The Plucky Squire recently came out, and used the Steam Deck to represent PC

Fubarberry@sopuli.xyzmod to

Steam Deck@sopuli.xyz – 532 points – 1 days ago

Here's a link to the game's store page

And here's a link to their X post with the animated Steam Deck art.

Is that DJ GabeN dropping beats on the Deck’s screen?

It definitely is.

this is the weirdest political compass I've ever seen

Playstation should definitely be top - right lol

*tries to navigate it and gets lost in the abyss of... whatever is 90° perpendicular of the Gaming-Platform-Compass

What does your whole compass look like for you? Cause Nintendo needs to be auth-left. And I'm assuming lib left for steam, and Xbox takes lib right.

Nintendo's well-known record for being litigious makes it firmly auth-right imo

Finally I can call myself a centrist

Why are half of the comments in this thread talking about how the steamdeck isn't a computer? What the fuck are you all on about? Do you just need to be contrarian to be different? It's a fucking full computer, like has all the parts and functions a computer has....

And the top meme when it was announced was "Yes, it's a PC".

Lol Im not sure I ever saw those.

It's the year of the handheld desktop

I see one comment like that, and they couched that opinion in so much praise for the steam deck that your reaction to it seems way over the top.

My up votes suggest otherwise.

Please don't be one of those people.

The steam deck arguably does a very good job at representing PC Gaming, hopefully more developers do this

You need WSL to run it on windows /s

What is WSL? I see it referenced all the time?

Windows Sub-System for Linux - a utility that allows you to run Linux Commands / Programs (limited in scope) on a Windows Machine, for e.g.

Since WSL 2, it is a full VM connected through RDP, or at least that is what I learned somewhere.

Oh right. Okay. Not sure why that acronym didn't cross my mind.

Does the /s mean that you don't need WSL to run it on Windows?

Well, I suppose it works on windows, but I’m not an expert 🤷🏻

As much as nice it sounds, this is not entirely true. Because Steam Deck is not just a PC and cannot share the same enjoyment and benefits of a regular PC, because its a handheld. I believe the Steam Deck should be handled as its own class of hardware, like a console is and do a PC showcase on its own.

For a small game that runs easily on the Deck and is mainly played with a gamepad, this is probably fine. But for lot of other games this cannot be said. I love my Steam Deck and my local PC, but they need to be treated separately for effective marketing.

Add a keyboard, mouse and monitor, which are already required for every other pc, and you can do everything on the steam deck that you can on any other pc. The steamdeck just has the additional functionality of working without those if you so choose.

and you can do everything on the steam deck that you can on any other pc

Ok, how do I use rsync on the deck then? (/s, but I'd still love to know)

Turn on
Open desktop mode (in power menu I think)
Open terminal
Type rsync
Press enter

Wait, its installed by default? I assumed I had to install it, which would not be possible, because its immutable and there is no rsync flatpak (I think).

What do you mean immutable?

SteamOS is immutable, so you can't install system-wide apps on there, only flatpaks, appimages etc.

You can install system wide apps by turning off immutabe mode and configurating something. I might be talking out my ass though cause I have done this but I don't remember if it persisted across updates.

You can for sure! It’s just I wouldn’t go around recommending that to just any person because they then might get a little crazy with the freedom, brick their Steam deck install, and then try to say that the Deck is a POS.

Bad word of mouth is always a lot more damaging than spreading the good word that it’s a solid system.

Good point. Though the deck actually keeps a backup. Updates are done to a second partition and if it fails to boot for some reason, it automatically rolls back to booting from the previous good installation. That's why it's really hard to completely brick the system.

But also why with every update all the modifications you did are reverted. Not that big of a deal once you know about it though, I just have a script that installs and configures everything after each update.

(IIRC) the changes are reverted after each update so you'd have to re-install every app.

You don't need to turn off anything, you can install whatever package you want, but they'll be overwritten by some updates

You can just install a distro of your choice on it that might or might not be immutable if you want. In the end, yes, it is a PC

Just... do it? It's just a normal Linux underneath.

Are you not aware of "Desktop mode"? Hold down the power button for a few seconds, click "switch to desktop mode," and you're literally using a fully functioning Linux PC.

