Given that Gabe Newell says that a steam client for Linux will be launching later this year (assuming this isnt like other Valve long-delayed projects), will this influence your decisions regarding targeting Linux as a platform for your ongoing / future projects? If so, why or why not?
For me, I think this is will push me multi-platform and is one reason I'm looking into things like mono and monogame.
Steam and Linux
If Steam releases this on Linux, I will make a full switch to Ubuntu and just have a tiny partition of Windows I can boot just for cross platform development, since I'm hugely lacking Linux development experience, but I would do cross platform programming with Linux, to help the community including that most software packages out their are open source, and I love collaboration, plus hey if you make commercial software for it too, more money too. =)
I do think that this is going to be a major milestone for Linux gaming, its going to mark the first earnest support from a sizable commercial games company for Linux, and one that brings with it not just first-party titles, but a broad distribution channel for third parties, big and small. The hardware vendors will, in turn, take driver support more seriously, and I expect a slow-burning-but-consistently-positive feedback cycle to occur.
Valve is doing this because they believe that the other two platforms, Windows and MacOS, are heading towards a walled-garden, where the computer is no longer a general-purpose device under the control of the user, but a platform who's ecosystem will be more-tightly controlled by their vendors. It would be foolish for a digital distributor to put all its eggs in a basket where the message is so clear that the vendor want's to own, control, and tax the only channel in the long-term. It would be like AMD or Nvidia relying on Intel to manufacture their chips.
Valve is doing this because they believe that the other two platforms, Windows and MacOS, are heading towards a walled-garden, where the computer is no longer a general-purpose device under the control of the user, but a platform who's ecosystem will be more-tightly controlled by their vendors. It would be foolish for a digital distributor to put all its eggs in a basket where the message is so clear that the vendor want's to own, control, and tax the only channel in the long-term. It would be like AMD or Nvidia relying on Intel to manufacture their chips.
If Steam releases this on Linux, I will make a full switch to Ubuntu and just have a tiny partition of Windows I can boot just for cross platform development[/quote]
There's still the important issue of the games themselves being Windows-only. Wine is nice, for the most part, but it still isn't perfect by any means.
will this influence your decisions regarding targeting Linux as a platform for your ongoing / future projects? If so, why or why not?[/quote]
I do already, but that is mostly a side-effect of using Linux as my preferred development platform.
I expect a slow-burning-but-consistently-positive feedback cycle to occur.[/quote]
Minor off-topic note, but I sincerely hope so. I also sincerely hope some of the more .. erractic (read: insane) ... elements of the FOSS/Unix world don't drive them away.
Valve is doing this because they believe that the other two platforms, Windows and MacOS, are heading towards a walled-garden, where the computer is no longer a general-purpose device under the control of the user, but a platform who's ecosystem will be more-tightly controlled by their vendors. It would be foolish for a digital distributor to put all its eggs in a basket where the message is so clear that the vendor want's to own, control, and tax the only channel in the long-term. It would be like AMD or Nvidia relying on Intel to manufacture their chips.
This does make sense. I'd be curious to know where you have read about it though.
I still think Windows will remain the dominant platform, at least for quite a while yet. It's all too easy to go buy a machine from the nearest big box store that is loaded with Windows. Until Linux becomes more available (and less scary) the the average consumer, I don't see it taking off as much. Also, how is the video card driver situation for Linux? Has it improved much in the past few years?
Developing for a potentially growing platform is always a bit of a chicken vs. egg scenario. No one wants to develop for a platform that isn't popular, and a platform that isn't popular won't become popular unless it has reasons to move to it.
Gabe Newell has said as much, directly. I believe it was in the Phoronix article.
Windows is and will remain dominant for the foreseeable future, and its true that valve could not survive on Linux alone -- at least not as we know it today. However, they are essentially taking control of their own destiny with this move, because Apple and Microsoft could (and will, if they believe it makes business sense) lock out other distribution channels entirely, or perhaps charge third-party channels for the privilege.
If push came to shove, only Valve, EA, and maybe Activision are large enough to resist, practically speaking -- by which I mean that only these few are large enough that they could conceivably launch their own platform (E.G. game console, or internet-based game streaming) if they had no other choice. NVidia (most likely) and AMD (less so) could also conceivably shake-up the space with their own hardware, but its far less risky for them to be a supplier, and they'd probably just be another walled-garden anyhow.
