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Latest Comments by Mal
GOG to go through some reorganization after suffering losses
30 Nov 2021 at 6:20 pm UTC Likes: 6

Quoting: GuestI know so many linux users don't like a bad word said about Valve but their market power should concern everyone
Nah. Most of the people, linux or not, share the same fears in the long run. What will happen to Valve if Gaben has a car accident? Will the new boss be still a gamer or a businessman first?
Nobody is happy if GOG struggles. Healthy alternatives are sorely needed. And their no drm model is added value to PC gaming, even if not necessarily linux and despite recent missteps. It's just that the only other -financially- credible competitor is already the worst there can possibly be. So it makes no sense to "detach" from Steam by fearing that in the future it turn in the very dystopian service that its direct competitor today already is.

Wolfire versus Valve antitrust lawsuit gets dismissed
21 Nov 2021 at 2:08 pm UTC

Nobody could have anticipated that. :whistle:

Valve launches Deck Verified, to show off what games will work well on the Steam Deck
8 Nov 2021 at 7:45 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: zen_xeno
Quoting: Mal
Quoting: randylThe only big drawback to the current base Xbox controller for Windows is that it uses AA batteries instead of a self-contained rechargeable.
Odd. That's the main reason why I don't like ds.
You mean you don't prefer a proprietary offer for something that already has a standardized solution? I for one don't want to be able to go to my nearest store to solve the most common problem in all of consumer electronics, I want to order a special product™. But even better would be if the battery is sealed inside the device, then all I need to do is throw the whole thing away and order a new one!

LOL seriously, I love that Valve used AA batteries in the Steam controller - I order a 20 pack of AA rechargeable every few years. Its just a fact of life that rechargeable batteries wear out over time, why would anyone want to use a proprietary power source instead of a standard one? Makes no sense.

I'm glad its been indicated that the power pack in the Deck should be replaceable, with a little effort.
Also that, it's true.

The other reason is that when they are empty you can simply pause, swap the batteries in the controller with those in the recharger, unpause and go back to your game. With integrated batteries you have to use the cable.

Then on PC that's most often not possible, since most of the controller API won't dynamically detect controllers but only once at startup so you necessarily have to restart the game. It's another one of the little things that consoles have right but devs on PC can't be make to care. It won't even be a feature needed for the deck mark of quality since controller is integrated in the deck.

Stellaris: Aquatics Species Pack announced, launching with the free 3.2 update
20 Oct 2021 at 9:10 pm UTC Likes: 1

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2409578462 [External Link]

Anyone tried this already? It replaces pops abstraction with absolute numbers. And removes all performance issues in the process. I want to try it next time I start a game.

Valve launches Deck Verified, to show off what games will work well on the Steam Deck
19 Oct 2021 at 4:33 pm UTC Likes: 3

Quoting: randylThe only big drawback to the current base Xbox controller for Windows is that it uses AA batteries instead of a self-contained rechargeable.
Odd. That's the main reason why I don't like ds.

Valve launches Deck Verified, to show off what games will work well on the Steam Deck
19 Oct 2021 at 2:02 pm UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: CFWhitman
Quoting: Alm888So… In other words, Valve acknowledges that their "all your library should work" and "no porting required" promises are not feasible.
I wouldn't say that. Valve said that their goal is 100% compatibility. This is supposed to be a step in that direction. They're hoping to see more and more games make it to at least "Playable" status (with the possible exception of things that require specialized hardware, like a VR headset).

Valve never "promised" that "all your library should work" with "no porting required." The said that was their goal. Of course "no porting" does not necessarily mean 'no tweaks.'
Yep, you say that because like most people on this site we understand how things are made and works. But the Average Joe out there (and the press doesn't help) understood exactly that: every windows game is "compatible" with the deck. And for me that was the biggest failure risk for the entire project. Things that for us are obvious, that for instance you can't exactly play Stellaris on the deck despite being native linux, are not obvious for the average person. Nor they should be. A person could learn with a commercial that Stellaris has also a console edition and expect that to be the game it can buy on his deck. It's Steam responsibility to inform them that this is not the case. A launcher that is not controller friendly and a game interface that is not made for that resolution and screen size in addition for being optimized for m+k should always award a non deck playable tag. Then one can always decide to attach m+k to the deck and connect it to tv or monitor with a docking station and have a lot of pleasant, better than console games with Stellaris. But that's not the obvious use case of a deck customer and Steam has to acknowledge that and help people do the right purchases.

Valve launches Deck Verified, to show off what games will work well on the Steam Deck
19 Oct 2021 at 1:47 pm UTC Likes: 1

Agreed. What I meant is that it's just right and intuitive that the badge is active BY DEFAULT when navigating from the deck, regardless of what publishers thinks of it, as much as that it is inactive by default when browing outside. Then, ofc, everything is configurable and people is free to turn on and off what they want. But the default configuration should always be the most useful to the user in the context of his current experience.

It wouldn't be savy to require gamers to turn on the badge (and learn somehow that the badge even exist in the first place) because by default it's off to not "offend over sensitive" pub that decided to veto it on its products. Treating publishers as customers and gamers as suppliers is another famous store policy and it's not exaclty bringing popularity or profits to its owner nor good experiences to whoever spends money there.

Valve launches Deck Verified, to show off what games will work well on the Steam Deck
19 Oct 2021 at 1:06 pm UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: Eike
Quoting: BielFPsTry to imagine the developer / publisher side situation: You're selling your game in a store which bites 30% of each sale you do, and suddenly your game is now advertised with the mark of shame in the store because of the lack of support for a OS that you didn't intended to support (for whatever reason), and this can give the idea for some customers that there's "something broken" in your product (even if this does not affect you like windows players), because you can't expect every consumer on steam to know what that mark means.
They could make the display optional. Those who care (and should know what it means) can switch it on.
I don't think they need to, though.
Oh come on. They say clearly in the video that the "mark of shame" appears only if you open the store from the deck. And why shouldn't be that way? If you're playing on the deck it is supposed that you want to buy and play games there. Everything on Steam is contextual and configurable. I can even decide to display windows games if I want.

Valve launches Deck Verified, to show off what games will work well on the Steam Deck
19 Oct 2021 at 11:01 am UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: ArehandoroFor me, the key point is here:

"System Support - If running through Proton, the game and all its middleware should be supported by Proton. This includes anti-cheat support."

Emphasis is mine.

Does that mean a game can be verified for Windows on Steam Deck but not Linux/Proton? If that's the case, I don't see that going down too well...
Verified on Proton, not Windows. What matters is the end result (people can click a button on their deck and start to play) not how a studio achieves that result. Gamers and their gaming experiences are the importat thing here.

Valve launches Deck Verified, to show off what games will work well on the Steam Deck
19 Oct 2021 at 7:24 am UTC

That's exaclty what I always complained they should have done... and not just for the deck, but also the link and the big picture experience. So, good initiative by them. It remain to be seen how meticolous are with this initiative (is there an actual check, or is it just the publishers claiming they comply? Is there also a human review passage? What's about patches? Can they ensure there are no regressions? To many companies love launchers and they upgrade them separately from their games. Etc etc)