I won’t be getting one (because I don’t need one right now) but I’m hyped for 2 reasons.
First is getting a company to come out with an official Linux gaming OS. Not because I want some kind of a corporate OS-s but because bigger game developers have a reason to target Linux as they will see there’s not only a market but a supported market.
And the second is standardized hardware for a Linux platform. It will make game development easier because you can target specific hardware and (together with the previous point) specific OS to make games for Linux. I can’t find the link anymore but a developer once said that the majority of their bug reports came from Linux while Linux was also the smallest platform they supported and most of the probably comes from the fact that you can have so many combinations of hardware and software that offering Linux support costs more than offering Windows support. If that can be reduced to specific hardware and specific OS that would give more of an incentive for developers to try out supporting Linux (even if it’s only SteamOS on a Steam Machine).
I don’t care what Steam Machines and SteamOS can do when they release, I care what they can do 5-10 years down the line. It’s all about getting the ball rolling and once it’s rolling it’ll get to the destination, making gaming on Linux as good as it is on Windows, on its own. I know, I know, gaming on Linux is already pretty good. But gaming on Linux is still dependent on Windows and if MS wants they can screw proton over (for example making UWP mandatory) so getting native games on Linux should still be a goal. And there’s also the lack of official support from other companies in the gaming space. The most obvious is most popular online games not working on Linux due to anti-cheat but there’s also the fact that some more niche peripherals are hard to use due to no official drivers. It took some tinkering to get my Thrustmaster steering wheel to run, which instantly is a no-go for the average gamer. We’re like 90% of the way there to make Linux a great platform for gaming but that last 10% is going to require collective effort to achieve and that’s really difficult to achieve.
The actual software target is their Steam Linux Runtime container. So all you need to install is the container environment, and if your 3rd party OS does that for you then you’re already done.
I would be surprised if the average person knew how to install an OS. The OS generally comes with the PC so the average user never need to install an OS. I imagine the average user doesn’t even have a USB stick to turn into bootable media and that’s just the first step. You have to know how to turn it into bootable media (the easiest way expects you to already have Windows) and then if the BIOS doesn’t automatically boot into it you have to know how to go into the BIOS to change the order and then you have to get through the installation. No average user is going to get through all that. Anyone doing that is already capable of installing Linux themselves and they’re probably more willing to give Linux a try because they can always install Windows if they don’t like it.
I would bet against this. I think people who buy a steam machine (and same for steam deck) will know what they get into.
And the device is focused on gaming and the games will probably run worse on that hardware if one installs Windows. Therefore I think that people who want to use Windows will not buy a steam machine.
That guy was roasted on Twitter for that comment, and rightfully so. Most bug reports came from Linux users because Linux users actually know how to file them. Windows users are learned helplessness little rats, they see software as black boxes and developers as evil wizards who don’t talk to anyone. Complaining about software to them is speaking to the Eldrich gods and risks burning their retinas and throwing them into madness by their answer.
Linux user knows that software is just something people do, and if you ask nicely and comcompetently, then a human being will try their best to assist you. Above all, Foss users are drilled that if something doesn’t work, report it so it might get fixed in the future. It’s part of the collaborative effort into software openness, bug reports are free QA. Unlike proprietary culture that sees bug reports as customer support requests.
It was a most poignant situation because, as reported by another developer who blogged about Linux support positively, all of the bug reports filed by Linux gamers are about bugs that affect everyone playing the game and not Linux specific support requests. Since Linux users know how to file bug reports and have done so before, they are usually of higher quality than Windows users bug reports who don’t know how to extract information out of their system or might not even have the tools to do so.
Yes, I recall that one developer saying that Linux users provided ultra-detailed, highly technical bug reports that helped immensely in finding and fixing bugs for everyone, or something like that. I think they even said that Linux users were in a way providing free QA.
Edit: ah, yes, I see you linked the positive post below. Thanks!
Had to look up the tweet specifically for this. So here it is
It’s not actually bug reports and it wasn’t the majority. It was automated crash reports where over 20% came from Linux which at that point amounted to less than 0.1% of the sales and most of them were driver related issues. That issue is hopefully solved as driver support has gotten better over the years, but it had nothing to do with Linux users reporting more often or being more thorough in their bug reporting.
Complement with the alternative view offered by the developer of ΔV: Rings of Saturn. Also, there’s a lot of erased responses and contradicting tweets he made.
I won’t be getting one (because I don’t need one right now) but I’m hyped for 2 reasons.
