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Steam Machines, also known as Steamboxes, are Valve’s attempt at bringing PC gaming to the living room. In a way, they’ll compete with game consoles like the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U.

Steam机器(也称为Steamboxes)是Valve尝试将PC游戏带入客厅的尝试。 在某种程度上，他们将与Xbox One，PlayStation 4和Wii U等游戏机竞争。

These PCs will be made by a wide variety of manufacturers, just like gaming PCs are. You’ll also be able to build your own PC and install Valve’s SteamOS operating system on it.

这些PC将像游戏PC一样由各种各样的制造商制造。 您还可以构建自己的PC并在其上安装Valve的SteamOS操作系统。

客厅中的PC游戏 (PC Gaming in the Living Room)

Valve’s Steam service is in the lead when it comes to PC gaming. It’s a storefront, social network, and all-around service that makes purchasing, downloading, installing, and updating PC games easy.

Valve的Steam服务在PC游戏方面处于领先地位。 它是店面，社交网络和全方位服务，可简化购买，下载，安装和更新PC游戏的过程。

It’s currently possible to bring your gaming PC to the living room. All you have to do is plug it into your TV via an HDMI port. You can easily connect one or more Xbox controllers to that gaming PC and use it as a game console to play controller-enabled games on your TV, just as you’d play console games. Steam provides a “Big Picture” interface intended for use with controllers on televisions, ensuring you won’t have to navigate the Windows desktop to launch games.

当前可以将游戏PC带到客厅。 您所要做的就是通过HDMI端口将其插入电视。 您可以轻松地将一个或多个Xbox控制器连接到该游戏PC，并将其用作游戏机来在电视上玩启用了控制器的游戏，就像玩控制台游戏一样。 Steam提供了一个“大画面”界面，该界面旨在与电视上的控制器一起使用，从而确保您无需导航Windows桌面即可启动游戏。

Valve wants to make this easier. Steam Machines will be tailor-made for this living room scenario. You’d buy a Steam Machine, plug it into your TV with an HDMI cable, and use the controller to log in with your Steam account, play games, and use media services. Everything would just work on a TV out of the box, so there’s no Windows desktop, Windows updates, or other complexity involved. To this end, Valve is also creating their own operating system — known as SteamOS — and game controller.

Valve希望简化这一过程。 蒸汽机将为此客厅场景量身定制。 您将购买一台Steam机器，使用HDMI电缆将其插入电视，然后使用控制器登录您的Steam帐户，玩游戏和使用媒体服务。 一切都可以直接在电视上运行，因此不涉及Windows桌面，Windows更新或其他复杂性。 为此，Valve还创建了自己的操作系统-SteamOS-和游戏控制器。

SteamOS的 (SteamOS)

SteamOS is a big part of Valve’s vision. It’s an operating system intended for the living room. SteamOS is actually a custom Linux distribution built on top of Debian Linux, just as ChromeOS, Android, and many other widely used operating systems are built on top of Linux.

SteamOS是Valve愿景的重要组成部分。 这是用于客厅的操作系统。 SteamOS实际上是在Debian Linux之上构建的自定义Linux发行版，就像ChromeOS，Android和许多其他广泛使用的操作系统是在Linux之上构建的一样。

Any game that currently works on Linux will work on SteamOS. This means that Valve will have to convince developers to release their games for Linux and not just Windows. If few games are released for Linux, SteamOS will have a rocky road ahead. A big success would mean that Linux would become a more competitive PC gaming operating system outside of the living room, too.

当前可在Linux上运行的任何游戏均可在SteamOS上运行。 这意味着Valve必须说服开发人员发布适用于Linux的游戏，而不仅仅是Windows。 如果针对Linux发行的游戏很少，那么SteamOS将会走得很艰难。 巨大的成功将意味着Linux也将成为客厅之外更具竞争力的PC游戏操作系统。

At the moment, a search of the Steam store reveals 758 games that support Linux and 9397 games that support Windows. This isn’t a completely accurate estimate, as both counts will also include downloadable content packs (DLC) for games. However, this gives us some idea of how many Steam games support Linux. Valve says they have commitments from major game companies to support SteamOS for future games, and more and more indie games are supporting Linux.

目前，对Steam商店的搜索显示758个支持Linux的游戏和9397个支持Windows的游戏。 这并不是一个完全准确的估计，因为这两个数字还将包括游戏的可下载内容包(DLC)。 但是，这使我们对多少Steam游戏支持Linux有所了解。 瓦尔说，他们已经获得了大型游戏公司的支持，以支持SteamOS用于未来的游戏，并且越来越多的独立游戏正在支持Linux。

SteamOS is also a bit of a reaction to Windows 8. Microsoft’s controversial operating system introduced an entirely new interface that only runs apps from the Windows Store, and Windows RT can’t install any desktop apps at all. Valve can’t release Steam as a Windows 8 app because Windows 8 apps are so limited and Microsoft controls the storefront. By building SteamOS and porting more games to Linux, the PC gaming industry gains an escape valve if Microsoft ever decides to remove the desktop from Windows or restrict it to only programs from the Windows Store. Valve can also customize the entire Steam Machine experience and release SteamOS for free without having to pay Microsoft licensing fees.

