Recently a bunch of people from other sites went to Valve's offices for some hands-on time with the Steam Deck and it seems the overall impression was pretty positive.
Like a lot of others, we're in the waiting line for whenever our unit ships early next year so we're currently going by whatever info Valve give out and by what other lucky people think after testing. Obviously Valve are going with the top few PC gaming sites / video content creators to make as big a splash as possible, they're certainly doing massively better on pushing it this time compared with the Steam Machines. With that in mind, we do have a few videos to show from others.
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From what's been shown, I'm pretty glad our unit has been reserved at the top-end for the anti-glare etched glass which very clearly makes quite a noticeable difference.
Plenty of comparisons between the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch for obvious reasons, with the Deck being a good bit bigger. From the comments it seems it doesn't actually feel as heavy as expected and is pretty comfortable, so at least on the design Valve has done well. Multiple people noted how much nicer the thumbsticks are compared with the Nintendo Switch too, which is a good sign because those are pretty bad.
Nice to see the KDE Plasma desktop mode working well too , with Linus Tech Tips showing how smoothly it popped up when plugging it into a monitor. That is, I think, going to be very fun to see more users and developers interact with a proper Linux desktop and since it seems to "just work" that's another mark in its favour.
Good to see so much positivity around it! Although, each person only got a somewhat limited amount of time, the real test will be regular gamers spending days with it. It's also worth noting that these are still early units in testing so considering none of the software is final yet - it's all a good sign on how much people enjoyed using them.
There's a few more you can find around and it seems when PC Gamer spoke to Valve, they confirmed that there will be some new API that developers will be able to hook into that will tell games if they're being run on the Steam Deck. That sounds really good, as at least then developers can ensure their game will look good on the smaller screen, and gives developers a chance to set some automatic graphics settings for the best experience.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Philadelphus Aug 8, 2021
Quoting: whizseWine is proven to be both virus and ransomware compatibleThat sounds like a bullet point on the weirdest advertising flyer ever: "Virus and ransomware compatible!"
Quoting: CatKillerThat was part of my consideration as well*, but it's also nice to have that confirmation that the glass is nicer to help justify the spend.QuoteFrom what's been shown, I'm pretty glad our unit has been reserved at the top-end for the anti-glare etched glass which very clearly makes quite a noticeable difference.
For my part, I didn't pick the higher model for the glass or the extra storage. The biggest, prettiest games I'm going to be playing on my gaming rig or streaming from my gaming rig, so storage isn't that big a deal. I strongly suspect that they're making a loss on the cheapest SKU, and only really breaking even on the middle one. Since I'd like everyone selling good Linux hardware to make a profit from doing so, so that they keep doing it, the highest option was an easy choice.
(Though I also got incredibly fortunate with the timing, having gotten a job offer just days before which meant I could afford to reserve the top-end unit.)*Though the storage will certainly be nice for loading up a whole bunch of small, light games for airplane rides or family holiday visits without having to fiddle with microSD cards—I could probably fit 75% of the games in my library in that much space easily.
Quoting: KohlyKohlYou can also replace the Windows desktop itself with the Steam interface (basically what those Windows Steam machines did back then).Quoting: Purple Library GuyQuoting: LoftyFor one, because if you install Windows, and then install Steam's "new big picture == same interface as the Deck" on it, every time you start the device you'll still be booting into Windows and only then using your controller stuff (which Windows is not intended for) to start Steam. It'd be a pain.Quoting: CatKillerI expect those videos to end with "Windows on this device kinda sucks."
why ?
Keeping SteamOS on, you boot and your games are right there.
There is already an option to start up Steam when you log in and also to start Steam in big picture mode (obviously will be changed to whatever the new mode is called). So all the user has to do is set those two settings the first time and then they are good to go after that.
Also, it has a touch screen and two touchpads so navigating a UI shouldn't be difficult.
Quoting: g000hI was actually thinking - If Steam Deck becomes a mega-success, and Valve remains reasonable with respect to privacy and respecting their customers, then maybe they could diversify in the future and produce a SteamOS mobile phone. There are so few choices for phones nowadays that aren't glorified spying devices for their Big Tech masters. I would *jump* on a non-invasive, open-technology smartphone *so fast*.
Custom Android ROMs are a thing.
And no, "Linux phones" aren't a real alternative,
1. There is not much interest into making applications work on that, since better alternatives already exist,
2. Security compared to Android is abysmal.
No matter how good it runs with Proton. id Software, even if
not the same company anymore, had a tradition of Linux ports.
