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Valve says it hasn't found a game Steam Deck can't handle

I like steam deck but some games need to be played on a proper screen with proper details\framerate at least for the first run.
Why, though? When playing a game, gameplay is what matters, is it not? 30fps is quite enough for gameplay. And the only ways resolution matters is in relation to screen size (which is good here), and if there's a lot of small text to read (which in most games there isn't).
 
Of course it can given the scalable nature of PC gaming. There's plenty of YouTubers out there doing videos of ini tweaked AAA games running on integrated graphics. Where there's a will there's a way
 

ShadowNate

Member
I'm sure if people manage their expectations, the deck will be a decent if not great portable gaming device.

But, ok, let's not go crazy here, this is hyperbolic marketing speak and is worth nothing.
 

GymWolf

Member
Why, though? When playing a game, gameplay is what matters, is it not? 30fps is quite enough for gameplay. And the only ways resolution matters is in relation to screen size (which is good here), and if there's a lot of small text to read (which in most games there isn't).
Because not everyone is happy to play with the lowest details and framerate, especially not an ultra hyped game like elden ring.

Switch owners are gonna feel like at home, but there is a reason why people buy more powerfull home consoles and gamimg pc.

P.s. 60 frames are literally a gameplay features and evvryone knows that souls titles shine at 60 frames and i have doubts that even at 720p the steam deck can maintain 60 rock solid with hell on screen in an open world game.
 
Because not everyone is happy to play with the lowest details and framerate, especially not an ultra hyped game like elden ring.

Switch owners are gonna feel like at home, but there is a reason why people buy more powerfull home consoles and gamimg pc.
Okay, but obviously the people who care about those things will go for the more powerful gaming options. There's a reason people prefer less powerful but more mobile and convenient hardware, too. Not all of the Switch's success is just Zelda and Nintendo games - if that was all it took, Wii U would have been a success. There's genuine value in the form-factor and power-for-price ratio it provides.
 

sunnysideup

Banned
Because not everyone is happy to play with the lowest details and framerate, especially not an ultra hyped game like elden ring.

Switch owners are gonna feel like at home, but there is a reason why people buy more powerfull home consoles and gamimg pc.

P.s. 60 frames are literally a gameplay features and evvryone knows that souls titles shine at 60 frames and i have doubts that even at 720p the steam deck can maintain 60 rock solid with hell on screen in an open world game.
then you play the game on your pc..

My idea is that i play the important part of a game on my high end pc, and then i do the mundane boring grindy parts of the on the deck.

This is why the deck is so awesome. So many games have boring pedestrian parts these days. Those part are perfect to play on an handheld doing other things.
 

GymWolf

Member
then you play the game on your pc..

My idea is that i play the important part of a game on my high end pc, and then i do the mundane boring grindy parts of the on the deck.

This is why the deck is so awesome. So many games have boring pedestrian parts these days. Those part are perfect to play on an handheld doing other things.
Oh yeah that's actually sound like good plan if you have spare time to play when you are not at home.
 

GymWolf

Member
Okay, but obviously the people who care about those things will go for the more powerful gaming options. There's a reason people prefer less powerful but more mobile and convenient hardware, too. Not all of the Switch's success is just Zelda and Nintendo games - if that was all it took, Wii U would have been a success. There's genuine value in the form-factor and power-for-price ratio it provides.
I understand that playing on mobile is a selling point for many people but i always the impression that people who play on mobile lie to themselfs about not caring about graphic\res\framerate...if switch owners could chose between playing in mobile at 4k60 max details or the current switch graphics, what do you think they would chose?!

Yeah you are playing on the toilette or in the bus, but at what price...

For me even the thoughts of playing a possible gotg like elden ring on a damn tablet, with shitty controllers (compared to a normal controller) while people walk and talk around me or other shit is frankly unthinkable even without considering the shitty performance.
 
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Kev Kev

Member
Jennifer Lawrence Reaction GIF
 

KAL2006

Banned
Expectations need to be in check

I don't think people would want to play a big AAA game in low settings.

However a portable device has other uses. It's great for indie games, arcade games, open world games where you do the side missions or just mess about in. Multiplayer games and etc. I wouldn't play something like Control, Elden Ring on this as I want to be immersed. But I'd easily play Hades on this, or do some side missions on Assassin's Creeds open world. Or play a quick session of Street Fighter V. This isn't supposed to replace your PC or console. The reason Switch worked for Nintendo is because many of there games are quick pick up and play arcade type games. Or games that require grinding like Animal Crossing or Pokémon. Steam has a ton of these types of games.
 