First is getting a company to come out with an official Linux gaming OS. Not because I want some kind of a corporate OS-s but because bigger game developers have a reason to target Linux as they will see there’s not only a market but a supported market.
And the second is standardized hardware for a Linux platform. It will make game development easier because you can target specific hardware and (together with the previous point) specific OS to make games for Linux. I can’t find the link anymore but a developer once said that the majority of their bug reports came from Linux while Linux was also the smallest platform they supported and most of the probably comes from the fact that you can have so many combinations of hardware and software that offering Linux support costs more than offering Windows support. If that can be reduced to specific hardware and specific OS that would give more of an incentive for developers to try out supporting Linux (even if it’s only SteamOS on a Steam Machine).
I don’t care what Steam Machines and SteamOS can do when they release, I care what they can do 5-10 years down the line. It’s all about getting the ball rolling and once it’s rolling it’ll get to the destination, making gaming on Linux as good as it is on Windows, on its own. I know, I know, gaming on Linux is already pretty good. But gaming on Linux is still dependent on Windows and if MS wants they can screw proton over (for example making UWP mandatory) so getting native games on Linux should still be a goal. And there’s also the lack of official support from other companies in the gaming space. The most obvious is most popular online games not working on Linux due to anti-cheat but there’s also the fact that some more niche peripherals are hard to use due to no official drivers. It took some tinkering to get my Thrustmaster steering wheel to run, which instantly is a no-go for the average gamer. We’re like 90% of the way there to make Linux a great platform for gaming but that last 10% is going to require collective effort to achieve and that’s really difficult to achieve.
I wish they would fully commit to this instead of just giving people the option to install any OS on it.
People are going to install Windows if they can’t or won’t figure their way around Proton/Steam OS.
The secret trick is that they can do both.
The actual software target is their Steam Linux Runtime container. So all you need to install is the container environment, and if your 3rd party OS does that for you then you’re already done.
I would be surprised if the average person knew how to install an OS. The OS generally comes with the PC so the average user never need to install an OS. I imagine the average user doesn’t even have a USB stick to turn into bootable media and that’s just the first step. You have to know how to turn it into bootable media (the easiest way expects you to already have Windows) and then if the BIOS doesn’t automatically boot into it you have to know how to go into the BIOS to change the order and then you have to get through the installation. No average user is going to get through all that. Anyone doing that is already capable of installing Linux themselves and they’re probably more willing to give Linux a try because they can always install Windows if they don’t like it.
I would bet against this. I think people who buy a steam machine (and same for steam deck) will know what they get into.
And the device is focused on gaming and the games will probably run worse on that hardware if one installs Windows. Therefore I think that people who want to use Windows will not buy a steam machine.
But maybe time will proof me wrong.
That guy was roasted on Twitter for that comment, and rightfully so. Most bug reports came from Linux users because Linux users actually know how to file them. Windows users are learned helplessness little rats, they see software as black boxes and developers as evil wizards who don’t talk to anyone. Complaining about software to them is speaking to the Eldrich gods and risks burning their retinas and throwing them into madness by their answer.
Linux user knows that software is just something people do, and if you ask nicely and comcompetently, then a human being will try their best to assist you. Above all, Foss users are drilled that if something doesn’t work, report it so it might get fixed in the future. It’s part of the collaborative effort into software openness, bug reports are free QA. Unlike proprietary culture that sees bug reports as customer support requests.
It was a most poignant situation because, as reported by another developer who blogged about Linux support positively, all of the bug reports filed by Linux gamers are about bugs that affect everyone playing the game and not Linux specific support requests. Since Linux users know how to file bug reports and have done so before, they are usually of higher quality than Windows users bug reports who don’t know how to extract information out of their system or might not even have the tools to do so.
Yes, I recall that one developer saying that Linux users provided ultra-detailed, highly technical bug reports that helped immensely in finding and fixing bugs for everyone, or something like that. I think they even said that Linux users were in a way providing free QA.
Edit: ah, yes, I see you linked the positive post below. Thanks!
Had to look up the tweet specifically for this. So here it is
It’s not actually bug reports and it wasn’t the majority. It was automated crash reports where over 20% came from Linux which at that point amounted to less than 0.1% of the sales and most of them were driver related issues. That issue is hopefully solved as driver support has gotten better over the years, but it had nothing to do with Linux users reporting more often or being more thorough in their bug reporting.
Complement with the alternative view offered by the developer of ΔV: Rings of Saturn. Also, there’s a lot of erased responses and contradicting tweets he made.