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Title: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 17, 2021, 12:48 AM
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Valve have announced a new, portable PC with built-in gamepad which looks very much like the Nintendo Switch. It will come with a custom version of SteamOS installed, designed to run games using your Steam library. But it's a full PC, meaning it can also be docked to a TV or monitor and other peripherals (keyboard, mouse, other gamepads) using a USB hub or Bluetooth. And you could even install Windows or other Linux distributions on it.

All the internal hardware of the various models is the same except for the internal storage, which results in a 64 GB (eMMC) model for $400, a 256 GB (NVMe) model for $530, and a 512 GB (even faster NVMe than the 256) model for $650 which also has an anti-glare screen. That said, all three will include a MicroSD slot to allow for even more storage.

Here's a pretty good video overview of all the pertinent details.



Reserving requires a $5 deposit (which will be put toward the final price once you purchase) and will put you on the waiting list, which currently appears to be full until Q2-Q3 of 2022 depending on which model you want.

I decided to reserve one even though I'm still on the fence about it, because at this point I'll have about a year to cancel if I change my mind.

For more details and to reserve one for yourself, see:
https://www.steamdeck.com/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 17, 2021, 02:07 PM
Yeah, I reserved a 512G as soon as it hit.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on October 06, 2021, 05:47 PM
Major props to Valve for their consumer-friendly attitude!

They just released a video greatly discouraging disassembling the Deck, while showing how to do it as safely as possible.

Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: wraith808 on October 06, 2021, 05:54 PM
I like the non-subtle emphasis on the negative words.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: mouser on October 10, 2021, 05:22 AM
That's awesome.  More of this from companies please.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: wraith808 on October 25, 2021, 09:53 AM
PSA: You can now see when you are queued to have the Steam Deck available for purchase. Mine isn't until Q2 2022 :(

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Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on October 26, 2021, 03:30 AM
Mine isn't until Q2 2022
-wraith808 (October 25, 2021, 09:53 AM)

Ditto.

But that could be as soon as April, which doesn't seem very far away to me.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: wraith808 on October 26, 2021, 05:22 AM
Mine isn't until Q2 2022
-wraith808 (October 25, 2021, 09:53 AM)

Ditto.

But that could be as soon as April, which doesn't seem very far away to me.
-Deozaan (October 26, 2021, 03:30 AM)

I was thinking December and planning for it as my Christmas gift. And given the logistics nightmare we're in the middle of right now, I think April is optimistic if they have enough to scheudle it out until then. At least it will give an adequate time to see what kind of reviews it garners.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on October 26, 2021, 10:26 PM
I was thinking December and planning for it as my Christmas gift. And given the logistics nightmare we're in the middle of right now, I think April is optimistic if they have enough to scheudle it out until then. At least it will give an adequate time to see what kind of reviews it garners.
-wraith808 (October 26, 2021, 05:22 AM)

When I made my pre-order, it told me it would be arriving approx. Q3. So I wasn't expecting mine until at least July. And right now if you look, for new pre-orders it says they won't be arriving until after Q2, which sounds a lot like Q3 to me.

Obviously, Q2 could mean anything between April and June inclusive. A lot of it depends on how they're handling it. I don't know if they're just making a single batch as large as possible per quarter or if they've got factories working to construct these things around the clock as fast as possible with daily or weekly or monthly fulfillment. If it's the former, then yeah, I suppose I would expect it to be toward the end of the quarter. But if it's the latter, who knows when it will be?

But really, I think it's just my brain playing tricks on me. Even though there's still two full months left of this year, I have the feeling that the year is pretty much over already. So January feels "like next week" to me right now. And similarly, feeling like January is so close also makes April feel pretty close. And though it may be unlikely to receive a unit that "soon" it just feels not far off for me.

Maybe I'm just getting to be really old, and it is starting to feel like I'm watching the years whiz by. 😬
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on November 10, 2021, 06:30 PM
Well, so much for my optimism! I got an email saying Deck is delayed by 2 months, and they expect it will start shipping in February.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: wraith808 on November 10, 2021, 09:03 PM
Well, so much for my optimism! I got an email saying Deck is delayed by 2 months, and they expect it will start shipping in February.
-Deozaan (November 10, 2021, 06:30 PM)

Yeah, got the same message. So they push the entire queue back, so we'll likely be Q3-Q4.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on November 11, 2021, 02:41 AM
"Your expected order availability: After Q2 2022"

It looks like I'm back to where I started. I'm pretty sure that when I placed my pre-order, it told me "after Q2" or maybe it just said Q3. But then after things settled it told me the ETA was Q2. So I'm still not really disappointed.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: wraith808 on November 11, 2021, 08:07 AM
"Your expected order availability: After Q2 2022"

It looks like I'm back to where I started. I'm pretty sure that when I placed my pre-order, it told me "after Q2" or maybe it just said Q3. But then after things settled it told me the ETA was Q2. So I'm still not really disappointed.
-Deozaan (November 11, 2021, 02:41 AM)

After Q2 could just mean that they haven't settled on scheduling that far out. That's how I took it. Originally mine told me that it was Q2 2022- not after.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on November 12, 2021, 12:22 AM
Yeah. Either way, I'm not in a big rush for the Deck. And this delay gives me more time to set aside the money for it. Especially because after I placed my pre-order, I basically blew my Deck budget on an Oculus Quest 2 + accessories. :-[
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: wraith808 on January 26, 2022, 01:38 PM
https://steamcommunity.com/games/1675180/announcements/detail/3117055056380003049

Steam Deck Launching February 25th
Hello, the day is almost here! On February 25th, we will be sending out the first batch of order emails to reservation holders. Customers will have 3 days (72 hours) from receipt of their order email to make their purchase, before their reservation is released to the next person in the queue. The first units will be on their way to customers starting the 28th, and we plan to release new order email batches on a weekly cadence.

In addition, we're sending out press units for full review shortly. Press review embargo on Steam Deck coverage will lift on February 25th, but keep an eye out for some preview coverage and impressions before that. In the meantime we're working to tie up the last few loose ends and polish some rough edges, and are excited to get these out to you at the end of next month!


Additional details for the curious:
  • We will start sending invites shortly after 10:00 am on February 25th, PST
  • Order emails are sent in the same order that reservations were made.
  • You can only order the Steam Deck model that you originally reserved.
  • Your reservation deposit will be applied to the final price of Steam Deck, and shipping costs are included.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on February 17, 2022, 01:44 PM
With just a week until the launch of the Steam Deck, iFixit has a more thorough teardown of an actual production model:

https://www.ifixit.com/News/57101/steam-deck-teardown




Additionally, there's a website you can enter in your Steam ID to see your library's compatibility with the Deck:

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/02/check-your-steam-library-against-steam-deck-compatibility-easily/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: wraith808 on February 17, 2022, 06:52 PM
Thanks! Very useful!
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on February 18, 2022, 04:33 PM
For those curious, here's the current status of my Steam library, according to CheckMyDeck (https://checkmydeck.herokuapp.com/).

6% Playable+
VERIFIED: 21 games (2.57%)
PLAYABLE: 24 games (2.93%)
UNSUPPORTED: 9 games (1.1%)
UNKNOWN: 764 games (93.4%)

Looking at the actual list of playable/verified games from my library, the majority of them are games that I have never played or never intend to play again. . . But to be fair, almost all of the unsupported games are either VR games or have some kind of anti-cheat (and also are things I will probably never play (again)). Only two of the unsupported games have a generic "Valve is still working on adding support for this game on Steam Deck" message, which gives no indication as to why or in what way(s) it doesn't work.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on February 23, 2022, 04:22 AM
It seems Valve have released an official library compatibility checking page here:

https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck/mygames
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: wraith808 on February 23, 2022, 01:01 PM
It seems Valve have released an official library compatibility checking page here:

https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck/mygames
-Deozaan (February 23, 2022, 04:22 AM)
Nice! Doesn't seem to pull all of your library though...
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on February 23, 2022, 03:53 PM
Nice! Doesn't seem to pull all of your library though...
-wraith808 (February 23, 2022, 01:01 PM)

Yeah, I'm seeing slightly different results between that page and Check My Deck. I'm not sure how often Check My Deck updates their database. But almost every day the number of playable (or verified) games is growing higher and higher for me.

Check My Deck says:
8% playable
VERIFIED: 31 games (3.79%)
PLAYABLE: 34 games (4.16%)
UNSUPPORTED: 12 games (1.47%)
UNKNOWN: 741 games (90.59%)

Valve says:
Verified: 29 games
Playable: 35
Unsupported: 10
Unknown: 782
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on March 02, 2022, 11:50 AM
With the recent release of the Deck, Valve have also released a free game (tech demo?) called Aperture Desk Job:

Aperture Desk Job reimagines the been-there-done-that genre of walking simulators and puts them in the lightning-spanked, endorphin-gorged world of sitting still behind things.

You play as an entry-level nobody on their first day at work — your heart full of hope and your legs full of dreams, eager to climb that corporate ladder. But life’s got other plans, and they all involve chairs.

Designed as a free playable short for Valve’s new Steam Deck, Desk Job walks you through the handheld’s controls and features, while not being nearly as boring as that sounds.
-https://store.steampowered.com/app/1902490/Aperture_Desk_Job/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1902490/Aperture_Desk_Job/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on March 14, 2022, 05:52 PM
Valve now has a better idea of their production and fulfillment, so if you go to your pre-order page, it might give you more specific details on when you can expect to receive your Deck.

Whereas mine used to say "After Q2 2022" it says "Q3 2022" now. That might not seem more specific than before, but for some people, they see "after Q3 2022" so that tells me I can expect to get mine sometime between July-September. :Thmbsup:

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I'm looking forward to it!

And while I'm posting to this thread, I figure I'd mention that I keep checking my library compatibility with Deck every few days and now it says I'm up to 15% Playable+

VERIFIED: 53 games (6.46%)
PLAYABLE: 72 games (8.77%)
UNSUPPORTED: 46 games (5.6%)
UNKNOWN: 650 games (79.17%)

Interestingly, I see a couple of games have been downgraded from Verified to just Playable now. I'm not sure if that's because the games had an update that made things worse or if Valve is getting more strict in how they rate the games. But considering there's still ~3-6 months before I get my Deck, I'm not too concerned about any of the specifics just yet.

And finally, I'm not sure how long they've had this photo on the site, but I see they have an image of the upcoming Dock:

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Anyone know what all those ports are? Going from right to left, it looks to me like 2 USB-A, a sideways ethernet port, USB-C (for power delivery), and for the two on the left, I'm not sure. One is probably HDMI, but I'm not sure which, and I have no idea what the other one is.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: wraith808 on March 16, 2022, 07:37 AM
Whereas mine used to say "After Q2 2022" it says "Q3 2022" now. That might not seem more specific than before, but for some people, they see "after Q3 2022" so that tells me I can expect to get mine sometime between July-September.
-Deozaan (March 14, 2022, 05:52 PM)

There was a converter from what we had before to what we have now, and the timeframes, and your assumptions on July-September line up with that.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on March 30, 2022, 06:10 AM
Now the Steam Deck page is more explicit:

Your expected order availability:
Q3 (July-September) 2022

And for new orders placed today (on the 64GB model):

Expected order availability:
After Q3 (October 2022 or later)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on April 06, 2022, 03:10 AM
Here's a tool you can use to estimate your shipping date. Supposedly people have been reporting that it is accurate to within about a 1 week error of margin.

https://steam-deck-calculator.web.app/

It says my Steam Deck order date will be Aug 22 2022.

I heard about that tool from this video titled Steam Deck Q2 - Before You Buy:

Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: wraith808 on April 06, 2022, 07:31 AM
Using various datasets:

mooV2 (Wed Apr 06 2022) - 3-26-22-moo
Estimated Order Date: Mon Aug 15 2022

mooV2 (Wed Apr 06 2022) - 2-11-22-hoxeel-filtered
Estimated Order Date: Mon Aug 08 2022

Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: wraith808 on April 06, 2022, 09:54 PM
I might pass on this. Have to think hard before August comes.

Just read a thread on reddit that threw a dash of cold water on the purchase. Not because of the device, but taking a hard look at my use case.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/txoanp/its_awesome_but_sold_my_steamdeck_after_a_month/

I don't travel, I don't commute, and I have a good gaming PC. Add to that the fact that I'm gaming a lot less these days, and it's starting to seem like a FOMO situation rather than the device being something that fits me.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on April 07, 2022, 04:08 AM
Yep. Definitely need to consider your use-case to determine whether or not the Steam Deck is for you.

I think maybe my situation is the opposite of yours. Initially I was kind of hesitant and unsure of my purchase. I even waited a few hours after learning about it before I finally decided to just pre-order it with the understanding that I would have some time to make up my mind later on whether or not I really wanted it. Even earlier in this thread I had stated that I was in no hurry to to get it. But the more I think about it and the more I hear about it, the more I think that Q3 can't come soon enough for me. :D

In my case, I don't often go far, or for long, but even if/when I do, the Nintendo Switch (or 3DS before it) only gives me maybe 3-5 hours of battery. So I pretty much always need to have a charging source anyway. That said, I rarely travel by plane, and I usually get carsick if I try to read or play a handheld in the car, so I'd likely only be playing in a hotel (or similar) room, with an adequate power source nearby, rather than while in motion on the road.

Also, it's sometimes fun to have a "LAN" party with Nintendo handhelds, which in the past 15 years or so I've always done somewhere plugged into a power source because the batteries have been so short lived. So I can see myself doing something similar with the Deck. But the Deck has the added advantage that not everyone will need the same console/handheld hardware, or have to lug a huge desktop PC around, or own an expensive gaming laptop. And with Remote Play Together we won't even necessarily need multiple copies of the same game!

And while my PC is still generally decent, I built it in 2011 (2nd Gen Core i7) and it hasn't really been upgraded since then, other than some increased/replaced storage (HDD/SSD) and a few years ago the fan on my aging GPU died (again, after having already been replaced by the manufacturer) so I got a used GPU (GTX 670) which I think made its debut in around 2012.

Basically, given how technology has improved in the past decade, I think the Deck should be at least as powerful as--if not more powerful than--my current computer. So I'm hoping this will be a modest upgrade for me at a minimum. But even if my current PC runs something better than the Deck does, I can still use Remote Play to run the game on my PC in the home office while it streams to the Deck (which could be connected to my TV).

As implied, my PC is a desktop machine. I don't have a laptop. So having the portability of the Deck, and the (assumed) affordability of the official dock, or at the very least affordable 3rd party USB hub, means I should be able to have multiple docks to easily transition from one room/screen to another as I see fit. And I can even use it as an emulator and get a console-like experience from it to enjoy some "oldies (https://old.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/txvem8/enjoying_my_new_nintendo_ds_console/) but (https://old.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/txwn3t/enjoying_my_brand_new_nintendo_3ds/) goldies (https://old.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/txqvka/enjoying_my_brand_new_wii_u_console/)" by myself or with others.



(I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to have multiple docks for my Nintendo Switch so I could easily move it from one room/screen to another and back again. But Nintendo's official dock is sold for $90(!) and there have been many reports of 3rd party docks bricking (or otherwise damaging) the Switch, so I've never bothered to get a second one. Which means any time I want to connect it to another screen I need to disconnect and reconnect the power source and display cables. And after doing that enough times I just sometimes don't feel like it anymore which means often my Switch remains powered off when otherwise I might be inclined to use it.)

As things stand now, I think it's quite possible that the Deck will be my "daily driver" computer, if I can learn to live without Windows most of the time. That may be a bit of a stretch, but I'm excited to get my hands on one and find out.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on April 13, 2022, 05:18 PM
Using various datasets:
-wraith808 (April 06, 2022, 07:31 AM)

I got to thinking that maybe the estimates had changed now that Valve are ramping up production/sales, and I was also curious about what other datasets would estimate for me since I only had tried the one, so I went back and checked the various datasets.

ntReserveTime: 1626497276

The moo dataset still estimates Aug 22 (which makes sense since it hasn't been updated since before the last time I checked). The hoxeel dataset estimates Aug 15. Using the abyzma calculation appears to just select a random date in Q3. It changes wildly each time I click the button.

Aha! It seems I was right. I just read the details a bit more thoroughly and found this:

Abyzma's method randomly selects a date within your quarter
-https://steam-deck-calculator.web.app/

That's useless...
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on May 07, 2022, 10:50 PM
I reserved a 512GB model using my own account, but also reserved a 64GB model using a family member's account, thinking that neither of us have purchased a new computer in over 10 years, so even the 64GB model might be a nice upgrade for what my family member is currently using.

It was also a Q3 estimate, so I figured it would be available around the same time as my 512GB model, in August. Maybe even a bit later because I reserved the 64GB maybe an hour or two after reserving the 512GB model. Well, I just got around to getting the information needed to look up the estimated shipping date and lo and behold, it is estimated that the email to purchase the 64GB model should be coming around 06 June. That's only 5 Mondays from now! (Hoxeel dataset estimates June 27.)

I'm excited to test it out and see how it performs with various things. Hopefully the docking station will also be available then and I can put it through its paces in all kinds of scenarios to see if I feel it's worth it to spend the full amount on the 512GB model.

EDIT: I just realized that I didn't think critically about the results it showed me and was ignoring the fact that June is not in Q3. The Steam store still shows the estimated date is in Q3 range for the pre-order, which means July at the soonest, so I don't think either of the estimators with the June timeframe are to be trusted. 😭
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on May 09, 2022, 12:22 AM
Here's another calculator I found: https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1TzC_cQIIhplKAd1ceHxABS9FFtFaoyMt

Q3 512GB US with reserve time 1626497276
Sample size: 677
Calculated at Mon May 9, 2022 05:15:56 UTC
Reserve time is in the top 37% of Q3

Distribution of order dates (All Thursdays assumed to be possible):
(alpha = 1)
Aug 22: 0.9%
Aug 25: 26.7%
Aug 29: 68.1%
Sep 1: 4.2%
Sep 5: 0.1%

Q3 64GB US with reserve time 1626498402
Sample size: 82
Calculated at Mon May 9, 2022 05:17:44 UTC
Reserve time is in the bottom 22% of Q3

Distribution of order dates (All Thursdays assumed to be possible):
(alpha = 1)
Jul 7: 0.1%
Jul 11: 1.1%
Jul 14: 5.5%
Jul 18: 28.7%
Jul 21: 19.5%
Jul 25: 33.5%
Jul 28: 9.3%
Aug 1: 1.9%
Aug 4: 0.3%
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Nintendo Switch-like PC
Post by: Deozaan on May 12, 2022, 10:53 PM
It's kind of amusing how wraith808 was excited about the Deck and disappointed he wouldn't be getting his in December and I was not at all in a rush about getting one and actually on the fence about whether I even wanted one or not. But now it seems wraith808 is no longer interested or is on the fence and I am super excited to get mine and can't wait until it comes. :D

Some perspective on the pre-order timeline:

It looks like you have a US 512GB reservation. You reserved your deck 11 hours, 47 minutes, 56 seconds after pre-orders opened. There are 11 hours, 25 minutes, 15 seconds worth of pre-orders before yours remaining. You're 3.20% of the way there.

We're two and a half months in on Decks being shipped out and Valve have only processed the first ~22 minutes of the US 512GB pre-orders. 😭

By contrast, Valve have processed about 2 hours and 47 minutes of US 64GB pre-orders.

It looks like you have a US 64GB reservation. You reserved your deck 12 hours, 6 minutes, 42 seconds after pre-orders opened. There are 9 hours, 19 minutes, 18 seconds worth of pre-orders before yours remaining. You're 23.04% of the way there.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on May 25, 2022, 08:20 PM
So you're going to possibly purchase both the 64GB and 256GB?

I've been thinking about it still. Trying to decide between getting a new laptop and this. The laptop costs more, but would have more applications.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on May 26, 2022, 03:12 AM
So you're going to possibly purchase both the 64GB and 256GB?
-wraith808 (May 25, 2022, 08:20 PM)

Yes, kind of. I'll be involved in the purchase of both, anyway.

One will be for me. The other will be for the aforementioned family member whose last PC purchase was in 2008 IIRC. We have occasionally played some games together, but that machine wasn't really built for gaming and can't keep up with much of anything that was made in the past 10 years or so. So we haven't really played anything together (on PC) for a few years. I'm hoping that the Deck will allow us to play more games together again and will also serve well enough as a general computing device (using the dock) to be considered a replacement/upgrade from the old one.