Windows is and will remain dominant for the foreseeable future, and its true that valve could not survive on Linux alone -- at least not as we know it today. However, they are essentially taking control of their own destiny with this move, because Apple and Microsoft could (and will, if they believe it makes business sense) lock out other distribution channels entirely, or perhaps charge third-party channels for the privilege.
If push came to shove, only Valve, EA, and maybe Activision are large enough to resist, practically speaking -- by which I mean that only these few are large enough that they could conceivably launch their own platform (E.G. game console, or internet-based game streaming) if they had no other choice. NVidia (most likely) and AMD (less so) could also conceivably shake-up the space with their own hardware, but its far less risky for them to be a supplier, and they'd probably just be another walled-garden anyhow.
I hope it does result in more people producing games for Linux.
I do fear it might just result in an OS/2 games type situation though. (OS/2's support for DOS was so good that games companies just released their DOS games with a configuration file to use when running under OS/2. As a result very few native games were produced. I could imaging them doing the same for Wine.)
I do fear it might just result in an OS/2 games type situation though. (OS/2's support for DOS was so good that games companies just released their DOS games with a configuration file to use when running under OS/2. As a result very few native games were produced. I could imaging them doing the same for Wine.)
I always use only cross-platform technologies (C++11, OpenGL) for all my work, so they can run on Mac, Windows, Linux.
Most people think that the source of this is fake (why would Gabe reply to some random stranger about such an important question when Valve has said nothing publicly?), so don't get fooled. Though I think that Source and Steam being ported to Linux was more or less confirmed (not sure). Then again, Valve Time...
Either this or the whole "Steambox" thing (it'd be cheaper to bundle Linux than Windows). Or both... I doubt Windows 8 will be a full walled garden, but I wouldn't be surprised if for Windows 9 they attempt to remove support for non-Metro programs in home editions :/ (seems unlikely, but it could happen - depends on Windows 8's reception, I guess).
I'd be more worried about them giving up with the state of OpenGL drivers on Linux. The only ones that work reasonably fine are the proprietary nvidia ones, the rest all seem to have issues as soon as you go beyond the basics (or at least far enough for the kind of stuff Source does). Also the state of wi-fi drivers on some hardware, though no idea how bad is it.
Valve is doing this because they believe that the other two platforms, Windows and MacOS, are heading towards a walled-garden, where the computer is no longer a general-purpose device under the control of the user, but a platform who's ecosystem will be more-tightly controlled by their vendors. It would be foolish for a digital distributor to put all its eggs in a basket where the message is so clear that the vendor want's to own, control, and tax the only channel in the long-term. It would be like AMD or Nvidia relying on Intel to manufacture their chips.
Either this or the whole "Steambox" thing (it'd be cheaper to bundle Linux than Windows). Or both... I doubt Windows 8 will be a full walled garden, but I wouldn't be surprised if for Windows 9 they attempt to remove support for non-Metro programs in home editions :/ (seems unlikely, but it could happen - depends on Windows 8's reception, I guess).
Minor off-topic note, but I sincerely hope so. I also sincerely hope some of the more .. erractic (read: insane) ... elements of the FOSS/Unix world don't drive them away.
I'd be more worried about them giving up with the state of OpenGL drivers on Linux. The only ones that work reasonably fine are the proprietary nvidia ones, the rest all seem to have issues as soon as you go beyond the basics (or at least far enough for the kind of stuff Source does). Also the state of wi-fi drivers on some hardware, though no idea how bad is it.
will this influence your decisions regarding targeting Linux as a platform for your ongoing / future projects? If so, why or why not?
Depends; if I'm using an engine which makes it seemless then I'd just release.
If was building from scratch then unless an API which was as good as DX11 was released I'd say hell no.
Given the OpenGL ARB are about as useful as a choclate teapot in the depths of hell I'm not holding out much hope 3D wise... OpenCL is better but still has gaps and support issues, heck even finding out if NV supports 1.2 on Windows isn't easy.. as for sound... I've not played with Windows sound and I don't know what exists on Linux; I use to like OpenAL but XAudio seems like a saner API... same for input; if I was making a game which used the 360 controller than XInput is easy, even windows messages is easy; last time I tried to deal with in on linux I woke up 2 days later hung over and with a gap in my memory.
So.. yeah... APIs if not using an engine... MS still seem to rule the roost there...
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