Upcoming Steam Link App Will Let You Play Steam Games on Your iPhone, iPad and Apple TV

[Mabus51]

I don't play games on iOS.

1. Not going to buy something I already own
2. I want a real keyboard and mouse
3. Almost universally, iOS versions are **** in graphics and features compared to the PC counterparts

I'm an adult with a big-screen TV and a full size Macintosh. Not sure why anyone would opt to hold a device in their hands and look down on it causing neck and back issues or deal with finite battery life and a touch screen. iOS games are for children.

Well since you're going to be a complete tool. Macs are garbage in the graphics department when it comes to games. Mac keyboards & mice don't have the tactical response required for most twitch games. Games themselves are limited in selection and generally released months after every other system. Most adults have lives and work which don't have the time to crouch over a computer to game on, so more mobile options are generally better on most days. Not to mention we're talking about Civ 6 which really doesn't have intense graphics to begin with.

 

[Jamie0003]

This is amazing news and something I’ve wanted for years but...am I right in saying the steam controller will only work with the included dongle, and doesn’t have Bluetooth built in? I love this controller and can’t see myself using anything else, but I would love to replace my link

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

In case you guys didn't know - MFi controllers do not support L3/R3 buttons (pressing in either of the thumbsticks) and they have no select button. This doesn't seem like a big deal until you figure out that a lot of games utilize them extensively.

If you intend to use Steam Link DO NOT GO OUT AND BUY MFI CONTROLLERS NOW - you will be extremely disappointed when this comes out.

It's very interesting that they mention the Steam Controller (and others) will be supported because up until now the Apple TV hasn't supported any controllers besides MFi.

I don't know that I've ever used these L3/R3 buttons you speak of. As for the Apple TV supporting the Steam Controller, I don't believe it will. What will happen is that you'll still need your USB dongle plugged into your PC, and the signals from the controller will be sent there.

Well since you're going to be a complete tool. Macs are garbage in the graphics department when it comes to games.

The current crop of Radeon cards aren't shabby, so your comment only applies to anything with integrated graphics. Besides, we now live in the world of eGPUs.

Mac keyboards & mice don't have the tactical response required for most twitch games.

No one is going to be playing anything serious on the Magic Mouse, and it's not due to it's tactical response. The keyboards are fine, and that's what the Logitech G13 is for.

Games themselves are limited in selection and generally released months after every other system.

Funny, pretty much everything I play has always been launched on PC and Mac simultaneously. And for titles that aren't, that's what Bootcamp is for.

Most adults have lives and work which don't have the time to crouch over a computer to game on, so more mobile options are generally better on most days. Not to mention we're talking about Civ 6 which really doesn't have intense graphics to begin with.

I have a life, a career, a girlfriend, two cats, and I don't crouch over my computer. I've designed my desk and chair to strike a good balance between ergonomics and economics. I can't speak to Civilization 6 as I don't play it.

 

[fairuz]

Jeez. We're confused enough now, just wait until we have to deal with qubits and superposition states.

Hopefully they won't make the same mistake again of making two similar-sounding units of measurement for the same thing, except one is 8X the other. The "byte" vs "bit" thing is only engineering lingo. And sometimes even engineers get them mixed up or mishear, so I'd argue it's best to just use bits everywhere.

 

[GeneralChang]

The current crop of Radeon cards aren't shabby, so your comment only applies to anything with integrated graphics. Besides, we now live in the world of eGPUs.



No one is going to be playing anything serious on the Magic Mouse, and it's not due to it's tactical response. The keyboards are fine, and that's what the Logitech G13 is for.



Funny, pretty much everything I play has always been launched on PC and Mac simultaneously. And for titles that aren't, that's what Bootcamp is for.



I have a life, a career, a girlfriend, two cats, and I don't crouch over my computer. I've designed my desk and chair to strike a good balance between ergonomics and economics. I can't speak to Civilization 6 as I don't play it.

I'm pretty sure the OP for all this stuff wasn't actually trying to disparage playing games on a Mac, they were just trying to point out how ridiculous it is to make a blanket statement like "iOS games are for children."

 

[DevNull0]

2 FPS with massive input lag sounds like it is actually not enough bandwidth, and it's not handling the lack very well. In practice, I usually see more than 200mbit/s on 2.4GHz wifi (saw that yesterday sending a file), which seems like it would be enough. Idk what you get through ethernet powerline adaptors, would expect it to be worse. Could just be that your wifi is bad.

I'm using the AV2000 versions of the powerline devices. My internet connection is supposed to be 500mbps, and with 802.11ac, I get about 250-300mpbs 5GHz to the internet pretty consistently and about the same over the powerline devices. With n, I get 40-60 on a good day.

