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Microsoft is the one that has to up their game. Windows XP and random Linux distro offered more or less the same interface and features for netbooks so there wa

Microsoft is the one that has to up their game. Windows XP and random Linux distro offered more or less the same interface and features for netbooks so there was no real drawback going with XP. With SteamOS Valve has crafted a controller first UI and ensured features like sleeping a game actually work, the ability to easily adjust TDP, controller settings, frame cap, etc. Right now Windows has none of that so you're left navigating a mouse cursor with an analog stick or tiny touchscreen and using whatever half baked software the OEM cooked up. None of the Steam Deck competitors have trackpads either which make games not designed with controllers in mind so much more playable without hooking up a KB/M. I think it would be kind of a wash with Windows and no trackpads, yes you can play anti-cheat but strategy and other games are off the table or super clunky.

pjmlp 3y ago
Somehow I keep reading about this exodus into GNU/Linux for gaming since Windows XP, instead we have a device that has to emulate Windows and Direct X to be taken seriously by the gaming community, and in the process helps game studios to ignore GNU/Linux and leave the work to Valve.
- goosedragons 3y ago
  The Steam Deck encourages devs to test on Wine/Proton before release. Games like Spider-man Remastered have boasted about being Steam Deck verified on day one. Having a Linux "native" only handheld wouldn't have helped put nearly as much spotlight on the device. And in the end it really doesn't matter too much. It works and it does a lot of things better than the platform it's "emulating" so who really cares?
  - pjmlp 3y ago
    And this is why Windows ends up winning in the eyes of game developers. "OS/2 runs Windows applications better than Windows"....
    - smoldesu 3y ago
      And thank god. If Microsoft hadn't done all the work of building an easily-copied raster graphics API, we wouldn't be so lucky as to preserve them all on Linux. Want to play Diablo 2? You can't, at least on Windows anyways. It's broken by default, and getting it working entails a variety of full-screen, low-res hacks. Want to play the Fallout games without their infamous windowing issues? Not an option, even on Windows 11. With Wine, all of these functions can be mapped to their modern counterpart. Tray icons and fullscreen behavior can be updated to work as they should in x11, Quartz and Wayland. Breakage can be worked around in the same way Microsoft does with registries, but by the community. The end result is good enough that entire portions of Microsoft's customer base could just move over to Wine without knowing what happened. Honestly, the best thing Microsoft could do right now is turn DirectX into a useless Metal-style API, and send the game devs running back to Vulkan. Would certainly make porting to multiple consoles easier.
jorvi 3y ago
> None of the Steam Deck competitors have trackpads either which make games not designed with controllers in mind so much more playable without hooking up a KB/M At least for myself and two friends I just asked, none of us have ever used the trackpads aside from on the desktop and rapid-fire typing. On the desktop you can make do with joystick mouse relatively well, and typing with sticks or perhaps gyro is a bit slower but works fine. None of us has ever used the touchscreen. For the Deck 2 they should honestly strip out the touchpads and touchscreen. By taking out the touchpads they claw back real estate that can be used for battery or slimming down. No touchscreen means a little bit more money can be diverted to screen quality, and the screen itself is more likely to have smaller bezels. I know stating this will ruffle some enthusiast feathers and probably send me into the deep grey, but I honestly think the trade-off would be worth it.
- goosedragons 3y ago
  I've used the trackpads a ton and strongly disagree. It makes games like Civ VI, Magic Arena, etc. very playable on Steam Deck. They are EXTREMELY handy for older games not designed around a controller on PC like for example Morrowind. The UI there was always designed with a mouse in mind and having the trackpads act as a mouse is far superior to clunky analog stick movement. You can also use them as a "virtual numpad" type thing which is great for older FPS where weapon selection is dependent on number keys. They are insanely versatile and for any game that wasn't explicitly designed with an Xbox pad in mind amazing. The touchscreen can go though.
- ThatPlayer 3y ago
  > By taking out the touchpads they claw back real estate that can be used for battery or slimming down I want real estate for a bigger D-pad. I find the Steam Deck's D-pad less comfortable than even the Joy-Con's.
- scheeseman486 3y ago
  The touchpads allow PC MMORPGs to work, which is a sizable audience. Their use goes a bit beyond enthusiast.
- gpderetta 3y ago

pjmlp 3y ago

Somehow I keep reading about this exodus into GNU/Linux for gaming since Windows XP, instead we have a device that has to emulate Windows and Direct X to be taken seriously by the gaming community, and in the process helps game studios to ignore GNU/Linux and leave the work to Valve.

goosedragons 3y ago
The Steam Deck encourages devs to test on Wine/Proton before release. Games like Spider-man Remastered have boasted about being Steam Deck verified on day one. Having a Linux "native" only handheld wouldn't have helped put nearly as much spotlight on the device. And in the end it really doesn't matter too much. It works and it does a lot of things better than the platform it's "emulating" so who really cares?
- pjmlp 3y ago
  And this is why Windows ends up winning in the eyes of game developers. "OS/2 runs Windows applications better than Windows"....
  - smoldesu 3y ago
    And thank god. If Microsoft hadn't done all the work of building an easily-copied raster graphics API, we wouldn't be so lucky as to preserve them all on Linux. Want to play Diablo 2? You can't, at least on Windows anyways. It's broken by default, and getting it working entails a variety of full-screen, low-res hacks. Want to play the Fallout games without their infamous windowing issues? Not an option, even on Windows 11. With Wine, all of these functions can be mapped to their modern counterpart. Tray icons and fullscreen behavior can be updated to work as they should in x11, Quartz and Wayland. Breakage can be worked around in the same way Microsoft does with registries, but by the community. The end result is good enough that entire portions of Microsoft's customer base could just move over to Wine without knowing what happened. Honestly, the best thing Microsoft could do right now is turn DirectX into a useless Metal-style API, and send the game devs running back to Vulkan. Would certainly make porting to multiple consoles easier.

jorvi 3y ago

> None of the Steam Deck competitors have trackpads either which make games not designed with controllers in mind so much more playable without hooking up a KB/M At least for myself and two friends I just asked, none of us have ever used the trackpads aside from on the desktop and rapid-fire typing. On the desktop you can make do with joystick mouse relatively well, and typing with sticks or perhaps gyro is a bit slower but works fine. None of us has ever used the touchscreen. For the Deck 2 they should honestly strip out the touchpads and touchscreen. By taking out the touchpads they claw back real estate that can be used for battery or slimming down. No touchscreen means a little bit more money can be diverted to screen quality, and the screen itself is more likely to have smaller bezels. I know stating this will ruffle some enthusiast feathers and probably send me into the deep grey, but I honestly think the trade-off would be worth it.

goosedragons 3y ago
I've used the trackpads a ton and strongly disagree. It makes games like Civ VI, Magic Arena, etc. very playable on Steam Deck. They are EXTREMELY handy for older games not designed around a controller on PC like for example Morrowind. The UI there was always designed with a mouse in mind and having the trackpads act as a mouse is far superior to clunky analog stick movement. You can also use them as a "virtual numpad" type thing which is great for older FPS where weapon selection is dependent on number keys. They are insanely versatile and for any game that wasn't explicitly designed with an Xbox pad in mind amazing. The touchscreen can go though.
ThatPlayer 3y ago
> By taking out the touchpads they claw back real estate that can be used for battery or slimming down I want real estate for a bigger D-pad. I find the Steam Deck's D-pad less comfortable than even the Joy-Con's.
scheeseman486 3y ago
The touchpads allow PC MMORPGs to work, which is a sizable audience. Their use goes a bit beyond enthusiast.
gpderetta 3y ago