Heavy?
Uncomfortable? Nope, far more comfortable to use than other handhelds (e.g.switch)
Fan noise, for some, yes.
just played 4 hours of GTA V, enabled 40Hz mode, slick gameplay, no fan noise. Amazing bit of kit.
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Steam Deck: The First Hands-On With Valve’s Handheld Gaming PC
- Thread starter TopherMan12
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Uncomfortable? Nope, far more comfortable to use than other handhelds (e.g.switch)
Fan noise, for some, yes.
just played 4 hours of GTA V, enabled 40Hz mode, slick gameplay, no fan noise. Amazing bit of kit.
100% agree with this. The Steam Deck was always a work in progress. Also there was an update recently that edited the fan curves.
Mine is also out for delivery. Hopefully no FedEx shenanigans today and I can dig into it.
Hope they get it to you. It’s a seriously impressive bit of kit, I have been playing Metroid Dread on mine today, super crisp locked 60fps (cutscenes run in 30). Looks like I’ll get about 6 hours battery when emulating switch stuff. Have fun ?
Finally got mine, and I decided not to sell it after all. Seems like an interesting device...
First impressions are that it's huge - vast, gigantic, enormous - but feels oddly hollow. Holding it is like holding the original Xbox Duke controller, except with your hands 12 inches apart and a gentle warm breeze blowing out of the top. Happily, the screen is much better than I anticipated.
The interface is going to take some getting used to. I can't seem to scroll through it using the touchpads. I tried playing Portal, but couldn't figure out how to invert the touchpad controls. Gyro controls are quite nice though, and I liked how they're only active when you rest both thumbs on the sticks.
![IMG_0015.jpeg]( "IMG_0015.jpeg")
First impressions are that it's huge - vast, gigantic, enormous - but feels oddly hollow. Holding it is like holding the original Xbox Duke controller, except with your hands 12 inches apart and a gentle warm breeze blowing out of the top. Happily, the screen is much better than I anticipated.
The interface is going to take some getting used to. I can't seem to scroll through it using the touchpads. I tried playing Portal, but couldn't figure out how to invert the touchpad controls. Gyro controls are quite nice though, and I liked how they're only active when you rest both thumbs on the sticks.
I like the width of it, more comfortable to hold than the switch. Plus, Metroid Dread runs ace on it.
It's definitely comfortable compared to a Switch. Thumbscrews are comfortable compared to Switch.
I managed to get a file transfer program working (Syncthing) so I have a folder that I can drop stuff in on my PC and it appears magically on the Deck, even in game mode. I've downloaded Retroarch and transferred a small rom to test it but I'm not sure where exactly to file that (and I'm meant to be working right now).
The inconsistencies in the UI are still bugging me a bit. Like, sometimes you can use the trackpads, sometimes not, sometimes you press on the pad to left-click, other times you press R2, other times A.
I got Xbox cloud gaming working, so that's good news. Most games are fine but for some reason Flight Simulator only sees the L1 and R1 buttons, nothing else. There seems to be an issue with previous control setups conflicting with the Deck controls - for example I tried playing Broforce on the Deck but it wouldn't recognise any inputs until I'd loaded it on my PC and reset all my old controls, then re-synced to the cloud. It's very far from a console experience, that's for sure.
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The real keyboard is a GMMK Pro with Drop MT3 Jukebox keycaps and Glorious Panda switches. I lubed the switches myself, because I didn't trust Glorious to do it properly - I had to buy some Durock V2 stabs for it because the ones that came with the keyboard were completely gunked up with grease.
Best keyboard I've ever had, it's incredibly heavy and absolutely rock solid.
The keyboard theme on the Steam Deck is called DEX-85.
How do you find the Glorious Pandas? I have a mech keyboard ordered with Cherry MX Blues. I'm not sure I'll enjoy them so am looking at some linear switches like the Pandas or the Gateron Oil Kings.
The Panda switches are excellent but a bit scratchy before lubing. They're not linear though, they're tactile, but they don't have that metallic click that blue switches have. They're relatively quiet.
I previously tried Gateron blues and browns on this board - clones of the Cherry switches - and I have another board with genuine Cherry browns. The Panda switches are better than any of those, but much more expensive, and lubing them takes hours.
My guess this link was already posted, but I am actually shocked Ark:Survival Evolved will play on it. I wonder what kind of server connectivity it has? And what kind of PC connectivity it has for multiplayer gsnes?
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So true! And after the PC you start thinking, "Man, it'd be cool to do some light gaming on the road - something beyond what I can get on iOS. Maybe a Switch would be a good idea?" Or these days: "My Switch is great but with a Steam Deck I can carry almost my entire library!"
I need to check out the Steam Deck. Will it play something like Cyberpunk 2077?
This is kind of amazing.I looked into it, and it does! Supposedly it struggles a bit at higher settings, but on medium settings it runs fine, and on the smallish screen the quality doesn't suffer too much.
I’m wondering what kind of connectivity it has to PCs and to game servers such as Ark.
rezenclowd3
macrumors 65816
I decided against Steam Retroarch and just installed Retroarch from Discovery (though both can work).
Take a look at this document for folder structure in Retroarch.
If installed via steam you will navigate to /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common
From there it will be a random number which you can find via Steam UI.
I also use synchthing for cores, saves, savestates for Retroarch, Duckstation, PCSX2, RPCS3, Ryujinx. As a hint for many flatpack emulators the savestates/memorycards/saves will be in /home/deck/.var/nameofapp/somewhereinhere.
