Quoting: peta77If things were just that simple. It's like with Qt, you're supposed to write code once and then it works on all supported platforms.... But it doesn't. At least not in all cases and then you have to adapt code or even have platform-specific stuff again.

I have been reporting a few bugs to developers that used Unity and the like which then turned out to be a Linux specific issue because some things are interpreted differently on every system and you can't completely abstract that. Especially when people start to integrate their own or third party code.

And you have to do testing on all platforms anyway, no matter if you use proton or native code, to hopefully find those platform specific issues. And for that it's easiest for many, especially the smaller studios, to start with a backend which is almost equivalent to windows. It will be enough additional work for a start to find out installation including all 3rd-party plugins, additional ms-packages, etc. works correctly. Jumpstarting into multi-platform development needs lots of changes in the process which need time. And the people need time to get to know all the peculiarities of a different system before they can generate software with the same features and quality. But talking from experience it's rewarding as you will easily find and fix bugs on one platform which are hard to reproduce on the other one. So at least from a QA perspective it's totally worth it.

I'd also would be very happy if there were big steps in Linux gaming ahead of us in the near future. But I'll stay realistic and think it will be a bit slower with lots of improvements in Proton compatibility as a first step. The rest depends on how popular the device will be long term.

i wouldn't be surprised if Valve started to encourage developers to focus on Proton rather than native as there will be less compatibility issues eventually and it's a target platform.

Your still 'gamingONlinux' just like stadia. I don't imagine this site will change it's name to 'gamingontopoflinux' anytime soon though because of it.

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Quoting: CatKiller

Quoting: LoftyIt's a momentary relief that it cannot be installed on a screen size lower than 9", but windows 10 is still going to be 'technically' supported until 2025. And maybe people will find a way to install windows on a smaller screen, although the more complex the procedure the less likely the average windows user is likely to try.

I don't think many people will bother. It's going to be a hassle, and they're likely to get a worse experience as a result.

But let's say that the device sells like hotcakes (if it doesn't sell, it's not going to move the needle in any way) and 50% of people install Windows on it (I don't think it will be anywhere near that high). People have still bought the device and are going to buy games on Steam to play on it, so it's a success from Valve's point of view. And that's 50% of people that aren't using Windows on it; they're now Linux gamers. And games developers that see the sales and want to target those Deck customers are going to target the Deck, which runs Linux and Proton. So it's a success from our point of view, too.

i think i wrote the exact same thing a few pages back. If 1million people buy a steam deck and 500k install windows, that still leaves 500k new linux users. But as i said, if the experience is not upto par then many might just abandon the device after 6months or so.. obviously time will tell.

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Quoting: MohandevirIt's been a long time since I began to suspect that Microsoft decided to try to transform the PC market into an Xbox + Surface vision, killing the diy on the way.

https://www.xda-developers.com/microsoft-announces-windows-365/ [External Link]

for business only though.

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It's a momentary relief that it cannot be installed on a screen size lower than 9", but windows 10 is still going to be 'technically' supported until 2025. And maybe people will find a way to install windows on a smaller screen, although the more complex the procedure the less likely the average windows user is likely to try. Perhaps if the interface was restricted to SteamOS 3.0 only then that would further decrease the probability of people putting windows on it.

off topic but, i half think they put the TPM2.0 requirement in there knowing that many businesses wont buy new hardware, considering the inflated prices and limited availability. And then 'poof' windows 11 365 cloud based desktop is here to solve all your problems.. total market capture.

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Quoting: CatKiller

Quoting: sudoerInitially I was excited about the opening opportunities for Linux, but after reading... I'm a bit sceptical...

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You're in the Trough of Disillusionment.

FWIW, you can't install Windows 11 on it; the screen's too small.

What do you mean by this, is there a minimum limitation on resolutions available to Windows 11 ? Or are you talking about physical screen size comfort ?

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Quoting: KuJo

"We’re working with BattlEye and EAC to get support for Proton ahead of launch."

This is the ass-kicking feature I've been waiting for for so long with Proton ... oh god! Do dreams still come true? The launch is scheduled for the end of 2021. Valve could really put a fine Christmas present under the tree! :)

Same. This to me personally is as important that the steam deck itself.

The list of games i cannot play because of things like battle-eye and EAC is growing pretty rapidly.

But the biggest question i have is at what cost is EAC / Battle-eye being integrated ? AFAIK these are extremely invasive pieces of software that many consider to be basically spyware. I can't speak for anyone else here but when i left windows behind that was one of my major concerns with the platform from an OS point of view. If i have to run a dual boot system with two Linux installs one with anti-cheat and one without i almost may aswell just run windows for gaming.

https://www.easy.ac/en-us/partners/ [External Link]

Look at how many studios use it and how many games are running this now :shock:

So yes some eventual clarity on how this is being handled by valve will be needed before i get too excited. I suppose i could just get a cheap second computer/raspberrypi for Linux desktop and one for Linux gaming but that seems to defeat the point somewhat.

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Quoting: F.UltraConsole gaming regardless of it's Nintendo, Microsoft or Sony is not 100% bug-free either, I've experienced plenty of games that lock-up the entire console but still there is no huge movement among people to throw out their consoles.

This is something i have not experienced as i have been console free for longer than i can remember.

Then of course people always treat Linux differently and to a higher standard for some reason so I'm not 100% sure of course. Microsoft can fuck people over without repercussions just like IBM of old.

Im not sure either TBH.

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Quoting: mylkakinda feels like we were beta testers for proton

Im okay with this. I have enjoyed many games that i would never of been able to play otherwise.

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Quoting: alka.setzerSo, unless Valve is also thinking of funding game developers so that they target the device (which in the past was not what valve did), this is like every other valve hardware, you get a v1 device to play with but no follow up and no actual support.

This is a distinct possibility. But it's still a cool toy regardless for people to have owned and experienced. We know how Nintendo like to switch (no pun) things around a lot, they often have a winner on their hands then release something completely different. I wouldn't be surprised if there were not a switch 2 and they move to VR with an embedded switch type device. Same for valve, this could be their one shot handheld attempt before they move onto mobile VR gaming with the ability to stream from your PC as an added bonus (we have seen the patents after all)

Quoting: alka.setzerIn terms of hardware we are getting a quad core with a vega 7 like gpu, so just pick any laptop with a ryzen 4500u or similar and see benchmarks for it, playable fps are in the resolution this offers in low to medium quality, which is okay for the screen size.

I wonder if you can buy a laptop at the same price as the top tier steam deck with greater specs and a larger screen? I know it's a different form factor, but it's such a niche device with limited battery power that for casual couch / bedroom (or even travel) gaming could you just get a similar thing in a laptop and use steamOS 3.0 ?

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Quoting: Tom BEven with the delay in shipping the Steam Deck I think it would be at least a year until someone else could even sell something similar, and that's if they green lit it today and started development immediately.

Probably yea. But i do think if the idea of PC handhelds becomes as mainstream as Console Handhelds as a provable concept then it will happen eventually.

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