More Evidence For Steam Games On Linux

SheeEttin writes "Back in November 2008, Phoronix reported that Linux libraries appeared in the Left 4 Dead demo, and then in March, Valve announced that Steam and the Source engine were coming to Mac OS X. Now, Phoronix reports that launcher scripts included with the (closed beta) Mac version of Steam include explicit support for launching a Linux version."

Steam on Linux

[L4t3r4lu5]

This is an indication of support for the Steam distribution platform, and some Valve games on Linux. Good luck getting EA to build Linux binaries for their games, because Steam doesn't do that for you.

Good on Valve for going this way, and maybe it's the push big publishers need to start telling devs to create native Linux binaries, but don't think for a moment that that this means all Steam games will run natively on Linux.

Insufficient data for meaningful answer

[Rogerborg]

This could be an ancient script cut-and-pasted to suit. Heck, I've still got a Makefile that has a section for Ultrix but it doesn't mean that it works or that I'm supporting it.

Re:Valve servers available for Linux for years

[PhrostyMcByte]

Indeed -- the Linux binaries in Left 4 Dead were merely for dedicated servers. There was no news there, and the summary makes it seem like Phoronix had greater insight than they really did. Nearly every multiplayer game that runs on Windows has also included dedicated server binaries for Linux, including old Valve titles like Half-Life and Counter-Strike. They just extended that to include a command-line auto-updater that worked through Steam.

That said, if they are porting their games to OS X, it seems like it should not be very hard to go one small step farther and make it work for Linux. Once they've got the OpenGL renderer done and have ported the code to work with GCC, all they need to worry about is the relatively small windowing, audio, and input code which shouldn't take a seasoned developer more than a week to hack up.

Re:Valve servers available for Linux for years

[Antity-H]

all they need to worry about is the relatively small windowing, audio, and input code which shouldn't take a seasoned developer more than a week to hack up.

yeah try to tell that to the linux flash maintainer ... http://blogs.adobe.com/penguin.swf/ [adobe.com]

Re:DRM

[imakemusic]

Valve: Bringing gaming to Linux. (And I don't care how much you think it can't be tolerated, it's still great and wonderful and I will continue to use it.)

Re:Too Stupid To Handel Modern Graphics Hardware

[Anonymous Coward]

Isnt the "modern graphics hardware" inside the PS3 already outdated? How then can it be modern.

Re:Steam on Linux

[binarylarry]

Valve should partner with Canonical and work with them to get a first class Ubuntu release working.

Canonical could put Steam in their official partner repo for closed source stuff like Adobe's software.

You hear me Gabe, contact Mark Shuttleworth at Ubuntu and lets get this rolling!

Re:Steam on Linux

[MZeora]

Funny story - true story. You buy the retail box, then upload the Key to Steam and download and install that way. So really once Steam gets some proper Linux support for their games (through testing as mentioned by others by the various means)

As a full time Linux user. I for one welcome the advance of having Steam run on Linux. Since that'll take from the fan boys of not having the gaming abilities. Linux CAN in fact be a all purpose desktop. Just because it's naturally born as a Server OS doesn't mean it can't be brought to the masses at large, just like everything else it takes time.

Which is why I work hard at my bug reports on my desktop and laptop to help get a Linux Desktop to become a reality. I even suggest based on my test bed editing and compiling of tools that are breaking. (in a VM, but still it counts if it's not a hardware direct issue and if the devs aren't complete dicks)

drm on linux? no thanks.

[Truekaiser]

at the risk of burning karma i will post this.
I moved completely to linux to get away from drm of this kind. i admit steam is a somewhat successful digital distribution system but the drm they bundled with the games makes them too hard to swallow. requiring a constant internet so the games can phone home when needed, sorry offline mode only works a few times before steam refuses to run games until you get back online. along with removing your control of the installed files for the game by putting them in one big file, i have also heard rumors that it prevents you from making backups of the install files though i can't confirm this since i don't want to buy a steam powered game. Also the big push for online distribution also erks me because unlike a small minority of people /my/ isp complains when i download allot of data, it doesn't matter to them if it's legit or not.

I would not be surprised if it does come to linux but requires a kernel module to get the drm to work and prevent users from defeating it since on linux users are more in control of what their computers do then in windows which has long ceded that control company's that do this.

Re:Too Stupid To Handel Modern Graphics Hardware

[rainmouse]

Graphics don't make the game, they only colour it in. Games dependant on fantastic graphics tend to age like sour milk and have almost zero replay value.

Re:Steam on Linux

[DarenN]

I must disagree - availability of games is a major reason why linux on the desktop hasn't taken off. It's certainly the only reason I have a windows install at all.
At this point, I buy most of my games through Steam, simply because it has the best offerings of all the electronic distribution channels. The only thing missing from it is some kind of family account that lets you share your games with more than one login. Having it manage patching is dead handy, it's a one stop place for all games, and it allows unlimited downloads so if you lose a partition or your computer blows up, just log in and download again.

Steam praise aside, it is difficult to get people to use Linux for many reasons, but with distributions like Ubuntu it's hardly ease of use that is the major barrier anymore. Most personal e-mail accounts are online now, so it comes down (for the majority of the market) to office apps and games. PC gaming may be less popular now, but if a large proportion of the Steam library of games was available on Linux, you can encourage the younger crowd to use it. They'll be more comfortable with it, and over time that translates into more demand.

Re:Too Stupid To Handel Modern Graphics Hardware

[Captain Splendid]

I would rather play the actual arcade version in an emulator.

WRONG!

The correct answer is you'd rather hit ebay, hunt down an original cabinet, perform the maintenance and repair necessary, and then bask in the awe of both your geek and non-geek friends when they see it sitting in your living room.

Now hand in your geek card.

Re:Too Stupid To Handel Modern Graphics Hardware

[armanox]

Nothing in the GPL says that a program cannot have use DRM. I'm not sure where you got that idea, or that it would be "trivial to bypass Steam DRM on Linux." Steam itself is the DRM for most Valve games - you have to log into Steam before playing. Secondly, while certain members of the Linux community may be very anti-DRM, Linux is about freedom. That includes the freedom to install closed source software or DRMed software on your system.