I usually recreate this as a symbolic link to /home/deck/documents/Emulator Name.
Then give this emulator read/write access (I use flatseal)
From there I setup syncthing to sync this folder to my pc emulator. I use ignore such as:
Code:
//Do not ignore:
!/savestates
// Ignore everything else
*Now my savestates/memorycards sync between devices but I do not overwrite emulator configs. I do this as my $8200 PC can play titles upscaled IE RPCS3 but my Steam Deck may need other tweaks/controller configs.
Another option is to have steam open the roms/isos with your choice of emulator so that you can map configs easier, HOWEVER this is still a mess between PC steam libraries...artwork/games installed on other devices show but may try to stream instead.
As I can't fit my 10s of TBs of games onto the deck, I made a Synchthing folder that syncs my steam deck retroarch roms to my pc. From the PC, that is a "Steam Deck ROMS" folder, where I COPY my roms to this folder to sync.
I tried Emustation, RetroDeck etc and again find it easier to just use standalone ESPECIALLY as I want my own saves synced.
I do the same for save files that steam cloud does not support. Sometimes this is a hassle.
Another note, keep in mind that things installed via Flatpacks (Discovery) cannot access files outside of where it was installed. This can be changed with Flatseal but be careful. At least the worst that happens is you reinstall Steam OS.
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The Steam Deck is a PC. It just uses a different form factor. You can install windows on it if you want, use an USB-C dock to connect external drives, keyboards, mice and monitors, etc.This is kind of amazing.
I’m wondering what kind of connectivity it has to PCs and to game servers such as Ark.
No need to jailbreak, it’s an open system. It’s really cool what Valve has done here.
So did anyone read the new Steam Deck booklet? In preparation for the Steam Deck's launch in China, Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong, Valve made a booklet that goes over the company, Steam, and the Steam Deck with what it does and what lead to it's creation
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1675200/view/3401926123919972634
It's got some great stuff, including looks at early Steam Deck prototypes. More than that, they announce in it that SteamOS is going to become available for other PCs soon. I can't wait to see how SteamOS runs on an Apple Silicon Mac.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1675200/view/3401926123919972634
It's got some great stuff, including looks at early Steam Deck prototypes. More than that, they announce in it that SteamOS is going to become available for other PCs soon. I can't wait to see how SteamOS runs on an Apple Silicon Mac.
I have been loving mine for the last couple of months - completely replayed The Outer Worlds and Portal 1/2, played some hours in Jedi Knight 2, Half Life 2, Risen, Witcher 3 and a couple of others.
Currently alternating between Skyrim and Cyberpunk. Both play well and look great. I am not that demanding (fine playing Skyrim or Witcher 3 on Switch), but Cyberpunk is really amazing - with latest patches looks awesome and battery lasts longer on Cyberpunk than Outer Worlds (~1.5 hours).
Currently alternating between Skyrim and Cyberpunk. Both play well and look great. I am not that demanding (fine playing Skyrim or Witcher 3 on Switch), but Cyberpunk is really amazing - with latest patches looks awesome and battery lasts longer on Cyberpunk than Outer Worlds (~1.5 hours).
Does the game have to be wired for console controls or does Steam Deck take care of that in all cases?
Usually there are controller profiles that the community have made that should work.
Exactly - depending on how 'Steam Deck Ready' the game is, the default controls will be between somewhere awesome and unplayable. But you can adjust things, and as noted many games have community profiles. Risen was playable out of the gate but still felt unaware it wasn't mouse & keyboard, whereas Jedi Knight II was so bad I had to force reboot the whole Deck!
rezenclowd3
macrumors 65816
^Agreed. I had a ton of fun creating a Full Spectrum Warrior layout that feels quite natural. I need to see if it works with FSW: Ten Hammers. Also the latest update integrating icons/overlays into the steam deck controls from the big picture mode is awsome! I have been making the touchpad show controls for emulator settings such as save state #, save state, load state, emulator settings, pause, fast forward etc..... Or for games that don't support it, setting up mouse region so that a joystick can flip the character/camera around with the flick of the joystick. Also have been setting up macros, but some of the time required is limited in the app IE for Shadow Warrior I need joystick up, joystick up, then press and hold right bumper to heal (I think) but want it to hold, and 1 second (max in the app) is not long enough. I need to dig around steam os and see if this is a config file I can edit, same with going straight to library instead of home.
I got my Steam Deck yesterday!! I've already got StarCraft 2 on it running great. And booth Bridge I'd Spirits for it. It's a good device, a bit plasticky but it's fast and performs really well. Battery life as expected is a bit naff but as I've only just got it I need to learn it first.
What are the best turn based strategy games on it? Like modern day or futuristic war ones. Like Advanced Wars on Nintendo for instance?
What are the best turn based strategy games on it? Like modern day or futuristic war ones. Like Advanced Wars on Nintendo for instance?
It’s funny - I wouldn’t have thought of the Deck as ‘plasticky’ but was playing the new Legend of Heroes on Switch and one is clearly built for ‘adult’ PC gamers, and the other is made to handle being tossed into backpacks by kids/teens/adults.
I have never found an adequate Advance Wars replacement for PC … I like the X-COM games, I know people love Banner Saga (very good but I never fully played through), and I’ve heard good things about War Groove. Personally I just stick with Advance Wars on GBA/DS and am awaiting the Switch re-release.
Thanks for the reply. I have found one called Iron Harvest which is cool. But it doesn’t make the battery last very long, and I do have Starcraft 2 on my Deck now also. I forgot about X Com, I’ll look into War Groove.
