Handheld PC makers are slowly losing touch with Valve's successful Steam Deck template of affordability, and that's very concerning
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When a games developer make a game for Switch Nintendo has a say in how it must perform before you’re allowed to release it. Valve have no such requirements on games put on Steam - it’s up to the developers whether to require a lot of performance or not. Thus, while Valve sells the Steam Deck that doesn’t mean games on Steam necessarily run well on it.
Steam Deck can’t ever have that luxury.
Still not sure why this is the case. Have yet to hear any clear argument why it will never happen for Valve.
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When talking about a container environment you are talking about WINE, arent you?
But if we are talking about native developed games, how would that look?
That sounds to me like 1st priority-development will be continued using Windows as a base + DirectX and reliance that WINE will somewhat manage that.
How would native Linux look for game devs in terms of platform targeting?No, Wine (and Proton) is a compatibility layer (API translation, etc). Containers is an isolation method which hides the details of the OS from the software and gives it a standardized environment.
GitHub - ValveSoftware/steam-runtime: A runtime environment for Steam applications
A runtime environment for Steam applications. Contribute to ValveSoftware/steam-runtime development by creating an account on GitHub.
GitHub (github.com)
No matter what Linux distribution you run Steam on, the only thing you need to do is to get the container system up and running. Once that runs, all software that runs in these containers will run on that device.
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I just want something that I can play up to say Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 level emulation
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- you couldn’t make it more powerful, it had the best of the best.
- my eyes work, and I still I don’t think clearer text and UI is a waste
Higher resolution will mean smaller text by default.
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“slowly”
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I just want something that I can play up to say Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 level emulation
I dunno what this article is on about, you can find thousands of those from the likes of Anbernic, Powkiddy, Miyoo, Retroid, etc.
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There are several competitors that are more powerful, like the ROG Ally. They also need a bigger battery to support it, or they have worse battery life. And they’re more expensive.
Clear text and UI is an issue because games don’t scale their shit properly.
Those came after, Valve hasn’t a time machine (as far as I know)
You’re right about games not scaling shit properly, but that’s 99% of the time in gen 8 (console-first) games, where those games where designed solely for big screens with HD+ resolutions. Modern games have already started figuring out scaling for different resolutions and aspect ratios
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they’re also forgetting the touchpads. the touchpads are so fucking good, and they add so much usability and flexibility. so much, I think, that no amount of superior performance, resoution, or battery life can make up for the lack of them.
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No, Wine (and Proton) is a compatibility layer (API translation, etc). Containers is an isolation method which hides the details of the OS from the software and gives it a standardized environment.
GitHub - ValveSoftware/steam-runtime: A runtime environment for Steam applications
A runtime environment for Steam applications. Contribute to ValveSoftware/steam-runtime development by creating an account on GitHub.
GitHub (github.com)
No matter what Linux distribution you run Steam on, the only thing you need to do is to get the container system up and running. Once that runs, all software that runs in these containers will run on that device.
So something akin to flatpak/snap?
Isnt that the purpose and source of controversy vs distributing them the usual way of repositories?Edit: Had some time to read the README.
Very interesting. But that sounds, like a vendor lock-in. Essentially devs are forced to use the Steam SDK to make it executable on Linux or face the issue of checking the compatibility of every distro, no? -
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That title is cringe as fuck. There’s nothing concerning about it at all. Market saw Steam Deck’s success so they dove in. Whether they survive is dependent on if they provide good price points or justification for a higher price. Super simple.
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they’re also forgetting the touchpads. the touchpads are so fucking good, and they add so much usability and flexibility. so much, I think, that no amount of superior performance, resoution, or battery life can make up for the lack of them.
Absolutely. They make mouse-based games playable with a controller. Gyro is nice too.
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When talking about a container environment you are talking about WINE, arent you?
But if we are talking about native developed games, how would that look?
