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	Archive through December 11, 2023	25		11/13 09:17am

Gary, I have a Steam deck (original) and I do not recommend it for use with SFBOL. The video system is 720p even on external monitors, this lack of resolution will impact the viability of reading all of the text that is present in any SFBOL game. That being said, I have been trying to use my Steam deck with WSJTX and it’s a text heavy system as well. (It’s the software for a popular HAM Radio Digital mode)

Though you have me wondering ‘how bad’ it would be.

When I have the chance I’ll see if I can wrangle it onto mine and see. I’ll report back.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Wednesday, December 13, 2023 - 11:23 am: Edit

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Quote:

The video system is 720p even on external monitors, this lack of resolution will impact the viability of reading all of the text that is present in any SFBOL game.

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By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Wednesday, February 07, 2024 - 11:17 am: Edit

Ironically, to this point most of the game-related use I have had for the Steam Deck OLED has been to play games that are best played with a keyboard and mouse.

For example: Total War: Three Kingdoms is listed as Unsupported on Steam, yet it (mostly) runs well enough - though it's best to play on an external monitor with mouse and keyboard.

More recently, however, I installed my first Deck Verified game: Spider-Man Remastered. But of course, while you can play it in handheld mode, you also have the option to play it in docked mode with a separate controller.

And what might be a good choice of controller for that particular game?

Perhaps this one!

That is the Midnight Black colour DualSense.

Notably, when you connect this controller to the Steam Deck (which can be done either via type-C USB or via Bluetooth), SteamOS replaces with A, B, X, and Y buttons on the interface with the four PlayStation buttons!

Also, on both the Steam Deck's own controls and on the external controller, it is possible to swap the button configurations to the Nintendo standard input: B swaps with A, while X swaps with Y.

Plus, the trackpad on the DualSense works as a trackpad in desktop mode, if you wanted to use it for that.

And you can manually adjust whether or not desktop mode activates the controller's built-in microphone and/or speakers. (At least when connected via type-C USB; I gather that not all of the DualSense features work on Deck via Bluetooth.)

Do any of you have an external controller for use in docked mode - and, if so, which one do you prefer?

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Thursday, January 09, 2025 - 02:06 pm: Edit

Earlier this week, a pair of SteamOS-related announcements were made at this year's CES.

The first official SteamOS-supported device from a company other than Valve was announced by Lenovo at this year's CES; it's reportedly due out in May.

Before then, the first public beta of SteamOS for other handheld PCs, such as the ASUS ROG Ally X, should be made available by Valve. In the long run, my understanding is that Valve intend to make SteamOS available as a general-use Linux distribution, for desktops and laptops also.

Although, there are a number of Linux distributions which presently incorporate SteamOS-like features, such as Bazzite, which can be installed as an alternative to waiting for Valve's "official" expansion of SteamOS beyond the Steam Deck ecosystem.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Thursday, November 13, 2025 - 09:17 am: Edit

Valve recently announced a trio of new hardware items:

A new Steam Controller, with a more Steam Deck-like design this time around;

A new Steam Machine (or, as it's already being referred to online, the "GabeCube");

And a Steam Frame VR headset.

As with the Steam Deck, SteamOS on the "GabeCube" shall have a Desktop Mode, allowing it to be used as a (mostly) regular Linux PC. No doubt other Linux distributions, such as Bazzite, shall be made available for it also.

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Thursday, November 13, 2025 - 03:27 pm: Edit

The big question for the Steam Machine is what is the price? Only time will tell.

--Mike