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Valve to hold Steam Dev Days conference in January (No Media).

A

ashecitism

Member
"Wow.. The earlier VR stuff was inspiring, but the steam works level support is utterly brilliant. So well thought out."

"So yeah. Thanks to that info, I can confirm Volume on all steam platforms will support VR day one, future proofed on all VR platforms"

"Steam's support of VR is an all-guns-blazing affair, Valve is going in. Lawnmower Man is around the corner for games, folks."
 
S

Saty

Member
Not sure if the 'porting doesn't work' advise is what i got from impressions of people playing with the DK1. They mentioned stuff like HL2 being one of the best gaming experiences even though it was minimally adopted to VR.

I think a 'VR mode' for currently available games can go a long way. Also for games that are being made right now that aren't built for VR from the ground up.
 
Sentenza

Sentenza

Member
Saty said:
Not sure if the 'porting doesn't work' advise is what i got from impressions of people playing with the DK1. They mentioned stuff like HL2 being one of the best gaming experiences even though it was minimally adopted to VR.

I think a 'VR mode' for currently available games can go a long way. Also for games that are being made right now that aren't built for VR from the ground up.
Click to expand...

"Doesn't work" may be a bit a hyperbolic way to put it.
I guess what he meant was more "Porting won't be the way to get the most out of this device".
 
S

Seanspeed

Banned
Saty said:
Not sure if the 'porting doesn't work' advise is what i got from impressions of people playing with the DK1. They mentioned stuff like HL2 being one of the best gaming experiences even though it was minimally adopted to VR.

I think a 'VR mode' for currently available games can go a long way. Also for games that are being made right now that aren't built for VR from the ground up.
Click to expand...
It 'works', but I think they are saying that built-from-the-ground-up-for-VR is really where its at and where the most impressive and 'next gen' experiences will be.

Basically, they're saying "Yea, that HL2 conversion you played and loved? You have no idea....." with a big old sly grin on their face.

EDIT: And Tuco basically said the same thing right above me. lol
 
C

Candescence

Member
So... Any other news from Day 2, or is that it? I was kinda hoping for some kind of sweet last-minute announcement, but I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
ashecitism said:
"The talks from Steam Dev Days will be online in a couple of weeks! We will keep everyone updated on when to expect them."
Click to expand...

tumblr_mjxtrocujr1rxkmdrja.gif


Edit:
ashecitism said:
SDL 2.0 slides have been put up too

https://icculus.org/SteamDevDays/

edit: hmm, seems to give an error, all 3 links
Click to expand...

They're working now.
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
ashecitism said:
Here are some opinions/post-mortems, more will come for sure:

http://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/1viko3/my_steam_dev_days_postmortem/
http://www.gameaperture.com/2014/01/meta-valve.html
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rvu3mc

Probably going to make a separate thread once there are more out there.
Click to expand...

With regard to the second link, who would have thought that Valve employees would be receiving such adulation for their talks considering they typically say nothing.:p
 
A

ashecitism

Member
JaseC said:
With regard to the second link, who would have thought that Valve employees would be receiving such adulation for their talks considering they typically say nothing.:p
Click to expand...

Yeah, despite the secrecy around the company, this was open as hell it seems. Not just regarding Valve, but attendees as well, by letting them talk to the outside world. Removed the third link btw, put it in before I read it :lol


enzo_gt said:
Haven't read through everything, but equating good to "pretty functional" at minimum, citing Humble Bundles for stats on purchasing habits and calling the Rift and LeapMotion tech you "need" is sounding pretty shaky.
Click to expand...

He quoted the wrong post. That slide is from here: https://icculus.org/SteamDevDays/
 
W

wonderdung

Member
My postmortem:

Conference was OK. Audience was too broad. Not much useful for me personally.

Valve is really thoughtful about everything but still there's some cognitive dissonance going on. Was amused when their in-game economies talk was essentially "don't be Riot".

