It is not often that Valve update the Steam interface, but when they do, they certainly do like to make an impression. Whereas the majority of updates for the Steam client are fairly dreary and uninteresting, this latest one brings wih it not only a sleek new finish for the whole user interface, but also a slew of enhancements and improvements of Steam's social features.
The majority of improvements is bound to the 'Friends' menu itself, but we'll take a quick look at what's new and interesting after a short patch log to cover the entirety of the update.
Steam Client Update 7/24/2018
Here are the general notes on what's new in the latest Steam client update:
- Added new friends list, chat and voice chat features.
- Added icon and optional balloon for announcing new Steam Features and Blog Updates.
- Added banner announcing future end of support for Windows XP and Vista.
- Enabled GPU acceleration in web views by default.
- Added option to disable GPU acceleration in web views in Settings->Interface.
- Added support for binding F13-F24 as hotkey buttons.
- Improved IME handling for web pages shown in Steam client and Steam overlay.
- Additional input tweaks and fixes.
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Now, as for the really juicy stuff: as soon as you open up your 'Friends' interface, you'll notice that it's been changed completely. This includes both its looks and its function.
First and foremost is the ability to favourite people who you always want to be able to reach. You do this simply by dragging a friend's avatar to the top of the chat window, and you're good to go. Additionally, aside from being able to see what your friends are playing at any given moment, some games can now also show details on where the players are and what they're doing, if they're available for matchmaking and stuff like that.
Players will now also be grouped not only by game, but also by party - if they've joined up, which will make for an easier and more seamless joining process. Group chats are available at the bottom of the interface, which should also save you a click or two.
All in all, seems like a great update, and if nothing else, at least you can now quickly set your status as 'invisible' for those times when you really, truly dread human interaction.
