Latest Comments by CatKiller
The Valve Steam Deck, lots of excitement and plenty to think about for Linux gaming
17 July 2021 at 12:24 am UTC Likes: 4

Quoting: alka.setzerBattery runtime also has me worried, 2h is what you will get playing games. So you will get a warm device which is not great.

That's going to depend on the game. Indies, which you say are a good match for this device, and which we have the most of available for Linux, should fare perfectly well.

QuoteIGN: Battery life? That's a big one in any handheld device. What are we looking at there?

Pierre-Loup Griffais: Well, there's a wide variety of experiences there. It's about 2-8 hours, depending on what you're doing. You can play Portal 2 for four hours on this thing. If you limit it to 30 FPS, you're going to be playing for 5-6 hours.
https://www.ign.com/articles/steam-deck-valve-faq-big-questions-answered

The Valve Steam Deck, lots of excitement and plenty to think about for Linux gaming
16 July 2021 at 7:42 pm UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: MohandevirQ2 2022 for the top tier... They must have sold a lot of them.
Q2 2022 for the middle one, too, now.

The Valve Steam Deck, lots of excitement and plenty to think about for Linux gaming
16 July 2021 at 6:53 pm UTC Likes: 6

Quoting: MayeulCAnybody knows what 6.js could be?
It's the file that contained the SteamPal strings, which got noticed, which let the cat out of the bag about their hardware plans.

The Valve Steam Deck, lots of excitement and plenty to think about for Linux gaming
16 July 2021 at 11:58 am UTC Likes: 3

Quoting: ObsidianBlkI'm excited by this device and am very tempted to put that $5 for the option to buy one! I'm opposed to pre-ordering, they're not asking for the full bank up front, so, if, as the months go by, warning signs start cropping up, I haven't wasted much money at all.
It's a deposit. If you buy it, the deposit gets taken off the price and, if you don't buy it, the deposit gets refunded. Back to the initial payment method if the refund is within 30 days, or into your Steam wallet if it's later than 30 days.

The Valve Steam Deck, lots of excitement and plenty to think about for Linux gaming
16 July 2021 at 11:06 am UTC Likes: 15

Quoting: dubigrasuI can easily imagine that many will just strip SteamOS out of it and install Windows
I'm not sure they will. Installing an OS is a pain in the arse that most people don't do - it's one of the reasons why it's important that more vendors are pre-installing Linux. For non-gaming use cases you're not going to spend £500 on a device to use as an ebook reader or media device when there are way cheaper devices already available that will be better at those tasks (higher resolution screen, better battery life, no massive buttons), and for gaming use cases the experimental similar devices have had Windows being a detriment to the experience.

The Valve Steam Deck, lots of excitement and plenty to think about for Linux gaming
16 July 2021 at 10:50 am UTC Likes: 4

QuoteWe're also very curious to see if Valve will actually show some kind of "optimized for Steam Deck" label. They've said they want pretty much everything to work on it, either through Linux native titles or Proton but how will users know what to buy without going to external and unofficial websites that often have dubious user reports? We think they're going to need something to show it at least officially. This has yet to be mentioned by Valve.

On the other hand, the thing that kicked off the rumours about this device was the discovery of the GameList_View_NeptuneGames string, so it seems like something they're going to track and likely display in some way. Possibly just by additionally adding the Steam icon to games that don't otherwise have Linux support, though, like the current whitelist does, rather than a separate category.

Valve has formally announced the Steam Deck, a portable handheld console with SteamOS
16 July 2021 at 8:31 am UTC Likes: 5

Quoting: SalvatosI wish I had any idea what those specs mean in Intel/Nvidia terms.
The CPU is about the level of a Kaby Lake i7. The GPU is architecturally competitive with Ampere, but sliced really thin: no comparable product has been released yet for actual numbers on that part. We don't know how good Valve's chassis design is at keeping it from thermal throttling. The power budget for the whole thing is 15 W.

At its resolution you can likely expect it to be a competent gaming machine, but not a monster. You'll have to turn off the most exuberant and expensive effects. We'll know more when Valve send Liam one to try.

Valve has formally announced the Steam Deck, a portable handheld console with SteamOS
16 July 2021 at 3:49 am UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: Purple Library GuyBy the way--Steam Deck, huh? Not a terrible name. Sure better than "Steam Pal".
I wonder if they'll release different coloured models? I'm hoping for "The Colour Of Television, Tuned To A Dead Channel."

Valve has formally announced the Steam Deck, a portable handheld console with SteamOS
16 July 2021 at 3:33 am UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: g000hI'm waiting for Microsoft to offer Valve a free Windows licence for each Steam Deck, or even better - Pay Valve to put Windows onto the device. I'm just jesting, but if this thing skyrockets, I wouldn't put it past Microsoft.
Windows is already free for devices with small screens. A hangover from them suffocating netbook competitors, I think.

Valve has formally announced the Steam Deck, a portable handheld console with SteamOS
16 July 2021 at 3:31 am UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: slaapliedjeI think the real question is how many new games will we get as Linux native when developers want to make games for this new 'console' and can finally convince publishers there is enough interest?
It's hard to say. There was a big uptick in native titles with the Steam Machines coverage, but that died out when they didn't take off. I can see it flipping indies using Unity from "probably no" to "probably yes," but the big studios might feel burned from last time and wait-and-see, or just lean on Proton. More "officially support Proton" is something, but it's not full support.