UPDATE: Mac Steam client release May 12
February 23, 2010 - 8:16pm
The Steam client is receiving a complete overhaul. New code, new interface, lots of new social community updates. The new client is part of their opt-in beta participation program. Full details are here.
Major features:
* Complete overhaul of Steam client UI design to improve discoverability of features and to better expose all the information related to games in your library
* Complete overhaul of in-game overlay UI design to create a richer in-game experience exposing context sensitive information related to the game you are currently playing
* New game details view, presenting a detailed view of all the information for a single game in your library
* New grid view, presenting a graphical view of your game library
* New news page in the store/client/overlay which aggregates from Valve related news sites, official community groups, and third-party gaming news feeds
* New downloads view in the client, making it easier to track your progress downloading new games or game updates
* New Steam store design, including more integrated community features, improved recommendations, and improved video and screenshots viewing (and much more!)
* Complete overhaul of Steam client UI design to improve discoverability of features and to better expose all the information related to games in your library
* Complete overhaul of in-game overlay UI design to create a richer in-game experience exposing context sensitive information related to the game you are currently playing
* New game details view, presenting a detailed view of all the information for a single game in your library
* New grid view, presenting a graphical view of your game library
* New news page in the store/client/overlay which aggregates from Valve related news sites, official community groups, and third-party gaming news feeds
* New downloads view in the client, making it easier to track your progress downloading new games or game updates
* New Steam store design, including more integrated community features, improved recommendations, and improved video and screenshots viewing (and much more!)
February 23, 2010 - 10:28pm
#1
Looks totally amazing. I've switched my SteamUI to use the new Beta Interface, and it simply rules 
__________________
February 24, 2010 - 8:47am
#2
It's gorgeous, modern and full of features. It's also buggy (it's beta after all). The media tab opens to an error message and when I loaded Plants Vs. Zombies all my saves were gone. 
I'm really loving it though. Steam has needed a modernization for a long time. There are rumors of a Mac client in pre-alpha!
EDIT: More info about the Mac rumours:
Also, you can find the original Steam forums thread HERE.
I'm really loving it though. Steam has needed a modernization for a long time. There are rumors of a Mac client in pre-alpha!
EDIT: More info about the Mac rumours:
After the new beta dropped last night, and it was discovered that Internet Explorer was dropped for WebKit, a sleuthy forum user did a little digging around in the file system and located a few icons which are not only named "osx_" but appear to be the traditional window controls for Mac environments. Other users joined in the fun and located full menu definitions as well.
From HERE.Also, you can find the original Steam forums thread HERE.
February 24, 2010 - 1:43pm
#3
This is superawesome news. Pretty please Valve, make this happen!
(Kinda interesting they only have the "Blue" theme, stoplight window controls. I always switch to "Graphite" theme which is a lot easier on the eyes.)
(As many have noted, I don't expect to be seeing Half-Life Episode 3 simultaneously be released on Windows, Mac OS X, XBox 360 and iPhone OS. I'd just like the ability to chat -- maybe even voice chat! -- with Steam Friends when I'm in OSX which is 99% of the time.)
(Kinda interesting they only have the "Blue" theme, stoplight window controls. I always switch to "Graphite" theme which is a lot easier on the eyes.)
(As many have noted, I don't expect to be seeing Half-Life Episode 3 simultaneously be released on Windows, Mac OS X, XBox 360 and iPhone OS. I'd just like the ability to chat -- maybe even voice chat! -- with Steam Friends when I'm in OSX which is 99% of the time.)
February 24, 2010 - 2:31pm
#4
I have a feeling we're a looooong way from anything materializes. Valve haven't even confirmed anything yet.
March 3, 2010 - 5:48pm
#5
Don't dash that hope just yet, MAC gaming fans - Check out this latest post about more Leaks of Steam Possibly hittting a MAC near you!
Valve may soon raise the crowbar for Mac gaming
Valve may soon raise the crowbar for Mac gaming
__________________
March 3, 2010 - 5:53pm
#6
Squee.
