Steam cleint needs touch support!

[beebskadoo]

So I recently purchased a Surface Pro 2 (I returned my original Pro) and like every PC that I own I have Steam installed on it. Well a pretty annoying issue has come to my attention, Steam has no touch screen support for the steam client!

 

I know GabeN has a dire hate for Windows 8 but with the growing library of touch enabled games and more and more touch enabled PCs becoming commonplace it's about time that something is done about this. Also Steam's UI scaling is absolutely atrocious! Windows defaults the UI scaling at 150% on my Surface Pro 2, this in turn makes the UI in Steam appear blurry and low res. I know this is a common issue with many apps in Windows, the app developers are just incompetent I suppose. But if I disable the UI scaling it makes the elements way to small to touch or even use the Active Stylus.

 

Touch support is absent from steam big picture mode also! I just wonder how such a thing can be overlooked for so long...

 

What do you guys think? Is anyone else plagued by this annoyance?

[Askew]

No, I can't think of anything I'd want to use desktop Steam for on a touch interface, the idea of playing a game on a PC with touch makes me want to leap from a window.

 

I've bought games from the store and used chat on my mobile before, but that's it.

 

Also, client*

[beebskadoo]

No, I can't think anything I'd want to use Steam for on a touch interface, the idea of playing a game on a PC with touch makes me want to leap from a window.

Well it matters to me

It actually matters to a lot of people on the Steam users forums!

I hope Valve comes through with this soon.

[Askew]

Well it matters to me

It actually matters to a lot of people on the Steam users forums!

I hope Valve comes through with this soon.

 

I'm sure that if the community pesters Valve enough they will address it.

[beebskadoo]

I'm sure if the community pesters Valve enough they will address it.

Many of the threads were 2 years old. It all started with the release of Windows 8, many users have been asking for this but many fear that it won't happen because Valve's stance against Windows 8.

[Askew]

Many of the threads were 2 years old. It all started with the release of Windows 8, many users have been asking for this but many fear that it won't happen because Valve's stance against Windows 8.

 

To be honest I hate idea of desktop touch interfaces entirely, it is more effort to lift my hand up to touch my screen and get damn fingerprints and grease all over it than it is to simply fondle my mouse and use keyboard shortcuts to get around.

 

Touch is slow and cumbersome on a desktop IMHO.

 

In other news, I've just seen this, it's very old but it's so funny it's worth sharing in case you've not seen it!

[beebskadoo]

To be honest I hate idea of desktop touch interfaces entirely, it is more effort to lift my hand up to touch my screen and get damn fingerprints and grease all over it than it is to simple fondle my mouse and use keyboard shortcuts to get around.

Touch is slow and cumbersome on desktop IMHO.

In other news, I've just seen this, it's very old but it's so funny it's worth sharing in case you've not seen it!

I am not specifically talking for desktops, I am speaking for tablets and slate/convertible computers. Much like my Surface Pro. The smaller screens make navigation difficult at this point in the Steam client, it would be nice to have that option. Even if it's a hidden option that can be enabled!

That video was just.....wow...

[Askew]

I am not specifically talking for desktops, I am speaking for tablets and slate/convertible computers. Much like my Surface Pro. The smaller screens make navigation difficult at this point in the Steam client, it would be nice to have that option. Even if it's a hidden option that can be enabled!

That video was just.....wow...

 

Maybe a Steam W8 app for windows mobile and desk? They've already got apps for Android and iOS.

 

There is one thing I'd like to have that W8 has and I don't on 7, and that is the dedicated Netflix app. That would mean I could get around having to use Silverlight to stream on my PC and enjoy the SuperHD streams currently unavailable to people streaming with browsers.

[beebskadoo]

Maybe a Steam W8 app for windows mobile and desk? They've already got apps for Android and iOS.

There is one thing I'd like to have that W8 has and I don't on 7, and that is the dedicated Netflix app. That would mean I could get around having to use Silverlight to stream on my PC and enjoy the SuperHD streams currently unavailable to people streaming with browsers.

Well, a steam app that's available in the app store would be cool but it most likely won't be a full app, it'll be more like the iOS and Android app that just has chat and stuff. I mean I would be happy if BigPicture had touch support!

[Askew]

Well, a steam app that's available in the app store would be cool but it most likely won't be a full app, it'll be more like the iOS and Android app that just has chat and stuff. I mean I would be happy if BigPicture had touch support!

 

Touch support in big picture mode sounds pretty sensible to me, the buttons are easily big enough as it is and it's already a feature that's alien to desktops so changing it to be even more friendly to other applications can only please people.

 

Could even be a setting in the preferences for 'enable touch in big picture'.

