Guild Wars 2

marnick.4305:

Compare to Linux, which is at the whim of the community. That’s a real problem, for example openGL can never, ever, gain the support of directX, simply because it’s impossible to control the community and yet that’s a requirement demanded by companies like nVidia, AMD, Intel and … Arena.net. You simply don’t know what OpenGL is going to look like in 5 years, and that’s a huge problem.

This does not make any sense at all. OpenGL is not a ‘community whim’, its an industry standard developed by companies like Nvidia, AMD, ARM, Intel, Apple and many others. Microsoft used to be part of the group but they left it at some point. The reason why DirectX is more popular because a) Windows is a most popular OS and b) it has a easy to use SDK.

Actually, OpenGL is a more ‘reliable API’, at least in theory, because its an open standard. In contrast, DirectX is not a standard.

Isn’t Direct3D a Microsoft only property? Meaning something else would be running on iOS, Android, PS, Nintendo, Mac OS, Linux-distributions, and so on.

An article about nvidia and AMD response after Valve’s announcements:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2049369/amd-nvidia-ramp-up-linux-driver-support-after-valves-steamos-announcement.html

Something important to remember is that even if it doesn’t run native on Linux it should still be playable on SteamOS through this streaming system they’ve talked about. You’d still need a Windows (or OS X) computer to actually run GW2, but you could play/control it from SteamOS. It’s not as nice as a native version, but it makes a nice stop-gap during the transition period from Windows 7 to SteamOS.

It’s not really monetarily worth it to put in the extra effort to port games over to other OS’s.

Also Steam OS is just Linux, you could run WINE on it and GW2 on that…but don’t expect to get above 30 FPS as WINE does not make good use of CPU and GW2 is a very CPU dependent game.

The only games I expect to land on Steam OS will be Valve first party, and small indie games that don’t require a lot of code or a heavy duty engine.

Actually there’s a pretty impressive chunk of games available only Linux already via Steam. I don’t expect to see EA putting out any Linux games in the next year or two, but a lot of the small to medium sized shops (and a handful of the large ones) are already doing cross platform games.

Could happen, they are at least watching:

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTQ4NDc

http://www.steamforlinux.com/?q=en/node/40

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/05/ea-games-arrive-in-the-ubuntu-software-center

I think any game not on steam is losing right off the bat, especially buy to play games like GW2. Since the secret world went on steam the servers have had a sizeable boost. GW2 should be on steam period.

As for steam OS I think it’s incredibly important to gaming at large to support it, as it gains momentum it’s going to finally put an OS tailored for gamers in our hands, for free.

I’ve played hours of GW2 using a controller and Xpadder, and it’s not only viable, it’s also intuitive.

Anet I hope, is paying close attention to steam OS, any MMO that can be on the initial release would reap a ton of rewards if it can deliver a good experience, since gw2’s combat system is already very controller friendly it would be a smart move.

SteamOs is going to succeed, there is no doubt in my mind. When Valve launched half life 2 and tied it to steam people were outraged, predicted the end of valve and the death of digital delivery to any one and everyone.

Steam now accounts for roughly 2% of the total Internet traffic on the planet.

Steam OS is free, open source and tied to a company that has incredible resources and connections in a sub culture it helped build. Anet get it in gear.

trapline.8541:

I think any game not on steam is losing right off the bat, especially buy to play games like GW2. Since the secret world went on steam the servers have had a sizeable boost. GW2 should be on steam period.

The original GW1 is on Steam however I don’t really see the point of distributing the game like that. Despite being a hugely successful service there are a lot of people that actually don’t like Steam or any kind of DRM.

holodoc.5748:

trapline.8541:

I think any game not on steam is losing right off the bat, especially buy to play games like GW2. Since the secret world went on steam the servers have had a sizeable boost. GW2 should be on steam period.

The original GW1 is on Steam however I don’t really see the point of distributing the game like that. Despite being a hugely successful service there are a lot of people that actually don’t like Steam or any kind of DRM.

“…DRM”?
LoL, so what do you think Windows is ?
;)
Sure I’d like ALL games to be playable natively on MacOSX/Linux/BSD “without” SteamOS, but that is not likely to happen as FAST, as compared to the push something as big as Valve/Steam can bring to the table, right now.
…and lets face it, a LOT of people don’t like Win8, even if it is massively forced upon them. Linux, ( and/or even FreeBSD), can be a better free alternative, especially if “tweaked” for Gaming.
ya know ? "…. first we take manhattan, then berlin … ".

