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I'm not a Windows hater, but for the last several years I have been attempting to operate a usable gaming HTPC and the experience could not have been a lousier

I'm not a Windows hater, but for the last several years I have been attempting to operate a usable gaming HTPC and the experience could not have been a lousier waste of time. The thing that sucks the most (and SteamOS doesn't fix) is that the PC ecosystem is fracturing out of control. Steam alone can't do it for me - I have games now in Oculus, Meta, and Xbox. Or my favorite game (Anno 1800 being locked behind a POS Uplay launcher). Windows is the only game in town if you want to do everything, but they can't get out of their own way.

0xDEAFBEAD 1y ago
I'm having a very similar experience here. I finally got a Windows box, hooked it up to my TV, and assumed that everything would just work since I'm on Windows for once. In fact, lots of games will crash on launch, or glitch the display so bad they're unplayable, or ignore my Windows Night Light settings, or not offer the controller support which was promised. Ironically, the games which work best are the ones that worked on Mac/Linux anyway. Presumably, those are the ones where the devs actually put in the work to ensure broad compatibility. I think there is an opening for SteamOS to create console-type compatibility guarantees for a machine which also doubles as a general-purpose PC. Honestly if Valve doesn't get their act together somehow, I might just switch to a traditional console. I love Steam's Big Picture Mode, but if half my games don't even work, what's the point? (And don't get me started on how they killed the Steam Controller...)
BlueTemplar 1y ago
You shouldn't have expected this from a general purpose computer. If you want something that just works, get a console (though looks like even Nintendo has fallen to the "some games require an Internet connection" issue with the Switch 2, weirdly because of too big storage cards). But you will be limited by what the manufacturer mandated. If you want diversity and freedom, use a PC. But you will have to tinker to make it work. P.S.: I guess that there's also MacOS / iOS / Android / ChromeOS / ..? in-between, but they perhaps provide even less options foe gaming...

0xDEAFBEAD 1y ago

I'm having a very similar experience here. I finally got a Windows box, hooked it up to my TV, and assumed that everything would just work since I'm on Windows for once. In fact, lots of games will crash on launch, or glitch the display so bad they're unplayable, or ignore my Windows Night Light settings, or not offer the controller support which was promised. Ironically, the games which work best are the ones that worked on Mac/Linux anyway. Presumably, those are the ones where the devs actually put in the work to ensure broad compatibility. I think there is an opening for SteamOS to create console-type compatibility guarantees for a machine which also doubles as a general-purpose PC. Honestly if Valve doesn't get their act together somehow, I might just switch to a traditional console. I love Steam's Big Picture Mode, but if half my games don't even work, what's the point? (And don't get me started on how they killed the Steam Controller...)

BlueTemplar 1y ago

You shouldn't have expected this from a general purpose computer. If you want something that just works, get a console (though looks like even Nintendo has fallen to the "some games require an Internet connection" issue with the Switch 2, weirdly because of too big storage cards). But you will be limited by what the manufacturer mandated. If you want diversity and freedom, use a PC. But you will have to tinker to make it work. P.S.: I guess that there's also MacOS / iOS / Android / ChromeOS / ..? in-between, but they perhaps provide even less options foe gaming...