Steam Deck

I'm having some trouble finding an answer for this. While in the gaming mode, just navigating the regular steam ui, the default behavior of the left trackpad acts as a redundant directional pad. I'd like that trackpad to control the screen navigation behavior instead (swipe up/down to scroll vertically, swipe left/right to scroll horizontally).

Is there an easy way to do this?

So Decky-Dication is a really cool plugin that lets you use voice typing in game mode. The github is here, but unfortunately they were never able to get the plugin small enough for it to be in the Decky store, and the project has since been abandoned.

Luckily, the plugin still works really well. You can build it yourself from the github, or if you're trusting enough you can download an already built .zip file here.

Once you have the plugin file, unzip it on your deck, and move it to the homebrew/plugins folder. That folder is usually write protected, so you may need to move it using a terminal command (ie if you extracted the folder on the desktop, the command would be sudo mv ~/Desktop/decky-dication ~/homebrew/plugins. Then switch back to game mode and it should be in your plugin list.

Once the plugin is installed, you press steam+b+L2 to start speech to text, and then steam+b+r2 to disable it.

After seeing some folks noticing a comment I made elsewhere in this instance, I thought a full post would be best. For those who don't know, the Steam Deck has a feature called Nested Desktop, which allows fast access to Desktop mode without needing to leave Game Mode or reboot into and out of modes.

To use this, go into desktop mode, open the menu and use the search function to look for "Nested Desktop". Now right click and add that to Steam. When you boot into Game mode, you'll see a new item added called Nested Desktop, which you can open to access desktop mode while still in game mode.

I found out about this almost a week ago and so far I use it most for referencing my digital game guides or searching NMS portal codes while still gaming. It's pretty seamless and really opens up some nice options, like modding a game and being able to boot it faster while having Game mode controls available.

Sorry this discussion post is a bit late, I should probably set a reminder for it.

Especially since one of the best features is basically unmentioned. Turn on your steam deck and before you sign in for the first time, you can boot straight to the desktop. Just wish there was a toggle in Plasma to boot to desktop by default.

For all intents and purposes, you don’t need to log into steam to play games on the steam deck which is honestly shocking where most new hardware basically requires you to agree to sign in to begin using your device.

Looking at you Windows 11

LGR is a YouTuber who talks and shows lot of oldschool games and computers. And he is a fan of the Sims games. The Windows re-release has still problems, but works perfectly fine out of the box on the Steam Deck. I thought this is notable and want to share his experience: Though oddly enough, the one that I've had the most success with is the Steam Deck

Report any issues or bugs in ⁠🤝-community-support on Discord. It's a big update :)

Check the website for links:

https://retrodeck.net/

Hey #Linux gamers here is your chance to tell ASUS we want a Linux-based ROG Ally gaming handheld 🐧

(the survey closes today)

@gamingonlinux @nuclearmonster @boilingsteam @steamdeck

https://futurenet.questionpro.eu/a/TakeSurvey?tt=I0YSL23nbtgi7B5TNkPYGQ%3D%3D&custom1=PCG

So, I wanted to share some knowledge and awareness about Nested Desktop. What it is, and if you're interested, how to set it up.

What it is: Nested Desktop allows you to access Desktop Mode functionality while you're still in Gaming Mode / Gamescope, and acts like any other game you'd run from there.

Think of it as your "Desktop Mode emulator for Gaming Mode". It lets you access Desktop Mode files, apps, and functionality just like you were using Desktop Mode natively, WHILE you're already in another game using Gaming Mode (so for instance, you could pull up Nested Desktop to get easier web browser access to look up something for the game you're playing). It's also much faster than rebooting natively into Desktop Mode when you need to use it.

I use Nested Desktop all the time! I find it to be a handy tool to have access to.

How To Set Up: Native Steam Deck screen (800p)

The native app always pulls up in 800p resolution, regardless of your display resolution. If you are on your 800p-screened Deck itself this is perfect; if you're docked or have a different resolution replacement screen, and want a different resolution, I'll cover that later.

Steps:

1. Reboot into native Desktop Mode. Hopefully this will be the last time you have to do that for awhile!

2. Use your application launcher in the bottom left corner. Navigate: All Applications ~ scroll down to N's ~ Highlight Nested Desktop ~ RIGHT click ~ choose menu option "Add to Steam."

3. You're done and can go back to Gaming Mode! You can now run Nested Desktop right out of the non-Steam section of your library. Note: You do NOT have to set any launch properties or Proton options to run this.

When you are done using Nested Desktop, you can close it either with the standard STEAM button menu, or by double clicking the Return to Gaming Mode option on the desktop.

How To Set Up: For Other Resolutions

This was the part that took me forever to find out how to do searching online. I was VERY frustrated figuring this out, so I wanted to share to give others the resource. And sadly no, you can't just pick your preferred resolution from the normal launch options on the regular Nested Desktop app.

Steps:

1. Reboot into native Desktop Mode.

2. Use your application launcher in the bottom left corner. Use it to navigate to and open a new document in your text document writer (the default is KWrite). Copy all the text between START and END below and paste it into your new document:

START

#!/bin/sh unset LD_PRELOAD

rm -rf /tmp/desktop-mode mkdir -p /tmp/desktop-mode cat > /tmp/desktop-mode/kwin_wayland_wrapper << EOF #!/bin/sh $(which kwin_wayland_wrapper) --no-lockscreen --width 2560 --height 1440 --x11-display $DISPLAY $@ EOF chmod +x /tmp/desktop-mode/kwin_wayland_wrapper

kwriteconfig5 --file startkderc --group General --key systemdBoot false PATH=/tmp/desktop-mode:$PATH startplasma-wayland kwriteconfig5 --file startkderc --group General --key systemdBoot --delete

END

NOTE: The height and width numbers in the code above are the resolution that the Nested Desktop will open in. This example is from my 1440p display, but change these to whatever resolution your display is.

3. Save this document under any name that makes sense to you. This will be what you see in your library. For example, I named mine "Nested Desktop 1440" to distinguish it from the regular Nested Desktop I use when I'm handheld.

Also, be sure to save this somewhere that you can easily find it. I recommend the standard Documents folder.

4. Navigate to the file where you saved it. RIGHT click it, choose "Properties" from the menu. Under the Permissions tab, check the "is executable" box, and click OK.

5. Finally, RIGHT click the file again, and pick "Add to Steam."

6. You can now go back to Gaming Mode, and run this whenever you need.

Thanks everyone, I hope you find this useful!

It's debatable whether this belongs in the Steam Deck community, but these are all high profile games, and having to login with additional online accounts is a significant barrier to play on the Deck.

You can check battery health in desktop mode, by clicking on the battery.

I've had my OLED deck for a little over a year now, and it's still reporting 100% battery health.

The article includes a table showing games with some pretty major fps gains, but those are mostly just for wine. Using Proton there will be minimum fps gains, but it should improve compatibility.

I'm thinking about replacing my main PC for a steam deck.

This new Decky plugin lets you have a floating web view for watching Netflix and other video sites while you play.

Is this completely unnecessary? Probably, but some very low-intensity games will probably benefit from it. Being able to watch subway surfers while playing should also increase it's appeal to Gen Z.

Please do not share any links. I just want to talk about the game.

I managed to get it running under Bottles, but the controller doesn't work. It's basically GTA: Vice City running under the GTA4 engine and honestly- the amount of effort they put into this is insane.