New Steam Deck owner - Recommendations, Tips and Tricks?

[eev]

I've recently gotten hold of a Steam Deck (LCD) and I have mostly been spending my little free time this week tinkering on it. I've got some Decky plug-ins, EmuDeck (with the forbidden Switch program too), Heroic for my GOG games and miscellaneous stuff, and I'm planning on doing some more and actually playing games this weekend.

What I'm really asking is, is there anything in particular anyone else likes to do on it? Not necessarily gaming, so also what applications and general use cases have any of you found works out well with its handheld form factor? I am lacking a dock at the moment, so I'm still getting used to using it like this without access to my mouse and keyboard.

 

[Bobmeboi]

play more games
but have you tried emulating PSP or psvita

 

[Yousef]

Install proton asap, it is beyond essential

 

[CyberAngel573]

i use mine half the time as a portable PC for game design. i learned that [by Default] if you hold the Start button in Desktop Mode, your Controller Profile switches to Gamepad. Been a big help with my hobby.

 

[Yousef]

i use mine half the time as a portable PC for game design. i learned that [by Default] if you hold the Start button in Desktop Mode, your Controller Profile switches to Gamepad. Been a big help with my hobby.

That is really helpful. I never knew that.

 

[eev]

play more games
but have you tried emulating PSP or psvita

PPSSPP works well, though I haven't been itching for games on it recently but I'll probably use it for Peace Walker whenever I wanna play it again. I'm planning on checking out Vita3k soon, I'm completely unfamiliar with it so it should be fun.

i use mine half the time as a portable PC for game design. i learned that [by Default] if you hold the Start button in Desktop Mode, your Controller Profile switches to Gamepad. Been a big help with my hobby.

I hadn't figured that hotkey out yet, it'll help a lot, thank you.

 

[middler]

I use 3 apps that aren't a game on mine:
Cryo Utilities
Decky
NonSteam Launchers

Cryo Utilities is a hardware optimizer that has been just awesome.
Decky is a free store front for apps that let you customize things
NonSteam Launchers installs other stores like Epic into the steam overlay so you can use those.

Research each of these fully to be sure you need or want them. Some more than surface level Linux knowledge is useful for really getting the most out of a steam deck so I would recommend that too.

Welcome to the club

 

[Spike]

Just because it can run AAA games doesn't mean you should.
The best games to play on Deck imo are the simpler PC games, 2d Platformers, isometric games, or if emulation consoles that were already handheld like PSP and Vita.

Unless you don't have a PC with a large screen, then I you don't have a choice.

 

[Zeb89]

Just because it can run AAA games doesn't mean you should.
The best games to play on Deck imo are the simpler PC games, 2d Platformers, isometric games, or if emulation consoles that were already handheld like PSP and Vita.

Unless you don't have a PC with a large screen, then I you don't have a choice.

I mean, it can handle AAA games just fine...not the latest ones though. I'd recommend titles up until 2021 at most, then you need to start compromising on graphics and framerate

 

[eev]

I bought the Deck knowing its capabilities fully well, I'm not picky with graphics or framerate anyway. Even so, I'm still mostly gonna be playing things that are at least 5 or so years old cause my backlog is huge.

 

[Spike]

I was trying to say graphically impressive games are better played on large screens. If you have one.

 

[Darrell42]

If you bought the one with a smal SSD be aware of the shaders.
You can use Cryoutilities to move the shaders to a SD card.
Other nice Decky plugings: SteamGriDB and Storeace Cleaner.
You should tottaly buy a USB c hub, they are cheaper than a dock.
Besides gaming is a great way to learn about linux if you are new to the OS.

 

[Spike]

Go easy on the d-pad I broke mine with celeste.

 

[eev]

You can use Cryoutilities to move the shaders to a SD card.

Had never heard of this being a thing CryoUtilities can do, I'll definitely install it now.

Go easy on the d-pad I broke mine with celeste.

I'll keep that in mind, I'm already scared of breaking any button in general...

 

[Yousef]

I'm already scared of breaking any button in general...

You should be ok. It’s been quite durable on my end. Better than the switch for sure.

 

[Infasis]

Just because it can run AAA games doesn't mean you should.
The best games to play on Deck imo are the simpler PC games, 2d Platformers, isometric games, or if emulation consoles that were already handheld like PSP and Vita.

Unless you don't have a PC with a large screen, then I you don't have a choice.

This, but it also really shines for ports of 7th generation console games. They usually will have controller support, you can get them dirt cheap, and they'll look and play way better than they did on 360/PS3.

