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Valve reduces size of Steam Deck Client in the latest update

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Valve makes a few more small tweaks to the Steam Deck in the latest client update out now and ready to download. Not a big update but still quite a welcome one, as it fixes up a few minor issues plus the size of the client is now reduced.

Here's what's new:

  • Reduced size of client by removing unused sounds
  • Improved focus stability when exiting a library fast scroll
  • Added library fast scroll when sorting by achievement percentage or friends playing
  • When sorting by hours played, games with no playtime are now separated from those with under one hour of playtime
  • Fixed focus display issue when applying an Update
  • Fixed issue selecting a store preview link in Chat

How about some more Steam Deck videos? Got you covered on our YouTube Channel. Here's a couple recent looks at performance:

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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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andy155 Mar 17, 2022
Valve reduces the size of the Steam Deck client in the latest update? Honestly but who cares? You really exaggerate with the deck news.
rustybroomhandle Mar 17, 2022
Quoting: andy155Valve reduces the size of the Steam Deck client in the latest update? Honestly but who cares? You really exaggerate with the deck news.

Did you know you can block tags so you never have to see any Steam Deck news?
emphy Mar 17, 2022
Quoting: andy155Valve reduces the size of the Steam Deck client in the latest update? Honestly but who cares? You really exaggerate with the deck news.

On top of that; it's a fairly useless optimisation as long as the primary mode of installing non-steam software is using those bloated packages.
Liam Dawe Mar 17, 2022
Quoting: rustybroomhandle
Quoting: andy155Valve reduces the size of the Steam Deck client in the latest update? Honestly but who cares? You really exaggerate with the deck news.

Did you know you can block tags so you never have to see any Steam Deck news?
This. Please either block the tag under content preferences, or just ignore articles you're clearly not interested in. No one wants to see such comments. It's not an exaggeration, Steam Deck is the BIGGEST thing to ever happen to Linux gaming. It's here, it's of massive interest to people and I will cover all angles of it just like I do for desktop gaming that people never complain when i cover the smallest thing there. Just stop it.


Last edited by Liam Dawe on 17 March 2022 at 10:44 am UTC
ObsidianBlk Mar 17, 2022
Quoting: emphy
Quoting: andy155Valve reduces the size of the Steam Deck client in the latest update? Honestly but who cares? You really exaggerate with the deck news.

On top of that; it's a fairly useless optimisation as long as the primary mode of installing non-steam software is using those bloated packages.

Actually, I'd think it's a fairly welcome optimization if you're installing so many non-steam applications that you're worried about the "bloated" sized of the flatpaks in which that software is delivered. After all, that little extra space could mean you can fit in one more "bloated" package onto your system.

Hell, that could mean one extra smaller game on the deck for those that won't even bother with non-steam applications.

Furthermore, if you're so upset at using flatpak for non-steam applications in the first place, then, just set your deck to developer mode and get full write access to your system and install those applications the standard way... in which case, the reduced client size is still a welcome optimization as you'll have just that little more space.

---

On a small tangent here... I really don't get the whole "bloated" flatpak thing. Is there anything other than anecdotal evidence that flatpaks generate that much more "bloat" vs traditional software installations? I mean, most package managers I've worked with, by default, tend to store the compressed images of all the installed packages on your system anyway, so, for each package you install via pacman (in Arch), there's at least 50% (on average) as much space being taken up by a file that sits on your system just in case you need to reinstall it.
Eike Mar 17, 2022
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Quoting: ObsidianBlkOn a small tangent here... I really don't get the whole "bloated" flatpak thing. Is there anything other than anecdotal evidence that flatpaks generate that much more "bloat" vs traditional software installations? I mean, most package managers I've worked with, by default, tend to store the compressed images of all the installed packages on your system anyway, so, for each package you install via pacman (in Arch), there's at least 50% (on average) as much space being taken up by a file that sits on your system just in case you need to reinstall it.

You can purge the latter with a single command and have your stuff still working, while flatpaks bring along bloat that they are actually using...

https://www.heise.de/select/ct/2016/17/1471178736497222

Don't know if this about Snap (calculator) is true for flatpak as well:
https://www.heise.de/select/ct/2018/23/1541823042412291


Last edited by Eike on 17 March 2022 at 12:28 pm UTC
gradyvuckovic Mar 17, 2022
Flatpaks are not really that bloated.. They do specify runtimes that need to be downloaded and installed to run them, but the runtimes can be shared among every Flatpak that uses the same runtime version. So after the first dozen or so Flatpaks you've installed, chances are most of the Flatpaks you add will be reusing an existing runtime. Also worth pointing out, a lot of software has to package it's own dependencies anyway to avoid issues across multiple distros, which Flatpaks avoid by specifying a runtime, so again, it's not really as big a deal as some make out.

Quoting: andy155You really exaggerate with the deck news.
Lets see.. Liam wrote.
QuoteValve makes a few more small tweaks to the Steam Deck in the latest client update out now and ready to download. Not a big update but still quite a welcome one, as it fixes up a few minor issues plus the size of the client is now reduced.
And somehow that is 'exaggeration'?
scaine Mar 17, 2022
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Scarlet Nexus looks superb. It has a vaguely Nier: Automata vibe to it. But since I have that game to finish, I guess I'll pass on it for now!

No idea what happened during the tutorial boss fight at the 10:30 mark though. Mangohud was still reporting 40+fps, but the video is a slideshow. Maybe just a recording blip?
Doc Angelo Mar 17, 2022
Quoting: andy155Valve reduces the size of the Steam Deck client in the latest update? Honestly but who cares? You really exaggerate with the deck news.

Despite what others suggest, your comments are welcome. Your opinion is valuable as much as the opinion of others, no matter if you agree with the majority or not.

On the internet, there are often discussions like this. The irony most people don't see: If it is true that you can simply ignore any kind of content, no matter how often it is posted, you can ignore posts just the same as comments. But that's not how it is, and the comments that say that you shouldn't comment ironically prove that.
Eike Mar 17, 2022
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Quoting: Doc AngeloDespite what others suggest, your comments are welcome. Your opinion is valuable as much as the opinion of others, no matter if you agree with the majority or not.

On the internet, there are often discussions like this. The irony most people don't see: If it is true that you can simply ignore any kind of content, no matter how often it is posted, you can ignore posts just the same as comments. But that's not how it is, and the comments that say that you shouldn't comment ironically prove that.

That's quite different. While he can ignore the articles automatically, it's not possible to ignore all such comments in an automated fashion. (I'm not saying anything about if such comments are useful or not, I'm only talking about "automatic" visibility.)
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