They also misjudged their audience a bit. "Here's a problem! We threw some brilliant engineers at it and solved it by creating a tool we're not planning to share." Two-man indie teams proceed to cry.
 
A

Authority

Banned
The problem with Valve right now is that it is investing on buzz and hype. However, I would like to argue more substantially on why I think that;

  • The world doesn't need Steam Machines, it needs smaller Pcs that can be upgraded and be connected with every type of big and small screen.
  • Steam Machine's controller is disgustingly ugly, unattractive and uncomfortable - It was as if they had the image of a Big Foot playing it when they were designing it.
  • These images of families sitting down in the living room and playing a console game, are out dated and have no real touch with reality. The living-room gaming experience belongs to fantasy of 2000; we are not virtual enough to invest in there yet so it is really a "dream on" move and nothing more.
  • The only advantage a console offers against a PC is essentially its size - If right now I wanted to move my PC from point A to point B I would prefer to go out and dig a hole six feet under instead of doing that; it is a hustle and a pain in the ass. Exclusive titles are part of the game; each hardware would have its own titles and that is normal, nothing unusual about it.
  • Another advantage is how easy it is to play a game with a console - you press ON, insert the disk and you are done. Hence its accessibility. A console is easy to set up and play a game straight away.
So what I am trying to say is that Valve is making a bold move. It is making a preemptive strike but I see no target, no tangible evidence.
 
D

Dictator93

Member
Authority said:
The problem with Valve right now is that it is investing on buzz and hype. However, I would like to argue more substantially on why I think that;

  • The world doesn't need Steam Machines, it needs smaller Pcs that can be upgraded and be connected with every type of big and small screen.
  • Steam Machine's controller is disgustingly ugly, unattractive and uncomfortable - It was as if they had the image of a Big Foot playing it when they were designing it.
  • These images of families sitting down in the living room and playing a console game, are out dated and have no real touch with reality. The living-room gaming experience belongs to fantasy of 2000; we are not virtual enough to invest in there yet so it is really a "dream on" move and nothing more.
  • The only advantage a console offers against a PC is essentially its size - If right now I wanted to move my PC from point A to point B I would prefer to go out and dig a hole six feet under instead of doing that; it is a hustle and a pain in the ass. Exclusive titles are part of the game; each hardware would have its own titles and that is normal, nothing unusual about it.
  • Another advantage is how easy it is to play a game with a console - you press ON, insert the disk and you are done. Hence its accessibility. A console is easy to set up and play a game straight away.
So what I am trying to say is that Valve is making a bold move. It is making a preemptive strike but I see no target, no tangible evidence.
Click to expand...

I am not sure this is true anymore for most consoles. Given installs, platform, and game updates.
 
F

FACE

Banned
Authority said:
The problem with Valve right now is that it is investing on buzz and hype. However, I would like to argue more substantially on why I think that;

  • The world doesn't need Steam Machines, it needs smaller Pcs that can be upgraded and be connected with every type of big and small screen.
  • Steam Machine's controller is disgustingly ugly, unattractive and uncomfortable - It was as if they had the image of a Big Foot playing it when they were designing it.
  • These images of families sitting down in the living room and playing a console game, are out dated and have no real touch with reality. The living-room gaming experience belongs to fantasy of 2000; we are not virtual enough to invest in there yet so it is really a "dream on" move and nothing more.
  • The only advantage a console offers against a PC is essentially its size - If right now I wanted to move my PC from point A to point B I would prefer to go out and dig a hole six feet under instead of doing that; it is a hustle and a pain in the ass. Exclusive titles are part of the game; each hardware would have its own titles and that is normal, nothing unusual about it.
  • Another advantage is how easy it is to play a game with a console - you press ON, insert the disk and you are done. Hence its accessibility. A console is easy to set up and play a game straight away.
So what I am trying to say is that Valve is making a bold move. It is making a preemptive strike but I see no target, no tangible evidence.
Click to expand...

