Steam Deck ~ PC Switch

[OSK]

Fuck CDPR.

Doesn't this mean it's getting a native linux port? (Really, native Linux support for games is the biggest potential win from SteamDeck I can see in general.)

It's probably just going to run on Proton.

That image was from back when they were going to release a native port for Steam Machines. They never did. But it's probably fine since I'm sure it would have been a shit port like The Witcher 2 was.

 

[Paul_cz]

There is zero reason to make native when proton runs things same.. or even better.

 

[OSK]

There is zero reason to make native when proton runs things same.. or even better.

They announced Witcher 3 for Linux before Proton became a thing. It never happened.

In regards to native: Good Port > Proton > Shitty Port.

Proton is great, don't get me wrong. It's going to allow all sorts of games to be playable on Linux that wouldn't be economical for developers to port over. But games running through Proton are always going to be hamstrung by the fact that they were designed to run on Windows. Technology advancement happens at a glacial pace on Windows compared to Linux. The next big gaming technology will probably be Microsoft's DirectStorage. That sort of functionality has existed on Linux since around 2003 where it's primarily used for Big Data operations. Linux gamers have to wait until Microsoft finalizes the API and Proton is updated to handle said new API.

In an ideal world, developers would create games that cater to the advantages of Linux while Wine/Proton would be seen as something like DOSBox to run older games that were never ported. With the Linux userbase on Steam just exceeding 1%, we're a long, long way from there, and I'm not suggesting we ever will be. In the meantime, I'm just thrilled I haven't had to have Windows installed on any of my personal machines for years in order to play games.

 

[HoboForEternity]

i dont expect to run games like kingdom come or control, but if it can give me 60 FPS in games like hollow knight, so I can play when I am on bed I will be happy.

 

[TemplarGR]

i dont expect to run games like kingdom come or control, but if it can give me 60 FPS in games like hollow knight, so I can play when I am on bed I will be happy.

You will definitely be able to run them. Perhaps with some settings lowered. Why people underestimate the Steam Deck's power is beyond me. Not to mention that both Proton and the gpu drivers keep getting better and better as they mature. Performance has lots of room to improve, and it is already quite decent.

 

[Bad Sector]

Obviously games with controller-friendly UIs would work, but it looks like even more mouse-oriented games work fine, like System Shock 2 as seen here:



This is neat.

 

[Latelistener]

They announced Witcher 3 for Linux before Proton became a thing. It never happened.

I think they tried that approach and decided that it's ineffective. There were a lot of games announced for SteamOS like Shadow of Mordor and Arkham Knight, but it also never happened.

I can see them trying to curate some highly popular games so that they'll get a good native Linux port, but generally Proton is the smartest thing to do.

In any case, it's a good thing you can install Windows on that thing too.

Obviously games with controller-friendly UIs would work, but it looks like even more mouse-oriented games work fine, like System Shock 2 as seen here:

Why wouldn't they? Those track pads are basically from Steam Controller, which were designed specifically to play PC-oriented games like shooters and strategies.

It has touch controls too so games that support it will work on it too. Slay the Spire for example. I tried testing on an iPad via Steam Remote Play and it works fine.

 

[TemplarGR]

There were a lot of games announced for SteamOS like Shadow of Mordor

Shadow of Mordor and Mad Max happened and they run well enough. Batman didn't happen cause it was a shitty port even on windows and by the time they fixed it no one gave a fuck to release a linux port.

 

[OSK]

They announced Witcher 3 for Linux before Proton became a thing. It never happened.

I think they tried that approach and decided that it's ineffective. There were a lot of games announced for SteamOS like Shadow of Mordor and Arkham Knight, but it also never happened.

They release the Witcher 2 on Linux, but it was shit. They basically just packaged it in a proprietary Wine wrapper that performed like shit and doesn't even run nowadays. It was a quick money grab. And like TemplarGR mentioned, Shadow of Mordor was released on Linux.

I can see them trying to curate some highly popular games so that they'll get a good native Linux port, but generally Proton is the smartest thing to do.

I think native ports are effectively dead unless the Steam Deck absolutely takes off. Only then can I see companies spending money making Linux-optimized games to perform as well as they can on the Steam Deck hardware. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. Most Linux ports weren't very good and usually didn't receive the same kind of post-release attention the Windows version got.

 

[TemplarGR]

They release the Witcher 2 on Linux, but it was shit. They basically just packaged it in a proprietary Wine wrapper that performed like shit and doesn't even run nowadays.

They fixed the Witcher 2 port. And it works fine today.

I think native ports are effectively dead unless the Steam Deck absolutely takes off

No they are not. Major AAA companies obviously don't bring ports, but many other companies do, especially for indie and strategy games.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

I liked gameboys when I was a child. handhelds hold zero interest to me now as a grown ass adult. anyone else feel the same? Maybe it helps that I don't engage with mobile gaming...