That sounds to me like 1st priority-development will be continued using Windows as a base + DirectX and reliance that WINE will somewhat manage that.
How would native Linux look for game devs in terms of platform targeting?You might want to catch up on a decade or so of Linux gaming progress before wading into a conversation about it with controversial takes…
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So something akin to flatpak/snap?
Isnt that the purpose and source of controversy vs distributing them the usual way of repositories?Edit: Had some time to read the README.
Very interesting. But that sounds, like a vendor lock-in. Essentially devs are forced to use the Steam SDK to make it executable on Linux or face the issue of checking the compatibility of every distro, no?You don’t need to use Steam to run games though…?
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they’re also forgetting the touchpads. the touchpads are so fucking good, and they add so much usability and flexibility. so much, I think, that no amount of superior performance, resoution, or battery life can make up for the lack of them.
This is why I bought a deck oled even with the other more powerful handhelds already out.
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You might want to catch up on a decade or so of Linux gaming progress before wading into a conversation about it with controversial takes…
Why?
A discussion can’t happen.
And you don’t really expect everyone to be knowledgeable about every 500 aspects of every OS that can execute a program, do you?If I was invited to a discussion round, I will obviously get myself up to date on the essentials.
But I already do sysadmin stuff at work, configuring multiple systems, administrating my home stuff the best I can.
I really don’t have the mental energy to keep up with an OS I currently only use as a server OS and as a (basically) gaming appliance. -
You don’t need to use Steam to run games though…?
So what if Steam stops development of the SDK or turns evil?
What other choices do devs have if they want to keep their systems compatible with all distros?
It looks to me as if you can either rely on proton/WINE or be stuck with the SDK if you run native. -
Other manufacturers do not have that luxury.
They can find some margin in using a rolling Arch distro instead of paying for Windows, Gabe helpfully provided the template that you can reuse.
That still does not magically give them a digital storefront that the consumer will use to purchase a ton of software that gives then a 30% cut.
Yes, technically you can purchase and use a Deck without purchasing a single game on Steam. But how likely is that? Valve has done the math and made their projections and concluded that selling the Deck roughly at cost (my assumption based on their vague statements and industry comparisons) will increase software sales in Steam. And increase profits more than if they had priced the Deck at a highrt margin selling g desert units and driving less software sales.
Lenovo and ASUS and these other manufacturers don’t have that. An operating system change will not fix issues with the business model and ecosystem.
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Sell 15K units at 900 a pop, or sell 150K units at 500 a pop…
We don’t know the margins on these things but I’d think that higher volume sales would be better. But what do I know.
Margins could be 0 or even negative.
Sony for example: every single PlayStation has always been released at a price below cost. This allows them to create an ecosystem with a very large user base buying software, where even in 3rd party titles they at least bring in license fees.
Sony then invests those profits into scaling, improving, and redesigning the PlayStation to reduce costs, which is why the do slim models.
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It’s called enshitification, we knew it was coming.
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So something akin to flatpak/snap?
Isnt that the purpose and source of controversy vs distributing them the usual way of repositories?Edit: Had some time to read the README.
Very interesting. But that sounds, like a vendor lock-in. Essentially devs are forced to use the Steam SDK to make it executable on Linux or face the issue of checking the compatibility of every distro, no?No, the container environment uses default open source libraries. You don’t add any Steam dependencies to make software run in that environment. You can run it without Steam too. It’s just that Valve are the ones maintaining and updating this particular packaging of containers. When Valve releases new versions of their container (including updated default system libraries), you have to test compatibility with it or stick to using an older one. Similar to how Windows software versions would work best with different Proton versions.
You can use the Steam SDK when using it, and you can also choose not to.
Flatpack is a separate thing, which only handles Linux software within the regular desktop environment (a different method for packing software dependencies, managing system permissions, etc). The main difference is that Flatpack software can integrate with the regular Linux desktop environment, but the container based solution is fully separate from it (runs in gaming mode).
