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

[Ry]

1 minute ago, Popo said:

I’m watching a video on emulation now and it looks like a piece of cake. Install Retroarch from the built in Linux app finder, set it up and add it to Steam. 
 

Handheld Sega Rally here I come. 

 

That's the worst method. 

 

Google emudeck. 

 

It's so simple and sorts out everything. I also used Emulation Station as the front end as it just looks so much nicer and like how it scrapes all the box art and intro videos for you. 

[Siri]

15 hours ago, watusi said:

Just fiddling with this at the moment, it seems quite stuttery - anything I should be changing in the config to hit 60fps?

 

2 hours ago, Mitchell said:

 

I can't screenshot for some reason, so I will just reel off a few settings I am using in RPCS3.

 

Vulkan renderer, framelimit 60, 1280x720, Async multi, no additional settings...I think everything else was left as default?  Using the NPEB00073 version. 

It's probably worth mentioning that you're going to get stutter no matter what - If you look to the bottom left of the screen in-game, you'll probably see it's saying some shit like 'compiling shaders'. You get stutter less and less the more you play a modern emulated game.

It's what modern emulators and modern games have to contend with these days, even on PCs that are not the Steam Deck - because a computer is rendering something (and I do mean generally 'something' - effectively any 3D element that you see on a screen with lighting) it's not designed for, the computer has to come up with something on the fly that instructs the graphics card to render lighting or textures in a way that makes sense to it. When it does this, that causes the split-second blip that evokes stutter.

Yuzu (a Switch emulator) gets around it by putting any of this shader work (known as shader caching) on a different rendering pipeline - You'll notice graphics and lighting that pops in after a split second, but it doesn't wait for it, so it's less of a noticeable problem.

While we're on the subject: Steam gets around it with PC games (on Linux mainly, but this can occur on Windows with Vulkan games) by literally serving you the shader cache file, created by a collective of everyone else playing the game depending on the graphics card manufacturer (AMD or NVidia, mostly). You'll notice that earlier games don't have this problem, because the 3D is fairly primitive and shaders only really started to become commonplace when DX10 was introduced.

The current (and on-going) problem is that, as Proton gets updated, it doesn't know what to do with the shaders it currently had on hand, so it effectively bins them off and gets a fresh shader cache that makes sense. This continues ad nauseam - So if you're not going to be playing a game for a while, go into the settings and either tell it on a per-game basis to not update, or arrange an auto-update time that literally doesn't exist (like the middle of the night). That way, when you DO play the game, it'll either take a minute or two to grab the latest shader cache, or just not bother and attempt to generate its own at the risk of being less smooth to play. 

[Popo]

39 minutes ago, Ry said:

 

That's the worst method. 

 

Google emudeck. 

 

It's so simple and sorts out everything. I also used Emulation Station as the front end as it just looks so much nicer and like how it scrapes all the box art and intro videos for you. 

Thanks, will do! 

[SuperCapes]

It's here!!!! 

[Ry]

29 minutes ago, Popo said:

Thanks, will do! 

 

Also, Retro Game Corps on YouTube. That guy gives comprehensive advice on setting it up. Think he has a couple of steam deck set up vids and he is very clear and concise. I always watch his stuff when I was setting up retro handhelds. 

[Popo]

2 minutes ago, Ry said:

 

Also, Retro Game Corps on YouTube. That guy gives comprehensive advice on setting it up. Think he has a couple of steam deck set up vids and he is very clear and concise. I always watch his stuff when I was setting up retro handhelds. 

His was the video I was watching! What I liked about it was he explains what to set, shows how it’s done, and explains why you’d want to set it. 

[wavey]

Mine arrived today, lovely bit of kit!

 

(Warning, shipping talk follows)

 

I don't know if my shipping experience was unusual, but in case it helps anyone expecting to order one:

- Ordered on Saturday

- In Steam, order said 'Shipping soon' until Weds morning

- From Weds, the GLS tracker info they sent said that they were waiting for the package to be given to them

- It was still saying this on Thursday night!

- Friday morning, Parcelforce said they had it nearby, and it arrived Friday lunchtime

 

So it looks like it wasn't tracked at all through the Netherlands, but it was a nice surprise to get it today.

