StarTopic Steam Deck Discussion |ST| Big Deck Energy

[Yavga]

How long does it usually take to arrive once it's shipped? Mine just shipped today.

Took about a week give or take depending on where you live (Netherlands here after Easter)



On a seperate note, I am really enjoying the Deck but can't wait for some ergonomic upgrades, I notice that after a while the Deck is getting kinda uncomfortable to hold. Maybe down the road there will be more brands who attempt some grips other than Dbrand.

 

[BlueManifest]

Not sure where 2-3 years later is coming from - if you were to order today it seems highly unlikely you wouldn’t have one by this time next year. It sucks that there is such limited supply but that’s every major console at the moment and Valve have significantly ramped up production already in the time since launch. If you’re including the time since announcement to it actually shipping, that was only about 9 months which is less time than both the PS5 and XSX from their announcement until availability.

It says you can still get it this year if you order today

 

[Belinda Blumenthal]

New fan curve + display options are out of beta, on stable channel!

Steam Deck - The SteamOS 3.2 Update - Steam News

Hello! We've just shipped an update to SteamOS - we're up to 3.2 now, and it's full of some great updates and improvements to Steam Deck. Refresh Rate Players now have the option to adjust the in-game screen refresh rate on the fly. The default is 60Hz (which can be frame-limited to 60, 30, and...

store.steampowered.com

 

[Imitatio]

Switched back to Stable immediately, haha.
-----
It's somewhat insane to me just how much of my gaming time I'm spending with the Deck at this point, especially after I've been rather skeptical initially.
It has completely replaced my laptop as my go-to PC gaming machine, and -- dare I say it -- even replaced my Switch as my no. 1 handheld/hybrid, at least usage wise as of late (which is mostly due to me waiting for FE Three Hopes, Rise: Sunbreak, and Xenoblade 3 and nothing else really catching my attention on there).

I don't mind playing a game like Tales of Arise 720p @ 40 fps with everything other than shadows on high, even when on my monitor. The Deck's convenience and streamlined UX make it much more appealing to me than my laptop ever could be (with Windows at least). Right now the Deck basically has had the same effect on me the Switch had when it released, winning me over with its versatility and due to fitting well into my life style rather than sheer power™. Love it!

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

My 256GB pre-order finally came up (just ~10.5 months of wait), and shipped today. Is there a good place to look for newbie tips on setting things up and getting the most out of it? Like I know there are various non-Steam launchers and emulators meant to be Deck-friendly, would be nice to see things like that without Googling individual things that come to mind.

 

[Shiba]

Honestly thing is great but a major downside for me is the rumble is embarrassingly weak. Might not seems like a big deal for some but I love rumble/vibration in controllers/devices so this just kills my enthusiasm for the device.

 

[Yavga]

My 256GB pre-order finally came up (just ~10.5 months of wait), and shipped today. Is there a good place to look for newbie tips on setting things up and getting the most out of it? Like I know there are various non-Steam launchers and emulators meant to be Deck-friendly, would be nice to see things like that without Googling individual things that come to mind.

Definitely check out the subreddit r/SteamDeck there are a lot of tutorials all around and it's a great starting point.

 

[uncleoptimus]

My 256GB pre-order finally came up (just ~10.5 months of wait), and shipped today. Is there a good place to look for newbie tips on setting things up and getting the most out of it? Like I know there are various non-Steam launchers and emulators meant to be Deck-friendly, would be nice to see things like that without Googling individual things that come to mind.

I have collected a few links courtesy of the steamDeck reddit, some decent tips to mine from these:

Unpacking CheckList for the New Owner

What you will do when you first get your deck

Tips and Tricks you wish you knew about

Recommended Linux apps

I've been meaning to play "Aperture Desk Job" as I understand that to be a stealth "get acquainted w/ Deck controls" app. Thing is, it was busted and unplayable couple weeks ago when my Deck came in. (I've heard its fixed now, but that wasn't a good look hahah)

 

[uncleoptimus]

So the Dock is delayed!?

Steam Deck - Steam Deck Docking Station Delayed - Steam News

Hi all. Due to parts shortages and COVID closures at our manufacturing facilities, the official Steam Deck Docking Station is delayed. We're working on improving the situation and will share more info when we have it. This has no effect on production schedule and reservation windows for Steam...

store.steampowered.com

Its a good thing that regular PC docks/hubs already work so well.

Surprising to me as USB hub/dock makers seem to have no issue churning those out. Nintendo also seems to be able to produce a good many switch docks.

Wonder what parts specifically Valve is having trouble sourcing?

 

[Imitatio]

I just wanna know how expensive the Dock is going to be. D:
It really isn't that special looking/sounding on paper, and I might as well buy another USB C hub now than wait for Valve's. The pricing could make their offering more interesting, though (and the form factor).

