Steamdeck

[Deckard]

I suppose the resolution ain't a massive leap on from the switch for battery life sake ? I am not wholly convinced by a 2-8 hour battery life statement either but otherwise yeah I might be tempted...

[Foozwah]

The gaming usage niche this occupies that isn't already covered by my Switch Phat and half-decent laptop is so small that I just can't see myself bothering. Can see its appeal for others though.

[merman]

Seen some interesting observations that it will make a good emulation machine

[Deckard]

Seen some interesting observations that it will make a good emulation machine

Pretty much has the controls for everything arcade wise

[venusian]

Seen some interesting observations that it will make a good emulation machine

The biggest attraction of the Playdate as a handheld is that it won't disappear into a pissing contest of emulation framerates, only to be discarded when something marginally faster comes out six months later.

[Misfit]

Been using my Aya Neo a fair bit of late and it's fab, which means the Steam Deck should be even better.

I can see it's going to suffer a lot of my big Switch problem though, possibly even more so, that of text/interfaces being too small.

I say more so, as Switch developers have no excuse, and some games are fine, as they have always had a 6"/7" screen to test on, but PC developers have never had to work at 800p and 7".

At least the screen on the Neo is better than my Switch Lite so there is more hope of reading the text, but some games are testing my eyes too much.

[Misfit]

Hmm, so could this be used almost like a laptop.

Games on the go and docked for some desktop work?

Meant to reply to that ages ago,

Yes, for sure you could do that.

True story when I needed a Windows device on short notice...

As my M1 Mac can't run the Windows Server virtual machine I use to demo our software, I had my Aya Neo, running Windows 10 connected to a 24" Monitor, keyboard, mouse and webcam, running the Windows Server VM which was running SQL Server and IIS to run our web product and Word/Excel at the same time to show reporting/document creation features.

I then used MS Teams (which can be a resource hog) to present a live demo to 10 people.

It worked like a charm (although the fans were needed!) and the Steam Deck appears to be more powerful, so should be a great work machine.

[Misfit]

Just seen my Deck is listed as Q2 2022

I was there at 6 pm as well but got shafted by it sitting there saying waiting for PayPal to confirm the order, so I couldn't keep retrying.

I noticed it failed around 10:30 and could then place an order, but I guess that cost me 6 months.

Real first world issue of course, and I have a more than capable handheld here already. Yet I'm still annoyed!

[Whiteball]

Hmm, so could this be used almost like a laptop.

Games on the go and docked for some desktop work?

Meant to reply to that ages ago,

Yes, for sure you could do that.

True story when I needed a Windows device on short notice...

As my M1 Mac can't run the Windows Server virtual machine I use to demo our software, I had my Aya Neo, running Windows 10 connected to a 24" Monitor, keyboard, mouse and webcam, running the Windows Server VM which was running SQL Server and IIS to run our web product and Word/Excel at the same time to show reporting/document creation features.

I then used MS Teams (which can be a resource hog) to present a live demo to 10 people.

It worked like a charm (although the fans were needed!) and the Steam Deck appears to be more powerful, so should be a great work machine.

Yeah, thats good to hear becuase I would probably use it for mobile gaming and emulation but also for programming and desktop work.

I was in the queue early but decided to cancel as I talked myself out of it with 'another gadget that will just sit on the side and get dusty after 6 months".

Really wish I hadn't and will probably get one in the end although might wait and see if there are any revisions or updates before I do now.

So conflicted

[fog]

I see a lot of developers have started receiving their dev kits already.

Really wish I hadn't and will probably get one in the end although might wait and see if there are any revisions or updates before I do now.

I hope the hardware updates are console-like (every 3+ years) and not a constant round of PC style updates.

[Whiteball]

Yeah, was more thinking about a revision for maybe an oversight or flaw. Possible fixes for something unintended that might have slipped through.

Not a constant new thing evey year, type update.

[Mat]

Damn, just received this email from Steam:

[quote]The launch of Steam Deck will be delayed by two months. We're sorry about this—we did our best to work around the global supply chain issues, but due to material shortages, components aren’t reaching our manufacturing facilities in time for us to meet our initial launch dates.
Based on our updated build estimates, Steam Deck will start shipping February 2022. This will be the new start date of the reservation queue—you will keep your place in line but dates will shift back accordingly. Reservation date estimates will be updated shortly after this announcement.
Again, we're sorry we won’t be able to make our original ship date. We'll continue working to improve reservation dates based on the new timeline, and will keep you updated as we go.
To view your updated expected order availability and FAQ, please visit the Steam Deck store page.[/url]

So I get mine in February now.
Shame, I was looking forward to having it for Christmas

Ah well, better late than never.

[Deckard]

Good name

“ a new patent filing might offer the first look at designs for Valve's next VR headset, a rumoured standalone device codenamed "Deckard"”

[WiteWulf]

Bit of thread necro, but I know a few of us have Decks now they’re easier to get hold of. Quick question: does anyone have an opinion on A1 vs A2 SD cards for storage expansion? Eurogamer/DF (duh) say go with the A2, but they’re otaku tech fetishists. Elsewhere I see a lot of people saying the only obvious difference, on the steamdeck, is better write speeds and, hence install times, but no appreciable difference in read speed and actual game load times.

Amazon have a 512GB A2 for £48:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B088HRR8KT

Are Integral any good? I usually only buy Samsung or Sandusky…

[Felonious Feline]

I stick to Samsung usually, and there’s an A2 512Gb at only £55…

https://www.amazon.co.uk/512GB-Samsung- ... B09DVPZX68