is this really true? i’ve done my fair share of Baroque/panzer dragoon (saga/zwei) runs on my steamboy with no problems vis emudeck. You need to tweak some power settings via Decky Powertools (specifically disabling odd-numbered CPU cores (install decky! it’s good!)) or run from desktop mode in order to get a stable framerate but otherwise i’ve had a good experience
i’m not quite sure why this is the case (there are a lot of steamboy mysteries imx) but there’s like… many problems I hear other people having on a steamboy that i simply do not experience and it makes me wonder
anyways, here’s something useful:
this setup allows me to treat my steamboy as an NAS! the video description has a batch file generator that i can vouch for re: security. makes file transfers and stuff infinitely easier. There’s probably a much more elegant way to do this on a unix computer
At least 1,5 years ago I thought that installing Emudeck correctly was super complicated and it took me at least 2 hours (plus another 5+ hours to set up the emulators in a way I liked).
Maybe they made it better now but I did not have nearly have such an easy time as other people here mention
Got my Deck today, and I just booted up Baldur’s Gate 3 on this thing and my brain sort of can’t process that it’s possible for a machine that compact to manage that at all
They have got some serious engineers over at Valve, I guess
Is it from the start? I imagine things get hairy by Act 3. And I feel like there was a pretty wide range of graphics and performance over the course of the game even on PS5 so I’d be curious how a steam deck run-through feels for you.
Just at the start of the game, yeah. I’m sure it’ll chug along in the titular city if I actually get there (I really did not like the game my first time through and I may run up against the same problems). But the fact that it even boots feels incredible to me, lol
It’s playable, even in Act 3, though there is some noticeable slowdown. I ended up playing about 2/3 of BG3 sitting on my sofa with my deck, though the beginning and ending were on my desktop PC.
I’m still mostly dabbling with my Steam Deck, but by the gods do I love this little machine. I told myself since the release that I wouldn’t really use one, but I’m finding myself reach for it far more than I ever imagined—even when I’m sitting at my desk with my PC right in front of me. It’s so easy to fire up, it’s comfortable, and the OLED screen is gorgeous (though a little bigger might be nice, as some of these fonts can still be a little hard on my 40-year old eyes)
I also can’t overstate just how much more comfortable the Deck is to use compared to the Switch. I could never play my Switch for too long in hand-held mode due to my hands cramping, but the Deck is just a joy to hold and operate. The ergonomics are great—it always feels like my fingers just naturally rest in comfortable positions around it thanks to its contours. So far, I’ve found I’m more likely to need to put the system down to let it charge than because of any fatigue, which is wonderful
I’ve only hopped into desktop mode once so far (just to get a feel for it before I get around to installing Emudeck), and even just seeing that they just crammed an entire PC in there somehow still feels like magic. Sometime in the near future I’ll dig out an old keyboard and mouse (and find a microSD card) and get all of that set up, but for now I’ve been quite happy just using it in gaming mode
It’s a really nice balance between having sensible defaults and the flexibility to make it do whatever you want. It’s such an easy device to recommend because you can have a really nice time with it without ever leaving gaming mode, but there are still plenty of good options to get more out of it if you’re into emulation or non-Steam games or whatever weird use case you could have.
It’s a breath of fresh air considering how locked down things tend to be these days.
It’s such a big difference that I’ve actually had trouble going back to playing things on the Switch, which it now makes me think was designed with zero thought toward comfort or ergonomics (I’m sure that’s not really the case).
I’ve had mine since October, and getting emulation up and running has been on my list of things to do ‘this weekend’ ever since I got it. I’ll do it someday, because I really want to give my Saturn library some play!
Honestly, I would believe it. Nintendo’s controllers have famously been hell for me (except for the GameCube controller, anyway). Comfort doesn’t seem all that high on their list of priorities, for whatever reason
I can pretty much second everything you wrote.
I don’t regret any euro I spent on that thing and the biggest compliment I can say about my steam deck is that it made me play more games again. I’m especially looking forward to playing all those weirder indie titles on steam that shine much more on a handheld device.
I’ve been enjoying my time with Quester these past two evenings.
This is something I’m looking forward to as well! I’ve often struggled to get into indie titles on my desktop, but I think the smaller form factor will do some good to getting me into a better mood for them
I played Doom Eternal’s DLC over remoteplay this weekend and had a technically sound – but miserable time! Thanks Steamdeck!
Make sure to check out community control layouts sometime. People upload them even for non-Steam games. Some are just nice additions (numrow weapon selection mapped to a touchpad grid) while others admirably rope-in keyboard excess (Deus Ex).
I’m just secretly trying to get more people on the touchpad trolley though.
I know I’m way late but a frustration I have with the deck regarding emulation is transferring files. I setup an SSH network drive thingy thing over my local network which took forever because wifi security is really annoying, but that broke for some reason and I’m not willing to go through the hassle to fix it. Other options are alright like downloading the files from desktop mode which means touchscreen keyboard or hooking it up to a dock with proper peripherals. You can also load up an SD card separately which will be a similar song and dance in desktop mode. I ended up using a Google Drive folder so I can do the browser work on my proper PC and then move the files directly to the folders in desktop mode.
None of this is hard. Desktop mode works fine; I just hate using it! That kind of friction is often enough for me to play something else instead of going through the trouble when I just want to play a game.
Once it’s setup and you don’t need to go to desktop mode, it’s incredible. Though, I wish SteamOS was more stable. It’s still kind of jank a few years in.
An aspect of the Steam Deck that I love is how most USB-C adapters will just work and you don’t need a proprietary dock. For example, I have this Anker hub with USB ports and HDMI that I use when I travel for my laptop. I brought that adapter/hub, a controller, and an HDMI cable and I’m able to hook up my Deck to the hotel TV! That all has a minimal packing footprint and makes for some nice chill time on the bigger screen when traveling and knowing there will be a fair amount of downtime.
