Steam Deck (handheld from Valve) - shipping is 4-8 days from NL to UK

[bradigor]

2 minutes ago, spanx said:

Absolutely adore that game. Saw it’s had a couple of pretty meaty updates so will have to pick it up again

 

Just spent a couple of hours expanding my Berlin map. 

 

Got a fully automated section going and now extending out further. 

 

Just needed to rebuild a bit to allow the two sections to work together.

[Siri]

5 hours ago, Siri said:

I heard ATLauncher is okay. Don't know if it's on Discover yet, though.

 

EDIT: it's on Flathub, so you should be able to either grab it from Discover or just use the Flatpak.

 

Turns out it is on Discover - changed over from PolyMC. It's pretty good, especially if you like mods - it has a bunch of mod packs for each method (Forge/Fabric etc), and it installs all the guff for you.

 

Also good: Persona 5 Royal on cloud, as I couldn't be arsed switching SD cards 😅

[Isaac]

I have no idea where to post this (as it's sort of retro but sort of not) but I've been spending almost all my gaming time playing Banjo Kazooie rom hacks on my Steam Deck, particularly Jiggies of Time, which is a fantastic romhack based on the premise: "what if Banjo and Kazooie woke up in Hyrule":

 

 

 

It's genuinely a full-sized Banjo Kazooie game.

[g wings]

I’ve not really kept an eye on emulation for a couple of years but just how easy it all is on the Deck amazes me. Yesterday I played a couple of hours of Sega Rally 2 followed by some Speedball 2. But the greatest moment was when I realised you can successfully implement twin stick emulation when playing Virtual On: OT for Dreamcast. So good!

[SozzlyJoe]

Enjoying Ryse on this. Got it for a couple of quid, and it's a nice short graphically amazing showcase with an over the top story (particularly enjoying the portrayal of Scotland as the most terrifying place on Earth) and decent combat. It's no God of War, but it's a lot of fun. Runs so well on Deck, though it eats battery!

[Yiggy]

What’s the forum feel on the best emulation to go for? Keeping it as simple as possible. 

[Gotters]

2 hours ago, Yiggy said:

What’s the forum feel on the best emulation to go for? Keeping it as simple as possible. 

 

I'm not a particularly nerdy person who wants to fiddle with a device for hours, I watched a couple of EmuDeck videos (retro game corp is good) and been loving using it.

 

I've got no keyboard or mouse so done everything on the deck and not had much faff at all. Older consoles have all been super simple for me (SNES, Gamecube, Saturn, Dreamcast, PS1, PS2, GBA, GBC, NDS). I have come up short with xbox which seems a bit fiddlier and needs certain formats of iso to work, I've not put much time in to fixing this.

 

As soon as you mention emudeck somebody will say it wiped their device or is terrible, such is the internet, but I've had no such issues. Good time to dive in to as just launched their big new v2 with a cleaner front end.

[Mr Majestyk]

The steamdeck is by far the best handheld emulation devices I've owned, and likewise I've had no issues with Emudeck (or Coinops Legends). Vastly superior to the chinese android emulation devices. Switch emulation is a bit hit and miss but the rest has been fine for me.

[Siri]

26 minutes ago, Mr Majestyk said:

The steamdeck is by far the best handheld emulation devices I've owned, and likewise I've had no issues with Emudeck (or Coinops Legends). Vastly superior to the chinese android emulation devices. Switch emulation is a bit hit and miss but the rest has been fine for me.

 

I did read that the new Emudeck's version of Yuzu has adjusted something that handles the CPU properly, but I haven't bothered with Switch stuff yet so it could be bollocks still.

 

I read there's a demo for a neat PSX-styled horror game, Heartworm. Might be worth having a blast on the deck.

[AlexM]

I’ve only used CEMU on EmuDeck so far, but once I’d got to grips with the relatively simple process of adding roms it ‘just worked’. I wish it was so easy on desktop PCs.

[T Pot]

1 hour ago, Gotters said:

 

I'm not a particularly nerdy person who wants to fiddle with a device for hours, I watched a couple of EmuDeck videos (retro game corp is good) and been loving using it.

 

I've got no keyboard or mouse so done everything on the deck and not had much faff at all. Older consoles have all been super simple for me (SNES, Gamecube, Saturn, Dreamcast, PS1, PS2, GBA, GBC, NDS). I have come up short with xbox which seems a bit fiddlier and needs certain formats of iso to work, I've not put much time in to fixing this.

 

As soon as you mention emudeck somebody will say it wiped their device or is terrible, such is the internet, but I've had no such issues. Good time to dive in too as just launched their big new v2 with a cleaner front end.

 

Emudeck is brilliant, especially with V2. I use it all the time. Every ROM / ISO / Config was downloaded or managed in Desktop mode with the on screen keyboard and touch screen. It's easy enough to get running. 

 

I've got mine setup so Xbox, PS2, Gamecube and Dreamcast all show up on the gaming mode library as individual games. Anything older doesn't and just shows within EmulationStation.

[Popo]

Another vote for Emudeck. Set and forget, just add games and they’ll appear in your library to be played with a single click. 
 

The only bother I’ve had is with Saturn emulation, which is down to the default emulator Emudeck uses, but it’s a simple process to select the right one. 

[StephenM]

Loving Rail Route thanks to the recommendations on here. Not played much but it just unlocked auto signals and I’m incredibly hyped for automation (once I figure out how they work!)

[T Pot]

14 minutes ago, Popo said:

The only bother I’ve had is with Saturn emulation, which is down to the default emulator Emudeck uses, but it’s a simple process to select the right one. 

