To be clear, while the article says this is “official support”, this is only drivers provided by valve.
Per valve:
We are providing these resources as is and are unfortunately unable to offer ‘Windows on Deck’ support.
Good to have the option, but probably only worth it if you play anti cheat infested games or subscribe to game pass. I’ll stick with the OS optimised for the hardware
This is definitely meant to make it less painful for the players of those games.
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@Fubarberry Why thou?
Some games have security software that requires Windows. Destiny 2 for example.
@jordanlund Too true. Does this new arc version of SteamOS allow for dual booting?
As far as I’m aware, all Steam Decks can dual boot. On my machine you hold volume down on power on to access the boot manager.
I didn’t partition the internal drive because I wanted to preserve the original install, so I boot from the external SSD for Win 11.
Meh.
Great! Like installing square wheels on my bike
“Big paws on a puppy… to a tee.”
Well, put, friend, well said, thanks for sharing!
Minecraft players in en shambles right now.
who would it when Linux just works in addition to Microsoft’s continued enshitification of Windows?
Some games have security software that requires Windows. Destiny 2 for example.
Well, at least for me the solution is simple: don’t buy those games.
That’s… that’s a lot of games.
On the 1st page I found exactly one game that I’d maybe want to play, but not like I couldn’t live without it. None on page 2 and one game again on page 3. Every single game I wanted to play on the Deck works (true, some of them needed some tinkering).
Remember, I said the solution is simple for me. Generally the games that don’t work are not really my cup of tea, like online games and generally stuff that’s more cash-grab than a game. There are few games that would make me consider getting Windows to play, but luckily all of those work well. I still wouldn’t install Windows on the Deck, though, I’d probably stream it from some PC.
Yeah, I dunno if that list was supposed to be convincing lol… Most of the games on there are total “games as a service” garbage.
Dude there’s like, maybe twenty real games in that pile. Most of which I wouldn’t want to play on my steam deck anyways, not that I’ve ever wanted to play a battlefield game, but I sure don’t want to try and aim with a controller.
Every single one of these games looks like trash. Like 4 out of 5 (on page 1 at least) of the games on the list are games I’ve only heard about from YouTube advertisements that I didn’t use SponsorBlock on.
Not very convincing.
The only reason to use Windows over Linux is compatibility with certain games (or even applications). Also the price of the device is pretty low. That means people who are interested into handheld PCs who want to use it as a sort of laptop for cheap and don’t care about Linux, can still install Windows on it. I’m not recommending it, but I’m glad people have this option and Valve is not actively trying to stop people (unlike other companies).
Perhaps it’s due to the games I play not being online multiplayer for the most part, but I’ve yet to encounter a game that I couldn’t get to work on Linux, with ~99% requiring absolutely no effort (besides clicking a drop down menu).
And this includes games that Steam has labeled “unsupported” (not even just “unverified”).
At risk of being that annoying, “but have you tried lately?” guy but… Have you? Because it’s pretty wild. In many cases, the Windows version of the game, played using Proton, works better than the native Linux runtime.
Yeah I’m sure they have their reasons but if it were up to me I would never allocate resources for that.
“Let it rot and fester somewhere else”
Uhhh…well. that’s…um. sure. Someone could do that.
Good news, Lemmy! You will no longer be forced by big tech corporations to run uh… [checks notes] a version of Linux on your Steam Deck anymore!
Cool but also meh, I really like steams and have had 0 issues getting games to play.
It’s a great option for people who wants to play those games where the anti cheat system doesn’t support Linux
Also great for people who want to take advantage of gamepass.
Fair
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A part of me wishes hackers do a Crowdstrike on Vanguard to stop this trend.
True
We should just stop supporting those games.
Eww…
Blech! Why would somebody sully such a wonderful device with a piss patty OS?
Personally, I think this is great because I can now use my game pass subscription on the steam deck, I know I could use the cloud functionality on steamos, but it is not the same.
This limitation made be realize the vendor lock-in that game pass is, sure it provides awesome value, but forces you to have windows or buy an Xbox.
Getting Game Pass on steamos is pretty easy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U22q9mKfW3Y
Did you actually watch the video and/or read what I said? I want to be able to play the games locally, not from the cloud.
I guess I skimmed over ur comment. I definitely watched the video tho lol
Why did you subscribe to services you couldn’t use?
I only bought a steam deck recently, when I subscribed for 3 years, I mostly gamed on Windows or on my Xbox.
True, still a little salty I had to cancel the subscription, I genuinely liked it. But I’m not installing Windows.
I could imagine that games with invasive anti cheats are a reason.
As someone who played a couple, i just stopped playing them.
I’m a little sad they did this, i hoped that the pressure on the game devs would rise so they support Linux, oh well.
Geez why are some people so ready to install malware.
If you can get Rocksmith 2014 running without ear piercing screeching or extreme audio latency then by all means.
Until then, it’s a good thing people have more options, even if it’s not a great one.
I for one welcome the ability to:
- play flash games,
- Games without launchers or not on steam
- Run vortex, wemod, obscure mod installers without winetricks that are more hassle than they’re worth (if they work at all)
- Literally just not have to find workarounds for everything I want to do that isn’t through steam that adds another hour of research and installation to the process.
You may now begin the downvotes. (Even if you’re wrong I respect your opinions)
play flash games,
I don’t think there’s currently any supported software running flash files that’s Windows exclusive, is there? Adobe ended support and the most mature solution is ruffle, which is open source and runs on Linux as well.
Games without launchers or not on steam
??? When has this not been possible?
It’s a bit late. The original Steam Deck had drivers for Windows too. But is this really “official support”? I mean Valve gives no guarantees that Windows will work fine. Valve gives the drivers away, so people can do whatever they want, but makes no promise and do not support it officially on their website. So I’m a bit confused by the terminology. Maybe its still too early in the morning…
Yeah calling this official support isn’t quite what is actually happening. “Windows works now on the SteamDeck OLED” on the other hand doesn’t generate as many clicks…
Anecdotally: I worked from home today, my primary laptop is Linux mint. Helldivers 2 wouldn’t start, seems an update broke the settings I had. I tried a couple generic fixes through terminal and started getting huffy because everything would be easier if I just used windows. Non of this would be happening if I just took the blue pill…about 30 minutes in I turned off steam sync for saved games and suddenly it all worked again.
Moral of the story: sometimes Linux isn’t this complicated beast, and it’s as simple as something that even windows would have a problem with. It’s only difficult until you figure out the problem. Windows is a necessary evil some of the time but never all of the time.
Just keep swimming. You’ll figure it out. Not trying is being lazy and complacent.
Also though, you have to consider not all gamers are tech savvy, and your “generic fixes” through terminal would immediately make some of them have a quit moment.
I think Linux users forget the amount of base knowledge that they had to learn in order to simply use their software proficiently sometimes.
