What advantages would the steam OS have for gamers and would it be able to run on a PC?

[purplekaycee]

The Linux based steam OS is still in development what do gamers hope to expect when it finally comes out?

 

[dorsetknob]

Simple
"Ditching Windows for gaming"
and it would be an improvement over the use of Wine for windows Games
Wine is Still usefull for linux users for use with other essential windows programs

 

[FYFI13]

What advantages would the steam OS have for gamers

Free operating system that is independant from DirectX and Microsoft.

would it be able to run on a PC?

Yes, it's made for PC...

what do gamers hope to expect when it finally comes out?

A pay rise, preferably before SteamOS comes out. Sorry, couldn't resist Right now if you're a gamer, you're forced to use MS Windows unless you play one of few titles available on Mac or Linux. This must change. Personally i don't like all this privacy crap floating around Windows 10 and i use Windows 7/Ubuntu but soon enough i will have to "upgrade" to Windows 10 because of DirectX12. MS could release DX12 for previous versions of Windows but they won't. Because there's nothing we can do and we will move to Windows 10. If SteamOS will becomes somewhat popular, we can expect more titles based on OpenGL and Vulkan which is a win win win for everyone, except our dictator Microsoft.

 

[silentbogo]

The Linux based steam OS is still in development what do gamers hope to expect when it finally comes out?

Nothing, if compared to conventional Ubuntu + Steam for Linux.
Otherwise, what @dorsetknob said:

"Ditching Windows for gaming"

To be honest, I'm not sure if SteamOS will survive the next few years. The idea was cool, but the execution - not so much. From my last experience there were quite a few problems with installation, graphics drivers, Input device support, WiFi drivers etc.
Simply installing Steam on your existing Linux system with proprietary GPU drivers goes a lot smoother (couple clicks and few minutes later you can play Dota 2 just like on Windows).

I think at this point SteamOS only works "fine" on steamboxes.

 

[alucasa]

The hype cooled down as of late for Steam OS. I did read a benchmark few years ago (yep, few years ago) that the performance wasn't there.

I am not sure how it is now. But this "Ditching Windows for gaming" sounds juvenile to me. I use Fedora myself and I have specific need for it as I have need for Windows.

 

[yogurt_21]

no need for steam os, they just needed better linux support as did AMD. Then you can simply run your favorite flavor of linux with whatever packages and gui's you want while still have a full blast steam experience.

They never should have geared towards a full os and should have just partnered with ubuntu and got it done.

 

[newtekie1]

SteamOS relies on games supporting Linux. Linux support is getting better, but still not where it needs to be to make Linux a viable platform for PC gaming.

 

[alucasa]

Unix is perfectly fine for general computing. Ubuntu pretty much has everything set up and ready to go for the general populace. And if one sticks to browser gaming, there. Ubuntu is perfect for it.

... I never liked Ubuntu color scheme though, so I stick to Fedora (Navy blue).

 

[64K]

Steam OS was born of Newell's fear of MS making their store a walled garden and the hit that Steam might take financially if MS did go that route. Steam OS kind of fizzled out for now because MS hasn't done what Gabe feared they would do.

For now PC gamers need MS OS and probably in the near future Win 10 for DX12 and whatever DX version MS has up their sleeves for later on down the road.

 

[Kursah]

SteamOS could still be promising, but the console-like limitations placed on it are no bueno...I'd rather run Ubuntu w/Cinnamon + Steam + PlayOnLinux. I still have hopes that SteamOS will continue to push forward, even if it's making a smaller change in the market than Gabe and crew @ Valve wanted or hoped for...I think the that the initial SteamBox iterations were woefully too weak for what they were supposed to be...I understand trying to compete with the console price-point... but it just didn't work here. Also, as said above, if Vulkan proceeds successful development, this could be huge for games and gaming on Linux. That's where I'm hoping things take off...

If you want the SteamOS experience, simply enable Big Picture mode in your current Steam client...and deal with that UI for an OS. Sure there's a few changes here and there...but with my experience with it that's what it felt like.

