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Steam Updates On Hardware Changes, Debugging Innovations

Posted by simoniker on from the failure-at-line-infinity dept.

Thanks to Planet Half-Life for reprinting a note from Gabe Newell discussing the latest changes and survey results regarding Valve's Steam 'content delivery system'. He compares the recently mentioned hardware survey to an earlier one, mentioning: "There's lots of interesting info, for example Windows 98/Windows ME users going from 62.8% down to 8.25%." Newell also discusses the code debugging innovations that Steam is now providing: "We've been able to increase the level and speed of our Steam upgrades by direct reporting of client bugs back through Steam. If a Steam client reports a problem, we can replicate it on our machines and jump directly to the line of code in our debugger", before ending by revealing that the much-delayed Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is now available for pre-order via Steam.

2 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Re:pre-order by jantheman · · Score: 5, Informative

    well....It (CS:Condition Zero) is already apparently on my computer already (via the steam 'trickle feed' update) - the 'gcf' (game cache file?) is there. Apparently all I have to do is wait for them to 'release' it officially, so delivery on time seems to be a moot point.

    hmmm...have I got time to attempt to hack it out...?

    --
    -- Mod me down. I am not a karma tart. ffs,gag
  2. Drop in Windows 98 users (partially) explained by StupidKatz · · Score: 5, Informative

    I recently changed my gaming PC's OS to Windows XP Pro. I'd previously used Windows 98SE. Why did I, a rabid hater of all things XP (updates, EUL"A"s, wizardry, etc.) give up on 98 for my gaming OS?

    DirectX 9 broke 98. I've been telling everyone within earshot that this was the way that MS was going to force the gamers off of 98 - via DirectX. All video files, under any format that I can find, (except real; I don't use it) are broken. They refuse to load. Breakdown of the issue here and here

    It isn't a critical problem at this point, but the second "solution" is so obscure that I wonder how anyone managed to find it. (The first involves re-running the directx installer, which will allow the system to play back videos fine until the subsequent reboot.) How likely is an official fix for this issue? That's what I thought. Too bad, though - Win98SE still had a year or two worth of gaming life left in it.