My PS3 would like to have a word with you.
 
E

EVIL

Member
Authority said:
The problem with Valve right now is that it is investing on buzz and hype. However, I would like to argue more substantially on why I think that;

  • The world doesn't need Steam Machines, it needs smaller Pcs that can be upgraded and be connected with every type of big and small screen.
  • Steam Machine's controller is disgustingly ugly, unattractive and uncomfortable - It was as if they had the image of a Big Foot playing it when they were designing it.
Click to expand...

I don't mean to cherry pick your post apart here, but if you are going to state points as fact then remove the bias. Aesthetics are very personal, one might think its ugly, while the other appreciated the beauty. Also when you state that its uncomfortable you mean that it LOOKS uncomfortable right? Because I have yet to read a review of the thing where they state that the controller is uncomfortable, some even go as far as claiming it to be the most comfortable controller they ever used (including the XB1 and DS4)
Authority said:
  • These images of families sitting down in the living room and playing a console game, are out dated and have no real touch with reality. The living-room gaming experience belongs to fantasy of 2000; we are not virtual enough to invest in there yet so it is really a "dream on" move and nothing more.
  • The only advantage a console offers against a PC is essentially its size - If right now I wanted to move my PC from point A to point B I would prefer to go out and dig a hole six feet under instead of doing that; it is a hustle and a pain in the ass. Exclusive titles are part of the game; each hardware would have its own titles and that is normal, nothing unusual about it.
  • Another advantage is how easy it is to play a game with a console - you press ON, insert the disk and you are done. Hence its accessibility. A console is easy to set up and play a game straight away.
So what I am trying to say is that Valve is making a bold move. It is making a preemptive strike but I see no target, no tangible evidence.
Click to expand...

Also I don't really see why you are comparing the steam machines with a console?
Its not in any way valves goal to compete with the console market, so why state it as that?

*Their goal is to provide an alternative to the Microsoft dominated PC market.
Gabe has been ranting since they released win8 that he sees a future where windows is claiming their piece of the pie of the now very much open PC ecosystem. It threatens steam, it threatens valves business, but it also threatens all other PC developers.
Do you really want all your PC games distributed via a windows managed store? (we all have sweet memories of windows live I am sure) even to the point where if you are a small indie developer and you want to release a game on the PC platform, things are made difficult in the form of fees etc.

So valve is seeing an opportunity here to create something based on pro's of the PC platform (its openess), and merge it with certain console/10 foot ideas, to create something that is as open as PC but also accessible on all screens in your house.
With this in mind they are setting up Steam Machines, to try and get as many PC builders on board as they can to provide a large platform on which they try to release alternative PC builds (ranging from small to large, cheap to expensive) all under the banner of "Steam Machines" running SteamOS, an open linux distro that glues it all together, including a controller that tries to make mouse/kb centric games easier to play on the sofa.

This all is long term stuff, Valve hardly ever plays the short term game, so just like steam, this needs time to mature.

*small disclaimer: This is what Gabe and Valve thinks, there is not allot of proof that this will happen, and personally I dont think it will but its nice to have a company think about it and provide an alternative in case it does happen. These are uncertain times and it good to have options, and even better if you create options that are better and more adaptable then the current situation.
 
jediyoshi

jediyoshi

Member
Authority said:
The world doesn't need Steam Machines, it needs smaller Pcs that can be upgraded and be connected with every type of big and small screen.
Click to expand...

Is this supposed to be contrary to a Steam Machine? The way they've rolled out the initiative is that any and all the onus for a specific Steam Machine's success is on that manufacturer. Hell, if Valve didn't believe in evolving form factors for PCs, why are they making a push with so many hardware vendors again?
 
A

Authority

Banned
EVIL said:
I don't mean to cherry pick your post apart here, but if you are going to state points as fact then remove the bias.
Click to expand...

Not stating facts - Bulletpointing helps me to address my perception on the issue.

