The Steam Deck is software-freedom friendly • Hacker News Board

Re: The Steam Deck is software-freedom friendly

#171

Post by groovybits » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 5:03 PM UTC

Etheryte wrote: post #54

brainzap wrote: post #25

steamdeck verified is a lie, I bought a steamdeck and tested 20 games. Lots of problems.

I don't own one, so mostly just curious, what are some more prominent examples of this?

Steam Deck owner since launch here -- I wouldn't say the Verified status is a lie, but there have been instances where games have received Verified badge status at launch, but performed poorly on Deck.

Some popular examples of this;

1. Baldur's Gate 3: It has Verified status, but the community unanimously agrees that the performance is very poor around Act 3, and makes the game nearly impossible to finish on Deck.

2. Spider-Man 2: It had Verified status at launch, but performed poorly in terms of graphics and visuals. It was recently downgraded to Playable status, meaning you have to change the graphics settings to comfortably play the game.

Personally, I think Valve's definition of Verified [1] is too vague. The 4 criteria don't actually mention anything about graphics or performance - it only says it should have "good default settings". What does that actually look like when you play it? Additionally, how much of the game is tested when evaluating those settings?

Valve doesn't actually advertise the process of how the badge is assigned, that I'm aware. Is the game 100% completed in evaluation? What percentage of input is there between Valve and the developer? Are certain publishers or developers given any bias or leeway? That part is still opaque to the end-user.

I think the Verification process is a good first cut at standardizing PC specs, where before there weren't any. But it can definitely be improved.

1: https://www.steamdeck.com/verified

Re: The Steam Deck is software-freedom friendly

#172

Post by vel0city » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 5:03 PM UTC

SXX wrote: post #156

lupusreal wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Steam is a great low-pressure sales environment. Eh.. It seems very common for Steam users to have libraries of thousands of purchased games, 99% unplayed, purchased at steep discounts during sales. The way Steam operates does a great job of instilling Fear Of Missing Out, and getting people to buy things they never end up using.

It's not like this is Steam fault. You can always return games you played under 2 hours no questions asked. Some people just like to buy stuff they dont need or hoard random things, but it's as old as humanity itself At leastrented digital games on Steam account dont contribute to global warming, waste problems and dont use tons of electicity to mint some tokens. I guess only major issue Steam really have to solve is…

> You can always return games you played under 2 hours no questions asked.

Within 14 days.

Re: The Steam Deck is software-freedom friendly

#173

Post by vinceguidry » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 5:03 PM UTC

> According to ProtonDB, over 5000 PC games are certified Verified on the Steam Deck, and over 15,000 games are considered playable. This means that there are tens of thousands of games that can be run on Linux in some way.

Note that whether games work well on the Steam Deck or not isn't reflective of whether they can be run on Linux at all. With desktop Linux, virtually every game ever released can be run, on any platform, the biggest obstacle being anticheat.

Re: The Steam Deck is software-freedom friendly

#174

Post by ZeWaka » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 5:04 PM UTC

SXX wrote: post #156

lupusreal wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Steam is a great low-pressure sales environment. Eh.. It seems very common for Steam users to have libraries of thousands of purchased games, 99% unplayed, purchased at steep discounts during sales. The way Steam operates does a great job of instilling Fear Of Missing Out, and getting people to buy things they never end up using.

It's not like this is Steam fault. You can always return games you played under 2 hours no questions asked. Some people just like to buy stuff they dont need or hoard random things, but it's as old as humanity itself At leastrented digital games on Steam account dont contribute to global warming, waste problems and dont use tons of electicity to mint some tokens. I guess only major issue Steam really have to solve is…

> ability to inherit these digital purchases

They have the (much improved) Family Sharing now, which does combat that somewhat. Still not a proper solution.

Re: The Steam Deck is software-freedom friendly

#175

Post by vel0city » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 5:06 PM UTC

PaulHoule wrote: post #152

randmeerkat wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The Deck is so transformative that if Microsoft were serious about XBOX at all, the next XBOX would be a handheld. Or they’d realize that the Deck is successful because it’s open and bring Steam to the Xbox.