I think that since the 64 GB model will almost certainly come first, I'll put that one through its paces and see if the Deck in general will serve both of our needs as I'm hoping it will. If it turns out to be a disappointment then I'll probably cancel the pre-order for the 512 GB model and figure out the best way to use or dispose of the 64 GB model.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on May 26, 2022, 12:42 PM
Seeing that the 512GB is $650 and the laptop I'm looking at is ~$1100 and will run the same games+ with the only difference being 256GB instead of 512GB is what's making me look at the laptop option.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on June 30, 2022, 10:21 PM
I haven't updated this thread in a while, so here's a bunch of news:

The Steam Deck Dock, which has since been renamed the Steam Deck Docking Station, and was supposed to be launching before the end of Q2, has been delayed (https://steamcommunity.com/games/1675200/announcements/detail/3328736287857025158). No ETA on when it will be available.

Even though today is the last day of Q2, Valve emailed the last of the Q2 confirmations/orders on Monday (https://nitter.ca/OnDeck/status/1541459263444332544) and the first of the Q3 orders today. They also announced that they have been able to ramp up production enough to more than double the rate (https://nitter.ca/OnDeck/status/1542546382946308097) at which they would be shipping out Steam Decks.

The US 64GB queue moved about 1H 15M (https://old.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/vocg5v/order_email_megathread_june_30_2022/iece492/) today. Assuming that rate continues for each batch, and they continue to send out batches twice a week, then I should be able to order it on July 11th.
The US 512GB queue moved about 48M (https://archive.ph/s4gsk) today. With the above assumptions, that means I should be able to order it on August 11th.

I'm getting pretty excited that it's (almost) finally time for me to get one.

Check My Deck says my library is 32% Playable+:

I gotta say, the Deck has been a huge success for Valve. I had almost entirely stopped buying games from Steam for the past few years. It got to the point where some of the features on my account (such as selling trading cards on the market) were restricted because I hadn't purchased anything from them in so long. But this year, in preparation for the deck, I've increased my library by about 100 games so far. Granted, most of those were from the Stand with Ukraine Humble Bundle. Before this year (and not counting my $5 Deck Deposit last year) my last game purchase from Steam was in October 2020. That was one of three purchases in 2020. And before that, my previous Steam purchase was in 2017!

Okay, actually that's not entirely accurate. I realized as I was typing this up that my Steam account purchase history doesn't show gift code/key redemptions. So it doesn't count any games purchased from 3rd party sites (such as Humble Store/Bundle) which redeems the game(s) on Steam.

Either way, the point is that I am now back to preferring purchases on Steam rather than other platforms (such as GOG), so Valve won me back with the decision to release the Deck.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 01, 2022, 09:47 PM
I got the Laptop, but I'm still considering the Deck LOL
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: mouser on July 01, 2022, 10:00 PM
I have one on preorder based on deozaan's excitement, but i dont know why  :P
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 02, 2022, 03:55 PM
I have one on preorder based on deozaan's excitement, but i dont know why  :P
-mouser (July 01, 2022, 10:00 PM)

When is your expected time to order?
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: mouser on July 02, 2022, 07:12 PM
"Reserved on Mon, July 19, 2021
 Your expected order availability:
Q3 (July-September) 2022"
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 02, 2022, 10:18 PM
Oh, so you'd already reserved it. I thought you just reserved it.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 03, 2022, 02:37 PM
This is my latest preferred tool to track progress and estimate how long until the order email comes:

https://getmydeck.ingenhaag.dev/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 03, 2022, 09:36 PM
Does this look right? The percentages and stuff look strange - https://getmydeck.ingenhaag.dev/s/US/512/1626478593
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 04, 2022, 02:30 PM
It looks right to me.

Assuming the same percentage jump (about 12.3%) from the last update (June 27th-30th) holds true for all future "email days," you should get your email in 5.5 more email days. Rounding up to 6 would put you at July 21.

EDIT: The dataset just got updated for today's emails. It's going even faster than last time (about 13.7%)! :Thmbsup:

Looks like I may be getting the 64 GB email on Thursday. The queue increased by over 2 hours today, leaving only 1 hour remaining before it reaches me. :D
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: mouser on July 04, 2022, 05:12 PM
Does anyone have a thought about whether I should follow through and buy this stream deck if I don't care about gaming? My initial thought was that it was just such a cool piece of hardware that I might do some fun coding for it (possibly coding games), or doing some custom electronics hacking, etc.  But I haven't really given it much thought.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 05, 2022, 12:24 PM
Does anyone have a thought about whether I should follow through and buy this stream deck if I don't care about gaming?
-mouser (July 04, 2022, 05:12 PM)

You mean you don't want to use it to play Sniper Elite 5 on the go? :D
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 05, 2022, 01:18 PM
Does anyone have a thought about whether I should follow through and buy this stream deck if I don't care about gaming? My initial thought was that it was just such a cool piece of hardware that I might do some fun coding for it (possibly coding games), or doing some custom electronics hacking, etc.  But I haven't really given it much thought.
-mouser (July 04, 2022, 05:12 PM)

That was my struggle with it. I've started spending more time out of the office so I can be more available, and that's what has me leaning more towards it, even though I did just get a new laptop.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: mouser on July 05, 2022, 09:20 PM
There really is no "on the go" for me.. I'm home 24/7.  :-\
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 06, 2022, 02:40 AM
There really is no "on the go" for me.. I'm home 24/7.  :-\
-mouser (July 05, 2022, 09:20 PM)

What about while you're "going" in the bathroom? ;D Or when you "go" to bed? :D
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 07, 2022, 01:59 PM
I confirmed my order for the 64 GB model today.

(https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/3Smileys/eusa_dance.gif) (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/1Small/banana.gif)(https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/1Small/impreziarz.gif) (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/5Large/7877.gif)  (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/5Large/impra.gif) (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/5Large/7877.gif) (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/1Small/impreziarz.gif)(https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/1Small/banana.gif) (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/3Smileys/eusa_dance.gif)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 07, 2022, 04:10 PM
 :Thmbsup: Congrats!

Checking my link again, it seems like they're really accelerating!
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 07, 2022, 11:38 PM
Here's a tongue-in-cheek review of the Steam Deck that may help fence sitters decide whether or not they really want to get one:

Girlfriend Reviews: Should Your Boyfriend Get the Steam Deck?


Checking my link again, it seems like they're really accelerating!
-wraith808 (July 07, 2022, 04:10 PM)

Yeah, the 64GB link jumped from 90% to 144% today. And at the same rate of today's progress for my spot in the 512 queue (~9.5%), I should be able to order it (if I still want it) by August 1st. :Thmbsup:
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 12, 2022, 12:22 PM
Assuming the same percentage jump (about 12.3%) from the last update (June 27th-30th) holds true for all future "email days," you should get your email in 5.5 more email days. Rounding up to 6 would put you at July 21.
-Deozaan (July 04, 2022, 02:30 PM)

It jumped over 20% for you yesterday, wraith808, which puts you at 86% and means you'll likely get your email to confirm your order this Thursday the 14th.

I haven't received the 64 GB model yet. It should arrive tomorrow if FedEx can deliver on time, which is a pretty big "if" in my experience! I was expecting to have about a month with the 64 GB model to put it through its paces and decide if I wanted to proceed with the 512 GB model, but now it's looking like they're speeding things up fast enough that I might get my email next week!
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 12, 2022, 02:39 PM
A week is enough time, right?  ;D
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 13, 2022, 02:45 AM
I guess we'll find out. 😅
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 13, 2022, 11:29 AM
I guess I'm in... I bought some accessories already on Prime Day. Now to await the notification!
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 13, 2022, 01:29 PM
I guess I'm in... I bought some accessories already on Prime Day. Now to await the notification!
-wraith808 (July 13, 2022, 11:29 AM)

Nice! You probably won't have to wait long. Or at least, not much longer. :)

Which accessories?

I was really hoping the official Docking Station would be ready by now (before it got delayed last month) so I could order it with the Deck. I may have to go out and buy a generic hub, because one of my primary intended uses for my Deck is to see how it fares as a total desktop PC replacement when connected to a monitor and mouse, etc.

It should arrive tomorrow if FedEx can deliver on time, which is a pretty big "if" in my experience!
-Deozaan (July 12, 2022, 12:22 PM)

As expected, FedEx is as worthless as always. The tracking information hasn't been updated for two days but still says it's scheduled for delivery today. So I can't tell if it's still halfway across the country or if it's on the way to my door right this minute.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 13, 2022, 02:38 PM
The FedEx tracking information updated about 20 minutes ago. It still says the expected delivery time is within the next 2.5 hours, but it's at least a 5 hour drive away from here. Maybe if they put the package on an airplane to the nearest major airport and then drive it here it could get here on time, but I seriously doubt anything remotely close to that will happen. At this point I'm not confident it will even arrive tomorrow. :(

You'd think that once it got scanned at a location 5 hours away on the day it's supposed to be delivered they'd update the expected delivery time/day to reflect the reality of the situation. >:(
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 13, 2022, 04:06 PM
Which accessories?
-Deozaan (July 13, 2022, 01:29 PM)

Screen Protectors - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09X1B9FSB/
Carrying Case - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09ZYFV1GD/
Stand - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09WV5YGGQ/

I've heard horror stories about 3p docks, so just went for a stand, and I might get this Anker dock later

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C9HZ5YT/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 14, 2022, 10:57 AM
(https://media.giphy.com/media/pFZTlrO0MV6LoWSDXd/giphy.gif)

Me waiting for 1PM EST today...
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 14, 2022, 11:02 AM
If you weren't aware, it may be faster to check your Steam account rather than wait for the email. I've read reports of people not receiving the email for a while, but their Steam account notifies them that they can complete the purchase. :Thmbsup:
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 14, 2022, 11:08 AM
If you weren't aware, it may be faster to check your Steam account rather than wait for the email. I've read reports of people not receiving the email for a while, but their Steam account notifies them that they can complete the purchase. :Thmbsup:
-Deozaan (July 14, 2022, 11:02 AM)

Thanks, I didn't know that! I'm trying to force myself to wait for 1EST before checking.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 14, 2022, 12:18 PM
Just completed my purchase! I had to do it on the website rather than through the app for some reason- the app's complete purchase button was non-responsive.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 14, 2022, 12:27 PM
Strange thing happened. I completed my purchase, but it looks like I can purchase another because it's in my cart on Steam after I aborted there.

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Not going any further in trying to purchase it because I don't want 2, but it is strange.

And just checking, I do see my purchase already there.

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 14, 2022, 12:33 PM
You found the secret loophole! :P
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 14, 2022, 12:44 PM
You found the secret loophole! :P
-Deozaan (July 14, 2022, 12:33 PM)

I reported it just because I don't want to see anyone exploit it and screw up the queues. I should have figured it would be an issue, because I've seen before how the carts on the client and the website are not linked, and it's screwed me before.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 14, 2022, 03:10 PM
You found the secret loophole! :P
-Deozaan (July 14, 2022, 12:33 PM)

I reported it just because I don't want to see anyone exploit it and screw up the queues. I should have figured it would be an issue, because I've seen before how the carts on the client and the website are not linked, and it's screwed me before.
-wraith808 (July 14, 2022, 12:44 PM)

You couldn't have waited a week until I get my 512 order email? ;) :P

I've heard horror stories about 3p docks, so just went for a stand, and I might get this Anker dock later

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C9HZ5YT/
-wraith808 (July 13, 2022, 04:06 PM)

Have you heard horror stories specifically about the Deck? I've heard tales of 3rd party docks for the Nintendo Switch bricking the system, but nothing about docks/hubs breaking the Deck.

Also, did you see that that Anker hub only supports 4K @30Hz? I'm not sure how well the Deck can handle anything at 4K, so maybe 30Hz is good enough. But I just wanted to be sure you were aware of that hub's limitations in that regard.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 14, 2022, 03:38 PM
Have you heard horror stories specifically about the Deck?
-Deozaan (July 14, 2022, 03:10 PM)

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/tniacv/various_docks_and_hubs_are_bricking_the_steam/

And thanks for that note about the dock. My TVs aren't 4k so I wouldn't be using it with 4k.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 14, 2022, 03:43 PM
https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/tniacv/various_docks_and_hubs_are_bricking_the_steam/
-wraith808 (July 14, 2022, 03:38 PM)

I hadn't seen that. Thanks for the link.

The 64GB Deck just arrived! I opened the box to make sure everything was there and that it appeared to be in good condition, but haven't even turned it on yet. Time to dive in! :D
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: mouser on July 14, 2022, 08:41 PM
Let us know what you think!
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 15, 2022, 05:48 AM
As best as I can tell, the hubs "bricking" the Deck was a BIOS issue that has been fixed by now.

https://old.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/tmva93/usb_hubs_continue_to_brick_devices/i24z4ey/

I had a little bit of a rough start with the Deck. I had read on Reddit earlier that the Deck doesn't power on when you plug it in, and the instructions said to plug it in before turning it on for the first time, so I plugged it in without turning it on and then I walked away for a few minutes for something else that needed my attention before I got engrossed with the Deck. When I came back it was on and asking me to configure my time zone and connect to WiFi. I pressed a couple of wrong buttons a few times in quick succession and suddenly the screen went black, though it was still lit. I had no idea what was going on. It seems it crashed, or something, and rebooted itself, because after about 30 seconds or so (it felt longer in my confusion) I saw the Deck splash/logo thing and then I was right back selecting my time zone and WiFi. Once I connected to WiFi I can't remember if it asked me to sign into my Steam account right away or if it downloaded some updates first. But the download took longer than it felt it should. And the estimated time remaining said 5 minutes for pretty much the whole time. Then I stopped paying attention to it and eventually it finished and booted into Steam OS. At which point I got a notification that there was a system update ready to be downloaded and installed. So I did that one, too. But that one was really quick, even though it included a reboot of the device.

The 64 GB of storage feels pretty tight. After finally getting into the OS and taking a look at storage, it showed about 42 GB free. I wasn't sure what game(s) to install that I wanted to play right away. I was wary of using up all the storage on games I just wanted to see on the Deck but didn't actually intend on playing. Or on the other hand one game I've been playing lately is the Master Chief Collection (https://store.steampowered.com/app/976730/Halo_The_Master_Chief_Collection/) (6 Halo games), which takes up over 64 GB and that's without any of the PvP multiplayer stuff installed, and even though you can kind of modularly install each Halo game, the collection is listed as Unsupported, so I didn't want to risk wasting time/space on something that wasn't going to work. So I was having trouble deciding what I should install. At the same time, I had a young family member asking to play a little car/racing/driving game (https://store.steampowered.com/app/343440/Crash_Drive_2/) and it was under 500 MB so that was my first install on the Deck. We played that for about an hour and then I decided to check out the Deck's Desktop Mode.

I've never really used Arch Linux before, so there's plenty for me to figure out and explore there. I don't have a hub, and I don't have any USB-C to USB-A adapters, so I can't really connect any of my other devices to my Deck. I also don't have a bluetooth mouse, but I did remember eventually that I have a small bluetooth keyboard I got for an Android device many years ago. So that makes using desktop mode slightly less cumbersome than having to use the virtual keyboard.

One funny thing I caught myself doing: On my Windows PC I have Godot installed through Steam because I figured that would be the easiest way to keep it up to date. But for some reason I didn't even think about installing Godot through Steam on the Deck and went straight to the Discover app and installed the flatpack from there. Though maybe I was smarter than I realized because as I think about it more, I'm not going to want to be confined to Game View (or whatever it's called) while working in Godot. I'll probably want a browser open and probably a file manager and maybe other stuff to alt-tab back and forth to. And I don't see that being a good experience while in Game View. But I'll have to experiment and see how things go.

I actually didn't even run Godot because I wanted to set up some emulation while I was in Desktop mode so I inserted a 256GB microSD card I had laying around after decommissioning my Raspberry Pi earlier this year, and then I spent a couple hours copying files over and making sure the artwork looked nice and by the time I "finished" (in quotes because there's more I want to do) with that I had forgotten about Godot and was eager to get back to the Game View to test out the emulation. Then I started a game I used enjoy a lot in my youth and unintentionally played it all the way through to the final boss. Then I realized how far past my bedtime it was so I checked back here and wrote this up. So that was my first ~12 hours with the Deck.

I actually haven't done much with it yet, but so far I'm really liking it.

One really interesting thing I noticed: The trackpads feel like they physically click, like they have a mechanical button underneath them. Kind of like how you can click joysticks or a mouse scroll wheel. But I think the click feeling is actually just haptic feedback, because if you close the Steam client in Desktop mode, you lose some of the Steam Input stuff and how you interact with the OS changes slightly, and the trackpads no longer "click" when you press on them. It was a really weird feeling to not have those clicks when I pressed down on the trackpads when I thought there were buttons under them. Even thinking about it now after having been using the trackpads quite a bit to drag and drop files and type on the virtual keyboard and stuff, I'm honestly doubting myself and wondering if I actually experienced the click go away. The click just feels so clicky that I'm having a hard time believing that it's not really clicking a mechanical switch. I guess that's another thing I'll have to experiment with some more.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 15, 2022, 01:40 PM
Thanks for the update! Some other accessories I'm looking at:

A different power brick - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09KY4D7RJ/
A Stand adapter - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09YGPKHW8/
Protective Case - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09ZQPWHT1/ (I was going to use the one you get with the 512, but I heard it was crappy)
TouchProtect Steam Deck - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09S3Y74JY/
Keychron K7 65% Layout 68-Key - https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08X1GKW3B/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 15, 2022, 02:38 PM
I had some Dell Rewards available, so I got this dock instead - https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-6-in-1-usb-c-multiport-adapter-da305/apd/470-afji/pc-accessories

I figured it would work better with my laptop too!
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 15, 2022, 08:47 PM
Nice. I've been looking into some hubs. I've been hoping to find something for about $35 at the high end of the price spectrum, but honestly I'm not sure I'll be buying any accessories for a while since buying two Decks back to back is really putting a strain on my budget. I'm really hoping Valve's official Docking Station isn't much more than that when it finally becomes available. I'm also hoping it's not backordered for another year when it launches. 😅

I actually got a 3rd party stand for my Switch a couple years ago that I've intended to repurpose for use with the Deck. But about a year ago I realized that I never play the Switch in tabletop mode (either always docked or handheld) so I removed the stand from my desk and put it away somewhere and I haven't been able to find it since.

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

In the meantime, I've been using a stand that came with my Wii U. I've found it's actually pretty comfortable to sit the Deck into this Wii U stand and rest my wrists on the desk or table or wherever it's standing and just play it that way.

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Here it is in that stand. The camera focused more on the reflection than on the Deck/stand itself, so the important stuff is a little blurry. . .

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

I've actually been pretty busy with other things today and haven't had much time with the Deck yet. But I've gotten Hellpoint (https://store.steampowered.com/app/628670/Hellpoint/) installed, which I'm looking forward to taking for a test drive on the Deck soon. It was a free giveaway on GOG sometime last year which I grabbed and then promptly forgot about. I finally tried it out in March or so and really liked it, and it features multiplayer, including split-screen multiplayer, so I bought it on Steam so I could take advantage of Steam's Remote Play Together feature for "local" multiplayer with faraway friends.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 16, 2022, 12:06 AM
Thanks for the updates! Keep 'em coming!
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 16, 2022, 03:35 AM
Well, the day got away from me and I didn't personally get any more quality time with the Deck. But I did confirm that the trackpads don't "click" when the device is off, so it's definitely some kind of simulated haptic feedback rather than a mechanical switch under them. 🤓 But when it is turned on and it clicks, it's so hard for me to believe it's not a real button!


Something worth mentioning is that the person who this 64 GB model is ultimately intended for tried out the Deck today. So now there are multiple accounts on the device. Support for multiple user accounts was a big concern of mine early on, as I haven't found there to be a lot of information about it online. Most of the YouTube videos I've seen that focus on the Deck seem to be made by people who don't have to share it with anybody else. Switching accounts isn't quite as seamless or fast as it is on, say, the Nintendo Switch or the Wii U before it. It feels slightly buried in the UI but it's not too bad. I think Gaming Mode is basically just a new Steam Big Picture Mode interface, and when you change accounts it appears to completely restart the Steam client, if not the entire device. It takes about 25-30 seconds to completely change accounts once they're on there.

It does not make a new Linux user account, so all the Desktop Mode stuff appears to be shared. Same Downloads folder, same Documents folder, same Desktop icons/files, etc. If your browser is set up to restore tabs when it launches, it will restore the tab(s) that the last person had opened. That kind of data sharing is not ideal, IMO. I don't necessarily want someone else to be able to access and edit/overwrite my files, whether intentionally or not. That said, there are probably workarounds to most of the issues. For example, internet browser profiles are a thing that exist, so each person could probably just have their own icon on the desktop that launches their browser profile.

