Steam on Mac? I might just play TF2 a bit more
As most of you probably know, I’ve been a little bit inactive in the Team Fortress 2 space lately. There’s a bunch of reasons for that: not being awesome enough to have obtained any hats; playing too much WoW, holding down a full time job in Mass Effect 2…
The list goes on.
One of the main reasons though is that I’m just plain lazy. And that I’m an Apple fan boy who spends all his time booted into OS X. Those two points are more inter-related than you might think. You see, TF2 and Steam require an antiquated and inelegant operating system called Windows to run. Thanks to the awesome power of my Mac, I can dual boot into Windows to do this. However it requires me shutting down everything else I was doing, restarting, chugging through an ugly and foreign UI, then booting up Steam, and eventually connecting to TF2 some minutes later.
Where as to play WoW, I just stay planted on the couch safe in OS X land, and Command-Tab between that and the very important twitter session I had running.
All that looks like it’s about to change though
Steam on OS X?
The Apple and Valve fanboy communities have come together over the last week with rumors floating around that Steam and Valve’s Source engine games are coming to OS X. Awesome huh? We’re talking about a May launch here – which is really not too far off.
This is all part of the new client beta that launched recently. One of the subtle changes introduced that only the web-dev geeks picked up on, is that Steam is now using Webkit to drive the UI. What is Webkit? It’s the core HTML rendering engine that is used on the Safari and Chrome web browsers. The old Steam client was really just a thin layer around Internet Explorer – which meant Windows only. Webkit is cross platform and will happily run on OS X.
And being able to just hang out in Steam will be fun. Steam chat is great, but I can only use it when I’m on Steam – which is when I’m in Windows, which is only an hour or so a day if I’m lucky – and for that hour I’m cramming in as much gaming as possible, so I’m probably not wanting to chat to you. Now if we could get an open XMPP chat protocol, it would be even better… (HINT HINT Valve)
So expect to see me around a bit more – both in game, and just lurking on Steam. Anything that help me be a lazy gamer even more lazily is all good. It also means I can actually chat and catch up with you guys.
More eye candy
Here’s a few more teasers that Valve dropped in with their inimitable hype machine style.
And if you don’t know the reference to in the Alyx/Breen strip below, check out Apple’s famous 1984 superbowl ad directed by Ridley Scott.
Update – official now
Here’s the official word from Valve.
March 8, 2010 – Valve announced today it will bring Steam, Valve’s gaming service, and Source, Valve’s gaming engine, to the Mac.
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.
“As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality Internet clients,” said Gabe Newell, President of Valve. “The Mac is a great platform for entertainment services.”
“Our Steam partners, who are delivering over a thousand games to 25 million Steam clients, are very excited about adding support for the Mac,” said Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development at Valve. “Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, 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. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play.”
“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.”
Cheers to Drexer for the tip in the comments
Stumble it!
SFLegend responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 10:36 am #
obligatory image: http://nik.bot.nu/img/orig/2/7/271423.jpg
himmelstoss responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 10:42 am #
All RIIIIIIIIGHT. I love the apple-styled ads.
Hopefully this’ll help other game makers consider the Mac as a legitimate platform as well. I’m a bit tired of playing things through CrossOver on my part, especially because TF2 takes up well over 1.2 gigs of memory when run through the emulation. :/
madlep responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 10:43 am #
And I’m Linux
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/half-life/en/images/9/9f/Ground_turret_rebel_2.jpg
Metal_Link responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 10:51 am #
I’m with ya 100%, madlep. Even if the only thing to happen in the last few weeks was the UI and WebKit update, I’d be extremely pleased. Anything to get me far, far away from IE is a good thing. Also, the typography in the UI update is especially smexy.
And it would put back 65GB (currently dedicated to Windows 7, and the mere 6-8 games I have installed) right where they belong, holding games in OS X.
Oh, did you hear Portal 2 is coming to the Mac (see: Game Informer)? I think that will especially make a big push for developers.
If nothing else, Valve is great at doing parodies. The “Hello” ad is quite the laugh.
Metal_Link responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 11:06 am #
For example: I would have to drop [i]everything[/i] I’m doing right now; close iTunes, DreamWeaver, Adium, Skype, Things, Mail, Tweetie, etc. just to reboot into Windows, load Steam and add Madlep to my friends list.
And speaking of which, Madlep, you should probably correct the url to your profile on the first image to be “https://steamcommunity.com/id/madlep”. The current url just sends us to the Community homepage.
Thanks, mate!
n00bie51 responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 12:02 pm #
I laughed at the Sentry Gun standing next to the Portal Droid.
It’s funny, because the Sentry Gun (PC) can be repaired and upgraded, but when the Droid (Mac) gets broken you have to get a new one. See what has been done there?