I think they're too hung up on GAME PASS [1] to do so, on the other hand, GAME PASS might be more fun if you could use it on a portable. [1] Personally I remember how bundling ruined the brands of Cable TV which makes GAME PASS seem like a disaster to me, but objectively, the Cable TV ecosystem resisted change for 30 years and only really broke when Tubi came along, so maybe they'd be happy to be the new cable.

I use GamePass on a portable all the time. There are many portables that support GamePass today. I mostly play GamePass games on a Lenovo Legion Go. Sometimes even cloud streaming.

Re: The Steam Deck is software-freedom friendly

#176

Post by vel0city » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 5:06 PM UTC

randmeerkat wrote: post #140

PaulHoule wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Deck is so transformative that if Microsoft were serious about XBOX at all, the next XBOX would be a handheld.

> The Deck is so transformative that if Microsoft were serious about XBOX at all, the next XBOX would be a handheld. Or they’d realize that the Deck is successful because it’s open and bring Steam to the Xbox.

Far more likely they'll fully support GamePass/Xbox on SteamOS

Re: The Steam Deck is software-freedom friendly

#177

Post by vel0city » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 5:08 PM UTC

whytevuhuni wrote: post #3

They’re not saints, especially with the games distribution platform monopoly they’re sitting on top of, but... I really think Valve have become the de-facto owners of the “don’t be evil” motto nowadays, even if they don’t advertise themselves as such.

They profit off getting kids addicted to gambling. Is that not evil?

Re: The Steam Deck is software-freedom friendly

#178

Post by wishfish » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 5:08 PM UTC

jerf wrote: post #47

TehCorwiz wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're misunderstanding the meaning of "Software freedom". It refers more to the process and transparency of the software than to the choice. That said, the Steam Deck is just a handheld PC. And Valve gives instructions on how to install Windows on it should you want to do that. https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/6121-ECCD-D643-BA... Often we talk about software freedom in the context of open-source d…

I'd also call out that Valve is probably running the biggest managed Linux install base in the world now. They manage the OS and update it. If you really want to get in there and root the thing, you can; you can install other OSes including Windows if you want, it's open, it just defaults to managed. And they made sure to integrate Flatpaks into their base OS image and the default image ships with the Flatpak market/…

There's an interesting comparison to ChromeOS here. Thinking about managed Linux desktops for consumers. SteamOS would possibly be a good, more private alternative in the near future if Steam ever released the OS for wide use outside of handhelds. Could imagine people buying SteamOS laptops for grandparents or kids as an alternative to ChromeOS or even iPads.

Re: The Steam Deck is software-freedom friendly

#179

Post by ZeWaka » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 5:09 PM UTC

haunter wrote: post #96

jerf wrote: post #57

I have a first-gen Switch, still in active rotation. My kids are asking me why we don't hack it. My answer has been, what does a hacked Switch do that my Steam Deck doesn't already do, without hacking? I mean, if you're going to sail the seven seas and yo-ho-ho, not that I've been encouraging that, the answer isn't even "Play Switch 1 games", the Steam Deck does that better too! And at least we can't accidentally hoo…

>the answer isn't even "Play Switch 1 games", the Steam Deck does that better too What about motion control games like Switch Sports?

While not a Switch, I use Wiimotes with motion accelerometer + gyro (MotionPlus) with my Steam Deck & Dolphin just fine.

Re: The Steam Deck is software-freedom friendly

#180

Post by SXX » Thu, Apr 03, 2025, 5:10 PM UTC

vel0city wrote: post #172

SXX wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not like this is Steam fault. You can always return games you played under 2 hours no questions asked. Some people just like to buy stuff they dont need or hoard random things, but it's as old as humanity itself At leastrented digital games on Steam account dont contribute to global warming, waste problems and dont use tons of electicity to mint some tokens. I guess only major issue Steam really have to solve is…

> You can always return games you played under 2 hours no questions asked. Within 14 days.

14 days is pretty much standard cool off window for lots of services.

If you havent played game at all most likely Steam will just accept return in much wider return window especially if there some new sale has started making game much cheaper or something.

Also if for some reason game was compatible with your platform (Linux, Mac) there are cases where Valve refunded money years after due to developers breaking compatibility.

PS: Yeah in the beginning Valve was certainly forced into implementing return policy by authorities, but today their return policy is one of the best of all software distribution platforms.