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Zeds are out for blood again in Killing Floor 2 for PC
If the first Killing Floor hasn't already proven it, Tripwire Interactive has no shortage of creepy, violent zeds at their disposal. Their surplus has spilled into Killing Floor 2, a second dose of wave-based, teamwork-oriented first-person shooting bound for Windows. PC Gamer revealed the sequel this week in an exclusive feature, chatting with Tripwire President John Gibson about what's different in this round of fire. KF2 shifts from London to Paris and offers a revamped gore system called "MEAT," standing for Massive Evisceration and Trauma. 95 death animations and 19 body points of dismemberment will help players paint a uniquely grim picture with their weaponry, and every splash of blood will remain where it falls throughout a match. While rendering wall-coating gore would normally be taxing, Killing Floor 2 will modify textures in real time, displaying splattered carnage as makeshift murals rather than in-level objects. A revamped progression system will also be present, with players unlocking and having to choose between two new skills for every five levels earned. Four difficulty settings will be offered, but ramping up the challenge will grant zeds new abilities and amplify their aggression, rather than simply making them faster, denser bullet sponges like the first game. Modders will also be catered to, with Tripwire planning to support Steam Workshop and to release a mod SDK. A release window for KF2 hasn't been offered, but Gibson told PC Gamer that it may reach Early Access for PC and SteamOS earlier than he expects. [Image: Tripwire Interactive]
Unreal Engine 4 hits Xbox One, PS4 in update 4.1
With today's update 4.1, Unreal Engine 4 is available to developers at no additional charge on PS4 and Xbox One. Epic is running Unreal Engine 4 as a subscription-based service, for $19 a month and 5 percent of gross revenue from any commercial product made with the engine. Unreal Engine 4 already runs on PS4 and Xbox One, but today's update makes it easier for new developers to secure a license on these consoles. Microsoft notes that now its independent developers in the ID@Xbox program can access Unreal Engine 4. Developers must still register with Sony and Microsoft; see the rundown of registration steps here. With update 4.1, Unreal Engine 4 now supports previous- and current-gen consoles, PC, Mac, SteamOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus. [Image: Epic Games]
Valve's new Steam controller feels familiar, but strange
Valve's original vision for a PC gamepad was an arresting deviation from the norm: touch-sensitive control pads in place of dual analog thumbsticks and a full-on touchscreen in lieu of actual buttons. The company's latest revision -- codenamed "D0g" after the character from Half-Life 2 -- skews a little more traditional, replacing the curious touchscreen with eight regular buttons. Is it a loss worth lamenting? We caught up with Valve at GDC 2014 to find out.
Behold: Valve's updated Steam Controller
Valve offered up a clearer side-by-side image of its updated Steam Controller today. The second iteration of the SteamOS gamepad was revealed in January, and peeled away the center touchscreen in favor of more traditional face buttons. The new buttons consist of a directional pad and standard A, B, X and Y buttons, the latter formerly located around the touchscreen. Valve left the large circular trackpads on the device, but also added a Steam icon button in the center with start and select-like buttons on either side with what appear to be stop and play icons. The Steam Controller was announced alongside SteamOS and Steam Machines in September 2013, and was followed up by a hardware beta program that already excluded the controller's touchscreen. We spent some time with Valve's beta hardware in early January and found the experience lacking on the previous version of the controller with Hotline Miami and Portal in particular. Head past the break for a closer look at the updated controller.
Here's a much clearer look at Valve's new Steam Controller
You see that image above? That's the new Steam Controller, headed to SteamOS. Sound familiar? That's because this is the second iteration of the Steam Controller first unveiled last year. Astute readers might be thinking, "Haven't I seen this somewhere before?" That's also a strong possibility, as we got a first glimpse of it back at Steam Dev Days earlier this year (albeit via shaky cellphone camera). Today, however, Valve's deigned us worthy to see it in high-res glory. Heck, the folks at Valve even juxtaposed the new one (on the left) against the original version of the controller (seen on the right). Sad about that missing touchpad? We are too, but perhaps those fancy new buttons will help make up for it, eh? Head below for a much larger version.