Another unfortunate thing about multiple accounts is that games I've installed on the Deck show up on the other person's "Recent Games" list in Gaming Mode and vice versa. But that may just be a bug that will be fixed in the future. Or maybe it's an intended feature since we have authorized the Family Sharing feature, meaning that either of us could play the games owned by the other person, so maybe it's just kind of highlighting those games as a way to say "Hey! This game is ready to play right now if you wanted to." Either way, that's kind of a one-time problem since actually launching the games on one account doesn't bring the game to the front of the Recent Games list on the other account, so it's not that big of a deal.


One other thing I figured I'd mention is the approach I've used to transfer files from my Windows PC to the Deck.

I decided to give Warpinator a try. If you're not aware, Warpinator is a (LAN-only?) file transferring utility created by the folks at Linux Mint. I installed the Warpinator flatpack on the Deck from the Discover app. And on Windows I used an unofficial Warpinator for Windows (https://github.com/slowscript/warpinator-windows/releases). This was my first time using Warpinator. I like it! It's nice and simple. Just run it on both computers on the same network and they show up and you select which file(s)/folder(s) you want to transfer and then accept the transfer on the other machine and it does its thing.

Maybe someone with more experience and knowledge than me would find it easier or better to set up a SAMBA share or something similar, but I know next to nothing about that and from what little I do know it sounds complex to me. In short, I liked Warpinator and will likely use it again in the future.


And finally: I remembered that Aperture Desk Job (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1902490/Aperture_Desk_Job/) is a free game specifically designed to show off the Steam Deck's features. So I've gotten that installed. I'll probably try that out tomorrow as the first thing I do on the Deck.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 16, 2022, 11:44 AM
I've been using Wormhole GUI for my needs- https://github.com/agentOfChaos/WormholeGui
I've also been using Syncthing - https://syncthing.net/

I have my delivery date
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

(https://media.giphy.com/media/E4pi99w43ecCV1n9jF/giphy.gif)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 16, 2022, 11:58 AM
In the not sure why you'd do it category - https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/w0dsc2/how_to_install_steam_deck_os_on_any_laptop_desktop/

Maybe if you have a separate laptop around and just want to experiment with developing games, this might be for you, mouser
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 16, 2022, 02:27 PM
I have my delivery date
-wraith808 (July 16, 2022, 11:44 AM)

Woohoo! I hope FedEx is more reliable for you than they are for me.

Maybe if you have a separate laptop around and just want to experiment with developing games, this might be for you, mouser
-wraith808 (July 16, 2022, 11:58 AM)

That's still not quite the same since you'd probably want the actual hardware to test with. I imagine it would be hard to develop a game featuring gyro or dual trackpad controls when you can't test it. But it's a good way to get a feel for the Steam OS experience and might be great for a little HTPC connected to the TV. :Thmbsup:
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 16, 2022, 05:02 PM
I just tried out Aperture Desk Job and things didn't go well.

In the opening moments of the game it shows you all the controls and requires you to push them all before it really starts. You can also see visually on screen that it is recognizing input. It even has little lights in-game that light up when the capacitive sensors recognize that you're resting your thumbs on the joysticks or the trackpads. Pretty cool so far.

But just a few minutes into it a robot asks you to take a photo (screenshot) of him. Doing so requires a special key combination (Steam + R1) to activate. That's when things went wrong for me. After I did that, none of the inputs worked in the game anymore. I was able to get some of them working again by toggling the Steam button menu on and off again, but about 1/2 to 2/3 of the inputs still were not working for me. Meanwhile the robot was telling me that every control was hooked up to something and should be doing something. I think the game expected me to be pushing every button because the game got stuck there. The robot kept telling me to go wild pressing all the buttons, looping through a few different lines of dialog every few seconds. But I've pushed every button and the game will not progress further. At that point the battery was getting low (I didn't start at a full charge) so I decided to just shut it off and let it charge for a while.

In my opinion, Aperture Desk Job should not be listed as a Deck Verified title.

I've been using Wormhole GUI for my needs- https://github.com/agentOfChaos/WormholeGui
I've also been using Syncthing - https://syncthing.net/
-wraith808 (July 16, 2022, 11:44 AM)

It looks like there's a flatpack on Discover called RiftShare which uses the magic wormhole protocol. Wormhole GUI looks similar to, but more advanced/complex than Warpinator, so I think I'll just stick with Warpinator.

Syncthing, on the other hand, is something I think I've taken a look at in the past, many years ago, when trying to sync files to/from an Android device. But looking at it again makes me think it might be very useful in general and a tool I'll try to keep in mind. Thanks for getting me to look into that again.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 16, 2022, 08:33 PM
That's still not quite the same since you'd probably want the actual hardware to test with. I imagine it would be hard to develop a game featuring gyro or dual trackpad controls when you can't test it. But it's a good way to get a feel for the Steam OS experience and might be great for a little HTPC connected to the TV.
-Deozaan (July 16, 2022, 02:27 PM)

How similar do you think a Steam Controller is to the controls on the Deck?
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 16, 2022, 08:47 PM
Okay, here's something a little new. I'm typing this up from the Deck, using a crappy bluetooth keyboard that often skips presses and occasionally double (or more) presses keys.

I made a stupid little benchmark "game" in Godot. It just performs a "binary search" of the optimal number of 2D physics objects that "hop" around while maintaining approximately 60 FPS.

It does this by either spawning a certain number of objects (which starts at 500) every 5 seconds or halving that number and despawning that new number of objects until the framerate recovers, it keeps adjusting the number of objects to spawn/despawn until eventually equilibrium is reached. This is by no means an original idea, nor is it an especially well executed one. But hey, it was made 100% on the Deck. :D

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

You can find downloads for Linux and Windows on my Keybase (https://keybase.pub/deozaan/DonationCoder/DeckGame).

You can also try the web version here:

https://gotm.io/deozaan/deck-benchmark

Here are some numbers at which my various devices/modes reach equilibrium:



EDIT: Took a screenshot and added a few more details from Windows. Old habits die hard.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 16, 2022, 09:04 PM
How similar do you think a Steam Controller is to the controls on the Deck?
-wraith808 (July 16, 2022, 08:33 PM)

I've never seen one in person, so I can't speak for how similarly they feel to each other. But as far as features and functionality go, the Deck appears to have everything the Steam Controller (SC) has, and even more.

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Based on the image above, here are the notable differences that I'm aware of:

Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 18, 2022, 12:10 PM
Awaiting the 512 GB email (which I'm not really expecting to receive today).

(https://i.imgur.com/f9h5dx4.gif)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 18, 2022, 12:28 PM
Holy carp the email came today!
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 18, 2022, 06:24 PM
Okay, time to write up a bit more about my experience so far. (Once again, this post is being written from the Deck in Desktop Mode, with a crappy Bluetooth keyboard which often misses or repeats keystrokes. In other words, I may come back later to edit this post and make corrections or fill out more details from a better keyboard.)

I tried out another Deck Verified game, called Crash Drive 3. There wasn't really any question in my mind as to whether or not it would run decently since it's not a very demanding game. But it's noteworthy because I experienced a similar issue as Aperture Desk Job. Only this time the controls were broken from the very start. I used the Steam button to activate an OS menu and force-closed the game and restarted it (the game) at which point it worked perfectly. So it seems I should give Aperture Desk Job another go.

I've also found that the Deck becomes very sluggish and at times almost unresponsive when downloading/installing a game. If I try to queue up multiple games to download, it doesn't always work correctly. I don't know if that's due to the slowness of the eMMC in the 64 GB model, or maybe the microSD card I'm using isn't modern/fast enough, or if that's just how all Decks operate. I guess I'll find out soon enough when I get the 512 GB model.

Another thing I've heard from multiple sources is not to be afraid to try out games that aren't listed as Playable or Verified. I've heard that ProtonDB is a good source of info on how games run via Proton and by extension, on the Deck. I decided to try my luck getting Burnout Paradise Remastered, which is officially listed as Unsupported, to run, and ProtonDB seemed to indicate that after a bit of tinkering it was possible to get running. But I followed all the instructions from others who claim to have gotten it to work and it just doesn't work for me. Origin was an absolute pain to get running and configured but even after I finally got it running and configured as per instructions the game still just got stuck on a black screen almost immediately on startup.

Similarly, I checked ProtonDB for LEGO Lord of the Rings, which is also officially listed as Unsupported, and there were a couple of reports that the gme runs fine using a specific version of Proton-GE. So I installed it and configured it to use that specific version of Proton-GE and it just crashes immediately on startup. I tried various other versions of Proton and Proton-GE and nothing worked.

After two of two attempts getting an Unsupported game working by following info from ProtonDB failed to produce desirable results, I'm not really sure how useful ProtonDB is for the Deck after all. Maybe the advice to try out games was meant for the ones that are listed as "Unknown/Untested" rather than the "Unsupported" games.

And while I'm on a roll posting about negative stuff, now is as good a time as any to nitpick about the carrying case. It "feels" like it's upside down to me. It's designed so that when you are carrying it by the handle the logo is oriented properly. But when you unzip it while the logo is oriented properly, then it opens up to reveal an upside down Deck. If you orient the case so that it opens to an upside-up Deck, then the logo is upside down. I suppose it's like laptops that have a prominent branding logo on the backside of the screen. It appears upside down to the person using it so that when they open it up it's upside up to onlookers. But the case doesn't stay propped open like a laptop does. It's either closed or laying flat opened. I've also read others complain that the Deck sits in the case the wrong way as well, since the current orientation places the USB-C port of the Deck in the hinge rather than by the zipper, meaning you can't leave the Deck in the case with the zipper pulled back just far enough to sneak a charging cable in there. And one final preemptive nitpick about the case: The 512 GB model comes with a slightly different case, with a colored logo on the outside and I believe a light gray or tan coloring to the material inside. I personally prefer the black coloring of the case that came with the 64 GB model, but I also prefer the colored logo on the case that comes with the 512 GB model. It's all just aesthetics, so no big deal. Hence why I am calling these nitpicks.

In other, less negative news:

I played a bit of Hellpoint. But not for long. Everything appeared to be working perfectly. I just realized/remembered after I started playing it that I would really like to play it multiplayer with a friend who was not available to play at that time and that I didn't really want to get into it just solo at the time I was testing it out. But now that I have the Deck, it will be much easier to go have a "LAN" party with Hellpoint (or other games) instead of either being restricted to home with my desktop PC or having to unplug and haul it somewhere. So I'm still looking forward to more Hellpoint on the Deck.

I also went through my library, looking only at "Deck Verified" games, and installed a few smaller or somewhat esoteric or indie titles that I've never played so I can finally give them a shot. But a lot of them are multiplayer games that I'd want to play with others, and a handheld device with a 7" screen isn't really an ideal way to play shared/split-screen multiplayer games. So I'm really started to itch for a dock or hub that will allow me to connect the Deck to a larger screen. Not only that, but as I've mentioned, I'm considering the feasibility of using the Deck as a kind of Desktop PC replacement, so I'm trying to spend more time in Desktop Mode to get used to the kind of workflow that would entail. Hence my typing this post up from the Deck. But again, without a dock or hub, it's not an ideal experience, especially without a mouse or reliable (and full size!) keyboard.

I think I'll probably be getting a hub sooner than I thought even a couple days ago because so many of the things I imagined using the Deck for require connecting it to another display or having a keyboard and mouse combo connected that would be conducive to programming or whatever.

And for those who are curious, it has been a while since I posted about this. Check My Deck now says my library is:

34% Playable+
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 18, 2022, 08:41 PM
Holy carp the email came today!
-Deozaan (July 18, 2022, 12:28 PM)

And my deck is coming sooner than expected- meaning tomorrow!

... and were your experiences good enough that you confirmed your purchase?
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: mouser on July 19, 2022, 01:45 AM
If I decide not to go through with my purchase, I assume there is no way for me to give my position in line to someone else?
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Shades on July 19, 2022, 08:35 AM
I don't think you will have a hard time selling your Steam Deck, in case you decide it is not for you. Maybe it is useful to you as content for your youtube channel. It's form factor might be handy for you when shooting new video content. Perhaps you could give it away as a prize and monetize it that way. By doing that you might even be able to write it of as a business expense.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: mouser on July 19, 2022, 10:44 AM
I came to the conclusion a while ago that giveaways and things are just not fun for me to organize and deal with.. and as for my youtube channel, im just playing boardgames that I enjoy, I don't want to film stuff just to get viewers.  I got in line for the stream desk on the chance that there might be some non-game use for the hardware at some point, or some vr gaming developments.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 19, 2022, 10:45 AM
If I decide not to go through with my purchase, I assume there is no way for me to give my position in line to someone else?
-mouser (July 19, 2022, 01:45 AM)

I saw that it can be a gift when checking out... not sure what that entails.

I came to the conclusion a while ago that giveaways and things are just not fun for me to organize and deal with.. and as for my youtube channel, im just playing boardgames that I enjoy, I don't want to film stuff just to get viewers.  I got in line for the stream desk on the chance that there might be some non-game use for the hardware at some point, or some vr gaming developments.
-mouser (July 19, 2022, 10:44 AM)

And that's why we no longer have giveaways  :Thmbsup: ;D
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 19, 2022, 02:05 PM
(https://media.giphy.com/media/L9bVhfDi9Va3pKPNje/giphy.gif)

It just arrived- I have installed a few games, and I didn't see the slowdown that you reported Deo.

I see an ! beside Settings > System, and it says there are software updates, but the beta notes says it's for the beta channel, which I am not going to opt in for. Do I still need to apply the update?

And if a game says unsupported, does that mean it's not tested? Or I shouldn't even try?
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 19, 2022, 04:04 PM
Holy carp the email came today!
-Deozaan (July 18, 2022, 12:28 PM)
... and were your experiences good enough that you confirmed your purchase?
-wraith808 (July 18, 2022, 08:41 PM)

Yes.

If I decide not to go through with my purchase, I assume there is no way for me to give my position in line to someone else?
-mouser (July 19, 2022, 01:45 AM)

I saw that it can be a gift when checking out... not sure what that entails.
-wraith808 (July 19, 2022, 10:45 AM)

You can have it shipped to anywhere you want (within your region). But you have to complete the purchase from your own account. Which means if you were to offer your position to someone else, they'd have to reimburse you for the cost of the Deck, or give you their payment details to use during checkout.

It just arrived- I have installed a few games, and I didn't see the slowdown that you reported Deo.
-wraith808 (July 19, 2022, 02:05 PM)

Woohoo! Good to know you're not seeing slowdown. I set the default install location to my microSD card. So maybe that's too slow. It's a Samsung EVO Select microSD XC I U3, which I thought was supposed to be pretty fast. But I haven't been following the latest advances in microSD technology. I'll try setting it back to internal storage to see if it runs any better during installs.

I see an ! beside Settings > System, and it says there are software updates, but the beta notes says it's for the beta channel, which I am not going to opt in for. Do I still need to apply the update?
-wraith808 (July 19, 2022, 02:05 PM)

I haven't used beta or preview updates, so I'm not exactly sure how they work. But I did see there was an update available when I first got my machine, so I applied it. And I haven't seen any notifications about newer updates since. So my guess is that there is a Stable update ready for you to install.

And if a game says unsupported, does that mean it's not tested? Or I shouldn't even try?
-wraith808 (July 19, 2022, 02:05 PM)

If it's listed as Unsupported (circle with a line through it) then Valve has tested it and something about it supposedly doesn't work. I've heard reports of a few games that are listed as Unsupported but appear to run just fine. But so far the couple of Unsupported games I've tried have not worked even when following guides that supposedly should get them working. Valve has somewhat strict rules about why they label a game as Unsupported. For example, if a game works perfectly with the exception that in-game videos don't play (and just get skipped), it gets marked as Unsupported. If you're in a tinkering mood, you can check out ProtonDB (https://www.protondb.com/) to see if it has useful information for you to get an Unsupported game working.

If a game's compatibility is listed as Unknown (dotted circle with a question mark inside it), then that means Valve has not tested how it works. It might work, it might not. If you feel like helping people out, you can try out Unknown games and then post your results to ProtonDB (https://www.protondb.com/) to give more data points to whether or not games work well.

I've only personally installed one Unknown "game" on Deck (RetroArch (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1118310/RetroArch/), which is a frontend for a variety of emulators), and it runs just fine. My family member who this 64 GB model is intended for also installed an Unknown game (My Riding Stables: Life with Horses (https://store.steampowered.com/app/276340/My_Riding_Stables_Life_with_Horses/)). She says that it ran fine but since it was designed for mouse controls it felt awkward for her to use the trackpad to control certain aspects of the game.

Personally, I wouldn't be afraid to try games whose compatibility is listed as Unknown. Just don't make sure your mindset is of the "let's see if this thing even works" so you're not too disappointed or frustrated if/when it doesn't work. But for games listed as Unsupported I'd go into it expecting that it doesn't work at all, at least not without some (or a lot!) of tinkering.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 19, 2022, 07:41 PM
I just played the Ascent and it's so much better on the Deck than it is on my desktop that it's not funny.

Woohoo! Good to know you're not seeing slowdown. I set the default install location to my microSD card. So maybe that's too slow. It's a Samsung EVO Select microSD XC I U3, which I thought was supposed to be pretty fast. But I haven't been following the latest advances in microSD technology. I'll try setting it back to internal storage to see if it runs any better during installs.

-Deozaan (July 19, 2022, 04:04 PM)

I haven't tried to install to the SD card yet. The one I got was this one https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07P7M6K35

I've used it with my Surface to act as an extra drive, my XPS and a Samsung tablet, and have noticed no problems so I stick with it.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 19, 2022, 09:48 PM
Here's something I found that may be useful if you have access to a 3D printer. It's a little carrying case for the power cord, and even includes a few microSD card slots. The 3D-printed case goes in the little cavity behind the elastic strap of the Deck Carrying Case.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5356412
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 20, 2022, 02:48 AM
I have installed a few games, and I didn't see the slowdown that you reported Deo.
-wraith808 (July 19, 2022, 02:05 PM)

I set the default install location back to the eMMC drive and the UI is nice and speedy when downloading/installing games. So perhaps my microSD card just doesn't handle writes fast enough. I was under the impression that as long as the microSD card was at least UHS-I then it would be plenty fast enough. But maybe I conflated the fact that the Deck doesn't support UHS-III speeds with the idea that UHS-I speeds were all the same. I don't really know. As I said, I haven't been following all the latest advancements in microSD technology, so I'm not sure on the potential differences between them.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 20, 2022, 10:16 AM
Here's something I found that may be useful if you have access to a 3D printer. It's a little carrying case for the power cord, and even includes a few microSD card slots. The 3D-printed case goes in the little cavity behind the elastic strap of the Deck Carrying Case.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5356412
-Deozaan (July 19, 2022, 09:48 PM)

I have a smaller charger for my laptop and steam deck - https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09KY4D7RJ


I set the default install location back to the eMMC drive and the UI is nice and speedy when downloading/installing games. So perhaps my microSD card just doesn't handle writes fast enough. I was under the impression that as long as the microSD card was at least UHS-I then it would be plenty fast enough. But maybe I conflated the fact that the Deck doesn't support UHS-III speeds with the idea that UHS-I speeds were all the same. I don't really know. As I said, I haven't been following all the latest advancements in microSD technology, so I'm not sure on the potential differences between them.
-Deozaan (July 20, 2022, 02:48 AM)

I'm not sure either. I haven't installed anything to my microSD yet, so not sure if that will affect performance. That could make my decision to get the 512 the best one I made.

I'm also purchasing a skin for the front from dbrand - https://dbrand.com/shop/steam-deck-skins/customize/design
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 20, 2022, 11:48 AM
I typed this up several hours ago but forgot to press submit.

I seem to have borked the Deck.

When I started my experiment installing a few games to the eMMC drive, it only had about 20 GB free. One of the games I installed was 15 GB. The others were around 250-500 MB each. When I was done, I moved the smaller ones to the microSD card but left the big one on the eMMC because I didn't want to wait for that amount of data to transfer, meaning there should have been around 5 GB free. Then I booted into Desktop Mode to configure an emulator.

