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Steam's Big Picture Mode beta starts Monday Sep 10th [out now]

RoadHazard said:
My DS3 emulating a 360 controller through MotioninJoy works perfectly, just like it does in all games with 360 controller support that I've tried. MotioninJoy creates a virtual XInput device, so Windows simply thinks it's a 360 controller.
Click to expand...

Right. But as far as I can tell, MotioninJoy only works with PS3 controllers and I'm using something different.

Also, MotioninJoy screwed up my bluetooth drivers so now I can't use a Wii remote until I figure it out. Worst program ever.
 
Haha, this is awesome. Big Picture Mode runs in windowed mode. I really do think I'm going to leave this as my background.
epmode said:
Right. But as far as I can tell, MotioninJoy only works with PS3 controllers and I'm using something different.

Also, MotioninJoy screwed up my bluetooth drivers so now I can't use a Wii remote until I figure it out. Worst program ever.
Click to expand...
It's for this reason I have to use two Bluetooth dongles. One for Motioninjoy and one for Wiimote.
 
lowrider007 said:
Windows really needs to have more native multi-monitor options, a lot of enthusiasts use multiple screens these days, letting you change the 'numbered' priority of your displays would be a good start, my TV is display number '1' which is bloody pain and it's not easy to change.
Click to expand...

I agree. However, with the move to tablets and stuff that MS is doing, I don't think that's a priority for them. They seem to care more about one screen, than power users at their desks, or with elaborate home theater setups.

The best method right now to deal with a multi monitor TV + desktop scenario in Windows is to use UltraMon.

I had a setup as follows:

Monitor 1 + Monitor 2 | PC | <---Several feet---> HDTV

All of them were hooked up to my PC at the same time (both monitors over DVI, and the HDTV over HDMI). I used UltraMon to create two profiles, one where Monitor 1 + Mointor 2 were used, and another where Mointor 2 and HDTV were used. I then had those profiles saved as shortcuts, which I pinned to the start menu. So to get the TV interface was simply a matter of pressing Start --> "TV Mode".

It worked really well.

The only issue I had was sound, but I found a real lightweight program called 'Win7AudioSwitcher', which had a cool function that remembered what your default audio device was in relation to your primary monitor. So I taught it to remember my PC speakers for Monitor 1 as primary, and HDMI audio when the HDTV was my primary. It worked perfectly.

Basically, what I'm getting at is that it's probably not too difficult to put basic monitor and audio switching as I explained above into Big Picture Mode. If it can be done with third party applications, I can't see why Valve can't have it built into Steam. With a bit of configuring in the options, you could tell it which monitor to go to and what audio device to switch to when you press that 'Big Picture' button, and then Steam knows to revert back to the old one when you go back to the desktop.
 
Feep said:
I thought this was awesome until I went to buy a game.

L3PCQ.jpg


What the hell? To confirm, this did NOT happen in normal mode.
Click to expand...

Went to buy To The Moon as well and the exact same thing just happened to me. I saw it as it was processing and it said it failed. Closed Big Picture Mode and saw that it did in fact buy it (I'm okay with that I did want it) and looking at the reciept email they really did only charge me $7.99.
 
It might be cool if Steam had a BPM sticker/catagory to put on games that you can completely play with only the controller from the first time you boot.
 
BPM and GFWL don't like each other. Coming back from a GFWL game results in no sound. I also had a deadlock in the few minutes I tested it.
 
RoadHazard said:
Digging around those files a little more led me to this:

GOT D-PAD NAVIGATION WORKING!

In keybinds.cfg (inside .../Steam/tenfoot/resource/), just add this:

// keybinds go here
pad_left MoveLeft
pad_right MoveRight
pad_up MoveUp
pad_down MoveDown
Click to expand...

Whoa that was simple, I'm glad you figured it out! :)
 
epmode said:
Right. But as far as I can tell, MotioninJoy only works with PS3 controllers and I'm using something different.

Also, MotioninJoy screwed up my bluetooth drivers so now I can't use a Wii remote until I figure it out. Worst program ever.
Click to expand...

untitledopsrw.png


Also, MotionJoy is the best program ever!
 
I fiddled with Motiojoy off and on for like six months before I just gave up and bought a 360 pad.

Then, it blocked that pad even after uninstalling it until I went in and manually removed drives, like it's final act of sabotage.
 