Another major game engine gets Linux support ahead of Steam Machines launch
The engine that powers the Crysis series, CryEngine, is headed to Linux. That means games like Crysis 3 and Ryse: Son of Rome could see ports on Valve's forthcoming Linux-powered platform, SteamOS. At very least, it means that developers already working with CryEngine have a shortcut to porting their work to Steam Machines; Crytek will show it off in detail next week at the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Linux support was long-rumored for CryEngine, with job listings as far back as last July hinting that it was coming. It's unclear when the engine will get updated to support the new platform, but we expect it'll be long before Valve's Steam Machines initiative gets seriously underway.
SteamOS gets a native music player in Steam Music
SteamOS still isn't really in wide use, and it's very firmly still in beta. Heck, the latest version still carries the disclaimer, "don't install it on any machine you are not prepared to lose." With Steam Music, though, SteamOS is one step closer to being a multifunctional operating system: it takes your locally-stored music and makes it playable directly in the Steam UI. There's a version for Steam's Big Picture Mode as well, if you'd like to give it a shot on your non-Steam Machine gaming rig. Valve says that random beta participants (culled from group members here) will get access soon, and a desktop version of the player is on the way as well. There's no ability to purchase music, nor can you pipe in music subscriptions/Google Play accounts -- we've asked if (and when) that's coming -- but it's a pretty major step toward offering multimedia functionality on the upcoming Steam Machines. Like every Valve initiative, Steam Music is an evolving one. The intro page says it all: "Our next steps for the feature will be influenced by your beta feedback."
Steam Music limited beta coming to SteamOS soon
Valve's Steam Music beta will arrive soon for SteamOS users. The service is a new addition to the platform just announced last week, enabling players to listen to local music files from within the Steam client while playing games. To enter the closed beta, fans will need to join the Steam Music community in hopes of being randomly selected. Valve says beta testers will be "invited in waves" until the feature goes live in full for all players/listeners. The company announced SteamOS in September along with its upcoming Steam Machines and Steam Controller hardware. In mid-January, Valve revealed its ambitions to provide music and video services before launching Steam Machines. We went hands-on with the beta version of the hardware last month and were intrigued by it, even if the Steam Machines term is "nonsense." [Image: Valve]
Weekly Roundup: PlayStation Vita TV review, T-Mo's 'Mobile Money' and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Daily Roundup: Snapchat's adorable captcha, T-Mo's 'Mobile Money' and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
New SteamOS beta tempts more testers with support for older PCs and dual-booting
Valve released its SteamOS beta with a warning: Only touch this if you know what you're doing. While that surely did something to separate true testers from the first wave of eager users, there were a few problems. Even the qualified needed a relatively new machine with UEFI, and a dedicated one at that, given attempts to make the OS a secondary boot option were troublesome at best. However, a fresh beta that folds in efforts by both Valve and the community is now available. On top of fixing the aforementioned issues, thereby welcoming more to get to grips with early SteamOS, other major updates include partition, recovery and DVD install support. This doesn't mean it's ready for general consumption, though, so we'll point the brave to the source link below and swiftly wash our hands of you.
Alienware Steam Machines to get a new model every year
Alienware's Steam Machines won't be easily upgraded, but there will be a new model each year, Alienware General Manager Frank Azor told Trusted Reviews. "Lifecycle wise, consoles update every five, six, seven years. We will be updating our Steam Machines every year," Azor said. There will be no customization options in Alienware's Steam Machines, Azor continued: "You can't really update it." Customers will have small range of configurations to choose from, such as more memory or a faster CPU, he said. Those who want to beef up their machines on their own are better off with a standard PC, Azor noted – after all, anyone can turn a PC into a Steam Machine by buying a Steam Controller and downloading SteamOS. "If you actually want to customize your Alienware Steam Machine, maybe change your graphics card out or put in a new CPU, you would be better off with the standard Alienware X51. This particular product is restricted in its upgrade options." The first round of Alienware Steam Machines are due to hit retail in September.
