Steam Deck (handheld from Valve) - shipping is 4-8 days from NL to UK

[Strafe]

Possibly old news but Halo Infinite is marked ‘playable’ on steam deck now.

 

I was surprised on my first game when I got a frame rate of between 40-60 (and quite a janky experience) that graphics presets were all set to low to begin with as it looked pretty good.

 

I turned the minimum frame rate to 60 (it was set at 30) and kept max frame rate at 60 and got a much smoother experience. I think this kicked in the dynamic resolution a bit more harshly but I kept a decent 60fps with some minor drops around 57-55. I might try changing the resolution scaling to get it locked to 60. Apparently you can also try changing the buffer size (I might have that wrong) in desktop mode as well.

 

I only played multiplayer which is free to play but it was a pretty painless experience. Download from steam, log in using your Xbox/Microsoft account and all your purchases/unlocks will carry over. Controller settings do not, you’ll need to change these.

 

As a bonus your achievements from single player and multiplayer will also carry over into steam which is either very satisfying or rather annoying. I had loads unlocked and had them popping up for about 10 minutes until it finished doing them all.

 

The main thing is ‘holy shit, I’m playing Halo Infinite natively on a handheld’.

[T Pot]

Anybody rocking Windows only on their Deck? I'm tempted to bin off steam OS and Uuse Win11 with steam auto launching in big picture mode at boot. That way I have acess to my Gamepass games and a few others that just won't play well with Steam OS no matter what I do. 

[deerokus]

33 minutes ago, T Pot said:

Anybody rocking Windows only on their Deck? I'm tempted to bin off steam OS and Uuse Win11 with steam auto launching in big picture mode at boot. That way I have acess to my Gamepass games and a few others that just won't play well with Steam OS no matter what I do. 

 

I think there was one guy on here but generally not recommended. A lot of faff and driver issues and the UI isn't very good on such a small screen.

[Lorfarius]

2 minutes ago, deerokus said:

 

I think there was one guy on here but generally not recommended. A lot of faff and driver issues and the UI isn't very good on such a small screen.

 

Probably better in Dock mode.

[T Pot]

21 minutes ago, deerokus said:

 

I think there was one guy on here but generally not recommended. A lot of faff and driver issues and the UI isn't very good on such a small screen.

 

Ui is solved now. Valve have swapped out big picture mode for the Steam OS layout in the beta version of the client. I've read that drivers and tweaks are pretty good now vs a few months ago, but not tried it. 

[wavey]

1 hour ago, T Pot said:

Anybody rocking Windows only on their Deck? I'm tempted to bin off steam OS and Uuse Win11 with steam auto launching in big picture mode at boot. That way I have acess to my Gamepass games and a few others that just won't play well with Steam OS no matter what I do. 

 

Yep Windows-only here, because I wanted to maximise compatibility with my library, and minimize crashes and glitches in-game. And it's fine! I haven't done anything with the UI outside of games, so I'm using plain Windows to launch them - not ideal, but it's only for me and I don't have the time to set up anything fancier.

 

To setup you can just install Windows from USB, then the Steam-supplied hardware drivers, and it will basically be working. I did find a much more comprehensive guide, which I plan to go through at some point (so I can't vouch for its quality yet): https://github.com/baldsealion/Steamdeck-Ultimate-Windows11-Guide/wiki

 

The one fiddly part is the driver for the controller input - Steam has its own, so any game through that is fine. For games outside of Steam, I need to quit Steam completely and start another driver, SWICD. But after that, Gamepass games etc work fine.

 

Having said all that though, I'm probably going to dual-boot Windows and SteamOS when it's supported properly. There's *one* game I've had an issue with, Toree 2, a cute/cheap little platformer, but whenever I launch the game it's getting rogue inputs from somewhere which makes it unplayable - like there's an extra controller plugged in, with the left stick jammed in one direction. It's Deck verified, so presumably it is fine under SteamOS. But that's the only game I've seen that happen in so far, and SteamOS is much nicer to use overall.

