Great news!

Well it's nice to see some games actually being released for the Mac, the latest release if I am correct was Bioshock, and that came out quite a while ago. Still unless the developers of the miriad of games available on Steam port them to the Mac, putting Steam on the Mac wont open up a lot more games (though nice one Valve for porting the source engine).

I still maintain if you want a gaming machine, a properly built PC is the way to go. It's up to 50% cheaper then a Mac for essentially identical specs.

Nice move Valve. Attacking all the fronts.

Now if only they would port it to Linux we could tell microsoft to F**K them selves cus i wouldn't need them

Thinking about it this could be a good thing it may make Microsoft worry about losing more market share to apple making them think more abut there pc games strategy or lack of one at the moment cus if other developers follow valves lead it wouldn't be good for direct X and there for the Xbox 360??

I'm very surprised this has actually happened, I remember reading this http://archive.videogamesdaily.com/features/gabenewell_valve_iv_sep07_p1.asp about 3 years ago.

the times they are a changing...

Now if only they would port it to Linux we could tell microsoft to F**K them selves cus i wouldn't need them

it dependes, based on how MS is now, I wont be surprised if they continue to "better" their products. quite frankly they are for the first time listening to what the users need (well sort of), and I like it, competition makes better products in the long run :)

+1 to linux!

+9000 to linux!

"allows a gamer playing on their work PC"... I wish I knew a boss who would allow that!

Originally Posted by Thedarkrage
Now if only they would port it to Linux we could tell microsoft to F**K them selves cus i wouldn't need them

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!! Stop please! My sides are bursting! That's the biggest "steaming" pile I've heard being whined on this site for a long time. mi1ez and KoenVdd, you should be ashamed of yourselves for following it up.

The ability to use purchased games on either platform is reather good news :D
I like this :D

Originally Posted by crazyceo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thedarkrage
Now if only they would port it to Linux we could tell microsoft to F**K them selves cus i wouldn't need them

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!! Stop please! My sides are bursting! That's the biggest "steaming" pile I've heard being whined on this site for a long time. mi1ez and KoenVdd, you should be ashamed of yourselves for following it up.

care to explain?

I don't think anybody should get their hopes up just yet about playing a lot of games on their mac. Remember when EA at an Apple keynote promised that they were going to produce games for macs? What happened there?

Really, though, if you have a port to the pc, from what I learned in that article about porting a while back, what is there to do except re-compile it for mac?

Originally Posted by KoenVdd
care to explain?

Someone has a different opinion and he doesn't agree.

I've been trying to distance myself from Windows for a while, but gaming has been the only thing stopping me from formatting my Windows partition. When I tried Windows 7 I immediately went out and bought a Mac just to avoid it.

Anything that brings gaming to UNIX and UNIX-like platforms is great in my opinion. OSX could be just the start.

Originally Posted by zimbloggy
I don't think anybody should get their hopes up just yet about playing a lot of games on their mac. Remember when EA at an Apple keynote promised that they were going to produce games for macs? What happened there?

Really, though, if you have a port to the pc, from what I learned in that article about porting a while back, what is there to do except re-compile it for mac?

The difference then was, people had to re-buy titles for the mac. If you already have Half Life 2 or anything from the Orange Box, you will automatically have it on the mac too. Now the mac has a reputable digital distribution platform available to it as well as a nimble yet influential developer behind it, rather than the lumbering beast that is EA.

Honestly I doubt it matters. You can't get a mac with a decent enough graphics card to play these games without spending at least $2,500.

Steamplay sounds good and I wish it was a model for many, many entertainment sources we all use.

+1 for a linux client. gaming really is the only thing keeping me on windows, and most of my gaming is steam-based.
*dreams of a day when his rig will run Ubuntu and TF2 natively*

My only worry is that this means more time supporting mac games, and less time creating new hats for tf2 lol

It may make the job easier for WINE devs to get Steam titles running on Linux...no DirectX or other Windows-only technologies - time will tell I guess. If people see linux or even PC-BSD as a viable gaming platform, there's always hope that Valve will follow.

It also means you can spend more on hardware and less on operating systems...or service packs more recently.

Originally Posted by gavomatic57
It may make the job easier for WINE devs to get Steam titles running on Linux...no DirectX or other Windows-only technologies - time will tell I guess. If people see linux or even PC-BSD as a viable gaming platform, there's always hope that Valve will follow.

It also means you can spend more on hardware and less on operating systems...or service packs more recently.

Why do you keep referring to your opinion that Windows 7 is just the same as Vista ? Do you actually know anything about the subject or are you just trolling like you used to do when you were telling Marklar77 and Macpheasto how brainwashed they were for being Apple fanboys, when you, apparently have now become one too ?