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jigglet

Banned
If people can get a calculator to run Doom, then with enough persistence anything can be run on any device.

So yeah I find it hard to dispute their claims.

It's the details that matter. That I suspect will only come out after launch.
 

Hellmaker

Member
Ok, I have a question, and it's a stupid one, but could this thing run any better if it's plugged in to a power supply?
 
I understand that playing on mobile is a selling point for many people but i always the impression that people who play on mobile lie to themselfs about not caring about graphic\res\framerate...if switch owners could chose between playing in mobile at 4k60 max details or the current switch graphics, what do you think they would chose?!
All other things being somehow equal, I could maybe see people wanting to use higher fidelity and framerates. But not when it impacts battery life.

To my mind, the people that care overmuch for resolution, fidelity, and framerate - over things like visual design, coherent presentation, and mechanical responsiveness - are simply spoiled by constant access to ever-more-powerful hardware. I can't imagine snubbing a game experience because it "merely" runs at 30fps and 720p resolution, and/or on lowered settings. I wouldn't be able to enjoy the myriad older, classic or merely niche games, some of the best games I know, if I thought in those terms.

Ok, I have a question, and it's a stupid one, but could this thing run any better if it's plugged in to a power supply?
Theoretically yes, as there would be no need to conserve battery, the screen, cooling system, and other miscellanea wouldn't eat into available power, etc. In practice it's all very limited by the device's heat budget, that is how much heat it can dissipate and how hot it can stand getting. And besides maybe making the fan spin faster, being docked doesn't really help with that.
 
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GymWolf

Member
All other things being somehow equal, I could maybe see people wanting to use higher fidelity and framerates. But not when it impacts battery life.

To my mind, the people that care overmuch for resolution, fidelity, and framerate - over things like visual design, coherent presentation, and mechanical responsiveness - are simply spoiled by constant access to ever-more-powerful hardware. I can't imagine snubbing a game experience because it "merely" runs at 30fps and 720p resolution, and/or on lowered settings. I wouldn't be able to enjoy the myriad older, classic or merely niche games, some of the best games I know, if I thought in those terms.
I was talking theoretycally so battery life was not a problem in my scenario.

I talk for myself, i never snubbed anything because of res\frqmerate, i literally bought a switch to play zelda botw, i was just saying that if i can chose, playing an hyped game on switch or steam deck would be my last resource.
 

Hellmaker

Member
Theoretically yes, as there would be no need to conserve battery, the screen, cooling system, and other miscellanea wouldn't eat into available power, etc. In practice it's all very limited by the device's heat budget, that is how much heat it can dissipate and how hot it can stand getting. And besides maybe making the fan spin faster, being docked doesn't really help with that.
Ah of course heat, didn't even think about that...
 

Evilms

Banned
Pretty sure the Switch was closer to the PS4 than the Deck is to the PS5. You wouldn't have been able to release a handheld stronger than the Switch in 2017.
Yes, so close to the PS4 that it is unable to run most of the big AAA games without going through the "lower than low"
HfGMZrA.png
 
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CAB_Life

Member
I'm actually curious as to how this would function as a laptop replacement. I do all my productivity on tablet these days but a PC option would be nice too.
 

FStubbs

Member
Yes, so close to the PS4 that it is unable to run most of the big AAA games without going through the "lower than low"
HfGMZrA.png
It's not like the Steamdeck isn't doing the same thing you know. If you think the Steamdeck is running everything at full settings (relative to the Switch in 2017), then, well, hope you aren't disappointed.
 

Whitecrow

Banned
Why, though? When playing a game, gameplay is what matters, is it not? 30fps is quite enough for gameplay. And the only ways resolution matters is in relation to screen size (which is good here), and if there's a lot of small text to read (which in most games there isn't).
Today gaming experiences are a lot more than just 'gameplay'.
 
Today gaming experiences are a lot more than just 'gameplay'.
Which is why most modern gaming 'experiences' can be safely ignored in favor of far more interesting indie games. Yes, those 'experiences' are cinematic as heck, and may even have good writing and music behind them, but for the most part a lot of the same can be gotten from movies. The only reason you'd be compelled to experience them, is FOMO. Expensive FOMO, given how much the hardware to run them would cost, compared to "lower-grade" but mechanically engaging entertainment options.
 

Whitecrow

Banned
Which is why most modern gaming 'experiences' can be safely ignored in favor of far more interesting indie games. Yes, those 'experiences' are cinematic as heck, and may even have good writing and music behind them, but for the most part a lot of the same can be gotten from movies. The only reason you'd be compelled to experience them, is FOMO. Expensive FOMO, given how much the hardware to run them would cost, compared to "lower-grade" but mechanically engaging entertainment options.
Speak for yourself : )
I preffer 100 times more a game with story, world building and great characters, than a forgetabble indie that only brings 'fun'.
 

