I actually own a steam deck! Its a great system, that runs on Linux, so there is a little bit of tinkering and buyers awareness to get through as not all games on steam run on it easily.
The catalogue compatible with just one tap/click is still growing, but you still have to use the proton tool before launching a game that is windows based. Some online games are also protected with some anti cheat software that may or not stop you from playing your favorite online games. Its also a handheld, so unless you plan on connecting the steam deck to a screen and bringing out a keyboard for your keyboard based game, you are going to have a bad time. (Note, there is a virtual keyboard thay pops up if need to enter some text occasionally).
The thing that attracted me to the deck, is the fact that you can actually launch the steam deck in desktop mode, that gives you access to a fully functioning linux system. There, you can also download your games from other launchers/stores and link them to your steam game library and access them through the non desktop mode.
This means that with some more tinkering (kinda alot actually, i wont lie), you can turn the steam deck into the ultimate emulator for any switch/some ps3 games and lower (as in raw processing power, so gameboy, gamecube, ps1, ps2, xbox etc) on the go. You also get a rather powerful computer for an amazing price point,at the cost of an hdmi/usb/ethernet dongle or dock. Since its a computer in the shape of a hanheld console, you can dualboot windows if you wanted.
The other very cool thing, is that you can use steam to stream your games from your gaming pc right to your tv by using your steam deck as a streaming game console, which is amazing and in the end extends your desk PC capacity to offer the best couch gaming experience with no drawbacks if it wasnt for the whole ensemble price. Also the trackpads are a very cool addition to the gamepad layout, amd it has extra buttons on the back! Since it has bluetooth, you can also just get a controller and let it chill next to your tv.
You can configure it the way you want, you can apply cool mods, change components within pretty easily (some ppl buy the cheapest version then upgrade the hardware to save money!) And since its a steam hardware product that has successfully proven itself to enough ppl, the support its gonna be getting is very exciting.
To me the problem of the Steam deck is the time and tinkering that it requires to setup this perfect machine, but its a new system, and emulation is in a gray zone legally in many countries so it will probably always require some amount of tinkering. (There are vids online that take you through it, its absolutely doable but can be a barrier for some newcomers) You can manage well the battery, but it drains rather fast. If you dont like steam, idk if this product is right for you, but you can install windows or another linux distro if youd like. (Level 3 tinkering right there)
I love my steam deck, and actually do work on it occasionally, which got me more comfy with the linux ecosystem (but this is about just using linux as an operating system so im gonna stop here). Its the best for the indie games on steam as long as they have gamepad support and are compatible with or without the proton tool.
Now for the other handheld PCs, I cant speak. I heard that some are very powerful, more than the steam deck by quite alot, however imo they are held back by being run on windows, an Operating System that is not made for such a device, but will absolutely get you through the anti cheat headaches that a steam deck might have.
They also have a 1080 p screen for the fancy ones, but this impacts battery.
You can install chimera OS or Bazzite if you want the linux experience, and the Steam Os (on the steam deck) is coming soon (its gonna be a while though).
So yeah im gonna stop there cuz i cant stop talking about this thing.
Yes games are fun. I made friends, had so many memorable adventures with complete strangers, managed to keep in touch with family and close ones no matter the distances.
Honestly its about how you want to game, do you like something chill? Or something more like adventurous? How long do you see yourself playin? Something that is played on a desk or a couch? Do you like "gamey games", or do you like realism in your games?
First, you need a system if you dont have one. A system is needed to run a game.
If you are a comeplete beginner the switch by nintendo is in my experience a great onboarding experience, but that might be a bit expensive in the long run once you accumulate games. The system is a bit underpowered, but delivers such great experiences through their exclusive nintendo game titles. Great on the go, light, great for couch co-op, has online play.
Playstation and xbox are very easy to manage, and deliver more on the realism side of games while still having great gamplay first experiences. Its honestly a great balance, old ones are just as great since the old games are cheap and usually have great classics. (Warning about compatibility though). Couch gaming, has online gaming and couch+online coop.
