[Handheld] The Steam Deck

Well, whose got two thumbs and didn't win a Steam Deck during the game commercials....err....embarrassing over the hill actors...err....awards?
*everyone on the forum simultaneously points both thumbs at themselves in unison*
I had technical problems watching the stream, I don't even know if the registration was enough.

By the way what was that at the end of the Awards?
 

figmentPez

Staff member
I had technical problems watching the stream, I don't even know if the registration was enough.
The UI was horrible. As best I could tell, there was no way to watch the stream in a full screen, or even nearly full screen, and also get the little banner that showed the Steam Deck winners. Additionally, there appeared to be zero user feedback that your watching was being counted as an entry for the drawing. Which lead to spam in chat of !steamdeck and /claim .

Valve is terrible at making User Interfaces.
 
I find it hilarious that Geoff Keighley claims the kid was arrested, while LAPD says no arrest was made.

Both video game executives and the police are known for blatantly lying to the press, so I have no idea who to believe.
I find it hard to figure out what 'crime' he could have committed. Being a twat and trying to ruin others' fun isn't a crime. Anyone playing any internet game with a PUG knows that ;)
 

figmentPez

Staff member
The latest Steam Client Beta has enabled local network game transfers, i.e. it makes it much easier to copy a game installation from one PC to another so that you don't have to download the whole thing from the internet again, or do any sort of manual file transfers.

 
The latest Steam Client Beta has enabled local network game transfers, i.e. it makes it much easier to copy a game installation from one PC to another so that you don't have to download the whole thing from the internet again, or do any sort of manual file transfers.

I was already doing this just using a basic linux networking client, but it's nice to see it's built in now
 
The latest Steam Client Beta has enabled local network game transfers, i.e. it makes it much easier to copy a game installation from one PC to another so that you don't have to download the whole thing from the internet again, or do any sort of manual file transfers.
So, when I was setting up my new PC, I was fully expecting to have to reinstall all of my games. the Dell Migration Assistant copied all my files, but did warn that software would still have to be re-installed.

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened up Steam, and after a moment, all of the copied games lit up as installed in my library.
 
Worked fine for the first week, now unable to connect to home wifi, nothing changed in the network settings or equipment used (XFinity XB7 all-in-one router). Computers, phones, tablets, consoles all connect fine, just the deck has trouble. Either it can't connect to any internet, or after a restart and for a short while, it will not be able to reach the steam servers, then completely drop the connection and not be able to connect to the network again. Followed instructions to disable wifi power management and not much I can do to alter the xfinity router settings. Only solution so far is to hotspot off a phone.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Worked fine for the first week, now unable to connect to home wifi, nothing changed in the network settings or equipment used (XFinity XB7 all-in-one router). Computers, phones, tablets, consoles all connect fine, just the deck has trouble. Either it can't connect to any internet, or after a restart and for a short while, it will not be able to reach the steam servers, then completely drop the connection and not be able to connect to the network again. Followed instructions to disable wifi power management and not much I can do to alter the xfinity router settings. Only solution so far is to hotspot off a phone.
It only has this problem with the xfinity router?

I might be tempted to wire a WAP to your router, personally.
 
Yeah, if you can hotspot off your phone just fine (at a distance of more than 5m), then it’s probably not the Deck’s fault and you might need to go the CardiB solution like Gas suggests.

—Patrick
 
In this case, the phone is connected to wifi from the xfinity router (not using cellular data at home). Does that mean it's acting as a repeater? The deck has never left home so I haven't tested it with other networks, other people have mentioned Xfinity networks don't like Linux. The deck also can't connect to the xfinity public wifi that every xfinity router can provide. Lastly, all devices (deck, phones, tablets) can see password protected networks from other houses, but the deck only shows 0-10% signal strength, while other devices show 4/5 bars. I have an old router I can probably connect to the xfinity modem/router
 

GasBandit

Staff member
In this case, the phone is connected to wifi from the xfinity router (not using cellular data at home). Does that mean it's acting as a repeater? The deck has never left home so I haven't tested it with other networks, other people have mentioned Xfinity networks don't like Linux. The deck also can't connect to the xfinity public wifi that every xfinity router can provide. Lastly, all devices (deck, phones, tablets) can see password protected networks from other houses, but the deck only shows 0-10% signal strength, while other devices show 4/5 bars. I have an old router I can probably connect to the xfinity modem/router
Most phones can't be used as a repeater. If they're put in "hotspot" mode, they're reconfigured to share their cellular data with devices that connect to them via wifi.

I'd try the old router, personally.
 
WiFi is WiFi. There's no real reason any WiFi network should like one client more/less than another based on OS, it's more likely related to the specific brand of WiFi chipset being used.
So weird.
Try the old router. But connect it to the Xfinity router by cable, not as a WiFi extender.

--Patrick
 

GasBandit

Staff member
WiFi is WiFi.
Having had to put up with several dozen different sites with wifi, this is decidedly NOT so. There's multiple flavors of authentication, There's the old A/B/G/N/AC problem, etc, etc, etc...