Anonymous responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 12:11 pm #
As another Boot Camper, I’m incredibly glad this is happening too. I don’t think I’ll be able to drop my partition just yet, but this is a great move for Mac gaming in general.
Jeziah responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 12:58 pm #
Oh no, you did NOT just call PC “antiquated and inelegant”. That’s just as ignorant as calling Mac a “powerhouse” (dual-booting… what is this, the eighties?). I prefer my computers functional, upgradeable, powerful, personal, cheap and reliable, and if you think that a smooth white surface is enough to make up for the underpowered system and the incompatibility and inferiority of the software, then hey, that’s fine by me, but do NOT go calling PC “antiquated and inelegant” just because Steve Jobs tells you that culture is a thing that can only be attained by overspending on his products.
It’s quite funny to me how Macinstosh users always show off the ability to boot Windows as their most useful asset, when the emulation is poor and the hardware is so weak (and expensive for it). It’s as if all you care about is the “superiority” you show in spending extra money for a simpler, dumbed-down OS, so you can say you’re “new age” as you try to emulate an older, Windows operating system so that you can play along with everyone else, the 85% of the market who were so unsophisticated to have bought A FUNCTIONAL PRODUCT.
I suppose that you 15% are worth the effort of coddling to Valve, but not even their benevolency can look you straight in the monitor and say you made a good choice (see PC being compared to a omniview upgradeable, repairable, 2-grenades-to-take-down Sentry, while Mac is compared to a 30-degree view, literal pushover Portal turret/iPod being compared to a sandwich). And that’s basically where you stand in the world of computing.
himmelstoss responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 1:38 pm #
@Jeziah: Do I spy an inferiority complex? <3
MrD3a7h responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 1:55 pm #
@himmelstoss- Nope. You see a man who knows what he’s talking about.
This might be the undoing of PC gaming. Mac:Windows::Console noobs:PC Gamers.
A Room With A Manly Moose responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 2:18 pm #
OK thats have everyone stop with the whole “which system is better” no one can win the aurgument and no one can be persauded by it. I have both systems and while I can honestly say I think the PC is better I’m not going to start a flame war with an apple fanboy.
(but OP you have to admit that the whole sentry vs. portal turret thing he pointed out is funny)
The Medik responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 2:19 pm #
I for one embrace our new apple overlords.
madlep responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 2:24 pm #
Use what you want. Be happy with it. If Windows does it for you, great, if Mac is your thing – great too.
I for one just love watching good fanboy bitch fest though. Happy to set the kindling and fan the flames
Dicey responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 2:29 pm #
I never really were a fan of the Mac tbh. It’s not because of the trademarked PC fanboy ‘apple suks lolol’ but because I’m very into fiddling with hardware, overclocking things and whatnot. If bought a PC yourself at the same price equivalent as a Mac, the PC almost always has way higher performance. There’s also the customizability as well as part for part upgrading.
Mac’s are simple though. You don’t need to know what part fits where and it makes purchases helluva lot easier, amongst other things.
I see very many biased ads that state lies about their competitors, particularily with Mac and PCs. It makes me sad. :C
gelugon2105 responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 2:40 pm #
One look at that phrase lambasting the PC and I already know there’s going to be some flame-storm.
Really, MACs and PCs are like oranges and tomatoes. Not worth comparing them, people, as they have little in common besides being able to plug into the same electrical socket.
gelugon2105 responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 2:43 pm #
Oh please, don’t fall into madlep’s trap, people! He’s probably just looking to hike up activity in this site!
gelugon2105 responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 2:46 pm #
And really, considering that the consoles are really pinching away games from the PC (and MAC) platform(s), we really ought to be thankful that Valve is still thinking of the machines that are sitting on top (or inside of) of tables.
gelugon2105 responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 2:52 pm #
Let us not forget how Lionhead Studios and Peter Molyneux, who once developed games for the humble desktop (or laptop, whichever applicable) machines (both PC and MAC), turned their backs to their once erstwhile market for their games. Really, if Valve can spread the love to MACs, then let it be! You really don’t want Valve announcing the next Half-Life game or the next Source engine to be fucking console-exclusive, would you?
Considering that Valve has re-conciliated with Microsoft somewhat over the marketing for the Left 4 Dead IPs, any of you wouldn’t want desktops to lose out on the next Left 4 Dead game just because Steam can’t get a big enough market through the desktop platforms, eh?
gelugon2105 responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 2:56 pm #
I am a PC user, but do please support Valve’s expansion of Steam to the MACs. The day that Gabe Newell – who had publicly proclaimed that developing games for the consoles are a waste of time and talent – get kicked out by the Board of Directors of the company that he founded himself is the day that the death-knell for the desktops as gaming platforms is sounded.
gelugon2105 responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 3:11 pm #
And please don’t overlook the fact that Certain Affinity – a developer known to develop games exclusively for the consoles (the Xbox 360 in particular) – has worked with Valve on the first Left 4 Dead. Without a doubt, Certain Affinity is likely to have some claim to the Left 4 Dead IP. The groundwork for the Left 4 Dead IP being snatched out of Valve’s hands has already been laid, people.
