[Bf-committers] Steam-powered Blender

[Jan Albartus]

Hi all,

Some things concerning the actual publishing of Blender on Steam. I 
don't know if this is to soon to discuss, but I think some of the issues 
need to be tackled before Blender can appear on Steam.

Blender is available as 32-bit and 64-bit applications on various 
platforms. I assume Steam has functionality to auto-detect and 
downloading the correct Blender version for that. Using 64-bit versions 
on a 64-bit platform is preferred.

The actual Publishing part of Blender onto the Steam store; I assume 
Valve is willing to assist in this matter? Would Valve just take the zip 
files from Blender.org after a new Blender has been released?


Besides the software itself, Steam also requires some artwork assets:

- Screen-shots: The Steam store page shows screenshots for the 
application. 6 Blender screenshots can be found here;
http://www.blender.org/blenderorg/blender-foundation/press/

- Application banner/graphic in different sizes: These graphics show up 
on store pages, community pages and games library. I did some research 
but could not find any specific information about sizes and formats. I 
would assume these need to be prepared as well before Blender is put on 
Steam. Maybe JP could provide some details. People can check out the 
steam store to get a feeling how these images are used.

Regards,
Jan 'LOGAN' Albartus


On 2013-08-28 10:00, Jan-Peter Ewert wrote:
> Hi Ton,
>
> We are currently working on improving the ingestion process for various file formats on our end, but that is indeed an entirely different topic. I don't expect an import path for .blend files to happen anytime soon, since these can do a lot more than what we will probably ever need.
>
> A more realistic goal would be to work on improved import and export paths between Blender and game engine files, including solid support for character rigging, weight maps, facial animation setups etc. Doing that within Blender plugins and making these available both to the general Blender community at Blender.org and via Steam seems to be the best way from my perspective to gain momentum.
>
> I believe the right order should be to bring the current version of Blender to Steam soon, with a few useful existing plugins included in the initial download or as DLC, and to go from there in making people on Steam interested in Blender. That's something that could happen within the next couple of weeks within our regular release calendar.
>
> Best, Jan-Peter
>