Valve confirms Steam on Mac

[Tristam Green]

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/08/valve-confirms-mac-support-for-steam-and-source-engine/

Valve confirmed that its Steam Content delivery system will be coming to Mac OSX this April.

Thoughts? There better be some raving Mac fans in this thread or I'm gonna have words...

[mamamia88]

um maybe if they start to liscense osx it might actually make a difference. but right now you can't really upgrade the mid range imac videocard etc so you would still be better off with a pc.

[Luke has no name]

I wonder if this will make Steam and "Mac-approved" games more portable to Linux.

[DeadSuperHero]

That image is coming up broken for me, can we get a link to an actual statement?

[Tristam Green]

stupid joystiq. the image is hilarious.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/08/valve-confirms-steam-for-mac-debuts-in-april/

[Tristam Green]

Well that's not a very nice attitude to have in a friendly forum like this.

We have plenty of Mac users. One of them happens to be staff and a Forum Council member! Maybe he's pretty excited about this.

[whiskeylover]

Well that's not a very nice attitude to have in a friendly forum like this.

We have plenty of Mac users. One of them happens to be staff and a Forum Council member! Maybe he's pretty excited about this.

Oh, so it was he who deleted my post in which I said "I hate apple." :)

Edit: Added smiley so as to not get this post deleted.

[DeadSuperHero]

I'm kind of curious as to what Steam for Mac would even look like. Would they go with a unified Mac look to fit in with the rest of the system, or will it get a unique "Steam" treatment?

If it holds up nicely, I may well know what to get as my next computer.

[Tristam Green]

Oh, so it was he who deleted my post in which I said "I hate apple."

I accuse nobody of anything. I state already known facts pertinent to this discussion.

jeez, this is big news. First a Mac port of Steam? What's next?

[Dougie187]

I agree that's not a very nice attitude.

It doesn't really excite me that it's on the mac now, just because I don't use a mac. If I did use a mac, I would totally be excited. Though I do think it's rather cool. Especially since source uses opengl, at least this statement says it does.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/62687

I don't know if it always did, or if they just modified it to use opengl. Either way, that should make it more compatible with linux too, shouldn't it? I mean, it's not going to play natively yet. But maybe eventually?

[BrokenKingpin]

We have plenty of Mac users. One of them happens to be staff and a Forum Council member! Maybe he's pretty excited about this.

Then these users, council member or not, should go to a mac forum to discuss mac topics. I signed up for these forums to discuss Linux, and more specifically Ununtu, not to see 20+ posts a day about Windows and Mac.

[DeadSuperHero]

Either way, that should make it more compatible with linux too, shouldn't it? I mean, it's not going to play natively yet. But maybe eventually?

In theory. It would require quite a lot of work porting it over to Linux APIs seeing as it probably uses a TON of MacOS-native APIs in Cocoa and Quartz.

But I think this may be a big step.

[Dougie187]

Then these users, council member or not, should go to a mac forum to discuss mac topics. I signed up for these forums to discuss Linux, and more specifically Ununtu, not to see 20+ posts a day about Windows and Mac.

Maybe you missed this.

"The Community Cafe
The Community Chat area is for lighthearted and enjoyable discussions, like you might find around a water cooler at work.

Almost any non-tech-support topic may be discussed here. Discussions on religion and politics are not allowed, except for politics directly related to free and open source issues. Any topic or discussion that causes problems or drama will be closed. This area is intended for fun and community building, not arguments. Please take those elsewhere. Thanks!"



In theory. It would require quite a lot of work porting it over to Linux APIs seeing as it probably uses a TON of MacOS-native APIs in Cocoa and Quartz.

But I think this may be a big step.

Thats exactly what I thought, or at least, hoped.

[BrokenKingpin]

Maybe you missed this.

I know what this sub-forum is for, it just seems like there is more and more Apple discussions going on here lately, which I think would be better suited elsewhere. I just don't see why every bit of Apple new has to be regurgitated here.

I use more than one operating system, but I don't come here starting threads on every bit of Windows new I come across, because it is a forum centered around Ubuntu, not Windows.

[phrostbyte]

Yes, it definitely means it will become easier for video game developers port games to Linux. Mac OS X uses OpenGL just like Linux does. Now if they will actually port games to Linux is another story, but OGL support does make stuff like supporting the game on Wine implicitly easier.

[phrostbyte]

I know what this sub-forum is for, it just seems like there is more and more Apple discussions going on here lately, which I think would be better suited elsewhere. I just don't see why every bit of Apple new has to be regurgitated here.

I use more than one operating system, but I don't come here starting threads on every bit of Windows new I come across, because it is a forum centered around Ubuntu, not Windows.

I agree but unfortunately the mods do not.

[Tristam Green]

Whole lotta Mac hating going on in here. I don't even use Mac OS and I can appreciate the gravity of this. I figured this would be a good thing.

[KiwiNZ]

I know what this sub-forum is for, it just seems like there is more and more Apple discussions going on here lately, which I think would be better suited elsewhere. I just don't see why every bit of Apple new has to be regurgitated here.

