I would like to see this expanded out to per-operating-system as well. There is a big difference between playing on SteamOS and playing on true Desktop Linux. Valve are already tracking time played with Proton as Linux play time, and can differentiate between SteamOS as well (for the Year in Review and now this). It would also be great to filter reviews based on this, for example only reviews from people on the Linux Desktop using the native build (because SteamOS may enforce Proton for battery or modding purposes, and enforces the Steam Linux Runtime 1.0 currently for all native titles, but the Linux Desktop is much more free).

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Happy birthday to Proton, and massive respect to all of the contributors to WINE, core projects like DXVK and vkd3d-proton (and the original vkd3d that it was forked from), and the wider Linux gaming tooling that has come about ultimately in large part because of Proton's influence on Linux gaming like MangoHUD and Gamescope. The Mesa devs also often get left out, the work on the core Mesa project before Proton (~2013 is when I remember things taking a big step up) to make the drivers so damn robust, and continued developments like Zink and NVK. The incredibly valuable work that at this point surely hundreds of folks if not more have contributed to cannot be understated, and that is not simply the folks working for/contracted by Valve, Collabora, CodeWeavers, or RedHat, but also the dedicated volunteers.

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I have been super excited for this one since the original announcement, although anyone else I have shown the trailer to has been less than enthusiastic for some reason. :huh:

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Two things not mentioned in the changelog but which I have found useful in this release:
- Dialogs no longer have a fixed size and can now be resized, so if you have a larger font size or custom Qt theme, elements will no longer be cut off.
- Download count and download progress are now sent to the taskbar / panel. This lets me see download progress at a glance without ProtonUp-Qt being in focus (useful for larger compatibility tools like Proton-tkg).

This release also fixes a few issues introduced as a result of the latest Steam Client Beta's new `appinfo.vdf` format.

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Quoting: GuestWin-only. And I thought this was GOL. Time to leave....

I don't inherently disagree, but this isn't a new thing. A significant amount of articles for the last long while cover games only playable via Proton, or sometimes not playable with Proton at all. You only need to check the article tags to see a significant amount of articles for games that are Windows-only.

You're absolutely entitled to feel that way, I just want to illustrate that this isn't new by any stretch.

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Quoting: HJLike the good ol' days after nine-eleven!

"Check the Internet lately?"

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Quoting: RedWyvernAs it's built-in controls are the most comfortable to me

I also find them to be the most comfortable. It fixes the handful of complaints I had about the original Steam Controller. To be honest, if Valve do end up making that rumoured Joycon-Style Steam Controller 2 that works as VR controllers and joins to become a PC controller, I would probably give up using my Steam Deck! I could have the convenience of the Deck right at my PC.

Quoting: RedWyvernAs the built in streaming is not fully reliable or flexible

I'm not sure about flexible, but I haven't had any reliability issues with In-Home Streaming. I hear it get criticized a lot but it works fine with my usage. I don't use it very often, a few times every few months, but when I do it's for quite extended sessions and it works fine streaming to laptops and my Steam Deck. My PC and laptops all run Arch Linux with Plasma Wayland (I don't remember if I used it on X11 but if I did I don't remember any issues).

Quoting: RedWyvernAnd finally with a custom Desktop Layout, the device is a great Linux Tablet, for casual webbrowsing and even some chats with the Onscreen Keyboard, with Trigger Clicks enabled.

I use this same setup and haptic setup with the keyboard too, but it still just isn't the same. I'm not a big fan of tablets either so that might play a role here. :tongue: Between my phone, my Steam Deck, my laptops, and my Desktop PC, I have all the form factors, and for all of them I keep missing my multi-screen Desktop with big screens. Most GoL users have only a single display (~56%), so going from a single display PC/laptop/tablet to a Steam Deck probably isn't as much of a noticeable downgrade as it is to those few spoiled enough to have four displays. :grin:

(I couldn't scroll in far enough to get a mouseover but to the users who have 6 displays, I'm jealous!)

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Quoting: GuestI think a big problem with that is Valve's case, it's just not practical at all for quickly playing on the bus. When I was still commuting, I got a backpack that was designed for the Switch, but which also fits the Deck. Just sliding it in and out of the bag is so much more elegant than getting the official SD case out of your bag, unzipping it, putting it away, and then finally turning on the Deck, ugh.

Hmm, I never found the case to be that much of an issue myself. It's more that with any handheld there really isn't any easy way to put it away; I'm not the type to just "throw" something in my backpack. If I need to get something out on the bus, like my phone, it's not practical to hold any handheld in one hand and there isn't anywhere to put it down. Anything bigger than a phone is a challenge to lug around on any form of transport.