40-60 should be good enough, but even when I'm streaming netflix or youtube, I get constant freezes to the point it's unwatchable over wifi. I've been though several wifi routers both from my ISP aand third-party stand-alones. I even tried the local DSL provider (I'm on cable broadband) and several macs and PCs and various wifi dongles, and the results are consistently bad.

 

[Mabus51]

I'm pretty sure the OP for all this stuff wasn't actually trying to disparage playing games on a Mac, they were just trying to point out how ridiculous it is to make a blanket statement like "iOS games are for children."

Exactly.

I was replying to another post by someone else, who's blanket statement was completely absurd.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

I'm pretty sure the OP for all this stuff wasn't actually trying to disparage playing games on a Mac, they were just trying to point out how ridiculous it is to make a blanket statement like "iOS games are for children."

Exactly.

I was replying to another post by someone else, who's blanket statement was completely absurd.

Oh, I missed the post in question. My bad.

 

[adamjackson]

Well since you're going to be a complete tool. Macs are garbage in the graphics department when it comes to games. Mac keyboards & mice don't have the tactical response required for most twitch games. Games themselves are limited in selection and generally released months after every other system. Most adults have lives and work which don't have the time to crouch over a computer to game on, so more mobile options are generally better on most days. Not to mention we're talking about Civ 6 which really doesn't have intense graphics to begin with.

iOS Games suck. That's all there is to it. It's not ergonomic to play a game holding a tablet.

I'm not a tool for stating something that's obvious. If it wasn't convenient to play games on a tablet, people wouldn't do it. Mobile gaming succeeds due to convenience just like mobile applications are used more than conventional websites because of convenience but I'd rather plug in a laptop than try to type on a phone because it's more efficient to get things done on a computer despite the initial inconvenience of finding a WiFi hotspot or wall to plug into. The same goes for gaming. I'll play Civilization for 10 hours at a time. Tetris is the only game I can imagine being more convenient on a mobile device because the controls and depth of the game is really basic. Anything beyond asteroids, tetris or Snake, I'm going to use my iMac or MacBook Pro.

but I don't play online games which is most of what is on Twitch since I don't like playing with other people so simulation really speaks to me and these are long matches where it's inconvenient to do it at a tablet.

The reason the Steam on AppleTV was appealing to me was simply the thought of playing on a larger television. if I can't use a keyboard or mouse, I'll continue using the iMac. I'm not sure how I'd play Civilization with a game controller or a touch screen.

 

[fairuz]

Well since you're going to be a complete tool. Macs are garbage in the graphics department when it comes to games. Mac keyboards & mice don't have the tactical response required for most twitch games. Games themselves are limited in selection and generally released months after every other system. Most adults have lives and work which don't have the time to crouch over a computer to game on, so more mobile options are generally better on most days. Not to mention we're talking about Civ 6 which really doesn't have intense graphics to begin with.

I dunno, CS:GO and Fortnite work fine on Mac. Never have problems with Windows games like PUBG in Boot Camp either.

 

[GeneralChang]

iOS Games suck. That's all there is to it. It's not ergonomic to play a game holding a tablet.

I'm not a tool for stating something that's obvious. If it wasn't convenient to play games on a tablet, people wouldn't do it. Mobile gaming succeeds due to convenience just like mobile applications are used more than conventional websites because of convenience but I'd rather plug in a laptop than try to type on a phone because it's more efficient to get things done on a computer despite the initial inconvenience of finding a WiFi hotspot or wall to plug into. The same goes for gaming. I'll play Civilization for 10 hours at a time. Tetris is the only game I can imagine being more convenient on a mobile device because the controls and depth of the game is really basic. Anything beyond asteroids, tetris or Snake, I'm going to use my iMac or MacBook Pro.

but I don't play online games which is most of what is on Twitch since I don't like playing with other people so simulation really speaks to me and these are long matches where it's inconvenient to do it at a tablet.

The reason the Steam on AppleTV was appealing to me was simply the thought of playing on a larger television. if I can't use a keyboard or mouse, I'll continue using the iMac. I'm not sure how I'd play Civilization with a game controller or a touch screen.

I think where you were in error was your parting statement that "iOS games are for children." Your remarks on convenience are of course accurate, particularly as relates to mobile games on smartphones. It's not about a superior experience, it's about superior convenience. Much like most any kind of entertainment consumed via a smartphone. Your referenced statement, then, can be taken to mean that "only children care about convenience at the expense of experience", and I'd go so far as to say that's patently false.

I'd also say the statement of "iOS games suck" is also in error, considering the intention of iOS games. As discussed they are designed around convenience as one of their primary draws, and if they manage to provide entertainment while fitting into a player's needs as far as convenience is concerned, I'd say they're objectively successful. That success will often result in the player having fun, which means that for them, the game does not suck.

TL;DR - Opinions presented as fact; actual facts not in evidence.

