It's getting a little STEAMy in here.

[Thad]

BTW, if you want to check Linux/Proton compatibility, protondb.com is the place to do it.

It's crowdsourced, YMMV based on your distro and configuration, and the people submitting the ratings don't always respect the guidelines for them ("Platinum - minor graphical glitches" is not a thing, guys; if it's got graphical glitches, then it's Gold at best), but it's a good guideline. And of course Steam's generous return period means you can install a game, check and see if it runs, and return it if it doesn't.

[Thad]

Apparently the latest Steam update now allows you to run arbitrary .exe files inside Proton.

I haven't tried it yet. But I expect that for a lot of use-cases, external installers/launchers like Lutris shouldn't be necessary anymore; you should be able to install a non-Steam game within Steam, then launch it under Proton with the usual Steam wrapper stuff (controller support etc.).

I'm guessing Lutris will still be useful for games that don't work in Proton out of the box and need some additional configuration/third-party libraries/different versions of WINE/DXVK/etc. to run.

[Thad]

Steam Deck is Valve’s Switch-like portable PC: Starting at $399 this December

I don't love the D-pad/button placement, but I like that it's got a D-pad at all.

Not much about it yet. I assume it'll run SteamOS rather than Windows.

[mharr]

Oh gods they've put Steam fucking controller touchpads in the central thumb positions haven't they. Never mind then, hard pass.

Part of their problem here is that the competition for the 'Steam games on Switch like hardware' role is an actual Switch, hacked to run Android.

[Thad]

Yeah, I'm not so sure about the ergonomics. But this tidbit in the FAQ is interesting:

Do I need a Steam account to use Steam Deck?
The default Steam Deck experience requires a Steam account (it's free!). Games are purchased and downloaded using the Steam Store. That said, Steam Deck is a PC so you can install third party software and operating systems.

So nothing locked down. You can install games from GOG or Itch or, one assumes since it's Arch-based, the AUR if you want to, or hook it up to a keyboard, mouse, and monitor and use it as a PC. Or if there's a game you want that doesn't work with Proton, you can just install Windows on it instead.

[zaratustra]

Problem: Base HD is 64 GB, which is pretty small if you're planning to play PC games.

[Brantly B.]

My batting average with Valve hardware is pretty abysmal*, but a handheld that'll let me install a firewall on it instead of quietly inserting Google tracking into the OS layer after a year is worth giving a chance.

* I actually LIKE the Steam Controller, but there aren't many uses for it that aren't a gimmick. **

** My aunt designed the plant that manufactured Steam Controllers so I'm kinda giving her shit here.

[Thad]

Problem: Base HD is 64 GB, which is pretty small if you're planning to play PC games.

Yeah, not great, and I'm not sure if it's upgradable.

I think it's got a microSD slot, but reading games from microSD ain't exactly ideal either.

[hngkong]

Problem: Base HD is 64 GB, which is pretty small if you're planning to play PC games.

Yeah, not great, and I'm not sure if it's upgradable.

I think it's got a microSD slot, but reading games from microSD ain't exactly ideal either.

I've seen two people say they emailed Gabe Newell asking if the base storage was upgradable, and he reportedly said it is via a 2230 NVMe drive. Hearsay and all that, but maybe?

[mharr]

Bulk storage at home shouldn't be an issue assuming you can plug whateverthehell drives into the dock, but can it access a proper wired local network connection or is that getting jammed into the usb-c with everything else?

[Brantly B.]

I've seen two people say they emailed Gabe Newell asking if the base storage was upgradable, and he reportedly said it is via a 2230 NVMe drive. Hearsay and all that, but maybe?

On the one hand, entirely sensible.

On the other hand, terrible, TERRIBLE timing.

...which is how Valve hardware rolls, so yeah, almost assuredly true.

(Also obviously true since preorder options are up and there are standard bundles with the drive included.)

Anyway I slept on the preorder date and they've opened it up to scalpers so I'm going to wait and see instead of wait 9 months for them to ship an overhyped disappointment again. Not that there's anything left in this world that doesn't match that description, but.