At some point while in Desktop Mode, a bunch of Steam errors started popping up saying Steam was missing some 32-bit files and it asked me if I was out of disk space. I couldn't figure out how to see the free disk space on the internal storage from the file manager, so I tried rebooting back into Game Mode with the intention of moving the big game onto the microSD card to free up some space. But it never finished booting back into Game Mode. It showed the Steam Deck logo for several seconds, and then the screen went blank but was still powered. I left it for a few minutes and nothing else happened. If I held down the power button for a few seconds it would power off, but powering it back on resulted in the same behavior. I repeated that multiple times with no change.

Finally I attempted to access the Boot Manager by holding down VOL - and pressing the power button. That worked, but just gave me the option of continuing to attempt to boot from the internal storage, which just led to the same behavior of showing the Deck logo for a while and then going to a blank screen. So then I attempted to access the BIOS by holding down VOL + and pressing the power button, and that's when things appeared to go from bad to worse. At that point it stopped powering on at all. The power LED would blink 3 times when I pressed the power button, and that was it.

Eventually I found a post on Reddit about a similar situation where someone had opened up their system and installed a new SSD in it and it would no longer power on from the battery, but would power on when plugged in. So I tried plugging in the Deck and that got me back to the previous behavior of showing the logo for several seconds and then a blank screen. But it still won't finish booting. In that post someone else suggested enabling Battery Storage Mode from the BIOS to try to get it to disable the behavior where it required power before it would turn on. So I attempted that, and that's when things appeared to go from worse to "worser" (not worst because it's not totally bricked yet).

Now the power LED doesn't even blink when I press the power button if it's not plugged in. There's absolutely no response from the device if it's not plugged in. If I turn it on while plugged in, I can sometimes pull out the power cord and it will stay on. Other times it just shuts off immediately. But either way it appears to power down by itself after a few minutes, no matter if it's plugged in or not, with the LED blinking 3 times when it powers down. I found buried further down in the Reddit thread that the person who experienced a similar issue finally resolved it by just leaving it on the BIOS screen until the battery drained completely, and then fully charged it. That was something I had been intending on trying if the battery storage mode thing didn't work out, but the fact that it keeps shutting itself off and needs the power cord attached threw a wrench in those plans. I can't discharge the battery if it won't stay on and I have to keep plugging in the power cord to turn it on. >:(

The last troubleshooting step I'm aware of before RMA is re-flashing SteamOS onto it. But that requires a hub or USB-A -> USB-C adapter, which I don't have. So it looks like I will probably be getting a hub very soon.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 20, 2022, 12:51 PM
We'll just file this under "Things not to do with your new Steam Deck..."

I just saw someone on Reddit who's using their SD cards like a library:
https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/w3ly9y/my_65tb_beast_of_a_gaming_rig_unbelievable_how/

So not sure how what you did would have been so detrimental.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 20, 2022, 05:57 PM
So not sure how what you did would have been so detrimental.
-wraith808 (July 20, 2022, 12:51 PM)

I had heard that there were problems if the Deck ran out of free space, but I thought it had about 5 GB of free space, which I also thought should have been enough. But maybe I was wrong about how much available storage the Deck had...

Anyway, I've contacted Valve Support and am awaiting a response. I've also gone ahead and ordered this Dockteck 7 port USB Hub (with 4K@60Hz HDMI, 1 Gig Ethernet, SD & microSD, 2x USB 3.0 A, and a USB C 100W PD port) (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09491F17Q/) because for one thing I've been wanting to use the Deck with a hub that has these features anyway, but more importantly I expect that one of the key troubleshooting steps to get the Deck working again without having to RMA it will be to re-flash the OS, and I can't do that with what I currently have. I saw a couple reviews that specifically mention that it works with the Deck, the only problem being that the Deck's power adapter doesn't provide enough power to keep the Deck charged while also powering the hub and other connected devices (the hub itself uses 8 watts!? That's more than a Raspberry Pi! What's that thing doing, mining cryptocurrency?). So I may need to buy a charger at some point, but for now I'll make do with the Deck's charger.

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 20, 2022, 08:03 PM
I'll let you know how that charger I picked up functions if you're interested
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 21, 2022, 02:22 AM
I'm interested in hearing about how any/all the things you've gotten work out for you. I think that eventually I'd like to have 2-3 hubs/docks for ultimate convenience when moving the Deck from place to place around the house or on the go. But I really can't afford to go all out with accessories right now. It was already tight buying two Decks in such a short period of time, but then a couple days ago our pet started behaving strangely which resulted in an unplanned visit to the veterinarian that ended up costing as much as the 512 GB Deck. 😭 (The sobbing emoji is about the cost, not the pet. The pet is OK...ish... so far...)

So if/when I get the Deck working again and connected to the USB hub, and if the battery is not staying charged while connected to the hub, then I'll just have to disconnect the hub for a while so it can charge on its own. Because ~$80 for a power brick is too much right now.


Anyway, I came back here to report that after doing nothing else all day regarding trying to troubleshoot the Deck due to not having a hub and not yet receiving a response from Valve, I happened to be looking through a drawer at my desk and found a USB A to USB C adapter that came with an external M.2 enclosure I got last year. It seems I put it in my desk and promptly forgot about it because I didn't have any USB C devices besides Android devices, and I didn't want/need to connect an external drive to those.

I was worried that I was still going to need to wait for the hub because I figured it would either just power off immediately when I tried unplugging the power cord so that I could plug in the thumb drive, or that it wouldn't recognize that the thumb drive had been inserted after it had already booted into the BIOS without it. But it appears to be working, at least as far as successfully booting into the recovery image on the thumb drive.

But I'm actually having the opposite problem! After booting into the recovery OS, it's telling me that the battery is critically low (3%) and it shuts itself off (to sleep mode) after 60 seconds. And since it's running from the thumb drive I can't plug in the power cord without breaking things because it can no longer read from the thumb drive. So I'm going to let it charge for a while and try again.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 21, 2022, 03:04 AM
I'm going to declare a tentative success. One of the options from the recovery image was to reinstall just Steam OS, keeping installed games and other user files. It seemed to stop rather suddenly with no notification that it had finished. Upon rebooting at that point, it told me there was no boot device found. I'm not sure if it just didn't work or if perhaps I didn't wait long enough for it to finish before rebooting or something else broke it along the way. So I booted back into the recovery image and told it to wipe the whole drive and flash it back to factory defaults. After doing that I was able to power it on without having the power cable attached, and I'm currently setting up language, WiFi, and timezone, etc., as I did the first time I turned it on. So it's looking like this Deck is back in action. 😌

I guess it's a good thing I had almost everything installed to the microSD card because I believe I can just pop that back in and it will all just work again right away. But it's late and I think I'm just going to go to bed once I get logged into my account. I can deal with re-installing games and other things tomorrow.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 21, 2022, 10:17 AM
I'm going to declare a tentative success. One of the options from the recovery image was to reinstall just Steam OS, keeping installed games and other user files. It seemed to stop rather suddenly with no notification that it had finished. Upon rebooting when it was done, it told me there was no boot device found. I'm not sure if it just didn't work or if perhaps I didn't wait long enough for it to finish before rebooting or something else broke it along the way. So I booted back into the recovery image and told it to wipe the whole drive and flash it back to factory defaults. After doing that I was able to power it on without having the power cable attached, and I'm currently setting up language, WiFi, and timezone, etc., as I did the first time I turned it on. So it's looking like this Deck is back in action. 😌

I guess it's a good thing I had almost everything installed to the microSD card because I believe I can just pop that back in and it will all just work again right away. But it's late and I think I'm just going to go to bed once I get logged into my account. I can deal with re-installing games and other things tomorrow.
-Deozaan (July 21, 2022, 03:04 AM)

Glad to hear that you're back to at least a tentative success!
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 21, 2022, 02:36 PM
The success is Deck Verified! ;)

I was correct about being able to plug in the microSD card and have everything there and ready to go. One nice bonus is that it even remembered which of the titles I installed on the microSD card that I had automatic updates disabled for. I didn't expect that! (I wish there was a global configuration to disable automatic updates, but that's been a complaint of mine about Steam for years.)

I've been spending time reinstalling and configuring things in Desktop Mode, but I realize now as I'm typing this up that I should just wait until the hub arrives and use a proper mouse and keyboard (and a larger display!) to make that process a lot smoother.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 21, 2022, 03:59 PM
I've been spending time reinstalling and configuring things in Desktop Mode, but I realize now as I'm typing this up that I should just wait until the hub arrives and use a proper mouse and keyboard (and a larger display!) to make that process a lot smoother.
-Deozaan (July 21, 2022, 02:36 PM)

Its crazy how versatile it is.

(https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/1937128442088336966/BAECB649F3C945E6559995EA03B4492FA8DE0E48/)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 21, 2022, 04:12 PM
There's apparently a ProtonGE that is more compatible than the one on the deck.

https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom

GE-Proton is based on proton sources but has additional patches that valve can't ship because of licensing issues as well as other improvements valve might not have implemented/tested yet.

It is not created and maintained by valve at all.

Use Discover app to install ProtonUp-Qt then use that app to install the latest version of ProtonGE. Apply ProtonGE to the game under the Compatibility tab in the game Properties.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 22, 2022, 11:19 AM
Its crazy how versatile it is.
-wraith808 (July 21, 2022, 03:59 PM)

That looks fun. :)

There's apparently a ProtonGE that is more compatible than the one on the deck.
-wraith808 (July 21, 2022, 04:12 PM)

I mentioned Proton-GE in one of my earlier posts when I mentioned trying to get "Deck Unsupported" games to work. I only tried it on two games and it didn't help, but so far I haven't ventured far into Unknown territory or even Playable for that matter.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 22, 2022, 12:36 PM
Just to let you know- that adapter I got is AWESOME. I'm using it more than the one included, mostly because I can use it for whatever device I have in the living room rather than keeping multiple adapters there, and charge more than one thing at a time.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 23, 2022, 04:20 AM
Once again, FedEx has just updated shipping information to be a day later than anticipated. >:( At least this time they're telling me a few days in advance instead of just not updating the information until after the expected time of delivery.

Just to let you know- that adapter I got is AWESOME.
-wraith808 (July 22, 2022, 12:36 PM)

That's cool. I'm glad you're liking it. :Thmbsup:

I still don't have many USB-C devices that need regular charging throughout the day. I have a phone and a tablet, both of which I just plug in overnight and they're good to go. Other than that it's just my Switch which is in its dock most of the time and now the Steam Deck. So I'm not feeling the need to charge a variety of things throughout the day. But I can see it being really useful and will probably keep it in mind for some future, eventual purchase.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 23, 2022, 11:16 PM
Why is FedEx so useless? >:( 😭

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Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Shades on July 24, 2022, 12:19 AM
As I understood (from a thread on the SlashDot website), FedEx is converting from having many aging parcel tracking servers on location to a centrally located server farm in the cloud. All while updating the parcel tracking software.

Not a rant against the cloud, more like not having (enough) people to handle this transition very well. Whether that is by happenstance, or unwillingness to fork over enough money to hire (a sufficient amount of) professionals?  Probably the latter, as the current CTO makes promises of 400 million Dollars US in yearly savings.

On a happier note:
It is nice to read about real hands-on experiences with the SteamDeck.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 24, 2022, 08:31 PM
I didn't see you mention this before Deo - https://steamdeckhq.com/

They have a lot of awesome resources there.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Shades on July 25, 2022, 03:12 PM
Youtube channel: Linus Tech Tips has a new video about the SteamDeck.

In that video they are pimping their deck up with significant hardware upgrades that do not invalidate Valve's guarantee on the hardware.




* Edit: now that I have seen the whole video, there is one part that does invalidate Valva's terms of guarantee. At LTT they added previously a rather large external passive heatsink (for the SteamDeck). And now they rewired the internal cooling fan to enable an external cooling fan, turning their passive heatsink into an active heatsink. 
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 25, 2022, 03:37 PM
I had a pre-paid credit card with terms that were about to change unfavorably, so I almost used the remaining funds on it to order that 100W charger, but ultimately I decided it was more important (and less expensive) to get this JSAUX Docking Station (https://www.jsaux.com/products/upgraded-docking-station-for-steam-deck) which has 3x USB-A 3.0, 4K@60Hz HDMI 2.0, Gigabit LAN, and a 100W PD USB-C port.

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I signed up for their mailing list or something and got 15% off the purchase, which left enough funds on the card to also get these little USB-C 90 degree adapters (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08CDGHQWF/) which I thought would be useful because I've been concerned about the power cord in the top of the Deck pulling or tugging on the USB port and damaging it, especially when connected to the short cable coming from the other hub I bought. As things are, I feel I have to elevate the hub to get it high enough to plug into the Deck while it's in a stand without pulling on the port.

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I didn't see you mention this before Deo - https://steamdeckhq.com/

They have a lot of awesome resources there.
-wraith808 (July 24, 2022, 08:31 PM)

I don't think I've come across that before. Thanks! :Thmbsup:

While we're at it, here's a wiki with links to a bunch of Steam Deck resources:

https://www.sdeck.wiki/

As I understood (from a thread on the SlashDot website), FedEx is converting from having many aging parcel tracking servers on location to a centrally located server farm
-Shades (July 24, 2022, 12:19 AM)

I don't know what is wrong with FedEx. I've almost always received packages from UPS for the past two (or more) decades, but for some reason starting in 2021 a lot of the things I've ordered have been shipped via FedEx and I think only 1 of about 10-15 packages delivered by FedEx in the past ~1.5 years have arrived on time. With that lone exception, FedEx has been miserable to deal with every single time.

And this time is no different. FedEx did the same thing as with the last one, and didn't update the tracking information for two days. It finally updated today and apparently it's just been sitting in Chicago all weekend. It still claims it will be arriving tomorrow. It took a full day to travel the 30 miles from Carol Stream to Chicago and they expect me to believe it's gonna make it the remaining 1700+ miles in 36 hours? I guess maybe it will be shipped on an airplane, but I'll believe it when I see it.

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And they have the gall to say it's still scheduled to arrive "early" because before they even received the package they put up an estimate that it would take a week to arrive. But as soon as they received the package they estimated it would arrive in 5 days and marked that as "early" instead. And now that it's delayed and expected to arrive in 6 days they can still pat themselves on the back and report to their managers that they're doing a great job because it's still "early" compared to the initial estimate of 7 days. >:(
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 25, 2022, 06:24 PM
I had a pre-paid credit card with terms that were about to change unfavorably, so I almost used the remaining funds on it to order that 100W charger, but ultimately I decided it was more important (and less expensive) to get this JSAUX Docking Station which has 3x USB-A 3.0, 4K@60Hz HDMI 2.0, Gigabit LAN, and a 100W PD USB-C port.
-Deozaan (July 25, 2022, 03:37 PM)

I was looking at something exactly like that - the Owltree one. But I decided that having a discrete hub would probably come in useful for other cases.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 26, 2022, 08:56 PM
I gave Aperture Desk Job another shot today and this time it played through without issue. It was my first time using gyro aiming and I have to say it was a pretty smooth experience. I can see it being quite helpful in games where rapid precision aiming is needed.

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My package was due to be delivered by end of business today, but there is still no tracking update from FedEx since early Monday morning. Now the delivery has been changed to "Pending" with no specific estimated date of arrival, yet they insist that the package is still "on time" instead of lost in shipping purgatory.

(https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/3Smileys/wallbash.gif)(https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/1Small/WALLBASH.GIF)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 26, 2022, 10:06 PM
I've been having a lot of problems with shipping lately  :(

A few more things I've discovered:

https://github.com/mikeroyal/Steam-Deck-Guide

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/03/heres-how-to-get-the-ea-app-on-steam-deck-with-bottles/
(and you can do the same with other launchers)

And an accessory that looks pretty cool from that Steam Deck Guide

https://nexdock.com/features/

I might have to get that later.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 27, 2022, 11:03 AM
And a PSA - beware:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/w95xwe/warningfire_hazard_fake_steamdeck_hubstand/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 28, 2022, 04:30 AM
My package was due to be delivered by end of business today, but there is still no tracking update from FedEx since early Monday morning. Now the delivery has been changed to "Pending" with no specific estimated date of arrival, yet they insist that the package is still "on time" instead of lost in shipping purgatory.
-Deozaan (July 26, 2022, 08:56 PM)
Got two emails a few hours apart saying delivery is scheduled for Thursday. But when I check the site it says delivery is expected Friday. (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/1Small/shootmyself.gif)

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Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 28, 2022, 11:27 AM
Wow... sorry to hear that you're having a time with FedEx :(

I tried UPlay and EAPlay with Bottles, but though they ran the first time, they didn't after that. Now I'm trying using the steam add non-steam game, but uplay is telling me that it can't authorize the game.

I also found another accessory - https://deckmate.me/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 28, 2022, 08:18 PM
The 512 arrived today after all.

They say that comparison is the enemy of joy. If I didn't have hands-on experience with two different Decks I never would have known any better and probably would have been perfectly happy with either one. But I've noticed a strong difference in how the trackpads function between the two devices. Especially when using them for dual-touch typing. On one of them, sliding my thumbs around causes the device to vibrate a lot. I can feel it under my thumbs at the trackpads themselves, and it's quite audible. Almost to the point where I'd describe it as rattling when I really get moving, or especially if both trackpads are going at once. And it's very easy to "press" the button. Just apply a small amount of pressure and it gives a satisfying "click" to let you know it has been pressed. Sometimes I click it and I think "that was a little too easy to click!" and it concerns me that it might click unintentionally at times. On the other Deck, the vibration is much more subtle while sliding my thumbs around. I can feel a light vibration in the palms of my hands at the back of the device, but not really under my thumbs at the trackpads. It's not audible to the same degree as the other one. If I put my ear a couple inches away from it then it sounds about as loud as the other one at normal/comfortable usage distance (about 2 feet). And pressing the trackpads in to "click" them requires significantly more pressure before they finally click. It's actually pretty uncomfortable having to press in so deliberately and so firmly, that I think I prefer typing the slow way with the d-pad and A button to select each letter. And when it clicks, the click is much more subtle and toned down compared to the other one.

Now I'm not fully satisfied with the trackpads of either one. It seems like one is far too sensitive and the haptics are too strong, and the other is far too insensitive and the haptics are too weak. It seems like the ideal is somewhere in the middle. Yet both devices have the same (default) settings as far as the trackpad sensitivity and haptics go.


For some less important comparisons, namely the carrying cases, I'm finding similar results. The 64 GB model (and I believe 256 GB model) carrying case is all black, with a grey logo outside, but also has a white strap inside to help pull the Deck out of the case without having to tip the case upside down or pry the Deck up by the joysticks.

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The 512 GB model carrying case is black on the outside but the zipper pulls are white, has a colored logo, has a grey interior, and a black strap inside for pulling the Deck out. And the zipper itself is a whitish grey color.

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I always thought the white strap inside the 64 GB case was a little weird and out of place (and not just because it's sewn in a little crooked), but other than that I've found it to be a perfectly fine functioning and looking thing. The "special" 512 case, on the other hand, is just ugly to me. I think the white zipper pulls are absolutely hideous. The grey zipper is weird and out of place. The grey interior fabric looks okay but I prefer the black fabric. Also I think that the grey fabric causes the black strap to look a little out of place, even though the black strap does look a little nicer on its own to me than the white one in the other case. And the colored logo on the outside is made of a different material. It feels like it's made of a kind of rubber or silicone, with a slightly sticky/grippy feeling. And it's much thicker, extruding from the surface of the case a few millimeters. Seems like it would easily catch on something and get torn off. Whereas the grey logo on the other one is completely flat, appearing to be a vinyl sticker or something similar.

All in all, I think I prefer the non-special carrying case over the special one. If it had a black strap instead of the pure white one inside it, it'd be perfect. I think I'll swap the carrying cases and keep the dark one for myself. :D

Additionally, the 512 GB Deck (and carrying case/accessories) smells awful. It smells like burnt/melted plastic and fried electronics. The 64 GB Deck didn't have a particularly strong/noticeable odor. I have recently developed (or noticed) a personal quirk where I "smell" things to see how hot they are, like when I pull food out of the microwave I give it a sniff to see if it is warm enough. It's probably not really about how it smells and more about my face being more sensitive to temperature than my fingertips, so it can more easily sense the heat rising from it, but since my nose is right there and it's something I usually do with food, I've gotten into the habit of giving it a sniff while I'm at it. Anyway, all that to say that I was trying to gauge how hot the air was coming out of the 64 GB Deck's exhaust vent and I gave it a little sniff while I was at it. And to me it doesn't smell unpleasant. It definitely smells like new materials. Maybe like new shoes, which have a distinct, but not unpleasant odor, in my opinion. But then again, it's possible that the 64 GB Deck was just as odiferous as the 512 GB Deck, but I might note have taken note of how smelly it was because I didn't think it was unpleasant. All I know is that right now I can't do anything with the 512 GB Deck (or its case) without noticing how awful it smells.


