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Re: 3 Steam Announcements

Just a small point.
Valve is not really a "multi billion dollar corporation".

I mean yes it has a large revenue stream, over a billion, and a huge user base who have bought one or more games in the past and start their software when the PC boots, but it also pays a lot of revenue back to the publishers, and is private (which means Gabe is very rich on paper).

But it has just 400 employees, according to wikipedia.

So it isn't the multi-billion dollar corporation of the kind where they have a huge team of product designers, are knee deep in experience with hardware, factories in China, etc etc. Versus google, apple, sony, microsoft it has a tiny slice of the brain power on payroll. Even if they are very focussed.

Announcement Number 2

STEAM MACHINES

»store.steampowered.com/livingroo···achines/

A powerful new category of living-room hardware is on the horizon.

Join the hardware beta now.

Choose the model right for you in 2014.

Finally, a multiple choice answer

Entertainment is not a one-size-fits-all world. We want you to be able to choose the hardware that makes sense for you, so we are working with multiple partners to bring a variety of Steam gaming machines to market during 2014, all of them running SteamOS.

But first, Valve’s prototype

While these products are still in development, we need your help. As always, we believe the best way to ensure that the right products are getting made is to let people try them out and then make changes as we go. We have designed a high-performance prototype that’s optimized for gaming, for the living room, and for Steam. Of course, it’s also completely upgradable and open.

This year we’re shipping just 300 of these boxes to Steam users, free of charge, for testing. You can make yourself eligible to get one. How? Read on!

Here’s how to participate

Want to make yourself eligible to participate in the beta? Add yourself to the list of candidates by completing the Eligibility Quest on Steam. Sound hard? It’s not.

THE HARDWARE BETA ELIGIBILITY QUEST:
Before October 25, log in to Steam and then visit your quest page to track your current status towards beta test eligibility

1. Join the Steam Universe community group

2. Agree to the Steam Hardware Beta Terms and Conditions

3. Make 10 Steam friends (if you haven't already)

4. Create a public Steam Community profile (if you haven't already)

5. Play a game using a gamepad in Big Picture mode

You can complete the steps in any order. Once you’ve completed all of the steps, you’ll be awarded a special badge, and you’ll officially be among the pool of people from whom we’ll choose beta participants / hardware recipients.

On October 25th, the list will be locked. So complete the quest before then!

Your help is critical to our design process. Your feedback will shape both the new OS version of Steam and the new category of gaming machines that will run it.

Questions!

When can I buy one?!

Beginning in 2014, there will be multiple SteamOS machines to choose from, made by different manufacturers.

I’m pretty happy with my PC Gaming setup, do I have to buy a new piece of hardware now?

No. Everything that we’ve been doing on Steam for the last 10 years will continue to move forward.

If you guys are delivering an OS to hardware manufacturers, why is Valve also making its own box?

We're conducting a beta of the overall Steam living-room experience, so we needed to build prototype hardware on which to run tests. At Valve we always rely on real-world testing as part of our design process. The specific machine we're testing is designed for users who want the most control possible over their hardware. Other boxes will optimize for size, price, quietness, or other factors.

How will you choose the 300 beta participants?

A small number of users (30 or less) will be chosen based on their past community contributions and beta participation. The remainder will be chosen at random from the eligible pool.

Should I create lots of Steam accounts to increase my chances of getting selected?

No, that won’t work.

What are the specs of the Valve prototype?

We'll tell you more about it soon. Remember, there will ultimately be several boxes to choose from, with an array of specifications, price, and performance.

Where’s a picture of it? How big is it?

We promise we'll tell you more about it soon.

When will the prototypes ship?

This year.

Will beta testers be allowed to share info about their experience and post pictures and opinions online?

Yes, that really is the whole point. The input from testers should come in many forms: bug reports, forum posts, concept art, 3D prints, haikus, and also very publicly stated opinions.

Will I be able to build my own box to run SteamOS?

Yes.

Can I hack this box? Run another OS? Change the hardware? Install my own software? Use it to build a robot?

Sure.

Can I download the OS to try it out?

You will be able to download it (including the source code, if you're into that) but not yet.

If I’m not in the beta, how can I help and contribute feedback?

The Steam Universe Group is where feedback is being collected. Most areas of the group will remain open for participation by all Steam users. Some may be limited to beta participants only, but there will be plenty of ways to contribute feedback for everyone.

What games will be available during the beta?

The nearly 3,000 games on Steam. Hundreds already running natively on the SteamOS, with more to come. The rest will work seamlessly via in-home streaming.

What is SteamOS? What’s included?

Here's a link to what we said earlier about SteamOS. We'll have more details to tell you, soon.

Am I going to be using a mouse and a keyboard in the living-room?