The PC is extreme: its kinda hard to build the right machine for your needs, it can deliver whatever experience you want (it can basically "cheat" and pretend to be a playstation or switch gameboys etc through emulation, a process that is not very beginner friendly), has ALL the games (except the latest nintendo ones, except through the mentioned emulation) but can be pretty expensive if you want a high quality graphical performance to the point where you can see a cyborg sweat running down his firm and physics enhanced abs. You use launchers to go to an online store to buy games that you have to find on the internet and download, like Steam (my fav) Epic (they give a free non freemium game each week I believe!) Gog (very privacy, and consumer oriented ) and many others. Some miscreants will tell you that you can (gasp!) Pirate (arr) games, so a good system could potentially cost less in the long run! Its more of a gaming on desk unless you dont mind having a big PC next to your tv. Couch co op games are rare, but the online experience is really good.
My two cents, get minecraft if you like legos. You can also make it prettier on PC. It runs well on even old laptops. Its a great entry for anyone. If its not what you are looking for, you can look up what youd like!
Also please newcomer, do not EVER pay for the microtransactions, for they plague us all. Games should be about fun, not a tool for extracting wealth from people who just want to go on cool adventures, explore strange worlds, meet interesting characters or experience lives never lived.
I wanted to make this shorter but I get excited about theses things. Gl hf!
Im a proud bacon loving cliché (But like as a treat, its pretty unhealthy)
Its hard to say cuz hes so unstable, but since his party has been hijacked by his sycophants and own the three branches, id guess some crazy shit. Maybe this will finally make the americans understand that voting has consequences, and that some minimal homework is needed to choose. But honestly no one on this planet has any faith in the average american so i predict ww3, mass incarceration with slavery (woops already has been happening, but for even more ppl), demonization of any minority, and a general loss of wealth that will be vacuumed by the upper class. Man I cant believe you guys let trump hire Elon fking Musk, hope you guys like living like one of his employees.
I got banned from a community saying this as calmly as possible XD Idk i feel like theses tankies who were overwhelmingly hostile are either shills or hypocrits who just want to hurt the big bad capitalist, short and long term consequences be damned. (Tankies=/=Leftists just a reminder)
I believe that any location that has eyeballs for advertisers or propagandists will always eventually be ruined for greed or power. The question is how long it will take. Even with careful moderation, slip up happens, corruption is slowly allowed, and special interests will seek to sway popular opinion in one way or the other.
Its a great community, reddit kinda feels like a giant automated cashflow farm, here it feels more like a village square! (For now)
Remember the electoral season where each leftoïd/russian/republican/chinese/bot somehow tells you to not vote! Not participating in a democratic electoral system surely yields admirable results!
Seconding this. All the pain ive incurred was due to nvdia, but I just had to get one for the cuda and RT. I wish i had dlss though. Maybe it will get implemented later who knows.
Hes gonna genocide better than harris, he guarantees it
Tbf as a citizen, youll still have to live with the comsequences of your inaction, and so will the generations after you. So it depends how republican you are I guess :) do you abdicate social responsibility?
Yeah the "democrats are the REAL nazis" is tiring when you get comments from the republican hero agent Orange: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/10/trump-military-generals-hitler/680327/
I mean their choices are shit, but third parties dont exist, so I guess these democrats are right. Its gonna be democratic cold shower or acid bath republican, and perhaps the libs hope that they both dont get the acid bath through their inaction.
Its not like the americans are gonna rebel, they clearly dont have any political will, guns or alcohol.
The only problems ive been having on bazzite, were nvdia based ones. Thats it. Nvdia drivers amiright? Honestly yeah ever since i installed in june my machine has been aging like fine wine. If you have probs for it on an amd system id be surprised tbh.
Bazzite. Its pretty swell for gaming, comes with an install script at launch for whatever you want extra, and you update manually or automatically so its pretty low maintenance.
Installed without a hitch, and I game on nvdia. Should work even better for you. Get the right iso though, the desktop non nvdia one.
Im very glad seeing more and more comments on any thread on lemmy. I kept using it and interacting with it for a whole year since the exodus, vowing to still use it even if it got slightly deserted because I believe in this project that isn't mine. Im so happy you guys did as well. (Im just a user) I hope it will grow and that we will overcome the human tendency to pollute whatever space they're in to finally call this home.
I still use other media though, i swear it was only one time baby!
