What's Valve up to then?

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Tchernobog
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What's Valve up to then?

Post by Tchernobog »

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=n ... &px=ODA1MA

I have never really liked Valve, but it is nice to see them supporting OpenGL now. Also of interest is them switching over to the free software WebKit for Steam. Who knows, if they ever decide to go fully cross-platform I may just have to change my opinion of them. What do you all think?
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Slink

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Post by Slink »

All I can think is "OH SNAP, Mac's gonna get mainstream gaming support... ;-P it could be the start of another revolution in PC gaming (if I want to sound like a nerd)."
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Post by Tchernobog »

Well, they already do have plenty of big names studios going for them such as id and Blizzard, hell, even plenty of Microsoft Game studios properties end up on the Mac. So, I do not think this will change the stakes that much for them. Though Steam being ported in particular is a big win for them, this is more of a win for cross platform development in general than it is even for the Mac

For example, RWS has already promised Postal III on Mac and Linux, and this move certainly helps them a hell of a lot since they have decided to use Source. This will make cross-platform development for Source licensees even more attractive. And it also adds to the list of OpenGL supporters. All very good there. Even if they do not do as I hope and port to my own chosen platform, this move stills helps even me in the end.
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Re: What's Valve up to then?

Post by Tchernobog »

Well, although it had been basically confirmed for the past few months with Gabe Newell talking about it and responding to emails about the subject, as well as Intel driver developers mentioning there work with Valve's Linux team, this is the final word: Steam is coming to Linux this year.

Image
Later this year, L4D2 will be available on a brand new platform. It will be one of the first Valve games to be released on Linux. This will allow Linux users to run Steam and play the game directly without having to run additional software. You can follow the development (http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/) and we will have more information later this year as we get closer to release.
http://www.l4d.com/coldstream/

So what does everyone think? Personally I am undecided over this as I do like the idea of getting more games on Linux and this will certainly help showcase the platform to game developers, but I absolutely loathe Steamworks and the concepts behind it. I have also been happily using Desura for most of the past year and worry that this may hurt them.

Still, interesting times ahead all round.
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Re: What's Valve up to then?

Post by dosgamer000 »

I never really understood the hype over Half-Life in general. Keep in mind I haven't played either (or any Valve games in general) and have only seen and heard of it, but I can't imagine it being that amazing if your play a mute person who doesn't say anything most of the time if I am correct. I heard it was important because of it's heavy storyline which was a first in an FPS. I'd much rather play Blood because of Caleb's character and witty quotes taking the boredom out of going through monster filled corridors. Blood's storyline was also pretty good for an FPS and a game in general, I haven't really seen another one like it to be honest. The other big games I heard about are Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress but they seem to be mostly multiplayer oriented and I never really was big on multiplayer games (although I do enjoy Skulltag and that one Blood 2 Bloodbath match I had.) Forgive me if this whole post sounds ignorant.
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Re: What's Valve up to then?

Post by Tchernobog »

No, actually I am pretty much of the same mind as you. I have never played Valve's games, but I also have never understood why people treat them like god on earth. I am only interested now because they are coming to Linux, but even then I am still leery of Steamworks.
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