If you want. But Steam and SteamOS work well with gamepads, too. Stay tuned, though - we have some more to say very soon on the topic of input.
--
I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.- Edward Everett Hale

My Blog - Raising Connor

Thanks for posting this, I just saw this a few minutes ago, I'm going to try their survey and see what it comes up with.

EQ
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Support Bacteria -- It's the Only Culture Some People Have

x

answers a number of questions.

It isn't going to be locked down and it isn't going to be a streaming only living room appliance.

I think you maybe onto something there....good call, something that ties between the PC and the Big Picture options, maybe.

We shall see.

I'm not sure about the Steam gamepad... I think that logitech is already doing a really good job at it with the fXXX gamepads. I have the F710s and they work amazingly well with every game. Added with the XBOX controller, there isn't anything that would make Steam standout unless they go for some never before seen design or something.

I think the last announcement will be split screen mode.

I still don't see the point of this whole thing. Yeah, Steam is obviously trying to steal PS4/Xbox/WiiU market share. What's the incentive for someone that only owns a console to switch over to this?

Are games on one of these systems running the SteamOS going to run better than a Windows gaming PC?

I think you're looking at it from the wrong angle...or maybe just a tad to the side. I think what they're trying to do is make Steam more accessible to the living room, instead of just being on your PC. With the Steam box you can run the game on your PC, but have it displayed in your living room, where you can play it there. This also might translate, as you were mentioning, into demystifying some of the console only people into trying it out, since they'll be more familiar with the setup, and not daunted by the PC. Just a thought.

I wouldn't mind being able to play a lot of my games from my PC in my living room. I could do it if I wanted to move my rig downstairs, I guess, but that ain't gonna happen.

I do think the third announcment is likely going to be the controller. There are notes all over of Valve patenting a controller that you're able to customize by putting in DPad or Sticks into the controller itself, whichever way you like, as well as "biometric feedback". We'll see I guess, but it's where I would put my money.
--
I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.- Edward Everett Hale

My Blog - Raising Connor

I'm just going to have to see and read more about it to understand it more. My PC is already off to the side in my living room. So I guess that's where my confusion comes from.

Regarding the controller. It better be a damn ingenious design. Because Windows Xbox 360 controllers, already work perfect.

The other thing is, not every PC game release comes with full controller support (I'd bet 10-15% of game don't). I'm wondering how Steam is going to handle that.

»www.kotaku.com.au/2012/03/is-thi···-design/

Next Announcement,

Half Life 3 available exclusively on StemOS.

STEAM CONTROLLER

»store.steampowered.com/livingroo···troller/

A new way to play your entire Steam library from the sofa.

Join the Steam hardware beta and help us shape a new generation of gaming.

A different kind of gamepad

We set out with a singular goal: bring the Steam experience, in its entirety, into the living-room. We knew how to build the user interface, we knew how to build a machine, and even an operating system. But that still left input — our biggest missing link. We realized early on that our goals required a new kind of input technology — one that could bridge the gap from the desk to the living room without compromises. So we spent a year experimenting with new approaches to input and we now believe we’ve arrived at something worth sharing and testing with you.

Complete catalog

The Steam Controller is designed to work with all the games on Steam: past, present, and future. Even the older titles in the catalog and the ones which were not built with controller support. (We’ve fooled those older games into thinking they’re being played with a keyboard and mouse, but we’ve designed a gamepad that’s nothing like either one of those devices.) We think you’ll agree that we’re onto something with the Steam Controller, and now we want your help with the design process.

Superior performance

Traditional gamepads force us to accept compromises. We’ve made it a goal to improve upon the resolution and fidelity of input that’s possible with those devices. The Steam controller offers a new and, we believe, vastly superior control scheme, all while enabling you to play from the comfort of your sofa. Built with high-precision input technologies and focused on low-latency performance, the Steam controller is just what the living-room ordered.

Dual trackpads

The most prominent elements of the Steam controller are its two circular trackpads. Driven by the player’s thumbs, each one has a high-resolution trackpad as its base. It is also clickable, allowing the entire surface to act as a button. The trackpads allow far higher fidelity input than has previously been possible with traditional handheld controllers. Steam gamers, who are used to the input associated with PCs, will appreciate that the Steam Controller’s resolution approaches that of a desktop mouse.

Whole genres of games that were previously only playable with a keyboard and mouse are now accessible from the sofa. RTS games. Casual, cursor-driven games. Strategy games. 4x space exploration games. A huge variety of indie games. Simulation titles. And of course, Euro Truck Simulator 2.

In addition, games like first-person shooters that are designed around precise aiming within a large visual field now benefit from the trackpads’ high resolution and absolute position control.

Haptics

Trackpads, by their nature, are less physical than thumbsticks. By themselves, they are “light touch” devices and don’t offer the kind of visceral feedback that players get from pushing joysticks around. As we investigated trackpad-based input devices, it became clear through testing that we had to find ways to add more physicality to the experience. It also became clear that “rumble”, as it has been traditionally implemented (a lopsided weight spun around a single axis), was not going to be enough. Not even close.