I sincerely hope GW2 is going to come to SteamOS soonm and like ot or not, Here it comes:
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverse#announcements/detail/1930088300965516570
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/12/everything-you-need-to-know-to-install-steamos-on-your-very-own-computer/

Spatry’s Review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPEEhSBl38Q&feature=youtu.be

There is absolutely no reason why GW1 and 2 shouldn’t be on SteamOS already.
Last I checked Anet / Ncsoft,…, are still into selling games right?.
There will be a HUGE shift for games onto Linux desktops soon. There’s no doublt about that now.
Choice, freedom, and opensouce (OpenGL), are good things, remember ?
:)

ok, well take Note:
SteamOS is still in “Beta”, so don’t try it yet, unless you wanna potentially end up like this fella.
Quidsup’s review: ( I was LMAO over this funny British guy )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JLcFsbgfww&feature=youtu.be

Well, it totally depends on investment in time and cost to rework the game to be compatible on the OS, vs how many people would actually buy it.

I mean, it’d be hardly worth it if only a few hundred people buy the game for SteamOS.

marnick.4305:

…. I didn’t say anything which wasn’t true. There’s simply not much positive to say. After almost 30 years of Linux, it’s still an infantile OS when it comes to gaming. That’s the blunt truth and I’m not going to sugar coat it….

30 years ago, “Gaming” was obviously not a priority with Linux.
However, BSD/Unix and Linux, back then, both had a “free” standard TCP/IP stack, for our now world-famous standard “Internet”.
Windows didn’t even have a TCP/IP stack back then -LoL, (well I think they may have had a proprietary/crappy one that NO-ONE would pay for, get it ?).

And, I’ll tell you where Microsoft finally got their embedded TCP/IP stack, they “stole” it, happily and freely, from BSD/Unix, because even Gates knew back then, that the future Internet, and any Networking OS’s that are built to run on it, are going to be the “real” Computing future.

So, that being a proven historical “fact”,
you can now thank BSD/Unix, (and indirectly Linux), for the ability that you are even able to play any and all “online” games in Windows, period.
And, more recently “Gaming” has been taking a much more important role in Linux,…

You’re very Welcome.

GW2 already runs under linux using Wine/Crossover.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Guild_Wars_2_on_Wine

It’s slower on Wine, unfortunately.

GW2 might make the leap, but I doubt it. Having said that, the Havoc physics engine used by GW2 is already Linux compatible.

Next gen might be a different story. Rumours abound that high profile games and engines are cross developing. CryEngine, for instance – their server side can already run Linux, it’s looking reasonably likely that the next major interration of the engine will run client side too. Although they have recently simply stated that they have not made any public statements to confirm or deny the rumour. The rumour is based on job advertisements and word from a 3rd party developer with inside info.

Valve are reporting speed increases of 16% fps on native Linux code over the same machine running native Windows.

Main manufacturers ARE working on linux dev – ATI, nVidia both have drivers.

If one of the most popular benchmarking games made it over to Linux via a CryEngine udate and is seen to perform better on Linux. Just watch the uptake then. If you are a power gamer and have to have BiS then no doubt the BiO (Best in OS) would be essential too.

Lots of if’s and unknowns. But, if major developers are even already thinking about it, then SteamOS is going to make them think even harder.

If you want the references for these details, use google and have a look.

cme on we want guild wars 2 on steam os!!!

TheCXhampion.5819:

cme on we want guild wars 2 on steam os!!!

Please speak for yourself. No interest at all. I would rather have a full featured PC hooked up to my TV then a “toy” OS so the devs should concentrate on the current game instead of using resources to port it.

I would rather pour hot lead down my pants than have to deal with Steam/Valve and their broken bloatware unsupported crap they push on their customers who have no idea how bad the program/company really is. I don’t know why anyone would subject themselves to Steam in this day and age when literally everything else out there is a better option.

Please, do not waste resources on supporting bloatware companies and their future operating systems. Thank you.

I hope beyond hope that game developers begin to ditch Windows in favor of the SteamOS. No one needs bloated Windows for gaming, we could have much faster cheaper and lightweight systems with Steam. Just need the software.

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

TheCXhampion.5819:

cme on we want guild wars 2 on steam os!!!

Please speak for yourself. No interest at all. I would rather have a full featured PC hooked up to my TV then a “toy” OS so the devs should concentrate on the current game instead of using resources to port it.