SteamOS还是对Windows 8的一种反​​应。微软备受争议的操作系统引入了一个全新的界面，该界面只能运行Windows应用商店中的应用程序，而Windows RT根本无法安装任何桌面应用程序。 Valve无法将Steam作为Windows 8应用发布，因为Windows 8应用是如此有限，并且Microsoft控制着店面。 通过构建SteamOS并将更多游戏移植到Linux，如果Microsoft决定从Windows删除桌面或将其限制为仅来自Windows Store的程序，则PC游戏行业将获得逃脱的机会。 Valve还可以自定义整个Steam机器体验，并免费发布SteamOS，而无需支付Microsoft许可费用。

While most Steam Machines will come with SteamOS, some may come with Windows. There’s also nothing stopping you from installing Windows on a Steambox. But Valve is betting on their own operating system.

尽管大多数Steam Machine都随SteamOS一起提供，但某些Windows可能随同。 也没有什么可以阻止您在Steambox上安装Windows。 但是Valve正在押注自己的操作系统。

SteamOS does have a plan for compatibility with Windows games. Valve will allow you to run games on a Windows gaming PC in your house and stream them to a Steambox, allowing you to play Windows games on your TV without having to install Windows on the Steam Machine itself. As Steam Machines are currently targeted at PC gamers, Valve is betting its target audience will already have a Windows gaming PC somewhere in the house.

SteamOS确实有与Windows游戏兼容的计划。 Valve允许您在家里的Windows游戏PC上运行游戏并将其流式传输到Steambox，从而无需在Steam Machine本身上安装Windows即可在电视上玩Windows游戏。 由于Steam Machines当前针对PC游戏玩家，Valve押注其目标受众将已经在家里的某处拥有Windows游戏PC。

蒸汽控制器 (The Steam Controller)

Valve has also developed their own controller. This controller won’t be mandatory, of course — you could plug an Xbox controller into a Steam Machine or use a mouse and keyboard. You could also connect the Steam controller to a typical Windows PC.

阀门还开发了自己的控制器。 当然，该控制器不是必需的-您可以将Xbox控制器插入Steam机器或使用鼠标和键盘。 您也可以将Steam控制器连接到典型的Windows PC。

Rather than copy other existing controller, Valve has designed their own controller complete with two touchpads with haptic feedback and a touch screen in the middle of the controller. The controller is designed to bring existing PC games to the television. In theory, the touchpads will provide the precision of a mouse with the analog movement of a joystick. First-person shooter games or games that require fine cursor movement will be playable on a television with the Steam controller. Even if a game requires a mouse and wouldn’t work well with an Xbox controller, it should work decently with the controller.

Valve并未复制其他现有控制器，而是设计了自己的控制器，该控制器配有两个带触觉反馈的触摸板以及一个位于控制器中间的触摸屏。 该控制器旨在将现有的PC游戏带到电视上。 从理论上讲，触摸板将通过操纵杆的模拟运动提供鼠标的精确度。 第一人称射击游戏或需要精细移动光标的游戏将可以在带有Steam控制器的电视上播放。 即使游戏需要鼠标并且不能与Xbox控制器很好地配合使用，它也应该可以与控制器正常配合使用。

Valve will also provide “profiles” that map functions on the controller to keyboard events, allowing the controller to be used for existing games that were never designed with the Steam controller in mind. You’ll be able to create your own profiles and Steam will automatically download the most popular profile for a game when you play it. Currently, if a game doesn’t support your controller, you have to manually configure button mappings with a program like Xpadder or JoyToKey to get it working — not a convenient experience.

Valve还将提供“配置文件”，将控制器上的功能映射到键盘事件，从而使该控制器可用于从未考虑过Steam控制器设计的现有游戏。 您将能够创建自己的个人资料，并且Steam会在您玩游戏时自动下载最受欢迎的个人资料。 当前，如果游戏不支持您的控制器，则必须使用Xpadder或JoyToKey之类的程序手动配置按钮映射，以使其正常工作-这不是一种方便的体验。

您是Valve的目标受众吗？ (Are You Valve’s Target Audience?)