[beatbandito]

I'm kind of surprised of the broad appeal the thing has seemed to have. I can understand if you're someone who was already in the market for this kind of handheld PC emulator and this is just a good, cheaper option. But I think a lot of people buying this as a "switch replacement" are going to be very disappointed in the actual utility.

[Thad]

Sony exec excited about playing a former PlayStation exclusive on a Linux handheld. It doesn't feel quite as weird as that first time I saw Sonic and Mario on the cover of the same game, but it's got a similar "wouldn't have expected this ten years ago" vibe.

[Thad]

Steam Deck is out. Reviews I've seen so far are good.

It occurs to me that if I want an AMD-based, Linux-based emulation box that's powerful enough to handle systems like the Saturn, Dreamcast, and PSP, this might be my best option. I wonder if you can make it output 240p.

[Thad]

Man, being able to open up a list of games that are Steam Deck compatible is great, even as a non-Deck Linux gamer. Going to save a lot of time looking up every game on ProtonDB before I buy it.

Steam: Great on Deck

Fanatical: Steam Deck Compatible Games

Betting other Steam key resellers like Humble will be following suit at some point.

[Mongrel]

Sony exec excited about playing a former PlayStation exclusive on a Linux handheld. It doesn't feel quite as weird as that first time I saw Sonic and Mario on the cover of the same game, but it's got a similar "wouldn't have expected this ten years ago" vibe.

That's quite the thumb callus that dude's got.

[Thad]

My Deck arrived yesterday.

I haven't had a chance to actually play any games on it yet! But, some initial notes:

I put my reservation in on August 11. The shipping estimate at the time was October-December; I figured maybe I'd get it by Christmas.

I got my order notification exactly 6 weeks after putting the reservation in, and the Deck exactly a week after putting the order in. It managed to just slightly beat the October-December window, arriving on September 29.

That's for the 256GB model, which AIUI is the most popular one. I'm not sure if the other two models are moving quicker, slower, or about the same.

I went with the 256GB model because most of the reviews I read suggested it's the best value of the three. The 512GB model would be nice for the extra storage, but I don't really need the matte screen since I'm not planning on playing it outside much. I do notice glare on this model; it doesn't seem too bad, but again, I haven't played any games on it yet.

I got a 512GB microSD card, a UGREEN CM179 dock with a VGA port because obviously I'm going to try to get this thing to run emulators on my CRT TV (but I haven't used it yet), and a Benazcap screen protector. I looked over some discussions on r/SteamDeck and the names I kept seeing come up were Benazcap, MagGlass, and DBrand. The DBrand is expensive, and while the MagGlass is popular it's also matte and I saw a lot of complaints that it blurs the picture, so ultimately I went with the Benazcap. So far I'm happy with it, and it went on cleanly, which never happens; when I apply a screen protector I always wind up with bubbles or dust stuck under it or the angle slightly askew with a corner peeling off or some damn thing, but this one appears to have gone on perfectly.

Again, haven't played any games yet; just going through the "setting up a new computer" phase at this point.

If you want, you can exclusively run it in Big Picture mode, with the Steam menu and onscreen keyboard and everything navigable with the built-in controls, and it operates pretty much like any other modern console.

But you can also switch to Desktop Mode and get a fully-functional KDE desktop. I paired a Bluetooth keyboard/trackpad without any difficulty, and there's an app called Discover that allows you to install other software.

(For the Linux-inclined among you: by default, SteamOS doesn't give you write access to the system partition. Packages under Discover are Flatpaks. If you want, you can get write access to the system partition and install stuff with Pacman or access the AUR or whatever, but from what I've read that's probably a bad idea, since SteamOS updates are deployed as full-disk images and will overwrite any custom stuff you've put on the system partition. So I'm planning to just stick with Flatpaks and other software that can be installed and maintained without modifying the system partition.

That said, some of the stuff I've installed has requested elevated permissions. Getting access to sudo is as simple as setting a password with passwd. AFAICT the only thing that ever asks you for this password is sudo; it's not required for login.)

