Quoting: BlackBloodRumI mean for example, let's take VPN connections. You simply can't set them up in KDE because OpenVPN/WireGuard isn't installed by default, if you put that into distrobox, you still won't be able to get a system-wide VPN connection.

Of course, if you enable "development" mode you can put OpenVPN or WireGuard in there, but as soon as the next SteamOS update is released those changes are wiped and you'll have to manually install them again.

Where as with package layering you could install OpenVPN or WireGuard and it would become part of the compose, and remain after updates, while retaining all the immutable benefits.

Thanks for clarifying. So if I understand correctly, with package layering, Valve could retain an immutable file system and users could install root privileged packages without them getting wiped upon OS upgrades?

Nothing available in Arch yet to do this, or is there?

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I saw Phawx playing this and it looked cool, got it, played it - it is cool. Been enjoying it on Deck.

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Thank you, Linus. And thank you, Liam. 🙏🏻

EDIT: And thank you all other contributors, I know you are many!

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Quoting: BlackBloodRumIt's great to see this!

Now.. if I had one request about SteamOS, it's if Valve made it more like a proper Linux distribution immutable OS.

I mean in the same sense of like Fedora Silverblue, where you can layer packages etc in addition to flatpaks[1].

But it's a minor niggle since this is a specific-purpose device, it would just give a bit more freedom that's all.

[1] https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/fedora-silverblue/getting-started/ [External Link]

Did you see Liam's post about Distrobox? I know it isn't built into SteamOS but it does address your concerns I think.

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This is just the news I was asking about the other day, very glad to hear there is collaboration happening between KDE and Valve devs.

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Very cool! I'm looking forward to playing Core Keeper on Deck, last I heard it wasn't quite well optimized enough to make it a great experience. Can anyone speak to that?

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Quoting: cookiEoverdoseI'd like to see an easy way to set up Deck UI grid, background, logo and icon images for added non-steam games or flatpak apps. https://www.steamgriddb.com [External Link] could be a source. Did someone try SGDBoop?

SDGBoop is pretty great if you don't have a large library, because you do still have to go through manually 1 game at a time. I used a batch tool to fix all the artwork I didn't have - many games didn't update to the new grid style and it is a little irksome.

I ended up using this tool here [External Link] and it was actually quite easy.

Some tips:

• After extracting the tool, delete the "overlays by category" folder unless you want them.
  

• Grab an api key from www.steamgriddb.com - you have to be logged in to do this, which you can do with your steam account. After you login, click on your account name (top right), preferences, then API.

• Go into the directory you extracted the tool into and use a command something like this:  sudo ./steamgrid -steamdir /home/deck/.steam/steam -nonsteamonly --steamgriddb 123h2u3i12u31i --onlymissingartwork But, replace that string after --steamgriddb with your own API key. Those flags declare where the steam library is, where to get the artwork from (steamgriddb), dictate to collect art for only non-steam games, and only for those games with missing art.

• Restart Steam to see the changes. Rerun this command in the future if you acquire more games which need art. Super easy!

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Quoting: EikeI need to make a confession. I bought a Steam Deck just because I found it cool, without an actual use case for it. Yesterday, sitting in the bed playing "Justin Wack and the Big Time Hack" [External Link], I found that I do have a use case. :)

Thanks for pointing out this game! This genre is dear to my heart.

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This is only potentially useful for people relying on their intel CPU chip's integrated graphics, correct? No benefit for anyone using AMD or NVIDIA.

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Quoting: MayeulCI wonder if the demand is going to keep up? How much of a marketshare it's going to reach?

Seeing how they are just beginning to release into new markets, I don't think demand will be a problem.

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