Client Update - Valve
UPDATED 2016-07-01: A minor patch was released for Windows users to improve compatibility with upcoming Vulkan games, in addition to all of the following changes from the June update.

UPDATED 2016-06-15: This update was released again on June 15 with a few additional bugfixes, which are noted below.

An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

General
  • Fixed issues where the download rate could display an unreasonably large number
  • Fixed missing Workshop content when a game is uninstalled and then reinstalled
  • Fixed a rare crash when resizing windows
  • Fixed several issues with line-wrapping inside of text entry boxes
  • Added a short idle-timer to the Client Update dialog box so that future updates will not pop up while you are in the middle of typing
  • 2016-06-15: Fixed a crash when exiting the client if there are downloads in progress.
  • 2016-06-15: Updated Chromium to fix a newly-disclosed security flaw in the handling of PDF files

In-Game Overlay
  • Fixed performance issues with when running Vulkan applications on AMD hardware
  • Fixed a crash/reset when attempting to select a local file for upload to a web page

Big Picture
  • Fixed unexpected navigation caused by throttle-like joystick inputs that are not centered at zero
  • Removed an erroneous prompt to opt into the client Beta under some circumstances

Mac OS X
  • Improved UI responsiveness when typing text in large chat windows
  • Fixed a bug where the In-Game Overlay could be the wrong size in Retina-aware games

Linux / SteamOS
  • Fixed a case where the incorrect cursor could be displayed after hiding the In-Game Overlay
  • Fixed client not being able to launch if the Steam Runtime was disabled by the user

Steam Controller
  • Improved responsiveness when saving new controller configurations, especially for newly-released games
  • Fixed a possible crash when streaming to the Steam Link
  • Fixed several issues related to DOOM (2016), including Steam Link compatibility

Steam VR
  • Added initial support for viewing stereo screenshots in VR
  • Added warning messages when launching VR games with incompatible headsets
  • Added a per-game setting that allows non-Steam games to show in the VR library
  • Fixed an issue causing the foreground application to quit when the Desktop tab is selected in the VR dashboard.
  • Fixed the "Use Desktop Game Theater" setting not working for non-Steam games

In-Home Streaming
  • Fixed a common cause of Steam crashing on the host computer while streaming
  • Improved performance and reduced latency when streaming Vulkan applications
  • 2016-06-15: Fixed an issue which caused Spelunky to crash on startup when streaming with a controller
Client Update - Valve
An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

General
  • Updated the web browser component to Chromium version 49.0.2623.110
  • Fixed an issue with scaling of preview images in the screenshot manager
  • Fixed game installs failing with the message Content still encrypted
  • Fixed missing period symbol in the French layout of the controller keyboard
  • Fixed several crashes related to the controller on-screen keyboard
  • Revised iconography for Family View

Steam Overlay
  • Improved rendering performance with Vulkan applications
  • Improved stability of Big Picture overlay with Direct3D 10 applications and above

Big Picture
  • Fixed a bug where the "Login" button would not properly activate
  • Fixed some Family View regressions in game library.
  • Improved support for broadcasting while using Big Picture mode. Includes new Broadcast Dashboard that allows access to broadcast chat and some broadcast management controls, plus support for viewing your own broadcast.
  • Fixed some UI styling issues in the Big Picture overlay

VR
  • Removed block on SteamVR applications if Family View is enabled. This fixes installation of HTC Vive software when Family View is turned on.
  • Removed prompt for controller configuration when launching games that natively support motion controllers
  • Added warnings when trying to launch Oculus SDK-only games on an incompatible OpenVR device.
  • Improved the launch process for Oculus SDK-based games from within SteamVR.
  • Fixed missing/invisible mouse pointer in some Desktop Game Theater games
  • Fixed an issue where clicking the search button in the Library footer UI could break filtering
  • Fixed an issue causing the VR keyboard to pop up repeatedly in the Library
  • Fixed SteamVR launching immediately when installing a VR app that was previously uninstalled in that session
  • Improved controller handling under various combinationss of the VR dashboard, Desktop Game Theater, and an active game. Input is now sent to the game or the dashboard, but not both at once.
  • Improved handling for games that only support VR in a beta branch of the game. These will only show in the SteamVR group if the user has selected the beta branch.
  • Improved support for broadcasting while in VR. Broadcast request notifications will now display in the headset and can be responded to via the new Broadcast Dashboard in Steam.