Aesthetics are very personal, one might think its ugly, while the other appreciated the beauty. Also when you state that its uncomfortable you mean that it LOOKS uncomfortable right? Because I have yet to read a review of the thing where they state that the controller is uncomfortable, some even go as far as claiming it to be the most comfortable controller they ever used (including the XB1 and DS4)
Click to expand...

The way it looks now, it will not have mass appeal. I can guarantee that. If you just had the product lined up on a supermarket without knowing what it was and made by who, you would probably have skipped it. It does not have the market appeal to be sold right now to a large market that would find the controller attractive.

The design looks "rough" in contract with an Xbox controller that just looks wonderful - The colors and the design have got that edge, that cool factor. Overall it looks vibrant, artistic, smooth and slick. If you could paint a wall with an Xbox Controller or a Steam Machine one you would definitely choose the first one. It is simply colorful.

I just can't help but notice how soulless the SM Controller looks like. Aesthetics different but right now I do not see mass appeal, I do not see how the black and grey color alone will stand out as a selling point. Do you think that if you had to give free Xbox controllers and free Steam Machine controllers for free in the field more people would have chosen the latter one?

Of course like you said it is a personal preference but in my mind I do not see millions outside the shop eager to buy that controller considering the lack of colors and chance of modification (introducing alternative colors and designs).

Also I don't really see why you are comparing the steam machines with a console?
Click to expand...

That is because Steam Machine was introduced as a breakthrough or an enhancement to the living-room experience - traditionally dominated by consoles that slowly started to replace DVDs and Music players and combine as many elements as possible into one entity.

Consequently, Steam Machine will compete with consoles and cannot avoid that. And there is this consolish feeling/element about the whole thing which I cannot explain it right now better.

Their goal is to provide an alternative to the Microsoft dominated PC market
Click to expand...

Is Linux ready to compete with Windows? Do you see the next day everybody switching from Windows to Linux from gamers to business men? I do not. What is the state of Linux against Windows? Can it go head to head? Has it got any substantial advantages over Windows? What does Linux have exactly right now that would be a major selling point against Microsoft?

With a weak software how are they going to compete?

You talked about maturity and long term goals but Microsoft will not sit on its corner and be eaten by the treat. At best, Steam Machine is a potentially product - something with potential not finished and not completed. It is like a fetus. However fetuses get schooled by big boys with big guns and Microsoft has them.

What I am trying to say is that they should have made a move when everything was confirmed - Where we would know that for example,

  • 99% of games would support SteamOS
  • 99% of applications and software would support SteamOS
  • 99% of upgradable components (Ram, Graphics Card, Sound Card, ect) would support SteamOS
It is a great experiment for gamers and computechs. We all know that. We all love to play with our PC-everything but I can't see this whole thing as ready to be unleashed. I personally think it is too early.
 
A

ashecitism

Member
You realize you're comparing a finished product to a WIP, right? I saw a lot of people complaining about the prototypes on how light and plastic-y they feel while totally disregarding on how they're 3D printed prototypes...
 
C

CzarTim

Member
I am very dubious about the viability of switching to Linux as well, but consider a few things:

- Neither the XB1 nor the PS4 are backwards compatible. So SM is starting from the same position in terms of supporting older games (actually, better.)
- Valve seems committed to making the porting process as easy as possible. If it is trivial, developers have no reason not to do it.
- The OS will be free, so at the end of the day it's not a huge risk to the consumer. Even if it doesn't take off, you have an upgradable, form-factor PC you can slap Windows on.

No doubt Valve has an uphill battle in front of them, but it's not completely unachieveable. I think the real deciding factor is whether or not Blizzard and other AAA devs support it.
 
A

ashecitism

Member
Didn't Blizzard say they're going to release a game on Linux? And they have an internal linux version of WoW running? Pretty sure there was a thread about that on here.
 
A

ashecitism

Member
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