Valve's investing in VR, but has no plans to release its own hardware
Remember that Oculus Rift prototype that ran away with our Best of CES 2014 award? Turns out Valve helped make it a reality. Speaking at Steam Dev Days, Valve's Michael Abrash explained that the two companies collaborated on the Crystal Cove prototype's new tracking features, which combines sensors, markers and an external camera to keep track of the user's head and body position. In fact, the software company seems to be pinning most of its hopes for the space on the VR startup, noting that it currently has no plans to ship a Valve-produced headset. Although Abrash doesn't expect virtual reality technology to become mainstream for another two years, he does say that the Crystal Cove prototype is a big step in the right direction. Even so, there's still a lot of room to grow: headsets still need to shed their tethers, improve optics and solve multiple head and eye tracking issues. There are also content hurdles to overcome. According to Oculus founder Palmer Luckey (also taking the stage at Steam Dev Days), developers should be focusing on creating experiences tailored to VR. "Stop thinking about porting existing games," read one of his slides. We'd have to agree: EVE Valkyrie is one of the most compelling VR experiences you can have, and it's built specifically for the Rift. Despite the issues facing the budding technology, Valve seems confident that it will flourish, and pledges to continue working with Oculus to drive the VR revolution onward. Sounds mighty fine to us. [Image credit: @DaveOshry]
Valve wants SteamOS to feature music and video services
Valve wants to offer digital music, video, and television episodes via SteamOS prior to the launch of its Steam Machines hardware, general business developer Anna Sweet revealed during the company's Steam Dev Days event in Seattle this week. Steam Dev Days attendees Becky Taylor and Jose Ilitzky relayed SteamOS's upcoming expansion via Twitter, though Valve has yet to issue an official statement. Developers continue to weigh in on the announcement via the #steamdevdays hashtag. Valve's proposed digital entertainment expansion would put SteamOS in direct competition with Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, which currently offer music, movies, and TV episodes on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PS4 platforms. Valve previously announced plans to tackle the console gaming market with Steam Machines, a lineup of SteamOS-powered computers specifically suited for living room gameplay.
Xbox's Marc Whitten 'not sweating' Steam Machines
Xbox Chief Product Officer Marc Whitten isn't worried about Steam Machines taking up precious Xbox real estate in the living room. During an interview with Engadget at CES, Whitten said he's "not sweating" Valve's new initiative. He thinks "there's space for both." Whitten admitted, "I personally don't know how to think about Steam Machines yet," which is becoming an increasingly more popular sentiment. "I'm not knocking it or whatever. I continue to think that PC gaming – the sort of uber configuration and I can change everything and I can mod – that's an important thing and there's a lot of people that wanna do that." Whitten elaborated when a product is in the living room, however, players want to be instantly entertained – they don't want to spend time doing anything else. "When you get into that living room environment, you don't want to spend any of your brain cells doing anything but being entertained. I don't want to work on it; I don't want to feel like I have to know how it works. I would like to be blowing things up now, or watching a thing now. That's the fundamental thing that you want to do." A total of 13 Steam Machines, from various manufacturers, have been revealed so far. The cheapest machines come in at $500, while the more expensive configurations can top out at $6,000. Each Steam Machine ships with SteamOS and Valve's new Steam Controller.
Editorial: Steam Machines are nonsense and Valve is cool with that
At 9:30 on the first morning of CES in Las Vegas, Tuan Nguyen walked into the Engadget media trailer carrying two cardboard boxes, each large enough to hold an adult cat. He placed the boxes on a table in a back room and asked me for something to cut through the tape holding them closed. He eventually used his keys. Nguyen unloaded one package, pulling grey foam from the edges of a white rectangle with the Steam logo imprinted on its top, a console just smaller than an Xbox One. Nguyen started talking about the box – iBuyPower's SBX, a Steam Machine slated to hit retail this year for $500. He told stories about designing the box as a console, working with Valve and how hard it was to keep the budget down. He said iBuyPower was planning to announce a second Steam Machine paired with Oculus Rift that night, but to be honest, the Oculus team was a little behind schedule and the VR headset wasn't ready for console integration. He probably said too much. At 11 that morning, I had an appointment to see Digital Storm's Steam Machine, the Bolt 2, a Windows-SteamOS hybrid that started at $1,900. The meeting was in Trump Tower, in a room on the 48th floor. The Trump lobby shone gold and dripped fake diamonds from the ceiling, and the doors leading into Digital Storm's room were French – behind them, a trio of spokesmen welcomed me, leading us past a table of branded swag to the ottoman by the window that held the Bolt 2. That spot provided the best possible lighting for photos, Chief Brand Officer Harjit Chana said. The Digital Storm team was friendly and hit their talking points well, describing the Bolt 2 as a high-end PC and its customers as high-end people. This wasn't a Steam Machine for a wide market – it had a specific, dedicated audience. They knew that, I knew I wasn't in that audience (or that tax bracket), and that was all right. It was an impressive piece of hardware. Both of the scenarios that I encountered were valid, and each carried their own charm, but they were undeniably the efforts of two disparate companies with vastly different business senses, branded together under one name: Steam Machines. What I learned that day wasn't how Valve would change living room gaming forever – I learned that the term "Steam Machines" was straight-up nonsense.
