Valve Making Big Push Towards Linux Support

@Draxyle said:

I'm legitimately curious, what is the advantage of using Linux over the other platforms? I can't imagine it's good for gamers, as even Mac users currently have more access to game titles, and program compatibility has to be terrible all across the board. I think it's mostly used for server-based stuff?

Either way, nothing wrong with more people able to play vidgames on more stuff.

I've been using Linux on both the desktop and the server side for about a decade now. For 99% of what most people do in the run of a day (web browsing, email, etc), most Linux distributions are completely capable of meeting their needs. A large part of what I think keeps people away is the support structure (Everybody around you uses Windows, and the people who you ask for help are mostly likely to be able to do so in Windows, so that's what you use). In terms of functionality, it's more like OSX than it is like Windows. OSX is, under the hood, based on a heavily modified version of another OS called BSD, which is a cousin to Linux. The relation between OSX and desktop Linux is kind of similar to that between iOS and Android.... except Linux on the PC has had about 5 times as long to mature, and the hardware environment isn't nearly as volatile.

I saw that linux picture before I read the title of the article, so I immediately thought this would was an announcement for an X-Files game. Needless to say, I am a little disappointed.

It's very strange to me that Valve is pursuing this, considering that most hardcore Linux users are running it on crappy little netbooks that won't be able to handle modern games. Everyone else has it partitioned and will continue playing on Windows *shrugs*

@peterh: I get what it means, but I've never seen it put that way. "Free as in beer" seems like a silly way to put it for anyone who doesn't already understand it...

@Insectecutor said:

Looks to me like this severs Valve's dependence on Microsoft and opens the door to Steam everywhere and, along with the 10' interface, is grist to the Steam console rumour-mill.

I don't think so. I think Valve is mighty happy with being on Windows and the rest is just to please their consumers, to keep them loyal. Valve doesn't hate Windows, or Microsoft. They aren't trying to escape them.

@iAmJohn said:

@predator said:

I thought RMS was surprisingly lenient on this subject. I would have said we don't want Steam on GNU/Linux at all, but he makes a good point.

Why do you think all software should be free?

Because they're so blindingly selfish, that they'd rather everyone give them stuff for free than actually work for it, or even steal for it. They just sit there grotesque maw agape sucking in anything that's been made available to them for free. Feeding off of everyone else's hard labor. Whilst exhaling, they spit nonsensical complaints about things they cannot even fathom or presume to understand.

I'm legitimately curious, what is the advantage of using Linux over the other platforms? I can't imagine it's good for gamers, as even Mac users currently have more access to game titles, and program compatibility has to be terrible all across the board. I think it's mostly used for server-based stuff?

Either way, nothing wrong with more people able to play vidgames on more stuff.

@predator said:

I thought RMS was surprisingly lenient on this subject. I would have said we don't want Steam on GNU/Linux at all, but he makes a good point.

Why do you think all software should be free?

@MordeaniisChaos said:

Free as in freedom, not free as in beer.

Wait... what? Free as in beer?

It's a quirk of the English language; "free" has multiple meanings. I've seen it explained as "gratis" (Free as in "here, have one for free") vs "libre" (Free as in "you have been freed from slavery"). Also commonly called "Free as in beer" vs "Free as in speech"

@MordeaniisChaos said:

Wait... what? Free as in beer?

Free of charge or gratis.

Well to be fair, windows 8 looks like a huge disaster... Not saying it will be, but from what I've seen so far, not a huge fan. But then again, the only thing that makes me use windows is games.

And steam is also opening up to the free to play market, so this could be some good stuff going forward.

Can't you just use a PC though? Seriously guys, buy a second hard drive. They aren't that expensive. Sure, they used to be cheaper, but come on, get a 200 GB HDD, install windows on it, play some games. Hell, you don't even have to pay for Windows if you don't mind being without support, certain updates, and a wallpaper.

