Steam Deck

So after I last updated my deck I got a generic error message. No biggie. But then suddenly on the next reboot: stuck at the boot logo. Tried lots of things, no way of getting back in. Not with the current kernel, not with the previous one. Really annoying as I use my deck as a general purpose computer too.

So I created a recovery USB. Reinstalling the OS (which attempts to preserve user data and games) failed silently. So I reluctantly copied my entire home folder to an external drive and went with the nuclear option of completely reimaging the internal drive. After steam os finished installation I restored my entire home folder from the backup and restarted the machine.

I was expecting to having to manually reinstall and reconfigure so many apps and settings. And was verily not looking forward to it. But lo and behold: pretty much everything worked just the way it did before the fumbled system update. My desktop layout and window arrangements remained the same, settings and preferences were preserved, it didn't even log me out of email account. No manual imports of settings required. I had to reinstall most apps via the Discover store first, that much is true. But that took just a couple of minutes.

So yeah, really happy with how that went. Last time I had to reinstall everything on a Windows system it was a major pain as settings are all over the place (on the system drive, in the registry, inside appdata, inside the my documents folder, etc). I guess it has to do with the Linux philosophy of "everything is a file".

In the future I'll actually move my /home/ folder to my SSD card so that if this ever happens again the process is even less painful.

PSA: when you backup your home folder make sure to include all the hidden folders and files (anything starting with a dot like the .config folder).

Main Assembly is great, it is a vehicle maker physics challenge game with co-op... but if you stifle a yawn and think "I have trailmakers/other equivalent and meh do I need another?" the answer is yes, you definitely do!

Main Assembly is fundametally different, what makes it stand out from the pack is that you can easily mold 3d surfaces so the game ends up playing more like a powerful intuitive 3d modelling program than yet another iteration on a vehicle lego-style block building sandbox game.

Surfaces of wings are physically modeled in their contribution to lift, they arent just cosmetic, and it is this kind of thing that makes Main Assembly simultaneously a sophisticated simulation and and immediately tactile and intuitive experience.

Controls are superb on the deck, I recommend using fmCUK's "Usable V0.2" as a basis for a control scheme, most everything felt surprisingly intuitive given how generalist and powerful the tools are in Main Assembly.

Seriously good game, take advantage of the fact that it flew under the radar, pick it up for cheap, heck buy a copy for a friend so you have someone to play with!

the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, has revealed in a Bloomberg interview that Xbox handheld prototypes are currently being worked on. The caveat is that this hardware is still a few years out. So it would appear the rumors that Microsoft is working on an Xbox handheld are indeed true, but we sadly won't see the results of this work for some time.

This isn't technically Steam Deck news, but I think a major player like Microsoft making a Steam Deck competitor is pretty significant as far as the handheld PC market goes.

If you have time, please consider filing one out. The results will be posted in a few weeks, and should give an interesting look into steam deck users, and how owning a deck has changed their gaming habits.

Various players have been reporting a "Fatal error" being encountered when trying to play any of them. However, there's two workarounds I know of to get around it. What's interesting is that this might be specific to the Steam Deck OLED, as it's to do with HDR not working. So you can try this launch option first:

DXVK_HDR=0 %command%

To do this. Go into the game in your Steam Library, over to the little cog icon on the right for the Properties, and put that in the Launch Options box.

Another potential workaround is to force DirectX 12 for it:

%command% -dx12

I've had my deck for 2 years now and it's been my main gaming device since the day I got it. I take it on trips and use my 3rd party dock and controller to hook it up to whichever TV is at my location.

My only regret is that this way I'm limited to controller-only games, and I really want to play some of the keyboard + mouse games in my library.

Whichever kb + mouse I buy needs to be as portable and lightweight as possible, but still functional with near full-size keycaps (chiclet keys are ok).

I have a folding Bluetooth keyboard, but the build quality is absolute trash.

Any recommendations will be gratefully added to my research list!

Hey y'all, I'm just starting to dip my toes into learning more about the Steam Deck and was wondering how likely it is that we'll see refurbished OLED decks for sale by Valve around Black Friday?

If unlikely, what do you recommend as the best way to find a good deal on a used OLED for the holidays?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: To clarify, I'm only interested in the OLED version, despite the crazy good deals on a refurb LCD model!

The glossy dpad and ABXY buttons are too slick IMO. Does anyone know of good matte textured buttons? Preferably in just plain black but I'm not picky.

I did see the new extreme rate oled buttons but I haven't found anything describing their texture. Plus I'm not sold on clear buttons

• Fixed single player game not working in Star Wars - Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast.
• Fixed Hard Reset Redux crashing with AMD GPUs.
• Fixed Dragon Age: The Veilguard displaying a warning about being installed on a spinning drive.
• Added support for NVIDIA Optical Flow API and DLSS 3 Frame Generation.
• Fixed Astral Ascent hanging when unplugging a controller.
• Fixed keyboard input in Rivals of Aether II.
• Fixed Proton not setting priorities correctly for new threads.
• Fixed Dark and Darker not being playable after a game update.
• Fixed Skull and Bones not exiting cleanly on systems with a Nvidia GPU.

What games would you like to be more deck friendly?

I would like civ7 to do something like transport feaver 2 so it works well without the mouse and keyboard

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1675200/view/4472731215261073464

Here's the original source, a tweet from Very AFK who is a Larian dev.

Over 17,223,529 hours of Baldur's Gate 3 has been played on Steam Deck. We should partner with someone to do a special edition 100w battery. A little bag of holding, you know, for ur juice.

I feel a bit sheepish having to ask this, but has anyone successfully gotten their deck to display on a LG TV (C2 to be precise)? I have the official dock and that works for other devices like my laptop or surface pro but no dice with the deck itself.

I've tried various things like resetting the device, resetting the dock, changing the order of connection them all up but not managed to get anything to show it. I also checked that the HDMI cable I'm using works for up to 8k. A bit frustrating as one of the reasons I got the device was to be the living room PC/link to my gaming PC!

For us Aussies in down under, the steam deck AU official launch date is now 19 Nov 2024 , 10am from valve.

https://store.steampowered.com/steamdeck

I was holding off due to the price / using steam link + a kishi on NY android, but after playing one at PAX AU and changing jobs to be in hotels/train commute, I will be getting one the instant its out.

For the curious, yes we could get grey import them in AU but the price gouging was astronomical, the official valve pricing is actually affordable

$60, has capacitive joysticks, gyro, steam menu buttons, and 4 extra buttons. Fully supported in Steam Input.

However, no track pads or vibration.

I went in and bumped up the graphics to 'High' and it is beautiful and plays great.

If you want it free from GOG you'll need to be sure you have it setup in Heroic Launcher.

Hey everyone,

I'm planning to play SCP: Secret Laboratory (among other titles) on Steam Deck OLED. From what I've gathered online, it runs at about 30-40 fps on the lowest settings. Since the game is really designed for a mouse and keyboard, I was considering using the Dock to connect to an external monitor for a better setup.

I have both a Full HD and a 4K monitor. Of course, I'd prefer playing on the 4K screen, but I'm skeptical that the performance would hold up. Full HD is more realistic, and I'm totally fine with that if it means better gameplay stability.

So, my question is: How does it affect performance, especially for games like SCP: Secret Laboratory? Would there be a significant fps drop when using a monitor, particularly with 4K versus 1080p?

Any advice or personal experiences would be much appreciated. Thanks!