Why? Don’t you want superior performance of light-weight game focused OS running on any monster hardware you choose?

There is zero reason to ever use Windows for gaming.

The best use of resources would be to begin to ween off of Windows, onto SteamOS.

Zeldain.5710:

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

TheCXhampion.5819:

cme on we want guild wars 2 on steam os!!!

Please speak for yourself. No interest at all. I would rather have a full featured PC hooked up to my TV then a “toy” OS so the devs should concentrate on the current game instead of using resources to port it.

Why? Don’t you want superior performance of light-weight game focused OS running on any monster hardware you choose?

There is zero reason to ever use Windows for gaming.

The best use of resources would be to begin to ween off of Windows, onto SteamOS.

If that monster hardware doesn’t have support for your light-weight gaming OS it’s not really gonna go anywhere now is it?

Zeldain.5710:

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

TheCXhampion.5819:

cme on we want guild wars 2 on steam os!!!

Please speak for yourself. No interest at all. I would rather have a full featured PC hooked up to my TV then a “toy” OS so the devs should concentrate on the current game instead of using resources to port it.

Why? Don’t you want superior performance of light-weight game focused OS running on any monster hardware you choose?

There is zero reason to ever use Windows for gaming.

The best use of resources would be to begin to ween off of Windows, onto SteamOS.

No, I do not. I have dedicated game consoles. Why would I need another one?
No gaming company is gong to stop producing Windows games and move to Steam. You go where the money is. Windows is the dominate OS and Steam is not going to change that. I find it mind boggling that people are pushing for ports when the OS has not even made it past the testing phase and may never even get off the ground. I wonder how many here have even bothered to download it and try to get it working?

Guys, I don’t know to tell you this in a way you haven’t heard but this argument happens EVERY time something new comes out.

It has to prove itself. If it does, games will migrate over.

The best way you can petition SteamOS support out of ArenaNet or any other set of developers is to buy and use SteamOS yourself.

holodoc.5748:

Despite being a hugely successful service there are a lot of people that actually don’t like Steam or any kind of DRM.

7 million users on steam disagree with you today.

http://store.steampowered.com/stats/

OmaiGodman.2098:

If that monster hardware doesn’t have support for your light-weight gaming OS it’s not really gonna go anywhere now is it?

It’s generic hardware… SteamOS runs on your PC. Or the one you can build. That’s the whole point.

If studios start supporting SteamOS it’s better for gamers and curtains for Windows (hehe).

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

No, I do not. I have dedicated game consoles. Why would I need another one?
No gaming company is gong to stop producing Windows games and move to Steam. You go where the money is. Windows is the dominate OS and Steam is not going to change that. I find it mind boggling that people are pushing for ports when the OS has not even made it past the testing phase and may never even get off the ground. I wonder how many here have even bothered to download it and try to get it working?

Because THIS gaming console can exceed your wildest dreams of power – it’s a PC. And it’s a lightweight OS designed for gaming with NONE of the overhead (or legacy bloat) of Windows.

I am dying for the day I can put my self-built Steam Box on my desktop in place of my Windows PC. And that day is coming… faster than you realize.

It’s better for gamers!

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

No, I do not. I have dedicated game consoles. Why would I need another one?
No gaming company is gong to stop producing Windows games and move to Steam. You go where the money is. Windows is the dominate OS and Steam is not going to change that. I find it mind boggling that people are pushing for ports when the OS has not even made it past the testing phase and may never even get off the ground. I wonder how many here have even bothered to download it and try to get it working?

This. Why do people think Steam is going to replace Windows in one fell swoop?
SteamOS isn’t competing with Windows. Its competing with PS4 and XBone for living room space.
I am not a Windows fanboy, but why would I want to pay Valve for a duplicate system that all my other programs won’t run on? Why would the average PC user want to switch everything they have when Windows will play the games they want just as well as Steam and still do everything else the way they have been used to for the last umpteen years.
And as a go-to for putting the image on my TV…..anyone that knows how to plug a DVI or HDMI cord can do that currently now buying a $30 cord rather than a $500 box.
I’m not against SteamOS or the Steambox either. I believe it will find its niche in the living room market with the PS4 and the XBone, and of course amongst enthusiasts, but don’t believe it will topple Windows as the dominant platform for PC. At least not right away in one fell swoop like some people seem to believe it will/should. Maybe after a few/many years of market penetration and making a Windows —> SteamOS transition for all all tasks besides gaming for the average PC gamer. Enthusiasts and early-adopters don’t fall into the category of an average PC gamer.