[beebskadoo]

Touch support in big picture mode sounds pretty sensible to me, the buttons are easily big enough as it is and it's already a feature that's alien to desktops so changing it to be even more friendly to other applications can only please people.

Yeah, I mean especially when you take in home streaming into account! I use it to play some more intensive games that don't run well enough on my surface (some run better than others) I mean it's not quite there yet in a lot of ways but there is definitely the potential for greatness. It's a really great experience to just sit in bed and play Dark Souls on your tablet with a controller plugged in. It's definitely the future!

[Misanthrope]

What if Valve was to enable touch screen support but only for the Linux version of the client? A lot of the more basic, touch enabled games would work nice with it and I think that some touch enabled laptops and tablets can run Linux, would you support that?

 

I don't mean to be too rude but we have been accommodating Windows users' needs for years, decades even. Is nice that someone like Valve said "Enough of this shit" and decided they can do better and I honestly think that they need to support this venture and maybe even by hijacking some features to the Linux client to encourage adoption.

[Askew]

I don't mean to be too rude but we have been accommodating Windows users' needs for years, decades even.

 

Also accommodating the lack of a widely used DirectX API alternative for Linux, Valve might port some of their own games and some other developers might port theirs but the fact is that it's still a major issue.

[beebskadoo]

What if Valve was to enable touch screen support but only for the Linux version of the client? A lot of the more basic, touch enabled games would work nice with it and I think that some touch enabled laptops and tablets can run Linux, would you support that?

I don't mean to be too rude but we have been accommodating Windows users' needs for years, decades even. Is nice that someone like Valve said "Enough of this shit" and decided they can do better and I honestly think that they need to support this venture and maybe even by hijacking some features to the Linux client to encourage adoption.

That would be fine but the bulk of the user base for touch support is on windows, and there lies the issue and outcry for such support. Who is 'we'?

I mean I love the concept of Linux, I have even ran it as a secondary OS for a year, but I don't see how ignoring a large portion of people in order to promote a small user base is going to help anything...

I think Steam should add this feature to the client, and make it platform agnostic. Mac, Linux, and Windows. It shouldn't be that difficult to implement and won't cause any issues if it's easily enabled but not the default setting. Make the UI elements scalable for fuck sake! I mean the way you use a desktop computer is entirely different than you do a 10 inch tablet or 13 inch notebook!

[Askew]

 the way you use a desktop computer is entirely different than you do a 10 inch tablet or 13 inch notebook!

 

Yes but microsoft have tried to use the same operating system for both, Apple for example have a seperate OS for smaller/touch applications.

 

I see it as a Windows issue more than a Steam client issue.

[beebskadoo]

Yes but microsoft are the ones who have tried to use the same operating system for both.

The issue is not with the operating system really, the issue is with how the steam client runs. The scaling support isn't perfect in Windows but it does actually come down to the app developer to make it scale well on small devices, and Valve has failed to do so.

I have stated before, metro UI is far from perfect for desktop but it works really well on Tablets.

To say that steam runs well on any platform is just being deceptive, it's slow, laggy, cludgy and seems like it's held together with glue and wood screws. The steam client really needs some work, and this is just an example of how 'thrown together at the last minute' the Steam client really feels.

Valve has a really great thing going with big picture, and I really see promise in it. I can see in a few years when all the wrinkles are ironed out that Big Picture mode is going to be the default launcher for steam and users will have to enable 'classic mode'. If Big Picture can be tweaked to run on Tablets, TVs, Desktops with keyboard and mouse, controller, and touch it would be perfetg in my eyes.

[Askew]

To say that steam runs well on any platform is just being deceptive, it's slow, laggy, cludgy and seems like it's held together with glue and wood screws

 

I agree with this, the worst version that I've used is Android, I can't speak for the Linux/SteamOS version because until more games are supported it's pointless for me to move from Windows.

[beebskadoo]

I agree with this, the worst version that I've used is Android, I can't speak for the Linux/SteamOS version because until more games are supported it's pointless for me to move from Windows.

Yeah, the android version hasn't been updated since it was released....2 fucking years ago!

I mean, how can an app with 5 million+ downloads (android) not get an update in 2 years?

Valve is often seen as the cool guys (I agree that they are) but they're honestly like a bunch of hippie stoners that sit on the couch and eat potato chips all day and don't get any work done.

[Askew]

Valve is often seen as the cool guys (I agree that they are) but they're honestly like a bunch of hippie stoners that sit on the couch and eat potato chips all day and don't get any work done.

 

It's because nobody is doing it better that certain Ts go uncrossed IMHO.

 

Give me Steam over Uplay or Origin any day, dem sales tho.

[beebskadoo]

It's because nobody is doing it better.