What about for example the Core optimisation and Hyperthreading differences in 7 vs Vista SP2, the fact that Win 7 maintains speed and integrity of SSD performance over time (there are articles on this on this very site).

For someone who used to launch gushing tirades against everything Apple who now lauds the company up and keeps mentioning that Windows 7 is in fact just Vista with another name, suggests you are either a troll or suffering from Schizophrenia.

Does this mean that Apple gamers will be able play alongside PCs in online games? If so, I welcome out fruity brethren with open arms. Just don't expect anyone easy on you because you only have one mouse button.

Originally Posted by Silver51
Does this mean that Apple gamers will be able play alongside PCs in online games? If so, I welcome out fruity brethren with open arms. Just don't expect anyone easy on you because you only have one mouse button.

but that 1 button does 5 things :).

Originally Posted by M_D_K
but that 1 button does 5 things :).

So using an Apple is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman?

Originally Posted by Silver51

Quote:

Originally Posted by M_D_K
but that 1 button does 5 things :).

So using an Apple is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman?

Only if she turns out to be an expensive ladyboy! It costs a lot but has compatibility problems some don't mind going for that kind of thing.

Steam wants to be as synonymous to games downloads as iTunes is to mp3 downloads.

This is great news! One of the cornerstones of windows is gaming and if OSX was able to play catchup it might give MS the kick up the arse it needs to better itself. Consumer choice is never a bad thing.

Could also pave the way for native linux games too! Wee!

nice, i was chuffed enough about steam on the mac. Now I don`t even have to buy new games even betterer

Originally Posted by pizan
Honestly I doubt it matters. You can't get a mac with a decent enough graphics card to play these games without spending at least $2,500.

I think the $1499 iMac would be able to run everything Valve has at High.

Originally Posted by harveypooka
I think the $1499 iMac would be able to run everything Valve has at High.

AVP? I think not.....

The iMac struggles with high detail on The Sims 3, and that's the newest 27" Quad core version, thus has the highest GPU spec available, granted HL2's requirement spec is lower than Sims 3, but it does go to show.

Sam

The Core i5 iMac 27" which runs at 2560x1440 has a Core i5 for £1635 and you have to add some more £££ to get the i7. The graphics is the HD4850 (M?) and it had 512mb of ram. It won't run Company of Heroes (getting on for a four year old game) at native res on highest, it stutters at under 15fps even with no AA. At 1920x1200, which incidentally looks gash as its not native, it will run all setting maxed with 2xAA and get an average of about 37fps.

So I can't see any iMac being able to run any more graphically intensive games at anything more than moderate settings. You see these vids on Youtube, 'look at me gaming on my iMac you Windows losers' and its usually some stuttery rendition of Crysis or something, Nothing wrong with iMac's but they aren't really gaming machines, the best graphics solution on offer is old, underpowered and doesn't even have the highest buffer option (1GB), I mean even Dell laptops with 4650's get 1GB of DDR3 ram.

I think the argument of macs not being powerful enough is missing the point somewhat. I would imagine the reason apple are reluctant to include better graphics systems is wholly down to a lack of games on the platform. This may be what has stopped many devs from bothering, so companies like valve are breaking this catch 22 situation. Apple make it easier for games to be developed, more devs get on board, Apple makes it easier, more devs get on board, etc etc.

I really cannot understand what crazyceo's problem with linux gaming is, linux is waiting in the wings to be the next big thing. It only takes something like this to nudge it into the mainstream.

Originally Posted by harveypooka
I think the $1499 iMac would be able to run everything Valve has at High.

A $500 PC could run everything Valve has at high, Source is easy mode

Originally Posted by Rkiver
AVP? I think not.....

Methinks you're mistaking Valve for Steam. All the non-Valve games on Steam are still PC only. AVP won't even work on a Mac in the first place.

Originally Posted by Article
...allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac.

On their work PC? What kind of dream world do you live in Jason Holtman? If I got caught playing HL on my work PC I'd be killed!

Surely if the Mac version is coming, then a Linux version can't be far behind. It is much closer to Mac then Windows, if I understand correctly.

Also: SteamPlay = Epic Win.

I wish the industry would look at Steam and either use it as the defacto DRM/Distribution/Content-Management platform or at least use it as a basis when making their own.

(Ubi... you guys come to mind atm.)

This is just pure win. Also, apparently more games run on a Mac then I realized.

Originally Posted by cybergenics
Why do you keep referring to your opinion that Windows 7 is just the same as Vista ? ... What about for example the Core optimisation and Hyperthreading differences in 7 vs Vista SP2, the fact that Win 7 maintains speed and integrity of SSD performance over time (there are articles on this on this very site) ...

