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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  Gaming  |  Steam  |  Topic: Steam Announcements 2013 Edition [1. SteamOS, 2. Steam Machines , 3. Controller] 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: Steam Announcements 2013 Edition [1. SteamOS, 2. Steam Machines , 3. Controller]  (Read 99847 times)
Sky
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I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.


Reply #175 on: March 11, 2015, 08:43:02 AM

Wait, how do you do PC gaming in the living room?  Do you actually have the PC itself near the TV?  I'd thought you'd either be streaming it to the TV or running a cord from the office.  You don't actually try to do all your typing/non-gaming work on the couch do you?
Yup, a mostly silent obelisk sits in my 'equipment rack' (table with a shelf). A cable runner goes under the area rug to the coffee table, where I've velcro'd the usb hub to the underside. Was a bit noisy when I had my second 460 in SLI, but finally upgraded to a single 970 and it's quiet again.

And yes, it's my only pc and I do my non-gaming stuff on it. The old 61" 720p set was really easy to read, when I moved to a 65" 1080p set it was a bit tougher so I upgraded to the current 73" 1080p set and it's fine. I'd rather type on my logitech rf keyboard than a laptop (or tablet, ecch).

The whole thing is much less obtrusive than my guitar setup, which is a chair + footrest, music stand w/ light, small table for recording gear, and two mic stands (a dynamic and a ribbon). I also keep an electric footboard effects thingy tucked under the sofa for playing electric into headphones.

But I believe a house should be lived in and reflect the residents; not be some picture from a magazine. And my old lady is pretty cool.
Malakili
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Reply #176 on: March 11, 2015, 09:15:13 AM

Most people are fucking morons. We're not talking about them.


I think we are talking about them.  Like Kageru said, the market is people who want to buy a thing, plug it into their TV and go.  The market is not the people who are willing to run cables under their area rugs to a USB hub under the coffee table. 

I have no problem with your setup, it sounds fine.  But you can't really expect that your setup in any way reflects the kind of thing people are doing in their living rooms.
Teleku
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Reply #177 on: March 12, 2015, 06:51:10 AM

Yeah, I need my computer on a desk in an office to do work and activities not related to gaming.  Trying to do anything other than 'game' on the couch is a total non-starter.

"My great-grandfather did not travel across four thousand miles of the Atlantic Ocean to see this nation overrun by immigrants.  He did it because he killed a man back in Ireland. That's the rumor."
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Merusk
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Reply #178 on: March 12, 2015, 07:56:17 AM

Ah so it's just another console then. Carry on.   awesome, for real

Having an opinion that's contrary to the love doesn't mean you care or are upset. It means you're bored, on a website and have an opinion. Woo. Don't get so butthurt.

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Falconeer
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Reply #179 on: March 12, 2015, 08:15:25 AM

I can play lots of things while sitting on a couch or, in my case, lying in bed. But when it comes to PvP, a big TV set & couch wouldn't work. It's an activity that requires a certain posture for me, I have to be at a desk and sitting straight. I won't go as far as saying that a specific kind of chair is required (I really don't think it is and gaming chairs make me laugh a bit) but sitting straight on a stable surface that is at the right height in front of me and having a monitor of a certain moderate size instead of a huge screen is mandatory.

Kageru
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Reply #180 on: March 14, 2015, 03:39:50 PM

Ah so it's just another console then. Carry on.   awesome, for real

Yep, but it's the first ever "open platform" console. I think the real target is as much the practice of exclusive titles on proprietary platforms splitting the gaming community.


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KallDrexx
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Reply #181 on: October 15, 2015, 02:28:47 PM

Ars Technica has a review of Steam Link, Alienware Alpha, and the Steam Controller.

Spoiler is Steam link seems very spotty right now (glad I got a Shield for streaming instead from what I'm hearing), steam OS is extremely meh (just install windows), Alienware's Steambox is pretty good value, and the steam controller has a huge learning curve and doesn't seem to excel at anything but works ok for FPS and turn based mouse games but the controller is inferior for actual controller games and for fast paced mouse games (like torchlight).

The mind boggling thing from that review (and I saw in another place) is that the controller doesn't work with game launchers.  For games like X-Com you still have to hook a mouse up just to launch the game even though the controller has the capability of emulating a mouse.  Not really sure the deal with that but I've read it from multiple sources.
Falconeer
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Reply #182 on: October 15, 2015, 03:46:24 PM

I never had any faith in the Steam controller and I have to say that yet I am surprised: surprised that they went ahead with this crappy gimmick. I am also a bit shocked at the blunder you mention about having to hook up a mouse. That's not my job so I don't understand the complexity that lies behind the issue, but I can't help asking myself: "how can you not find a damn way to fix that before presenting this to any kind of public exposure?" Bad word of mouth doesn't take long to travel.

Kageru
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Reply #183 on: October 16, 2015, 07:09:15 AM


X-Com is labelled on steam as having "partial controller" support, so I would imagine it's not specific to the steam controller or really something that Valve are going to be able to fix themselves.

The real problem will be getting any sort of economy of scale. There's pretty well established competition on both the PC and console side and I can't see Valve having the cash or reputation to make a big splash. The people who most like steam probably already have a PC, and console gamers are pretty invested in their platforms. I guess some PC gamers might want a "living room PC" but I wonder how many. I'd assume the lack of scale and competition is also why Alienware don't feel tempted to compete too hard.. most of the other steam machine vendors don't really have a retail solution, they're just small boutique PC makers.

