Steam For Linux Finally Goes 64-Bit (videocardz.com) 35
Valve has released a new Steam Client beta that finally moves the Linux client to 64-bit architecture, while also placing it inside a containerized Steam Runtime environment. However, Linux users still need 32-bit libraries and graphics drivers for compatibility, meaning fully 64-bit-only systems remain unsupported. VideoCardz.com reports: Valve's updated requirements explicitly state that 64-bit-only installations are not supported. Systems must still provide both 32-bit and 64-bit libraries and graphics drivers, including multilib support. The new client also requires Linux kernel 5.6 or newer and glibc 2.31 or newer.
The update also introduces Steam Achievement Sets, a feature we covered earlier that allows developers to organize achievements into separate groups for base games, DLCs and seasonal content. Players can complete individual sets without losing their existing completion status when developers add more achievements. Valve has also updated the achievements page to display progress across these groups.
The 64-bit Linux client and Achievement Sets are currently available through the Steam Client Beta. Valve has not confirmed when these changes will reach the stable Linux release. Until then, users on the regular Steam client will continue using the existing architecture.
The update also introduces Steam Achievement Sets, a feature we covered earlier that allows developers to organize achievements into separate groups for base games, DLCs and seasonal content. Players can complete individual sets without losing their existing completion status when developers add more achievements. Valve has also updated the achievements page to display progress across these groups.
The 64-bit Linux client and Achievement Sets are currently available through the Steam Client Beta. Valve has not confirmed when these changes will reach the stable Linux release. Until then, users on the regular Steam client will continue using the existing architecture.
Achievements (Score:2)
The update also introduces Steam Achievement Sets, a feature we covered earlier that allows developers to organize achievements into separate groups for base games, DLCs and seasonal content.
Are gamers really interested in achievements? I almost never see anyone discuss video game achievements. To me, achievements are mostly distracting and cringe, with their pop-up notifications and poor attempts at being witty. A transparent attempt to force engagement and replay value.
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It depends on the game/player. Some people are completionists who want to experience the entire game, and achievements help them do that.
Some people don't give a crap about achievements ... but still get a small serotonin boost when Steam pops that "You just got achievement X" message.
But really instead of asking "do lots of gamers want achievements" ... just ask "would Steam and almost all game creators bother with achievements at all (that's a lot of effort across a whole lot of companies) ... if they we
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But really instead of asking "do lots of gamers want achievements" ... just ask "would Steam and almost all game creators bother with achievements at all (that's a lot of effort across a whole lot of companies) ... if they weren't something a significant number of gamers wanted?"
I disagree. In a rational world, game creators will act that way. We do not live in a rational world. Instead, they ask what they want gamers to want. The difference, perhaps, is subtle, but important, because game creators are as likely as anyone else to be a) stupid, b) narcistic, or c) both. (And often, they get mandates from MBAs running the company, and marketing droids who are echo chambers of the MBA's own self image, to do stupid things, because MBAs and marketing droids are far more likely to be c)
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Probably dopamine though.
Higher serotonin levels make you feel better, but it's not the instant reward feelgood signal.
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Fun fact: Even Slashdot has achievements. Look for it in the configurable optional sidebar panels.
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There are people in my friend group who are completely into achievements. If they don't get the "100% completed" achievement (got all the achievements) they feel like something is unfinished. They will gather friends around for
Re: Achievements (Score:3)
The thing about achievements is the type of person who cares about achievements is also the type of person to buy a bunch of digital goods. So, even if most people couldn't give a shit, the outsized impact on the publishers' bottom lines pretty much guarantees that shit is here to stay.
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I almost never see anyone discuss video game achievements
Me either, I mean I am right now and so are you but surely this doesn't count
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who? what? [slashdot.org]
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As with everything else in life, you can decide and declare that you don't care, but it doesn't stop the effect on your subconscious. All it does is prevent you having the opportunity for self-awareness, and potentially mitigate some of the harms by identifying the source of your emotions.
64-bit vs IPv6 (Score:3)
Who wants to place bets on which one gets fully rolled out first: 64-bit computing or IPv6?
Re: 64-bit vs IPv6 (Score:2)
Re: 64-bit vs IPv6 (Score:3)
32 bits is most definitely not enough for lots of the calculations I find myself having to implement. There's a lot more than 4 billion of a LOT of things. One example that comes to mind is the 2038 bug in 32bit Unix dates.
Re: 64-bit vs IPv6 (Score:4, Insightful)
Handling large amounts of data, such as video, typically requires you deal with 64 bit integers. Also, in 2038 we'll be regretting storing times as 32 bit integers.
