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I'm excited about the Steam Deck but hesitant about this Linux decision. Despite Gabe Newell's objections, Windows works quite well as a gaming UI. The Xbox run

I'm excited about the Steam Deck but hesitant about this Linux decision. Despite Gabe Newell's objections, Windows works quite well as a gaming UI. The Xbox runs Windows and all of Steam's games work on Windows, so calling it a "steaming pile" or whatever really isn't accurate. It's more like sour grapes. Steam managed to create the Windows gaming environment out of whole cloth. Microsoft's attempt to control gaming for PCs failed horribly, leaving Steam the victor. But, by the same token, Steam has no console presence, which with subscription models like Xbox Game Pass, can be very profitable. What kind of console can they do? Not a home one. It's almost over for those anyway. So, a portable. What OS can it run? Not Windows. Steam isn't going to write an Xbox-like UI for Windows that would look good on the Deck, something Microsoft addressed back in the days of Xbox One. The Xbox UI (and its integration with the PC) have only gotten better since then. So much so that many games are now "play anywhere," meaning you can buy it on one device, play on another, and pickup and play later on a third via streaming. This is remarkable and fantastic! Will Linux on the Steam Deck enable this kind of "play anywhere" model? Hmmm.... Maybe. It will be a hard road. The article mentions that the "top shooters" don't run on Linux. That's pretty bad. Those are the games that have heavy user bases and you need them onboard.

beezischillin 5y ago
They did say you can run Windows on it if you want to. And Steam Big Picture will work as an Xbox-like UI if you want one.
- mimixco 5y ago
  I know. But that's not a smoothly-integrated user experience and navigating the rest of Windows on that machine without a mouse and keyboard is going to be a pain. Steam didn't build a console UI that works from the boot state, like MS did for the Xbox version of Windows. If it were up to me, I think I would have picked that approach rather than adding an emulation layer (Proton/WINE) in-between.
  - entropicdrifter 5y ago
    You can set BPM to launch at boot just by going into Steam -> Settings -> Interface tab -> Enable “Run Steam when my computer starts” and “Start Steam in Big Picture Mode”
    - mimixco 5y ago
      Right. I'm talking about the rest of the computer. How will you manage files on a Steam Deck? How will you access Windows Update? Is your "desktop" going to be covered in icons? Using Windows on Steam Deck (not using Steam on Steam Deck, using the Windows OS) is going to be difficult because the device lacks a mouse and keyboard on which Windows is dependent. Fixing this for Xbox required making an entirely new UI (for the OS, updates, sign-ins, everything) which Steam has not done for the Deck.
      - jayd16 5y ago
        It has a touchscreen which windows supports. Won't it feel like a surface in tablet mode?
        mimixco 5y ago
        I think you'll be very hard pressed to use a tiny device without a mouse or keyboard effectively in Windows. Even Windows 11 contains numerous small and overlapping dialogs with all kinds of UI affordances. None of this is setup for touch. Yes, theoretically, you could get it to work, but it won't be fun. The pop-up keyboard, for example, will likely cover a big part of whatever dialog box you're typing into. Moving and managing windows with touch is also not fun at all. Not coincidentally, this is the same reason that MacOS doesn't have touchscreens. Everything about that OS also requires a mouse (or touchpad) and a keyboard. Just adding a touchscreen to a Mac won't do it.
        jayd16 5y ago
        Windows does have a tablet mode where things have been setup for touch. You can argue it's crap but it does exist and is officially supported.
dharmab 5y ago
> Steam managed to create the Windows gaming environment out of whole cloth. As someone who has been using Steam since the early days, this feels incredibly anachronistic. Steam pioneered digital distribution but Windows as a gaming OS was already well established at that point.
- mimixco 5y ago
  Yes, that's what I meant. Surely home computers have been gaming machines since before Windows and that was also a heavy use case for Windows early on. What I mean was that Steam simplified the selling, installation, updating, forums, mods, everything else -- the store that Microsoft really wanted to have with Games for Windows that never took off.
hypertele-Xii 5y ago
You're lecturing Valve about top shooters?
- mimixco 5y ago
  Not lecturing anyone. Just citing from the article why that might be a stumbling block. I'm a happy Steam customer. No complaints from me and I have no dog in the fight. I hope Steam Deck is very successful.

beezischillin 5y ago

They did say you can run Windows on it if you want to. And Steam Big Picture will work as an Xbox-like UI if you want one.

mimixco 5y ago
I know. But that's not a smoothly-integrated user experience and navigating the rest of Windows on that machine without a mouse and keyboard is going to be a pain. Steam didn't build a console UI that works from the boot state, like MS did for the Xbox version of Windows. If it were up to me, I think I would have picked that approach rather than adding an emulation layer (Proton/WINE) in-between.
- entropicdrifter 5y ago
  You can set BPM to launch at boot just by going into Steam -> Settings -> Interface tab -> Enable “Run Steam when my computer starts” and “Start Steam in Big Picture Mode”
  - mimixco 5y ago
    Right. I'm talking about the rest of the computer. How will you manage files on a Steam Deck? How will you access Windows Update? Is your "desktop" going to be covered in icons? Using Windows on Steam Deck (not using Steam on Steam Deck, using the Windows OS) is going to be difficult because the device lacks a mouse and keyboard on which Windows is dependent. Fixing this for Xbox required making an entirely new UI (for the OS, updates, sign-ins, everything) which Steam has not done for the Deck.
    - jayd16 5y ago
      It has a touchscreen which windows supports. Won't it feel like a surface in tablet mode?
      - mimixco 5y ago
        I think you'll be very hard pressed to use a tiny device without a mouse or keyboard effectively in Windows. Even Windows 11 contains numerous small and overlapping dialogs with all kinds of UI affordances. None of this is setup for touch. Yes, theoretically, you could get it to work, but it won't be fun. The pop-up keyboard, for example, will likely cover a big part of whatever dialog box you're typing into. Moving and managing windows with touch is also not fun at all. Not coincidentally, this is the same reason that MacOS doesn't have touchscreens. Everything about that OS also requires a mouse (or touchpad) and a keyboard. Just adding a touchscreen to a Mac won't do it.
        jayd16 5y ago
        Windows does have a tablet mode where things have been setup for touch. You can argue it's crap but it does exist and is officially supported.

dharmab 5y ago

> Steam managed to create the Windows gaming environment out of whole cloth. As someone who has been using Steam since the early days, this feels incredibly anachronistic. Steam pioneered digital distribution but Windows as a gaming OS was already well established at that point.

mimixco 5y ago
Yes, that's what I meant. Surely home computers have been gaming machines since before Windows and that was also a heavy use case for Windows early on. What I mean was that Steam simplified the selling, installation, updating, forums, mods, everything else -- the store that Microsoft really wanted to have with Games for Windows that never took off.

hypertele-Xii 5y ago

You're lecturing Valve about top shooters?

mimixco 5y ago
Not lecturing anyone. Just citing from the article why that might be a stumbling block. I'm a happy Steam customer. No complaints from me and I have no dog in the fight. I hope Steam Deck is very successful.