Steam Discussion Thread

DPI

[H]F Junkie
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For the discussion of Steam, SteamOS, SteamVR, Steambox, Steam Controller, Steam In-Home Streaming, etc
 
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A new revision of the Steam Controller was spotted and made the news rounds today, as this diagram is what's now displayed for the controller in the latest beta client update. Notably, a thumbstick has replaced the DPAD.

h7htAJO.jpg
 
Just tried it on the Linux client.. That MP3 Player isn't bad.. It cataloged my collection nicely. One step closer to Steam making XMBC unnecessary.
 
A new revision of the Steam Controller was spotted and made the news rounds today, as this diagram is what's now displayed for the controller in the latest beta client update. Notably, a thumbstick has replaced the DPAD.

h7htAJO.jpg

Minor correction. Didn't replace the DPAD. It was four buttons just like the right hand side just mirrored.
 
I just noticed.. No flac support.. How is that even possible they didn't include that?
 
Just tried it on the Linux client.. That MP3 Player isn't bad.. It cataloged my collection nicely. One step closer to Steam making XMBC unnecessary.

Yeah. I wish it would work with MythTV backend.
 
I just noticed.. No flac support.. How is that even possible they didn't include that?

Because its a beta? its pretty obviously barebones at this point, and flac isn't exactly mainstream. I'm sure it be supported when it leaves beta.
 
Because its a beta? its pretty obviously barebones at this point, and flac isn't exactly mainstream. I'm sure it be supported when it leaves beta.
Maybe it's just me, but I prefer WMA Lossless to FLAC.
 
I didn't know people used it much anymore. Seems like FLAC & ALAC are released the most.
I started using it years ago to transfer my CD collection. I tried out FLAC a couple years ago and recently, and it seems no matter what settings I try it can't match the sound output of the algorithm WMA uses for VBR.
 
I started using it years ago to transfer my CD collection. I tried out FLAC a couple years ago and recently, and it seems no matter what settings I try it can't match the sound output of the algorithm WMA uses for VBR.

Yeah this doesnt make any sense. FLAC is a completely lossless format with 0 compression artifacts and can be shown to be identical to the digital source
 
I started using it years ago to transfer my CD collection. I tried out FLAC a couple years ago and recently, and it seems no matter what settings I try it can't match the sound output of the algorithm WMA uses for VBR.

Apple user spotted. "It's just better'. It seems different because you believe it is, even when it's not.
 
Apple user spotted. "It's just better'. It seems different because you believe it is, even when it's not.
Okay. Considering WMA is a Microsoft format and I have never touched anything made by Apple in my entire life. Nothing I said in my previous posts were ever stated as fact.

DISCLAIMER:
The words conveyed in the above post are from the view point of the poster and can be considered an opinion unless otherwise stated.

:rolleyes:
 
Okay. Considering WMA is a Microsoft format and I have never touched anything made by Apple in my entire life. Nothing I said in my previous posts were ever stated as fact.

DISCLAIMER:
The words conveyed in the above post are from the view point of the poster and can be considered an opinion unless otherwise stated.

:rolleyes:

Im not agreeing with his post about the apple-user but it still just doesnt make any sense. I have done mathematical comparisons of waveforms from FLAC to source and 100% of the time it is 100% equal. I did this because i was comparing FLAC and MP3.

I also used this to compare the mathmatical difference of the digital waveforms between flac and MP3 so i could here literally just what mp3 cuts out...anyways this is way off topic, but what your stating is an impossibility that WMA Lossless is better when its digitally not
 
A new revision of the Steam Controller was spotted and made the news rounds today, as this diagram is what's now displayed for the controller in the latest beta client update. Notably, a thumbstick has replaced the DPAD.

h7htAJO.jpg
I am curious about this modification because when possible, and adequate, I like to use analog movement in conjunction with mouse camera control in first and third person view games; this implementation could be interesting. However, the problem I see with this new layout is the use in fighting games where people seem to favor the DPad over the analog stick.
 
Im not agreeing with his post about the apple-user but it still just doesnt make any sense. I have done mathematical comparisons of waveforms from FLAC to source and 100% of the time it is 100% equal. I did this because i was comparing FLAC and MP3.

I also used this to compare the mathmatical difference of the digital waveforms between flac and MP3 so i could here literally just what mp3 cuts out...anyways this is way off topic, but what your stating is an impossibility that WMA Lossless is better when its digitally not

I dunno, i remember reading an article a long time ago where they compared shitty mp3 songs to flac in a subjective test and people like the mp3 because thats what they were used to. So in that lense it would make sense.
 
However, the problem I see with this new layout is the use in fighting games where people seem to favor the DPad over the analog stick.

I dunno, it feels like the videogame industry kinda moved on from fighting games a long time ago. There's the occasional fighting title for consoles but by and large its all about FPS, RTS, RPG, MMO, MOBA these days - especially on PC.