[Siri]

Yep, that's standard GLS. the bit between the Netherlands and UK might as well be the Bermuda Triangle. Understandable, considering the state of UK customs due to some clearly unknown circumstances.

[Zio]

For those of you wanting Outrun 2, I fully recommend grabbing the PC version from somewhere if you can. I fortunately bought it on Steam back in the day, so it's still in my library and I can confirm it runs like a dream! You need to manually tweak the controls is all, but it's not too tough to do and once done, you're sorted for life.

 

Also, I started up Mass Effect Trilogy Remastered on it yesterday and that runs like a dream. Plus apparently the next Steam OS update has a fix for the crashing problem I've been having with Red Dead Redemption 2!

[AceGrace]

3 hours ago, SuperCapes said:

It's here!!!! 

 

Same. What a bland outer box.

[Popo]

7 minutes ago, Zio said:

For those of you wanting Outrun 2, I fully recommend grabbing the PC version from somewhere if you can. I fortunately bought it on Steam back in the day, so it's still in my library and I can confirm it runs like a dream! You need to manually tweak the controls is all, but it's not too tough to do and once done, you're sorted for life.

 

Also, I started up Mass Effect Trilogy Remastered on it yesterday and that runs like a dream. Plus apparently the next Steam OS update has a fix for the crashing problem I've been having with Red Dead Redemption 2!

So the only thing I’d say about it is, once I set the community profile, it all worked, but the steering, braking and acceleration are all digital inputs mapped to analogue inputs, which is a shame. 
 

Is it possible to tweak the controller profile to get analogue input? Or was the game always digital input only? It’s been so long I can hardly remember. 

[Siri]

1 hour ago, AceGrace said:

 

Same. What a bland outer box.

 

Considering that the official Steam Deck Reddit group is 50% 'Fedex guys stole my shit' threads with the bland box in place, shipping in more outrageous packaging might not be a good idea.

[Popo]

I liked the no-frills, lose the shoe leather approach to the box. 

[SuperCapes]

Thoughts so far. 

 

Persona 4 is mint obviously!

Nier Automatoes at 40 FPS is shockingly good. 

Sekiro and Dark Souls see above. 

Titanfall 2 feels like witchcraft cranked at 60 FPS. 

 

It is mind bogglingly boggletastic. 

[sid]

I’ve been thinking about what games I will install as soon as I get mine

 

Wondering if it’s a mistake to just go dark souls 1,2,3, sekiro and Elden ring 😣 that’s relationship ruining levels of nonsense

 

I’m going with monster hunter as well , and then some Metroidvania types.

 

Replay the orange box ? Check

 

Persona. Check

 

this is going to be a fucking nightmare isn’t it 😣😣

[jonamok]

Since Elden Ring the Deck has mostly been host to an indies buffet for me. Currently playing Northern Journey and Strange Horticulture. Both excellent.

[Popo]

Apologies if this was already posted, but I had a go at setting up Xbox Cloud Gaming using the Microsoft guide and it works really well! My Gamepass catalogue has been liberated. 
 

Here’s the guide:

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/xbox-cloud-gaming-in-microsoft-edge-with-steam-deck-43dd011b-0ce8-4810-8302-965be6d53296

 

I got tripped up in one part, which is the command to give Edge access to the controls, due to the misleading way the text is presented with ambiguous spacing; the command needs to be entered like below, with no returns and no spaces between -- and filesystem 

 

flatpak --user override --filesystem=/run/udev:ro com.microsoft.Edge

[Mogster]

Speaking of Xbox Cloud gaming, after my initial good impressions with Chorus I loaded up Dragon Quest XI yesterday and found it to be a smeary mess. Then a story popped up in my RSS feed revealing that, sure enough, Microsoft were limiting performance on the Linux version of Edge for reasons, and the quality was determined by the browser user agent. It didn't take long for clever types to try a user agent switcher extension to present as the Windows version of Edge, and hey presto! Much better streaming quality.

 

This is the extension I've seen recommended, and it worked perfectly when I tried it.

 

https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/useragent-switcher-and-m/cnjkedgepfdpdbnepgmajmmjdjkjnifa

 

To use it, switch to desktop mode on the Deck, load up Edge, go to the Extension store and search for "User-Agent Switcher and Manager" (or just use the link). Install the extension, open it and switch the user agent to "Windows+Edge 103.x.x" (whatever the latest version is). I was only offered 100.x to start with, but after switching to Windows from the "Others" list instead of "Popular" it refreshed with the latest version.