 

[ersan191]

I don't know that I've ever used these L3/R3 buttons you speak of. As for the Apple TV supporting the Steam Controller, I don't believe it will. What will happen is that you'll still need your USB dongle plugged into your PC, and the signals from the controller will be sent there.

Have you ever played a computer game with a controller before in your life? Because pretty much every game uses them (especially console ports) - as well as the select/menu button which, as I mentioned, MFi controllers don't have.

And yes having a dongle you plug into your PC or Bluetooth is always an option but your gaming PC is not always in wireless range of your television, so connecting a controller to your Apple TV is the most common and effective way to interface with your PC games - this is what the Steam Link already does (as well as all other in-home game streaming programs).

I don't think many of us are interested in your particular use case which you seem so keen on presenting, I was letting people know they should NOT be buying MFi controllers right now to interface with the Steam Link App because they will be missing 3 commonly used buttons.
[doublepost=1526256026][/doublepost]

I don't think there's a difference in latency, or it's tiny. And the bandwidth of 2.4GHz wireless-N should be more than enough.

2.4GHz WiFi is extremely susceptible to interference - it is a highly contested band. This will cause variables in latency and inconsistencies which make remote playing games a poor experience.

Using Steam Link or IHS or Moonlight or GFE to stream games over 2.4GHz right now will ALWAYS have constant buffering/screen tearing/low fps/extreme input lag.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

Have you ever played a computer game with a controller before in your life? Because pretty much every game uses them (especially console ports) - as well as the select/menu button which, as I mentioned, MFi controllers don't have.

And yes having a dongle you plug into your PC or Bluetooth is always an option but your gaming PC is not always in wireless range of your television, so connecting a controller to your Apple TV is the most common and effective way to interface with your PC games - this is what the Steam Link already does (as well as all other in-home game streaming programs).

I don't think many of us are interested in your particular use case which you seem so keen on presenting, I was letting people know they should NOT be buying MFi controllers right now to interface with the Steam Link App because they will be missing 3 commonly used buttons.
[doublepost=1526256026][/doublepost]
2.4GHz WiFi is extremely susceptible to interference - it is a highly contested band. This will cause variables in latency and inconsistencies which make remote playing games a poor experience.

Using Steam Link or IHS or Moonlight or GFE to stream games over 2.4GHz right now will ALWAYS have constant buffering/screen tearing/low fps/extreme input lag.

No, I'm not an unwashed console peasant. I play games only with the proper controller; keyboard and mouse.

My gaming rig is on the other side of the room from my TV, so it's a non-issue.

My "important" stuff is on gigabit or 5ghz.

 

[GeneralChang]

I was letting people know they should NOT be buying MFi controllers right now to interface with the Steam Link App because they will be missing 3 commonly used buttons.

I'll try to remember to report back after they've released the app and I've had a chance to try it out, but I'd be willing to bet that the iOS and tvOS versions will have options to work around the missing inputs on MFi controllers. Worst case scenario, you just won't be able to sprint.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

I'll try to remember to report back after they've released the app and I've had a chance to try it out, but I'd be willing to bet that the iOS and tvOS versions will have options to work around the missing inputs on MFi controllers. Worst case scenario, you just won't be able to sprint.

Oh I intend to report findings asap. I've even borrowed my coworker's Steam Controller ahead of time to try in figure that piece out beforehand, lol.

 

[ersan191]

I'll try to remember to report back after they've released the app and I've had a chance to try it out, but I'd be willing to bet that the iOS and tvOS versions will have options to work around the missing inputs on MFi controllers. Worst case scenario, you just won't be able to sprint.

Yeah they likely will, but it will be something inconvenient like holding down or double/triple tapping the shoulder triggers. A lot of time L3/R3 are used for zooming or running in a game and inconvenient shortcuts may make that a poor experience. They claim the Steam controller is going to work so I would just wait to see what they've concocted before buying any MFi controllers.

 

[GeneralChang]

Yeah they likely will, but it will be something inconvenient like holding down or double/triple tapping the shoulder triggers. A lot of time L3/R3 are used for zooming or running in a game and inconvenient shortcuts may make that a poor experience. They claim the Steam controller is going to work so I would just wait to see what they've concocted before buying any MFi controllers.

I'm still confused about how they're going to get the steam controller to work. Connecting as a generic bluetooth device and then handling the input in the app instead of the OS? Does tvOS let you do that? And if so will I be able to use my other bluetooth controllers with it? So many questions.

Though honestly I'd rather deal with workarounds for sprinting (where zoom is available I've always consciously avoided it) than using that trackpad as a second thumbstick. That's all based on my personal preference, of course, but having used both... I just don't like the Steam controller much at all. If that's the only other option, I'd still recommend the Steelseries Nimbus.

But it'll be interesting to see if you can use other bluetooth controllers besides the MFi and Valve options. If you can, lots of folks won't even have to buy a new controller at all. So I guess the point is don't go buying anything right now, let's wait and see what the options actually are. Still, no reason you can't start looking at the pricing right now.