As for the two practical/intentional differences between the devices:

Storage: The internal storage partition for the 64 GB Deck is reported as being 46.5 GB. The internal storage partition for the 512GB Deck is reported as being 465.3 GB. It's a bit surprising to see that the 512 GB Deck has 10x the usable internal storage as the 64 GB Deck. I hadn't thought of it in those terms before. As for storage speeds, I installed a few games to the 512 GB Deck and didn't notice any slowdowns or related problems like I had when installing to the microSD card of the 64 GB Deck. I have inserted a microSD card into the 512 GB Deck as of yet because the largest microSD card I have is the 256 GB card and it's currently in the 64 GB Deck, and the 512 GB Deck still has more available storage than the combined total in the 64 GB Deck. But for the sake of completeness, I ought to swap the microSD card into the 512 GB Deck and see if I experience the same kind of slowdowns as I did when it was in the 64 GB Deck.

Screen: The 512 GB Deck has a special laser-etched anti-glare screen. They both show reflections. It's just that the regular glass shows a more perfect/clear reflection while the anti-glare glass has a less detailed or more blurred reflection. What I can say is that I find myself being self-conscious about capturing my own reflection in the regular screen, whereas with the anti-glare screen it blurs the details enough that I don't mind (so much) if my silhouette is reflected in the image.

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And for reference, I usually have the screen brightness turned down pretty low on both Decks. In the images above, I put it as low as it will go, and then up 3 notches. Here's how it looks with the brightness of both displays turned up to the max:

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Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 28, 2022, 08:23 PM
I tried UPlay and EAPlay with Bottles, but though they ran the first time, they didn't after that. Now I'm trying using the steam add non-steam game, but uplay is telling me that it can't authorize the game.
-wraith808 (July 28, 2022, 11:27 AM)

I've also heard of (but haven't tried) something called Heroic Launcher for getting non-Steam games installed and working on Deck or Linux in general. And there's another one that does something similar, but its name escapes me at the moment. If I remember it I'll come back and post its name here. But in the meantime, Heroic Launcher might be worth a shot if you want to try alternative methods to getting non-Steam games working.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 28, 2022, 09:37 PM
Additionally, the 512 GB Deck (and carrying case/accessories) smells awful. It smells like burnt/melted plastic and fried electronics.
-Deozaan (July 28, 2022, 08:18 PM)

I didn't have that experience.

The other launcher I know of is Lutris  (https://lutris.net/) The difference between Lutris and Bottles is apparently that Lutris is trying to do everything, Bottles so far sticks to Wine. I haven't tried anything else since my failed attempt to use the steam client as my emulation environment. Well, not failed- apparently the problem I'm having with UPlay isn't just with the deck- it's just that I'd not heard of it before.

I just got my skin in from dbrand- i need a hair dryer for it so I've not tried to install it yet.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 30, 2022, 12:01 PM
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09ZY6J8P4

This is pretty cool- I didn't think I'd be connecting it to my TV, but this makes that more likely.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 30, 2022, 12:12 PM
It's the same price as their full actual-dock (https://www.jsaux.com/products/upgraded-docking-station-for-steam-deck) which has more USB ports and ethernet and supports 4K@60Hz. The difference being that the actual JSAUX dock doesn't include a charger. But that charger is only 45W, just like the official Deck charger.

I don't think that's for me. On the other hand, I suppose it could be pretty nice to have when traveling, as a nice, compact way of keeping your options open.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on July 30, 2022, 12:41 PM
It's the same price as their full actual-dock (https://www.jsaux.com/products/upgraded-docking-station-for-steam-deck) which has more USB ports and ethernet and supports 4K@60Hz. The difference being that the actual JSAUX dock doesn't include a charger. But that charger is only 45W, just like the official Deck charger.

I don't think that's for me. On the other hand, I suppose it could be pretty nice to have when traveling, as a nice, compact way of keeping your options open.
-Deozaan (July 30, 2022, 12:12 PM)

I have a dock- this is more for just keeping near the TV, and it gives options for traveling. That Dell Dock I have is working well for my desktop use.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on August 03, 2022, 02:04 PM
Customizing the Steam Deck's sounds, boot video, and suspend video

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/wfc5ad/switchpro_ui_mod_full_tutorial/

Tutorial links and commands:



VIDEO .webm file location: /home/deck/.steam/steam/steamui/movies/

AUDIO .wav file location: /home/deck/.steam/steam/steamui/sounds/

Terminal Command: truncate -s (byte size) (file name)

Example: truncate -s 1840847 steam.webm
(Case sensitive, make sure to open terminal in the same directory that you're editing)

SwitchPro Boot Video files: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s3s6tsgsdqwtbiz/AABYS9p6j8d5crrYp0LNsCGra?dl=0

SwitchPro Audio files: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7i8syliw8ly2dy2/AAD6hqE7UW7twyr5cGk7UrA3a?dl=0

Original Youtube Video link: https://youtu.be/9nq1kz8Yjjc
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 03, 2022, 09:22 PM
I just came across ShareDeck (https://sharedeck.games/), which says it's "an unofficial site to find and share Steam Deck performance configurations."

Customizing the Steam Deck's sounds, boot video, and suspend video
-wraith808 (August 03, 2022, 02:04 PM)

That's not really my kind of thing, but it will be interesting to see what other people come up with.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 04, 2022, 01:31 PM
I had my first success with an "Unsupported" title on Deck last night. (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/1Small/banana.gif)

I checked out Final Fantasy IX on ShareDeck.games (https://sharedeck.games/apps/377840) and saw that it didn't have any logged playtime by users, which disappointed me because that's one of my favorite games in the series and I was hoping to play it again. But it also included a link to the ProtonDB page (https://www.protondb.com/app/377840) which I clicked and saw that multiple people say it works perfectly on Deck with the Moguri Mod (https://sites.google.com/view/moguri-mod/) 8.3.0.0. And since Moguri Mod greatly improves visuals and makes a few QoL enhancements anyway, all while trying to stay as faithful to the original as possible, I figured I wouldn't want to play it any other way.



Anyway, it was pretty easy to get working. Just install FF9 from Steam, then download Moguri Mod and unzip its contents anywhere. One of the files you unzipped was an .exe installer which you can use with proton (I used the latest version of Proton-GE) or you can just extract one of the other files which is a huge .7z(?) file over the installation directory of FF9. There is a known issue of some rare crashes near the end of the game, but that can be fixed by removing a specific file from the mod. More details can be found on Moguri Mod's Support page (https://sites.google.com/view/moguri-mod/support).

If you want a tutorial video on how to install Moguri Mod on Deck, you can follow the steps outlined in this video:

Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on August 05, 2022, 10:50 AM
Looks pretty cool! Not into FF personally, but glad it worked! I couldn't get EAPlay nor Ubisoft Connect to work so far.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on August 06, 2022, 09:20 PM
This is a good idea for some... my case that I got doesn't have this problem, but it's a cheap way to make it not a problem with the stock case

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/wi2ms3/steam_deck_lifesaver_gives_your_deck_a_second/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 08, 2022, 03:12 PM
I "always" zip up the case at least half way when I put the Deck inside, but that Steam Deck Lifesaver (https://www.printables.com/model/254680-steam-deck-lifesaver-fall-protection) looks pretty useful for the time when I inevitably forget. Or maybe if I'm not the only person in the world who will ever use the device, I can't be sure other people will be as mindful about the dangers of accidentally dropping it if it's not zipped up. So thanks for sharing that find! I'll need to look into whether or not my local library offers any 3D printing services and see what it takes to make a couple of them.



In other news, I just got back last night from a weekend trip out of town, on which I brought my Deck with me. But I didn't really use it much. It was about a 6 hour drive to where we were staying, but I couldn't use the Deck while riding in the car because I get carsick if I'm reading or doing other things that don't include frequently looking out the windows. And then for the rest of the trip we were either busy doing other things most of the time or in social situations where it would have been rude to just pull out the Deck (or a phone) and be doing my own thing while ignoring everyone else. But I did turn it on for a couple of minutes each day to continue receiving one game's daily login bonus streak that would have gotten reset to the start had I not been able to do that while I was out of town. So that was nice.

I knew I probably wouldn't be spending a lot of time with it for this trip. I think it would have been great to have with me on a longer trip, or at least one with more downtime. And if something like this comes up again I may try playing while riding in the car for long stretches of relatively straight freeways, because now that I'm thinking about it, I think I get carsick from not looking at the road while doing lots of stopping and starting and turning and weaving, such as in the middle of city traffic or curvy mountain passes. But when it's mostly just driving straight for hours I think I might be OK.

Next time... :)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 19, 2022, 09:41 AM
I decided it was more important (and less expensive) to get this JSAUX Docking Station (https://www.jsaux.com/products/upgraded-docking-station-for-steam-deck) which has 3x USB-A 3.0, 4K@60Hz HDMI 2.0, Gigabit LAN, and a 100W PD USB-C port.
-Deozaan (July 25, 2022, 03:37 PM)

The JSAUX Dock finally arrived yesterday. I connected a keyboard and mouse and another display to the Deck. I played a bit of Factorio, because while the game runs fine on the Deck, I feel it's just not the same without a mouse and keyboard. I haven't done a lot with the dock to put it through its paces. I still need to connect it to a 4K TV and the ethernet, and maybe connect an external storage.

I noticed that my external display would rarely go blank for a few seconds, as if the signal was lost. It happened a few times throughout the day. I hope it's not a faulty dock, but I'm pretty sure none of the other hardware is faulty. I typically use the same display as a secondary monitor for my desktop PC and I haven't seen it do this before. I suppose it could be a software issue. Maybe the Deck is trying to do something weird. I'll have to experiment with other displays, cables, and my other hub in various configurations to see if I can single out the problem.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Shades on August 21, 2022, 06:32 PM
Maybe the Deck is trying to do something weird. I'll have to experiment with other displays, cables, and my other hub in various configurations to see if I can single out the problem.
-Deozaan (August 19, 2022, 09:41 AM)

Are you by any chance running Skype or Teams on your Steam Deck (in the background)?
I have seen something similar happening on my Linux laptop (Gnome) when either Skype and/or Teams show notifications of incoming messages. Started happening about 3 months ago.

This doesn't happen when Skype/Teams are not running on my laptop.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on August 21, 2022, 09:20 PM
Are you by any chance running Skype or Teams on your Steam Deck (in the background)?
-Shades (August 21, 2022, 06:32 PM)

Heresy!
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 22, 2022, 06:42 PM
Are you by any chance running Skype or Teams on your Steam Deck (in the background)?
-Shades (August 21, 2022, 06:32 PM)

I was not running Skype or Teams. I may have been running Telegram and/or Discord. I've been sick lately and haven't spent much time at my PC or using the Deck. And it has been long enough that I don't remember the details exactly, but I think I only noticed the problem in Desktop mode. I don't think it happened while in Gaming mode. But then again, I don't think I spent long in Gaming mode except for a bit of Factorio.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on August 22, 2022, 07:15 PM
FYI if you try to install Lutris (https://lutris.net/), Valve made it so the beta channel is hidden in the last update, so you have to install it from Kommand.

Code: Text [Select]
  1. flatpak install flathub-beta net.lutris.Lutris

Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 26, 2022, 05:47 PM
According to Gaming On Linux, you can now install Lutris from Discover.

Lutris adds Amazon Games integration, plus Flatpak finally out (good for Steam Deck) (https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/08/lutris-adds-amazon-games-integration-plus-flatpak-finally-out-good-for-steam-deck/)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on August 29, 2022, 07:49 AM
According to Gaming On Linux, you can now install Lutris from Discover.

Lutris adds Amazon Games integration, plus Flatpak finally out (good for Steam Deck) (https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/08/lutris-adds-amazon-games-integration-plus-flatpak-finally-out-good-for-steam-deck/)
-Deozaan (August 26, 2022, 05:47 PM)

I'll have to check to see if the one I installed shows up in Discover, or since I installed it from the terminal it doesnt show.

Another good beginner guide:

https://overkill.wtf/steam-deck-starter-guide-start-here/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 29, 2022, 02:20 PM
It sounds like Lutris and Heroic pretty much do the same thing. And maybe Bottles, too? Anyone with experience with all of them have a preference? If so, which one do you prefer and why?

I only have a little experience with Heroic to install a few GOG games, but it feels pretty clunky on the Deck using the gamepad controls to navigate. I'm not very attached to it and would happily switch to something else if it was better.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 29, 2022, 03:12 PM
I've [...] ordered this Dockteck 7 port USB Hub (with 4K@60Hz HDMI, 1 Gig Ethernet, SD & microSD, 2x USB 3.0 A, and a USB C 100W PD port) (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09491F17Q/)...
-Deozaan (July 20, 2022, 05:57 PM)

I've just connected my M.2 SATA SSD (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=52514.0) to the Deck using this hub with the idea of installing only games I intend to play while the Deck is "docked" to it. And since I didn't have to worry about filling up the internal storage, I queued up a bunch of larger games to install.

The downloads were going a little slow over WiFi, so I connected an ethernet cable to the LAN port in this hub for the first time and the activity light is blindingly bright! It's a pure white LED that's constantly flickering (on network activity, of course) and it's just sooooo bright! I don't really understand it, because the other "connected" LED indicator, which is constantly lit, is a nice, soft amber color. Why couldn't the activity light be a soft green light? So puzzling...

Other than that I don't have any complaints about the functionality of the hub. But to be honest I haven't really used it a lot, so it's possible there could be issues I'd be displeased with that I haven't discovered yet. That said, my experience with it has been positive overall, other than the near-strobe-light effect I'm getting from the LAN activity LED while downloading games.

Anyway, I'm still getting files on the external SSD so I can't test it yet, but hopefully having part of my Steam Library on an external drive will be "plug and play" when I connect to or disconnect from the dock/hub. 🤞
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on August 29, 2022, 03:18 PM
but hopefully having part of my Steam Library on an external drive will be "plug and play" when I connect to or disconnect from the dock/hub.
-Deozaan (August 29, 2022, 03:12 PM)

If it works with SDcards, I don't see why it wouldn't work. I'm probably going to use a NAS with mine at some point. Not sure if I put the link in here, but someone mounted their NAS as part of their steam library.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 29, 2022, 03:26 PM
but hopefully having part of my Steam Library on an external drive will be "plug and play" when I connect to or disconnect from the dock/hub.
-Deozaan (August 29, 2022, 03:12 PM)

If it works with SDcards, I don't see why it wouldn't work.
-wraith808 (August 29, 2022, 03:18 PM)

I imagine that the Deck is designed to automatically mount microSD cards when they're inserted.

When I first connected the external drive, it didn't show up in the "Storage" section. I had to go into Desktop mode and mount the drive first, at which point I could then manually add the drive as a secondary location for the Steam Library from within the Steam client. Then I booted back into Gaming mode and it appeared there and allowed me to install/move games to it. So my concern is that I'll have to boot into Desktop mode and manually mount it each time I connect it. But perhaps now that I've added it as a Steam Library it will remember and automatically reconnect.

EDIT: I guess that answers that question. I just restarted the Deck while still plugged into the hub and now the drive is no longer showing up.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on August 29, 2022, 07:15 PM
EDIT: I guess that answers that question. I just restarted the Deck while still plugged into the hub and now the drive is no longer showing up.
-Deozaan (August 29, 2022, 03:26 PM)

You will probably have to have a script that runs on boot.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/wu044l/did_you_know_you_can_setup_a_nas_as_a_steam/

This is the one on using a NAS. The actual post with the instructions can be found at https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/wu044l/comment/il6xlti/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

This includes shell scripts for recreating the mount and remounting if necessary from game mode after restart.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Shades on August 29, 2022, 10:37 PM
The script will be the most sure way of getting what you need done.

However, Samba on my Linux Laptop and now one of my desktops allowed me to auto-mount shared drives on both. Even did so with shared drives on Windows 11 and Windows Server 2019 computers. Besides turning the computers on, I don't have to do anything to access any of the shares from anywhere in my network at home.

Whether that is also the case with the SteamDeck, I don't know as I don't have access to one. But that option only being available in desktop mode on the Steamdeck would be a safe assumption.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 30, 2022, 11:26 AM
I should mention that I had another success with a game marked as "Unsupported" last night. With some caveats.

By all accounts on ProtonDB, Halo: The Master Chief Collection (https://www.protondb.com/app/976730) works just fine despite being ranked as Unsupported, with the caveat that the game's Easy Anti-Cheat doesn't work on Deck/Linux and therefore online multiplayer doesn't work. I'm not interested in the PvP anyway, but I do enjoy playing co-op through the campaigns. I haven't had a chance to test if co-op still works, whether online or via LAN, but I'm not sure why you'd need EAC for co-op in the first place. So I don't really have my hopes up but I'll keep my fingers crossed that co-op still works. But I tested it on Deck by playing through a mission in single-player without any issues, so if all you care about is the single-player campaign(s), give it a go.

EDIT: I guess that answers that question. I just restarted the Deck while still plugged into the hub and now the drive is no longer showing up.
-Deozaan (August 29, 2022, 03:26 PM)

You will probably have to have a script that runs on boot.

This includes shell scripts for recreating the mount and remounting if necessary from game mode after restart.
-wraith808 (August 29, 2022, 07:15 PM)

Thanks for the link (https://old.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/wu044l/did_you_know_you_can_setup_a_nas_as_a_steam/il6xlti/). And for the extra info as well, Shades. It should be helpful for re-mounting the external drive. And even better: I didn't think I was interested in setting up an SMB share but after seeing the image and skimming the instructions, I'm starting to see the potential appeal. I can see it being especially useful for having a large ROM/emulation library accessible on demand without having to take up space on the device itself. :D
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 30, 2022, 12:15 PM
I just learned about Remote Play Whatever (https://github.com/m4dEngi/RemotePlayWhatever), which is an app that allows you to use Steam's Remote Play Together feature on any game, including non-Steam games (such as emulators). It also now has an AppImage to make it usable on Steam Deck.

GitHub repo:
https://github.com/m4dEngi/RemotePlayWhatever

Reddit post with some details:
https://reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/wvc0rt/remoteplaywhatevertogether_now_has_an_appimage/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on August 30, 2022, 01:01 PM
By all accounts on ProtonDB, Halo: The Master Chief Collection works just fine despite being ranked as Unsupported, with the caveat that the game's Easy Anti-Cheat doesn't work on Deck/Linux and therefore online multiplayer doesn't work. I'm not interested in the PvP anyway, but I do enjoy playing co-op through the campaigns. I haven't had a chance to test if co-op still works, whether online or via LAN, but I'm not sure why you'd need EAC for co-op in the first place. So I don't really have my hopes up but I'll keep my fingers crossed that co-op still works.
-Deozaan (August 30, 2022, 11:26 AM)

Thanks for this! I'd wanted to get it, but passed when I saw unsupported. I know on Destiny 2 they're making it so that if you even try online play, your account gets banned.

And even better: I didn't think I was interested in setting up an SMB share but after seeing the image and skimming the instructions, I'm starting to see the potential appeal. I can see it being especially useful for having a large ROM/emulation library accessible on demand without having to take up space on the device itself.
-Deozaan (August 30, 2022, 11:26 AM)

Yeah, I was thinking about it because even with 512 GB additional, I'm down on space, and I thought about just setting up a share for those things I want to play at times, but I didnt want to switch out SD cards like I see some doing.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 30, 2022, 03:36 PM
By all accounts on ProtonDB, Halo: The Master Chief Collection works just fine (https://www.protondb.com/app/976730) despite being ranked as Unsupported, with the caveat that the game's Easy Anti-Cheat doesn't work on Deck/Linux and therefore online multiplayer doesn't work.
-Deozaan (August 30, 2022, 11:26 AM)

Thanks for this! I'd wanted to get it, but passed when I saw unsupported.
-wraith808 (August 30, 2022, 01:01 PM)

I just remembered that I did have to boot into Desktop mode and delete an EAC-related file before it would work, but other than that I didn't need to set any custom compatibility options or do other tinkering:

For the game to work at all, you need to move or remove this file: "steamapps/common/Halo The Master Chief Collection/easyanticheat/easyanticheat_x64.so" Then launch using the "Play Halo: MCC Anti-Cheat Disabled (Mods and Limited Services)" option.
-https://www.protondb.com/app/976730#7mf8VPh6e7
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on August 30, 2022, 06:01 PM
Yeah, I was thinking about it because even with 512 GB additional, I'm down on space
-wraith808 (August 30, 2022, 01:01 PM)

Tell me about it! I don't have an SD card in my 512 GB Deck, and when I connected the 256 GB external drive and queued up a bunch of games I forgot to set default installation location to the external drive first. So it all went to the internal drive and I ran out of space. I had to keep moving games to the external drive as they finished downloading to make enough room for the next thing in the queue. I remember being surprised at how quickly the 64 GB Deck filled up after seemingly only a few games, even with a 128 GB SD card in it. So when I got hold of the 512 GB Deck it felt so spacious. But I have found myself surprised once again at how little space even the 512 GB feels like.