@Skanker said:

@kidman said:

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

"Nonfree games (like other nonfree programs) are unethical" is the part where I stopped reading.

Free as in freedom, not free as in beer.

Wait... what? Free as in beer?

Regardless, the Steam DRM is a GOOD thing. DRM that is completely un-invasive is a good thing, and helps the business. ya can't really do DRM free games.

As people have already pointed out, the ramblings of RMS should not be taken as representative of Linux users in general.

I feel like RMS has a constant need to one up himself in order to stay in the spotlight, saying crazier things all the time. If you've watched the interview he did on the Linux Action Show you know what I mean. He basically said that a software developers children starving to death because he didn't make any money writing free open software is better than him making money and feeding his kids off of creating proprietary software. So yeah, he's nuts, and values life sort of the same way a terrorist does, in that the agenda is more important than human lives (NOT saying RMS is a terrorist!).

I'm a recent Linux fan, having in the last couple of months started fiddling around with Linux (I started with Arch as my first distro because I thought I could just as well learn as much as possible from the start) and I love using and tweaking it. We're still a long way off from having all PC gaming needs satisfied without running Windows but every step on the way is a reason to celebrate.

Valve thinks Windows 8 is going to be such a huge disaster, they're going to have to go to Linux to continue selling games.

I thought RMS was surprisingly lenient on this subject. I would have said we don't want Steam on GNU/Linux at all, but he makes a good point.

@peterh said:

@Puddlesworth said:

I have a lot of respect for the great work Stallman has done building software for linux, but he absolutely does not speak for the majority of linux users. His assertion that all proprietary software is unethical is not held by the vast majority of linux users. (On his site he lists the very small handful of linux distro's which he considers fully free and they are the kind that even linux users would describe as "niche")

I think this video aptly sums up how a lot of "normal" Linux users feel about RMS. "Free software is great" YEAH! "Making your software free is great" YEAH! "Every piece of software that is ever written should be completely free (as in speech) and anybody who says otherwise is evil" YE... wait, what?

Hahaha, this is spot on. That's exactly how I and most of my friends who use linux think of him. I'm tired of people pretending that we are like RMS (or worse the tea party). That's, frankly, bullshit.

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

Thanks for the link. I rarely agree 100% with RMS but he usually raises a few interesting points.

Fuck. Now I'm never going to get any work done.

@Puddlesworth said:

I have a lot of respect for the great work Stallman has done building software for linux, but he absolutely does not speak for the majority of linux users. His assertion that all proprietary software is unethical is not held by the vast majority of linux users. (On his site he lists the very small handful of linux distro's which he considers fully free and they are the kind that even linux users would describe as "niche")

I think this video aptly sums up how a lot of "normal" Linux users feel about RMS. "Free software is great" YEAH! "Making your software free is great" YEAH! "Every piece of software that is ever written should be completely free (as in speech) and anybody who says otherwise is evil" YE... wait, what?

@yoshimitz707 said:

@ccmdo: Except Steam on Mac is still awful and it makes no business sense to not release half life 3 on everything.

I wouldn't call it awful, but Steam on Mac is definitely the equivalent of Windows iTunes to be sure.

@Maginnovision said:

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

Nonfree is a really weird term. Also the guy who wrote that seems a little paranoid. Steam coming to linux won't damage it, but actively telling people not to support this could. This makes me feel like the linux folks are getting to be like the apple folks.

I would argue that Linux evangelists and Apple evangelists are totally different breeds. The Linux fans are like the Tea Party. They like to make everything they do into some kind of political statement, especially uninstalling Windows and permanently moving over to Linux. They bark on about freedom and open source nonsense without usually understanding enough about the topic at hand to make sense (like that article above).

Apple evangelists act like they're in some weird cult where everything Apple does adds to their contentment, every product release an excuse to worship at the Apple store altar. Apple can do no wrong, because to them it's all part of some greater, immaterial plan. They insists that everything is just better on the Apple side, and of course that "it just works".