I found a guide called My Ultimate Steam Deck Guide that's quite informative. It mentions options for installing and running games from non-Steam stores, like Lutris and Heroic Games Launcher. I haven't used the latter but Lutris is great; it can even automatically add games to the Steam launcher so you don't need to switch to desktop mode to run them. I also installed ProtonUp-Qt, which lets you install alternate versions of Proton like Proton-GE (for Steam or Lutris or, presumably, other launchers).

I installed EmuDeck but haven't played with it yet. It looks very thorough.

Chiaki is available in the Discover app; I've got that set up to stream games from my PS4. Setting it up is a little roundabout -- there's a Python script you run, then you copy-and-paste a URL into your browser, log into your PlayStation account, and get an account ID you can paste back into Chiaki -- but it connects fine after all that. I haven't gotten any farther on the Deck than getting it set up and paired to my PS4, but I've used it on my main desktop with a PS4 controller and it works great, so I expect it should work similarly well on the Deck.

Other'n that, so far I'm mostly doing the "copy games over from my other computer(s) and then install them" dance. Hopefully I'll have a chance to actually play some of them this evening.

[Crick]

I really love my Deck! I'm not going to re-image it or anything, just using it out of the box.

Obviously things not rated to run super well... don't. Lot of readability stuff.

My only big criticism is on games that heavily use the D-Pad, essentially, (the letter buttons?) can wreck your thumb. I feel it may be a bit close to the edge of the system.

[Thad]

I really love my Deck! I'm not going to re-image it or anything, just using it out of the box.

Yeah, definitely not reimaging it. There's a time I would have thought that would be a fun project, but...nah. The drivers? The screen keyboard? This thing is a fucking marvel and the best I could hope to do with another image is make it pretty much the way it already is but maybe with AUR support. Maybe, and that's pretty much just because AUR has everything.

But while its Flatpak repo (I'm not sure if it's using Flathub or something else) isn't quite as thorough as the AUR, I'm really impressed with how well the Flatpaks work. I've tried Flatpaks before on other distros and they've had rough edges, shit like needing some additional configuration before they can access the filesystem, that kind of thing (which doesn't just mean you can't access your documents, but icons in the toolbar are broken, it doesn't respect system settings for font and theme, etc.). None of that on the Deck so far; everything feels as seamless as...well, I was going to say "like Android except you can actually tell where shit is," but, well, Steam loves it some opaque-ass directory structure too. (Note to self: Bravely Default 2 saves are stored in steam/steamapps/compatdata/1446650/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/My Games/Bravely_Default_II/Steam/76561198003071680/Saved/SaveGames/ .)

Obviously things not rated to run super well... don't. Lot of readability stuff.

My only big criticism is on games that heavily use the D-Pad, essentially, (the letter buttons?) can wreck your thumb. I feel it may be a bit close to the edge of the system.

Yeah, that was kind of my concern from the get-go, looking at photos. I haven't played enough to start feeling uncomfortable, but on my lunch break I graduated from "haven't played any games" to "played a little bit of Pac-Man Championship DX+" and the layout did feel unintuitive. I think on balance I'd rather have the D-pad below the left stick and lose the left touchpad, but maybe I'll feel differently if I start playing some games where I've got a use for dual touchpads. (I played through Disco Elysium almost entirely with just the left half of a Steam Controller because I was dealing with some RSI in my right thumb; I was grateful for the left pad then, but that would also be impossible with the Deck because of its weight.) Can't speak to text just yet but I can definitely see how that might be a problem. (Eye doctor says I'm probably going to need bifocals within the next 5 years, so I've got that to look forward to.)

[Crick]

I've been messing with the Lamb game, Cult of the Lamb, and after an hour or two of using the D Pad it's pretty awful. The text is also REALLY small on there, but it's not rated highly compatible. All the same, it runs pretty smoothly and it's still super fun to play.

My girlfriend has been BURNING through Stardew Valley on it, though, and hasn't reported the same problems. I have pretty big hands, so I may just not be in the normal user base.

I've got Disco Elysium next! I've never played it before and it's rated to work well on Steam Deck.