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Mine arrived yesterday. 10.5 months after initial preorder, but from sending notice that I could order and it actually arriving was only 3 days. Haven't been able to do much interesting yet--didn't realize I'd have to jump through some minor hoops to copy games from PC, and didn't have time to download anything interesting yesterday. Mostly I learned that even just running the basic interface and downloading stuff, the USB charger I usually travel with for phone/tablet/Switch wasn't enough to keep it from losing battery. Feels nice, looks nice, though. Also ran into weird problems with Desktop mode controls, though that could be user error from testing various buttons. Like eventually every time the mouse cursor passed a text box, it was automatically pasting an URL in there.

 

[Legion of Primes]

I really hope I don’t have to wait till 2023 to get a steam deck since I’m in the October or later crowd. Spider man coming to steam is what’s selling me on the idea of the steam deck for sure.

I rather not pay scalper prices either if I have to.

 

[Imitatio]

Steam Summer Sale + Steam Deck =

 

[Koren Lesthe]

So, I bought a Steam Deck (256 GB SSD pack) and now waiting for it.
Obviously I took it for my massive Steam backlog of both AA & retro & indie games but also for the Desktop mode (I haven't touched Linux in a little less than a decade so I might have to relearn a thing or two ^^; )

I'm already overwhelmed by everything I saw about what it can do. I'm also a bit curious at how it can handle Office stuff (yep, I'll try to work on my books with LibreOffice on a 7 inches screen because I'm a bit insane).

EDIT : Oh yeah, Baby, LibreOffice now works exactly like I need it to work for my books, at least on Windows ! Can't wait to try it out on the Deck !

Steam Summer Sale + Steam Deck =

Well I got a mail from Steam just after spending my money for the Deck "Hey look Koren ! The Steam sales started !"

Yeah thanks guys but I'll wait a bit ^^

 

[Imitatio]

So, I bought a Steam Deck (256 GB SSD pack) and now waiting for it.
Obviously I took it for my massive Steam backlog of both AA & retro & indie games but also for the Desktop mode (I haven't touched Linux in a little less than a decade so I might have to relearn a thing or two ^^; )

I'm already overwhelmed by everything I saw about what it can do. I'm also a bit curious at how it can handle Office stuff (yep, I'll try to work on my books with LibreOffice on a 7 inches screen because I'm a bit insane).

EDIT : Oh yeah, Baby, LibreOffice now works exactly like I need it to work for my books, at least on Windows ! Can't wait to try it out on the Deck !



Well I got a mail from Steam just after spending my money for the Deck "Hey look Koren ! The Steam sales started !"

Yeah thanks guys but I'll wait a bit ^^

Yeah, the combination of shiny new hardware + software being on sale sure is a dangerous one.

I was also shocked to see that I've been a Deck owner for almost 9 months at this point; time sure flew by! I'd like to write down some of my thoughts after this 9 month period with the device, but that'll have to wait a bit still.

Interestingly, the year-in-review Steam's offering this time around shows that over 50% of my PC gaming time was spent on Deck compared to my PC in the 40s percentage range. Didn't think it would actually look like this in terms of time spent, but here we are. Maybe I have to reconsider my Deck judgement a bit in response to that.

 

[Koren Lesthe]

Hi everyone
I now own a Steam Deck and love it quite a lot. One of my few complaints so far is... the Desktop Mode (running under KDE Plasma) of the Steam Deck, while powerful, only feature english language, AND you can't add any other language.

In 2023. I don't get it.
To add salt on the injury, a FAQ on Microsoft website about how to add the Game Pass xCloud to the Steam Deck features the whole Desktop mode in flippin' French and for the life of me I can't find how they did it.

Xbox Game Pass on Steam Deck (French)

The main problem with not having my native language available for the Desktop mode is that every single app in the Discover App Manager will only feature English language by default. Libre Office, one of my favorite MS Office tool, is only in english and I had to configure everything so I can keep writing my books in french without having 98% of my text marked as incorrect. And no, there's no way to add languages (in the Steam Deck version) without having some knowledge of KDE / Linux and command lines. Fun.

Also the keyboard layout by default is obviously in QWERTY instead of AZERTY but at least this can be changed.

I'm quite baffled by this absence ; the Desktop mode is amazing (it's basically a full PC Linux OS), Libre Office, once correctly set, works perfectly for my books and this will replace my aging iPad. I just need this one thing to be fixed.

 

[Imitatio]

Hi everyone
I now own a Steam Deck and love it quite a lot. One of my few complaints so far is... the Desktop Mode (running under KDE Plasma) of the Steam Deck, while powerful, only feature english language, AND you can't add any other language.

In 2023. I don't get it.
To add salt on the injury, a FAQ on Microsoft website about how to add the Game Pass xCloud to the Steam Deck features the whole Desktop mode in flippin' French and for the life of me I can't find how they did it.

Xbox Game Pass on Steam Deck (French)

The main problem with not having my native language available for the Desktop mode is that every single app in the Discover App Manager will only feature English language by default. Libre Office, one of my favorite MS Office tool, is only in english and I had to configure everything so I can keep writing my books in french without having 98% of my text marked as incorrect. And no, there's no way to add languages (in the Steam Deck version) without having some knowledge of KDE / Linux and command lines. Fun.