Maybe in a year or two I'll be able to afford a 1-2 TB SD card to help alleviate the storage issue. :D
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on August 31, 2022, 10:58 AM
Yeah, I was thinking about it because even with 512 GB additional, I'm down on space
-wraith808 (August 30, 2022, 01:01 PM)

Tell me about it! I don't have an SD card in my 512 GB Deck, and when I connected the 256 GB external drive and queued up a bunch of games I forgot to set default installation location to the external drive first. So it all went to the internal drive and I ran out of space. I had to keep moving games to the external drive as they finished downloading to make enough room for the next thing in the queue. I remember being surprised at how quickly the 64 GB Deck filled up after seemingly only a few games, even with a 128 GB SD card in it. So when I got hold of the 512 GB Deck it felt so spacious. But I have found myself surprised once again at how little space even the 512 GB feels like.

Maybe in a year or two I'll be able to afford a 1-2 TB SD card to help alleviate the storage issue. :D
-Deozaan (August 30, 2022, 06:01 PM)


I see people installing larger drives in their deck- I'm just not comfortable enough to do that, so looking for other ways around it.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 01, 2022, 05:46 PM
I see people installing larger drives in their deck- I'm just not comfortable enough to do that, so looking for other ways around it.
-wraith808 (August 31, 2022, 10:58 AM)

Ditto. But I think it's likely that the storage limitations, especially of the 64 GB Deck, will lead to frustrations and eventually end up with me opening it up to replace the internal storage with a larger drive.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 01, 2022, 08:50 PM
I see people installing larger drives in their deck- I'm just not comfortable enough to do that, so looking for other ways around it.
-wraith808 (August 31, 2022, 10:58 AM)

Ditto. But I think it's likely that the storage limitations, especially of the 64 GB Deck, will lead to frustrations and eventually end up with me opening it up to replace the internal storage with a larger drive.
-Deozaan (September 01, 2022, 05:46 PM)

I am so glad I didn't skimp when I got the deck. Even 256 seems paltry now that I have it in hand.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 03, 2022, 12:20 AM
This is the one on using a NAS. The actual post with the instructions can be found at https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/wu044l/comment/il6xlti/
-wraith808 (August 29, 2022, 07:15 PM)

I finally got around to attempting this, but I got stuck pretty early on. I copied and pasted the first script and when I run it I get prompted for a password, but it will not accept the password I set using `passwd` so I'm not really sure what to do.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 03, 2022, 11:59 AM
I haven't gotten around to attempting it yet, so I'm not much help- but maybe you can ask on Reddit?


I've been trialing controllers for use with my steam deck, and the steel series I use on my desktop isn't working, so I got a Ps5 controller, and it's pretty good, though I'm getting some strange behaviors on certain games.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 04, 2022, 08:41 PM
This is the one on using a NAS. The actual post with the instructions can be found at https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/wu044l/comment/il6xlti/
-wraith808 (August 29, 2022, 07:15 PM)

I finally got around to attempting this, but I got stuck pretty early on. I copied and pasted the first script and when I run it I get prompted for a password, but it will not accept the password I set using `passwd` so I'm not really sure what to do.
-Deozaan (September 03, 2022, 12:20 AM)

I got it working, sort of. No matter what I tried it wouldn't accept my password. So then I replaced the `kdesu -c` command which causes a GUI password prompt to pop up with regular old `sudo` and was able to create the directories and mount the SMB if I ran the script from Konsole. But I also had problems getting it to accept my Windows login details, so I actually couldn't mount the SMB until I changed the shared folder settings from Windows to allow anybody to access it, even if they didn't have a username and password.

Then I had the bright idea that I could try just sharing my Steam directory on my Windows PC instead of trying to share a separate folder and possibly duplicate some of the games being installed, so while I was messing around with that, I decided to try `kdesu` again and suddenly it started accepting my root password. No idea what changed with it, but now at least the Linux side of things is working as advertised in that post. I'm still not sure what I was doing wrong with my Windows username/password combo, but I suppose that will be for another day.

I've been trialing controllers for use with my steam deck, and the steel series I use on my desktop isn't working, so I got a Ps5 controller, and it's pretty good, though I'm getting some strange behaviors on certain games.
-wraith808 (September 03, 2022, 11:59 AM)

I tried an Ouya controller fairly early on and the mappings were all wrong. After that I tried a Nintendo Switch Online SNES Controller and it had similar issues where the mappings were incorrect. Since then there have been notes in the Steam Update Logs saying support for NSO controllers was added, but I just tested it and I'm still having trouble getting about half the buttons to register properly.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 05, 2022, 11:15 AM
I sent back the Steelseries - it just shouldn't be that hard. The PS5 controller works for most games, but I'm thinking about getting an XBox One S controller as those seem to be the best for compatibility.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 05, 2022, 01:05 PM
Yeah. I have an Xbox 360 and an Xbox One controller, both of which I use for PC gaming. I've connected both to the Deck (via USB hub) and they both work flawlessly. I'm sure the newer models of Xbox controllers will also work just fine.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 06, 2022, 01:45 PM
Now I'm thinking about getting another SD Card....

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/x77cdp/steam_deck_quick_easy_sd_card_swapping_storing/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 06, 2022, 06:24 PM
Now I'm thinking about getting another SD Card....

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/x77cdp/steam_deck_quick_easy_sd_card_swapping_storing/
-wraith808 (September 06, 2022, 01:45 PM)

That's clever, and cheap. But I still think this is a better solution, if you're using the default carrying case and you have access to a 3D printer:

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Here's something I found that may be useful if you have access to a 3D printer. It's a little carrying case for the power cord, and even includes a few microSD card slots. The 3D-printed case goes in the little cavity behind the elastic strap of the Deck Carrying Case.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5356412
-Deozaan (July 19, 2022, 09:48 PM)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 07, 2022, 04:07 PM
if you're using the default carrying case
-Deozaan (September 06, 2022, 06:24 PM)

That's the big problem LOL. But besides that, I don't (hopefully) see myself getting anything but one more 1TB card.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 08, 2022, 12:06 AM
I don't (hopefully) see myself getting anything but one more 1TB card.
-wraith808 (September 07, 2022, 04:07 PM)

So you won't need one of these (https://www.printables.com/model/227865-steam-deck-sd-card-carousel-storage)? ;)

Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 08, 2022, 11:37 AM
Ummm.... no LOL. I'm actually trying to just keep things on there I play rather than have everything there.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 08, 2022, 05:40 PM
I just found out last night that my local library will do 3D prints for me for inexpensively (~$1 per 20 grams of filament), so I've asked them to make a Lifesaver (https://www.printables.com/model/254680-steam-deck-lifesaver-fall-protection) for me. Once I get an idea of how long it takes and the quality of the print, I will probably ask them to print more things.

Hopefully I can also get them to print the power cord / microSD card case inserts (https://www.printables.com/model/162557-steamdeck-usb-c-charger-cradle) for me. But they limit how much filament you can use on your prints and I think that case might use too much filament. But hopefully they aren't entirely strict on the limitations and I'll be able to work out an exception for a print or two.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 08, 2022, 08:22 PM
The 3D print is finished and in my hands! I was not expecting it today. :)

I don't know if this is the norm, but there's a very thin layer about 1 cm wide around the perimeter of the print that I guess I need to break or cut off somehow before I can use it. Otherwise it is too large to fit in the case as shown in the video.

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ] [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

So I'll work on removing that and probably post a picture or at least report back on how well it works soon-ish.

EDIT: It works!

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]


In other news, I think I might be in trouble. A few days ago when I was trying to figure out how to mount the SMB share I kept changing the password to be something easier and easier because I was tired of typing it so much during my failed testing. And now I've come back to it and everything I try for the password fails. So I think I may need to re-flash the Deck to recover access to the root account. :-[ :(
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 08, 2022, 11:06 PM
 Well that sucks :(

I haven't done too much with my Deck lately other than play :)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 10, 2022, 12:09 AM
So now that I've had to flash a Deck twice and both times I've had to look longer than I'd like for the recovery image download and instructions, I figure this would be a good place to leave a link to them.

Steam Deck Recovery Instructions:
https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/1B71-EDF2-EB6D-2BB3

Some keywords to help locate this post when doing a search:
Steam Deck Flash SteamOS ROM Image Recovery

Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 11, 2022, 02:10 AM
This isn't exactly specific to the Deck, but I don't think I would have discovered this if it weren't for the Deck.

Lately I've been really enjoying a new-ish genre of games I would call "Horde Survival" games. Both on Deck and on my desktop PC.

The game that popularized the genre is called Vampire Survivors (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1794680/Vampire_Survivors/). For some reason they (usually) all tend to look horrible and have ugly UIs, which is why I took one look at Vampire Survivors a few months ago and said, "Nope! Not for me!" But then I actually saw a video of the gameplay of one of them, called Boneraiser Minions (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1944570/Boneraiser_Minions/), and I thought it looked kind of fun.

They're kind of like twin-stick shooters, except you (usually) only control the movement of your character, and if an attack can be aimed it is (usually) just aimed in the direction your character is facing/moving. Hordes of enemies attack you from all sides, and your attacks/skills are (usually) automatically cast. You collect XP from your fallen foes and when you have enough XP to level up you get a random selection of skills to acquire or upgrade. And with that, you move around trying to stay alive long enough to defeat the waves of enemies and the boss(es).

Also, they are (usually) only $2-$4 each, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to find out if it was fun. And well, like I said, I've had a lot of fun. I've gotten several hours worth of fun from the 3 I've tried, and I think there's still many hours more fun left in them.

This is the video that finally got me to try them out, featuring Boneraiser Minions:



The same day I saw that video I bought both Boneraiser Minions (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1944570/Boneraiser_Minions/) and Vampire Survivors (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1794680/Vampire_Survivors/).

And then just two days ago I was perusing Fanatical's bundles when I saw that another game in the same genre, called Nomad Survival (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1929870/Nomad_Survival/), was in the Killer Bundle 23 (https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/killer-bundle-23). I felt the other games in the bundle looked interesting enough, so I got 6 games for $3.50, which is just $0.50 more than Nomad Survival alone would cost. (Incidentally, that was also the same time I got the Summer Mystery Bundle (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=52663.0) I posted about.)

Anyway, I've been really enjoying Nomad Survival as well, though I'm finding it initially much easier than the others. As in, I actually beat the first stage (which takes 30+ minutes) on my first (and second, and third) try. Whereas in the other two games I usually died within the first few minutes on my first try and had to buy several upgrades and try a few/several times before finally succeeding. But Nomad Survivors allows you to set modifiers to increase the difficulty, which also increases the rewards you receive. So I'm not too concerned about it being too easy, since I can always just make it harder if I want to.

TL;DR: I think Vampire Survivors and other "horde survival" games are pretty fun, and if you dismissed them out-of-hand like I did just because they're ugly, I highly suggest you give them a try. For $2-4 each, there's not much at risk. And if you buy one and find that you really hate it you can always refund the game if you play it for less than 2 hours.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 11, 2022, 07:04 PM
I decided it was more important (and less expensive) to get this JSAUX Docking Station (https://www.jsaux.com/products/upgraded-docking-station-for-steam-deck) which has 3x USB-A 3.0, 4K@60Hz HDMI 2.0, Gigabit LAN, and a 100W PD USB-C port.
-Deozaan (July 25, 2022, 03:37 PM)

The JSAUX Dock finally arrived yesterday. I connected a keyboard and mouse and another display to the Deck. I played a bit of Factorio, because while the game runs fine on the Deck, I feel it's just not the same without a mouse and keyboard. I haven't done a lot with the dock to put it through its paces. I still need to connect it to a 4K TV and the ethernet, and maybe connect an external storage.

I noticed that my external display would rarely go blank for a few seconds, as if the signal was lost. It happened a few times throughout the day. I hope it's not a faulty dock, but I'm pretty sure none of the other hardware is faulty. I typically use the same display as a secondary monitor for my desktop PC and I haven't seen it do this before. I suppose it could be a software issue. Maybe the Deck is trying to do something weird. I'll have to experiment with other displays, cables, and my other hub in various configurations to see if I can single out the problem.
-Deozaan (August 19, 2022, 09:41 AM)

I've had the JSAUX dock connected to my TV for a couple of weeks now, with ethernet connected, too.

I'm still experiencing occasional video or audio dropouts, and this is with a different display and using a different HDMI cable and even a different Steam Deck than what I used when I first experienced the issue. So I think either the JSAUX dock is faulty or it's working as designed and it's just a low quality product.

Another strange thing I've noticed, this time with the ethernet port, is that the power light is always on and the activity light is constantly blinking, even when there's nothing else (except the power cord) connected to the dock. What is doing the communicating, and with whom is it communicating? I don't know enough about how to monitor incoming and outgoing traffic to/from the dock, but it does give me some privacy and security concerns. What kind of chips are inside the dock? Is it phoning home with telemetry? Does it have a built-in keylogger? Did JSAUX create a botnet with their docks using unsuspecting Steam Deck owners? In this day and age with tiny microcontrollers and SoCs, who knows what kind of nefarious things could be going on inside the outer shell of the dock.

Here's the step-by-step breakdown of what's going on:

When I first connect the power cable to the JSAUX dock, with nothing else connected to any of the ports, the power and activity lights will flash once very briefly and then go and stay dark. If I then plug in an ethernet cable, the power light immediately comes on and remains steadily lit, and the activity light starts blinking and doesn't stop. If I disconnect the ethernet cable, the lights will go dark and stay dark. In short: with only the power and ethernet cables connected to the JSAUX dock, the network activity light blinks continuously, whether or not anything else is connected to the dock.

By comparison, when I connect the power cable to the dockTech 7-in-1 hub with nothing else connected to any of the ports, the power and activity lights briefly flash a few times and then go dark and stay dark. If I then plug in an ethernet cable, the lights remain dark. If I plug in the Deck (while it is powered off), the lights remain dark. Once I turn on the Deck the lights start flickering occasionally as if it's trying to perform a handshake with my router. By the time the Deck has booted up to the user selection screen (or straight into Gaming Mode if you don't have multiple users), the power light has come on and remains steadily lit, and the activity light starts blinking as expected to indicate network activity. If I disconnect the ethernet cable, the lights will go dark and stay dark. If I reconnect the ethernet cable, the lights come on again as expected. If I disconnect the hub from the Deck, the lights go dark and remain dark. Or if I leave the Deck connected to the hub and power it (the Deck) off, the lights go dark and remain dark. In short: there is no indicated network activity except when I would expect there to be network activity.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 11, 2022, 08:50 PM
I'm using that one that was an all in one when I play in the bedroom, and haven't had any issues with it.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B09ZY6J8P4/

I haven't actually used my 'dock' version yet.

Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 12, 2022, 02:35 AM
I see people installing larger drives in their deck- I'm just not comfortable enough to do that, so looking for other ways around it.
-wraith808 (August 31, 2022, 10:58 AM)

Ditto. But I think it's likely that the storage limitations, especially of the 64 GB Deck, will lead to frustrations and eventually end up with me opening it up to replace the internal storage with a larger drive.
-Deozaan (September 01, 2022, 05:46 PM)

I am so glad I didn't skimp when I got the deck. Even 256 seems paltry now that I have it in hand.
-wraith808 (September 01, 2022, 08:50 PM)

I'm really tempted to get this Kingston 512 GB M.2 2230 SSD for $51 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/115504274486). It's supposedly the OEM drive that Valve use in the 512 GB Deck, according to a random person on Reddit (https://libreddit.pussthecat.org/r/SteamDeck/comments/xbrjsz/kingston_512gb_2230_drives_are_51_usd/io1koz7/?context=3). If true, that would put the 64 GB Deck on par with the 512 GB Deck, minus the laser-etched screen, and for $200 less than the 512 GB Deck cost. That's an expensive screen. . .

Pre-post edit: After making the realization of what I wrote in those last two sentences, I was convinced to get it. 🤓 I came back to update this post saying I'd bought it and realized I hadn't even submitted it yet. :D
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 12, 2022, 10:05 AM
Well, in any case, it will be interesting to see your progress  ;D :Thmbsup:

EDIT: Just don't be this guy

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/xcd9ym/added_a_2280_nvme_to_my_deck/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 12, 2022, 10:35 AM
A collection of Steam Deck tips that are downloadable: https://steamdeckguide.tiddlyhost.com/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 14, 2022, 02:30 PM
I'm really tempted to get this Kingston 512 GB M.2 2230 SSD for $51 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/115504274486). It's supposedly the OEM drive that Valve use in the 512 GB Deck, according to a random person on Reddit (https://libreddit.pussthecat.org/r/SteamDeck/comments/xbrjsz/kingston_512gb_2230_drives_are_51_usd/io1koz7/?context=3). If true, that would put the 64 GB Deck on par with the 512 GB Deck, minus the laser-etched screen, and for $200 less than the 512 GB Deck cost. That's an expensive screen. . .

Pre-post edit: After making the realization of what I wrote in those last two sentences, I was convinced to get it. 🤓 I came back to update this post saying I'd bought it and realized I hadn't even submitted it yet. :D
-Deozaan (September 12, 2022, 02:35 AM)

The drive arrived. I'm not sure if counterfeit (lower capacity than advertised) NVMe drives is a thing like it is with USB/microSD drives, so I used f3 (Fight Flash Fraud, or Fight Fake Flash) (https://fight-flash-fraud.readthedocs.io/en/latest/introduction.html) to test it and it appears to be the full capacity. Now I'm going to watch a video or two on how to properly take apart the Deck to access the internal storage and replace it and re-flash the OS and all that.

Well, in any case, it will be interesting to see your progress  ;D :Thmbsup:

EDIT: Just don't be this guy

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/xcd9ym/added_a_2280_nvme_to_my_deck/
-wraith808 (September 12, 2022, 10:05 AM)

What the smurf? :o
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 14, 2022, 04:09 PM
I just finished installing the new drive and flashed the OS. Just booting into Steam OS literally as I begin typing this. I'm not sure if it really is the same OEM drive as my 512 GB Deck because they report slightly different sizes.

The newly upgraded Deck reports a maximum of 463.4 GB from the Storage menu, whereas my original 512 GB Deck reports a maximum of 465.3 GB. Even so, that's close enough for me! Now I can scavenge the 256GB microSD card I had put into what was the 64 GB Deck and use it for even more storage on mine. 🤓 Though, with it being slower, I'll have to remember to put only smaller things on it, such as ROMS or small indie games, or personal documents/project files from Desktop Mode.

I have no problem opening up a desktop PC or even a laptop, but I was pretty intimidated about opening up the Deck. I did have a little bit of trouble because I don't have a "professional" screwdriver/repair kit with all the accompanying tools. The first screwdriver I tried was too pointy for the shallow notches of the screws and didn't always catch, so I couldn't spin it. The next screwdriver I tried worked better but the bit was too large to fit into the deeper holes. Then I got out my "precision/jeweler" screwdriver set, but they're tiny little things I can never get a good enough grip on to apply torque with any real force. So I had to use some pliers to grip the precision screwdriver while forcing it down into the screw-hole and finally loosened everything up enough to get all the requisite screws out.

Then the next hard part was separating the back of the plastic shell from the front. I don't have a spudger so I grabbed a LEGO separator tool which did the trick, but I noticed after the fact that it did ever-so-slightly damage the plastic of the Deck at the location where I first stuck it in. But it's so slight that I doubt anyone else who uses the Deck would ever notice. Then, to separate the shell on the outside of the triggers, I had to push the LEGO tool down the crevice near the trigger and the seam between the front and back of the shell and twist/pry it slightly to get it to separate enough to insert a flathead screwdriver (because I didn't have anything else to use as a spudger) to gently pry it apart the rest of the way. Once I got it started like that I was able to use the LEGO tool to finish going around the sides and bottom of the device up to the other trigger, which required the same trick as before, though with less force. The whole thing would definitely be easier if you have a nice electronic device repair kit with decent screwdrivers and a couple of spudgers.