Quoting: GuestI use my Deck docked most of the time and have considered selling it, but I just can't part with SteamOS and its immediate suspend/wake-up. Not sure what I'd replace it with.

Yeah it's a great feature if you need a handheld. Otherwise in my case, I don't miss it so much when I'm on my PC. Case in point, I was playing on my Steam Deck earlier but instead of putting it to sleep with a game running, I turned the game off and picked it up on my PC (I have a game running on my other screen as I type this :happy:)

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Quoting: d3Xt3rbecuase the Win Mini allows me to comfortably game from my bed and couch, which I prefer over sitting on a chair. Like, I work in IT, and after a full day of sitting in front of a PC at work, I really do not have the energy or motivation to do it again at home

I also work in IT, and when I play on my Steam Deck, I do it in my chair usually. The same chair that is right beside my PC :tongue: I used to play my Steam Deck in bed but that had a major negative impact on my mood. Gaming in bed is something I was looking forward to doing with my Steam Deck and then I realised I just ended up spending my whole day in bed instead of on my PC!

I also tried taking my Steam Deck out with me a few times, but I don't have any commutes longer than 15-20 minutes, and using my Steam Deck outside felt about as good as using a laptop outside. It was an inconvenience to lug around. That said, I have some bigger travel plans coming, and I plan on taking my laptop and Steam Deck, and I could see it fitting in well there, but I still count that as an accessory.

To me, with respect to the screen thing, the Steam Deck is the same as using a PC or a laptop, the screen location and dimensions are just different if that makes sense.

Quoting: d3Xt3rI used to back when I was still young, but not any more

Maybe when I'm not as young my mind will change. I mean the thing that gets me through the work day is getting back to using my Desktop usually. I spent all day in front of a computer long before I ever started working :grin:

Quoting: d3Xt3rThe only time I actually use my desktop is when I'm playing multiplayer games and I need to be my best and take it seriously

Indeed, I don't do voice calls, so typing messages in real-time on anything but my beloved mechanical keyboard is nigh-impossible. I've gotten pretty quick with the Steam Deck keyboard thanks to some years with the Steam Controller and the typing experience is great when you have to search for things, but it's no replacement for a full Desktop PC keyboard.

Quoting: d3Xt3rjust like how the Switch brought me back into gaming when it first came out.

Heh, I actually don't like using the Switch handheld, and most people I know have theirs permanently docked. It was the same when a couple people I knew with Steam Decks but they all sold theirs in the end.

Quoting: d3Xt3rSo props to Valve and all these handheld device makers for bringing PC gaming to the couch.

Agreed! It's very nice to be able to show family a game without being tied to my PC. They certainly have uses for many people, and I also have my own uses. But I don't think anything will dethrone my PC. It isn't about performance, it's about having gaming on top of the regular Desktop experience. The Steam Deck is probably the best experience it could be, but for me, nothing tops sitting in front of my PC to play games.

For me, a box in a corner surrounded by screens to me will always beat a handheld in the living room.

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Quoting: HighballYou can run multiple applications at the same time while in game mode. I do it all the time. You just hit the steam button and switch to the Discord window.

You can for sure. But for me it's not as convenient or as nice of an experience as tabbing into a window on another display. Plus Firefox doesn't work so good in GameScope (I will never use the Discord "app"), and typing messages and replies on a virtual keyboard (even a phone keyboard) isn't as nice as using my mechanical one on my PC. Even my laptop keyboard is mildly frustrating to use. Sure, I can hook up my keyboard, or even get some Bluetooth adapter, but then you lose the portability aspect of the Steam Deck, and I try to avoid using Bluetooth where possible because I also find it quite frustrating.

You also can't keep an eye on your game this way. You can use multiple displays in Desktop Mode but then you don't get the performance controls, and GameScope embedded doesn't support multiple displays at the moment so you can't do it from Game Mode. Plus the Steam Deck is still using X11 so adjusting the overscan is not as convenient as it is on Wayland, which would be necessary if I wanted to use a TV instead of one of my PC monitors.

I think that's overall my thing with the Steam Deck, it's great for the pick-up-and-play, but everything else feels like a lesser experience compared to my Desktop.

For what it's worth, I have the same gripes with laptops, my phone, tablets, and other consoles.

I'm not saying the Steam Deck is bad, I'm saying for me and how I use a computer, it's an accessory. For people on the go a lot it's absolutely a game-changer and I'd rather game on my Steam Deck over my laptop (I don't use an external mouse with my laptop, and KB/M controls work a trackpad aren't as good as the Steam Deck, but the Steam Deck just isn't as good for me as a keyboard and dedicated mouse). But when I want to play a game, like really sit down and experience something, I boot up my PC before I reach for my Steam Deck.

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