March 3, 2010 - 8:17pm
#7
March 5, 2010 - 12:23pm
#8
Another MacWorld article talking about why Valve has potentially chosen NOW to get Steam up and running on MACs:
Why is 2010 the right time for Valve and gaming on the Mac?
Why is 2010 the right time for Valve and gaming on the Mac?
__________________
March 8, 2010 - 3:09pm
#9
Great news!
Valve has finally CONFIRMED they're working on a Mac Steam client. They've also admitted they're porting the Source Engine over to Macs as well!
This is terrific news and should result in even better opportunities for gaming with our Mac brothers and sisters.
Now Ember has no excuse for not playing Left 4 Dead!
Valve has finally CONFIRMED they're working on a Mac Steam client. They've also admitted they're porting the Source Engine over to Macs as well!
We looked at a variety of methods to get our games onto the Mac and in the end decided to go with native versions rather than emulation,” said John Cook, Director of Steam Development. “The inclusion of WebKit into Steam, and of OpenGL into Source gives us a lot of flexibility in how we move these technologies forward. We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360. Updates for the Mac will be available simultaneously with the Windows updates. Furthermore, Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. We fully support a heterogeneous mix of servers and clients.
This is terrific news and should result in even better opportunities for gaming with our Mac brothers and sisters.
Now Ember has no excuse for not playing Left 4 Dead!
March 8, 2010 - 4:17pm
#10
One more brief read from Apple Insider:
Valve, Apple worked closely to bring Steam natively to Mac
Valve, Apple worked closely to bring Steam natively to Mac
__________________
March 8, 2010 - 5:25pm
#11
...and the new "Steam Play" feature will allow gamers on both Windows and Mac OS X to play online, with or against each other, regardless of their system.
Jackpot!
Let the zombie killing begin!
March 8, 2010 - 5:57pm
#12
Well, with the announcement confirmed, I'll actually be able to use my Steam games. Woo.
March 8, 2010 - 10:24pm
#13
Holy crap.
Steam on the Mac will behave just like Steam for Windows, but through Steam Play will add cross-platform ownership. That means if you own Left 4 Dead 2 for Windows, then you already own it for the Mac. There's no need to buy it twice! Unless you want to buy it twice, in which case, as long as you're feeling so generous, why not buy it five times?
No, really. Holy crap.
If you own L4D1 or 2 on Windows, then you already own it for Mac OS X.
Which (most importantly) means that I already own it for Mac OS X. So, I don't have to pay extra money to enjoy my games on the Mac.
I think I can forgive them for L4D2 because of this. This is serious value added Valvage that we had all come to know and love that some of us had started to wonder if it was maybe being traded away for shares in EA.
All is forgiven Valve.
(Of course, I reserve the right to become irrationally angry at them in the future. I'm not going to make promises I can't keep.)
Steam on the Mac will behave just like Steam for Windows, but through Steam Play will add cross-platform ownership. That means if you own Left 4 Dead 2 for Windows, then you already own it for the Mac. There's no need to buy it twice! Unless you want to buy it twice, in which case, as long as you're feeling so generous, why not buy it five times?
No, really. Holy crap.
If you own L4D1 or 2 on Windows, then you already own it for Mac OS X.
Which (most importantly) means that I already own it for Mac OS X. So, I don't have to pay extra money to enjoy my games on the Mac.
I think I can forgive them for L4D2 because of this. This is serious value added Valvage that we had all come to know and love that some of us had started to wonder if it was maybe being traded away for shares in EA.
All is forgiven Valve.
(Of course, I reserve the right to become irrationally angry at them in the future. I'm not going to make promises I can't keep.)
March 8, 2010 - 10:34pm
#14
And for the very best in news, from the L4D blog:
"...Steam client is released in a few weeks."
Weeks?
Like as in end of March, sometime in April?
Even in Steam-time, that's probably before summertime.
Holy crap.
I can finally remove my Boot Camp partition and get 50 gigs of hard disk back. Sweet!
(Sorry, I realize everyone else has been posting links to this information and I just read it on the L4D blog and totally didn't read any of your links until I had already posted and then went back to read your links and saw that you'd already pointed out what I was so squee-fully pointing out. So, sorry about that, but I'm so really excited about this.)