MrRuin.9740:

This. Why do people think Steam is going to replace Windows in one fell swoop?
SteamOS isn’t competing with Windows. Its competing with PS4 and XBone for living room space.
I am not a Windows fanboy, but why would I want to pay Valve for a duplicate system that all my other programs won’t run on? Why would the average PC user want to switch everything they have when Windows will play the games they want just as well as Steam and still do everything else the way they have been used to for the last umpteen years.
And as a go-to for putting the image on my TV…..anyone that knows how to plug a DVI or HDMI cord can do that currently now buying a $30 cord rather than a $500 box.
I’m not against SteamOS or the Steambox either. I believe it will find its niche in the living room market with the PS4 and the XBone, and of course amongst enthusiasts, but don’t believe it will topple Windows as the dominant platform for PC. At least not right away in one fell swoop like some people seem to believe it will/should. Maybe after a few/many years of market penetration and making a Windows —> SteamOS transition for all all tasks besides gaming for the average PC gamer. Enthusiasts and early-adopters don’t fall into the category of an average PC gamer.

Of course it wouldn’t happen over night, but, it could definitely happen for people who own Windows for no other reason than to play a game or two (like myself.)

I’m a Mac guy, and most of the games I want to play run natively on the Mac. The performance isn’t always as great as Windows… but that’s precisely the kind of edge that SteamOS would have over Windows – performance.

I want a desktop console… something that hooks to my Apple 27" Cinema Displays. Something that works with my mechanical keyboard and Naga mouse. But on my desktop, in place of my PC. This is where all of my good hardware is, not in the living room.

Despite what Valve is creating the SteamOS for, there will be a huge contingent that will use it to build destkop consoles, and I hope studios and publishers really jump all over it.

Since ArenaNet is just down the road from Valve, maybe they could work on being the first MMO on SteamOS

Steam OS is based on a Debian distribution of the Linux kernel, so….

Maybe this ?

I seriously doubt they’ll focus more on a Linux client until they have spare technical resources for that, and with all these changes to client and systems we are having lately…

It’s certainly an expanding market, but still not big enough.

But we’ll see. GW2 should last a few years at least.

Zeldain.5710:

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

No, I do not. I have dedicated game consoles. Why would I need another one?
No gaming company is gong to stop producing Windows games and move to Steam. You go where the money is. Windows is the dominate OS and Steam is not going to change that. I find it mind boggling that people are pushing for ports when the OS has not even made it past the testing phase and may never even get off the ground. I wonder how many here have even bothered to download it and try to get it working?

Because THIS gaming console can exceed your wildest dreams of power – it’s a PC. And it’s a lightweight OS designed for gaming with NONE of the overhead (or legacy bloat) of Windows.

I am dying for the day I can put my self-built Steam Box on my desktop in place of my Windows PC. And that day is coming… faster than you realize.

It’s better for gamers!

I have a PC and it does far more then Steam can ever hope to do so your argument is falling on deaf ears. Steam OS offers nothing that I would be interested in, absolutely nothing at all. I have no use for a light weight OS, I want an OS that can do something else besides play games. Dedicated gaming machines are actually a thing of the past.
Now people want something that can do more, something that can be a whole entertainment center. Steam is a leap backwards.

It makes sense for them to make the game compatible with the Steam OS because it is a OS specially designed for games. It is simply obvious that many gamers will use Steam OS (me included). It might not be suitable for the casual crowd, but it is one of the best things in the history of gaming for, well, gamers.

Zeldain.5710:

Of course it wouldn’t happen over night, but, it could definitely happen for people who own Windows for no other reason than to play a game or two (like myself.)

I’m a Mac guy, and most of the games I want to play run natively on the Mac. The performance isn’t always as great as Windows… but that’s precisely the kind of edge that SteamOS would have over Windows – performance.

I want a desktop console… something that hooks to my Apple 27" Cinema Displays. Something that works with my mechanical keyboard and Naga mouse. But on my desktop, in place of my PC. This is where all of my good hardware is, not in the living room.

Despite what Valve is creating the SteamOS for, there will be a huge contingent that will use it to build destkop consoles, and I hope studios and publishers really jump all over it.