I put Win7 on my Vista-Basic Laptop. The footprint of Win7 alone is smaller, I lag less, and its easier on my integrated graphics. I had a few driver issues at first, but it's mostly sorted out now.

Windows 7 is as much of a "Service Pack" to Vista as Windows XP was to Windows ME.

Whats all this about Microsoft needing a kick up the arse? Windows 7 is the only complete worldwide OS out there today and has shut up all the vista doomsay'ers wishing for the distruction of Microsoft. It isn't going to happen ladies!

Can you explain to me how if you can't play decent games on a Windows based laptop without sacrificing some quality. How the hell do you expect to play games on an iMac which is just a desktop laptop, at full res and high quality? with potentially the same components?

Think before you jump macboys!

Originally Posted by cybergenics
Why do you keep referring to your opinion that Windows 7 is just the same as Vista ? Do you actually know anything about the subject or are you just trolling like you used to do when you were telling Marklar77 and Macpheasto how brainwashed they were for being Apple fanboys, when you, apparently have now become one too ?.

Because I can, because I used the RC for long enough to find out and because winding up Marklar77 was fun!

However, Windows 7 was a deal breaker. Minor performance improvements at best, a taskbar that I couldn't get on with and £150 asking price for the Pro version without borked networking.

Originally Posted by cybergenics

What about for example the Core optimisation and Hyperthreading differences in 7 vs Vista SP2, the fact that Win 7 maintains speed and integrity of SSD performance over time (there are articles on this on this very site). .

Clicky
What about it?

Originally Posted by cybergenics

For someone who used to launch gushing tirades against everything Apple who now lauds the company up and keeps mentioning that Windows 7 is in fact just Vista with another name, suggests you are either a troll or suffering from Schizophrenia.

Clicky

Our opinions differ. Get used to it. Sure, I hated Apple, I enjoyed mocking mac users - then Windows 7 came out and I realised I'd backed the wrong horse. MS had run out of ideas, they had resorted to tarting up Vista, released a new DX11 API that hardly anybody will use until the consoles are refreshed and they wanted £150 for some minor tweaks to Vista's kernel and a new Explorer. I realised that rather than waste all that money I could put the money towards a whole new computer...so I did.

I clearly remember you went from a Q6600 rig to an i7 setup....unless it was a Hackintosh, you have backed the 'wrong' horse recently enough. Or do you just run Linux on it ?

Our opinions don't differ, or maybe they do, but I tend not to make a complete u-turn on mind when the wind changes.

steamplay is a very good idea. Shows that valve care about customers and dont want them to spend money on two different licences...or it could just be a great strategy to generate good will and praise for the company and the Steam platform and generate more initial traffic for a new idea.

Originally Posted by cybergenics
I clearly remember you went from a Q6600 rig to an i7 setup....unless it was a Hackintosh, you have backed the 'wrong' horse recently enough. Or do you just run Linux on it ?

No, I've stuck with Vista x64 SP2. I see no reason to pay for SP3.
I have a load of games that unfortunately don't work on anything besides Windows, so I'm stuck with that horse for the time being, it just has some new shoes.

But yes, I have a linux on its own drive, although I'm tempted to give PC-BSD a go.

Way to go Valve. We need your leadership to strong arm those idiots over at Apple to start making games.

Nothing better than a custom built PC running OS X snow leopard

Please God let SteamPlay herald not only the free addition of a Mac version to all the Windows owners' games, but also a Steam cloud that syncs savegames between the two. I sometimes close my eyes and dream of a world where all of my savegames are synced to some Steam server and I don't have to fiddle about backing them up individually and reinserting them upon reinstallatoin.

Kind of a shame the iMac 27" doesn't have a decent GPU as that screen is impressive (if you get one that isn't faulty). Remember kids, Mac, it just (about) works.

@Gavomatic, for all your quirkiness regarding operating system 'opinionation' you did have a good blog on Linux Ubuntu tips and I did use it a fair few times...but you took it down ?

Originally Posted by cybergenics
Kind of a shame the iMac 27" doesn't have a decent GPU as that screen is impressive (if you get one that isn't faulty). Remember kids, Mac, it just (about) works.

@Gavomatic, for all your quirkiness regarding operating system 'opinionation' you did have a good blog on Linux Ubuntu tips and I did use it a fair few times...but you took it down ?

It's not down, it's just moved - it has all been imported into a self-hosted blog now. It's white on black at the moment (makes photos stand out) but I'm looking to change it.
Clicky

Anyway, back on topic...

Clicky

Sounds like Dice are onboard too...