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Valve Steam Deck

steamdeck.com

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Re: Valve Steam Deck

#471

Post by CodesInChaos »

modeless wrote: post #211
css wrote: post #135

From the FAQ [0]: - What OS is Steam Deck running? SteamOS 3.0, a new version of SteamOS based on Arch Linux. - Will people be able to install Windows, or other 3rd party content? Yes. Steam Deck is a PC, and players will be able to install whatever they like, including other OSes. [0]: https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/steamdeck/faq

That is a great link. Perhaps even more interesting is this: Valve is working with anti-cheat vendors for Linux (Proton) support. So one of the biggest remaining obstacles to Linux gaming may soon be addressed as a side effect of this.

I expect the anti-cheats to require an unmodified SteamOS.

Though the FAQ says the following, so it might not be quite as bad as I feared:

> We recommend using user-space anti-cheat components for best results, as they can typically run in the Wine environment and provide the same level of functionality. Kernel-space solutions are not currently supported and are not recommended.

Re: Valve Steam Deck

#473

Post by dorchadas »

ketzo wrote: post #44

There’s obviously a lot of people who like playing games in a more mobile format, as evidenced by the huge popularity of the Switch Lite / mobile gaming. Giving the PC games market access to that form factor seems, on its face, like an extremely good move. But we’ve seen products like this before — the NVIDIA Shield, for one. Pretty cool piece of tech, but didn’t exactly start a revolution. I guess the question becom…

I'm absolutely in the market for this. I'm fixing to move six time zones from my friends, who all play. Instead of buying a gaming laptop to take with me I'd just buy this if it's let me play with the easily.

Re: Valve Steam Deck

#474

Post by phendrenad2 »

jl6 wrote: post #377

“Installing Linux is hard” is about to flip on its head as people find themselves with Linux installed by default and instead having to figure out how to install Windows (and pay for it explicitly).

I don't think people are going to install Windows on this, it's unsuited to this kind of tiny screen.

Re: Valve Steam Deck

#475

Post by usrusr »

ketzo wrote: post #44

There’s obviously a lot of people who like playing games in a more mobile format, as evidenced by the huge popularity of the Switch Lite / mobile gaming. Giving the PC games market access to that form factor seems, on its face, like an extremely good move. But we’ve seen products like this before — the NVIDIA Shield, for one. Pretty cool piece of tech, but didn’t exactly start a revolution. I guess the question becom…

> I guess the question becomes “what percentage of current PC gamers are motivated to shell out $400 to play on the train?”

Does it even matter? For consumers, they get what they paid for even if Valve shows zero commitment as long as Steam does not actively shut them out. For game companies, support for controller and Linux/Proton is valuable with or without Steam Deck.

And for Valve itself, all the software investment is a long term hedge against the existential threat of Windows failing them, this is just an opportunistic bonus use. The only actual cost is the hardware side of the project. If it tanks in the market they'll simply refrain from doing a v2 and do damage control with long tail sales of v1. While taking comfort in knowing that the Deck hardware will at least have lured a few game companies into the arms of Proton, strengthening their Windows hedge.

Re: Valve Steam Deck

#477

Post by phendrenad2 »

gigel82 wrote: post #136

I try Proton a few times a year and the experience is almost always disappointing; I'm not even a hardcore gamer, so mostly playing 2-3 year old games which I'd expect good experience with. However, if they ramp up investment and actually make Proton viable for the majority of titles, this is very bad news for Microsoft / Windows.

Yeah this will be an interesting test. They're eliminating all of the variables but one (which game is running). No more "works on my machine" protondb reports! It either works on Steam Deck or it doesn't. Excited to see what they can do with that power.

Re: Valve Steam Deck

#478

Post by Ashanmaril »

caconym_ wrote: post #286
AnIdiotOnTheNet wrote: post #56

Gotta admit, I never saw that coming. I thought SteamOS was dead after the failure of Steam Machines and Valve was only continuing with their Linux efforts because it's still a useful hedge against Microsoft locking everyone in the App Store. I totally did not expect them to copy the Switch use-case with it. I'm anxious to see how this turns out. Valve's history with hardware is not so great, so it could go nowhere l…

The thing about Valve's record with hardware is that the products aren't bad , just extremely niche. If this thing really can play most of most people's Steam games in a Switch-like form factor with a standard gamepad layout, I think it stands to be a hit in a way their past hardware attempts weren't. It's also an interesting counterpoint to all the streaming services popping up these days. PC game streaming to mobil…

I'd argue the Steam controller was kinda bad. But more in concept than execution. The touch pads were just not a good replacement for a thumbstick or a D-pad

But I agree with what you're saying. If this thing is actually good, it could have some real mainstream appeal.

Re: Valve Steam Deck

#480

Post by Rebelgecko »

oehpr wrote: post #442
spiralganglion wrote: post #382

Impressions: * 1.47 pounds is 666g, versus the Switch’s 398g (with Joy-Con attatched). 67% heavier. * I do like that the two people I can see on the landing page both appear to be female, and not overtly "models" at that. I don’t want to read into whether this implies anything about what the marketing for this system might be — rather, I just like that we’re seeing a further erosion of the video-games-as-boys-club tr…

the difference between a mid tier nvme drive and a top tier nvme drive isn't that big. 1.5GB/s or 3GB/s (numbers made up, I don't know the actual specs), That's still crazy fast. The impact here would be minimal.

The bottom tier uses eMMC (and/or and SD card), which I've found to be a bit slower (maybe depends on the EMMC?)
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