SteamOS 1/8/2014 alchemist update

[jvert]

We have just updated the alchemist release with the alchemist_beta contents. All the changes which were only in alchemist_beta are now released to everyone. Existing SteamOS installs should update themselves automatically.

Notably, Intel and AMD graphics are now supported. (Optimus solutions are still unsupported however)

Refreshed installation images are also available.

• Fixed Steam controller firmware upgrade process
  
• Updated AMD Catalyst driver to preview release 13.11 Beta 9.9
  
• Fixed crashes on Intel graphics by merging Keith Packard's dri2-xlib branch
  
• Fixed an fbcon kernel panic with Intel graphics
  
• Fixed a problem where SteamOS session screenshots taken by the Valve bug reporter would be incorrect
  
• Enabled full repaints in the GNOME compositor for reliable tear-free rendering
  
• Removed startup and shutdown hooks from the pulseaudio package, fixing the transition to system-wide mode on upgrade
  
• Updated firmware packages to match the Debian Jessie kernel
  
• Updated Intel graphics stack to Mesa 10.0.1
  
• Applied an Intel kernel fix to re-enable KMS support
  
• Fixed a problem where Trine 2 could cause audio to stop working by restricting direct audio access to the sound server
  
• Enabled audio from the desktop session; the default audio device is still hardcoded to discrete graphics HDMI audio for now
  
• Enabled 3D passthrough in the VMWare driver
  
• Fixed Steam controller firmware upgrade by adding USB auto-mounting
  
• Added NTP time support
  
• Added XDG directory helpers
  
• Added text feedback when building kernel drivers during first boot

[UnkendTech]

nice think you :)

[Jack]

Are all AMD cards supported or just the newer ones?

[UnkendTech]

Originally posted by Jack:

Are all AMD cards supported or just the newer ones?

HD5000 and up

[UnkendTech]

when the system updated it did not reboot on it's own

[powerarmour]

...the default audio device is still hardcoded to discrete graphics HDMI audio for now

Shame that's just for discrete graphics HDMI at the moment, I'm getting no audio at all via my onboard HDMI using the Intel HD 4000 IGP, even after playing around with pulseaudio-utils and alsa-utils. Normally works fine in Debian/Ubuntu Gnome via HDMI/Display Port 3 output.

[King Dude]

Woohoo! I can't wait to pop this sucker into my laptop now that Intel graphics are supported!

[Toetje583]

Great work so far, keep it up

[UnkendTech]

so far so good i no longer have to use tty when launching a game in BPM on AMD cards

[Kano]

I fixed the fglrx 13.11 beta 9.9 package with kernel 3.13 support but that driver is crap. I work on a mesa update repository for Debian, which should work with steamos too, right now i have to correct the mesa packageing however. The mesa package in SteamOS is similar to Debian experimental and misses radeonsi support, you can use it with r600g however when you uninstall fglrx or disable the automatic switching and enforce mesa. r600g is definitely better than fglrx for Source engine games, but you need to enable DPM (add "radeon.dpm=1" in /etc/default/grub and run "update-grub"). For radeonsi kernel 3.13+ should be used anyway...

[Goskarr]

cool, thx 4 the hard work.

[lil]

Question for those who installed previous version and updated...

I have multiple harddrives, and was planning to install the SteamOS on it to give it a test run. (would have earlier, but my machine is AMD. And Yes, I know, unplug all the harddrives I don't want wiped first, got it! )

That said, I don't see much reason it wouldn't be, but it IS in experimental OS... have any of you found that you need to unplug your non-steamOS harddrives when you update?

Thanks in advance!

[UnkendTech]

Originally posted by lil Joshu, Lord of the Trance:

Question for those who installed previous version and updated...

I have multiple harddrives, and was planning to install the SteamOS on it to give it a test run. (would have earlier, but my machine is AMD. And Yes, I know, unplug all the harddrives I don't want wiped first, got it! :squirtyay: )

That said, I don't see much reason it wouldn't be, but it IS in experimental OS... have any of you found that you need to unplug your non-steamOS harddrives when you update?

Thanks in advance! :tlove:

not updates just the install

[Siimoon]

can anybody help me? i've installed steamOS like it must be, but when i reboot into it i see shortly my mouse pointer and then the screen will be black. but when i press esc, it seems the screen load it new but stay black.

how can this be?

[Pingo Black]

If you have multiple screens connected, make sure you turn them all on. OS might have defaulted to another monitor.

This can also happen with Win7 install btw. :)

[Siimoon]

lol yes i have multiple screens on, but btw i know that this could hapen. but on both screens it is black. i cant see a picture even aftera reboot. i tried with one screen on, other screen on and i also tried both installations, but first way didnt work at all.