Nevermind.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

Nullabillity 5y ago

While I am happy to hear this, this is par for the course for Valve. The Steam Machines were also equally open, and the (otherwise streaming-focused) Steam Link supported sideloading.

j1elo 5y ago
I still use my Steam Link, and still love how smooth and easy it is to bring the game picture to my living room's TV. (wow that sounded like a commercial) btw to this day it still receives updates! But, what were people sideloading on it? any alternative usage that might be interesting to explore?
- Fnoord 5y ago
  Its just a small computer, really. You can even run Steam Link on a Pi if you prefer (Steam Link are not made anymore AFAIK). So I suppose you could argue the reverse: run something on it which you'd otherwise run on a Pi.
  - thefunnyman 5y ago
    It can run Kodi and Retroarch natively. They released an SDK for it but it kind of flew under the radar.
    - j1elo 5y ago
      Wait you can get to run Kodi on the Link? I might be missing on some fun there... guess it's time for me to do some searching!
      - Nullabillity 5y ago
        It's one of the official SDK examples: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steamlink-sdk/tree/master/examples/kodi https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steamlink-sdk/tree/master/e...

adrr 5y ago

PS3 allowed other OSes like Linux or BSD. It was eventually scrapped due to no market demand for it.

akaij 5y ago
Pretty sure the actual reason was to prevent exploits that lead to piracy.
- TAForObvReasons 5y ago
  Pretty sure the actual reason was console margins and non-gaming buyers. At the time [1], it was believed that Sony lost hundreds of dollars per console. The business case for the losses was that the cost could be recouped with games. But people and organizations buying the PS3 for its computing capabilities, running OtherOS, were not buying enough games to recoup the losses. [1] https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2006/11/8239/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2006/11/8239/
  - lugged 5y ago
    This, it was powering ML clusters irrc.
    - NullPrefix 5y ago
      US Air Force built a PS3 cluster.
  - lupire 5y ago
    Hundreds of dollars sounds bigger than the average game library's licensing fee.
pharmakom 5y ago
No that feature was included to sidestep taxes in some markets (general purpose computers usable for research being lower tax category than game specific computers). They never intended it to be used by many consumers. The PS3 was cracked because the feature was removed.

TeeMassive 5y ago

I love Valve.

ctack 5y ago
The little bit if gaming I’ve ever managed to do has mostly involved their games and then later their platform. I really couldn’t agree more.