Discussion Steam Deck - What you gonna do ?

[Li Kao]

Nice clear thread title is nice. And clear.
With the announcement and let's hope timely release of the Steam Deck, possibilities were open, new uses were unlocked. Options, options everywhere. So what are your plans right now ?
The obvious uses are indies, emulation, visual novels and not too big AA games. And that's just the pretty evident and purely gaming oriented uses. I'm curious to know what you are planning for our little Pal !

Me I'm still a little shocked by the announcement and having to save 500 bucks, but I will surely have an answer down the thread.
At first glance this is my 16 bits fan translated JRPG machine. It could be where I finally finish a VN too, but I wouldn't bet on that, those are so long.

Oh and if you plan to have a non gaming use, please say it, the more options the better.

thonking emoji
Is the Steam Deck not too heavy for one handed use ? Asking the important questions here, people.

 

[Mor]

First of all, I got the 512gb model because why not.

I already have a very clear idea of what to play on it,

is there any JRPG in my steam library? Deck it goes.
is there any Indie tittle in my steam library? Deck it goes.
is there any AAA title in my steam library? Desktop it goes.

 

[Wok]

Maybe add a poll.

As far as I am concerned, no Steam Deck: the only handheld console which I have used is the original GameBoy, anything else has been gathering dust in a cupboard, so getting another one would likely be money sent to the drain.

 

[Li Kao]

First of all, I got the 512gb model because why not.

Ban Mor

Maybe add a poll.

I'm not against it, but my intent was more for you to detail, or lightly sketch, your plans, than to pigeonhole use cases. Surprise me, make coffee with your D*ck, or make me dream, tell me about this obscure game you are totally gonna launch.

 

[Deku]

First of all, I got the 512gb model because why not.

I already have a very clear idea of what to play on it,

is there any JRPG in my steam library? Deck it goes.
is there any Indie tittle in my steam library? Deck it goes.
is there any AAA title in my steam library? Desktop it goes.

Pretty much this. All high end AAA games will be still played on the desktop computer. Everything else Steam Deck is the perfect unit

 

[Li Kao]

Ok, you are not big on examples, people. I will start.
There is a very high probability that the 16 bits Shin Megami Tensei will be played on this bad boy. Not that they are particularly ugly, but I have a problem with playing those very old and graphically simple games on a 27" monitor. Sort of a inner voice that says 'but why ?'

So retroarch, scanlines, bed, we are living boys !

The full line up of PS2 spin off is evidently a huge probability, too. Like Digital Devil Saga and Devil Summoner.

 

[Le Pertti]

Between playing on Xbox Series S and on my M1 Mac, this would be a perfect complement. Most likely it will be used for Indies and RPGs.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Mentioned it in the main thread, but when my current build eventually falls over I'll get this.

It's the perfect option for me as someone who doesn't really want to continue investing in the high end space of pc gaming (too complex and expensive for me now at my age), but allows me to still keep my steam library relevant, and pc gaming open as an option going forward for lighter fare while I use my XSX/PS5 for AAA stuff.

Also I've had my eyes on getting a Mac for a while and this means I can now buy one and not need to worry about gaming on it

 

[ganmo]

Indie, retro, anything else which plays well on a smaller screen than on a big. AAA games like some other mentioned already is played best on desktop

 

[NarohDethan]

Between playing on Xbox Series S and on my M1 Mac, this would be a perfect complement. Most likely it will be used for Indies and RPGs.

Laptop or desktop?

 

[Aztechnology]

Indies and late night RPG continuations
Xcloud
PlayStation Remote Play
Local party device (Jackbox etc). Curious if other controllers can be connected to it for MP?

 

[Joe Spangle]

I think ill be using it for certain slower paced games like turnbased stuff or walking sims. Ive ordered one as i think itll be good to play on whilst my partner is watching the tele.

 

[yuraya]

I already made a SteamPal folder in my library after the rumors started. Basically put in a bunch of rpgs, jrpgs, metroidvanias, roguelikes, platformers etc that I've yet to play in my backlog. I easily got 60 games in there heh.

Replaying the Souls trilogy leading into Elden Ring will be the coolest thing on it. Elden Ring with it should really be something. I hope it manages to run just fine tho the shipping date now could be way after Elden Ring releases lol so wtvr.

Outside of that I got my eye on the winter sale. I want to see stuff like Nocturne get a good discount. Rogue Legacy 2 and Loop Hero are some stuff I will pick up too.

I am kind of upset the rumors/announcement happened after I was basically middle of or done playing the Mass Effect Legendary collection. The replay of on the Deck would have been amazing since they are not very demanding and older UE3 games. I might do it again on the Deck but its also a very large 100+gb install so probably not.

 

[Le Pertti]

Laptop or desktop?