 

[ersan191]

I'm still confused about how they're going to get the steam controller to work. Connecting as a generic bluetooth device and then handling the input in the app instead of the OS? Does tvOS let you do that? And if so will I be able to use my other bluetooth controllers with it? So many questions.

Though honestly I'd rather deal with workarounds for sprinting (where zoom is available I've always consciously avoided it) than using that trackpad as a second thumbstick. That's all based on my personal preference, of course, but having used both... I just don't like the Steam controller much at all. If that's the only other option, I'd still recommend the Steelseries Nimbus.

But it'll be interesting to see if you can use other bluetooth controllers besides the MFi and Valve options. If you can, lots of folks won't even have to buy a new controller at all. So I guess the point is don't go buying anything right now, let's wait and see what the options actually are. Still, no reason you can't start looking at the pricing right now.

tvOS doesn't, and unless they got Apple to agree to something - I have no idea. But that's what it said in the announcement so I'm just waiting to see what happens.

Ultimately the best solution is to have the controller connected directly to your PC if you can, then there's no compatibility problems and less input lag. I personally use VirtualHere and have an Xbox 360 wireless dongle connected to a Raspberry Pi near any TV's that aren't in range of my PC

 

[Halopend]

Can you please explain how the steam controller- distinguished from Made For IPhone controllers in the article -m work on iOS devices because I thought controllers HAD to be made for iPhone?

I’m not entirely sure on how the system works entirely, but you can basically connect any Bluetooth device to the iPhone that has an accompanying app. The Bluetooth device will be limited to being used only in the app it’s supposed to pair with and the device itself needs to support an Apple specific protocol to basically tell the iPhone what the app is it wants to connect to, but the steam link controller is getting a firmware update when this comes out that I’m guessing adds support for the Apple ecosystem.

 

[GreyOS]

I’m not entirely sure on how the system works entirely, but you can basically connect any Bluetooth device to the iPhone that has an accompanying app. The Bluetooth device will be limited to being used only in the app it’s supposed to pair with and the device itself needs to support an Apple specific protocol to basically tell the iPhone what the app is it wants to connect to, but the steam link controller is getting a firmware update when this comes out that I’m guessing adds support for the Apple ecosystem.

Thanks! I think it might just be that my understanding of the requirement for MFi was wrong. Apple have created a game controller framework which any game can easily use and all MFi controllers will be guaranteed to work with those games. Looks like Valve just have to create their own support in their own app for their own controller.

 

[Halopend]

Looks like Valve just have to create their own support in their own app for their own controller.

I just looked up more details on how it works and I may of overstepped in saying valve didn’t need MFI certification. Seems like Apple provides open access for Bluetooth LE devices that don’t need the hardware MFI certified, but anything else that connects over lightning or Bluetooth still needs MFI certification. That said, there is still a distinction between supporting the iOS game controller protocols and just interfacing directly with a specific app.

So either valve is using Bluetooth LE or they are hoping to get certification for the steam controller under less stringent criteria as it’s
not trying meet the more stringent requirements of MFI controller certification.

 

[GreyOS]

I just looked up more details on how it works and I may of overstepped in saying valve didn’t need MFI certification. Seems like Apple provides open access for Bluetooth LE devices that don’t need the hardware MFI certified, but anything else that connects over lightning or Bluetooth still needs MFI certification. That said, there is still a distinction between supporting the iOS game controller protocols and just interfacing directly with a specific app.

So either valve is using Bluetooth LE or they are hoping to get certification for the steam controller under less stringent criteria as it’s

Yep, I've seen some stories recently about the Steam controller gaining Bluetooth LE support ahead of the app. I didn't realise the 'LE' specifically was the important bit of this news, allowing them to bypass MFi certification. Thanks for helping figure this out.

 

[ersan191]

I just looked up more details on how it works and I may of overstepped in saying valve didn’t need MFI certification. Seems like Apple provides open access for Bluetooth LE devices that don’t need the hardware MFI certified, but anything else that connects over lightning or Bluetooth still needs MFI certification. That said, there is still a distinction between supporting the iOS game controller protocols and just interfacing directly with a specific app.

So either valve is using Bluetooth LE or they are hoping to get certification for the steam controller under less stringent criteria as it’s
not trying meet the more stringent requirements of MFI controller certification.

Valve released a firmware update to the steam controller enabling Bluetooth LE earlier this week, mystery solved.

 

[rolsskk]

Steam Link will launch during the week of May 21, and in addition to being compatible with Apple devices, it will also be available for Android devices that include phones, tablets, and Android-enabled TVs. Steam Link has previously been available for dedicated Steam Link peripherals and some Samsung TV sets.

Has anyone seen it pop up in the Apple TV app store yet?? I've been checking daily, nothing yet.