• 0 Posts
  • 102 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
Cake day: June 15th, 2023
  • soulsource@discuss.tchncs.detoSteam Deck@sopuli.xyz•Adding gog games to steam deck
    4·
    7 days ago

    This. There is very little need for third-party tools, as long as you don’t want to install a whole lot of games. After all, the installation process only happens once per game, and also without tools it doesn’t take very long.

    As a step-by-step guide:

    • Download the games from the GoG website. You can find them if you hover the site’s header bar, where your user-name is displayed. There’s a “Games” button which brings you to the list of games, where you can download the installers directly. The downloads are listed under “Download Offline Backup Game Installers”.
    • Unpack the game installer.
      • Innoextract is your friend here. No need to run the installer, just unpack the files. Works with both, Windows and Linux games.
      • Alternatively, if it’s a native Linux game, you can just run the installer directly on the Steam Deck.
        • For Windows games you can theoretically also use Proton directly on the deck. However, the process is annoying, so I won’t go into details.
      • Alternatively, you can run the installer on your desktop PC and copy the files to the Deck via sftp.
    • Add the game to Steam Library. This can be done in Desktop Mode. There’s a menu entry in Steam’s “Games” menu for that.
      • In the File Browser, you need to disable the file filter, as it (iirc) only shows .desktop files by default. You’ll want the game’s executable though.
    • If it’s a Windows game, go to the game’s properties page in Steam, and force a specific compatibility tool for it, namely some recent version of Proton.
      • For native Linux games this step is usually not needed, but some very old games need to set the Steam Linux Runtime here.
      • For DOS games, check out my blog post about DOSBox on the Deck.
        • I don’t know how well it works on the Deck (never tried it, as I don’t feel it’s necessary), but there would also be boxtron.
    • Last, but not least, use sgdboop to set some artwork.
  • soulsource@discuss.tchncs.detoSteam Deck@sopuli.xyz•How good is the Steam Deck really? (Not a gamer)
    2·
    22 days ago

    I only use my Steam Deck while I am away from my gaming (Linux-)PC. The reasons for this are that for me a big screen wins compared to the small (and relatively low-res) display of the Steam Deck, and also the games I usually play play way better with mouse and keyboard than with gamepad input… Also, the Steam Deck is relatively heavy, so gaming in bed or stuff like that also isn’t that enjoyable…

    That said, the Steam Deck absolutely shines in situations where I cannot access my gaming PC. I usually take it with me when I go for a longer train ride, and also brought it along for vacation.

    Compatibility wise I am in the situation that all the games I ever tried are working on the Steam Deck, but that’s mostly because I have been using Linux exclusively for decades, and have made it a habit to check if a game is going to work before buying it. Though, in recent years that habit slightly changed, thanks to the work Valve has put into WINE development. While back when I switched to Linux most Windows games would not run via WINE, nowadays one can expect that almost all games do. It is still a good idea to check protondb first, of course. Also, there are still a few games that need tinkering to get them to run, and protondb usually has some info on how to do that.

    One negative point I have to mention is battery runtime. It strongly depends on what one is playing, but very demanding 3D games can drain the battery in 1.5 hours. However, I am talking about the old LCD model here, the newer OLED models run longer with one charge (though I don’t know how long actually).

    Another negative is the display resolution. Most games don’t mind running on 1280x800, but some do. This can lead to illegible text, broken UI, or, as is the case with Stellaris, a different UI that is less convenient to use.

    And last, but not least, performance. The Steam Deck GPU is just enough for the built-in display’s resolution, and also only under the assumption that games are reasonably optimized. I have not yet been in the situation that I would have gotten unplayable FPS, but I have heard a lot about games only running with 20 FPS, and needing upscaling… So, basically don’t expect it to run Crysis (yes, I know that joke is old, and that the Steam Deck can run Crysis just fine).

  • soulsource@discuss.tchncs.detoGaming@beehaw.org•[Request] Retro Recommendations
    3·
    2 months ago

    Oh, and just in the moment I hit send, I remembered another gem from the olden times:

    Unreal World: Basically the survival game. 99% of today’s survival games are just a pale shadow of this. I mean, nowadays there are even “survival” games without hunger mechanics or proper simulation of wounds… No, this is not one of those easy mode survival games. This is Fantasy Finland, and it’s the Fantasy Iron Age. Available for free or, if you want updates faster, also for money on Steam.

  • soulsource@discuss.tchncs.detoSteam Deck@sopuli.xyz•What remote do you use?
    3·
    2 months ago

    To answer your question: I use an Xbox Series X gamepad. However I cannot recommend this cheaply built piece of junk.

    I also tried to use the DualShock 4, but with that I had the problem that it interfered with my WIFI connection. I’m not sure if this is a general problem, or only happens with my WIFI base station though. Also, the DualShock controller has a severe drawback, and that is its short battery runtime, compared with the issue that you cannot easily switch batteries…

    So, my recommendation: An Xbox One gamepad. While I don’t own one, I am using them regularly at work, and they basically have all the advantages of the Xbox Series X gamepads, and have a way better build quality.

    I would also recommend Xbox 360 gamepads, but they need a dedicated base station, which is very expensive.

  • soulsource@discuss.tchncs.detoGaming@beehaw.org•Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of June 23rd
    1·
    3 months ago

    I wanted to be a bit more productive in my spare time, but I have made a huge mistake:
    I started playing Vagrus - The Riven Realms again.

    The world building in Vagrus is excellent. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic fantasy Roman empire, and there is a massive amount of text that details the world, and the people living in it. There is so much to read, that the devs even thought it necessary (and rightfully so) to display a warning about the sheer amount of text on the game’s startup screen, with the suggestion to refund it if one doesn’t enjoy a lot of reading. Sooo, of course this is the perfect game for me - or would be if I had more spare time.

    The game is a mixture of trading sim and role playing game. You play a vagrus (a caravan leader), and travel the land trading wares, transporting passengers, spreading gossip and doing missions for different factions, you also have a lot of story elements that you can (and should) follow. There is turn-based combat, and during story events there are plenty of skill checks.

    The game is relatively difficult, due to its interwoven mechanics. You need to calculate relatively tightly in order to make a profit, but if you loose people in combat, not having reserves might lead into a morale-loss and hunger death spiral… Also, due to the game’s grim settings, the choices one faces are more often than not to either do what is right, or to survive.