It's the other way around for me
Handhelds should be the future of consoles
IMO since 2005, stationary consoles make increasingly no more sense to exist
Portability and a low price tag are the only logical advantages they could have over PC's

 

[TemplarGR]

It's the other way around for me
Handhelds should be the future of consoles
IMO since 2005, stationary consoles make increasingly no more sense to exist
Portability and a low price tag are the only logical advantages they could have over PC's

I totally agree. It is extremely easy to just hook up a gaming pc on a TV screen if that is what you want, and plug in usb controllers. But quality handheld gaming is really cool. I love gaming on my bed/sofa or outside in the garden.

 

[OSK]

They release the Witcher 2 on Linux, but it was shit. They basically just packaged it in a proprietary Wine wrapper that performed like shit and doesn't even run nowadays.

They fixed the Witcher 2 port. And it works fine today.

I was wrong in saying it doesn't run nowadays. It does run, but it looks like the native version runs worse than the Windows version in Proton: https://www.protondb.com/app/20920

I think native ports are effectively dead unless the Steam Deck absolutely takes off

No they are not. Major AAA companies obviously don't bring ports, but many other companies do, especially for indie and strategy games.

What makes you think that? What incentives are there for creating and maintaining another version when you could instead do nothing and have it work via Proton?

 

[The Decline]

 

[thesheeep]

This is probably the first handheld console-y thing I'll own since the Gameboy I got in 1993 or so.

Very curious about that from both a gamer and dev perspective.

 

[Riddler]

Which option should you get? Is there any reason to not get the most expensive one?

 

[TemplarGR]

Which option should you get? Is there any reason to not get the most expensive one?

Basically, in terms of value/price, the middle version is best. But if money are not a concern go with the most expensive one, you won't regret it. The difference in price is not that much anyway.

 

[Sentinel]

 

[Paul_cz]

 

[Sentinel]

Games shown here (seems to be just clips grabbed from twitter posts by some dumbfuck)

1:05 - Psychonauts 2
2:55 - Sable
3:38 - Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order
3:40 - Hades
3:41 - Factorio
3:44 - The Witcher 3
5:09 - ?
5:19 - System Shock 2
7:39 - Rivals of Aether
8:33 - Flight Simulator ?
8:51 - Hades
9:05 - Descenders
10:26 - Rogue Legacy 2
10:35 - National Park Girls
11:44 - Despot's Game
12:33 - Narcissu
13:45 - Rewrite
15:09 - Muse Dash
15:36 - Riven: The Sequel to MYST
17:03 - Production Line -------------------------------------------- 1
7:51 - Samurai Gun 2 (NOT STEAM DECK)
19:28 - X-Box Game Pass commercial (NOT REAL)

 

[Sentinel]

 

[Naraya]

Hmm. Even though I think Steam is in general a blight on gaming due to DRM and lock-in and I truly hate the notion of "PC gaming == Steam", this is actually a very cool idea for the customer.

 

[ADL]

I like this a lot, it's basically bringing http://protondb.com/ compatibility checks to Steam natively. A little too focused on Steam Deck for my tastes but if you see a game with a green checkmark you can be assured that it'll run well on a Linux desktop. I hope that they expand on this idea for Proton overall.

 

[TemplarGR]

I like this a lot, it's basically bringing http://protondb.com/ compatibility checks to Steam natively. A little too focused on Steam Deck for my tastes but if you see a game with a green checkmark you can be assured that it'll run well on a Linux desktop. I hope that they expand on this idea for Proton overall.

Proton is trash overall for the Linux desktop. While it is useful in order to get around publisher reluctance to publish games on Linux, our real goal is for Linux native ports, not Proton. Let's hope Linux gaming takes off during the next years, as more and more morons begin to understand what a danger to privacy and security Windows are and stop paying the Bill Gates tax.

 

[Fedora Master]

Games shown here (seems to be just clips grabbed from twitter posts by some dumbfuck)

1:05 - Psychonauts 2
2:55 - Sable
3:38 - Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order
3:40 - Hades
3:41 - Factorio
3:44 - The Witcher 3
5:09 - ?
5:19 - System Shock 2
7:39 - Rivals of Aether
8:33 - Flight Simulator ?
8:51 - Hades
9:05 - Descenders
10:26 - Rogue Legacy 2
10:35 - National Park Girls
11:44 - Despot's Game
12:33 - Narcissu
13:45 - Rewrite
15:09 - Muse Dash
15:36 - Riven: The Sequel to MYST
17:03 - Production Line -------------------------------------------- 1
7:51 - Samurai Gun 2 (NOT STEAM DECK)
19:28 - X-Box Game Pass commercial (NOT REAL)

Spoiler