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Zaku3

Zaku3

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So I am gonna echo the hardware reviews in that it's amazing. The screen is good pretty similar to the Neo probably slightly better (more of like backlight bleed on the Neo which the Next supposedly solves) the controls are great. I am not used to the sticks it uses but they feel good and all the buttons are feel great. The top placed analog sticks aren't really an issue for me. I thought I'd have to strech to reach the face buttons but no. The system seems to be limited to 15 watts but in that time it runs games really well. I think DS3 was anywhere from 58-60FPS and I think the game defaulted to high initially which is crazy for a handheld. The negative is the track pads. I think they might be too sensitive or just too small to really replace a mouse. It does open up turn based strategy games but I wouldn't touch anything real time on it. Maybe Hearts of Iron 4 because you could set up a frontline battle plan and let the AI deal with it. Very comfortable to hold as well. I kinda like how wide it is because I prefer not having my hands so close together while holding a controller. (not a big deal but I'd rather use joy cons in each hand then the grip that nintendo offers)

 

The software is pretty bad though. Compatibility is questionable. I haven't used it enough to make a game by game notice since I just got it yesterday at about 530 and was in a HOI4 game when I got it. Linus mentioned that he was playing Horizon Zero Dawn and performance would tank in later game areas while the game itself is steam green check mark verified. The only experience I can state with certainty is Dark Souls 1 remastered, Dark Souls 3, and Yazuka 0 worked. I ran into an issue with Blue Reflection (Koei Temco Gust developed RPG) where it would start up but wouldn't recognize the steam controller so I couldn't actually play it. Need to see if I can mess around a bit with the steam control settings to see if I can get it working. Yakuza had a problem with going to sleep. I put the game to sleep last night and turn it on today and the audio was crackling. Probably could be solved by just quitting the game and reopening it.

 

The desktop OS is problematic. I can't get the keyboard option to consistently open but It does include an app store so you can download most emulators by it. (I don't know how to install anything in linux beyond that app store. Tried to download Google Chrome but couldn't figure out how to install it. Problem is that you need a separate device (laptop or PC) so you can actually get ROMs and such onto a USB stick (or the SD card). It's hard to emulate on it because while the performance is good it's hard to get the built in controls to work. I got Circra (3ds) installed but can't get it to use the steam controller because I think it looks to the OS as a keyboard. I got yuzu (switch) installed and working and it had a setting for the steam controller which was great. My only issue with Yuzu was the lack of a keyboard prevents me from getting beta builds to use the latest version. I haven't been able to try any other system due to needing a keyboard to hunt down PS2/3 BiOS.

 

Overall it's not ready for prime time and anyone that is expecting this to be a console PC experience is sadly mistaken. TBH the solution to it's problem would be Windows actually. Problem is the drivers are not good as of right now and I dunno how that will play out. From what I can tell the APU isn't actually custom. It's the Van Gogh APU that AMD had in it's forecasts but never released. I imagine they considered Zen 2 and RDNA3 to not be as compelling as Zen3+/RDNA3. It will be fine in SteamOS and runs great in steamOS but the windows driver situation is questionable. Generally you can just download AMD APU drivers from their site but I doubt this one gets that treatment for Windows and no other device is really gonna be using this APU to make them work on it. 

 

It should work better by the time late Q2 and Q3 people get it but compatibility will always be an issue. As long as you want to play recentish games though it should be fine. Need to mess around with it more. I think the problem Valve certification is having is that they probably just open the game play it for a bit then give it a rating. Linus' Horizon Zero Dawn and the audio glitch in Yakuza 0 would support that.

 

I think I am gonna keep my current reservation and just offer it to a friend or someone here. The Deck I got is the 64GB version but the seller replaced the 64GB with a 1TB SSD.

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stepee

stepee

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Thanks for the impressions, yeah it’s good to keep peoples expectations in check with this. You’ll be able to do everything you want with this eventually at least as soon as windows has all the right drivers but there will be some work for some things and people should go in expecting that and not like a switch experience. This is still very much a hobbiest device. 

 

Sooooo jealous of y’all who already gave it though. I don’t even want to look at that Tunic icon on gamepass until I get mine damnit!

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Zaku3

Zaku3

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38 minutes ago, ManUtdRedDevils said:

Yea those impressions concern me since I am not much of a tinkerer. I was hoping for a smoother out of box experience. If I can flip the deck for a gaming laptop with a 3070Ti, I might consider it. 

 

Auctions have been going for about 1.8k plus. This one cost me 2.4 wit tax. I'd be disappointed if not for buying it for a tax refund. I got because I had nothing better to do with my tax refund, wanted to try it out, and wanted something better then my 4500u Neo. Also had no clue when I'd get my Neo Next due to covid. 

 

If you want a simpler PC gaming experience then a laptop would be better. A case can also be made for an Aya Neo. Though it depends on what you are looking for. Want to get back into PC gaming then a prebuilt gaming laptop or desktop would be the best in this case. Depending on if you want to have portability. (Vacations, friends house, etc) If you want an emulation machine that can play PC games before in like bed then a Neo, Steam deck (eventually) or a similar device would be best.

 

I am gonna keep the deck and keep using it but I think my Next might arrive next week. Will keep whichever screen I prefer (etched glass vs non) and give the other w8th the 512GB to a friend or someone here.