So perhaps they asked the question "how much do we cater to an increasingly niche and legacy genre versus adding functionality for the more popular genres going forward". Or maybe they'll just end up making multiple versions of the Steam Controller. But in any case I assume the layout will continue to evolve before its finalized.
 
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I tried the streaming a couple of times. It worked OK with Hitman Absolution, but was a train wreck with Sniper Elite V2. I think it's almost impossible to use wireless on both clients, should probably have the PC doing the encoding on a wired connection but that isn't possible for me.
 
I tried the streaming a couple of times. It worked OK with Hitman Absolution, but was a train wreck with Sniper Elite V2. I think it's almost impossible to use wireless on both clients, should probably have the PC doing the encoding on a wired connection but that isn't possible for me.

That really depends on your network setup. I do streaming from my wireless PC to my Surface pro 3 with very very little latency issues. Both are on 802.11ac adapters and an 802.11ac router which puts speeds at over 1 Gbps which is more than adequate

edit: That being said steam streaming does have its issues. If im playing Divinity Original Sin streamed from my desktop to my surface pro 3 moving the camera doesnt work properly. If i move the mouse to the top of the screen the camera will move up, if i move the mouse to the left side the camera moves left. However it doesnt work for moving the camera right or down, it just sits there if the mouse is at the edge of the screen. Using wasd works fine but the mouse wont move the camera right or down
 
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I started using it years ago to transfer my CD collection. I tried out FLAC a couple years ago and recently, and it seems no matter what settings I try it can't match the sound output of the algorithm WMA uses for VBR.
Both WMA Lossless and FLAC are provably lossless. They use a compression mechanism not all that dissimilar to ZIP files. A difference in output may be the result of a flawed decoder, but this is much less likely than the possibility any difference perceived was simply placebo.
 
I dunno, it feels like the videogame industry kinda moved on from fighting games a long time ago. There's the occasional fighting title for consoles but by and large its all about FPS, RTS, RPG, MMO, MOBA these days - especially on PC.

So perhaps they asked the question "how much do we cater to an increasingly niche and legacy genre versus adding functionality for the more popular genres going forward". Or maybe they'll just end up making multiple versions of the Steam Controller. But in any case I assume the layout will continue to evolve before its finalized.
It does indeed seem to be a niche audience, however, lately there has been a resurgence of fighting titles becoming available on PC and Evo seems to have a very big following... I do not know either.

Regarding this design, I am probably the only person to think this, but the best compromise in my opinion would be to make that analog stick clicky like the directional stick on the NeoGeo Pocket, albeit with less audio feedback. This could potentially provide enough precision for fighting games and other genres witch require precision.

No doubt the layout will continue to evolve, this is Valve we are talking about, though I do hope we will see the Steam Controller become available sooner than later. The whole reason I have not purchased an XBox One controller for my system is because I would like to spend that money on the Steam Controller.
 
Steam is an intrusive and completely unnecessary middleman between a user and his games. I'll update my games myself. I'll play my offline games whenever the fuck I want, regardless of internet connection. I will never accept being possibly arbitrarily banned from accessing my own games with no recourse.

Of course we'll get some typical white-knight arguments like "you aren't buying the game, like man, just a license to use it". What bull. You purchase and then own a game just like a movie or a book. Every corporate leech currently destroying gaming is trying to fuck us over and white knights are eating it up with this kind of idiotic argument.
 
Steam is an intrusive and completely unnecessary middleman between a user and his games. I'll update my games myself. I'll play my offline games whenever the fuck I want, regardless of internet connection. I will never accept being possibly arbitrarily banned from accessing my own games with no recourse.

Of course we'll get some typical white-knight arguments like "you aren't buying the game, like man, just a license to use it". What bull. You purchase and then own a game just like a movie or a book. Every corporate leech currently destroying gaming is trying to fuck us over and white knights are eating it up with this kind of idiotic argument.

Dude.. Why are you so angry and looking for fights where there isn't anyway?
 
Steam is an intrusive and completely unnecessary middleman between a user and his games. I'll update my games myself. I'll play my offline games whenever the fuck I want, regardless of internet connection. I will never accept being possibly arbitrarily banned from accessing my own games with no recourse.

Of course we'll get some typical white-knight arguments like "you aren't buying the game, like man, just a license to use it". What bull. You purchase and then own a game just like a movie or a book. Every corporate leech currently destroying gaming is trying to fuck us over and white knights are eating it up with this kind of idiotic argument.

Thanks for the laugh
 
Steam is an intrusive and completely unnecessary middleman between a user and his games. I'll update my games myself. I'll play my offline games whenever the fuck I want, regardless of internet connection. I will never accept being possibly arbitrarily banned from accessing my own games with no recourse.