[T Pot]

6 hours ago, wavey said:

 

Yep Windows-only here, because I wanted to maximise compatibility with my library, and minimize crashes and glitches in-game. And it's fine! I haven't done anything with the UI outside of games, so I'm using plain Windows to launch them - not ideal, but it's only for me and I don't have the time to set up anything fancier.

 

To setup you can just install Windows from USB, then the Steam-supplied hardware drivers, and it will basically be working. I did find a much more comprehensive guide, which I plan to go through at some point (so I can't vouch for its quality yet): https://github.com/baldsealion/Steamdeck-Ultimate-Windows11-Guide/wiki

 

The one fiddly part is the driver for the controller input - Steam has its own, so any game through that is fine. For games outside of Steam, I need to quit Steam completely and start another driver, SWICD. But after that, Gamepass games etc work fine.

 

Having said all that though, I'm probably going to dual-boot Windows and SteamOS when it's supported properly. There's *one* game I've had an issue with, Toree 2, a cute/cheap little platformer, but whenever I launch the game it's getting rogue inputs from somewhere which makes it unplayable - like there's an extra controller plugged in, with the left stick jammed in one direction. It's Deck verified, so presumably it is fine under SteamOS. But that's the only game I've seen that happen in so far, and SteamOS is much nicer to use overall.

 

Does adding non-steam games into steam solve the control issues?

[sid]

Picked up my switch oled for the first time yesterday since getting the steam deck.

 

wow it felt so light, the deck is such a tubby bastard

[bradigor]

55 minutes ago, sid said:

Picked up my switch oled for the first time yesterday since getting the steam deck.

 

wow it felt so light, the deck is such a tubby bastard

 

Yeah it kind of showed me how much I tolerated with the Switch form factor. I can't play ours at all any longer. Just feels horrible to hold 

[Paulando]

@bradigor Ooof, really? Every time I go back to my Switch after a Deck session, it makes me want a Deck that size even more. I still prefer to buy games on the Switch because of the size and screen quality.

[bradigor]

31 minutes ago, Paulando said:

@bradigor Ooof, really? Every time I go back to my Switch after a Deck session, it makes me want a Deck that size even more. I still prefer to buy games on the Switch because of the size and screen quality.

 

Yeah a mix of hand cramp and smaller screen make it a pain for me now. 

 

Don't get me wrong, the Switch is brilliant and this is purely a 'me' issue 

[Lorfarius]

42 minutes ago, Paulando said:

@bradigor Ooof, really? Every time I go back to my Switch after a Deck session, it makes me want a Deck that size even more. I still prefer to buy games on the Switch because of the size and screen quality.

 

Only worry I'd have with the Switch at this point in its life is Nintendo pulling the plug on its game as you will lose access to the digital ones. Wii U came out in 2012 and that's losing the lot in 2023 (as is the 3DS which was way more popular).

 

At least with the Steam Deck/Xbox you can go back to most games going back years.

[Siri]

1 hour ago, Paulando said:

@bradigor Ooof, really? Every time I go back to my Switch after a Deck session, it makes me want a Deck that size even more. I still prefer to buy games on the Switch because of the size and screen quality.

 

Nah, the ergonomics on the switch can fuck off. Docked with the Joycons detached however, so I could hold one in each hand to play while reclined, is fantastic and I wished more companies would make split wireless controllers.

 

Hell, I'd take a brand new ASCII Grip.

 

[Isaac]

The Switch needs a grip to play handheld without getting cramps.

 

It's one of the least ergonomic gaming devices ever made straight out of the box.

[AlexM]

51 minutes ago, bradigor said:

 

Yeah a mix of hand cramp and smaller screen make it a pain for me now. 

 

Don't get me wrong, the Switch is brilliant and this is purely a 'me' issue 

Not just you, I’ve always struggled with hand cramp with the Switch - the Deck is so much better to hold. 

[Mallet]

1 minute ago, Isaac said:

The Switch needs a grip to play handheld without getting cramps.

 

It's one of the least ergonomic gaming devices ever made straight out of the box.

