Valve improves Steam client performance, new customization options, and more

Valve improves Steam client performance, new customization options, and more
Image via Steam

Valve’s September Steam Client Update: Key Enhancements and Features

Valve has unveiled its latest client update for Steam this September, introducing a series of enhancements that significantly impact the In-Game Overlay, Big Picture mode, and overall client performance. Here’s an overview of the most impactful changes.

Enhancements to In-Game Overlay

The In-Game Overlay has received a notable improvement in rendering performance, particularly evident when utilizing the performance monitor’s FPS chart. This enhancement benefits games leveraging modern graphics APIs such as Vulkan, D3D12, and OpenGL’s shader pipeline. It’s important to note that older games relying on the traditional fixed-function pipeline remain unaffected by this optimization, as they do not utilize the updated rendering path.

Fixes and Improvements

  • Valve addressed incorrect FPS counts for certain games utilizing DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), enhancing overall accuracy.
  • Issues regarding fuzzy fonts and UI elements, which impacted users with display scaling settings above 100%, have been resolved.
  • The performance monitor now includes support for CPU temperature readings on both Windows and Linux systems, with a kernel-mode driver required for Windows compatibility.

New Accessibility Features

To enhance accessibility, the update introduces a new settings menu in desktop mode. This includes:

  • A High Contrast mode aimed at improving UI visibility.
  • Options to reduce motion for users sensitive to rapid movements.
  • Controls for UI scaling to ensure an optimal user experience.

Additionally, the development team has improved many UI components to boost compatibility with screen readers and other accessibility tools, making Steam more inclusive for all users.

Big Picture Mode Adjustments

In Big Picture mode, several UI bugs have been remedied. Notably, issues such as user avatars not appearing when the client was launched in offline mode and unexpected page shifts during navigation on a game’s detail page have been fixed.

Trade Protection Notifications and Customization Options

Steam users will now receive notifications when a trade is reversed, enhancing the Trade Protection system’s transparency. Furthermore, the library section has introduced a new Customization tab, allowing users to set personalized artwork for any game and create custom sort titles, facilitating a more organized game collection.

End of Life Alert for macOS 11

Additionally, Valve has issued an “End of Life Alert”for macOS 11 (Big Sur).Support for this version will officially cease on October 15, 2025, due to the Steam client’s reliance on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which is incompatible with this older operating system.

Enhanced Store Page Layout

Lastly, the Steam store pages have been reformatted for improved visibility, with the main column width expanded from 940 pixels to 1200 pixels. This change, which was previously available in the client beta, is aimed at optimizing user experience on larger monitors.

For comprehensive details on the update, you can access the full release notes here.

Source & Images

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