Topic: Official Push Square Xbox Thread

@JohnnyShoulder No, I've managed to resist. I'm toying with another playthrough though....

I'll bung this here as its something we've talked about on this thread before, I feel.

But on the latest DF Direct it's mentioned how Steam have added terms and branding relating to the use of Steam OS in other products. So that suggests maybe, just maybe, a PC (or Steam console) built around Steam OS could be in the works, either at Valve or with third parties using Steam OS.

Which, if it comes to fruition, will allow people to move away from the dirge that is Windows and potentially allow for more "Living room PC's" that function pretty much like consoles without the pains of the trash that has held the PC market hostage for 30 years 😛

It also could mean implementation of Steam OS in other handheld systems.

It feels like good news and maybe the start of a new era in gaming could be just around the corner.

It's unlikely this will be in collaboration with MS either, despite the rumblings of handhelds or console like PC's from them, because, you know, it's an OS, so it may be a case of usurping them before they can even make the moves that MS wanted to make in the gaming space.

Interesting to see where it leads, anyway. As I'm someone that is very much interested in a living room PC that doesn't have to deal with MS bloody Windows and can just boot right into a functional gaming OS that takes care of updates and features on its own

@Ravix yeah YouTube’s been ablaze with new steam machine talk all week to be fair

@colonelkilgore I do hope if it is Valve releasing a nice bit of console tech that it isn't called the Steam Machine though, even if was like a PC without the hassle, I'm not sure I could bring myself to buy something called a Steam Machine.

I'm not sure I'd buy 'just' a Steam console anyway either, to be fair. The console space doesn't necessarily need it with PS and GamepassBox, but it's the PC space that needs it, in my opinion, to finally put an end to Windows being anywhere near PC gaming

@Ravix yeah I think they’re (the YouTubers) are just using that term due to Valve’s previous effort… I’m pretty sure it will be branded differently but the basis for the info remains the same. Valve tried making a home-console before and it looks like they’re making another one.

@colonelkilgore I could be won around by specs, too. I have no idea what kind of mark they'd aim for if it was a small form factor pc/console release tbf.

Personally, just really want to justify getting a 4090 or similar without having to deal with Windows 😅 Although, tbh, game pass would help due to having to start from scratch game wise. But, unless MS are scrambling, I can't see them having a fully fledged game pass on steam OS (I believe right now you can maybe stream Game Pass games on Steam OS, but not download, but I very much don't know enough about it to know exactly why that is)

SteamDeck owners could enlighten about the Steam OS experience and what is available on it, I suppose. All I know os Steam OS does a very good job amd Windows does not 😛

@Ravix I would imagine that Steam OS wouldn't give you the games you 'own' or play through Windows/Game Pass. MS sell most (if not all) games on Steam but if you want to Play Anywhere (as in Xbox and PC), you need to buy from Windows Store and Game Pass PC too is 'Windows Store' not Steam.

Call of Duty for example can be 'bought' on Steam but you can't play it 'free' with Game Pass PC on Steam. Game Pass PC is Windows Store only. Its possible a Steam Console could also allow other launchers/stores - like Windows/MS, Epic etc. Hand held PC's still have Steam, Epic, MS store etc but Steam Deck needs 'Windows' (I believe) for Game Pass or access to other PC 'stores' so I don't know that a Steam OS based Console would have Game Pass PC - at most, just a streaming app.

SteamDeck is locked to Steam Only unless you install Windows and as such maybe can focus on Gaming optimisations specifically for Steam based games - where Windows is designed more for multi-tasking and running a much wider variety of Software - inc different launchers etc too

I decided to get a month of Game Pass Ultimate in order to play the new Indiana Jones game (which is phenomenal so far!). I also decided to try out cloud streaming on Xbox and I can't believe how terrible it still is. At least they removed the 5-10 minute queue, still can't believe that was a thing a while ago. But yeah, I streamed Indiana Jones and the game looks absolutely awful. I tried streaming Final Fantasy VII Remake on PS5 just to get a comparison and that game looks much better when streamed compared to streaming a game on Xbox. In fact, I'd say that a streamed PS5 game looks about as good as an installed one. Both my consoles are wired to the internet and I have a 500 mbps internet connection, so there's no difference other than the hardware. So I decided to just download Indy and play through it that way.

@LtSarge You are not the first person i've heard this from. You would have thought it would be the other way round with Sony using some of Microsoft's tech and the latter company's big push for cloud gaming.

@JohnnyShoulder Yeah, now that you mention it, I do recall reading somewhere that Sony is using Microsoft's servers for their cloud streaming. Really weird then that the streaming quality is worse on Xbox compared to PlayStation.

@LtSarge @johnnyshoulder it's almost like Sony knows how to make video game consoles work, and MS knows how to make PC's not work 🤷‍♂️

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@Ravix I went from a Windows laptop to a Chromebook a few months back, and have not missed it at all. Using one for work is enough for me.

@BookhouseBoy How long did you play it for before deciding it was "abysmally boring" ?
PS Forget I asked. Just saw your comment over on Pure Xbox. Three whole hours? That's the prologue/tutorial, Hunter College and possibly an hour or two of the first proper stage? Way to give the game a fair shake.

@JohnnyShoulder I fully switched to using Macs at home and Linux for work. I sometimes have to use Windows servers because some of my clients are set up that way and it's easily my least favorite part of the job
Hopefully PC gaming can manage to move away from Windows at some point, Steam Deck is a pretty good start.

@LN78 I’ve been playing for 16hrs and still haven’t left the Vatican 😅

@PeaceSalad Exactly! I spent 8 or 9 hours on that level and haven't finished everything. Thank goodness the game lets you go back to finish off incomplete areas! I reckon I can probably squeeze another 10-15 hours out of the game.

@LN78 Realising that the majority of side content feeds into and adds layers of context to the main adventure had me falling for the game hook line and sinker.

@BookhouseBoy Oh absolutely.Definitely.100%. Not engaging with any of the side content in a title whose primary gameplay factors are exploration and adventure is without a doubt giving it a fair shake. No two ways about it whatsoever. Like assessing "Doom" having not fired any of the bloody guns. 🤣.

@PeaceSalad It really is a minor masterpiece. The side quest/main quest dichotomy is largely immaterial most of the time. It's just a game world I find myself wanting to "hang out" in which is the mark of something special.

@BookhouseBoy Like I just mentioned to @PeaceSalad, the quest structure in the game means that the main/side content dichotomy is pretty much indistinguishable much of the time which you'd know if you'd engaged with it on its terms before proffering your (undoubtedly expert) opinion. "Abysmally Boring" should be on the poster art, now that I think about it. You've completely changed my mind.