As locked down as the xfinity stuff is, it doesn't surprise me it'd have issues with certain client drivers. Hell, half the homes I've been to with comcast, they had SOME manner of device unable to connect to them properly.

I realize it's not an option for everybody, but the best you can do for yourself if you have comcast is to get some other internet service provider, and bring your own modem/router. I have to put up with Optimum (for now), but the Metronet guys finally got their cherrypicker on the utility pole outside my house yesterday... so hopefully any week now, I'll have fiber service.
 

figmentPez

Staff member
For troubleshooting I'd try changing the name of the 2.4Ghz wireless and seeing if the Deck can specifically connect to that when it's singled out.
 
Having had to put up with several dozen different sites with wifi, this is decidedly NOT so.
You are right, I should have been more clear and not assumed everyone else knows as much about WiFi as you or I. Flavors and protocols matter, yes, but if one AC/WPA2 device can connect, then the reason another otherwise AC/WPA2 device can‘t connect is probably not going to come down to what OS that second device is running. Instead it’s more likely to be vendor- or firmware-related.

—Patrick
 
For anyone who wants Xmas in July:

See it in action at The Verge.

--Patrick
 

figmentPez

Staff member
GuliKit has announced a SNES themed docking station for Steam Deck (and other devices).



I can't help but wonder if they're going to run afoul of Nintendo's trademark lawyers.
 
Aren't Nintendo notoriously overprotective of their IPs?
I don't really see anything there that's trademarkable. Nowhere does it say Nintendo or SNES on it, and while it's obviously meant to evoke the design of the SNES it's not an exact copy. You can't sue someone for putting purple on grey.

*edit: ok actually you can sue for anything, but you can't -win- a lawsuit for that.
 
I don't really see anything there that's trademarkable. Nowhere does it say Nintendo or SNES on it, and while it's obviously meant to evoke the design of the SNES it's not an exact copy. You can't sue someone for putting purple on grey.

*edit: ok actually you can sue for anything, but you can't -win- a lawsuit for that.
You shouldn't be able to win a lawsuit for that. However, reminder - Apple & rounded corners on a phone.
 

figmentPez

Staff member
I don't really see anything there that's trademarkable. Nowhere does it say Nintendo or SNES on it, and while it's obviously meant to evoke the design of the SNES it's not an exact copy. You can't sue someone for putting purple on grey.

*edit: ok actually you can sue for anything, but you can't -win- a lawsuit for that.
The shape of the SNES is almost certainly trademarked. (I can't find a link to the specific trademark, but I can find nearly every other Nintendo console, and the SNES and Famicom controllers. I'd be absolutely shocked if they haven't trademarked the shape of the Super Nintendo.) Not just copyright, trademark. "You can't sue someone for putting three circles together!" You can when they form a Mickey Mouse shape, and give the impression that Disney made the merchandise. That's the same thing that's happening here. You've got the shape of a Super Nintendo. Not just purple and grey colors, but arranged so that the slot and switches are recognizably a Nintendo console.

Nintendo also trademarked the button layout of the SNES controller, and it's rumored that 8BitDo stopped making their Super Famicom and Super Nintendo inspired controllers because Nintendo told them to. It didn't make it to a lawsuit, and I doubt this will. As soon as Nintendo is aware of this, they'll contact Gulikit, and any retailer who sells Gulikit, and if Gulikit doesn't back down, then Amazon definitely will. Once Amazon says, "change your design or you're out" then Gulikit will change it.
 
It may get by on the fact that it’s not a gaming system shaped like a snes, it’s a docking station. But either way, Nintendo has enough money to throw at lawyers to easily make it no longer profitable to make it if they want to.
 
I'l be getting a Steam Deck for Christmas. It's been so long since I've been able to check out non-switch games, I don't know where to start. I'll probably check out BG3 to start with.

Any tips or must have games?
 

GasBandit

Staff member
BG3 does run on steam deck but it's a little hard to play on the small screen, imo. It's better if you can dock the deck.

My list of games for the Deck may not actually be the best to go by, as I mostly use it docked instead of mobile.

But I'd say games like the following would be very suitable for using a deck undocked (in no particular order):
  • Slay the Spire
  • Stardew Valley
  • Darkest Dungeon
  • Shovel Knight
  • Carrion
  • Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
  • Don't Starve
  • Vampire Survivors
  • Battleblock Theater
  • Pit People
  • Dungeon of the Endless
  • Wildermyth
  • Loop Hero
  • Inscryption
  • FTL
  • Dave the Diver
  • Terraria
  • Noita
  • Hades
  • Undertale
  • Any side view fighting game (Street Fighter, Injustice, DOA, MK, DBZ, etc)
  • Subverse (very NSFW)
  • Bastion
  • Braid
  • Graveyard Keeper
  • Burnout Paradise
  • Hammerwatch
  • Cosmic Star Heroine
  • Castle Crashers
  • Core Keeper
  • Limbo
  • Super Meat Boy
etc
 
I have played BG3 undocked a lot and it has not bothered me. If you play on a Switch a lot it might not bother you either.
 
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