Do keep in mind also that many people are bitching about how Steam does not let customers re-sell purchased games.
Also, can anyone look for sales breakdowns (by platform) of Valve’s games? I can’t find these (only news of I would not be surprised if the console versions – especially Left 4 Dead 2’s – outsold the desktop ones.
himmelstoss responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 4:05 pm #
This is a bit off-topic. :S
Is Portal 2 using a ground-up source engine revamp, or is it just a port of the current source?
Limisios responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 6:38 pm #
Rejoice my Mac brothers! Today, we are one step closer to equality between us and the giant PC metropolis!
gelugon2105 responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 6:45 pm #
Really, I may be a PC User, but I see this expansion of Steam to MAC OSes is a good thing. We will benefit in the long run from Valve widening its desktop platform market.
Now if only you twats – some of you that is – would stop yammering about that “PC VS MAC” balls-nonsense.
-=Pvt. Gomer Pyle=- responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 7:34 pm #
I love how Mac users aspire to be equal to Pc users. LMAO. Halve the price and triple the functionality and customizability. Then we’ll talk.
…but until then, enjoy your Uberexpensive iPaperweight
General Balls responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 7:51 pm #
You’re all daft.
Especially madlep. But it’ll be good to abuse him about never being on Steam at a time when he actually responds.
Spydra responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 9:05 pm #
The ipod parody should have been the engi doing the dancing taunt holding a white pda
Drexer responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 10:07 pm #
@madlep
That Linux image was cruel. Considering I fully support the passage of Steam to Mac’s(as anyone should, after all more PC gamers can never be a bad thing), I also have a tiny sliver of hope deep within my heart that someday Steam will too migrate to the plains of Ubuntu.
Oh, and Webkit is also used in Firefox.
Those ads are really awesome though.
Drexer responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 10:28 pm #
By the way, I don’t understand how come that many people are still beating on the dead horse of ‘Macs are un-upgradeable’. Seriously, specially considering that OSX(which is what Steam is going to port for, a piece of software not a piece of hardware) can be installed in any Windows PC.
And at least it doesn’t need a 350€ Ultimate edition to have the EXTREME functionality of interchanging languages.
Sorry, couldn’t forgive that. It’s one of the current things that most annoy me about Windows 7.
satanpenguin responded on 08 Mar 2010 at 10:58 pm #
Yeah, it’s kind of fun to see that linux bashing pic, especially considering that most if not all of the TF2 dedicated servers run on it, not to mention the huge amount of linux servers that power the Internet.
Hain responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 1:00 am #
Are they going to port tf2 and other older titles to Mac now? I doubt it. In either case, I’m all for expansion of Valve’s desktop market. I am an elitist and I think games should be played with a mouse and a keyboard. It shouldn’t be something good looking people do socially while sitting on a couch.
derp responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 1:45 am #
I hope valve keep their word when they said they were working on porting to linux too.
Anyone using a mac is just a trendy idiot
Secret Agent Clank! responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 5:16 am #
Lol n00bie usually has the funniest comment.
Plus what GB said, you’re all daft. Cool people use XrossMediaBar
Also more Linux bashing for teh lols.
Drexer responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 5:22 am #
You can die happy now madlep(& himmelsots & others):
KarmaPolice responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 5:22 am #
Drexer: OS X can run on a PC well only if your hardware happens to have OS X drivers, which a substantial amount doesn’t. For instance, the laptop I’m writing this post on has an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650, which doesn’t have OS X drivers and never will. I couldn’t play games under OS X with this laptop if I wanted to.
KarmaPolice responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 7:02 am #
(also, Webkit is not used in Firefox, that would be Gecko.)
Zorgulon responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 7:42 am #
Honestly, I wonder if the rabid anti-Mac brigade can walk into a greengrocer’s without complaining about Apple.
I don’t own a Mac, and can’t see myself getting one in the near future, but I believe in compatibility/interoperability, and this is a significant step.
r3loaded responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 7:56 am #
Well, I love my PC, and probably won’t ever buy a Mac, but I’m happy for all your Mac guys here. More interoperability is always better.
My question is though – what about the 3rd party games you may have in your Steam account that are DirectX only? I’m guessing you can’t run them in Steam for Mac?
mustardoverlord responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 8:37 am #
how many hats do the other UC admins have?