Agreed and after adding many of the most popular grips you end up with close the same size and weight to a Deck anyway

[monkeydog]

It's now a week since I excitedly ordered a Deck and it's still not here.  This isn't a problem at all and I continue to be absolutely fine with waiting.

[Lorfarius]

10 minutes ago, monkeydog said:

It's now a week since I excitedly ordered a Deck and it's still not here.  This isn't a problem at all and I continue to be absolutely fine with waiting.

 

I keep watching the order on the tracking site, mines still in the Netherlands 🤣 I'm not fine with waiting, got an empty dock and SD card sat here waiting to be used!

[monkeydog]

@Lorfarius Mines being trying to reach it's 'final parcel centre' for 6 days now.  I don't know if it's still in NL or moving between Parcelforce centres on it's way west.  I don't check it that often or become over excited every time a phone notification goes off.

 

 

[Lorfarius]

Think its getting worse.. everyone is off playing Dwarf Fortress and I'm just sat here staring at the screen. Lucky buggers 🤣

[Lorfarius]

3 hours ago, monkeydog said:

@Lorfarius Mines being trying to reach it's 'final parcel centre' for 6 days now. 

 

 

 

 

This seems to be a better tracking site, provides a lot more detail.

[monkeydog]

I doesn't have any additional updates for my order since the 1st, but it doesn't bother me. Not one bit.

[ontwofronts]

Got mine today, a few weeks early! Delighted so far.

 

Can anybody recommend a good memory card, I expected to max out the storage quickly!

[Lorfarius]

1 hour ago, ontwofronts said:

Got mine today, a few weeks early! Delighted so far.

 

Can anybody recommend a good memory card, I expected to max out the storage quickly!

 

This is what I bought. It's one of the better ones and think its half a second slower than the actual Decks drive.

[Gotters]

For those new to Heroic launcher (like me) took me a while to work out how to update an installed game - you have to hit the little refresh circle of arrows (top right) in library screen then a game with update will show on its tile an option to update

[ontwofronts]

This really is a wonderful piece of kit. Played an hour of Doom Eternal and can’t believe what I’ve got on a handheld. And it kept me warm!

 

Then a good session of Portal and Portal 2. I’ve never had a gaming PC, have always been a console player, but this has been a very easy transition so far.

[deerokus]

6 hours ago, ontwofronts said:

Got mine today, a few weeks early! Delighted so far.

 

Can anybody recommend a good memory card, I expected to max out the storage quickly!

Just get whatever decent brand is best value. Samsung evo or SanDisk are usually a solid bet.

 

Don't worry about getting the fastest speed, those are for professional photographers, drone pilots and stuff like that where a lot of writing is done to the card at blazing fast speed. No need for it in gaming.

[Lorfarius]

33 minutes ago, deerokus said:

Don't worry about getting the fastest speed, those are for professional photographers, drone pilots and stuff like that where a lot of writing is done to the card at blazing fast speed. No need for it in gaming.

 

That's not true at all. The system is reading/writing data off the card, speed counts just like it does with hard drives and SSDs. Have you not played any new consoles lately?

 

 

[deerokus]

11 minutes ago, Lorfarius said:

 

That's not true at all. The system is reading/writing data off the card, speed counts just like it does with hard drives and SSDs. Have you not played any new consoles lately?

 

 

 

It's absolutely true. The deck doesn't benefit from anything faster than uhs-I speeds. You can get cards that are theoretically three times as fast but there's absolutely no point for gaming.

[Wiper]

Given the card that Lorf recommended is an A1 card — i.e. the best fit for a UHS-I interface — I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that you're arguing at cross-purposes here.

 

Speed does matter, very much so; up to but not beyond the A1 spec, which is where the Samsung Evo and Sandisk Ultras tend to sit. Now, an A2 card would be wasted on the Deck, as it can't take advantage of its speed, but you would get noticeably worse performance as you drop below the A1 standard.

 

(I get around this issue by using my sd card for emulation only, so don't really need to care too much; even at lower standards the read speed is dramatically faster than the average optical drive from the late 90s)