Once I got it open it was pretty smooth sailing, with the only other hiccup being that the 64 GB drive had a little metallic sleeve around it for some kind of shielding. The 512 GB drive is slightly thicker than the 64GB drive so I couldn't get the shield on without loosening it a little bit. That just involved pulling back the adhesive, putting the drive in the shield, and then re-adhering the shield back together. Then I put everything back together and flashed the OS and it's good to go. All in less than an hour even with my minor setbacks. In fact, it took me almost as long to write this post as it did to actually change out the drive and boot the Deck back into Steam OS. 😅

In short, even though I was intimidated at the prospect of opening it up, I feel it wasn't that big of a deal now that I've done it and I would have no problem opening it up again if necessary.

Now, what to do with the spare 64 GB EMMC module I have? I wish I had a more modern computer with a few empty M.2 slots I could put it in. . .
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 14, 2022, 04:31 PM
That's pretty amazing, Deo! I'd still never do it LOL
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 14, 2022, 10:50 PM
I had no intention of opening up the Deck, but the 64 GB storage was just too restrictive and I felt more and more that it had to be done. With some trepidation I followed this video guide and found that it was a piece of cake in hindsight.



Now that I've done it, I almost regret paying so much for the 512 GB Deck, when I could have just gotten another 64 GB model, a 512 GB SSD, and a matte screen protector and had a device on par with the 512 GB Deck while paying about $200 less. (Which I could spend on accessories!)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 15, 2022, 12:57 PM
Given that it's new hardware, I never regret not modding because of warranty.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 16, 2022, 08:43 PM
Valve have been very gracious about their warranty, repairing or replacing units even if the customer opened it up. If I run into an issue that requires me to send it back for replacement/repair under warranty, I can just open it up again and put the 64 GB drive back inside.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 18, 2022, 03:29 PM
Again, this is slightly off topic, but for more gameplay videos of horde survival games, including one that's completely free, here's a Let's Play channel called PlayFrame showing off Vampire Survivors and HoloCure.


Vampire Survivors - I am addicted now


HoloCure - Welcome to VTube Survivors
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 18, 2022, 06:07 PM
You really do like those games LOL
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 19, 2022, 03:33 AM
I haven't played HoloCure, but I've been definitely been enjoying Vampire Survivors, Nomad Survival, and Boneraiser Minions since first getting into the genre. There's something really fun/satisfying about playing them and discovering/unlocking new stuff. :D 🤓
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 19, 2022, 10:46 AM
By the way, Vampire Survivors 1.0 will be releasing soon, meaning the game will be coming out of Early Access. In preparation for that, it's also going to be getting a price increase in the coming days.

I've already gotten over 13 hours of fun out the game, and I expect I will probably at least double that, if not triple or more. Not bad for only $3.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 26, 2022, 01:16 PM
Support for multiple user accounts was a big concern of mine early on, as I haven't found there to be a lot of information about it online. Most of the YouTube videos I've seen that focus on the Deck seem to be made by people who don't have to share it with anybody else. Switching accounts isn't quite as seamless or fast as it is on, say, the Nintendo Switch or the Wii U before it. It feels slightly buried in the UI but it's not too bad. I think Gaming Mode is basically just a new Steam Big Picture Mode interface, and when you change accounts it appears to completely restart the Steam client, if not the entire device. It takes about 25-30 seconds to completely change accounts once they're on there.

It does not make a new Linux user account, so all the Desktop Mode stuff appears to be shared. Same Downloads folder, same Documents folder, same Desktop icons/files, etc. If your browser is set up to restore tabs when it launches, it will restore the tab(s) that the last person had opened. That kind of data sharing is not ideal, IMO. I don't necessarily want someone else to be able to access and edit/overwrite my files, whether intentionally or not. That said, there are probably workarounds to most of the issues. For example, internet browser profiles are a thing that exist, so each person could probably just have their own icon on the desktop that launches their browser profile.
-Deozaan (July 16, 2022, 03:35 AM)

I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but it just occurred to me that I can still create more Linux user accounts on the Steam Deck in Desktop mode. So I can have the general purpose, shared user account that comes with the Deck by default, and I could also have a separate, private/personal--and password protected!--account for when I'm intending to use Desktop mode for "serious business" and the like. And I suppose it has the added bonus of providing separating the gaming aspect of the device from the desktop "work" environment, so that if I'm using it for work there's more effort required to get into a game and therefore hopefully less of a chance I'll get distracted and not get anything done.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 26, 2022, 04:02 PM
By the way, Vampire Survivors 1.0 will be releasing soon, meaning the game will be coming out of Early Access. In preparation for that, it's also going to be getting a price increase in the coming days.

I've already gotten over 13 hours of fun out the game, and I expect I will probably at least double that, if not triple or more. Not bad for only $3.
-Deozaan (September 19, 2022, 10:46 AM)

Didn't get it in time, but it's only $5. I also figured out by accident that I can wake up my Steam Deck with the Xbox controller.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 26, 2022, 11:37 PM
Didn't get it in time, but it's only $5.
-wraith808 (September 26, 2022, 04:02 PM)

The reason for the price increase before the game released out of Early Access is because the developer has expressed a desire to list the game in upcoming holiday sales and Valve require that the price of a game doesn't change within a certain amount of time before being listed in a sale. In short, if you don't mind waiting a bit, it will be on sale soon™. But personally I feel it's worth $5. I've put 30 hours into it and I'm still not finished playing it yet.

I also figured out by accident that I can wake up my Steam Deck with the Xbox controller.
-wraith808 (September 26, 2022, 04:02 PM)

Cool. How?

Is it connected wirelessly via Bluetooth? Or wired? Or with a wireless dongle? I ask because I have an Xbox One controller, and it has a compartment for batteries, but I've always only used it wired via USB because it was my understanding that I needed to have a special/proprietary dongle to get it to work on my computer wirelessly. I've never actually tried putting batteries in it to see if it worked over Bluetooth. 😅 Well, and my PC doesn't have Bluetooth anyway, so that's another reason I didn't try it. But if it comes with Bluetooth I may start connecting it to my Deck wirelessly instead of having to drag so many cords around when I dock it to the TV.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on September 27, 2022, 03:55 PM
Cool. How?

Is it connected wirelessly via Bluetooth? Or wired? Or with a wireless dongle? I ask because I have an Xbox One controller, and it has a compartment for batteries, but I've always only used it wired via USB because it was my understanding that I needed to have a special/proprietary dongle to get it to work on my computer wirelessly. I've never actually tried putting batteries in it to see if it worked over Bluetooth. 😅 Well, and my PC doesn't have Bluetooth anyway, so that's another reason I didn't try it. But if it comes with Bluetooth I may start connecting it to my Deck wirelessly instead of having to drag so many cords around when I dock it to the TV.
-Deozaan (September 26, 2022, 11:37 PM)

Wired. I have it connected to my jsaux dock wired to charge it, and before I take it off the charger, I press the xbox button and it turns on.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on September 27, 2022, 07:01 PM
I have it connected to my jsaux dock
-wraith808 (September 27, 2022, 03:55 PM)

Speaking of which, JSAUX released a firmware update to their docks to increase compatibility with some displays or something.

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/09/jsaux-released-a-firmware-update-for-their-steam-deck-docking-stations/

Ironically, the updater only works on Windows.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on October 06, 2022, 05:05 PM
The Deck is no longer backordered, so new orders will ship out shortly after the order is placed.

The Steam Deck got an update in the past 24 hours fixing a lot of things related to external displays, and now the Docking Station (https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeckdock) is officially for sale.

It's kind of pricey at $90 but it does include a power brick (exactly like the one that comes with the Deck).



EDIT: Replaced video link since Valve unlisted it after people noticed a split-second of footage showing a Nintendo Switch emulator. ;D
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on October 06, 2022, 10:06 PM
Yeah, I already ordered it. I wasn't going to, but then saw it came with a brick, and that put the price into better perspective.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on October 10, 2022, 11:07 PM
Call me Britney, because oops! I did it again!

It seems I forgot the password I set on the other Deck when I was trying to get them both set up to use the SMB share some weeks ago. But this time I found a way to remove the password from the account instead of just wiping the drive and starting over from scratch.

I posted my solution as response #13 in this Steam Community thread:

Somehow set a password and forgot it... (https://steamcommunity.com/app/1675200/discussions/0/3269059787433707281/#c3395176266126926151) (archive link (https://archive.ph/fKKrk), in case the original dies somehow).
The details of which are based on a Reddit thread (https://old.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/tuoidv/forgot_my_password_for_the_konsole_now_what/ibpf1o7/) (archive (https://archive.ph/VkI5r)).
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on October 11, 2022, 11:22 AM
The reason I needed the Desktop mode password again was because I decided to try out a plugin called Decky Loader (https://github.com/SteamDeckHomebrew/decky-loader). A short preview of it and some of its features is shown in the following video:



Installation (https://github.com/SteamDeckHomebrew/decky-loader#installation) was pretty straightforward once I had a working password. The only hang-up I had was that the instructions say to "reboot back into Game mode [from Desktop mode]" which I interpreted to mean clicking the link to return to Game mode but I had to actually fully reboot the Deck before it showed up.

https://github.com/SteamDeckHomebrew/decky-loader

I got it installed and installed a few plugins with it but haven't really done much with it yet.

I did briefly try out the GameFaqs plugin because I thought that might be nice to have relatively quick access to while in games. It seems functional, and it has a nice feature where it detects the name of the game you're currently playing to help you search for GameFaqs guides for it. There's also an option to view the guide in full-screen which is kind of useless IMO because when you make it full-screen it doesn't remember how far you were scrolled in the guide so you have to scroll back down to your place. And when you exit out of the guide back into the game it closes the full-screen part, which if you open again is scrolled all the way to the top again. So there's no real quick and easy way to view the guide in full-screen. But the sidebar view does remember the scroll position, so while it's a bit cramped, it works well enough, as long as you're not trying to view any fancy ASCII tables or charts that would be too wide for it and get jumbled due to word-wrapping.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on October 11, 2022, 01:41 PM
If you have prime, there's a special today on 1TB memory cards at $127 instead of $249 and I've had my eye on it for a while - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09X7MPX8L

I got one. It won't be here until November, but that's fine.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on October 11, 2022, 10:18 PM
Nice tip! I guess I missed it because for me it says it's $162.70 and not eligible for Prime, only available from 3rd party resellers, etc. But that's OK because even $130 is still a bit much for me to be spending on an SD card at the moment. :)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on October 12, 2022, 01:29 AM
I just finished unlocking all achievements and all the characters and things in Vampire Survivors.

I spent 53 hours on the game to get to this point, and there are some characters I haven't even played yet, so I feel pretty satisfied with my $3 purchase! It's now my top 15th game as far as recorded playtime in Steam! :D I think I'll take a break from the game and maybe go back to Nomad Survival, which just released out of Early Access recently.

That said, Vampire Survivors is scheduled to release out of Early Access in a couple of weeks, and I believe there will be more new content to experience and unlock, so I may come back to it soon. :D
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on October 14, 2022, 10:51 AM
Valve have recently made it much easier to customize boot videos, with evidence that soon™ they will even have custom boot videos available in the Points Shop, and this is the only logical outcome:

Help!! I've set my boot video to Shrek and now I can't use my Steam Deck until it's over! (https://reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/y3htzd/help_ive_set_my_boot_video_to_shrek_and_now_i/is8pj3e/)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on October 16, 2022, 10:55 AM
JSAUX recently released a dock with a slot for an M.2 drive, but what interested me was when I learned that they also have made available a script which will auto-mount the drive when you connect the Deck to it. Taking a look at the script, I found they have just grabbed it from someone else who goes by scawp, so I looked into the original source here:

https://github.com/scawp/Steam-Deck.Mount-External-Drive

And it appears that scawp has also made a few other Deck tools/scripts and tutorial videos:

https://github.com/scawp/Steam-Deck.Tools-List
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on October 19, 2022, 04:24 PM
That's pretty cool. I'm not sure I'm going there... 1.5 TB should be more than enough for what I really need on my deck. But it is cool to see!
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on October 19, 2022, 05:02 PM
That's pretty cool. I'm not sure I'm going there... 1.5 TB should be more than enough for what I really need on my deck. But it is cool to see!
-wraith808 (October 19, 2022, 04:24 PM)

Yeah, I have no plans to get the JSAUX dock with M.2 slot. But I may use the script to auto-mount external drives that are attached to the docks/hubs I already own.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on October 26, 2022, 06:32 PM
Another success with an "Unsupported" title: TrackMania2 Valley (https://store.steampowered.com/app/243360/TrackMania_Valley/).

The really strange thing is that TrackMania2 Stadium (https://store.steampowered.com/app/243360/TrackMania_Valley/) is listed as Playable, but both games use the same launcher and are essentially the same game with different content. In fact, there's no point in installing both games since you can install and launch into any of the content packs from the launcher. So I could just install TrackMania2 Stadium and play Valley content from it. Or I can install TrackMania2 Valley and play Stadium content from it. I really don't understand why one is considered Unsupported while the other is considered Playable. They both seem fully playable to me on Deck.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on November 17, 2022, 02:27 AM
Wired. I have it connected to my jsaux dock wired to charge it, and before I take it off the charger, I press the xbox button and it turns on.
-wraith808 (September 27, 2022, 03:55 PM)

What kind of Xbox controller do you have? I have Xbox 360 and Xbox One controllers from about 10+ years ago and neither of them turn on the Deck. Or maybe I'm doing something wrong. 😅

The right shoulder button (bumper) on my Xbox One controller recently stopped working so I'm looking into either getting a new controller or a replacement part. I'm not sure I'm up to the soldering to replace the button. But I'm still checking out my options.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on November 21, 2022, 12:52 PM
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SFKTLZM/

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on November 23, 2022, 01:39 AM
Wow. $175 for a controller? (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/1Small/gwiazdy.gif)

I'll just get this one for $40:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/microsoft-xbox-wireless-controller-for-xbox-series-x-xbox-series-s-xbox-one-windows-devices-carbon-black/6430655.p
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on November 26, 2022, 05:45 AM
Wow. $175 for a controller? (https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/esmileys/gen3/1Small/gwiazdy.gif)

I'll just get this one for $40:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/microsoft-xbox-wireless-controller-for-xbox-series-x-xbox-series-s-xbox-one-windows-devices-carbon-black/6430655.p
-Deozaan (November 23, 2022, 01:39 AM)

I got it on sale. It was still admittedly $100, but was worth it for me.

If you think that one is expensive, then not sure what you'll say about this one ;)

https://smile.amazon.com/Instinct-Custom-Wireless-Performance-Controller-Mobile/dp/B06VTRJGCP/
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on December 06, 2022, 06:55 PM
The last couple of updates have made things less convenient for me.

Two updates ago, suddenly docked mode "broke" for me. Any time I change accounts or switch from Desktop Mode to Gaming Mode, video output stops. I don't know why, but the Deck refuses to display anything on my TV when the user selection screen is up. And just blindly navigating doesn't fix it. I have to disconnect and reconnect the HDMI cable from the dock before my TV recognizes any output from the Deck again.

To be more precise, the display just freezes before it gets to the account selection screen. The first couple of times it happened I thought the Deck itself had locked up and I pressed the power button for several seconds to hard reset the device. But then I realized I can still hear audio after the display freezes, and then I realized I can still do stuff with an external controller, or even using the controls on the Deck itself. But the display on my TV doesn't start working again until I disconnect and reconnect the HDMI cable from the dock. Or reconnect the Deck itself to the dock via the USB C cable.

A few days later there was another update (which I believe is the most recent Stable update) which made things even more inconvenient! Now there's a confirmation dialog that pops up every time I ask the Deck to switch accounts. And the confirmation prompt doesn't even really make sense. It warns me that it will close my running game to allow switching accounts. That might be useful if I was ever actually running a game when it happened, but I have never tried to switch accounts when I still had a game running, so the confirmation prompt is not only useless, it's inconvenient and a little aggravating. There are multiple people in my household who use the Deck, so switching accounts happens somewhat frequently. Sometimes even when we're playing together on the same machine, because one of us have made more progress on a certain game, so we want to play on that account. Or maybe we want to progress the story or unlocks of a specific account's save data, so we switch to that one.

I've never been very pleased with how Steam handles multiple user accounts (even on Windows machines), but recent updates to the Deck are making it worse.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on December 06, 2022, 11:09 PM
Two updates ago, suddenly docked mode "broke" for me. Any time I change accounts or switch from Desktop Mode to Gaming Mode, video output stops. I don't know why, but the Deck refuses to display anything on my TV when the user selection screen is up. And just blindly navigating doesn't fix it. I have to disconnect and reconnect the HDMI cable from the dock before my TV recognizes any output from the Deck again.
-Deozaan (December 06, 2022, 06:55 PM)
Well that explains a problem I've been having lately. I just hadn't looked into it.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on December 07, 2022, 10:26 PM
I guess it's true that misery loves company. :P It's nice to have confirmation that I'm not the only one experiencing it. I haven't seen the issue mentioned elsewhere.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on December 11, 2022, 12:44 AM
I had the Deck docked to the TV today and it randomly acted like it was installing an update when it restarted so I could change accounts a couple hours ago. And now the user accounts screen is working on the TV again. I haven't seen or heard any news of an update for the stable channel of the Deck in some time. Nor have I heard of a firmware update for the Docking Station itself since shortly after it launched. So I'm not sure why things are suddenly working again for me, but I'm certainly not complaining.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on December 22, 2022, 02:25 AM
Well, I figured my new Wireless Xbox Controller would be useful in that I could use it with a cable at my PC and use it wirelessly with the Deck. But even though I've had it for about a month, I only recently actually tried wireless (Bluetooth) play on the Deck and I'm not impressed. I experienced pretty severe and inconsistent input lag. Sometimes it was totally unresponsive for several seconds. Other times it was like it was "fast forwarding" through a bunch of buffered inputs, trying to catch up all at once. Other times it was about a half second of pushing or letting go of a button before seeing the appropriate response on screen. Other times it was pretty close to how I'd expect if it was wired.

Oh, and it wasn't just the Xbox Controller. I also had two Nintendo Joy-Cons connected via Bluetooth and the person who was using them also complained of unresponsiveness. And in fact, at one point one of the Joycons disconnected and refused to reconnect until I opened up the Deck's settings and told it to forget about the Joycon and paired it again.

And this was only 5-10 feet away with direct line of sight between controllers and the Deck.

This is my first experience with a wireless controller on anything except an actual console that the wireless controller was designed for. Is this... normal? Is this how all Bluetooth controllers work on all computers? Is it just the Deck's hardware? Is it just my Deck?



Come to think of it, I have connected a Nintendo Switch Online SNES controller via Bluetooth to my Deck before, for a relatively short time, and I don't remember any issues like this with that. But that might have been the 64 GB Deck, before my 512 GB Deck arrived.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on December 22, 2022, 11:46 PM
I haven't had that kind of problem- BT has been good for me with three different types of controllers - PS5, SteelSeries and Xbox One
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on January 09, 2023, 06:27 PM
I've been eagerly awaiting the "next" stable update to Steam OS which was supposed to include the feature of automatically mounting any external drives that were formatted to the ext4 filesystem. I have an external drive connected to the dock by my TV with some games installed to it that I figured I'd pretty much only want to play when I was at the TV, such as local multiplayer games.

Well, I learned that the update I was waiting for actually happened some time in mid-December and yet... I'm not seeing my external drive automatically get mounted when I connect or boot up the Deck in the dock. :(
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on January 09, 2023, 09:17 PM
I'm trying to get the energy to do more to my Deck. I have a 1TB card sitting around and an adapter so I can copy everything over, but haven't even done that, let alone a lot of the other things I wanted to do. Just been playing games LOL
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on January 10, 2023, 12:16 AM
Yeah. I haven't done as many different things with the Deck (so far) as I expected to. But I've done a ton more gaming because of it than I've done in recent years. :D
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on February 13, 2023, 09:54 AM
https://www.theverge.com/23568679/steam-deck-jsaux-transparent-backplate-hands-on

Silly me.

I thought I was buying JSAUX’s transparent backplate for the Steam Deck for the bragging rights. Transparent gadgets are fun! But you know what’s cooler than seeing inside your Steam Deck? Having a Deck that runs cooler, too.

