I gave it a Google and saw what changes they have made, and it definitely explains the new feel. Frame timing is waaay better and the frame rate is more stable. They moved from a OpenGL implementation to a Vulkan one, from my understanding. I had to adjust my mouse sensitivity too, so they made some changes there as well.

32-bit programs can’t use as much memory as 64-bit programs. Being able to use more memory means less loading from the disk. 64-bit also tends to be more optimized these days as most systems have moved to it already. In this case, I had no idea TF2 was still 32-bit.

Call me out if I’m wrong, but my Deck is noticeably snappier after this update. TF2 is also smoother, which is weird considering the game hasn’t changed visually at all. Not even an update notice of anything major.

I’m guessing he is referring to the fact we aren’t going to see tailored updates like the Steam Deck has gotten over the years. Updates that improve performance and the experience. It’s windows so beyond device drivers and their terrible ArmorCrate software there isn’t much room to grow better. It’s not a bad device though, it just misses the point.

The problem is they keep breaking in-home streaming to/from the Deck. My Mac has a significantly more GPU oomph so there are some games I’d like to play streamed, but streaming hasn’t worked in either direction since last year.

Good. Stop locking game content behind increasingly high paywalls. It used to be when you paid $60 for a game you got something that could stand on its own. Now if you aren’t getting the GOTY you’re getting half a product.

Valve can go into the negative selling Decks, something that their competitors can’t reasonably do because they will get money from Steam store sales made on the Deck. I for one went from buying 3-4 games a year to like a dozen because it’s been so convenient.