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Developers - let us know if you need help with Steam Deck testing

By - | Views: 26,117

Valve's new handheld PC the Steam Deck is starting to ship out but there's going to be a long wait for some, and others might not be able to get one at all for various reasons - I'm here to help.

Now that any embargo is up and I can do whatever Steam Deck content I like, I had a thought. I know a lot about Linux, and since I have a Steam Deck why not help out those who need it? So that's exactly what I'm announcing: a free Steam Deck testing service for developers.

"You must be crazy doing it free", probably but the Steam Deck is important for Linux as a whole and I personally want to see it succeed. The more games that can get tweaked and fixed before many thousands end up in the hands of regular consumers, the better it will be for everyone. Valve of course have Deck Verified but it's going to take a long time to get through the tens of thousands on Steam and more releasing every day. It's also difficult to test on something you don't have, patches might need re-testing and so on you get the idea I'm sure.

How will it work? Developers just need to send an email and it will go into a queue. Be sure to include one single Steam key in case I don't already own it, and notes on any Beta I might need to opt into (don't forget a password if it needs one). If there's any performance concerns, a save game ready to check would be helpful.

While I won't take any payment at all for it, as I will be doing it because I want to, I do accept any no-strings donations and regular support via Patreon, see more on the Support Us page.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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About the author -
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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21 comments
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mt Feb 27, 2022
What a way to get developers to give you keys to all their games :P

Jk, great to see you put effort into the SteamDeck yourself, good luck!
Vulphere Feb 27, 2022
This is a great service, and give a positive impact toward the nascent Steam Deck ecosystem for game developers!

Great initiative!
grigi Feb 27, 2022
What is the process for developers that are busy developing a game to get it steam verified before it launches?
elmapul Feb 27, 2022
you need an comparision point... eg: test it on windows too.
i saw a lot of reports on protonDB from people who never played an particular game saying it run flawless on linux, then you open the game and... where are the cutscenes? where is the video behind the title screen?
mr-victory Feb 27, 2022
Quoting: elmapulyou need an comparision point... eg: test it on windows too.
i saw a lot of reports on protonDB from people who never played an particular game saying it run flawless on linux, then you open the game and... where are the cutscenes? where is the video behind the title screen?
If they didn’t notice something is wrong, then Proton did its job nicely
sarlej Feb 27, 2022
It will be nice to have dedicated page for volunteers (or for developers).
Maybe more people will do some testing for developers after they receive Steam Deck.
Arehandoro Feb 27, 2022
This is a great initiative! Awesome stuff Liam!
denyasis Feb 27, 2022
Quoting: mr-victory
Quoting: elmapulyou need an comparision point... eg: test it on windows too.
i saw a lot of reports on protonDB from people who never played an particular game saying it run flawless on linux, then you open the game and... where are the cutscenes? where is the video behind the title screen?
If they didn’t notice something is wrong, then Proton did its job nicely

Lol, until the players review bomb the devs because the story "was too confusing" and the ending was "abrupt". J/K.

While I say it in jest, I do remember seeing a post a long time ago where a Linux user "discovered" the opening cutscenes for Witcher 3, having never known it was missing.
elmapul Feb 27, 2022
Quoting: mr-victory
Quoting: elmapulyou need an comparision point... eg: test it on windows too.
i saw a lot of reports on protonDB from people who never played an particular game saying it run flawless on linux, then you open the game and... where are the cutscenes? where is the video behind the title screen?
If they didn’t notice something is wrong, then Proton did its job nicely
sigh, nope, they never tried the game on windows so they dont know they are missing some features.
some people may not care about missing features, but a lot of people do, especially those who know those features supose to be there.
if we dont fix it, they will go back to windows.
jp Feb 27, 2022
Developers - let us know if you need help with Steam Deck testing.
Let them know — let they make native games.
Competent builds and ports.


Last edited by jp on 27 February 2022 at 10:41 pm UTC
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