Valve's Steam Deck

[ObsidianJones]

I hear the battery of the thing just died if you push it at all. I'm wondering if this will be another GameGear scenario.

I mean... I hear you. I do. But I'm drowning in Anker Powercores, so I haven't been too worried about that.

And in truth, my Alienware laptop lasts maybe around two hours off the plug.

But that's average for most gaming laptops. Which I think a lot of people are forgetting the Steam Deck really is.

 

[Gordon_4]

I mean... I hear you. I do. But I'm drowning in Anker Powercores, so I haven't been too worried about that.

And in truth, my Alienware laptop lasts maybe around two hours off the plug.

But that's average for most gaming laptops. Which I think a lot of people are forgetting the Steam Deck really is.

With generously one tenth of the functionality of said laptop.

 

[bluegate]

Pc Gamers will prefer playing on their desktops with their giant screens and easy to maintain and replace parts.

Console gamers will stick with consoles.

Handheld gamers won't care because they're already busy playing on Switch.

Steam Deck is just sitting there trying to fill a small niche of PC gamers who would wish to occasionally play some of their games on the go.

 

[ObsidianJones]

Pc Gamers will prefer playing on their desktops with their giant screens and easy to maintain and replace parts.

Console gamers will stick with consoles.

Handheld gamers won't care because they're already busy playing on Switch.

Steam Deck is just sitting there trying to fill a small niche of PC gamers who would wish to occasionally play some of their games on the go.

I mean, the same thing was said about the Switch. And I get it. But I think it was Cliffy B who said "There's room for two".

As a primary Nintendo Switch Player, I'm tired of missing out of things. I can't find a ps5 to save my life, so I'm behind in some experiences. And I have Steam, of course, but I developed an ecosystem for my Switch. Asus Rog portable screen with a 3 hour internal battery, all the portable chargers I could want, I have a bluetooth keyboard and mouse and I'm sure someone's going to come up with a screen protector/keyboard grip for the steam deck. And the actual extra bulk of the Steam deck box is negligible for my Switch Backpack.

I think it is more accurate to say that the Steam Deck is what most Laptop gamers actually will use when they had pie in the sky ideas that they were going to have access on their games on the go, like I did. Porting about a laptop freaking sucks. Especially going through airports. Once I got my Nintendo switch, I made peace on playing just Nintendo and using my samsung dex as my computer. And keeping the Steam Deck charged will be actually doable instead of hoping I can find a outlet somewhere, breaking out my laptop, and trying to entertain myself on the go.

I actually use the Nintendo Switch more than I thought. And I always felt limited. We're still begging for Netflix on the Switch. But whatever I have on this laptop I'm typing to you now on, I can get on my Deck. There are three usb ports. I can have my external drives.

Gaming, and a few light things on the laptop. Since I don't use my laptop for work, that's all I need. But given that a lot of reviewers have used their deck as their work pc in order to test it and had no issues, that's not even that much of a thing.

Now, with the Deck, I will have an actual

 

[CastletonSnob]

I don't get why people are upset about Nintendo taking down Switch emulation videos on the Steam Deck. Of course they don't want people to emulate games from their current console on a competitor's product.

 

[videogameplayer]

This, by far, is the thing that makes me most enraged about the Deck.

Why in the world isn't this implemented natively in the Steam Client? Why do I have to have another website of all things going through my purchases and purchasing ability?!

I had my origin account back in the day stolen by what I think were Russian Hackers, so I'm not that apt to put my password all over the place.

Another website? Password all over the place? store.steampowered.com is literally the one and only official Steam website. There is no other website for the Steam store. You are "enraged" you have to log in to the official Steam website to check your Steam library?

Not to mention even the dedicated client DOES show "Steam Deck compability" on each title while browsing the store.

As a side note, the website coupled with the Augmented Steam add-on is about a gazillion times better than the dedicated client, so you shouldn't be using that to begin with.

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

Now, with the Deck, I will have an actual

...

This ended like one of those written notes you find in survival horror games, usually scrabbled hastily in blood. Are you alright Obsidian? I've ordered an official wellness check for you just in case!

Um, whilst we're here, what's the code for the office safe?

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Um, whilst we're here, what's the code for the office safe?

The code is written on the mirror in the

 

[Worgen]

With generously one tenth of the functionality of said laptop.

Except that isn't true since you can install windows on it or hook up a mouse and keyboard. It just doesn't have the convenience of a traditional laptop which has a non-virtual keyboard built in.

 

[Gordon_4]

Except that isn't true since you can install windows on it or hook up a mouse and keyboard. It just doesn't have the convenience of a traditional laptop which has a non-virtual keyboard built in.

You cannot seriously sit there and say with a straight face "Yeah, the Steam Deck is totally as versatile as a laptop. As long as you cart around a keyboard and maybe a bigger screen for it and spend a few hours boot camping it to run Windows".

Like, where the hell is this coming from? Valve has made for all intents and purposes a niche but well respected portable gaming device and suddenly the high spec/gaming laptop is surplus to requirement?

 

[Worgen]

You cannot seriously sit there and say with a straight face "Yeah, the Steam Deck is totally as versatile as a laptop. As long as you cart around a keyboard and maybe a bigger screen for it and spend a few hours boot camping it to run Windows".