I have the M1 Mac mini. Always wanted a super small desktop computer. (I do have an old MacBook Pro too)

 

[Paul]

I like the idea of playing, say Greedfall (playing it now) at home on my desktop connected to TV and then going to work and during downtime just continuing playing right where I left off thanks to steam cloud.

So I might play some AAA on it as well. But yeah, it will mostly be used for clearing out backlog of smaller titles.

I plan to play full Walking Dead Telltale series on it, Anachronox, Darksiders 2, Drakensang River of Time, Homeworld Deserts of Kharak...

there is a lot of games in my backlog that I will never get to on my desktop, but away from home on a SteamDeck? Sure

 

[Cacher]

Play Neptunia on public transport, without plugging in earphone.

Spoiler

 

[texhnolyze]

It's gonna replace my current PC. No more humongous box under my work table. [UWSL]I most probably won't play it portable a lot, just connect it to the TV for leisure time and to the monitor when it's time for work. I don't play taxing games that much, mostly just MMOs like PSO2 and FFXIV lately, and turn based games like Super Robot Wars.[/UWSL]

 

[Durante]

I'll play games on it that I think fit well with that kind of device.

E.g. the last single-player game I completed was Ender Lilies, and that would play very well on it. One example that I'm sure will be great on it is Silksong.

It's gonna replace my current PC. No more humongous box under my work table. [UWSL]I most probably won't play it portable a lot, just connect it to the TV for leisure time and to the monitor when it's time for work. I don't play taxing games that much, mostly just MMOs like PSO2 and FFXIV lately, and turn based games like Super Robot Wars.[/UWSL]

I'd be surprised if PSO2 runs on it (without installing Windows), their entire anti-cheat setup is bonkers, and it's not a popular/sufficiently common solution that I'd expect Valve to work out a specific plan for it.

I don't know about FFXIV since I don't play it.

 

[Ascheroth]

For a concrete example, I think I'll be playing these on it

VN/SRPG (TRPG?) hyprid and I've always been hearing excellent things regarding story.
Except the port is kinda crap and has a 720p/30fps lock, so it's not really been high up my list.
Well, the Deck is not going to have an issue with that 720p lock

That and other visual novels primarily, for other stuff I'll just have to see once I have it in hand.

 

[Alexandros]

I don't use emulators anymore so if I end up getting it I plan to use it as the ultimate backlog machine. Text-heavy games in particular (like old adventure games and cRPGs) will hopefully be much more comfortable to play on Steam Deck compared to my TV.

 

[Li Kao]

Indies and late night RPG continuations
Xcloud
PlayStation Remote Play
Local party device (Jackbox etc). Curious if other controllers can be connected to it for MP?

Yo, right, I forgot that this could be a great streaming machine. Handheld Sony machine ? Wait, does Valve do what Sony don't ?

Play Neptunia on public transport, without plugging in earphone.

No joke, I just bought Hunnie Pop for around 1 buck. Not thatttt interested, but uh, you never know

 

[Gamall Wednesday Ida]

Could be used as a remote controller for a drone or drone-like DIY contraption.

It has a large touchscreen, so it could be used as a DIY domotics control panel for connected objects (lights, refrigerators, cameras, whatever), though phones already cover most use cases adequately.

More generally, could serve as a low power consumption, low encumbrance, low noise server for whatever service you want accessible in the house. It is certainly capable of running a small website or ten. Could even serve as a traditional home server. I wonder how well it would tolerate being on 24/7.

Not planning on any of these uses personally, just thinking about possibilities.

 

[Li Kao]

...

That's some nice out of the box thinking !

 

[dude]

Once I have it, who knows when that'll be with Valve's western-centric regional availability - I'm dreaming of playing Paradox grand-strategy games. By the time I'll have it, I'm guessing I'll be playing Vicky 3 on it in the toilet, which is the dream.

 

[Cacher]

Enough joke, time for a serious post.

Visual Novel: For obvious reason, I want to sit in the most comfortable way when reading. A huge portion of my collection is not on the steam library, so I will install window and put my entire collection onto the Deck.

Roguelike: These games are very suitable for short sessions, so it is very likely that they will be my main usage of Deck outside. Dead Cells, Slay the Spire, Issac... you name it.

Fallout New Vegas: one of my favorite games of all time. I have the urge to revisit it but I have many other games waiting for me. So playing on Deck seems like a great option.

PSP Emulation: I always prefer to play games on their original form, except PSP games because of bad loading time of UMD. And PSP is a handheld anyway, so resolution can't be upscaled like other consoles through upscaler like Retrotink. I am going to turn my PSP to a ripping machine and put all those games onto the Deck.

GameGear Emulation: There are some GameGear games that I want to try but the hardware is bad in modern standard. Compared with GBA, where there are many better ways to play the original cartridge (eg. on Gamecube through Game Boy Player), GameGear games are stuck on bad hardware so I am going to save them for GabeGear.