 

Once you've selected the right version, click "Apply (All Windows)", close Edge and switch back to gaming mode. Launch Xbox Cloud Gaming, load a game and enjoy the quality you were always meant to have.

 

Microsoft are apparently working on better ways to determine performance rather than relying on the user agent alone, but we'll see where that goes. It would be nice to have a simple quality setting to toggle.

 

16 minutes ago, Popo said:

 

I got tripped up in one part, which is the command to give Edge access to the controls, due to the misleading way the text is presented with ambiguous spacing; the command needs to be entered like below, with no returns and no spaces between -- and filesystem 

 

flatpak --user override --filesystem=/run/udev:ro com.microsoft.Edge

 

That's identical to the text in the guide for me. I just copied and pasted it from the guide in desktop mode, and it worked for me.

 

[Duckula]

Mine is due to be delivered this Monday (ordered on Monday) - was hoping I would have some chance of it getting delivered today but I have another 2 days without a deck to agonise about.

[Strafe]

Mine delivered on a Monday. It’s an odd day to get a console but probably the best Monday ever.

[spanx]

Can you order one of these and actually get it now? 

[Mogster]

7 minutes ago, spanx said:

Can you order one of these and actually get it now? 

No, unless you go second hand. Otherwise you still need to get on the waiting list.

[Popo]

8 minutes ago, spanx said:

Can you order one of these and actually get it now? 

https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

 

You still need to get in line, with October delivery according to Valve’s website. Which is far shorter a wait than I expected before checking, probably a consequence of them having greatly upped production. 

[MattKB]

Is there a way to ‘disable’ the controller part. 
 

Playing Counterstrike docked with mouse and keyboard. When you try and ADS with a gun that supports scope, it just flicks off quickly. Somehow, I got the HUD to show keyboard symbols instead of Steam Deck controller symbols and this fixed it - but I can’t work out how to get it to default to that, it says things like Y to change weapon. 

[SuperCapes]

A few weird games aside (Binary Domain has issues) this thing is a triumph. In the winter it is going to be mint at keeping my lap warm too. 

 

As a natural born tinkerer I am loving the options it gives you. 

 

Been looking into battery life saving settings without having to lower brightness, and managed to make a few tweaks to a bunch of games, but I am sure there is plenty more to tinker with. 

 

All with fullscreen brightness:

 

The Darkness 2 - 4 hours

Tales of Symphonia - 6 hours

Final Fantasy X - 4.5 hours

Titanfall 2 - 2.5 hours

 

I realise some old games in there but super impressed all the same. Especially with tales of Symphonia as I flipping love that game, and 6 hours is madness. Could get to New York on a single charge playing that beast. 

 

Will continue to tinker and feedback. 

 

[spanx]

Ah ok. Got to fly to Vancouver in August and was thinking this might be a good thing to make the flight more interesting. 

[Popo]

@Mogster thanks for the tip about the browser agent - I followed your guide and could see a noticeable improvement in image quality, much sharper. 

[SteveH]

That Aperture demo thing is fantastic. I know it was made to specifically suit the Deck and isn't exactly huge in scope, but it looks so good, so clean. Mightily impressed with it. 

[Fry Crayola]

1 hour ago, Popo said:

https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

 

You still need to get in line, with October delivery according to Valve’s website. Which is far shorter a wait than I expected before checking, probably a consequence of them having greatly upped production. 

 

It won't be October. At the start of the year Valve split things into quarters: Q1, Q2, Q3 and After Q3. They haven't updated from that, and clearly say "October or Later" which is just an explanation of what after Q3 means.

 

Unless orders seriously tailed off or production is massively increased, expect to be heavily weighted towards Later.

 

For reference, I have an order placed in August of last year that's in the After Q3 bucket. The chance of an order placed 11 months later to be fulfilled at the same time is extremely unlikely.

 

I would expect the details to update sooner rather than later, creating Q4 and 2023 or Later groups at the very least.

[Mogster]

Production has been ramped up quite a bit though, recently. While you're not going to get a Deck in October from a new pre-order, you shouldn't have to wait quite as long as we've had to. 

 

Hopefully.