The first 13 Steam Machines
At CES, Valve premiered its third-party Steam Machines from 13 ground-floor manufacturers: Alienware, Alternate, Cyberpower PC, Digital Storm, Falcon Northwest, Gigabyte, iBuyPower, Materiel.net, Next Spa, Origin PC, Scan, Webhallen and Zotac. The cheapest Steam Machine clocks in at $500, Valve said, and already Digital Storm unveiled its hybrid PC model that starts at $1,900. The Falcon Northwest Tiki costs up to $6,000. The size, shape and capability of each Steam Machine varies as much as the price. Find your favorite (or the one you can afford) below.
Digital Storm's $2,000 Steam Machine is a PC for the high-end market
The Bolt 2, revealed today as a hybrid PC and Steam Machine, is not for the everyday market, Digital Storm Chief Brand Officer Harjit Chana told Joystiq at CES. The Bolt 2 will cost $1,900 when it launches later this month, and the system ranges in price from $1,500 to $2,800. "Our brand itself is more about high-end systems," Chana said. "We're not really a more mainstream type of brand; we're focused on higher-tier. So that's where the Bolt 2 came in. We wanted to create a product that appeals to this type of market as a Steam Machine. Because obviously, when someone thinks of a Steam Machine, they think of something compact, hybrid – something they can place in their home theater environment as well." The Bolt 2 is designed ideally for 4K gaming, with an eye on the future, Chana said. "A $500 Steam Box isn't going to run a 4K TV," he said.
The $500 Steam Machine from iBuyPower is 'not a PC'
IBuyPower built its Steam Machine, the SBX, to compete in the console market. It looks like a console – a rectangle smaller than the Xbox One with the Steam logo pressed into the top – and it's priced to compete with new systems at $500. A few details make it a Steam Machine rather than another new console: It has no disc drive, it runs SteamOS only, and it will ship with the Steam Controller and in-home streaming capabilities. "We're telling all of our vendors that this is not a PC," Tuan Nguyen, iBuyPower director of product and marketing, said during a demo at CES. "Valve doesn't like to admit that they're really competing with the consoles, but they are." The retail SBX should include built-in wi-fi, Bluetooth, an internal power supply, a 500GB HDD, 4GB RAM, quad-core Athlon X4 740 CPU, and a Radeon R7 260X graphics card supporting AMD's Mantle API, iBuyPower's Brad Soken said. Those specs aren't expected to change too drastically leading up to launch. "With Mantle and everything, and the whole GCN up and running, you're very much on par at least with the current generation of consoles, if not even better," Nguyen said.
Alienware announces Valve partnership, Steam Machines
Alienware will beam a Steam Machine down to Earth in late 2014, the Dell subsidiary announced today. No spec details or price was given, but the Alienware Steam Machine will, according to a statement by Gabe Newell given in a press release, encapsulate "the full potential of what a Steam Machine should be." If by "full potential" Newell means that it looks pretty, well, we can't argue there. Sleek! "We have been working with Alienware since we began defining our vision of the Steam Machine," Newell said. "Alienware's historic commitment to gaming, their design and engineering capabilities and their global reach made them an ideal partner for us on our Steam Machine project." Alienware will also be offering a Steam Machine version of their X51 desktop PC in late 2014.