Since ArenaNet is just down the road from Valve, maybe they could work on being the first MMO on SteamOS

Well you would fall into what I would consider an enthusiast. Someone who has a PC just for PC games. Alot of the average PC owners wouldn’t fall into that category.
I have no doubt SteamOS will find its niche with people like yourself and that it will perform admirably.
I wish them the best, but until they have an OS with a lot more to offer than just another gaming box with slight performance boosts over Windows, there’s really no need for me to make the transition. Even dual-booting is just a hassle switching back and forth that I don’t need for the bit of a boost.
I see them doing alright enough to get some support from some publishers, but Windows continuing to dominate with first releases and some developers not jumping aboard due to low market saturation – though in that situation, as I understand it, SteamOS will stream games from a Windows PC, but then its just playing a middle-man that’s not really needed.

Gabby.3205:

It makes sense for them to make the game compatible with the Steam OS because it is a OS specially designed for games. It is simply obvious that many gamers will use Steam OS (me included). It might not be suitable for the casual crowd, but it is one of the best things in the history of gaming for, well, gamers.

This is not a new revolutionary OS, it’s just a stripped down modified version of Linux, nothing more. There is no “porting to Steam” or making it Steam compatible. If it runs on Linux, it will run on the Steam OS. The only thing really different is licensing and distributing it through Valve.

All Valve is doing is suggesting Steam OS be a standard PC gaming OS. Streamline it for gaming and media center functions ala consoles but have the system’s hardware upgradable unlike consoles which require total replacement every N years and no backward compatibility. Make driver updates as automatic as game updates via Steam and make PC hardware as easy to use as a console.

It helps that consoles, by going to hard drives or flash storage over the last two generations help train gamers about day zero patches, which was starting to be an embarrassment to PC games.

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

I have a PC and it does far more then Steam can ever hope to do so your argument is falling on deaf ears. Steam OS offers nothing that I would be interested in, absolutely nothing at all. I have no use for a light weight OS, I want an OS that can do something else besides play games. Dedicated gaming machines are actually a thing of the past.
Now people want something that can do more, something that can be a whole entertainment center. Steam is a leap backwards.

But I don’t want or need it to do other things – I have a Mac for that.

If it can a) turn on and b) play games, that’s al I need in my high power desktop console.

Your gaming experience would be better AND cheaper with SteamOS on your hardware instead of Windows – period.

I feel bad because this really doesn’t have much to do with GW2 other than hoping Anet ports to Steam, but it’s a good discussion.

Zeldain.5710:

But I don’t want or need it to do other things – I have a Mac for that.

If it can a) turn on and b) play games, that’s al I need in my high power desktop console.

Your gaming experience would be better AND cheaper with SteamOS on your hardware instead of Windows – period.

Better and cheaper is relative. Its not cheaper for me to get a new OS or a new box that does exactly what my current OS and box do with a slight performance boost that I’m probably not going to notice anyway.
Its not better for me for to have to dual-boot my system or have a separate box to switch between games and everything else I do in Windows. Its inconvenient.

Its better for you. You are already a dual system/OS user and don’t use or want your Windows box to be anything but a console game system. Its great for you. And thats wonderful.
I just hate seeing a discussion reduced to “this is how it is, its better for me so its better for you. Period, thats the end of it.”

Steam OS has to prove it’s better, first. If it can’t do everything windows can do, better, then I don’t have a reason to use it.

Zeldain.5710:

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

I have a PC and it does far more then Steam can ever hope to do so your argument is falling on deaf ears. Steam OS offers nothing that I would be interested in, absolutely nothing at all. I have no use for a light weight OS, I want an OS that can do something else besides play games. Dedicated gaming machines are actually a thing of the past.
Now people want something that can do more, something that can be a whole entertainment center. Steam is a leap backwards.

But I don’t want or need it to do other things – I have a Mac for that.

If it can a) turn on and b) play games, that’s al I need in my high power desktop console.

Your gaming experience would be better AND cheaper with SteamOS on your hardware instead of Windows – period.

I feel bad because this really doesn’t have much to do with GW2 other than hoping Anet ports to Steam, but it’s a good discussion.

Steam has terrible support and terrible optimization on their Steam gaming platform. It’s so bogged down with garbage, I don’t understand why anyone would subject their PC to those products.

Thinking the OS is going to be somehow better just blows my mind. It’s like assuming the next president is going to be better just because it’s the next president. There is nothing to base what the OS will be capable of beyond what the company says and you can’t trust a word that comes out of their mouths in my experience with them.

