Steam Deck

Previous topic - Next topic

SnooPI

This is great news for independent developers and also for GLBasic  <3
I immediately get back to my Irrlicht Wrapper  =D


Marmor

isnt it steam os ? a linux behind?
i fear no port from kitty for this engine.

SnooPI

#2
In theory, there is no need for a specific port.
This article is really interesting about it.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/15/22578879/valve-steam-deck-handheld-pc-windows-support

Normally, Proton can make most Windows games compatible without having to modify or port them to the platform.
In addition, GLBasic already has a Linux port.
Tests should be done to know if games created with GLBasic work with Proton.

https://www.protondb.com/

spacefractal

SteamOS diddent work when im tested it for years ago. But also newer heard of Proton, so its might works under that.

Im have currectly no change to test it. you can test my games etc if they works or not.
Genius.Greedy Mouse - Karma Miwa - Spot Race - CatchOut - PowerUp Elevation - The beagle Jam - Cave Heroes 2023 - https://spacefractal.itch.io/

SnooPI

Just a purely theoretical idea for the tests:
Why not install Proton with WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)  ?

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton


bigsofty

it looks like standard PC hardware, so Windows should go on it no problem. Personally i'd multi boot it with Steam OS and Windows for maximum compatibility.
Cheers,

Ian.

"It is practically impossible to teach good programming style to students that have had prior exposure to BASIC.  As potential programmers, they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration."
(E. W. Dijkstra)

SnooPI

Yes Bigsofty, but it would be interesting to know if the games made with GLBasic work with Steam Deck without any changes.
Apparently from what Spacefractal said it didn't work before with Steam OS, but maybe with the latest version of Proton it works.

erico

Someone will eventually get one, then it should be easier to test it out.
Should it work out of the box it will be superb.

SnooPI

Apparently pre-orders are exploding, this is good news because it will lower prices (unless stocks run out, it will have the opposite effect).
In the meantime I will try to do some tests with Proton.

bigsofty

I have pre-ordered but it took a ridiculous amount of effort as the order page was overwhelmed by demand.
Cheers,

Ian.

"It is practically impossible to teach good programming style to students that have had prior exposure to BASIC.  As potential programmers, they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration."
(E. W. Dijkstra)

SnooPI

Yes there have been a lot of "scalpers" (people pre-ordering products by betting on their scarcity to make a profit)  :(
But it's still good news Bigsofty  :good:
For my part I'm trying to launch a non-Steam application with Proton and it's hell (especially since I'm not a pro on Linux), I think I'll give up because it's starting to hit me on nerves :giveup:

dreamerman

Im trying to keep an eye on Steam Deck, and I like current Valve approach - clarity, like in their last video Steam Deck inside
Spec wise its good enough, in GPU terms maybe base PS4 power in handheld, even pure TFlops are showing that's more like Xbox One, but there is difference in architectures: GCN in XOne/PS4 vs RDNA2 in Steam Deck, and between those architectures there is like 40% real world performance difference (DigitalFoundry on YT did some good test around AMD GPUs before current gen consoles arrived), RAM and CPU are also nice. Just saying if it runs new Doom in 60fps I have nothing more to say :D And people are waiting also for such handheld as it quickly sold out, new bunch will be available in what 2Q of next year so..

When it goes to GLB, couple years ago when Steam OS 1.0 arrived I checked compatibility, and main issue was that GLB was using older SDL 1.2, and that OS shipped only with newer SDL 2.0, so you needed to manually download all additional libraries (also for sound), I'm don't remember how that ended for me cause most likely end-user would not play around for one hour to download some stuff for himself. True question is now, what libraries will be included in Steam OS 3.0, and what are current requirements for GLB to run on Linux - is it already on newer SDL 2.0? Out of box support for this OS would be very nice, and allow more visibility on Steam. That's about native support, I didn't test Proton itself, but it looks that very compatible software and should run GLB apps.

Next thing is games compatibility with Steam Deck, few days ago Valve published some docs on that on partners page: Steam Docs
Nothing crazy, game must support game controller (and show proper icons), work on 720p resolution, no small fonts (like 9px size, preferred 12px), if game needs keyboard input (for player name) use Steam API/your-own virtual keyboard and so on, don't see any issues for GLB in this matter. I will check what's new in latest Steam SDK packet to add possible needed functions to my wrapper.

offtop:
From couple of years that trend for dedicated handheld devices is getting stronger, previously beside Nintendo/PSP there were only retro emulation consoles but they weren't such widely available (GamePark, Caanoo etc.), now there is so many of them (retro consoles based on Arm), and from times of first GPD such portable pc's are also more popular (AyaNeo, OnexPlayer), but never such huge company like Valve were involved into this, that's good, and should have impact on competition on that market. On customer side looking for handheld, price is always some kind of barrier because let's say 500Euro doesn't sound cheap (but considering it capabilities it's fair price), and 200Euro for Android based retro console that can only play emulators (there is so many of them right now) isn't so good as 50Euro for PSP or 100Euro for PS Vita that's perfect for playing dedicated games and most emulators. But market still lacks cheap x86 handheld, imagine 150$ device that could play older games from X360/PS3 era and indie games, that woudn't require most powerfully hardware just newer production process and low end parts, maybe someday there will be device like this, it would have really huge market of possible clients. When talking about indie/homebrew, I can't count Switch, it's popular of course but, that is closed ecosystem console and big N doesn't like homebrew, is blocking unofficial ports from other systems, blocking YT materials that are showing such and so on, and dedicated games from normal consoles are highly lowered back due to console power, but let's don't deep dive into that, that's one of reasons why Steam Deck gained so much in many eyes - open for AAA and indies powerfully and compatible device.
Check my source code editor for GLBasic - link Update: 20.04.2020

Schranz0r

Holy moly, Dreamerman is back :D
I <3 DGArray's :D

PC:
AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 16@4.5GHz, 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 RAM, ASUS Dual GeForce RTX™ 3060 OC Edition 12GB GDDR6, Windows 11 Pro 64Bit, MSi Tomahawk B350 Mainboard

SnooPI

 :D :D

Thanks for the info Dreamerman, it was long but very interesting  :good:

bigsofty

It's sounds too good to be true but as far as I can see it is. Valve is really showing how bad we've been treated as customers from the big companies like Nintendo, Sony etc. in the sense that they have all created walled gardens for the games on there hardware. Developers pay to get on there, users pay a tax on the cost of the game simply as they have no choice. You can sell your game via Steam for the Steam Deck but Valve has made it clear, if you want to side load a game, they won't block the developer. The side loaded game will appear on the GUI in the same way as one bought in Valves store. Good on em!
Cheers,

Ian.

"It is practically impossible to teach good programming style to students that have had prior exposure to BASIC.  As potential programmers, they are mentally mutilated beyond hope of regeneration."
(E. W. Dijkstra)