Switch Emulation: This really depends on how the emulators progress. I am bitter of Age of Calamity's performance on Switch so it is very likely that I will play it on the Deck if it can run at stable 30 FPS.

 

[Li Kao]

Once I have it, who knows when that'll be with Valve's western-centric regional availability - I'm dreaming of playing Paradox grand-strategy games. By the time I'll have it, I'm guessing I'll be playing Vicky 3 on it in the toilet, which is the dream.

Isn’t trackpad gaming cumbersome ? If not, we thought we were buying an handheld and all the while it was a Civ machine

 

[dude]

Isn’t trackpad gaming cumbersome ? If not, we thought we were buying an handheld and all the while it was a Civ machine

I have the Steam Controller and while it's not quite as comfy as KB&M, it worked for me pretty well for the couple of times I played PDS games with it lol. Playing it on a big TV was the bigger issue - It's the kind of games where being far away from the screen just feels odd. I think it can work well on an handheld, especially if Paradox will start supporting touch controls as well (or maybe they already do?)

 

[Li Kao]

Steam Deck, famously untranslatable VN being translated, Super Robot Taisen goes global… and a new reaction. THIS WEEK

 

[Tomasety]

Here's How Much a Steam Deck Equivalent Gaming PC Build Would Cost in India

The Steam Deck is, by all means, a standard PC made with a proprietary mainboard in a smaller form factor, which begs the question - just how much would a proper desktop PC cost to build to match the Steam Deck’s power?

in.ign.com

Skip the background introduction and go directly to the standard configuration (the price of the post-standard is in Indian rupees, and does not consider the problem of the skyrocketing hardware price under the global epidemic)

CPU: Ryzen 3 3100 at Rs. 9,700 (comes with Wraith Stealth cooler)

GPU: AMD Radeon RX 560/Nvidia GTX 1050 at or under Rs. 15,000

Motherboard: ASRock A320M-HDV R4.0 at Rs. 4,000

RAM: Adata XPG Gammix D30 16 GB DDR64 at Rs. 7,600

Storage: Crucial BX500 120 GB (SATA) at Rs. 2,269

Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 550W at Rs. 3,491

Tower cabinet: Ant Esports ICE-120AG at Rs. 2,500

The total price is about 45,000 rupees, which is equivalent to about 600 U.S. dollars.
---

I'm not sure if the info is accurate. I'm a noob afterall. I leave that to experts to discuss.

 

[kio]

My gaming habits won't change much as I pretty much only play indies and very rarely dip my toes in the AAA pool, so that's what I'll be playing with the exception of FPS games where I believe I'll still use kb&m.
Curious about emulation as well but am completely oblivious of how easy it is to do on a linux environment.

 

[Mivey]

Emulation device first and foremost. The Persona games seem perfect for a handheld device.

Steam Deck, famously untranslatable VN being translated, Super Robot Taisen goes global… and a new reaction. THIS WEEK

What VN project is that?

 

[texhnolyze]

I'd be surprised if PSO2 runs on it (without installing Windows), their entire anti-cheat setup is bonkers, and it's not a popular/sufficiently common solution that I'd expect Valve to work out a specific plan for it.

I don't know about FFXIV since I don't play it.

Ah right, I completely forgot about anti cheats in games. Oh well..

 

[Xclash]

Continuing to chip at my Steam backlog. Particularly the Trails in the Sky trilogy.

 

[Yaska]

I'm finally gonna finish trails in the sky SC with Steam Deck. Finally.

 

[MomoVideo]

Maybe I will finally be able to finish FF XIII. It's been sitting in my backlog for years. I want to like it but the endless corridors bore me to death.

 

[yuraya]

Has anyone shopped around for a dock? I'm guessing the one Valve is making is gonna be very pricey.

I've seen many cheap ones on Amazon but with this you need something really nice to prop up etc. I wonder if any 3rd party release some custom ones for the Deck this holiday.

 

[lashman]

good video from a linux gaming channel:

Valve's Steam Deck: The Strongest Product by Valve yet

Hi guys, this is Eki from Boiling Steam and here are my thoughts about the Steam Deck unveiled by Valve recently. You can find more about the recent announcement by Valve here: https://boilingsteam...

peertube.linuxrocks.online

 

[BlueOdin]

Some indie games, some not ressource intensive roleplaying games, some old games. Especially the latter. Plan to dive more into my GOG library with it since it consists mostly out of point 2 and 3. And maybe also some easy pre-work gaming

 

[NeilH]

I reserved the 512GB edition. Hope to be able to set it up to dual-boot Steam-OS and Windows. I'll throw in a 1TB SD card too for extra storage. I'm hoping to play games from 2005 through 2015on it as I have a huge backlog and when it comes to the big screen older games get pushed to the back because I'm a graphics whore, so I hope this gives me more incentive to get those games.

