Quoting: Comandante ÑoñardoNobody will buy this for just 100 or 200 supported games.

Yeah, the Nintendo Switch only had 10 games [External Link] available for it at launch, and we all remember how no one bought that thing!

…oh wait.

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If it's not too much trouble, there's still no 170 Hz option for monitor refresh rate… :whistle:

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Quoting: Mountain ManI just can't imagine Valve has a team dedicated to doing nothing but installing games on the Deck and making sure they work properly, especially not when they claim to have tested thousands of games already, which leads me believe that the process has a good deal of automation.

Didn't they say at some point last year that they were hiring people to do just that? Though yes, there are certainly parts of it that could be automated (like "does it start on SteamOS 3.0 in the first place"); maybe they just need people to check things like the text size and controller glyphs and the like.

Fake edit: found it, from an interview [External Link] with Greg Coomer and Lawrence Yang in Rock, Paper, Shotgun:

Steam does have a lot of games, and Valve is putting significant effort into this review program. We've hired an additional group of testers specifically for Steam Deck compatibility, and will continue to hire additional staff to support this group. It will take time to review the Steam catalog (in addition to the new titles that are being launched all the time), and we see some version of this process being in place for the foreseeable future.

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Quoting: Purple Library GuySay, talking of VR . . . does anyone happen to know how much of a difference it would be likely to make if you were using VR and had in effect just one eye?

…difference in what? I suppose you wouldn't get any depth perception, for starters (just like in real life), and then the headset's basically just a very expensive flat screen that you've strapped to your head.

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Quoting: BeamboomI find some of those whitelisted as downright *weird* that they've spent time on testing. Looks so ridiculously random. I really can not understand why they don't start with the currently most popular games on Steam, and proceed downwards on that list.

It would look SO much better towards those that's on the fence on this machine if some of their favourite games that they are gaming on nowadays are confirmed working on it.
And obviously, the more popular a game is the higher that chance will be.

EDIT: Or, if that's indeed what they HAVE done, then... Uhm... That doesn't bode well.

I too find it weird, but I'm ecstatic that it shows they're testing smaller games the likes of which I'll be more likely to be playing on the Deck, rather than just popular AAA games that I'm not interested in. And as others have pointed out, they probably are testing those games too, and we'll start seeing a bunch more statuses getting updated in the next few weeks.

Quoting: Mountain ManMy guess is that the testing is automated, and any game that gets "green lights across the board" in the benchmark is given the "Officially Confirmed to Work on the Steam Deck" stamp of approval. That would explain why things might seem a bit random.

Aren't some of the criteria things like "text is at a readable size" and "correct controller glyphs are shown"? Like, programming's my day job so I'm not going to rule out that automated tests could be derived for that, but…programming's my day job, so I also have an idea of just how hideously difficult it would be to write such tests. I suppose if anyone had the motivation and know-how to do it it'd be Valve…

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Quoting: Shmerl

Quoting: PhiladelphusCan we just settle on a smaller number of standard refresh rates, please, preferably in larger increments than 5 Hz? I don't care whether it's multiples of 24 (144 Hz, 240 Hz), 30 (60 Hz, 120 Hz) or 5 (165 Hz), just pick one standard and stick with it.

With adaptive sync there is no need to make some standard increments. It's basically, whatever the panel can handle :)

Congrats on the new monitor!

Thanks! And true, obviously it doesn't matter with VRR, I meant more from a…simplification standpoint, I guess. Like, we have 720p and 1080p and 1440p and 2160p in 16:9 resolutions, but not 1712x963 or 1984x1116 or other random resolutions in between. If nothing else it's going to make this graph a nightmare if there are monitors with refresh rates every 5 Hz interval above 150. :dizzy: (Personally I'd probably say something like intervals of 30 Hz: 120, 150, 180, 210, 240, etc.. That's a big enough jump I'd believe people saying they could see a difference, and keeps the monitor space less diluted with refresh rates all over the place.) But you're probably right that since it doesn't really matter too much with VRR there's little chance of that happening.

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Quoting: ShabbyX

Quoting: Philadelphus

Quoting: ArehandoroLast night I dreamed that I was the first customer to receive the console, but somehow felt small, light and with a tiny screen. I mustn't read GOL before going to sleep xD

No no, see, that was the Dream Deck. Totally different console, but it's easy to see how they might be confused…

Now wait for Stream Deck!

Don't have to, it's already out [External Link]! :happy:

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Quoting: ArehandoroLast night I dreamed that I was the first customer to receive the console, but somehow felt small, light and with a tiny screen. I mustn't read GOL before going to sleep xD

No no, see, that was the Dream Deck. Totally different console, but it's easy to see how they might be confused…

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After four months of waiting my PC finally made its way across the Pacific to my new home, and I can update my stats with my brand spankin' new 1440p, 170 Hz monitor. :woot: (My first above 1200p [and that over 4 years ago] and 60 Hz.) Only to discover that its refresh rate of 170 Hz is not on the list… :whistle:

Honestly, refresh rates are a bit crazy nowadays. I'm upgrading from 60 Hz for the first time, and there's a dizzying range of Hz above 120 now. Do you want a monitor with a refresh rate of 144 Hz? 150 Hz? 160? 165? It's like, I can accept that people see a difference between 60 and 120 Hz, or even 120 and 240 or other stupidly high numbers…but I refuse to accept that anyone sees a difference between 165 and 170 Hz (that's a < 3% difference), like the articles I've seen that literally say things like "This monitor has a 160 Hz native refresh rate, and it can be overclocked to 165 Hz!" Can we just settle on a smaller number of standard refresh rates, please, preferably in larger increments than 5 Hz? I don't care whether it's multiples of 24 (144 Hz, 240 Hz), 30 (60 Hz, 120 Hz) or 5 (165 Hz), just pick one standard and stick with it.

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A thought I had just now: is this Linux-exclusive, or would these APIs work on Windows/MacOS too? I know, I know; it doesn't mention OS anywhere in the announcement, and Valve like making things open, so there's no reason it wouldn't work on other OSes...but on the other hand, Valve also don't need to support people installing Windows on their Deck, so there's also no particular reason they've done the extra work to make it work on something other than Steam OS 3.0. (Could even be a subtle way of encouraging people to stick with the default OS.)

Realistically I'm sure it works across all three OSes (since it could also serve to sync progress between desktop & laptop, etc.) but still...a man can dream.

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