I use more than one operating system, but I don't come here starting threads on every bit of Windows new I come across, because it is a forum centered around Ubuntu, not Windows.

It is of interest to other members. If you are not interested in it , don't participate.

Please keep this on topic

[beastrace91]

I wonder if this will make Steam and "Mac-approved" games more portable to Linux.

I'm betting it will. Unless M$ ported DirectX to OSX when I wasn't looking it means all of the Mac-ported games (source engine confirmed) will have to be OpenGL powered. And OpenGL games typically run better under Wine technologies than DirectX ones...

~Jeff

[-grubby]

I'm excited as hell about this. It's the only reason I have Windows on my Mac. Once they port Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead 2, Windows will be gone.

Also, the official source:
http://www.valvesoftware.com/news.php?id=3568

[Lowzow]

Wonder what it would take for them to make a steam version for linux?

[beastrace91]

Wonder what it would take for them to make a steam version for linux?

The divine grace of God?

Seriously though, I doubt a Linux client is coming any time soon but a OSX client is step towards this direction.

~Jeff

[sudoer541]

Wonder what it would take for them to make a steam version for linux?


they probably wont. I mean linux has very low market share compared to Mac OS X but who knows.

[schauerlich]

All the more reason to get a new computer. My 3 year old MacBook is beginning to show its age. And trying to game on a GMA 950... oh boy.

[Mr. Picklesworth]

They're also releasing HalfLife 2, Left4Dead and Portal on the Mac

Interestingly, this means they must have an OpenGL branch of the Source engine. Hopefully it isn't too fixed to the Mac ecosystem, so if not a Linux port maybe people can convince them to provide an OpenGL option under Windows. (Their games would then work way better in Wine!)

[-grubby]

They're also releasing HalfLife 2, Left4Dead and Portal on the Mac

Yeah, from what I interpreted from the Valve posting, they're porting all the source games they've made, and will continually release new games for both Mac and Windows at launch time.

[RiceMonster]

All the more reason to get a new computer. My 3 year old MacBook is beginning to show its age. And trying to game on a GMA 950... oh boy.

I have. It's painful.

[Mr.SASQUATCH]

Pretty awesome news to see them finally doing this, going to make life much easier than running it through crossover etc.

[handy]

I wonder if this will make Steam and "Mac-approved" games more portable to Linux.

My understanding is that a large percentage of the Mac games are windows games that have been treated with Transgaming's Cider.

The game company employs the Transgaming Cider team to port the game.

So as I see it, these games aren't really any closer to Linux.

[Nerd King]

In theory. It would require quite a lot of work porting it over to Linux APIs seeing as it probably uses a TON of MacOS-native APIs in Cocoa and Quartz.

But I think this may be a big step.
Probably less mac-native stuff than you think. It won't use the standard mac GUI stuff for instance, as it's running full-screen. It'll just be using opengl for graphics and whatever the mac uses for sound, as well as inputs (ie mouse). I'd say that's easy enough to port to linux. Games are probably easier to port than apps, provided they're not using Directx. They went to a cross-platform toolset for a reason ;)

[phrostbyte]

My understanding is that a large percentage of the Mac games are windows games that have been treated with Transgaming's Cider.

The game company employs the Transgaming Cider team to port the game.

So as I see it, these games aren't really any closer to Linux.

The inclusion of WebKit into Steam, and of OpenGL into Source gives us a lot of flexibility in how we move these technologies forward

...

http://www.valvesoftware.com/news.php?id=3568

Looks like they are explicitly porting Source to OpenGL.

[Knowle]

I've never owned an Apple computer but reading this definitely made my day. It's a step in the right direction, opening the door for more game developers and companies to either start making more titles available for the Mac OS or at least get on there through Steam.

The main thing is, users/customers now have more options available to them and aren't locked to one platform. And just to quote some highlights from the source:


Steam and Valve's library of games including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series will be available in April.

"We looked at a variety of methods to get our games onto the Mac and in the end decided to go with native versions rather than emulation," said John Cook, Director of Steam Development. "The inclusion of WebKit into Steam, and of OpenGL into Source gives us a lot of flexibility in how we move these technologies forward. We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360. Updates for the Mac will be available simultaneously with the Windows updates. Furthermore, Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. We fully support a heterogeneous mix of servers and clients. The first Mac Steam client will be the new generation currently in beta testing on Windows."

Portal 2 will be Valve's first simultaneous release for Mac and Windows. "Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step," said Josh Weier, Portal 2 Project Lead. "We're always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac."http://store.steampowered.com/news/3569/

[handy]

Ok...

This is a vastly superior solution to the way I thought it was.

I'm really glad that they aren't using Cider.

[-grubby]

Ok...

This is a vastly superior solution to the way I thought it was.

I'm really glad that they aren't using Cider.

The official Valve post states it'a a native port, and I'm definitely glad they're not half-heartedly doing this like some other game companies...