If they could get enough margin you might get some competition, economy of scale and the kinks worked out in the games library.. and if the current console generation tried to keep their current hardware profile for as long as the previous one that would allow them an increasing performance per dollar advantage. But I tend to think apathy and inertia will prevail.

Is a man not entitled to the hurf of his durf?
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KallDrexx
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Reply #184 on: October 16, 2015, 08:19:39 AM

Valve can definitely fix it themselves.  When I stream X-Com to my Nvidia Shield TV it gives me two options (original or x-pac) and it auto-clicks in the launcher to the one I want to create, thus making me not need a physical mouse plugged in.  Nvidia has actually done fixes like this in many games using an auto-hotkey type of system when it detects the launcher, and it works pretty flawlessly.

The fact that their gamepad has a specific mode to emulate a trackball mouse means they could solve it for all games by doing what Nvidia has done, or by just emulating a mouse like they advertised.  The problem they are probably having is that it's loading X-Com in xbox-style gamepad mode instead of trackball mouse mode when in reality you need to be able to switch modes.  They could have easily handled that by having a toggle switch somewhere on the back so users can switch between two modes (have a primary and secondary). 
Kageru
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Reply #185 on: October 16, 2015, 11:35:53 PM


The shield and steam forums have some people complaining about controller support on the game. The best fix would be patching it to actually have controller support that works but they also seem to have some work arounds. It will only be a real issue if it's endemic. Same for games that theoretically run on the machines but are actually too intense in performance requirements to run well.

Was browsing youtube and saw a review of a Zotac EN970 which looked in steam machine territory and indeed it is as the SN970. Still seems pretty expensive to me which is going to limit / slow adoption.

Is a man not entitled to the hurf of his durf?
- Simond
MrHat
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Reply #186 on: February 25, 2016, 08:52:11 AM

Anyone have more recent experience with Steam Link?

I've got a few story games I want to play with the fam/friends and @ $50 it pays for itself by buying those games on Steam vs. PSN, just don't want to run a 100ft ethernet cable.
Yegolev
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Reply #187 on: February 25, 2016, 01:50:08 PM

If Steam Link is the thing where you share games on your LAN, it works great for me as long as I'm not trying to stream from my PC to my Mac.

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eldaec
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Reply #188 on: January 13, 2017, 10:17:44 AM

I picked up a steam link and controller in the sales.

Fwiw...

- The link is great. To my old person eyes it runs with zero lag over wifi despite the warnings that I should really use wired LAN. Only complaint is that sometimes it fails to detect my PC and wake on LAN just doesn't work - but rebooting  seems to fix this. Playing Hitman with it at the moment.


- The controller I've been pleasantly surprised by. I've never owned a console but have used track pads a lot on laptops, which might be part of why I like it, but seems more natural to do things like aiming and camera control with a pad than a thumb stick.

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Lucas
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Further proof that Italians have suspect taste in games.


Reply #189 on: January 13, 2017, 01:14:36 PM

Regarding the Steam Link: I realize that it's mainly a tool when you are in a "comfy" mood (at least compared to the usual chair + desk setup). But, let's say I'm ready to play Witcher 3: when it comes to visual quality and fps, would I get the same experience on my regular 42" LCD TV screen compared to my 2560x1440 monitor?

" He's so impatient, it's like watching a teenager fuck a glorious older woman." - Ironwood on J.J. Abrams
Sky
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I love my TV an' hug my TV an' call it 'George'.


Reply #190 on: January 13, 2017, 01:25:16 PM

Witcher 3 on the big screen with a game pad is amazing.
eldaec
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Reply #191 on: January 13, 2017, 06:38:15 PM

Regarding the Steam Link: I realize that it's mainly a tool when you are in a "comfy" mood (at least compared to the usual chair + desk setup). But, let's say I'm ready to play Witcher 3: when it comes to visual quality and fps, would I get the same experience on my regular 42" LCD TV screen compared to my 2560x1440 monitor?

The steam link will push out the same source images and fps as the host PC.

Obviously relative quality of your tv and monitor has an impact. But I'm finding AAA titles generally feel better on my 50" plasma backed up by my living room sound system, than on my PC monitor.

It's likely your monitor has higher resolution than your TV - but size of screen and distance from it will probably make it more cinematic on the TV, just as high definition doesn't necessarily make a film better to watch.
« Last Edit: January 13, 2017, 06:40:57 PM by eldaec »

"People will not assume that what they read on the internet is trustworthy or that it carries any particular ­assurance or accuracy" - Lord Leveson
"Hyperbole is a cancer" - Lakov Sanite
eldaec
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Reply #192 on: January 13, 2017, 08:27:47 PM

Turns out the bit about fps isn't quite true. Steam link is capped at 60fps.

"People will not assume that what they read on the internet is trustworthy or that it carries any particular ­assurance or accuracy" - Lord Leveson
"Hyperbole is a cancer" - Lakov Sanite
Lucas
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Further proof that Italians have suspect taste in games.


Reply #193 on: January 14, 2017, 02:21:20 PM

Thanks :) . Yeah, I imagine it would also depend on the overall quality of the TV and the related colour calibrations you can adjust. Regarding FPS, in the particular case of TW3, I wouldn't mind because, no matter the fact I have a 144hz G-Sync, I limit the frames to 60 for CD Projekt's title.

" He's so impatient, it's like watching a teenager fuck a glorious older woman." - Ironwood on J.J. Abrams
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