Steam Machines will not have suspend/resume

A Valve engineer has revealed on Github that the suspend/resume function planned for Steam Machines has been cut. The problem, he explained, is one of reliability: "Given the state of hardware and software support throughout the graphics stack on Linux we didn't think we could make this reliable."

"It doesn't probe and reattach the controllers to the same point in the device tree that they were in when the system was suspended. Since those are the device nodes that SteamOS has open at the time of the suspend, and they route to The Noplace(tm), the controllers become unresponsive," user tlambert wrote. "This is a general problem in the Linux device model, and you can see problem in the device model poke their heads up in various places."

This probably won't be a big deal for most PC gamers. My PC has a sleep feature, but it only ever gets used when one of my cats steps on the button. But as Ars Technica says, its absence may be more pronounced on hardware in the living room, where Steam Machines are meant to be, because they'll either have to be left on all the time, or require a comparatively lengthy boot-up process whenever they're turned on. In some cases, noise may also be an issue.

As for why Valve doesn't just fix it, tlambert covers that base too. After a lengthy and technical explanation laying out the depth of the problem, he wrote, "Really, the Linux device management system for input devices needs an overhaul; unfortunately, doing this crosses too many kingdom boundaries, and there are too many stakeholders involved to really get traction, unless you happen to be one of the area 'owners' for one of the involved subsystems."

The initial Steam Machine lineup appeared on Steam in March, but won't actually go on sale until November.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.