(Basically the same for remasters of them too, where games like Ni No Kuni and Tales of Vesperia look and run so good on Steam Deck that you could basically use them to highlight the systems capabilities)

 

[Yousef]

This, but it also really shines for ports of 7th generation console games. They usually will have controller support, you can get them dirt cheap, and they'll look and play way better than they did on 360/PS3.

(Basically the same for remasters of them too, where games like Ni No Kuni and Tales of Vesperia look and run so good on Steam Deck that you could basically use them to highlight the systems capabilities)

Deadpool ran great on it. So did gta.

 

[Infasis]

Deadpool ran great on it. So did gta.

Nice, yeah, I didn't really explain it well, either, but during that generation they were often targeting around 720p, while usually still taking into consideration people who may be playing on CRTs and lower resolution screens too, so the textures, text size, UIs, and everything, usually just works out extremely well for Steam Deck.

 

[Yousef]

Nice, yeah, I didn't really explain it well, either, but during that generation they were often targeting around 720p, while usually still taking into consideration people who may be playing on CRTs and lower resolution screens too, so the textures, text size, UIs, and everything, usually just works out extremely well for Steam Deck.

Oh no you explained it just fine. I meant to say I was agreeing with what you said.

 

[eev]

This, but it also really shines for ports of 7th generation console games. They usually will have controller support, you can get them dirt cheap, and they'll look and play way better than they did on 360/PS3.

(Basically the same for remasters of them too, where games like Ni No Kuni and Tales of Vesperia look and run so good on Steam Deck that you could basically use them to highlight the systems capabilities)

Quite true, I wanna finally finish Lords of Shadow on it and maybe I'll play GTA IV for real later on. I found it impossible to get Shattered Dimensions running though, but it emulates fine enough so that one's saved still.

You should be ok. It’s been quite durable on my end. Better than the switch for sure.

Every switch owner I know has issues with it, it's incredible. I honestly don't know how they put up with it.

 

[Yousef]

Quite true, I wanna finally finish Lords of Shadow on it and maybe I'll play GTA IV for real later on. I found it impossible to get Shattered Dimensions running though, but it emulates fine enough so that one's saved still.

Every switch owner I know has issues with it, it's incredible. I honestly don't know how they put up with it.

Have fun in GTA IV when you get to it!

 

[Infasis]

Every switch owner I know has issues with it, it's incredible. I honestly don't know how they put up with it.

My Switch has worked great for me up to today (though since getting my Steam Deck I rarely use it), but my Steam Deck actually came with a faulty fan, and then the right bumper button stopped working after minimal use. They did redesign the Steam Deck bumpers (at least for the OLED model), and I had a really early Steam Deck unit, but it really does seem like a lot of this stuff can be luck of the draw.

(Valve's customer service was nice and the RMA process was decent at least. It took around a month altogether, so it still sucked waiting, but at least it all went well.)

 

[eev]

but my Steam Deck actually came with a faulty fan, and then the right bumper button stopped working after minimal use. They did redesign the Steam Deck bumpers (at least for the OLED model), and I had a really early Steam Deck unit, but it really does seem like a lot of this stuff can be luck of the draw.

Oh yeah I've heard of issues like this, so I bought mine with *some* use from someone that still took good care of it to make sure it was in good condition and also didn't come faulty. I got lucky that he didn't ask for much too, he just wanted some extra cash for a PS5.

 

[Infasis]

Oh yeah I've heard of issues like this, so I bought mine with *some* use from someone that still took good care of it to make sure it was in good condition and also didn't come faulty. I got lucky that he didn't ask for much too, he just wanted some extra cash for a PS5.

Yeah, if you know how it was treated, then buying used can even have some benefits up to a point.
I baby my devices. Keeping them clean and taking such good care of them, that if someone bought something I owned for a short while, they'd basically be getting a "like new" product that has been thoroughly tested.
The nice thing about the Steam Deck is they actually sell OEM parts though too. I've wanted things like the GPD Win 2 and some other handheld PCs for so many years, but being such expensive devices, and knowing that if something failed on me that the company is all the way in China, (where who even knows how available the parts are and everything?), it always just worried me too much and kept me from ever buying anything, until the Steam Deck was announced.

 

[Pockets]

Not necessarily exclusive to the steam deck but if you have good internet and a gaming PC I highly recommend looking into Moonlight to stream games from your PC to your Steam Deck. It works a way better than Valve's official streaming implementation and lets you control the bitrate so you can fine tune it to get a nice balance between video quality and latency.

I've been using it to play FFXIV and other games that don't run too well natively on the steam deck during my downtime at work and it's amazing.