Just connect it to a monitor and you have a regular pc, I have seen a lot of people use it as one with no issues.

It plays PC games, runs a PC OS, has a PC DE (KDE Plasma), includes standard PC ports (with a dock that includes even more standard PC ports), has a standard PC uefi bios, uses a PC APU, and has a PC like trackpad along with a virtual keyboard. Also if a game works well with controllers itll work well with Steam Deck (even if it doesn't it usually works well). Functionally speaking how is this different then a tablet PC with a controller? (In terms of if its a PC)

Its targeted by developers like a console is, its a specific hardware that developers can optimize for. And the operating system and user interface is optimized for gaming. That's the Console portion of it. Steam Deck is a PC hardware in handheld form factor and a Console treatment, which developers can target specifically for, unlike other handheld PCs with Windows.

Steam Deck is not just a PC, and its not just a handheld. Its a console that can be targeted.

Steam Deck is not just a PC, and its not just a handheld.

Yes. It's both... And it is fully functioning as either. It's really not difficult to understand.

I also explained what i told. Its more than just both, its a target. Its really not difficult to understand.

Because Steam Deck is not just a PC and cannot share the same enjoyment and benefits of a regular PC, because it’s a handheld.

This is where you lost most people. When they pointed out that it was incorrect you started adding more words and insisting that everyone else was wrong and you were just misunderstood.

What you’re saying about it being a target is true and is part of what makes it so valuable as a platform, but saying it’s a target does not counter the misconception in your original comment that it cannot also be a PC.

I don't know if you guys misunderstand me on purpose. My argumentation was about the initial comment that the Steam Deck does not represent PC very well. You just took one sentence out of context, where the previous part and following part is integratel part of my reply. I did not just add more words to it, i Just had to explain it later because its not understood. The full quote is:

Because Steam Deck is not just a PC and cannot share the same enjoyment and benefits of a regular PC, because its a handheld. I believe the Steam Deck should be handled as its own class of hardware, like a console is and do a PC showcase on its own.

It's just a simple explanation that you guys on purpose misunderstand. The Steam Deck does not represent PC very well on its own, because its not just a PC. It's more than its sum. It's not a new discussion either, this is going on since the launch of the system.

I tried 👍 if you’re going to start accusing people of misunderstanding you on purpose then I’m done here. Have a nice day!

From the replies, that's what I'm getting, as people really try hard to misunderstand a very simple fact I explained multiple times. I tried too, but can't do more. And even taking out quotes out of context, while the next sentence was part of it. That's pretty on purpose.

You're basically arguing that a square isn't a very good representation of a rectangle because it's more than a rectangle. But the fact is, a square is a type of rectangle, just like a Steam Deck is a type of PC.

wow

I give up. Its no use.

the operating system and user interface is optimized for gaming

Most of the "optimizations" are either generic Linux improvements that exist in many distros or are can be easily installed on any PC. Meanwhile the UI is literally just Steam gamepadui, any PC could access it, any PC can launch Steam on boot and set Steam to launch into Steam big picture mode. The only optimizations are just a set of good defaults and software that works well together.

Its a console that can be targeted

Yeah because its a popular piece of hardware running amazing software, thats something Windows handhelds dont have. What people dont understand about SteamOS is it isn't that optimized, thats because Linux is so optimized as an OS that Valve doesn't need to do much on top of it.

There is even an API in Steam that directly targets the Steam Deck. Steam Deck can be programmatically identified by its API, just like any other console. This is a key factor.

We are not speaking about any random hardware configuration or tablet, we are speaking about a device with software and hardware specifically designed, build, tested, targeted and marketed as a single unit. Exactly what a console is. However, I'm not disregarding its roots of PC. What I am saying is, that Steam Deck does not represent PC "very well"; its its own thing, even compared to other handheld PCs. If the Steam is marketed as a PC, then it won't get the support from the developers.

Steam Deck is its own category, besides general PC. Games need to have different Spec Recommendations for PC and one specific optimized version for Steam Deck. Both are separated.

What are you talking about it's just a laptop in gamepad form you can hook up PC peripherals and there will be zero difference.

I wrote a huge argumentative piece to that guy and then snapped out of it and deleted it all. It's not worth it.