Sandman responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 9:01 am #
Oh great, Mac players in my TF2. With Mac mice, I guess we can look forward to more W+M1 Pyros…
*ducks*
madlep responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 9:12 am #
All you Mac haters had better sort your attitudes out, otherwise Steve Jobs will come round to your house and kick your butt for not drinking the brushed metal flavored Kool Aid.
In fact, the new ubercharged design is optimized to run only on Safari on OS X and the iPhone browser. Any connections from a Windows PC will be dropped, and this image displayed:
Saturn responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 9:16 am #
Why is the great Apple hype machine ominously silent on this? The greatest FPS developer *and* the best digital distribution system coming to OS X in less than six months should’ve sounded some huge bells from Cuppertino.
n00bie51 responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 11:40 am #
Hey, y’all fools that be bashin’ PCs or Macs and madlep or whichever:
I see no point in criticizing madlep for his opinion and preference for Macs. I have my own strong opinions about Macs and PCs and I don’t always agree with what he says, but this is not the place to seriously engage in such a discussion. Honestly, I’m just happy and grateful madlep actually posted something on his blog for once in a while; that’s what y’all should care about moar than saying “macs r dumb” or “pc is feces”.
Also, farts.
-=Pvt. Gomer Pyle=- responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 11:56 am #
Seriously? Are you five or something? Grow up.
madlep responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 12:16 pm #
What I’m thinking is that we’ll turn ubercharged into a utopian paradise as envisaged by Penny Arcade:
BTW – Windows SUX LOL. Discuss.
himmelstoss responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 4:19 pm #
Sweet! Love the update. Just as I was about to install Boot Camp, too.
gelugon2105 responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 6:14 pm #
Dudes, madlep is just trying to provoke PC hardcores, people. Probably because he and other ubercharged.net managers have received notifications from service providers that they need to have increased traffic.
gelugon2105 responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 6:18 pm #
That, and probably because madlep happens to have a lot of time in his hands all of a sudden. That Penny Arcade Strip was already quite old and does not exactly have titles or phrases in its description that specifically describes it as a “PC Versus MAC” hoo-haa.
Are you ill and taking some medical leave or something, madlep?
General Balls responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 9:28 pm #
Clank wins the comments with Sam & Max references.
madlep responded on 09 Mar 2010 at 10:27 pm #
It is true our corporate overlords are getting anxious about the traffic on UC.
We have received instructions that we are to think outside the box to synergize our operational capacity in regard to long term horizon projections of a web 3.0 hyper enabled user generated activity stream focus mindset.
Anthan responded on 10 Mar 2010 at 4:06 am #
I don’t care about Mac or PC.
It’s great that more people will be able to get Steam and… and…
….*reads that again just to make sure*
… PORTAL 2!
0_0
The Medik responded on 10 Mar 2010 at 5:19 am #
madlep, I think we need to restructure our consumer base to allow for the high-importance user issues be resolved through use of the computing cloud technology.
Original responded on 10 Mar 2010 at 7:19 am #
teehee, ‘antiquated operating system’ and yet you are waiting to be able to sue Steam on Mac.
I say let the hipsters continue to play Myst. LOL
GrgoljBlaster responded on 10 Mar 2010 at 8:08 am #
I’m not really Apple person (not gay, not hip, not rich) so this is just another news today. I’d rather see gaming to come in it’s full glory on Linux, and then I would burn all of my discs containing Windows installations
ps sorry if my comment hurt anyone
Jeziah responded on 10 Mar 2010 at 9:15 am #
Madlep:
“Use what you want. Be happy with it. If Windows does it for you, great, if Mac is your thing – great too.
I for one just love watching good fanboy bitch fest though. Happy to set the kindling and fan the flames
”
Well said, my man. You get +200 respect points.
P.S. @ himmelstoss: Your rage fuels my Roflcopter
Wolfstar responded on 10 Mar 2010 at 11:05 am #
Heh, they posted it on the TF2 blog as well, with their usual sense of random humor
Helis responded on 10 Mar 2010 at 12:50 pm #
Oh Mac? I was too busy modifying my awesome PC to how I like it.
You can’t do that with YOUR MACS!
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR!
Eran responded on 12 Mar 2010 at 4:27 am #
As someone who built his own computer with his bare damn hands, I am not satisfied.
Zorgulon responded on 12 Mar 2010 at 5:15 am #
@Eran
You don’t deserve respect until you carved out every transistor on the CPU with your teeth.
Secret Agent Clank! responded on 13 Mar 2010 at 7:14 am #
Hay guize check it out it’s an article bashing Apple practices.
http://www.cracked.com/article_18377_5-reasons-you-should-be-scared-apple.html
mrm responded on 15 Mar 2010 at 6:20 am #
The hardest part of buying a mac is telling your parents you’re gay.
Ardipithecus responded on 01 Apr 2010 at 9:22 am #
The Day Steam is released for Mac OS X, that day, is going to be the happiest of my life.