Honestly I disagree a little. Origin is catching up to Valve in a lot of ways. Origin has went from a steaming pile of poop just a year ago to something that is a decent experience to use. If EA keeps it up they will surely pass Steam in terms of UI and usability. I mean if they have improved that much in just a year, imagine what they can do in another...

[Askew]

Honestly I disagree a little. Origin is catching up to Valve in a lot of ways. Origin has went from a steaming pile of poop just a year ago to something that is a decent experience to use. If EA keeps it up they will surely pass Steam in terms of UI and usability. I mean if they have improved that much in just a year, imagine what they can do in another...

 

I agree that Origin has come a long way, definitely I do but it currently cannot compete with the sheer number of titles on Steam, and there is also the issue of people's attachment to their Steam library due to how long Valve has had a quasi digital game distribution monopoly, and wildly popular proprietary games like CS:GO, TF2 and Dota 2 requiring the client to run.

 

EA has Battlefield and sports titles to match that in terms of having the client be compulsary for lots of users.

 

Even if Origin was to have the full library of games that Steam does, it would take something more than just having a better UI to draw people away from Steam IMO, the colossal userbase that Valve has amassed is very loyal and set in its ways and the flaws don't seem to be deterring many users at all.

[Misanthrope]

That would be fine but the bulk of the user base for touch support is on windows, and there lies the issue and outcry for such support. Who is 'we'?

I mean I love the concept of Linux, I have even ran it as a secondary OS for a year, but I don't see how ignoring a large portion of people in order to promote a small user base is going to help anything...

 

That completely ignores the main issues Valve (among many others) have risen with being at the mercy of MS and their game support (or often lack thereof) as well as unpredictable practices. What I am saying is that this is a good examples of sacrifices that would have to be made to get people to move past windows because even by you two guys comments I can mostly read non-tech related objections (i.e. everybody uses windows so we most endure) as well as circular issues (Everybody uses direct x because there's no alternative and there's no alternative because everybody uses direct x, and so on)

[Askew]

Everybody uses direct x because there's no alternative and there's no alternative because everybody uses direct x

 

Everybody uses Direct X because nobody has developed a replacement and withheld it from Windows, if for example Valve licenced/created an API for SteamOS/Linux and proceeded to release titles/encourage/subsidise other developers to release exclusively on that platform and use the new API then it would help to shepherd users away from Windows in the same way that console exclusives sell systems.

[beebskadoo]

That completely ignores the main issues Valve (among many others) have risen with being at the mercy of MS and their game support (or often lack thereof) as well as unpredictable practices. What I am saying is that this is a good examples of sacrifices that would have to be made to get people to move past windows because even by you two guys comments I can mostly read non-tech related objections (i.e. everybody uses windows so we most endure) as well as circular issues (Everybody uses direct x because there's no alternative and there's no alternative because everybody uses direct x, and so on)

I really don't see how users that enjoy their touch enabled tablet computers will suddenly jump operating systems because Valve doesn't support touch. They are most likely going to not use steam on their tablet and use their desktop... or stop using steam in general.

 

I'm not ignoring the 'main issue', it's just you think the main issue is something totally different than it actually is. (I hope I don't sound abrasive or brash because I'm not meaning to)

 

For valve to do something so drastic as to piss off their main source of income would be suicide!

You see it as Valve having a vendetta against Windows gamers and trying to nudge them over, I see it as unwillingness to change and incompetence. 

[beebskadoo]

Everybody uses Direct X because nobody has developed a replacement and withheld it from Windows, if for example Valve licenced/created an API for SteamOS/Linux and proceeded to release titles/encourage/subsidise other developers to release exclusively on that platform and use the new API then it would help to shepherd users away from Windows in the same way that console exclusives sell systems.

DirectX won because of Microsofts domination of the console market. It's easier for an app developer to port to PC if the API is the same. I mean OpenGL is promising but untill there is incentive to code for it over directX I don't think game devs will be so willing to code for it.

 

Here's the scenario

Valve pushes for more Linux support

 

A fairly decent chunk of consumers want it too

 

Consumers complain of lack of games

 

Valve provides incentive for developers

 

Most Developers look at it and laugh because there is NO MONEY IN IT!!!

 

a few developers release some games for linux

 

Consumers: 'yay games for linux!! But wait, they run like shit! Why? *looks at valve*

Valve: 'don't look at us!' *looks at Game Dev*

Game Dev: 'don't look at us, it's not our fault that drivers suck for linux! and besides, we aren't making any money so why make it better' *looks at Nvidia and AMD*

Nvidia and AMD: 'yeah no one is gaming on linux, so why spend the R&D money when we're just going to lose money'

 

I mean you think that gaming on windows is bad? Imagine dealing with this scenario...