KAL2006

Banned
There are dozens of millions of people with base PS4's and XB1S out there still.

I was talking about next gen only games at low settings. The Deck can easily play last gen games and cross gen games as shown by PS4 and Xbox One S. I'm talking about the bug AAA next gen only games, there are not any multiplatform next gen only games out yet I don't think but when they do release I don't think Deck would run them that good.
 
Speak for yourself : )
I preffer 100 times more a game with story, world building and great characters, than a forgetabble indie that only brings 'fun'.
And I do speak for myself. :)
I really do value the 'fun' more than forgettable story, worldbuilding, and characters, that are the norm for the majority of games. Or even memorable story. Memorable story just means I'm reticent to replay a game a second time - I already know the story, after all. A properly fun game, on the other hand, has no expiry date, no matter its visuals. :)
 
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ethomaz

Banned
Yeah that’s the good stuff. I was honestly sure I would have to drop everything to low. Being able to play at mid or even high in some cases seems unreal.
But I’m playing in 1080p on my PC so I know how much lower resolution can do. I’m maxing out everything even on a puny 3070Ti, raytracing and all.

On the other hand, that Steam Deck can ”handle” everything doesn’t mean it’ll run everything smoothly. And there needs to be a system level frame lock so we don’t get fluctuating framerates in the 40s.
Valve said they target is 800p 30fps... of course games can run in 60fps as they showed exemples (Doom) but when they talk about handle everything they are talking about that target and not 60fps.

BTW they are probably talking about Steam Games I believe because there are non-Steam games that the Deck probably can't run.
 
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DeceptiveAlarm

Gold Member
And I do speak for myself. :)
I really do value the 'fun' more than forgettable story, worldbuilding, and characters, that are the norm for the majority of games. Or even memorable story. Memorable story just means I'm reticent to replay a game a second time - I already know the story, after all. A properly fun game, on the other hand, has no expiry date, no matter its visuals. :)
I agree. I don't always find the indie darlings fun. I can't get into most of the aaa though. So many of them the actual gameplay is just there to get you to the next cutscene. I don't hate story but I play games for fun gameplay. I watch movies for story.
 

drotahorror

Member
I agree. I don't always find the indie darlings fun. I can't get into most of the aaa though. So many of them the actual gameplay is just there to get you to the next cutscene. I don't hate story but I play games for fun gameplay. I watch movies for story.

It sounds like you haven't played any AAA cinematic games at all. God of War 2018 has great gameplay if you're into action games, with a decent story and great voice acting. The Last of Us 1 and 2 have very brutal gameplay that allows you to mix stealth with guns blazing when you're spotted ala Dishonored, along with a good story (TLoU1) and excellent voice acting. There is far more gameplay than cutscenes in these games. 80/20 split atleast.
 

KAL2006

Banned
I agree. I don't always find the indie darlings fun. I can't get into most of the aaa though. So many of them the actual gameplay is just there to get you to the next cutscene. I don't hate story but I play games for fun gameplay. I watch movies for story.

That's a load of shit. Just because a game has a decent story (for a game anyways) doesn't mean they sacrificed decent gameplay. I finished God of War just a few months ago, and the gameplay in that is great. So many play styles and harder challenges to complete. You can even check high level builds in God of War and see what I mean. I'm currently playing Spiderman and that game has a ton of gameplay that makes use of the gameplay and pushes you game controls to the limit with fast action traversal and dealing with multiple enemies. I think it's a joke in this forum where people think cutscenes = no gameplah and don't realise you can have both.
 

Fredrik

Member
Valve said they target is 800p 30fps... of course games can run in 60fps as they showed exemples (Doom) but when they talk about handle everything they are talking about that target and not 60fps.

BTW they are probably talking about Steam Games I believe because there are non-Steam games that the Deck probably can't run.
I can handle 30fps, I mean that’s what TLOUp2, Spider-Man, RDR2, God of War, BOTW and many other top games runs at. But on PC 30fps can be tricky, there are rarely frame caps, and a framerate hovering at 33-41fps will look like crap. There needs to be a framerate cap on a system level I think, otherwise it’s up to the devs to lock the fps and that’ll mean it’s a lottery if the game will be pleasant to play or not.
 