I’m happy to report that after spending $30 on my very own JSAUX PC0106 Transparent Back Plate for Steam Deck, my original skepticism didn’t pan out. Not only does it look great, its built-in aluminum heatsink actually does help manage the $400 handheld gaming PC’s heat. And at just eight Phillips-head screws and a little prying to pop off your original backplate, it’s an easy mod to do.

More at link. It seems like a good mod and an easy mod... but I'm still leery of hardware mods to my deck. I might try this one though.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on February 13, 2023, 02:50 PM
I heard about that backplate. I don't think it's for me.

So far I haven't really played anything on the Deck that maxed out the system and made the fan run at full bore. I'm not feeling the need for the device to run a few degrees C cooler. And also the exposed heatsink does get hot to the touch. That's probably not a problem while you're holding it while playing (or while docked) but it's not uncommon for me to put the Deck to sleep and then lay it down on my lap while I take care of something else momentarily. I don't think my leg would appreciate the heat. And I wonder how it would affect my willingness to shut down the Deck or put it to sleep and then immediately put it in its carrying case and zip it up, knowing all that heat is right there.

By the way, if you're willing to remove the backplate of your Deck, then that's pretty much all that's required to do other things such as swap out the internal storage. Not that you'd need to with the 512GB model. Just saying that I was pretty nervous about it at first, but once I did it I realized it was pretty easy and fairly non-invasive. :)

Just make sure you remove your microSD card first.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on February 16, 2023, 11:20 AM
Yeah, I have a 1TB SD card I need to upgrade to, and after that, 1.5TB should be more than enough, I think LOL
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on February 18, 2023, 07:05 PM
The latest stats from Check My Deck (https://checkmydeck.ofdgn.com/):

52% Playable+

I've found workarounds for quite a few "Unsupported" titles and they seem to work just fine. Sometimes it's as simple as using GE-Proton. Other times it involves something more complicated. For an example of a more complicated one, I finally got Burnout Paradise Remastered working on the Deck. But to be fair, I think that once I finally found working instructions, it was easier/faster to get it working on the Deck than it was for me to get it working on Windows. Stupid EA/Origin!
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on February 18, 2023, 08:45 PM
Mine is a bit higher.

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on March 07, 2023, 02:01 PM
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-community-continues-to-blow-our-minds-valve-talk-the-steam-deck-one-year-on
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on March 08, 2023, 02:11 PM
That anniversary link sent me down a rabbit hole and somehow I ended up here:


Steam Deck Performance Boost with CryoUtilities
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on March 10, 2023, 10:18 AM
Have you installed it yet?
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on March 11, 2023, 11:43 AM
Yes, I have. But I haven't really tested it yet on any games that used to struggle to keep a constant framerate.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on March 13, 2023, 10:17 PM
I installed it- also going to go through installing my 1GB SD card and copying the files over then I'll install something to tax it.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on March 14, 2023, 04:15 PM
I installed CryoUtilities mostly to get better performance with emulation than with Steam games, which seems to have helped. :Thmbsup:
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on March 28, 2023, 02:59 PM
I installed CryoUtilities mostly to get better performance with emulation than with Steam games, which seems to have helped. :Thmbsup:
-Deozaan (March 14, 2023, 04:15 PM)

I haven't done any emulation. What kind of emulated games are you running?
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on March 29, 2023, 01:48 AM
What kind of emulated games are you running?
-wraith808 (March 28, 2023, 02:59 PM)

Short answer:

I've done a bit here and there with games/consoles dating back to the 80s all the way up to "current-gen" (Nintendo Switch) games. My incentive to install CryoUtilities was mostly to help with performance in Switch games (some of which perform rather poorly on the Switch itself).

Long answer:

Honestly, I haven't spent a lot of time playing many different emulated games. 😅 But I've spent a lot of time copying files over and getting them set up to look nice on the Deck's UI so I can play them in the future, should the desire ever arise. 🤓

I think that's more due to how I tend to play games. When I play a game that I like, I tend to go all-in and play it to death until I've done everything I want to do in it. Then when I'm finished I usually don't touch it again. Multiplayer games are a different story, since how often and for how long I play them also depends on the whims of the other players. But for single player experiences, what I described usually holds true.

But I'm also starting to get old, and looking back on the past ~35 years of my gaming experience I've started feeling nostalgic for some games I really enjoyed "back in the day" and thinking I'd like to play some of them again. I also discovered RetroAchievements (https://retroachievements.org/) a few months before I got the Deck. I thought I mentioned it earlier in this thread, but a cursory forum search isn't showing me any results. Basically, RetroAchievements are community-created achievements made for games/consoles from before achievements were a thing. So with a free account and a compatible emulator, you can earn achievements for a variety of retro games/consoles from decades past. Here's a link to my RetroAchievements profile (https://retroachievements.org/user/Deozaan). Any games on my profile with 5 or fewer achievements earned (which are most of them) are games that I only booted up to the title screen or played for a few minutes to see how they ran.

So even though I'm feeling nostalgic enough to play some games again that I've already played through before, the way I play games hasn't really changed. And with RetroAchievements giving me more to do in the games that I might have ordinarily done with them in the past, I'm still working on a couple of emulated games I started in October (because they were "spooky") but have less interest in playing now that Halloween is over. But because I haven't finished them yet I haven't really given myself permission to start other retro emulated games. In the meantime, I still have a backlog of PC games I want to play and I keep coming across free giveaways or cheap sales for new games that either get added to the backlog or pique my interest enough that they skip the queue and I start playing them right away.

So when I'm playing games, there's a good chance I'm not playing an emulated game. And when I'm playing an emulated game, it's probably the same one I started a while ago. Which means I'm not spending a lot of quality time playing a variety of emulated games. I think there have been only about 10 emulated titles that I've spent over an hour with on with the Deck so far.

However, as I mentioned earlier, I do occasionally boot up games for just a few minutes to see how they run on the Deck. I've done that with quite a few (many of which would not register on my RetroAchievements profile due to being for an unsupported console or the game itself just not having any achievements created for it). It has been mostly games for Nintendo consoles, including the Nintendo Switch. But I've also spent a little time with other non-Nintendo consoles as far back as the Mattel Intellivisionw and as recent as the PlayStation 3. Nothing for Xbox, though, since I've never owned any of them.

It's fun being able to play some older titles--especially multiplayer ones--on the TV without having to pull out the consoles, games, and controllers from storage.

And honestly, though I prefer having physical copies of console games for the feeling of full ownership, using/playing digital copies is so much more convenient than having to have a bunch of discs or cartridges handy and get up and swap them out any time I want to play a different game. And I really like having full control over my save data and being able to easily back it up, which hasn't traditionally been an easy/accessible thing to do on consoles. So even though I actually have a Nintendo Switch connected to my TV, I've copied my save data and dumped the game files from the cartridges and I prefer to play the games using the Deck if they run well enough on it.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on March 29, 2023, 11:09 AM
The only emulation I was involved with is for Arcade games - I never got into console emulation, so it's interesting to see.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on April 06, 2023, 11:35 PM
By all accounts on ProtonDB, Halo: The Master Chief Collection works just fine (https://www.protondb.com/app/976730) despite being ranked as Unsupported, with the caveat that the game's Easy Anti-Cheat doesn't work on Deck/Linux and therefore online multiplayer doesn't work.
-Deozaan (August 30, 2022, 11:26 AM)

Thanks for this! I'd wanted to get it, but passed when I saw unsupported.
-wraith808 (August 30, 2022, 01:01 PM)

I just remembered that I did have to boot into Desktop mode and delete an EAC-related file before it would work, but other than that I didn't need to set any custom compatibility options or do other tinkering:

For the game to work at all, you need to move or remove this file: "steamapps/common/Halo The Master Chief Collection/easyanticheat/easyanticheat_x64.so" Then launch using the "Play Halo: MCC Anti-Cheat Disabled (Mods and Limited Services)" option.
-https://www.protondb.com/app/976730#7mf8VPh6e7
-Deozaan (August 30, 2022, 03:36 PM)


FYI Halo: MCC has been upgraded from Unsupported to Playable.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on April 26, 2023, 03:37 PM
By all accounts on ProtonDB, Halo: The Master Chief Collection works just fine (https://www.protondb.com/app/976730) despite being ranked as Unsupported, with the caveat that the game's Easy Anti-Cheat doesn't work on Deck/Linux and therefore online multiplayer doesn't work.
-Deozaan (August 30, 2022, 11:26 AM)

Thanks for this! I'd wanted to get it, but passed when I saw unsupported.
-wraith808 (August 30, 2022, 01:01 PM)

I just remembered that I did have to boot into Desktop mode and delete an EAC-related file before it would work, but other than that I didn't need to set any custom compatibility options or do other tinkering:

For the game to work at all, you need to move or remove this file: "steamapps/common/Halo The Master Chief Collection/easyanticheat/easyanticheat_x64.so" Then launch using the "Play Halo: MCC Anti-Cheat Disabled (Mods and Limited Services)" option.
-https://www.protondb.com/app/976730#7mf8VPh6e7
-Deozaan (August 30, 2022, 03:36 PM)


FYI Halo: MCC has been upgraded from Unsupported to Playable.
-Deozaan (April 06, 2023, 11:35 PM)

Thanks! And don't know if you've seen this:

Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on April 27, 2023, 02:02 PM
I hadn't seen that yet. Though, I did see a previous video made by the same person for an earlier release of EmuDeck some time ago. It looks mostly the same, but with some nice QOL changes. I like that you can now exclude games or even attempt to correct games whose titles are not matched properly within Steam Rom Manager. That was a pain point for me in the past.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on May 01, 2023, 10:28 PM
I think the big thing that people were talking about was that cloud syncs worked right now.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on May 02, 2023, 01:21 PM
Oh! I guess I missed the importance of that point because I've been using a Decky Loader plugin called Decky Cloud Save for non-Steam games for a couple of months already. But what I've been using is actually just a one-way cloud backup. It doesn't really sync the saves between devices. I'll have to rewatch the video or check it out further to get actual cloud sync working. :)
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on May 07, 2023, 06:37 PM
An update on this situation:

I've noticed a strong difference in how the trackpads function between the two devices. Especially when using them for dual-touch typing. On one of them, sliding my thumbs around causes the device to vibrate a lot. I can feel it under my thumbs at the trackpads themselves, and it's quite audible. Almost to the point where I'd describe it as rattling when I really get moving, or especially if both trackpads are going at once. And it's very easy to "press" the button. Just apply a small amount of pressure and it gives a satisfying "click" to let you know it has been pressed. Sometimes I click it and I think "that was a little too easy to click!" and it concerns me that it might click unintentionally at times. On the other Deck, the vibration is much more subtle while sliding my thumbs around. I can feel a light vibration in the palms of my hands at the back of the device, but not really under my thumbs at the trackpads. It's not audible to the same degree as the other one. If I put my ear a couple inches away from it then it sounds about as loud as the other one at normal/comfortable usage distance (about 2 feet). And pressing the trackpads in to "click" them requires significantly more pressure before they finally click. It's actually pretty uncomfortable having to press in so deliberately and so firmly, that I think I prefer typing the slow way with the d-pad and A button to select each letter. And when it clicks, the click is much more subtle and toned down compared to the other one.

Now I'm not fully satisfied with the trackpads of either one. It seems like one is far too sensitive and the haptics are too strong, and the other is far too insensitive and the haptics are too weak. It seems like the ideal is somewhere in the middle. Yet both devices have the same (default) settings as far as the trackpad sensitivity and haptics go.
-Deozaan (July 28, 2022, 08:18 PM)

Over time I've become quite accustomed to the way the trackpads feel on the 512GB Deck and now I'm very pleased with them rather than thinking they're too weak.

In contrast, I've become increasingly wary of the 64 GB Deck's trackpads and how they sound like they're rattling around in there. They feel and sound almost like blown out speakers. I suppose it's fitting then that the system settings allow you to adjust the haptic feedback sensitivity/strength, which is configured in decibels. And even after lowering it to the lowest setting (0 dB) on the 64 GB Deck the trackpads are still slightly stronger and audibly louder than the 512 GB Deck's trackpads at the default setting (7 dB). And the 512 GB's trackpads never feel or sound like they're rattling, yet even at the lowest setting there's still a bit of a rattle to the 64 GB's trackpads. So it's become increasingly clear to me that there has been something wrong with the rattling trackpads since the day I got it. As a result, I'll be sending the 64 GB Deck in for a repair RMA.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on May 07, 2023, 07:37 PM
I haven't done any emulation. What kind of emulated games are you running?
-wraith808 (March 28, 2023, 02:59 PM)

Even though it feels like I spent many, many hours playing (or watching my brother play) the first Dragon Quest game on the NES (known as Dragon Warrior in USA), somehow I never finished it. At some point my brother finished it when I wasn't around, and I wanted to see the ending, so upon my request he loaded up his save and made the arduous trek to the final boss.

When he got there, the final boss asked him to join him in ruling the world. Since this was a game that had offered false choices in the past (where selecting the "wrong" answer would just loop back to the question until you picked the correct answer) I thought it would be funny if he accepted the offer, and asked him to do so, assuming it wouldn't actually let him do that and he would be required to fight the boss. Instead, it resulted in an immediate Game Over, requiring him to reset the console to get back to the title screen. My brother didn't feel like making the trek back to the final boss all over again, and thus I missed my one and only opportunity to see the game's ending.

At least until a few weeks ago when I spent a few hours (making liberal use of the emulator's fast-forward functionality) playing through Dragon Warrior on NES and I finally completed it myself. Not only that, but I "mastered" the game by getting all the achievements on RetroAchievements (https://retroachievements.org/user/Deozaan). Surprisingly it only took me around 7 hours, which is really strange to me because, as I said earlier, I could swear I spent literal days as a child playing that game and never got very close to finishing it. Though I suppose it wasn't helped by the fact that I had to start over several times because my save data mysteriously kept getting erased or overwritten by my siblings. . .
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on July 14, 2023, 05:18 PM
According to this thread, today is my Deckiversary. 🤓

The 64GB Deck just arrived!
-Deozaan (July 14, 2022, 03:43 PM)

So I figure it's time for an update with regard to all the different Steam games I have played on it. That is to say, I won't really be mentioning non-Steam games here, even though I have played several (especially if you count emulation).

First of all, let's take a look at how my Steam library fares compared to a year ago. The closest record I have was from July 18th last year, when I posted the following stats:

34% Playable+
  • Verified: 120 games (13.07%)
  • Playable: 188 games (20.48%)
  • Unsupported: 93 games (10.13%)
  • Unknown: 517 games (56.32%)
-Deozaan (July 18, 2022, 06:24 PM)

And after buying several more Steam games as well as additional testing and improvements to proton, here's how my library is currently looking:

56% Playable+
Verified: 182 games (17.60%)
Playable: 393 games (38.01%)
Unsupported: 141 games (13.64%)
Unkown: 318 games (30.75%)

Interestingly, though, the last time a "Verified" title was added to the list was back in March. April was full of Playable titles and everything since then has been roughly 50/50 Playable or Unsupported.

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As usual, I use CheckMyDeck (https://checkmydeck.ofdgn.com/) as my source for this information.

But of course we should all know by now that Steam's rating system doesn't tell the whole story, and that, especially if you're willing to do some tinkering, you can get "unsupported" titles to play pretty well on the Deck. So here is a breakdown of all the Steam games I've played on Steam Deck in the first year (for roughly 1 hour or more), sorted by "Deck Verified" status first, then alphabetically.

Verified
Playable
Unsupported
Unknown

And of course, there are other Steam games I've played in the year since receiving the Deck but I played them almost entirely on my PC and not much, if at all, on the Deck, so I'm not including them here. And there are non-Steam games I've played on Deck, such as games from GOG or the Epic Games Store, which might also be on Steam but for which I don't own the Steam version (such as Factorio). Any of those games which I do not own/install through Steam are not included here because this post is all about the Steam ecosystem. And also all of this tracking was done manually, with some assistance from my Steam library sorted by most recently played, so I might have forgotten to include some titles.

Conclusion:
It's been a fun year. I love how, with a dock, the Deck makes it so easy to play games on the TV, especially for games with couch co-op. Before the Deck, that was something I tried by getting a super long (50 ft.) HDMI cable to run from my PC and super long USB cables for the controllers. And it worked OK but it was a hassle. And that was when my computer was in the same room as the TV. But then the computer got moved into a different room so it hasn't really been used for that purpose since. Now I've got a system where I have the dock by the TV and I run a single ~10 ft. USB extension cable from the dock to the couch which I've attached to a powered 4-port USB hub for controllers (or mouse + keyboard) and usually everything just works.

It's also really cool being able to just take my Deck with me to a friend's house and play together. I've never had a laptop (other than a severely underpowered netbook) so for me PC gaming meant I was tethered at home or had to lug a huge PC case, monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc. around. It also means that if I'm going somewhere for a big portion of the day and I know/expect there will be a lot of downtime, I can bring my Deck and perhaps some accessories to connect it to a TV. Sometimes I actually use it, and sometimes I don't. But I still pretty much always bring it with me "just in case" in situations like that. I sometimes joke about it being like a security blanket. ;D

I feel the need to reiterate what I wrote here (before I even got the Deck!):

I gotta say, the Deck has been a huge success for Valve. I had almost entirely stopped buying games from Steam for the past few years. It got to the point where some of the features on my account (such as selling trading cards on the market) were restricted because I hadn't purchased anything from them in so long. But this year, in preparation for the deck, I've increased my library by about 100 games so far. Granted, most of those were from the Stand with Ukraine Humble Bundle. Before this year (and not counting my $5 Deck Deposit last year) my last game purchase from Steam was in October 2020. That was one of three purchases in 2020. And before that, my previous Steam purchase was in 2017!

Okay, actually that's not entirely accurate. I realized as I was typing this up that my Steam account purchase history doesn't show gift code/key redemptions. So it doesn't count any games purchased from 3rd party sites (such as Humble Store/Bundle) which redeems the game(s) on Steam.

Either way, the point is that I am now back to preferring purchases on Steam rather than other platforms (such as GOG), so Valve won me back with the decision to release the Deck.
-Deozaan (June 30, 2022, 10:21 PM)

Since the Deck came out, I have almost entirely stopped buying games from GOG or other places. The primary factor probably being the ease of Steam cloud saves allowing me to seamlessly move back and forth from one device to the next. (I also have had growing complaints with GOG, but I'll not go into details in this post.) I have also started picking up a lot of games through Fanatical deals/bundles. I've increased my library by yet another 100+ "games" (sometimes DLC, soundtracks, making of videos, etc. are counted as separate games so it's hard to quantify) since getting the Deck.

In short, the Deck brought me back to Steam in a big way. And for the most part I'm really enjoying it. There have been some issues along the way, and there are lots of little complaints about SteamOS, but I'm confident Valve are in it for the long run and I'll continue to see improvements and updates as time goes by, working out the kinks and making it an even better experience.

I do not regret the purchase at all. :Thmbsup:
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: tomos on July 14, 2023, 11:00 PM
I do not regret the purchase at all.  :Thmbsup:
-Deozaan (July 14, 2023, 05:18 PM)

A nice review / summary
Thanks Deozaan :up:
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on November 10, 2023, 12:28 AM
Steam Deck OLED

https://www.steamdeck.com/en/

50% longer battery life, verified by Linus Tech Tips

Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on November 10, 2023, 04:45 PM
Wow. Looks nice.
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on December 16, 2023, 03:00 AM
I just found out that Check My Deck has their own version of Steam's Year in Review, which they're calling Deckap 2023. Here's a link to mine:


https://checkmydeck.ofdgn.com/users/76561198000983922/recaps/2023
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on December 18, 2023, 04:25 PM
Here's mine-

https://checkmydeck.ofdgn.com/users/76561197970974121/recaps/2023
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on December 18, 2023, 11:31 PM
And Steam just released their Steam Year in Review. Here's mine:

[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
https://store.steampowered.com/yearinreview/76561198000983922/2023
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: wraith808 on January 04, 2024, 10:17 AM
Here's mine:

https://store.steampowered.com/yearinreview/76561197970974121/2023
Title: Re: Valve Announces Steam Deck: A Handheld PC
Post by: Deozaan on January 04, 2024, 05:19 PM
I really dislike how the year in review only has data for half of December.

For both the past two years I've gotten a game as an early Christmas present that I played so much in December it would have been pretty near the top of my list of most-played games of the year. But because I played them to death in the last half of December, where no data is collected/used for this, they barely make a blip on my Year in Review.