Skyfireblaze said:
Whoa that was simple, I'm glad you figured it out! :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I really hate navigating UIs like this using an analog stick, so I'm glad it was such an easy fix. Still can't believe this wasn't in there by default. I haven't noticed anything getting messed up by doing it either (and it shouldn't, since the mappings are separate for the main UI and the various sub-windows).

EDIT: One small issue, however, is that you can't "hold and scroll" through the various items using the D-pad, like you can with the analog stick and arrow keys. Not sure why that is, or if/how can be fixed. Maybe that's actually a bug, and maybe it's why they didn't enable D-pad navigation by default, but I'll gladly live with that over having to use the analog stick.
 
Is there a solution for BPM crashing Steam after about 30 seconds or so? I don't know what's causing it. Running Windows 8 RTM, by the way. Compatibility mode doesn't fix it.
 
It looks really neat so far even if it's just on my monitor. It's nice to have full controller input throughout Steam even if it isn't always the fastest. Daisywheel is pretty quick too!
 
RoadHazard said:
Yeah, I really hate navigating UIs like this using an analog stick, so I'm glad it was such an easy fix. Still can't believe this wasn't in there by default. I haven't noticed anything getting messed up by doing it either (and it shouldn't, since the mappings are separate for the main UI and the various sub-windows).
Click to expand...

Yeah, not having that as a default is really a bit odd, even for a beta :/ I'm interested in what else people might find and tweak while looking through the files, I'm currently too tired to do more myself :P
 
Has anyone had time to test games and if the performance is impacted with BPM and the regular Steam running at the same time? I would, but at work.
 
Skyfireblaze said:
Yeah, not having that as a default is really a bit odd, even for a beta :/ I'm interested in what else people might find and tweak while looking through the files, I'm currently too tired to do more myself :P
Click to expand...

I edited this into my previous post, maybe it's the reason (seems like a silly thing to exclude it for entirely though):

RoadHazard said:
EDIT: One small issue, however, is that you can't "hold and scroll" through the various items using the D-pad, like you can with the analog stick and arrow keys. Not sure why that is, or if/how can be fixed. Maybe that's actually a bug, and maybe it's why they didn't enable D-pad navigation by default, but I'll gladly live with that over having to use the analog stick.
Click to expand...
 
Problems I've encounter so far

-I left my computer on, with my TV off, while in Big Picture mode with a game running in the background. I come back, and Steam had closed itself, but the game was still running without the Steam client.

-The chat box does not scroll down when typing large paragraphs


Other than that, it has been perfect. I really hope they get the Steam Community Profile Pages on the actual program instead of the Web feature, though.
 
mchal said:
In console (~):
downloadspage_simulate - simulate downloads (it downloads Counter Strike and Team Fortress 1 for me (these games were already in my library)
stats_dump - statistics
stats_gui - stats in gui tree


parameters for steam:
-tenfoot Start in Steam Big Picture mode
-bigpicture -720p Run tenfoot in 720p rather than 1080p
-fulldesktopres Run tenfoot in full desktop resolution rather than 1080p, overrides -720p as well
Click to expand...

Where do you set the parameters?


The interface is alright but it's very sluggish and unoptimized. Way too much waiting for animations to finish. Sound feedback is also too frequent/nagging/loud.
 
Metalmurphy said:
Oh shit, nostalgia!


Also, you just reminded me where that Mass Effect song I was sure I heard before was from.
Click to expand...

haha yeah in the Omega club right?

Also I remember the graphics looking better hahaha, still awesome games :), the music at 2:00 would be perfect for Steam Big Picture mode, maybe too much bass...
 
Youtube is extremely finicky on the browser. Couldn't figure out a way to change the quality of the video (clicking on the gear in the bottom right of the YT vid did nothing), and when I zoomed the picture in to make it bigger the browser completely froze. I could still move away from the browser using the right trigger but the audio played in the background after that and I couldn't do anything to restart the browser. I exited the big picture mode and the audio still played in the background all the way until it finished on its own.

:/

Beta! \o/
 
epmode said:
Doesn't fix the Wii remote problem. Something is still hanging around. This is actually a common problem so I wish I had known about it before installing.

I might just reformat when I get some time.
Click to expand...