If you don’t want a Steam machine, you may not be a part of Valve’s target audience. Valve is taking it a bit slow, and they’re not positioning Steam Machines as a competitor to the Xbox One or PlayStation 4. For the moment, Valve says Steam Machines are targeted at existing Steam users who want to play their PC games in the living room. Rather than build your own PC, deal with the Windows desktop on your TV, and use existing controllers that aren’t even supported by many PC games, Valve is creating their own type of PC, operating system, and controller to bring the PC gaming experience to the living room.

如果您不想要Steam机器，那么您可能不属于Valve的目标受众。 Valve的速度有点慢，并且他们并没有将Steam Machines定位为Xbox One或PlayStation 4的竞争对手。Valve说，目前，Steam Machines面向的是想要在PC上玩PC游戏的现有Steam用户。客厅。 Valve不会创建自己的PC，而是在电视上使用Windows桌面，而是使用许多PC游戏甚至不支持的现有控制器，而是创建自己的PC，操作系统和控制器类型来带来PC游戏体验到客厅。

Steam Machines are basically just another type of PC, so it’s not surprising that Valve was showing off a line of Steam Machines developed by gaming PC manufacturers like iBuyPower, Falcon Northwest, Alienware, and Gigabyte. These are more like PCs than consoles, offering a wide variety of hardware specifications — all the way from a $499 PC meant to compete with game consoles on price to Steam Machines packed with high-end gaming PC hardware for $2500 or more. There’s no standard Steam Machine hardware like a console offers. Instead, you’ll find a wide range of hardware like you would on a PC.

Steam Machines基本上只是PC的另一种类型，因此Valve展示了由电竞PC制造商(如iBuyPower，Falcon Northwest，Alienware和Gigabyte)开发的Steam Machine系列并不奇怪。 它们更像是PC，而不是游戏机，它提供了各种各样的硬件规格-从价格与游戏机竞争的499美元PC到售价2500美元或更高的配备高端游戏PC硬件的Steam机器。 没有像控制台那样的标准Steam Machine硬件。 相反，您会发现各种硬件，就像在PC上一样。

Of course, you’ll also be able to create your own Steam Machine by building a PC and installing Valve’s free SteamOS operating system on it. SteamOS is free for a reason — Valve makes money when you buy games on Steam, so they don’t need to sell you an operating system or even a piece of hardware.

当然，您还可以通过构建PC并在其上安装Valve的免费SteamOS操作系统来创建自己的Steam机器。 SteamOS是免费的，这是有原因的-当您在Steam上购买游戏时，Valve会赚钱，因此他们不需要向您出售操作系统甚至是硬件。

If you’re someone who’s happy with your Xbox, PlayStation, or Wii and you’ve never used Steam and don’t care about PC gaming, Valve isn’t targeting Steam Machines at you yet.

如果您是对Xbox，PlayStation或Wii感到满意的人，并且从未使用过Steam，并且不关心PC游戏，那么Valve尚未将Steam Machines定位为您。

On the other hand, if you use Steam and you’re into PC gaming, Valve wants to sell you a Steam Machine so you can take that PC gaming experience into the living room. You’ll be able to play your entire library of Steam games — at least the ones that support Linux, with in-home streaming available for the Windows-only games. Valve’s trying to sell you a convenient package, complete with an operating system and controller tailor-made for the living room.

另一方面，如果您使用Steam并从事PC游戏，Valve希望向您出售Steam机器，以便您可以将PC游戏体验带入客厅。 您将可以播放整个Steam游戏库-至少支持Linux的游戏，并且仅Windows游戏可以使用家庭流媒体播放。 Valve尝试向您出售方便的套餐，并为客厅量身定制操作系统和控制器。

One big problem Valve faces is that they’re trying to sell a premade solution to a PC gaming community that often builds their own PCs. Why should a PC gamer buy a premade Steam Machine instead of building their own living-room gaming PC, which they can even install SteamOS on for free? Valve’s answer here seems to be convenience, and if Steam Machines are competitively priced when they’re released, they may be compelling.

Valve面临的一个大问题是，他们正试图将预制的解决方案出售给经常构建自己的PC的PC游戏社区。 为什么PC游戏玩家应该购买预制的Steam机器，而不是建造自己的客厅游戏PC，他们甚至可以安装SteamOS 免费吗？ Valve的回答似乎很方便，如果Steam机器发布时具有竞争力的价格，它们可能会很有吸引力。

So, do you want a Steam Machine? If you’ve never heard of Steam, you probably don’t. If you’re Steam user who wants a convenient way to take your Steam library to the living room, you just might.

那么，您要蒸汽机吗？ 如果您从未听说过Steam，那么您可能没有。 如果您是Steam用户，想以一种便捷的方式将Steam库带到客厅，那您可能会。

Image Credits: Steam controller image via Valve

图片来源：通过Valve的Steam控制器图片

翻译自: https://www.howtogeek.com/179954/htg-explains-what-exactly-is-a-steam-machine-and-do-i-want-one/

工业蒸汽