Now they're getting show cased a lot with Steam Deck.
Come on guys. Get us a port already.
Quoting: Purple Library GuyMicrosoft has certainly always in the past been as petty as this. But that wouldn't IMO be a huge issue. It would take some time to get people to start using their fancy new DX13. It took years before there were noticeable amounts of games running DX12, and everyone agreed that DX12 was a thing that had a good reason to exist, for similar reasons to why Vulkan needed to exist. With the momentum Proton, DXVK etc. have currently (and the strength of Valve's motivation), they could probably get a DX13-->Vulkan thingie going before there was even any appreciable uptake. Particularly because developers would probably not be all that receptive to a DX13 basically just created to nobble the competition, and because if it was a rush job done for that reason it would probably suck.
They might get quicker uptake if it was really just DX12 version 1.2 with a few little jingle bells stuck to it . . . but then it would be really easy for Proton to adjust to it.
In general, I think it's at least as difficult for Microsoft to move the target, as it is for Valve to adjust their aim.
I don't think the new MS strategy has much interest in doing so now. MS has struggle to keep compatibility which have consequence on they capacity to be innovative, don't think they want to add to much weird stuff to make their work harder for later. And if their want to do now, it's too late, Wine already has compatibility with most older titles, which is the important thing. New software may need a new API but today, it's more and more easy to support multiple architecture/api/OS/etc… on software dues to relying on framework and engine that does most of the compatibility work.
Quoting: The_AquabatI think that about 30% of people are die hard Windows users, likewise as Apple fanboys... they simply can't concieve there life without Windows. Millions will still install Windows on the Steam Deck, and there's nothing you can do about it.In these 30%, how many have an android or iphone ? How many use nintendo, microsoft or sony gaming console ? How many are geek enough to tried raspberry pi (windows exist now for raspberry pi, but it does not really make much sense for a normal raspberry user) ?
But if, let's say, 50% of steam deck userbase remain on Linux, then it's mayor victory for Linux.
In many, many devices, Windows is not installed by default and it's not possible to install it. As the steam deck will run the same game as a Windows and claim to be a PC, it's right there will be some people to try it, but if the software is convenient enough and the gaming experience efficient, i don't see much interest at switching the software. We have to keep in mind, that's it's not intended to replace a desktop or laptop, so, no much reason to have the same ui experience has your standard computer.
Windows will:
- not being optimised for it.
- may not have some driver (it's a specific GPU, are we sure controller will work out of the box ?)
- may be complicated to boot. We are not sure what will be the uefi. We can expect Valve will bring us an "open machine" but it's not sure.
Last edited by inkhey on 8 August 2021 at 9:49 am UTC
rustybroomhandle Aug 8, 2021
Quoting: LoftyQuoting: CatKillerI expect those videos to end with "Windows on this device kinda sucks."
why ? i mean watching this bit of the steamdeck hands on they state that the new UI is coming to windows shortly after. All things being equal the performance and compatibility should be higher on windows. I don't expect a mountain of people to do this honestly. But maybe when the novelty of using steamOS wears out perhaps.
It should be noted that having the UI doesn't mean the complete experience, such as being able to connect Bluetooth devices and Wifi though the UI, being able to control sound devices, and being able to manage display brightness and such from the UI, and some other stuff like FPS and TDP control (amongst other things). It's likely to amount to being as simple as how Big Picture mode was (relative to just the aspect of selecting games, and the browser stuff) as the other stuff comes through deeper integration, and with other components bundled with the OS. This was the same regarding SteamOS and Big Picture in the past.
Quoting: subDamn, why don't we already see a (real) Doom 2016/Eternal port? :DZenimax said no, after they bought id. I'm not sure that they're that likely to change their minds on developing for Linux now that they're owned by Microsoft.
No matter how good it runs with Proton. id Software, even if
not the same company anymore, had a tradition of Linux ports.
Now they're getting show cased a lot with Steam Deck.
Come on guys. Get us a port already.
Last edited by CatKiller on 8 August 2021 at 11:34 am UTC
Quoting: subDamn, why don't we already see a (real) Doom 2016/Eternal port? :DId used to open source their game engines after a while. Do they not do that anymore either?
No matter how good it runs with Proton. id Software, even if
not the same company anymore, had a tradition of Linux ports.
Now they're getting show cased a lot with Steam Deck.
Come on guys. Get us a port already.
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