I have a lot of respect for the great work Stallman has done building software for linux, but he absolutely does not speak for the majority of linux users. His assertion that all proprietary software is unethical is not held by the vast majority of linux users. (On his site he lists the very small handful of linux distro's which he considers fully free and they are the kind that even linux users would describe as "niche")

@yoshimitz707: I've actually never seen steam on a Mac, in a weird sense, I'm kind of pleased to know it's not up to scratch. Also, it was a joke. However, if any company would pull something that crazy, I'd like to imagine it would be Valve.

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

That article is bs.. I love linux but the mentality that every thing needs to be free/open and if its not free its bad influence or needs to be purged cause using nonfree stuff is being a heritic is just plain retarted.

Looks to me like this severs Valve's dependence on Microsoft and opens the door to Steam everywhere and, along with the 10' interface, is grist to the Steam console rumour-mill.

Fuck for a very short moment I thougt this was about a new X-files game.

@ccmdo: Except Steam on Mac is still awful and it makes no business sense to not release half life 3 on everything.

Perhaps Valve are gearing up to take the larger operating systems down a notch. Once Valve on linux boxes equalises in quality with Windows and Mac, boom. Half Life 3 released 1st on Linux. Yeah, called it.

My first thought: who the fuck still uses Linux? Second thought after reading that article linked here: oh.

@Skanker said:

@kidman said:

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

"Nonfree games (like other nonfree programs) are unethical" is the part where I stopped reading.

Free as in freedom, not free as in beer.

No matter how you try and describe it, it's still the paranoid rantings of a dunce.

I <3 Valve.

X

@kidman said:

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

"Nonfree games (like other nonfree programs) are unethical" is the part where I stopped reading.

Free as in freedom, not free as in beer.

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

If by "explains it well" you mean "makes Linux users look like whiny, holier-than-thou elitists" then you're bang on.

I'm a Linux gamer and Steam coming to Linux is one of the best pieces of news ever to hit the scene.

This is amazing news. Sure, I'm not a big Linux user, but opening more doors for gaming on that platform is superb, and I'm all for it.

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

"Nonfree games (like other nonfree programs) are unethical" is the part where I stopped reading.

This will be sweet!

@Hawker: it's to keep him from hearing the voices

@Pr1mus said:

@Phished0ne said:

@Maginnovision said:

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

Nonfree is a really weird term. Also the guy who wrote that seems a little paranoid. Steam coming to linux won't damage it, but actively telling people not to support this could. This makes me feel like the linux folks are getting to be like the apple folks.

What do you mean "getting to be like the apple folks"? Linux users have long been the most "holier than thou" of any OS-related faction i have had experience with.

I stopped reading that blurb at "Nonfree games (like other nonfree programs) are unethical because they deny freedom to their users. If you want freedom, one requisite for it is not having these games on your computer. That much is clear." I'm all for open source, but talk about some pretentious neo-hippy bullshit(and that's coming from someone who goes to obscure music festivals).

I hope that linux people who thinks like that also grow their own food and have houses they built themselves with wood they cut from some forest that doesn't already belong to someone! Also it'd be nice for them to share their secret for free electricity and internet with us windows peasant!

Hey Man....everything should be like.....free man...you know?

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

That is one of the most moronic things I have ever read, I wonder if the guy who wrote that also has a guide on how to make your very own tin foil hat

For valve being a small company with zero direct focus for their employees whatsoever, its weird how they manage to do so much (release 1-2 top quality games a year, build game engines, run steam which is a massive service, port their games about to different platforms, etc)

Yet their directions to the employees are generally along the lines off "doing something creative, doesn't really matter what"

Great company

@Phished0ne said:

@Maginnovision said:

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

Nonfree is a really weird term. Also the guy who wrote that seems a little paranoid. Steam coming to linux won't damage it, but actively telling people not to support this could. This makes me feel like the linux folks are getting to be like the apple folks.