The Steam Controller is built around a new generation of super-precise haptic feedback, employing dual linear resonant actuators. These small, strong, weighted electro-magnets are attached to each of the dual trackpads. They are capable of delivering a wide range of force and vibration, allowing precise control over frequency, amplitude, and direction of movement.

This haptic capability provides a vital channel of information to the player - delivering in-game information about speed, boundaries, thresholds, textures, action confirmations, or any other events about which game designers want players to be aware. It is a higher-bandwidth haptic information channel than exists in any other consumer product that we know of. As a parlour trick they can even play audio waveforms and function as speakers.

Touch Screen

In the center of the controller is another touch-enabled surface, this one backed by a high-resolution screen. This surface, too, is critical to achieving the controller’s primary goal - supporting all games in the Steam catalog. The screen allows an infinite number of discrete actions to be made available to the player, without requiring an infinite number of physical buttons.

The whole screen itself is also clickable, like a large single button. So actions are not invoked by a simple touch, they instead require a click. This allows a player to touch the screen, browse available actions, and only then commit to the one they want. Players can swipe through pages of actions in games where that’s appropriate. When programmed by game developers using our API, the touch screen can work as a scrolling menu, a radial dial, provide secondary info like a map or use other custom input modes we haven’t thought of yet.

In order to avoid forcing players to divide their attention between screens, a critical feature of the Steam Controller comes from its deep integration with Steam. When a player touches the controller screen, its display is overlayed on top of the game they’re playing, allowing the player to leave their attention squarely on the action, where it belongs.

Buttons

Every button and input zone has been placed based on frequency of use, precision required and ergonomic comfort. There are a total of sixteen buttons on the Steam Controller. Half of them are accessible to the player without requiring thumbs to be lifted from the trackpads, including two on the back. All controls and buttons have been placed symmetrically, making left or right handedness switchable via a software config checkbox.

Shared configurations

In order to support the full catalog of existing Steam games (none of which were built with the Steam Controller in mind), we have built in a legacy mode that allows the controller to present itself as a keyboard and mouse. The Steam Community can use the configuration tool to create and share bindings for their favorite games. Players can choose from a list of the most popular configurations.

Openness

The Steam Controller was designed from the ground up to be hackable. Just as the Steam Community and Workshop contributors currently deliver tremendous value via additions to software products on Steam, we believe that they will meaningfully contribute to the design of the Steam Controller. We plan to make tools available that will enable users to participate in all aspects of the experience, from industrial design to electrical engineering. We can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Questions!

Is this the same beta as the Steam machines one, or is it separate?
Same. So you only need to sign up once.

How does the beta work? When will it start? How will you choose participants?
Please see the FAQ on Steam Machines, because it covers lots of important questions.

I’m a happy Steam customer happily using my happy mouse and keyboard. I don’t want a controller?
You can’t make a sentence into a question by just putting a question-mark at the end. But we’re happy you’re happy, and by all means keep using whatever input method makes sense for you. Rest assured, we won’t abandon you. We love mice and keyboards, too.

Can I use a controller if I don’t have a Steam machine?
Yes. It’ll work very well with any version of Steam.

I’m a developer - how can I include support for the Steam Controller in my game?
On the same day that our prototype controllers ship to customers later this year, the first version of our API will also be made available to game developers.

How will the beta controller differ from the one that’s for sale next year?
There are a couple important differences: the first 300 or so beta units won’t include a touch screen, and they won’t be wireless. Instead, they’ll have four buttons in place of the touch screen, and they’ll require a USB cable.

What’s next?
We’re done with our announcements, and we promise to switch gears now and talk specifics over here in our Steam Universe community group. Also we’ll talk soon about the design process and how we’ve arrived at our current prototype. (We’ll post detailed specs next week for our living room SteamOS prototype, too.)

We look forward to working together with you to design the future of Steam in the living room.
--
I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.- Edward Everett Hale

My Blog - Raising Connor

Well, that's definitely different. It's nice to see that they stepped away from the PS/Xbox norm. The trackpads, if they will work well, are a way better idea than the dual sticks we've had so far.

And the placement of the buttons is interesting... I'd be interested in trying it out.

I like it, it is not attached to the box you can use it with steam on your PC.
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"I just wanted chili" - Krisnatharok

It makes sense. Not all buttons need used while on the move.

This can easily be buttons for zoom, inventory, map view, etc. that I would like within easy reach without overcrowding the other side. My bigger concern are the four buttons in the middle square. I'm not sure how practical/easy it is going to be reach it... it's hard to tell without holding it in my hands

But Valve aren't game noobs or a bunch of silly shareholders... I trust that they already did a significant amount of testing for the best placement.