Mac OS X
  • Fixed a bug that could cause stuck modifier keys (Shift, Ctrl, Alt, etc) in the in-game overlay
  • Fixed a bug that caused links in the in-game overlay web browser to always open in new tabs

Linux
  • Fixed a client UI hang when clicking the middle mouse button on some pages
  • Fixed an issue where Big Picture or video playback would not enter fullscreen properly

Steam Controller
  • Fixed a client crash when switching configurations, such as when starting a game or bringing up the Steam Overlay
  • Added the ability to bind left/right sticks as digital bindings
  • Added the ability for the automatic action set on cursor visible/hidden to return to the previously used action set from the last transition
  • Fixed Mode Shifts not displaying properly in action set binding panels
  • Fixed gamepad button highlights displaying offset when binding a gamepad button
  • Fixed binding screen showing Set Action Set option when the configuration was a Native application or had no action sets.
  • Added "Last Used Action Set" option to manual action set selection
Client Update - Valve
An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.


Big Picture
  • Fixed crash when repeatedly entering the downloads page and then exiting

VR
  • Added support for Steam Controller to VR Dashboard, Desktop Game Theater, and OpenVR games. (Requires SteamVR beta)
  • Stopped showing screenshots section for OpenVR games.
  • Removed requirement to have "-vr2dgames" on your Steam command line to use Desktop Theater


Steam Controller
  • Added an option to automatically change action sets based on cursor visibility. An action set can be switched to when the mouse is visible, then back to the first when it's hidden. Only works with hardware cursors, not software ones. Useful for games which hide the mouse while in game, but have mouse driven menus or UIs.
  • Improved touchmenu mode-shift support, so touchmenu buttons fired on release of a mode-shifted trackpad button fire reliably.
  • Added developer support for custom touchmenu icons. Developers can now include their own set of icons for use in touchmenus.
  • Fixed action set on-screen indicator with non-Steam games
  • Fixed Controller HUD with non-Steam games
Client Update - Valve
An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

SteamVR
  • Added new Desktop Game Theater support, run any of your normal desktop games and have them appear on a giant virtual screen in your headset. Any game that supports Steam Broadcast should work with this feature, some tuning of the games graphical settings may be required for the best experience.
  • Added new Desktop overlay button, access it via the system dashboard. Use the grip on the motion controller to bring up a keyboard, and the touchpad for mouse wheel movement.
  • Added a VR area to the Big Picture library and removed filtering for VR titles in the Browse section
  • Added icon in the Library view in the Steam Dashboard to show which games support motion controllers
  • Added SteamVR to the jump list options
  • Automatically launch SteamVR after it finishes updating
  • Added the SteamVR tool in the SteamVR section in the Library view
  • Added SteamVR Workshop for background images. These can be selected via Settings->In-Headset->Image.
  • Improved scrolling when using the touchpads in the Steam interface while in your HMD
  • Changed Play button in Big Picture to be an Exit button if you have launched the game
  • Fixed Steam not quitting correctly when shutting down SteamVR at the same time
  • Fixed keyboard dismissing unexpectedly when using the web browser in Big Picture
  • Fixed cursor not appearing when using the Desktop overlay

Steam Controller
  • Users can now add additional action sets with their own sets of bindings. Action sets can be added/deleted/named as appropriate and selected via a binding. Note that unlike mode-shifts, action sets completely replace all currently active bindings, and can have their own mode shifts and so forth.
  • Added New Controller Action binding types which will expand in the future with bindings that are not specific to the game, but rather higher level.
  • Added Change Action Set Binding - sets the action set to the next or a specified action set when used.
  • Added Show Keyboard Binding - shows the on-screen keyboard
  • Added Take Screenshot Binding - takes a screenshot
  • Added Joystick Click and A/B/X/Y as mode shift buttons
  • Action set Display and Beep are now options to show what action set has been switched to
  • Added a pop-up menu to the Big Picture overlay showing Action Set activation
  • Added user definable action sets for legacy games.
  • Removed hard coded desktop keyboard shortcut (stick click) and replaced it with controller action binding in the default desktop configuration.
  • Fixed Mode Shifts getting cleared when adding a mode shift to multiple action sets
  • Fixed action sets showing native actions rather than M/KB/Gamepad bindings in some conditions when using legacy action set
  • Fixed a crash when going into/out of an overlay while using the Steam Controller
  • Fixed some cases of non-steam games not applying controller settings. Ensure that "Allow Launchers" option is off for this to take effect.
  • Fixed controllers not turning off on Suspend power mode in Desktop mode which could cause zombie controllers to be seen over wireless
  • Fixed Horizontal Invert setting not working on Mouse Joystick

Big Picture
  • Fixed crash when using TrailerTV for your screensaver
  • Emoticons show up now in Big Picture Friends chat

Mac OS X
  • Fix Steam Controller input not being sent to games if the active configuration does not include gamepad inputs
  • Fixed a rare crash on login

In-Home Streaming
  • Added advanced streaming settings to the desktop-mode Settings dialog
  • Fixed a crash when streaming to or from a Steam client running a different version of Steam
Client Update - Valve
An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

March 21 Update: a small 800kb patch was released for Windows only to fix multiple issues with Steam Controller gamepad support.