I get what you’re saying - some games aren’t fun on steam deck controls, or just run like a dog.

But, look at it differently - It’s a PC by virtue of the fact you only have to buy it once to use it in both. My 10 year old XPS laptop and my gaming desktop are very different classes of hardware as well, but they’ll both run Plants vs Zombies that I bought once.

I can’t say that about the stuff I bought on Switch and want to keep playing on Steam Deck.

You can also easily connect a mouse and keyboard (and monitor or TV if you want) if the controller doesn't work well for the game.

Because it's literally a PC.

Hmm...

hmm...

The colors are rotated:

I love this animation of Gabe! Thank you for sharing!

For transparency, I have a gaming PC. I have a Steam Deck. I love the Steam Deck to death and would never give it up. For many people, it is the closest thing they will see to PC gaming. I can say without a doubt that the Steam Deck is a PC in the same way a chicken is a wild bird. Can you do 90% of PC related tasks with the Steam Deck? Yes, but with a lot more work, and much more required knowledge. It's not even because of the OS, which is great because it's just Linux based. It's because the Steam Deck does not put necessary parts that average PC users need as forward facing concepts.

The Steam Deck is a console first, and a PC in a pinch and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's the reason I love the device, but also use it less. A good example is modding Elden Ring for Seamless Co-op. You can do it, and it's not HARD per se, but you may have to find files in the OS to make sure Steam knows to open them, and because of how the file tree works in Linux vs Windows it isn't really a simple case of "type the file name in search".

Look, if they're gonna use a device running Linux* instead of Windows to represent "PC," I sure as Hell ain't gonna complain about it even if it is a handheld!

(* legitimate Linux, as opposed to some bastardized and Tivoized thing like Android or what they put on TVs)

I just want to say I'm right there with you, and I was trying to make that clear while still explaining my thoughts on why the Steam Deck isn't really a "gaming PC". It could just be the old man in me, but the Deck PRESENTS itself as a console on startup, and to do anything beyond that you have to restart the device. For the general public restarting the device is a huge barrier. Again though, I'm happy the Steam Deck exists and hope that game companies in general will get their head out of their ass and start making more games run natively on Linux. Even with devices that have better performance and look like an upgrade I immediately discount them as an option the moment I see they are running Windows.

It seems to me like most PC gamers don't touch mods unless there's an easy automated way to install them, something like steam workshop or maybe a mod manager if they're feeling adventurous. It's true that mods are harder to do on linux/deck right now, but I'm hoping with the rise of official mod managers that support linux it won't be any harder. Games that use steam workshop or have built in mod support (like BG3 and Deep Rock Galactic) are already just as easy to install mods on deck compared to windows.

I think the Deck is in a nice place where it streamlines the gaming experience for most people, but still gives you the option to do more advanced things if you want.

My post was not meant to take away your points, and honestly I tend to forget about the Steam workshop because, as you said, I and many other general PC gamers don't mod games that much. I'm not trying to be negative about the Deck, just realistic. Unfortunately for me, my general lack of optimism can be seen as inherently negative. The Steam Deck has already succeeded in its goal as evidenced by the, inferior in my opinion, knockoffs from Asus and Lenovo. The main point I was trying to make is the very fact that if or when people try to install a mod they immediately run into the barrier of having to reboot the device. This isn't a bad thing, but it does tell many people this is not the main way to use the device. Remember that for the general public defaults are the most powerful thing on their device.

It's a personal computer. Being in a different form factor does not change that.

I mean, I agree that the form factor isn't what matters, that's not what I was saying. When you boot the Steam Deck it actively hides that it is a computer. Let's be real here, all consoles are basically just dumbed down PC's at this point. They have slightly modified AMD chips with AMD GPUs. The only difference is that you can't access the file system. You can on the Steam Deck if you want to, but Valve tries to simplify the experience by presenting it as a console. My argument has nothing to do with the form factor and everything to do with the default presentation.

But you literally just hold a button and boot into desktop mode

I think it's more so that it's releasing on steam, Deck/GabeN is more a representation of that. In your case you can buy once and install on both. The image also has the added benefit to show its steam deck compatible.

This is so exciting, gives me hope. Rockstar making gta5 not playable on deck for no good reason made me lose hope. So I guess this balance the scales