Picture I posted was for the USB drivers, since I don't use Bluetooth, you need to do the same for the Bluetooth adapter, and just do a rescan of hardware for the drivers to install from Windows database.
 
"A web browser on your TV that doesn't suck"

-crashes on the very first website tried

Awesome.

BPM looks nice, though. Look forward to trying it out with Dark Souls throughout the week. If I can pry myself away from TTT2, that is.
 
Revolutionary said:
"A web browser on your TV that doesn't suck"

-crashes on the very first website tried

Awesome.

BPM looks nice, though. Look forward to trying it out with Dark Souls throughout the week. If I can pry myself away from TTT2, that is.
Click to expand...

I tested it already with DS, works nice as long as you dont press the Xbox guide button, or you get double overlays.
 
So my buddy sees a community feed of activities below his friend's list when he goes to the BPM community page. I just see a list of friends.

What gives?
 
Bug alert: If you are in a voice chat and you exit and re-enter Big Screen Mode it crashes every time. I repeated this bug five times. So just make sure to close your voice chat before toggling.


As far as the Dark Souls overlay, is there any way to pry the home button away from GFWL in a config file? Fuck that useless overlay. I just want the Steam one.
 
Tried it out a little bit. Immediate complaints!

- Web browser seem a little jittery when zooming in and out, at least on neogaf dot com.
- The intro movie and sound stutter quite badly when launching the BPM. Would be better with just a black screen until it's done loading.
- It's nice that they're using the Guide button for the interface, less so that the 360 controller's pointless little Windows popup still shows on top and you have to press once more to disable it.
- Maybe it's just the font smoothing, but it seems a bit... blurry in 1920x1080? Likely not noticable when used on actual TV though, I'm just trying it out on my desktop monitor.
- The category menu is only partially offscreen if you have more than a couple of categories.

But yeah, with a little bit of polish it could be pretty nice I guess.
 
We need to setup a respiratory of Game Launch Window Bypasses. Can we have them put into the OP?

So far I have

Skyrim

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/1068

Saints Row 3

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2237030

Goto your steam folder..

\Steam\steamapps\common\saints row the third

and find

game_launcher
or
game_launcher.exe (if you have hide filename extensions off)

and rename this file to something like


game_launcher_bak
or
game_launcher.bak if you have the extension just replace exe with bak

-------------------Step 2-------------------

Now look for DirectX 10 & 11 Game File.

saintsrowthethird_dx11.exe or saintsrowthethird_dx11

or for DirectX 9

saintsrowthethird.exe or saintsrowthethird


and rename ONE of These Files to the original launcher.

game_launcher or game_launcher.exe
Click to expand...
 
I'm curious about this Wireless HDMI Bridge device. My PC is an office that doesn't directly adjoin to where my TV is. Can I use wireless hdmi about 15 metres away through walls? Is the picture and framerate as flawless as a direct connection? What about sound? My TV is connected to an amp via optical, will the sound also be transmitted through to the speakers? And how do you control the games? Will a wireless 360 controller travel that far? I should also mention I have multiple runs of Cat5e between the PC and the TV, is there anyway that can be utilised? I can draw up a floor plan if it helps. Cheers!
 
Firebrand said:
- Maybe it's just the font smoothing, but it seems a bit... blurry in 1920x1080? Likely not noticable when used on actual TV though, I'm just trying it out on my desktop monitor.
Click to expand...
It's blurry because the program is scaling a 1080p resolution to fill your higher-resolution screen. This usually results in a blurry screen.

You can actually make it so that Big Picture Mode launches at your native resolution (see the launch parameters only a few posts ago) and it looks a lot better. ..but webpages (and maybe a few other things) will be too small this way.
 
Are videos working for anybody on the store? was trying to see some xcom trailers just to test it out, it definitely works in the browser interface and on steam PC but big picture does nothing.
 
Jintor said:
Are videos working for anybody on the store? was trying to see some xcom trailers just to test it out, it definitely works in the browser interface and on steam PC but big picture does nothing.
Click to expand...

Xcom trailers don't work here either, but Batman Arkham City trailers do. I think it's an X-Com specific problem.
 
Is there any way to log in or out of your friend list in BPM? I like to start up steam logged out by default.

Also the lack of an invite option when you're in a Steamworks game seems like an oversight.
 
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