General
  • Added Steam Overlay support for games using the Vulkan graphics API
  • Improved performance when you are a member of a large number of groups
  • Fixed a bug preventing invites to Steam Groups from showing in the friends UI
  • Fixed a bug which caused non-Steam games to remain in the app list after deletion
  • Fixed a bug which caused "Hidden" status of non-Steam games to reset on every client restart
  • Improved handling and display of certain Unicode characters in profile names
  • Fixed an issue with some Steamworks-enabled games which caused them to crash on shutdown
  • Added an option to display download speeds as bits per second (Mbps) instead of MB/sec, for easier comparison with the way network and internet connection speeds are traditionally reported

Windows
  • Removed an error message when selecting a shortcut file through the "Add a game..." file browser
  • Added Steam Overlay support for DirectX 12 (requires the latest Windows 10 updates)
  • Reduced CPU usage and improved frame rates for some D3D9 and OpenGL games launched through Steam
  • Fixed several game-specific crashes, or cases where games refused to launch through Steam

Linux
  • Fixed an issue where toggling the overlay in fullscreen games could sometimes result in a loss of keyboard and mouse input
    Updated ALSA libraries in the Steam Runtime to prevent compatibility issues with newer distributions
  • Fixed text corruption in the UI with some non-Western languages

Big Picture
  • Added drag scrolling. Hold the mouse down on a scrollable panel and drag it up and down to scroll.
  • Restyled mouse scroll thumbs to indicate whether content is available in the given direction
  • Added Store Page link to game library entries in the "Manage Game" section
  • Fixed Web Browser context menu not positioned correctly on certain screen sizes
  • Fixed an issue where the overlay would become unresponsive if restarting a game directly after exiting it through the overlay

In-Home Streaming
  • Added dynamic MTU discovery to compute the optimal packet size for your local network
  • Added streaming server support for a network performance test from the Steam Link
  • Improved frame rate for AMD hardware-accelerated video capture of GPU-intensive games
  • Added support for hardware accelerated encoding using NVIDIA cards (NVENC) on SteamOS/Linux
  • Fixed black screen when streaming certain D3D 11.1 applications, such as Kodi

SteamVR
  • Enabled scrolling in the Steam dashboard with either the Vive controller touch pad or the mouse pointer
  • Updated the friends UI to indicate a different online status while you are in VR
  • Added a help dialog in case Steam detects a HTC Vive that is present but not installed properly
  • Added an "Exit Game" alternate state for the "Play Game" button when viewing a library page in VR
  • Fixed the incorrect button footer being displayed in Steam UI when using a traditional game controller
  • Improved touchpad feedback on the VR controller when using large swipes in the Steam dashboard
  • Improved the library view to show all installed OpenVR applications, even non-Steam applications
  • Disabled the Big Picture startup sound when entering SteamVR
  • Added a warning message if the current controller or play area does not match the game requirements

Steam Controller
  • Added option to use Desktop Configuration for shortcuts to improve compatibility with intermediate launcher apps
  • Added a menu item to edit controller configuration from the desktop-mode library context menu
  • Added an option for Big Picture overlay when launching controller-based games from the desktop library view
  • Games launched via the desktop client with an active Steam Controller can optionally use the Big Picture overlay.
  • Improved reliability and performance of editing and publishing controller configurations
  • Added the ability to save controller configurations to local disk files
  • Added new auto-power-off options for 5 and 10 minutes
  • Improved XInput compatibility for some games (Final Fantasy 14)
  • Fixed Joystick Camera not sending Pad Click if you started pressing at the edge of the pad
  • Fixed mouse horizontal inversion not respecting rotation properly
  • Improved controller behavior when entering and exiting Standby or Suspend. Zombie controllers should no longer be shown in the controller list and controllers should be properly recognized upon return
  • Improved handling of pure Mouse/Keyboard and mixed XInput configurations
  • Added the ability to use other controllers alongside Steam Controllers. Games with XInput support will use whichever controller is active, other games will prefer alternate controllers when present.
  • Fixed action set selection UI with native games with large number of action sets
  • Fixed an issue where configuration changes would not stick with non-Steam shortcuts
  • Added support for the on-screen keyboard without entering Big Picture mode
  • Improved stability and window placement of desktop on-screen keyboard
  • Reduced size of desktop on-screen keyboard
  • Fixed haptics intensity being stuck to High if anti-deadzone was in use
  • Setting any anti-deadzone on the joystick will now disable all joystick hardware deadzoning. Note that this can cause drift if the anti-deadzone is too large or if not using a proper anti-deadzone buffer. (Requires Firmware Update)
  • Experimental Rumble Emulation is now available as an Application Setting. This feature tries to emulate a feel similar to rumble despite haptic actuators being a very different technology than rumble motors. (Requires Firmware Update)
  • Fixed occasional doubled input in Big Picture when initially powering on the controller
    Added the ability to disable the X or Y axis for Joystick Move modes. This can be useful when using the Gyro to emulate a steering wheel
  • Fixed description text for the joystick output fields of the Joystick Move and Joystick Camera modes
Client Update - Valve
An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