I can handle 30fps, I mean that’s what TLOUp2, Spider-Man, RDR2, God of War, BOTW and many other top games runs at. But on PC 30fps can be tricky, there are rarely frame caps, and a framerate hovering at 33-41fps will look like crap. There needs to be a framerate cap on a system level I think, otherwise it’s up to the devs to lock the fps and that’ll mean it’s a lottery if the game will be pleasant to play or not.
One of the... recent? not so recent? developments with Proton, is a compositor layer... thing. I forget what it's called. It allows to set both a custom frame limiter, and, crucially, force-employ something like FidelityFX SuperResolution for brute-force use of its upscaling regardless of whether the game supports it. I'm not sure if it'll come into play with the Deck, but it's something to keep in mind as it's sure to come in handy.
 

Fredrik

Member
One of the... recent? not so recent? developments with Proton, is a compositor layer... thing. I forget what it's called. It allows to set both a custom frame limiter, and, crucially, force-employ something like FidelityFX SuperResolution for brute-force use of its upscaling regardless of whether the game supports it. I'm not sure if it'll come into play with the Deck, but it's something to keep in mind as it's sure to come in handy.
Woah that sounds perfect if it’s not eating up too much system resources.
 
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Why, though? When playing a game, gameplay is what matters, is it not? 30fps is quite enough for gameplay. And the only ways resolution matters is in relation to screen size (which is good here), and if there's a lot of small text to read (which in most games there isn't).
That's his opinion. Sometimes people get immersed by the fidelity, you can't argue that.
 
No GIF


I mean you may be, if you also have a glorious gaming PC. But this ain't it.
So you're saying many PC players are fooling themselves because they don't have a "glorious gaming PC"?

What you're saying is there is in fact a category of "Dirty PC Player Peasants" , and many PC players aren't aware they belong to it.

Who decides which PC specs make you a citizen of the Glorious PC Metropolis or on the other hand a Filthy pariah of the PC slums? What are the specs? How many people in a forum like this belong to the upper class? Is there a middle class? and if so, are those guys just a bit less filthy but not glorious?
 
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ethomaz

Banned
I can handle 30fps, I mean that’s what TLOUp2, Spider-Man, RDR2, God of War, BOTW and many other top games runs at. But on PC 30fps can be tricky, there are rarely frame caps, and a framerate hovering at 33-41fps will look like crap. There needs to be a framerate cap on a system level I think, otherwise it’s up to the devs to lock the fps and that’ll mean it’s a lottery if the game will be pleasant to play or not.
Exactly.
I myself see no issue in 30fps games... I have issue shifting between 30 and 60 frequently like playing a hour one and another hour other in sequence... but I focus on play one game at time so I barely realize the difference between 30 and 60fps while playing.

I believe you will have all PC options that games gives.
In fact if you choose to install a Windows on Deck it will be exactly you do on any PC... so you can deal with Windows, drivers or game settings like usual.

I don't thing SteamOS for Deck will be that difference except by the lower support for settings... for games windows and thier drivers in another level of configuration.
 

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
This is sort of a "duh" to me.. PC games are highly configurable.

RDR 2 can bring a high end rig to it's knees (with settings that don't do much visually anyways) or at can run on a old POS.
 

nerdface

Banned
I love my physical Switch collection, but this thing is staring me down hard.

…it’s so weird, but I do most of my gaming in handheld mode on the couch these days, in front of a tv show I’m not even watching. The thought of playing my steam collection, and even emulating my switch at better frame rates… well, it’s got me wanting a steam deck.

…the size is a little big, and I wonder how it feels after having my hands above my heart (laying down) on those controls…it wouldn’t be tough to best switch in this regard
 

Fredrik

Member
…the size is a little big, and I wonder how it feels after having my hands above my heart (laying down) on those controls…
It weighs almost exactly as a 12.9 inch iPad Pro, if you’ve tried that you know what to expect. No issues at all when holding it in the lap, too heavy for longer sessions when holding it unsupported in the air, possible cracked nose when you lie on your back and fall asleep while holding it above your head 😜 And I’ve had the iPad Pro slam my chest many times, I’m still alive 👍
 
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Vae_Victis

Banned
I think the screen will be a much larger barrier than the hardware itself.

A lot of PC games are released under the assumption that most players will be using a mid-to-large monitor, and even on "13-"15 laptops they can be a pain to play. The Deck is half as much, with a "7 screen. You can adapt most games to be enjoyable on smaller screens, but most pc games are not by default, and they won't be patched specifically for the Deck. For example, the majority of Strategy games have small text boxes and numbers integrated in the interface, with no options to resize them, and they will require either you to have exceptional eyesight or be an absolute eye-straining misery to play.
 
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