Tuesday, July 17th 2012

Valve Announces Steam and Left4Dead 2 for Ubuntu

by
btarunr
 Discuss (63 Comments)
Valve announced porting of its Steam content-distribution platform, Source game engine, and the smash-hit multi-player game title Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2), to Ubuntu (Linux). The port isn't exactly straightforward, as code has to be rewritten for OpenGL. Valve already accomplished most of this, with its Mac OS X port, which uses the same API.

Valve is targeting just one distribution at this time, to minimize "optimization" overheads. Derivatives such as Mint could run the platform just fine. Valve's immediate goals are to get the Steam client to work on Ubuntu with full functionality, launching Steam for Linux with L4D2 (thanks to SteamPlay, gamers with L4D2 on Windows can play it on Ubuntu without additional purchases); and optimizing L4D2 to get additional frame-rates on Ubuntu. Valve is also work to get its other titles ported to Ubuntu.
Source: Valve

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63 Comments on Valve Announces Steam and Left4Dead 2 for Ubuntu

#26
Mindweaver
Moderato®™
WhiteLotusThey will have to port the back catalogue over, and then once they have done that other studios will start thinking about porting theirs over too. I would really like to move away from windows, but gaming and Office are just two things you can't get on Linux.
Buddy you can already install Office on linux. Check here. :toast:

EDIT: and you can install any(almost any.. :p) game using Wine, we just want a straight install with out the overhead. :toast:
Posted on Reply
#27
Ravenas
For the poll at hand, I voted no. I simply have no interest in Linux. However, many do, so Valve supporting multi-platforms is very gracious of them.

Blizzard has supported both Windows and Macintosh for YEARS. Valve only recently started supporting Macintosh, and now they have taken it a step further and are going Linux. I congradulate them. :toast:
Posted on Reply
#28
lindy
I hope they get around to having a little love for RPM based distributions.
Posted on Reply
#29
W1zzard
you guys are aware that 99.5% of games on steam are directx based, which means they can't be easily ported to linux (opengl)

windows pc game sales are barely enough incentive for developers to do sloppy ports from console (xbox360 is directx).
imagine how interesting a tiny linux community is, requiring complete rewrites of the rendering code
Posted on Reply
#30
Ravenas
W1zzardyou guys are aware that 99.5% of games on steam are directx based, which means they can't be easily ported to linux (opengl)

windows pc game sales are barely enough incentive for developers to do sloppy ports from console (xbox360 is directx).
imagine how interesting a tiny linux community is, requiring complete rewrites of the rendering code
Does Macintosh and Ubuntu use the same OpenGL?
Posted on Reply
#31
WhiteLotus
MindweaverBuddy you can already install Office on linux. Check here. :toast:
When the fudge did that happen!?!?!?
Posted on Reply
#32
TheMailMan78
Big Member
W1zzardyou guys are aware that 99.5% of games on steam are directx based, which means they can't be easily ported to linux (opengl)

windows pc game sales are barely enough incentive for developers to do sloppy ports from console (xbox360 is directx).
imagine how interesting a tiny linux community is, requiring complete rewrites of the rendering code
My common senses are tingling.
Posted on Reply
#34
W1zzard
RavenasDoes Macintosh and Ubuntu use the same OpenGL?
that's correct. so what's available for mac can be ported relatively easily to linux.
Posted on Reply
#35
theubersmurf
W1zzardyou guys are aware that 99.5% of games on steam are directx based, which means they can't be easily ported to linux (opengl)

windows pc game sales are barely enough incentive for developers to do sloppy ports from console (xbox360 is directx).
imagine how interesting a tiny linux community is, requiring complete rewrites of the rendering code
There is a good long list of titles that have Linux versions that are on the steam platform. Also, you are aware that the PS3 does use OpenGL for it's rendering right? I'm not exactly saying that you're wrong, clearly windows still dominates the market with a huge percentage of devices running it, but there is increasingly a push away from desktops and even laptops in favor of lighter devices, a good percentage of those running versions of Linux (Chrome).
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#36
johnnyfiive
W1zzardyou guys are aware that 99.5% of games on steam are directx based, which means they can't be easily ported to linux (opengl)

windows pc game sales are barely enough incentive for developers to do sloppy ports from console (xbox360 is directx).
imagine how interesting a tiny linux community is, requiring complete rewrites of the rendering code
Nail on the head.
Posted on Reply
#37
D007
Linux gaming does indeed interest me.. Far too long has microsoft cornered the market on operating systems. If Linux could deliver a better gaming system, by cutting out all the fat of microsofts os, I would buy it in a heartbeat..
Posted on Reply
#38
W1zzard
theubersmurfAlso, you are aware that the PS3 does use OpenGL for it's rendering right?
most PS3 games use libGCM, not OpenGL. OpenGL is possible on PS3, but almost no titles use it because it's slow and messy
Posted on Reply
#39
Ravenas
W1zzardmost PS3 games use libGCM, not OpenGL. OpenGL is possible on PS3, but almost no titles use it because it's slow and messy
Are you saying OpenGL is slow on all platforms, or just on PS3?
Posted on Reply
#40
atikkur
Therion_IIf I own a Windows copy of a Game on Steam will they allow me to download Linux version free of charge? Too be honest if not then I'm not interested.
Hey.. steam is cross platform. You can play your steam games on Windows, Mac, and Now Linux.. only with one purchase. How it isn't great?
Posted on Reply
#41
Morgoth
Fueled by Sapphire
give me sdk 2012! so i can port my mod to mac and linux!!!
Posted on Reply
#42
W1zzard
RavenasAre you saying OpenGL is slow on all platforms, or just on PS3?
libGCM on PS3 is faster than OpenGL on PS3 because libGCM is providing lower-level hardware access, which helps developers maximize performance.
Posted on Reply
#43
robal
RavenasAre you saying OpenGL is slow on all platforms, or just on PS3?
OpenGL get less love from GPU driver optimisation point of view.
This has improved a lot recently, and with Steam on Linux, AMD/Nvidia will put more effort into it.
Posted on Reply
#44
Nordic
robalOpenGL get less love from GPU driver optimisation point of view.
This has improved a lot recently, and with Steam on Linux, AMD/Nvidia will put more effort into it.
Everyone here including myself is talking about moving to linux from windows because gaming was the only thing keeping them there. The reality is that we will still have to wait a few years for more games, driver improvements, and open gl enhancments This is just the first step.

I wonder if there will be a ubuntu gaming derivative.
Posted on Reply
#45
m4gicfour
odameyerThe Valve Linux Team now has a blog
blogs.valvesoftware.com/linux/

Also the problem with WINE is that it's an emulation layer and therefor uses quite a bit of resources, has lots of bugs and many games don't work 100% or at all, and doesn't work efficiently.
So yes, we certainly do want native support. :)

I know a couple people who's last ties to windows are just gaming so this is going to be big.

And for me, Source multiplayer games are really the only games that I'm serious about so it should work out nicely.


Yep, and it works quite nicely.
Wine Is Not an Emulator. That's literally what it stands for.

It's a compatibility layer, which is much different.
WineHQ.comWhen users think of emulators, they think of programs like Dosbox or zsnes. These applications run as virtual machines and are slow, having to emulate each processor instruction. Wine does not do any CPU emulation - hence the name "Wine Is Not an Emulator."

Some people argue that since Wine introduces an extra layer above the system a Windows application will run slowly. While technically true, Wine is no different from any other software library in this regard; even newer versions of Windows must load extra resources to support older applications.

Importantly, the combination of Wine and Unix can sometimes be faster than Windows itself. This is especially true when the system has good drivers and the application isn't exposing any Performance Related Bugs.
wiki.winehq.org/Debunking_Wine_Myths#head-7c9ecddfaff60d8891414b68d74277244e7109eb
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#46
baggpipes
sudo apt-get steam FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:toast::rockout:
Posted on Reply
#47
atikkur
I too have high hopes this linux will be the future of gaming pc platform. we have too much dictated by directx and microsoft.. so linux will be a great platform to start independently. ditch windows.. yess (altough this will take a long time).
Posted on Reply
#48
theubersmurf
baggpipessudo apt-get steam FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:toast::rockout:
Speaking of which did you run that from your console and download it? I'm wondering if canonical will make it available through their update service or if it will be a separate download.
Posted on Reply
#49
DannibusX
theubersmurfSpeaking of which did you run that from your console and download it? I'm wondering if canonical will make it available through their update service or if it will be a separate download.
It's not available yet, just announced. I'm not sure if Valve would like Canonical to distribute Steam, so you'll likely have to get it straight from them.
Posted on Reply
#50
olstyle
Liking the Linux approach very much, not so happy about them using Ubuntu. Ubuntu is fading quickly, being replaced by Mint which is on its way to make the jump to a "clean" debian base instead of being an Ubuntu fork.
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