NOTE: An additional minor update for Windows users was released on March 1 with the following change:

  • Fixed crash on game launch for some older 2D games, including Plants vs. Zombies

General
  • Restrict chat from users who do not share a friends, game server, or multiuser chat relationship with you
  • Fixed a case where having Steam Cloud sync disabled (either globally or for an App) could cause that App to be told there were no local files found
  • Reduced memory usage of games which integrate Steamworks cloud storage features
  • Improved stability of games which make Steamworks API calls from multiple threads simultaneously

Big Picture
  • When Steam is first launched only show up to 4 notifications for friends that are in a game, otherwise just show a single summary notification
  • Improved performance when displaying a large list of scrollable items

Steam Controller
  • Added per-account Controller Personalization.
  • Added support for Configuration Travelling, Click here for details
  • Added Trigger Mouse Dampening options for soft pull/soft+full pull. Defaults to previous Soft Pull only mode.
  • Added mouse region snapping support for non-mode-shifted mouse regions. Mouse regions can now snap or not-snap to previous position when they're not in use.
  • Overlay Disabled message is now shown in Big Picture game screen when the overlay is disabled.
  • Added New Export Save System. Unifies and simplifies exporting configurations. You can now more easily browse and save Private and Public configurations, including replacing/editing existing configurations.
  • Added Exporting new Configuration Templates for often used configuration defaults.
  • Added Browsing/Importing of all games configurations from any game. Useful for when you made the perfect setup in a sequel or similar game and want to use the same config as a base or verbatim.
  • Publishing a new community configuration now requires you to have played with the configuration for at least an hour.
  • Added additional Touch Menu selection settings to allow selection on Release Click and on Release Touch.
  • Added Trigger Hip Fire Exclusive mode - this mode is a dual stage trigger mode that allows either soft or full pull, but once either is engaged, the other will not engage until the trigger has been released.
  • When exiting Steam, Controller now returns to its default “lizardmode” Mouse/Keyboard state
  • If Steam loses its ability to send input due to UAC/Control-Alt-Del prompts, controller will now attempt to drop into its default state to allow interaction with these dialogs and resume normal configuration once workable state is re-established. The controller will beep when entering/exiting this mode.
  • Fixed bug with joystick not always sending fast taps to the left.
  • Anti-Deadzone now obeys deadzone shape setting. For gyro applications such as Steering Wheel in Racing games, using the cross shaped deadzone will provide expected anti-deadzone behavior.
  • Added better support for non-Steam games and applications that cannot use the Steam Overlay such as browsers, command line tools, emulators, etc.. While these applications won’t currently support some functions such as touchmenus, xinput, and controller HUD functionality, these applications will now be better detected and use their Non-Steam Game configuration when in focus.
  • Shortcuts/Non-Steam games will also attempt to use their designated configuration when launched outside of Steam, provided Steam is running in the background, with the same limitations mentioned above.
  • Fixed legacy bindings on configurations with native controller support not displaying/working outside of the first action set.
  • Fixed a dead zone issue when a trackpad was used in Mouse mode

In-Home Streaming
  • Added support for streaming 5.1 audio from Windows host machines to other Steam Clients and the Steam Link. Click here for more info
  • Fixed a issue causing framerate on the streaming client to be much lower than on the host for GPU-intensive games
  • Added NVIDIA NVFBC encoder as a separate option under Advanced Host Settings in Big Picture mode
  • Added logic to retry any previously-failed encoding methods whenever a new game is launched
  • Added logic to fall back to software encoding when hardware encoding is being unreasonably slow
  • Fixed one-pixel color misalignment in Direct3D 9 games such as Rocket League
  • Significantly improved performance of Intel QuickSync encoding - please note that Intel has released new drivers for most of its GPUs, which are recommended for performance and stability ( http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/graphics-drivers.html )
  • Improved compatibility with Dragon's Lair, Space Age, and other older 2D games
  • Improved stream quality and bitrate usage for games running below 60 fps
  • Improved compatibility with Stronghold Crusader HD and other old DirectDraw titles
  • Adjusted settings for Intel hardware encoding to improve compatibility with 4th and 5th gen Intel CPUs

VR Mode
  • Steam notifications now display in-headset using the work-in-progress SteamVR notification system.
  • Improved support for VR keyboard. Keyboard now positions itself better and selection bugs fixed.
  • Fixed several places where taking an action in the desktop client would cause the VR UI to respond when in VR mode.