Of course we'll get some typical white-knight arguments like "you aren't buying the game, like man, just a license to use it". What bull. You purchase and then own a game just like a movie or a book. Every corporate leech currently destroying gaming is trying to fuck us over and white knights are eating it up with this kind of idiotic argument.
I also prefer the days of when we could simply purchase a game and install it without going through all the hoops we have to today. However, Steam is considered by many the best compromise to this day between convenience and DRM, there are and have been much worse solutions out there.

On a side note, you use the term 'white knighting' — I do not think it means what you thing it means. :eek:
 
Steam is an intrusive and completely unnecessary middleman between a user and his games. I'll update my games myself. I'll play my offline games whenever the fuck I want, regardless of internet connection. I will never accept being possibly arbitrarily banned from accessing my own games with no recourse.

Of course we'll get some typical white-knight arguments like "you aren't buying the game, like man, just a license to use it". What bull. You purchase and then own a game just like a movie or a book. Every corporate leech currently destroying gaming is trying to fuck us over and white knights are eating it up with this kind of idiotic argument.

weird, i love steam. it updates my games, keeps them relevant (try playing a game from 1995 on your win8 system using the cd), keeps me from having to go to the store and wait in line, makes them cheaper, keeps me from having a huge pile of old game cds/boxes around, introduces me to new games, gives me a chat client to talk to my friends in-game and meet new gaming friends, provides anti-cheat services, and much more!
 
Thanks for the laugh

Likewise. I thought this was a forum for power users, who like to exert 100% control over their hardware and software. Convenience and groupthink trumps that though, right?

I'm not really after a fight, it's just very surprising how many people here turn a blind eye to what Steam represents. Sure there's far worse forms of DRM and third-party meddling out there. But we shouldn't be tolerating any of it. You can't apply different standards to Steam because it's the least odious middleman out there. TNSTAAFL.
 
How does one exert "100% control" over almost invariably closed-source games?

To answer your question, however; yes, convenience often trumps control. It's regularly the case that convenience masks complexity, and that opportunity for control lies within that complexity. Steam users simply relinquish a modicum of control for a similar or greater degree of simplicity. Automatic patching is a good example: Steam users don't get to exercise (a great degree of) control over the software versions they're using, but what they get is the convenience in not having to manage patches themselves. Why is it "groupthink" to make such trade-offs?
 
Steam is an intrusive and completely unnecessary middleman between a user and his games. I'll update my games myself. I'll play my offline games whenever the fuck I want, regardless of internet connection. I will never accept being possibly arbitrarily banned from accessing my own games with no recourse.

Of course we'll get some typical white-knight arguments like "you aren't buying the game, like man, just a license to use it". What bull. You purchase and then own a game just like a movie or a book. Every corporate leech currently destroying gaming is trying to fuck us over and white knights are eating it up with this kind of idiotic argument.

Steam has done more for PC gaming and proven itself to be a great platform. You are a minority and your complaints are ridiculous.
 
Likewise. I thought this was a forum for power users, who like to exert 100% control over their hardware and software. Convenience and groupthink trumps that though, right?

I'm not really after a fight, it's just very surprising how many people here turn a blind eye to what Steam represents. Sure there's far worse forms of DRM and third-party meddling out there. But we shouldn't be tolerating any of it. You can't apply different standards to Steam because it's the least odious middleman out there. TNSTAAFL.

You should consider another hobby.
 
I could see how Steam could be seen unfavorably if you don't have real life/online friends to play with. I don't mean that in a condescending way.
 
@Wabbitseason. Simple fact is that consumers agreed to the software license system many years ago. I can see it getting tweaked slightly in the future. But the basic system is so "Corporation friendly" that it isn't going to change. For every one person that recognizes how asinine the system is; there are 10,000 that don't care even if sued.

Perfect example of consumers accepting handcuffs placed on their software. This isn't a Steam issue. This is a "people are sheep and corporations who set standards know it" issue.
 
Wabbit,
Steam is convenient for both consumers and developers. They are a middleman, but the service they provide as a middleman (easy updating, social features, sales) along with their reputation has won over consumers.
That's it. There is nothing more to it than that. If the service they provided becomes worse or they become greedier, people will stop using Steam. But its good enough now.

Their customer service sucks, and the UI is awful for multitasking within steam IMO, it has room for improvement. But it works for most things. So /shrug.
 
Steam has a new icon! Well at least the beta does.
Now you can hide your most hated games! Again a beta client thing. ;)
 
I dont get what all the hubub is about. If you dont like steam, get GOG. call it a day
 
Valve adds new app types in a recent Steam client beta update: Music, Movies, TV Series, Plugins

q3IfR5U.png
 
Steam has a new icon! Well at least the beta does.
Now you can hide your most hated games! Again a beta client thing. ;)

You can? Shit, I didn't even notice that yet. I have those games in a very angrily named folder :D

For some reason the new colors seem really, uhm, saturated? Just looks really weird compared to the dull colors before. Also, not sure how useful the music portion is going to be since a lot of people stream music which won't work with it.
 
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