Of course, most of my games either play better in or are only supported on Windows platforms. I still very much look forward to improved gaming on Linux and Windows into the future.

 

[Vayra86]

Personally I don't see any direct advantages, only indirect ones, and they apply only to the marketplace not to the consumer.

Let's face it, gaming on Windows is quite fine for what it needs to be. Windows has been exemplary in supporting pretty much anything we want to do on it including modding of games.

It remains a BIG question mark whether SteamOS will have full mod support like Windows based gaming does now. Consoles don't have that. Linux doesn't exclude it, but I don't see a fragmented modding community making waves to be honest. Even though in terms of the marketplace and its health, it is definitely better to have OS independant games, the reality is that this is hard. Linux based gaming has never taken off, and SteamOS hasn't triggered a massive amount of interest, and it also imposes several limitations that regular Windows PC gaming doesn't have. All this for... diversity in the marketplace? I don't see people buying into that.

If SteamOS will ever take off (and I have serious doubts it will), it will be triggered by a big SteamOS only exclusive release. Half Life 3?

 

[Divide Overflow]

Currently, there's no reason for game developers to spend resources providing Linux support.

 

[natr0n]

The steam os is basically dead.

 

[Drone]

Nobody needs another pointless os. PCs are not for gaming only. They are for everything, and so should be operating systems. Lots of things today pulling from each direction trying to decentralize PC market and confuse people. The only things are needed a) Microsoft pull themselves together and make Windows a better OS
b) Linux to become more popular and compatible. Only this idealistic scenario will create healthy competition and give a choice to everybody.

 

[yogurt_21]

Nobody needs another pointless os. PCs are not for gaming only. They are for everything, and so should be operating systems. Lots of things today pulling from each direction trying to decentralize PC market and confuse people. The only things are needed a) Microsoft pull themselves together and make Windows a better OS
b) Linux to become more popular and compatible. Only this idealistic scenario will create healthy competition and give a choice to everybody.

personally I'd prefer Microsoft stuck to office suites, gaming consoles, tablets, and cloud services. We of course would need better Linux support but that tends to come with market share. Then you run MS office on Linux and have Open GL for gaming. Load steam up and be done with it. Gaming, chrome and FF browsing, office and cloud services, and etc. All you would need would be there.

 

[alucasa]

Unix has support. It's just that there are too many distro out there and its userbase is spread out too thin. That's the nature of the OS though.

 

[64K]

personally I'd prefer Microsoft stuck to office suites, gaming consoles, tablets, and cloud services. We of course would need better Linux support but that tends to come with market share. Then you run MS office on Linux and have Open GL for gaming. Load steam up and be done with it. Gaming, chrome and FF browsing, office and cloud services, and etc. All you would need would be there.

Probably most gamers would like that but MS is a monopoly. Hell, they've been accused in a Senate Hearing by the Department Of Justice in 1998 and they walked away from that.

 

[Nobody99]

PS4 is based on FreeBSD so where there is will (and money) there is progress. Wayland has to become a standard sometime soon in all Linux distributions.

 

[Kanan]

The problem Linux has is similar to movies that aren't made in hollywood - the support wears simply too thin. Money is important to make a platform strong. Windows has a long history, it's a good OS - the problem is Microsoft, not Windows. But I think Microsoft is "managable" - at least I managed it for over 15 years now.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Valve have had plenty of time to try to prove SteamOS can compete with Windows, and so far most SteamOS games still don't run as well as the Windows versions. This is a critical "window" of opportunity slipping by for them.

If even former Microsoft employees can't make SteamOS run at least equal to Windows by now, it looks kinda hopeless.

 

[64K]

Most developers don't release Linux compatible games and without that it makes adoption relatively small. You also can't have DX12. There's no way MS will share that with Newell unless a judge orders them to if they try to wall off the MS store and it's the only way to get some games but that is unlikely imo. If MS did try it then it would probably go the way of Windows Live. MS does offer good software but they aren't PC gaming friendly despite their PR claims. Hell, I'm not even sure if DX12 could be used in Linux.