| Sentient_Nebula said: Nope. Steam Machines (Or any PC-trying-to-be-a-console machine) will never be mainstream. People buy consoles because they're simpler than PCs. They're basically just plug-and-play and you don't have to hassle with graphics settings or drivers and whatnot. People buy PCs because they offer more customization. You can choose your hardware, choose whether you want pretty graphics or high framerates, use almost any controller you want, install mods, and run other software. With a Steam Machine, you get none of those benefits the consoles or PCs have. They are still restricted like a console, but have the complexity of a PC (How many different types of Steam Machines are there? They would've had a better chance of success if there was just 1). |
I have to disagree, mods are still supported as is the workshop, 1100 games ported so far (100 in the last month alone) and you have full access to the linux software catalogue (SteamOS is debian based...so it all runs even if you do have to add another repository see a short list here https://packages.debian.org/stable/allpackages?format=txt.gz ). You can even edit the source code of the OS itself. It supports a huge array of controllers already (I have used standard gaming controllers, a wacom intuos, and even a wiimote on mine) and will have the steam controller built especially for it.
As far as choice goes you can also run a Steam Machine on other flavours of linux (ubuntu, arch, and so on) and many currently do because they are put together better as a desktop. SteamOS is stripped down a bit by default (but that can be changed at will) and uses the Steam Big Picture interface which is standard controller friendly. So the average user will still get mods and workshop features without PC complexity.
It is already a lower overhead system with most developers quoting a 10-15% boost in frame rates when they do a native port, but will be getting Vulkan (https://www.khronos.org/vulkan ) support for bare metal performance. (DX12 is a windows only thing and not all versions of windows will support it).
I built my own because I could not wait till november... it is pretty sweet cost under a grand and blows the doors off a console fits nicely where the dvd player went in the living room (240 x 207.4 x 398.5 mm / 9.4 x 8.2 x 15.7 inch). I like that there are multiple prebuilt models, not everyone has deep pockets.
I still like my console, but the Steam Machine gets most of my attention. I am waiting for someone to hack together full wiiu gamepad support for the Steam Machine though... (one such project is here http://libdrc.org )
