Steam Deck, a perfect companion to your Steam Ant - The Bear and Badger

Frosty

What's the game compatibility with Linux like these days on steam? I remember when the steam boxes came out there wasn't a huge amount available

hunk

Thanks to the proton api I think compat is between 90-99% and improving, so should not be a big issue

Minnesänger

regmcfly wrote:

Tempy wrote:

If you’re happy to pay £15-20 to play the indie game you got on Steam for £10 on your Switch then this is not for you.

This is The Shit, and if it works may run out The Switch Tax.

But probably not because Nintendo..

It’s also powerful enough to run sth like Dolphin emu - so that’s a portable GameCube that you can also just dock and run through the TV. As an affordable Steam + TV emulation device, this is tasty. Docked mode, just hook up an 8bitdo SN30 or Pro 2.

bad_hair_day

bad_hair_day wrote:

Was thinking if it’s a scaled down 3080, streaming STEAM VR via Virtual Desktop to a Quest. This thing has possibles.

LivDiv wrote:

You could wear it like a belt buckle.

Yes lad.

Yossarian

bad_hair_day wrote:

Was thinking if it’s a scaled down 3080, streaming STEAM VR via Virtual Desktop to a Quest. This thing has possibles.

This thing is way scaled down from a 3080. It’ll probably offer VR experiences at about a PS4 Pro plus PSVR type of level.

monkey

Yoss if you ever jump on a 2D game with the same hand you’re using the d-pad then I will hunt you down.

Yossarian

Oh no! I can’t play Street Fighter ever again!

monkey

Frosty wrote:

What's the game compatibility with Linux like these days on steam? I remember when the steam boxes came out there wasn't a huge amount available

hunk wrote:

Thanks to the proton api I think compat is between 90-99% and improving, so should not be a big issue

90-99% doesn’t seem to reflect what I’ve been reading about it. Does seem to be improving though and they’re likely to try and give it a big push.
Still better off installing Windows seems to me.

monkey

Yossarian wrote:

Oh no! I can’t play Street Fighter ever again!

That’s a good idea anyway.

bad_hair_day

Yossarian wrote:

bad_hair_day wrote:

Was thinking if it’s a scaled down 3080, streaming STEAM VR via Virtual Desktop to a Quest. This thing has possibles.

This thing is way scaled down from a 3080. It’ll probably offer VR experiences at about a PS4 Pro plus PSVR type of level.

I’d be happy with that, it’s the portability that appeals.

hunk

monkey wrote:

Frosty wrote:

What's the game compatibility with Linux like these days on steam? I remember when the steam boxes came out there wasn't a huge amount available

hunk wrote:

Thanks to the proton api I think compat is between 90-99% and improving, so should not be a big issue

90-99% doesn’t seem to reflect what I’ve been reading about it. Does seem to be improving though and they’re likely to try and give it a big push. Still better off installing Windows seems to me.

I was exaggerating.
Accurate numbers here
https://www.protondb.com/

monkey

I’m completely sold on the concept but don’t think this is the hardware for me. Is this like a SteamBox thing? Where they do their own to show their support and try and prove there’s a market to get the OEMs into it. A year or two down the line something like this could easily replace my PC.

GurtTractor

regmcfly wrote:

I don't disagree and if I could play some of my steam games (hello Disco Elysium) on it then I am sold. It is just the fucking ergonomics of the thing that make my brain melt.

This is someone playing Disco Elysium on it.

The ergonomics might not be as bad as you think?

When I first saw the hardware, I admit I was a bit thrown off by its control layout. Primarily that’s because the thumbsticks are in-line with the D-pad and face buttons, which looks a bit odd when you’re used to the more staggered arrangement found on most controllers. However, as soon as I held it myself, the layout felt completely natural: the intuitive hand orientation when you grab the Steam Deck is more straight up and down, like holding the sides of a steering wheel, whereas with a controller your hands are at more of an angle. As a result, it’s easy and natural for your thumbs to reach the Steam Deck’s face buttons, D-pad, and thumbsticks.
The full-size thumbsticks felt precise, and while the D-pad wasn’t quite as clicky as I’d like, it was fully serviceable for rounding out some quarter-circles in Guilty Gear Strive. Similarly, the face buttons and bumpers all felt solid, and served me well through a few runs of Hades. The triggers felt a little bit squishy for my taste, but it’s worth noting that I was using a non-final hardware unit, so it’s possible that things might change as Valve tweaks the Steam Deck before launch.