Aeonblade.8709:

Zeldain.5710:

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

I have a PC and it does far more then Steam can ever hope to do so your argument is falling on deaf ears. Steam OS offers nothing that I would be interested in, absolutely nothing at all. I have no use for a light weight OS, I want an OS that can do something else besides play games. Dedicated gaming machines are actually a thing of the past.
Now people want something that can do more, something that can be a whole entertainment center. Steam is a leap backwards.

But I don’t want or need it to do other things – I have a Mac for that.

If it can a) turn on and b) play games, that’s al I need in my high power desktop console.

Your gaming experience would be better AND cheaper with SteamOS on your hardware instead of Windows – period.

I feel bad because this really doesn’t have much to do with GW2 other than hoping Anet ports to Steam, but it’s a good discussion.

Steam has terrible support and terrible optimization on their Steam gaming platform. It’s so bogged down with garbage, I don’t understand why anyone would subject their PC to those products.

Thinking the OS is going to be somehow better just blows my mind. It’s like assuming the next president is going to be better just because it’s the next president. There is nothing to base what the OS will be capable of beyond what the company says and you can’t trust a word that comes out of their mouths in my experience with them.

It’s going to automatically be better at the tasks they designed it for because it doesn’t care about all of the things Microsoft has to make Windows be able to do.

Beyond that, they get to ditch DirectX in favor of OpenGL which when optimized is far more performant. Less of your system resources such as RAM or HD/SSD space will be consumed by SteamOS.

It’s a win-win for gamers… unless you’re so entrenched with Windows that you are forced to use it for other things. But once we see some gaming benchmarks out of SteamOS, gamers will start to pay more attention… and there will be no way to get those same numbers out of a Windows box without doubling the price (or possible at all.)

And that’s going to be the make or break of the Steam platform. AMD and nVidia doing a decently optimized OpenGL/CL driver. I expect AMD would rather focus on Mantle for the platform and simply write an OpenGL wrapper for it.

Which brings me to my tinfoil hat conspiracy theory. What I hate is how the game development/GPU manufacturer has gotten into this dance where the later will provide the former with hand optimized shaders so the game scores better on the benchmarks websites use to rate video cards then spend the time writing a better shader compiler so everyone benefits, not just the big FPS games. Or you could align yourself with one of the two who will help you write your shader code so it does compile better on that manufacturers GPU rather than the other guys. And God forbid if your game isn’t one of the ones that are popular enough to use as a benchmark. Good luck to you in getting the best performance out of your shader. There’s a reason people that the drivers are over 150MB in size. There’s a reason why this beta driver suddenly makes new sexy game 30% faster and it has nothing to do with creating a better driver.

Tinfoil hat off.

Zeldain.5710:

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

I have a PC and it does far more then Steam can ever hope to do so your argument is falling on deaf ears. Steam OS offers nothing that I would be interested in, absolutely nothing at all. I have no use for a light weight OS, I want an OS that can do something else besides play games. Dedicated gaming machines are actually a thing of the past.
Now people want something that can do more, something that can be a whole entertainment center. Steam is a leap backwards.

But I don’t want or need it to do other things – I have a Mac for that.

If it can a) turn on and b) play games, that’s al I need in my high power desktop console.

Your gaming experience would be better AND cheaper with SteamOS on your hardware instead of Windows – period.

I feel bad because this really doesn’t have much to do with GW2 other than hoping Anet ports to Steam, but it’s a good discussion.

Then your talking about a console, and like I said, I already have all the consoles I need.
If all it does is play games, it’s competing with the Xbox, Playstation and Wii not with PCs and in that case, it has nothing to offer that my other consoles don’t already have and more.

FYI, I downloaded and setup the current version of the Steam OS and after spending a couple of days playing with it, I am even more convinced it’s only going to be a flash in the pan and easily forgotten. It’s really nothing special at all and setting it up was a HUGE pain, far more then the average gamer is going to bother with before they get frustrated and give up.

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

Then your talking about a console, and like I said, I already have all the consoles I need.
If all it does is play games, it’s competing with the Xbox, Playstation and Wii not with PCs and in that case, it has nothing to offer that my other consoles don’t already have and more.

FYI, I downloaded and setup the current version of the Steam OS and after spending a couple of days playing with it, I am even more convinced it’s only going to be a flash in the pan and easily forgotten. It’s really nothing special at all and setting it up was a HUGE pain, far more then the average gamer is going to bother with before they get frustrated and give up.

I’m talking about a desktop console. A PC replacement. Far more powerful than the Xbox One or PS4 and always will be. Those consoles can’t hold a candle to the hardware I am running SteamOS on. It has EVERYTHING that your consoles do not.

This means that complex and deep games like GW2 or other MMOs could run on SteamOS without worrying about a console controller. It also means it will run games that are available on all platforms much better than any console.

Support for SteamOS would mean support for linux and at begining of GW2 they said they dont plan to do it…. as far as i remember.
Anyway i think it is very bad decision. With SteamOS Linux will become viable gaming platform and in near future more and more new and even current games especialy those on steam will have it’s linux version. And Anet should not stay behind.

Zeldain.5710:

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

Then your talking about a console, and like I said, I already have all the consoles I need.
If all it does is play games, it’s competing with the Xbox, Playstation and Wii not with PCs and in that case, it has nothing to offer that my other consoles don’t already have and more.

FYI, I downloaded and setup the current version of the Steam OS and after spending a couple of days playing with it, I am even more convinced it’s only going to be a flash in the pan and easily forgotten. It’s really nothing special at all and setting it up was a HUGE pain, far more then the average gamer is going to bother with before they get frustrated and give up.

I’m talking about a desktop console. A PC replacement. Far more powerful than the Xbox One or PS4 and always will be. Those consoles can’t hold a candle to the hardware I am running SteamOS on. It has EVERYTHING that your consoles do not.

This means that complex and deep games like GW2 or other MMOs could run on SteamOS without worrying about a console controller. It also means it will run games that are available on all platforms much better than any console.

It is not a PC replacement by any stretch of the imagination. It’s a console, nothing more. I can put my Xbox on my desk and it is still only a console. As to running games from any platform, well that is true, as long as that platform is Linux or Linux, or maybe even Linux. It does not support the huge PC games library, which is already a major flaw. GW2 run s flawlessly on my PC on the highest settings. Why would I need more power? You can run an old DOS based game on an I7, but it is not going to make the game run any better. Since you are stuck on a Mac, I can see where you would want an alternative for gaming but those of us on Windows based PCs really don’t need another gaming OS, especially one that does not support 99% of the games available and never will.

Why should they spend time making a Linux version when far, far more people play on windows, and that version still has bugs.

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

It is not a PC replacement by any stretch of the imagination. It’s a console, nothing more. I can put my Xbox on my desk and it is still only a console. As to running games from any platform, well that is true, as long as that platform is Linux or Linux, or maybe even Linux. It does not support the huge PC games library, which is already a major flaw. GW2 run s flawlessly on my PC on the highest settings. Why would I need more power? You can run an old DOS based game on an I7, but it is not going to make the game run any better. Since you are stuck on a Mac, I can see where you would want an alternative for gaming but those of us on Windows based PCs really don’t need another gaming OS, especially one that does not support 99% of the games available and never will.

Ok, just to be clear: My PC IS a game console running Windows. That’s it. It’s a full on PC replacement for me.

- I hate Windows
- Windows is inefficient for games
- Windows is bloated and does things I don’t need it to do
- Windows is a resource hog

Therefore, I want my desktop console to run SteamOS – a lean OS designed only for games.

As I mentioned, my Mac plays every game I want it to except for one – WildStar. But, if I could play all of those games on a dedicated desktop console than runs rings around a Windows PC, I’d gladly do so. I like to save my Mac for real productivity anyway – it’s what makes me my money.

You don’t understand just what an efficient OS could do for your gaming experience. If you have to use Windows for other crap, sucks to be you, but I promise your gaming experience would be hugely better!

Becka Williams.4978:

Why should they spend time making a Linux version when far, far more people play on windows, and that version still has bugs.

Becouse this is where future goes. Doesn’t matter how many people play on Windows now, becouse this is no longer just big MS vs small Linux. Now it is strong MS that screwed up almost everything they did since win 8 (and that is sadly fact not speculation) vs strong Valve that screwed up nothing. Fact is that Valve will make sure that Steam OS (so basicaly linux) will sooner or later become viable and same strong gaming platform as Windows. They have enough resources to do it. So why anet should think about making linux version? Becouse every other company will most likely do it. And they already did just look at linux games on steam……If you never did you will be surprised how many AAA games already have linux version and that is just begining.