Steam's Big Picture is here!

It's pretty good, really, really nicely done.skrat_01

Yep, I like it a lot, feels smooth and the design is pretty good.

Funny thing is this is already better than the XMB of PS3, way smoother and less cluttered with icons.

My thoughts so far on BBM:

Pros-

1: It's a gorgeous and intuitive UI. Easily outclasses the PS3 and 360 interfaces. It's silky smooth and just feels right. I actually like using the UI.

2: It accomplishes it's goal of bringing the Steam ecosystem to the living room. I tried using my PC on my HDTV in the past, and although it worked, it always felt out of place. Steam BBM goes a long way towards fixing that. I can now use my main gaming hub with a controller in hand while interacting with a slick interface that doesn't require binoculars to read text.

3: The browser isn't terrible. I like the way BBM uses the analog stick for typing. Once I got the hang of it, I felt like typing was faster than using the standard virtual keyboard the PS3/360 uses. I was also able to play Netflix and Hulu Plus from the Steam browser, but that wasn't without it's own problems(see cons).

Cons-

1: Although the UI is awesome, it still has a few bugs. Namely, I wasn't able to search for anything after typing in my query. This may be an isolated problem with me, but for some reason search just wouldn't work. BBM also crashed on me for some reason, not sure why. But this is a beta afterall, so I'm sure this type of stuff will be handled before it's official release.

2: The browser, while not terrible, isn't that great either. It was a tad slow, and a bit buggy. For example, typing in login credentials proved to be a pain, since the browser would zoom in on the webpage, but not on the login prompt, which left me hoping that I typed in my info correctly. This was a real pain on Hulu, since it wouldn't even allow me to select the password box without using my mouse. Again, small bugs that can be fixed, but their presence should be noted.

3: And finally, if Steam wants to really compete for the living room, then BBM needs to outclass the 360/PS3 user experience in every way, not just bringing the steam library in large font and icons. Specifically, the use of 3rd party apps like Netflix and Hulu MUST be better supported. Not sure what Steam can do to fix this, but if Steam is going to be my main media hub in the living room, I want to be able to access ALL of my media content, from Steam, with controller in hand.

Outside of those few issues, I think BBM is off to a fantastic start. I hope they fix the above issues, and implement better "in house" support for things like Netflix and Hulu Plus. Great job Valve, you're one step closer to completely taking over my living room!

Half Life 3? No? Don't care. Talk to me when you make games again, Valve.SKaREO

Geez, did Valve forget to buy you a Hot Wheels car during their last Walmart trip? Grow up.

[QUOTE="ChubbyGuy40"]

Big Picture Mode lags for me. When it has stuff loaded (like at the home screen) it's fine, but then I move to the next tab and it takes FOREVER to load.

LP4EVA2005

Go to options and switch to Steam Beta program.

[QUOTE="SKaREO"]Half Life 3? No? Don't care. Talk to me when you make games again, Valve.xxxLUGZxxx

Geez, did Valve forget to buy you a Hot Wheels car during their last Walmart trip? Grow up.

[QUOTE="xxxLUGZxxx"]

[QUOTE="SKaREO"]Half Life 3? No? Don't care. Talk to me when you make games again, Valve.SKaREO

Geez, did Valve forget to buy you a Hot Wheels car during their last Walmart trip? Grow up.

So creating a superior user experience is Valve turing the PC into a "casual console experience"?

[QUOTE="SKaREO"][QUOTE="xxxLUGZxxx"]

Geez, did Valve forget to buy you a Hot Wheels car during their last Walmart trip? Grow up.

xxxLUGZxxx

So creating a superior user experience is Valve turing the PC into a "casual console experience"?

You can already do this on Xbox Live which is already hooked up to your TV. Why would someone take the trouble of going through Steam when they already have it ready and waiting on their consoles?

Seems like a blatant attempt to cash in on the console's market to me.

3: And finally, if Steam wants to really compete for the living room, then BBM needs to outclass the 360/PS3 user experience in every way, not just bringing the steam library in large font and icons. Specifically, the use of 3rd party apps like Netflix and Hulu MUST be better supported. Not sure what Steam can do to fix this, but if Steam is going to be my main media hub in the living room, I want to be able to access ALL of my media content, from Steam, with controller in hand.

xxxLUGZxxx

I disagree. They already have a browser that allows you to access these things. You are running a computer, which is already so much more powerful than Steam itself. It would be a redundant feature.

You can already do this on Xbox Live which is already hooked up to your TV. Why would someone take the trouble of going through Steam when they already have it ready and waiting on their consoles?

Starshine_M2A2

One reason is that not all PC gamers own consoles. I don't own any, and I already have a gaming PC for playing on a TV. This will make it easier for me to run my Steam games. It is also nice that you do not have to buy a game twice.

Why would someone take the trouble of going through Steam when they already have it ready and waiting on their consoles?

Seems like a blatant attempt to cash in on the console's market to me.Starshine_M2A2

[quote="Starshine_M2A2"]

You can already do this on Xbox Live which is already hooked up to your TV. Why would someone take the trouble of going through Steam when they already have it ready and waiting on their consoles?

Falconoffury

One reason is that not all PC gamers own consoles. I don't own any, and I already have a gaming PC for playing on a TV. This will make it easier for me to run my Steam games. It is also nice that you do not have to buy a game twice.

I don't really get the benefit of this. Why would you want to look at Steam on your TV? lol biggest_loser

Because the font of steam is tiny and heard to read on a big screen. This makes it possible to use with a controller as well.

I don't see how anyone could be against this. Isn't PC gaming all about having options and customization? This includes having a simpler UI for use with controllers for HTPCs.

I play on my HDTV all the time, I don't even own a monitor.

[QUOTE="Falconoffury"][quote="Starshine_M2A2"]

You can already do this on Xbox Live which is already hooked up to your TV. Why would someone take the trouble of going through Steam when they already have it ready and waiting on their consoles?

Starshine_M2A2

One reason is that not all PC gamers own consoles. I don't own any, and I already have a gaming PC for playing on a TV. This will make it easier for me to run my Steam games. It is also nice that you do not have to buy a game twice.

I don't see how anyone could be against this. Isn't PC gaming all about having options and customization? This includes having a simpler UI for use with controllers for HTPCs.Ben-Buja

annoying ass voice but cool idea

I don't really get the benefit of this. Why would you want to look at Steam on your TV? lol biggest_loser

Because some of us have the computer hooked up to the TV and Steam is incredibly hard to read.

[QUOTE="JigglyWiggly_"]me controllers are more accurate than mouse and keyboardR4gn4r0k

You play CS: GO with a controller ?