https://www.ign.com/articles/steam-deck-hands-on-impressions-details-valve-handheld-gaming-pc

Obvs we'll need more opinions from people about how it feels, I'm sure more will trickle out over time.

regmcfly

I'll wait post IGN because according to Jeff Grubb on his Giant Bomb show, this was a deal between them.

monkey

hunk wrote:

monkey wrote:

Frosty wrote:

What's the game compatibility with Linux like these days on steam? I remember when the steam boxes came out there wasn't a huge amount available

hunk wrote:

Thanks to the proton api I think compat is between 90-99% and improving, so should not be a big issue

90-99% doesn’t seem to reflect what I’ve been reading about it. Does seem to be improving though and they’re likely to try and give it a big push. Still better off installing Windows seems to me.

I was exaggerating.
Accurate numbers here
https://www.protondb.com/

Ooh nice stats.
About what I thought. A fair bit more fucking around to get things running than I’d like.

GurtTractor

monkey wrote:

I’m completely sold on the concept but don’t think this is the hardware for me. Is this like a SteamBox thing? Where they do their own to show their support and try and prove there’s a market to get the OEMs into it. A year or two down the line something like this could easily replace my PC.

I've heard techy folk talk about the idea of a powerful portable unit that you just dock when you get home, as in that should be the future for most consumer computing. This is basically like that though geared towards being a chunky gameboi of course. There are already a bunch of very similar devices on the market, the GPD stuff, and things like this -

GurtTractor

I'm looking at the button placement on the Deck again and I think they way they've done it does make a lot of sense. You want the controls to be near the top of the device so they sit under your thumbs more naturally, imagine it as being like holding two TV remotes. This should make it easier to hold the device in front of you as you can use more of your fingers for grip and support.

The way the Switch and other devices seem to do it seems to require more of a fingertip or angled grip that doesn't seem so comfortable for such big devices.

Kow

Looks great. Especially as mine would come with a library of about 400 games, many of which I've never played. Count me in.

n0face

The library is the biggest selling point. There switch controllers are also designed to be removed and used independently, I think the pad layout looks ok.

Speedhaak

Wish the sticks were off-centered, that's one of my concerns. It's the reason I dislike the Dualshocks, just makes sense to me to have the right stick sit lower than the left.

Bob

Currently saying not available in my countyr which is going to make me very sad if I can't buy from teh isle of man.

Rev

Looks like you'll need to shell out a decent amount in order to get enough memory to play the games in the first place. While i really like the concept, I'm not sure it's fair to tout this as entry level for $400, when that version seems to be stalled in the gate.

Yossarian

It takes SD cards.

Rev

Aye, but then if you need to expand the memory from the beginning then why not just make the thing with more memory. Seems funny coming from a company that can literally run figures to see stats about what games are likely be in libraries and measure the amount of space required to then release a machine that can become a Witcher 3 handhled, because you won't have room to install anything else. Might as well be truthgful about how much a workable machine is, instead of twisting stuff to give switch like prices when you're no where near.

Yossarian

It’s got the same amount of storage as a Switch, though?

But I’m not too bothered by it. There’s definitely a segment of the market which is more into 2D and retro games which tend to take up much less space. And frankly, I think that hitting that console price point, even if it’s on a model that most won’t buy, is probably pretty important to the success of the line.

GurtTractor

They've talked about optimising SD card load time performance, but it remains to be seen and I'm a bit doubtful that it will be without issue for most newer games. The 256GB NVME version is the one I would very much recommend over the slower 64GB eMMC Deck.

Tempy

Not all games are massive, W3 with dlc is 38gb, slap a few indies on after. Job done.

GurtTractor

I think I remember seeing a Digital Foundry thing or similar about stutters/pop-in when playing Witcher 3 with a slow hard drive vs an SSD which alleviates those sorts of problems. Or maybe it was another game, but either way the 64GB in the cheapest Deck is very likely going to be some pretty slow storage in comparison with a proper SSD. If you've gotten used to snappy response and loading with the new consoles then it might be an irritation, aside from the small capacity.

Also I bet dual booting with Linux/Windows with this could be pretty useful depending on what you want to do, so having more storage will make that much easier to manage.

Rev

I would love to get my hands on one of course.

GurtTractor

Spec Analysis: Steam Deck - can it really handle triple-A PC gaming?

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories