Valve Steam Deck - the real Switch Pro?…

Xeno wrote:I got my email also but cancelled. I can still afford it now but I am concerned about the next 6 months.

I'm the same I think.

My wife has been on long-term sick leave with Long Covid and they've just bumped her down to half-pay, so the promotion and pay-rise that I had hoped would pay for this now needs to go towards making up the shortfall.

I guarantee I'll get my email, decline it, then she'll get back to work a week later.

I'll hopefully be able to pick one up next year once things have settled, or in the next iteration they do.

I'm kind of hoping my e-mail takes as long as possible to come. I'll be getting it, but it has to go away for Christmas.

Thinking about picking one of these up, but its very hard to keep up with all the software revisions happening.

Is it still really only suited to people who are prepared to do lots of tweaking and further research? I basically wanted something that will run indie games better than my Switch (and more importantly have access to a wider range of titles). Also an ecosystem I am confident will carry forward and remain accessible in the future (something Nintendo continue to show they do not do).

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:Thinking about picking one of these up, but its very hard to keep up with all the software revisions happening.

Is it still really only suited to people who are prepared to do lots of tweaking and further research? I basically wanted something that will run indie games better than my Switch (and more importantly have access to a wider range of titles). Also an ecosystem I am confident will carry forward and remain accessible in the future (something Nintendo continue to show they do not do).

It really requires very little tinkering if your plan is just to play verified indie titles straight off your steam library. The software updates are all automatic downloads, and you can opt into the beta branch if you want. You can check all your current steam library for verified and payable titles in steam, and it's status should be listed in the steam catalogue for any you may be looking to pick up.

Knoyleo wrote:

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:Thinking about picking one of these up, but its very hard to keep up with all the software revisions happening.

Is it still really only suited to people who are prepared to do lots of tweaking and further research? I basically wanted something that will run indie games better than my Switch (and more importantly have access to a wider range of titles). Also an ecosystem I am confident will carry forward and remain accessible in the future (something Nintendo continue to show they do not do).

It really requires very little tinkering if your plan is just to play verified indie titles straight off your steam library. The software updates are all automatic downloads, and you can opt into the beta branch if you want. You can check all your current steam library for verified and payable titles in steam, and it's status should be listed in the steam catalogue for any you may be looking to pick up.

Thanks for the reply. I have created a Steam Account purely to have the option of putting a deposit down - I have not gamed on a PC since about 2001 (everything I owned was big box).

Is the stability improving? Most reviews I have found tend to be "day 1", and the pervasive commentary has been around things not working / disappearing, WIFI disconnects, games working one day and not the next. These are pretty much the reasons I gave up on PC gaming. Have the past few months of OS updates made things a bit more reliable? Does it "just work" now?

I see myself only selecting games with the green check mark against them.

I don't mean this in a mean-spirited way, but I think you could be better off buying a different console if you don't want to occasionally tweak some settings or re-enter your wifi password. It's a great device - mine arrived recently and I like it a lot - but it's still "early access" and the interface isn't as polished / focused as, say, a Switch.

I think Knoyleo is right to say that it doesn't require a lot of tweaking, but if you are really worried about it being a "PC-like" experience then it might not be for you. It's definitely a bit "PC-like".

site23 wrote:I don't mean this in a mean-spirited way, but I think you could be better off buying a different console if you don't want to occasionally tweak some settings or re-enter your wifi password. It's a great device - mine arrived recently and I like it a lot - but it's still "early access" and the interface isn't as polished / focused as, say, a Switch.

I think Knoyleo is right to say that it doesn't require a lot of tweaking, but if you are really worried about it being a "PC-like" experience then it might not be for you. It's definitely a bit "PC-like".

Yeah, that's entirely fair - thanks for the feedback.

I already have all the other consoles - it's kind of last on my list.

The main draw of late has been that I have found an increased window of time where I can play a game on the sofa but not on the TV (age old situation, wife can watch something on TV and I don't want to just disappear upstairs and be completely absent).

The Switch does a decent job of filling this void (and in turn indie games are the best suited for the "small screen experience"), but it seems to struggle more and more to even run these more modest games.

I'm glad everyone suffers with the partner on the sofa situation. Always thought I was being weird so glad to see it's a normal dilemma

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:

site23 wrote:I don't mean this in a mean-spirited way, but I think you could be better off buying a different console if you don't want to occasionally tweak some settings or re-enter your wifi password. It's a great device - mine arrived recently and I like it a lot - but it's still "early access" and the interface isn't as polished / focused as, say, a Switch.

I think Knoyleo is right to say that it doesn't require a lot of tweaking, but if you are really worried about it being a "PC-like" experience then it might not be for you. It's definitely a bit "PC-like".

Yeah, that's entirely fair - thanks for the feedback.

I already have all the other consoles - it's kind of last on my list.

The main draw of late has been that I have found an increased window of time where I can play a game on the sofa but not on the TV (age old situation, wife can watch something on TV and I don't want to just disappear upstairs and be completely absent).

The Switch does a decent job of filling this void (and in turn indie games are the best suited for the "small screen experience"), but it seems to struggle more and more to even run these more modest games.

You know you can stream games from Series X to iPad?

Zilnad wrote:I'm glad everyone suffers with the partner on the sofa situation. Always thought I was being weird so glad to see it's a normal dilemma

Don't use me as a yardstick for "normal".

rinks wrote:You know you can stream games from Series X to iPad?

I do, and I have. It's ok in itself, but the cat always sits on my lap when on the sofa so the iPad wouldn't stand a chance (I have verified this).

I thought about a backbone controller for my iPhone, but it only has a small screen and I would have to remove the case etc for it to fit, which given how slippery they are nowadays, I'm not sure I'm mad keen on. It may be the best option though.

Edit - if you look in my gamertag thing in my sig you can see the last thing I played was something that is suited to playing with touch controls (which I was playing for the very reason I mentioned above).

Touch controls are just strawberry floating horrible.

Failing that I will just be selective with the Switch games I play on those occasions.

Haha, yeah cats have their own ideas about laptops. Agreed about touch controls. I stick my iPad on a stand on a coffee table, and connect the controller to it. Works well, though I only tend to use it for games that have large static borders (like Stories Untold or the Castlevania collection) in order to save damaging the TV.

I’d say go for it. Using it for games via Steam alone (and verified - though most unverified work fine) then you’ll be fine. It’s once you start factoring in other launchers (Origin/Epic/GOG plus the likes of Heroic and Lutris) then it starts to become more PC-like. Since getting the Deck my Switched has sat in the dock untouched. Oh and it’s hard to say anything has a more polished UI than a Switch due to it not changing at all since it’s release, I mean come on it still only has a light and dark theme for crying out loud

Unless your using CFW

KjGarly wrote:I’d say go for it. Using it for games via Steam alone (and verified - though most unverified work fine) then you’ll be fine. It’s once you start factoring in other launchers (Origin/Epic/GOG plus the likes of Heroic and Lutris) then it starts to become more PC-like. Since getting the Deck my Switched has sat in the dock untouched. Oh and it’s hard to say anything has a more polished UI than a Switch due to it not changing at all since it’s release, I mean come on it still only has a light and dark theme for crying out loud

Unless your using CFW

Thanks - I like this positivity. NME seem to have put up a review today (or at least I only spotted it today) and it basically suggests it is all pretty glitch free with a few small caveats.

Oh, and the fact I have an early Switch but not the CFW gives an indication of my current desire to "tinker". Well it's partly that and partly the fact I have no access to a PC at home (other than work laptop where 90% of everything, including usb ports etc are locked down).

I also got my email yesterday and have purchased. I'm quite excited, despite only owning 3 Steam games, one of which is the Doctor Who adventure game from 2008 or something!

Fingers crossed it’s compatible.

Had my shipment email this morning so here's hoping for a Friday delivery.

I'm going to have to pass when my place in line comes as I just had to buy a new pair of glasses and I'm now skint.
I'm now on super expensive varifocals that means I have to have 2 pairs.

They must be uncomfortable to wear.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:They must be uncomfortable to wear.

These are super special though so 2 pairs will be fine.
As long as I don't look quite as stupid as I did when I was a kid and had a pair of what I thought were awesome wraparound mirrored shades I should be fine.

I thought I looked like such a cool dude though .

Mine arrived in like 2 days. Was super quick but the tracking didn’t update. I then had a message from parcel force I think to say ‘will be delivered today’.