But I get what you're saying, and honestly, I suspect most people would have been better off if most OSes had gone for a combination X32 (NOT ix86! X32 is its own thing, essentially using X64 with 32 bit numbers where possible)/X64 API with programs compiled for an appropriate architecture, rather than just everything being X64. The vast, vast, majority of applications would have been X32 friendly. grep does not need 64 bit pointers or integers. bash doesn't. And neither vi or VSCode do either. And they never will. That's something I can genuinely safely say which is not something that can be said of a lot of "We'll never need XXXXes that big" predictions.
Re: 64-bit vs IPv6 (Score:2)
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For video 64 bits is primarily needed because the file sizes go over 4Gb regularly. It's not the addressing or the data word sizes (though HDR with more than 10 bit component sizes typically needs more than 32 bits per pixel if that's being used, but in a less-than-64-bit environment there'd be multiple ways to handle that), it's simply the sizes of objects that cannot be reasonably predicted any more to fit into 32 bit integers. That's all I meant.
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Anything you are doing which involves shoveling data is faster with 64 bit because more data is shoveled per shovelful, plus you don't have register starvation. When amd64 was new it was typical that doing absolutely nothing but recompiling the same code as 64 bit could produce a 10-15% speedup in CPU-limited software. This is why the X32 ABI is so interesting for smaller programs which don't require large address spaces but could still benefit from the overhead reduction from processing 64 bit data types,
Depends on the scale (Score:2)
Outside of Windows, 64 Bit is the norm for way over a decade now... and so is IPv6.
I haven't tried it myself, but apparently you can now get IPv6 stacks for some versions of Windows, but networking always seems to have been an afterthought there.
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Windows has fully supported IPv6-only configurations since Vista. There's probably still some Windows software that assumes IPv4, but Windows itself has supported IPv6 fine for decades.
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I suspect the GP meant that most Windows users don't really use IPv6 a lot.
By comparison, virtually every Android phone (and presumably iPhone) has it as their primary networking stack, with IPv4 being the secondary one (and behind multiple layers of NAT)
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I suspect the GP meant that most Windows users don't really use IPv6 a lot.
I suspect you like most people don't even know when you do or don't use IPv6. IPv6 has been on by default, and the default first resolution attempt in Windows for well over a decade now. If your router routes IPv6 then you're probably using IPv6 RIGHT NOW. ... Well not right now, because despite Slashdot using Cloudflare these idiots don't bother doing something as simple as publishing a valid AAAA record. But as soon as you visit a competent website you'll be using IPv6 on your windows machine.
Re: Depends on the scale (Score:2)
Go ahead and start disabling IPv4 on all your devices and let us know how it goes.
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Outside of Windows
What do you mean outside of Windows? Windows has been both 64bit and actively supported IPv6 in the default configuration for well over a decade. Most people use both and have no idea.
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I don't use windows but... maybe you shouldn't comment on technical stuff? I know, I know, you're probably the "computer genius" among your friends and family, but this is slashdot, you're surrounded by people who have at least sometimes worn a sysadmin hat professionally.
You don't go out and club a network stack over the head and drag it home. That isn't how any of this works.
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Two questions:
What are the benefits of 64bit computing? (note the Steam client is a small piece of software that has nothing to do with games that run after)
What do you mean IPv6 isn't rolled out? All those of us using IPv6 right now want to know. Or are you talking about Slashdot, in which case a better question would be if they will get IPv6 support or UTF-8 support first.
So? (Score:2)
I'd have cared if I didn't need multilib.
Since I do this changes nothing.
What I want is for performance to not be terrible. Launch time is unacceptable, but that's not the only problem. Just opening more windows inside steam when the system is doing anything at all (however trivial) takes forever. My browser will open the same product pages almost instantly that it takes steam forever to display.
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This is basically how I felt. All my games run just fine with the current setup so I don't see myself shifting over just yet. My games more modern then BG3 (last modern game I bought) require 64bit but so far, I've yet to encounter this issue.
I have of course encountered the issue of having 32 bit libraries versus 64 bit libraries and eventually just left both in the game folders that bitched. This happened maybe once or twice but I can't even recall for which games.
If going Steam64 requires more of this, I
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You sound like the sort of person who should set it to load at startup so you can stop whining. It's bad for your mental health.
Why are you trying to doomscroll the Steam product pages? If you're that bored and don't want to play anything, just add a real hobby to your life.
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You sound like the sort of person who should set it to load at startup
You sound like an idiot. (checks username) Yep!
so you can stop whining
No, I'm complaining, you're whining.
Why are you trying to doomscroll the Steam product pages
Why are you making shit up to be mad about related to shit that I'm mad about? Are you one of the ACs on my dick constantly every day? Just can't get enough of following me around and crying about my comments?