Linux
  • Fixed validating local content with some filesystems
  • Fixed a hang when starting "CrossCode" and other Chrome-based applications from Steam


SteamOS
  • Added UI for pairing Bluetooth devices

Client Update - Valve
An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

General
  • The Steam Subscriber Agreement has been updated for the new year. Click here to read about these changes.
Steam Controller - Valve


It's been a busy month since the Steam controller officially launched, and with the help of the community, it's already grown so much. Along with new features in today's update, we thought we'd highlight some of the other big features added in the past month and what the community has been doing with those new features.

Read More Here
Client Update - Valve
(Additional note: this client was re-released on Monday, Dec 14 with additional crash fixes.)

An update has been released for the Steam Client and will be automatically downloaded.

General
  • Updated the web browser component to Chromium version 47.0.2526.49
  • Improved error messages for some unusual login failure cases
  • Fixed a crash when launching games for the first time while Steam is offline

Big Picture
  • Improved UI navigation when using the mouse in several areas
  • Changed the default ambient music volume to off, this setting can be configured under the Audio Settings page
  • Expanded the Resume and Explore part of Library, adding more rows based on friend activity and recent game updates
  • Added a new option to control how the left Steam Controller touchpad scrolls Web pages (see "Web Browser" settings)
  • Added a new option to the system menu, "Minimize Big Picture"
  • Improved zooming in web browser
  • Fixed going back to the main menu when selecting some pages inside of settings
  • Fixed Steam Community landing page not loading in Italian
  • Fixed being unable to navigate to the right column of Friends settings
  • Fixed some Steam/XInput controller buttons showing up as "UNKNOWN" when binding shortcuts (ie., taking a screenshot)
  • Fixed Exit menu popping up when just tapping the Guide button on a controller, not only on a long hold
  • Fixed watching DOTA 2 broadcasts
  • Fixed several crashes

Linux
  • Fixed failing to send some special characters to games through the Big Picture overlay keyboard
  • Fixed The Beginner's Guide crashing on startup
  • Improved multi-monitor support for the Steam Link

Mac OS X
  • Fixed Steam Controller failing to work after exiting and relaunching Big Picture mode without restarting Steam
  • Fixed web pages displaying at 1/4 of their correct size under Big Picture

Broadcasting
  • Fixed an unexpected 60fps framerate cap when broadcasting is enabled

VR Mode
  • Switched the Steam UI to use the VR dashboard on Windows for Oculus devices.

In-Home Streaming
  • Added game controller mouse emulation for game launchers, use right trigger to click
  • Added new advanced host and advanced client options. Some settings, such as hardware encoder choice, are only accessible from Big Picture mode
  • Updated game capture modes for improved consistency and reliability
  • Reduced frame-rate impact of running Big Picture mode while streaming
  • Improved interactions with third-party overlays such as Uplay
  • Improved video stream quality when AMD hardware encoding is enabled
  • Fixed some known causes of black screen flashes
  • Fixed issues when switching games or when transitioning from launcher to game
  • Fixed many framerate issues with capture on NVIDIA SLI systems

Steam Controller

The list of changes here are too numerous to call out, so we have made an overview of the changes.

Client Update - Valve
Big Picture
  • Added store setting to view featured games from all platforms when running on OS X or SteamOS
  • Fixed an error that could prevent you from adding items to the Store shopping cart

In-Home Streaming
  • Improved stability and reduced Steam CPU usage under many hardware configurations
  • Improved streaming gamepad compatibility with The Beginner's Guide and other games
  • Added mouse cursor constraints for Windows hosts so the cursor cannot be lost off-screen

Steam Controller
  • Fixed detection of controllers in the Settings panels when streaming from a Steam Link device
  • Fixed an issue where firmware updates would not apply while In-Home Streaming is active
  • Fixed an issue where some developer-approved configurations were not being displayed
  • Fixed game action set legacy bindings not working beyond the first preset slot
  • Fixed an issue where mode-shifted analog sticks could lose input
...

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