What do you mean "getting to be like the apple folks"? Linux users have long been the most "holier than thou" of any OS-related faction i have had experience with.

I stopped reading that blurb at "Nonfree games (like other nonfree programs) are unethical because they deny freedom to their users. If you want freedom, one requisite for it is not having these games on your computer. That much is clear." I'm all for open source, but talk about some pretentious neo-hippy bullshit(and that's coming from someone who goes to obscure music festivals).

I hope that linux people who thinks like that also grow their own food and have houses they built themselves with wood they cut from some forest that doesn't already belong to someone! Also it'd be nice for them to share their secret for free electricity and internet with us windows peasant!

@Phished0ne said:

@Maginnovision said:

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

Nonfree is a really weird term. Also the guy who wrote that seems a little paranoid. Steam coming to linux won't damage it, but actively telling people not to support this could. This makes me feel like the linux folks are getting to be like the apple folks.

What do you mean "getting to be like the apple folks"? Linux users have long been the most "holier than thou" of any OS-related faction i have had experience with.

I stopped reading that blurb at "Nonfree games (like other nonfree programs) are unethical because they deny freedom to their users. If you want freedom, one requisite for it is not having these games on your computer. That much is clear." I'm all for open source, but talk about some pretentious neo-hippy bullshit(and that's coming from someone who goes to obscure music festivals).

Because my family and I have always used linux and were part of certain communities and were NEVER exposed to this sort of thing. I stopped using linux when I decided to make windows phone/xbox stuff as much as PC stuff, so I haven't been around that scene for a while, but it's still really odd for me to read something like that. The windows 7 sins thing was kind of dumb too. First time seeing this stuff, so it's a little weird and shocking.

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

That is one of the worst written pieces I have ever seen with my eyes in my head.

@Maginnovision said:

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

Nonfree is a really weird term. Also the guy who wrote that seems a little paranoid. Steam coming to linux won't damage it, but actively telling people not to support this could. This makes me feel like the linux folks are getting to be like the apple folks.

What do you mean "getting to be like the apple folks"? Linux users have long been the most "holier than thou" of any OS-related faction i have had experience with.

I stopped reading that blurb at "Nonfree games (like other nonfree programs) are unethical because they deny freedom to their users. If you want freedom, one requisite for it is not having these games on your computer. That much is clear." I'm all for open source, but talk about some pretentious neo-hippy bullshit(and that's coming from someone who goes to obscure music festivals).

Before I even clicked on the article I knew who wrote it based on the main image. Throw up them X's!!!

@predator said:

As I said in the earlier forum thread, RMS explains the good and bad effects of Steam on GNU/Linux well.

Nonfree is a really weird term. Also the guy who wrote that seems a little paranoid. Steam coming to linux won't damage it, but actively telling people not to support this could. This makes me feel like the linux folks are getting to be like the apple folks.

Everytime there is a new Humble Indie Bundle, i am still surprised to see that people A) still use Linux, B) play games on Linux. People are crazy.

@Mystyr_E said:

Knew this was a Patrick article thanks to X-Files logo.

I now fully believe Patrick is actually an alien and just teasing us with all those X-Files references.

edit: or his hair is actually the alien and the body is just for cover!

Just saying, this has been in the OSX launcher since steam launched on that platform:

#determine platform UNAME=`uname` if [ "$UNAME" == "Linux" ]; then PLATFORM=linux32 # prepend our lib path to LD_LIBRARY_PATH export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="${STEAMROOT}"/${PLATFORM}:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH PATHLINK=~/.steampath rm -f ${PATHLINK} && ln -s ${STEAMROOT}/${PLATFORM}/${STEAMEXE} ${PATHLINK} PIDFILE=~/.steampid echo $$ > ~/.steampid else # if [ "$UNAME" == "Darwin" ]; then PLATFORM=osx32 # prepend our lib path to LD_LIBRARY_PATH