I'm also very interested in seeing how far this thing can go when it comes to emulation. It would be awesome to be able to play some Ps2 games on the go. Pretty sure it will run everthing under that effortlessly so that opens up GC, Saturn, Dreamcast and everything older. Wind Waker in your pocket

 

[Alexandros]

I watched Digital Foundry's video on Steam Deck and I somewhat disagree with a potential issue they pointed out, Steam Deck's ability to play next-gen AAA games. I mean sure, it's unlikely that Steam Deck will be able to run Uncharted 5 or GTA6 smoothly, but are its potential buyers expecting it to? It seems like such an odd expectation to burden the device with. What do you guys think? Are you buying this with the expectation to play next-gen games on it?

 

[Readher]

Emulation device first and foremost. The Persona games seem perfect for a handheld device.

What VN project is that?

Muramasa

 

[Mivey]

I watched Digital Foundry's video on Steam Deck and I somewhat disagree with a potential issue they pointed out, Steam Deck's ability to play next-gen AAA games. I mean sure, it's unlikely that Steam Deck will be able to run Uncharted 5 or GTA6 smoothly, but are its potential buyers expecting it to? It seems like such an odd expectation to burden the device with. What do you guys think? Are you buying this with the expectation to play next-gen games on it?

I think they took the Switch comparisons a bit too literally. Almost everyone who buys a SteamDeck will use it as a secondary device to take their gaming on the go. Not having the power to run the latest games that come out in a year or so on a fairly low powered handheld (compared to a full gaming PC) is not a big deal in my mind, and I doubt it will limit the appeal of the SteamDeck.

 

[NeilH]

I watched Digital Foundry's video on Steam Deck and I somewhat disagree with a potential issue they pointed out, Steam Deck's ability to play next-gen AAA games. I mean sure, it's unlikely that Steam Deck will be able to run Uncharted 5 or GTA6 smoothly, but are its potential buyers expecting it to? It seems like such an odd expectation to burden the device with. What do you guys think? Are you buying this with the expectation to play next-gen games on it?

Less demanding games will definitely be playable. I expect Warzone to hit between 30 and 60 on medium-ish settings. Cyberpunk will make this thing cry. It totally depends on the game and the settings you are willing to play on. I don't expect it to run most future AAA games great but I'm sure some of these games will definitely surprise us with their performance. Doom /Doom Eternal should be a great experience on this device.

 

[Readher]

Less demanding games will definitely be playable. I expect Warzone to hit between 30 and 60 on medium-ish settings. Cyberpunk will make this thing cry. It totally depends on the game and the settings you are willing to play on. I don't expect it to run most future AAA games great but I'm sure some of these games will definitely surprise us with their performance. Doom /Doom Eternal should be a great experience on this device.

CoD below 60 FPS is unplayable. Even 60 is unplayable if it's with KB+M. The aiming feels way too sluggish. Same thing with CS:GO. Try launching it and limiting your FPS to 60, it feels like a lideshow.

 

[Lashley]

Mid-tier one, going to use it for indies and emulators,. personally.

 

[Paul]

Cyberpunk will make this thing cry.

I am fairly confident it will run Cyberpunk at rock stable 30fps, probably on low-medium preset.
That is, the two SKUs that run SSD.

 

[Li Kao]

Emulation device first and foremost. The Persona games seem perfect for a handheld device.

What VN project is that?

Super late to the reply, but

Partly due to the vertical text of the original, discussed here

Community - The Visual Novel Council | All Choices Lead To Here

press release https://press.jastusa.com/full-metal-daemon-muramasa

metacouncil.com

 

[DriftedPlanet]

I've been looking forward to a handheld PC since at least the WiiU gamepad. A PC usable when away from the desk that doesn't need to sit on a lap or table.

GPD, Ayaneo, and OneXPlayer have been interesting to follow but didn't go out on a limb to try any of those. On paper, the Deck should perform pretty well and (at least one model) seems to even be sold close to cost so it seems like the right time.

Edit: Add to it that my current laptop has roughly an i5-7300/gtx1050 and my desktop has an i5-3570k/1070. So the GPU will fall in between but performance might end up somewhat close in generally CPU-bound titles with the upgrade from a 2012 CPU + 1600mhz ddr3 to Zen2 + LPDDR5.

 

[Parsnip]

I'm not going to do anything since I don't plan to get one.
Two reasons mainly.
1. I'm broke, and next hardware I'm gonna buy will be a GPU anyway.
2. And more importantly, I don't have a use case for a handheld device.

 

[Magnamalo]

Really tempted to sell my Switch and get this but im guessing im late since i didn't reserve it yesterday
I would play my backlog on this on top of some emulation PS2 on handheld sounds great (shame PS2 emulation is basically non-existant on Android in 2021)