Like, where the hell is this coming from? Valve has made for all intents and purposes a niche but well respected portable gaming device and suddenly the high spec/gaming laptop is surplus to requirement?

I never said it was. I literally said that for it to be you would need to carry around a keyboard unless you were ok typing on a virtual one. Did you only read the word 'except'?

 

[XsjadoBlayde]

The code is written on the mirror in the

Not you too, Rogue Wolf. You're not getting a free wellness check out of me this time, not even for the missing code!

(Tbh, I may have been a little drunk when posting there, the entirely unfounded confidence in thinking I might be funny is a dangerous symptom of weakened inhibitions )

 

[gorfias]

Got one (64 Gig) on order that will arrive anytime now. Got protection glass for the screen. I've got some SD cards for games but bought a new fast 512 GB for $60 rather than spend an extra $250 for the top of the line. Linus Tech Tips did a comparison and found Valve's claim that you can play as well on the SD as the built in SSD are more or less true. I may swap that for a 1 TB some day. Unnecessary, but I do stuff like that. We'll see.

I still have my Vita for portable games but my old eyes can barely see the screen. My Samsung 22+ has a 6.6" screen but shares real estate with virtual analog sticks and still really hard to play for me (android games/Steamlink). I'm hoping the 7" screen of the Steamdeck works for me.

So, after a shaky start (Linus called it unfinished when launched. Imagine!) but now plenty of videos saying users play on the deck more than any of there other systems.

So, now that I bought the deck? This means Nintendo will finally announce the successor to the Switch any moment now.

To Switch owners? You're welcome.

 

[laggyteabag]

Got one (64 Gig) on order that will arrive anytime now. Got protection glass for the screen. I've got some SD cards for games but bought a new fast 512 GB for $60 rather than spend an extra $250 for the top of the line. Linus Tech Tips did a comparison and found Valve's claim that you can play as well on the SD as the built in SSD are more or less true. I may swap that for a 1 TB some day. Unnecessary, but I do stuff like that. We'll see.

Whilst I cannot offer an opinion on SD card speeds vs SSD speeds, as I have been playing 100% of my games from my 512GB SD card, I have zero complaints about loading times. At the very least, it is much faster than playing from a hard drive.

So, after a shaky start (Linus called it unfinished when launched. Imagine!) but now plenty of videos saying users play on the deck more than any of there other systems.

I have only encountered a single UI-related bug - scrolling down in your Steam wishlist would sometimes start scrolling up, instead.

Games are a bit more of a mixed bag, but other than two exceptions (Darksiders 1 and Call of Juarez: Gunslinger) every issue that I have had, has been resolved by some tinkering.

Generally, I am very positive with the Steam Deck. It plays most of the games that I want to play, perfectly well - though I do tend to play a lot of Xbox 360/PS3 era games, so that isn't exactly surprising. Things get a bit shakier performance-wise once you start trying to hook it up to a TV and play things at 1080p, but that really depends on the game. Battery life is also pretty great, but that also varies pretty drastically on how hard you are pushing the device.

My general expectation of the Steam Deck is to expect base-Xbox One/PS4 levels of performance, but at 800p. In more modern games, that normally translates to a lot of low/medium settings, but on a screen this small, you can barely notice.

 

[gorfias]

Whilst I cannot offer an opinion on SD card speeds vs SSD speeds, as I have been playing 100% of my games from my 512GB SD card, I have zero complaints about loading times. At the very least, it is much faster than playing from a hard drive.

I have only encountered a single UI-related bug - scrolling down in your Steam wishlist would sometimes start scrolling up, instead.

Games are a bit more of a mixed bag, but other than two exceptions (Darksiders 1 and Call of Juarez: Gunslinger) every issue that I have had, has been resolved by some tinkering.

Generally, I am very positive with the Steam Deck. It plays most of the games that I want to play, perfectly well - though I do tend to play a lot of Xbox 360/PS3 era games, so that isn't exactly surprising. Things get a bit shakier performance-wise once you start trying to hook it up to a TV and play things at 1080p, but that really depends on the game. Battery life is also pretty great, but that also varies pretty drastically on how hard you are pushing the device.

My general expectation of the Steam Deck is to expect base-Xbox One/PS4 levels of performance, but at 800p. In more modern games, that normally translates to a lot of low/medium settings, but on a screen this small, you can barely notice.

They're playing G-d of War on the thing! Impressive. Great load times.


I anticipate wanting to play Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow, Dishonored 1 & 2 and Doom 1st. Here's to hoping for a good experience.

 

[Worgen]

I anticipate wanting to play Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow, Dishonored 1 & 2 and Doom 1st. Here's to hoping for a good experience.

I played a lot of monster hunter stories 2 on mine.

 

[gorfias]

I played a lot of monster hunter stories 2 on mine.

Good game series I need to play more of! Got one on Vita that came with PS+. Eyestrainovision. Hoping for a better experience on the Steam Deck. I see there are some versions on Steam.

Maybe get myself some x3 readers and play this one for now.



Cool, whole video about the experience out there