"...Steam client is released in a few weeks."
Weeks?
Like as in end of March, sometime in April?
Even in Steam-time, that's probably before summertime.
Holy crap.
I can finally remove my Boot Camp partition and get 50 gigs of hard disk back. Sweet!
(Sorry, I realize everyone else has been posting links to this information and I just read it on the L4D blog and totally didn't read any of your links until I had already posted and then went back to read your links and saw that you'd already pointed out what I was so squee-fully pointing out. So, sorry about that, but I'm so really excited about this.)
March 8, 2010 - 11:30pm
#15
This is pretty monumental news. post away, Hanna! I'm excited.
March 9, 2010 - 10:01am
#16
L4D and L4D2 have been confirmed on the Steam Blog to be released/back ported for the MAC Client. The New Steam Beta Client for Windows is the same client that the will be put out for the MAC, which is fantastic, because the new Steam UI is a thing of beauty 
Steam is heavily targeting to have the port released for April, and I was thrilled to read they have been working directly with Apple on this. It's freaking fantastic that buying a game that supports both OS (MAC and Windows) gives you access to both platforms from this point on. I cannot wait till the developers of other games catch on with this idea, especially since Valve is willing to with developers and get them access to the Source Engine and help make the conversion to MAC much less painful/tedious. They've also ensured that all MAC players will be able to enter and use the same lobbies that PC gamers and such use, so there will be no fragmentation of communities, just one larger extended family able to enjoy gaming on their platform of choice!
This news is truly great news for all gamers
Steam is heavily targeting to have the port released for April, and I was thrilled to read they have been working directly with Apple on this. It's freaking fantastic that buying a game that supports both OS (MAC and Windows) gives you access to both platforms from this point on. I cannot wait till the developers of other games catch on with this idea, especially since Valve is willing to with developers and get them access to the Source Engine and help make the conversion to MAC much less painful/tedious. They've also ensured that all MAC players will be able to enter and use the same lobbies that PC gamers and such use, so there will be no fragmentation of communities, just one larger extended family able to enjoy gaming on their platform of choice!This news is truly great news for all gamers
__________________
March 9, 2010 - 10:05am
#17
This news is truly great news for all gamers :goodjob:
It's not too bad for Valve's shareholders either.
March 9, 2010 - 10:42am
#18
Shadow-Burn is also quite excited - it means we can get her a semi decent MAC notebook down the line, and she won't need a PC anymore, as most of her teaching software and such is on her now aging iBook G4. She'll be able to play Cities and a few of her other Steam Games on MAC soon
__________________
March 9, 2010 - 12:36pm
#19
Sweet!
March 26, 2010 - 1:27pm
#20
Sign ups for the Steam Mac Closed Beta began yesterday. Get yours in while it's still hot.
April 8, 2010 - 2:38pm
#21
Waiting is hard.
April 26, 2010 - 8:12am
#23
April 29, 2010 - 6:53pm
#24
April 30, 2010 - 5:17am
#25
That's great news.
I couldn't find the announcement on the SteamPowered website though. And there was no link in the ShackNews article.
Still, May 12 would be fine by me.
Thanks for keeping us updated on this Marq, you're invaluable!
I couldn't find the announcement on the SteamPowered website though. And there was no link in the ShackNews article.
Still, May 12 would be fine by me.
Thanks for keeping us updated on this Marq, you're invaluable!
April 30, 2010 - 6:21am
#26
What's Steam?
April 30, 2010 - 8:29am
#27
Nobody got my fantastic and meticulously researched comeback last time, so I'm not falling for it again.
April 30, 2010 - 9:12am
#28
lololololol
Thanks for the effort anyway, Hannah!
Thanks for the effort anyway, Hannah!
April 30, 2010 - 9:58am
#29
What's Steam?
Isn't that super heated water into a vapor like form?
__________________
Commentary Catalyst (Goader)
April 30, 2010 - 10:02am
#30
Well, to be honest, all I keep picturing is the vaporous aroma that comes off of a perfectly heated cup of coffee... maybe it's because the OP is marq, though.