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For Linux Enthusiasts Especially, The Steam Deck Is An Incredible & Fun Device
The most fun and promising Linux-powered gaming device for the masses though is launching today: Valve's Steam Deck. I've been fortunate to be testing out this Arch Linux derived handheld game console the past month and it has been working out very well -- both as a portable Steam gaming device but making it even more compelling from the Linux enthusiast angle is its "developer mode" that effectively turns it into a general Linux handheld and also being free to load your own Linux distribution of choice.
[...] [The] much anticipated Valve handheld gaming computer that features a 7-inch 1280 x 800 display, gaming-optimized controls, 16GB of LPDDR5 memory, 64GB to 512GB of storage depending on model, and is powered by a custom AMD APU. The AMD APU is made up of four Zen 2 cores (8 threads) and an AMD RDNA2 GPU with 8 compute units.
[...] On the software side, the Steam Deck is using SteamOS 3.0 that in turn is based on Arch Linux. SteamOS 3.0 is a complete overhaul compared to Valve's prior SteamOS work that is based on Debian GNU/Linux. SteamOS 3.0 with Arch Linux is much more fast-moving and has been seeing near-daily updates in preparation for launch.
See also:
Valve releases Steam Deck handheld PC to select few
Steam Deck review: it's not ready
The Steam Deck is already the emulation system of my dreams
Steam Deck: The comprehensive Ars Technica review
Steam Deck Review: Valve's Handheld Has Big PC Energy
Gabe Newell talks Steam Deck, crypto risks and why the PC industry "won't tolerate" closed platforms
Developers praise the Steam Deck: 'It just works, for real'
Valve Steam Deck Hardware Review & Analysis: Thermals, Noise, Power, & Gaming Benchmarks (Gamers Nexus, 35m30s video)
Steam Deck Tear-Down: Build Quality, Disassembly, & VRM Analysis (Gamers Nexus, 34m24s video)
Steam Deck 1-Month Review: SteamOS Difficulties, Software, & User Experience (Gamers Nexus, 34m28s video)
Previously: Steam Deck is Valve's Switch-Like Portable PC: Starting at $399 this December
AMD + Valve Working on New Linux CPU Performance Scaling Design
Valve's Upcoming Steam Deck Will be Based on Arch Linux--Not Debian
Valve Shares New Steam Deck Details; Launch Delayed to February
(Score: 4, Interesting) by stretch611 on Tuesday March 01 2022, @01:01AM (10 children)
Mine is slated to be shipped in Q2. ...And that was getting one within the 1st 4 hours of being able to order. (It would have been first hour if the servers didn't get bogged down.)
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 5, Informative) by stretch611 on Tuesday March 01 2022, @01:14AM (9 children)
Forgot to add...
If you go to here [steampowered.com] (while logged in to steam) steam will tell you the compatibility of all the games it has tested in your library.
For me right now:
93 Deck Verified Games (fully functional on Steam Deck, and work great with the built-in controls and display.)
69 Deck Playable Games (functional on Steam Deck, but might require extra effort to interact with or configure.)
30 Unsupported Deck Games (currently don't function on Steam Deck.)
1,605 games untested by Steam.
Note: my profile shows only 1,544 games... So their testing or lack of testing includes free 2 play games and "profile limited" games
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Tuesday March 01 2022, @02:03AM
Docking can be an option if the control scheme or the screen size/resolution just doesn't cut it.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 01 2022, @02:15AM (5 children)
Thanks for the link!
As steam using linux gamer, I found it interesting to see several games I know to work fine on desktop linux to be in the explicitly unsupported list. I guess it could be performance or control issues, but even some low spec games like visual novels which work fine on linux are listed as unsupported. Infact all 7 explicitly unsupported games are ones I have run on linux without issue (though one did require a specific proton version).
Anyway, my stats for an extra data-point:
Supported: 19
Playable: 13
Unsupported: 7
Untested: 198
(Note that I have played a majority of the games in my library to completion on Linux: these numbers do not reflect actual Linux compatibility)
Early days here for the steam deck. Hopefully the support continues to improve, and they can ship enough units to make linux usage more worth considering for game developers. Valve has already helped drive huge progress for gaming on linux, and the steam deck should only help more.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by stretch611 on Tuesday March 01 2022, @03:03AM (4 children)
Actually are percentages are pretty close... (I too am a only linux gamer... most of my windows games are through bundles.. except for rare bits of nostalgia (20+ year old games), I only buy games with native linux support.)
Roughly 50% of tested games are verified, 35% are playable, and 15% are unplayable.
I did notice that anything VR related is automatically deemed incompatible with Steamdeck... even if there is a non-VR version that is verified. (also accounting for the discrepancy in number of games in my profile vs total games on the steam deck page.)
If the game requires a keyboard it seems to be "playable" as there is a virtual keyboard available... But it likely depends on the game and how well t can be played via controller only.
One game in my library (Insurgency) is listed as unplayable due to an unsupported anti-cheat software... Despite the fact a native linux build exists.
You can hover over a game on the deck-verified page and click on the box "Steam Deck Compatibility" to get the reason why any particular title is supported or not on the deck.
Also, a few games in my library are actually in the process of tweeking their game specifically for the Steam Deck. (progress varies on titles) Oddly one of these is Factorio which is listed as playable, not verified, despite being featured in some of the steamdeck release footage. (others are Rimworld, Terraria, American and Euro Truck Simulator.)
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 01 2022, @06:21AM (3 children)
yes, would be interesting to know if the htc vive works and what "vr ready-ness" the steam-own test program would report? anyone run that yet? *big-eyes-pls*
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday March 01 2022, @04:05PM (2 children)
I have an HTC-Vive, but don't own a Steam Deck. My guess is that SteamVR would "work", but most games would have issues. Even, if the hardware could run it. As my foray into SteamVR + Linux was a very lack luster experience. I may give it another try eventually, but I'm not that interested in spending my free time, doing work.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday March 01 2022, @05:39PM (1 child)
Valve On Steam Deck VR: ‘Technically’ Possible, But Not Optimized [uploadvr.com]
Gabe Newell: Steam Deck A ‘Stepping Stone’ To ‘High Performance’ Standalone VR [uploadvr.com]
Valve talks Steam Deck 2 plans with hints towards VR support [tomsguide.com]
My guess is that a Steam Deck 2 could use Zen 4C + RDNA4 on TSMC N4 (optimized "5nm") around 2024, and that they may consider putting that chip in a standalone x86-based VR headset.
The minor Van Gogh update "Dragon Crest" [notebookcheck.net] will get used in some laptops, if it materializes at all.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 01 2022, @07:37PM
okay ...well ... hmmm... well i guess i am getting old and my opinion on replacing the whole house because one toilet seat cracked is from the history books.
a bit more serious, maybe, i see the capitalistic appeal of throwing away a perfectly good wonder of modern technology just because "the battery fail" 'cause its welded/glued to everything else.
in short: pls.don't attach/glue the vr display to the rest. we want options and competition with vr display hardware (tho prolly until its really manstream, the market has consilidated to three or so lcd vr panels factories behind the scenes with the many available "brands" just being stickers and cost-cutting) :(
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday March 01 2022, @03:59PM
Did the include software/servers/etc in that 1,605 list? I mean, in the event that none of the numbers in your library add-up to the numbers given, then it's likely as you say, "free 2 play" games are included.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by WizardFusion on Tuesday March 01 2022, @04:19PM
I like this version, it's cleaner to read - https://checkmydeck.herokuapp.com [herokuapp.com]