 

You got a guide please? I'm desperate toplay Saturn Bomberman

[bradigor]

1 hour ago, StephenM said:

Loving Rail Route thanks to the recommendations on here. Not played much but it just unlocked auto signals and I’m incredibly hyped for automation (once I figure out how they work!)

 

Wait until you undertake projects with stations so you can create through tracks. Freight specific tracks and better management of intercity trains that need a coach yard. 

 

I am currently automated to the point I am genuinely 50 green tokens and 15 red each 24 hours. 

 

I need to expand further, however thinking of starting new map instead. 

 

I love this game.

 

[Popo]

1 hour ago, T Pot said:

 

You got a guide please? I'm desperate toplay Saturn Bomberman

Assuming you’ve got Emudeck installed already - just load the game as normal, click in the two sticks to open the Retroarch menu, close the emulator, open the Beetle Saturn core, then load the game again (still within Retroarch, mind you). It’s a bit of a faff, but until Emudeck presents a way to configure which emulator is selected by default it’s probably the best way.
 

I haven’t tested Saturn Bomberman, but it might well work ok with the default emulator? There are a a ton of Saturn games which don’t though, and Beetle Saturn seems to be the best of them. 

 

(You could do the above by opening Retroarch directly, but then you’ll have it hanging around in your ‘last played’ list, which somewhat defeats the elegant nature of how Emudeck presents emulated games)

[T Pot]

1 hour ago, Popo said:

Assuming you’ve got Emudeck installed already - just load the game as normal, click in the two sticks to open the Retroarch menu, close the emulator, open the Beetle Saturn core, then load the game again (still within Retroarch, mind you). It’s a bit of a faff, but until Emudeck presents a way to configure which emulator is selected by default it’s probably the best way.
 

I haven’t tested Saturn Bomberman, but it might well work ok with the default emulator? There are a a ton of Saturn games which don’t though, and Beetle Saturn seems to be the best of them. 

 

(You could do the above by opening Retroarch directly, but then you’ll have it hanging around in your ‘last played’ list, which somewhat defeats the elegant nature of how Emudeck presents emulated games)

 

I'll try. When I first attempted it every time I tried to boot the game it just black screened and dropped back to ES. Assuming I was missing a bios or something, but it was late and I haven't gone back to it.

[SMD]

hello, long time reader, first time owner, dumb question, all these guides about installing windows and unsupported games and emulators/roms, does it matter where and how it's saved? can i get a massive micro sd card and bung it all on there or do i need to do some juggling?

[T Pot]

I haven’t done windows, but every game / rom / emulator is on my SD card

[Siri]

Windows and any games you use in that environment does matter, because it uses a different file system altogether. You'll either be partitioning a drive, putting it onto a different SD card, or both.

 

But honestly, if you're starting off, I'd just stick to SteamOS and get used to that. Steam games, non-steam PC games and emulated games can be put wherever you want. I usually stuff everything in folders on the SD card.

[Simmy]

Anyone tried Rez on the steam deck? Playable?

 

It's cheap and it's been a while since I've played it

[deKay]

Anyone know a fix for Heroic constantly logging out of Epic? It’s happening about once an hour and crashes Fallout 3 each time. It was supposedly fixed in the latest Heroic, but clearly isn’t.

[Lyrical Donut]

2 minutes ago, Simmy said:

Anyone tried Rez on the steam deck? Playable?

 

It's cheap and it's been a while since I've played it

 

Yep, didn't play all the way through but it was fine.

[Siri]

50 minutes ago, deKay said:

Anyone know a fix for Heroic constantly logging out of Epic? It’s happening about once an hour and crashes Fallout 3 each time. It was supposedly fixed in the latest Heroic, but clearly isn’t.

 

I don't have a solution, but I'm guessing that was why THPS kept shitting the bed - I thought it was Activision just being shit. Thanks!

 

I had a go of Heartworm. Painfully styled on PSX RE1, but pretty neat.

[BubbleFish]

Anyone provide recommended settings for Days Gone? I keep seeing YouTube vids saying high graphic settings, low res with FSR and a steady 30-40 fps. Tried them and knocking some settings down but still getting hitching and fluctuating fps. Disabled vsync which helped but still a bit janky.

[Mr Majestyk]

https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-nitro-bundle-3

 

Some cheap deck racers to be had in this bundle. 

[Siri]

Clustertruck is fantastic out of that lot, well worth a quid or less. I can vouch for Hotshot Racing working on the deck, even with it being not supported for some reason.

 

I'm interested in V-Rally 4. Best have a look to see if it's actually worth buying.

[g wings]

3 hours ago, Siri said:

 

I'm interested in V-Rally 4. Best have a look to see if it's actually worth buying.

I loved all versions of V Rally years ago and despite all the negative reviews I purchased V Rally 4 as soon as it was released. I soon regretted it. Unless they have totally overhauled the handling (very much doubt it) I would steer clear (no pun intended) at full price but obviously worth a punt now.

[g wings]

10 hours ago, Yiggy said:

What’s the forum feel on the best emulation to go for? Keeping it as simple as possible. 

It’s been said lots already but as someone who always wants to get in to emulation but gets put off by fiddlyness of it I can honestly say EmuDeck is a revelation.
 

It’s super easy to install and manage. There are some foibles to getting certain systems running well but that’s to be expected for newer systems and there are so many helpful videos on YouTube to sort you out.

[bradigor]

Tempted for Race Condition