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Valve Steam Deck

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Re: Valve Steam Deck

#5
Glad to see two sticks in addition to the trackpads.

The Steam Controller with its one pad/one stick approach was...interesting but I just couldn't adapt to it for most games.

Re: Valve Steam Deck

#6
Storage seems like it'll be an issue unless you only want to play indie games. It says it's got the hardware to play AAA games, but even last gen AAA games like Doom Eternal won't fit on the base model, and the next step up with more sufficient storage is more expensive than the next gen consoles.

Re: Valve Steam Deck

#8
post #4

I wonder what this will mean for Linux support on the Steam store in general? Since this is SteamOS[0], then manufacturers will have to support Linux / Proton in order to have their games on this machine. [0] https://www.steamdeck.com/en/software

It is! A new version, in fact. It includes Proton.

(I'm not sure if SteamOS v2 and below were already Arch-based, but it's interesting to know that v3 is, given that the Steam Linux Runtime is mostly Ubuntu-tested)

Re: Valve Steam Deck

#9
I really hope that this market picks up steam (heh) and we get to see even more bigger names coming up with devices. The Aya Neo [1], OneXPlayer [2], and GPD Win3 [3] have all come out relatively close to each other with different ideas of what people want in a handheld gaming PC.

Valve seems to want to get in on a price that is more competitive with the Nintendo Switch, so its hardware specs are a bit worse it seems than the others in the market. The plus side to this is that the base model comes in at just $399, though that is with eMMC storage, while the next bump up uses NVME. The other specs seem to be identical across the 3 SKUs, though.

The trackpads a la the steam controller seem appropriate for the types of games that require a mouse on PC, which is unique in this product market. Gyroscopes are also built in, which I'd presume would work similar to the Wii U and Nintendo Switch for aiming. I don't think it'll be as good as a mouse, but I've found that aiming with gyroscope on the Wii U was much easier than using just the analog stick, so hopefully it makes FPS games with a controller more pleasant for me.

I also think it's interesting that it is using SteamOS, which had been kind of abandoned by Valve for quite some time. This also means that it is depending on Proton for game compatibility, which in itself is a huge statement on their confidence in the maturity of it. Without it, this would be a complete failure like "Steam Machines" were. If it works out well, maybe we'll finally see a real product instead of a tech demo from Dell and other PC manufacturers. Exciting.

[1] https://www.ayaneo.com/aya-neo

[2] https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/onexplayer-best-performin...

[3] https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-win3-the-world-s-1st-...

Re: Valve Steam Deck

#10
Well I guess their time developing the Steam controller isn't all for naught. Looks similar in concept, except with dual joysticks and thumbpads (instead of just 1 each) and extreme deemphasis the traditional X/Y/A/B buttons, and 4 (instead of 2) back paddle triggers. Which is great, I loved the paddles on my Steam controller.
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