Also the keyboard layout by default is obviously in QWERTY instead of AZERTY but at least this can be changed.

I'm quite baffled by this absence ; the Desktop mode is amazing (it's basically a full PC Linux OS), Libre Office, once correctly set, works perfectly for my books and this will replace my aging iPad. I just need this one thing to be fixed.

Huh, could've sworn I managed to change my language setting via the system settings somehow (but I've since reset my system to factory settings due to a bug, otherwise I would've been able to check it more easily). I'll look into this again as well, maybe we can figure something out (ideally without command lines via Konsole, haha).

 

[Imitatio]

Ah, yes, I found the instructions I've used the last time and ... well, they do involve messing with the konsole after all; sorry, misremembered that. Otherwise there doesn't seem to be a solution in place thus far which avoid command lines. :-/

 

[Koren Lesthe]

Well, one day or another I’ll have to mess with the Konsole ^^, I used to program games in Basic on my calculator and also for the Amstrad CPC ^^.

If you ever find the commands (but only if you have time), I’ll gladly give it a try.

 

[Imitatio]

If you ever find the commands (but only if you have time), I’ll gladly give it a try.

I followed the instructions in this Steam Community thread last time around to install the German language pack.
It comes with its own small issues, like having to re-install the language every time they update SteamOS, but overall I'd say it's doable enough to change it within ~5 mins (or less) once you know what you need to do.

 

[Koren Lesthe]

I followed the instructions in this Steam Community thread last time around to install the German language pack.
It comes with its own small issues, like having to re-install the language every time they update SteamOS, but overall I'd say it's doable enough to change it within ~5 mins (or less) once you know what you need to do.

Thanks a lot ! I modified the .sh file but cannot run the thing in Konsole, it says :

Warning: Could not find '/home/deck/Downloads/fr.sh', starting '/bin/bash' instead. Please check your profile settings.

I tried looking for the '/bin/bash' folders but I don't find a bash folder in bin.

Man, I tried so many things... created a new profile in the Konsole with the correct Command folder but it resets every single time I close the Konsole to re-execute the file with a right click. I managed the new profile to be the one activated by default but it gets reseted too.

I don't know how to execute a file in Konsole (I tried "sudo tw.sh", it asks for my password -that I created- then it says "command not found" (then why did you ask for my password ?!).

AH, apparently it's working now.
I wrote "Konsole -e /bin/bash /home/deck/downloads/tw.sh and after putting my password, it is now installing.

EDIT :
It works ! Took quite a lot of time but after I rebooted, all the locales were available in the Language & Regional settings, including french !
After another reboot, Discover found lots of updates for locales of the apps I already own and that contain french locales, so it updated them and now they are all in french, including LibreOffice, thanks a lot @Imitatio !

 

[Imitatio]

Hey, happy it worked out! Though you did figure it out mostly for yourself (and with the posts linked), so no need to thank me, really, haha. ^^
What matters is that it's working now. Just keep in mind that you'll need to repeat this procedure once Valve releases a system update, as it'll reset any modifications made to the system, which, I'd guess, includes language changes. At least I'd expect as much if nothing about how they handle the underlying Linux system partition has changed, which I haven't heard about myself, but maybe I've missed something.

Guess there's only one way to find out.

 

[Krvavi Abadas]

i think i remember people managing to get it to work prior by using a Windows install, but it's still rather jarring to see ray tracing working on a handheld.
i suspect performance won't be fully perfected until the next hardware revision, though.

 

[Zellia]

Pierre posted a screenshot in the comments of that tweet with the performance stats on showing it was still running at 35 FPS with RT on. That's honestly kinda amazing even if it's still way into 'hits performance too hard' for me to seriously consider.

 

[Imitatio]

It's pretty nice that it's possible on the hardware at all, but I don't see myself ever making use of RT on the Deck. I try to maximise battery life as much as possible, even locking a lot of games to 30 fps which I could run at 60 quite easily; but if it means getting more than 2-3h of runtime, then I'm willing to make the trade-off. Only games I run above 30 are those that still manage to achieve more than 2.5~3h even with a higher framerate cap.
RT thus seems mostly like a nice-to-have feature to me on the current hardware, given its impact on performance and system power draw.

 

[Imitatio]

Great deal!

 

[Vilifier]

I love how Valve has been following the community and adding features like Custom Boot Animations natively into SteamOS.

 

[Tanooki]

I’ve had my (OLED) Steam Deck for a couple weeks now, and I’m really enjoying it! That being said, I’ve pretty much only been playing Resident Evil and a VN.

If anyone else with a Deck would like to add me on Steam, I’d love to see what type of games people are playing! My code is

 

[Theswweet]

Steam Deck OLED is incredible, the much better screen and improved batteru life really do pull everything together.