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Keyser_Soze

Keyser_Soze

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3 hours ago, Zaku3 said:

Auctions have been going for about 1.8k plus. This one cost me 2.4 wit tax. I'd be disappointed if not for buying it for a tax refund. I got because I had nothing better to do with my tax refund, wanted to try it out, and wanted something better then my 4500u Neo. Also had no clue when I'd get my Neo Next due to covid.

 

make it rain money GIF

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Keyser_Soze

Keyser_Soze

Posted
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First impressions while it sets up

 

  • I thought this would be heavier. The way some people (Jan) describe it make it sound like you're holding a brick or something. It feels about as heavy as an iPad to me
  • I thought it would be noisier. The way some people (Jan) describe it make it sound like it would be super loud. But it's more like Jeff Grub says. If you're looking at the screen, holding it normally it's pretty quiet, you have to point the fan to your face to hear anything (Although maybe this changes when I actually play a game heh)
  • The buttons (D-Pad and face buttons) feel very springy and nice.
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Keyser_Soze

Keyser_Soze

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I've got a lot of games on steam but seems a lot of them are unknown compatibility so I didn't download any of those (but it looks like you can remote play games to the deck which I guess skirts around the issue)

 

I downloaded Desk Job which was made specifically for the deck. It's about 30 minutes long but really showcases everything a dedicated deck game can do. It utilizes like every control method available, gyro controls, the sticks and even the touch pads, I kinda like the touch pads they're a bit more precise than the sticks imo. And it even incorporates voice recording, plus it's a nifty little Portal extension. This is basically a must play on your deck.

 

I downloaded Fell Seal (which is verified) but will probably try it later.

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Zaku3

Zaku3

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Posted
4 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

I've got a lot of games on steam but seems a lot of them are unknown compatibility so I didn't download any of those (but it looks like you can remote play games to the deck which I guess skirts around the issue)

 

I downloaded Desk Job which was made specifically for the deck. It's about 30 minutes long but really showcases everything a dedicated deck game can do. It utilizes like every control method available, gyro controls, the sticks and even the touch pads, I kinda like the touch pads they're a bit more precise than the sticks imo. And it even incorporates voice recording, plus it's a nifty little Portal extension. This is basically a must play on your deck.

 

I downloaded Fell Seal (which is verified) but will probably try it later.

 

Warning don't use full screen mode. The games full screen borderless. I randomly tried to change Octopath and the game is this tiny bar in the center of the screen. Tried the same wit Altier Sophie and it was a square in the corner. Was able to fix Altier because it has that Koei launcher but Octopath is gonna have to wait for my Neo Next.

 

Edit: my neo might not get here until next week should give me a good amount of time to get used to the deck. I ordered a usb c external hdd for roms and such.

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Zaku3

Zaku3

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6 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

Whoa WTF! I was expecting mine to get delivered today but I went to take the trash out and I guess they delivered it yesterday. I didn't even know fedex delivered on Sundays.

 

I have noticed that. I am used to only USPS deliverying on Sundays but I have noticed even UPS does Saturday deliveries.

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Zaku3

Zaku3

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35 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

So I spent some time getting this to work: Xbox Cloud Gaming in Microsoft Edge with Steam Deck

 

And I did get it to work, a bit of a process to get it going because typing with the steam keyboard is a bit of a process. However, it didn't work in gaming mode. Maybe I'll try again after I restart it or something.

 

On my end I got KT games working. Forgot they used a launcher so you need to use the touchbscreen to use the launcher.

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Keyser_Soze

Keyser_Soze

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On 3/20/2022 at 12:47 PM, Zaku3 said:

The desktop OS is problematic. I can't get the keyboard option to consistently open

 

The key is you need steam running in desktop mode and then push steam button and X. You can download a virtual keyboard but it's use is less reliable than the steam keyboard I've found.

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imthesoldier

imthesoldier

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On 3/20/2022 at 2:47 PM, Zaku3 said:

So I am gonna echo the hardware reviews in that it's amazing. The screen is good pretty similar to the Neo probably slightly better (more of like backlight bleed on the Neo which the Next supposedly solves) the controls are great. I am not used to the sticks it uses but they feel good and all the buttons are feel great. The top placed analog sticks aren't really an issue for me. I thought I'd have to strech to reach the face buttons but no. The system seems to be limited to 15 watts but in that time it runs games really well. I think DS3 was anywhere from 58-60FPS and I think the game defaulted to high initially which is crazy for a handheld. The negative is the track pads. I think they might be too sensitive or just too small to really replace a mouse. It does open up turn based strategy games but I wouldn't touch anything real time on it. Maybe Hearts of Iron 4 because you could set up a frontline battle plan and let the AI deal with it. Very comfortable to hold as well. I kinda like how wide it is because I prefer not having my hands so close together while holding a controller. (not a big deal but I'd rather use joy cons in each hand then the grip that nintendo offers)

 

The software is pretty bad though. Compatibility is questionable. I haven't used it enough to make a game by game notice since I just got it yesterday at about 530 and was in a HOI4 game when I got it. Linus mentioned that he was playing Horizon Zero Dawn and performance would tank in later game areas while the game itself is steam green check mark verified. The only experience I can state with certainty is Dark Souls 1 remastered, Dark Souls 3, and Yazuka 0 worked. I ran into an issue with Blue Reflection (Koei Temco Gust developed RPG) where it would start up but wouldn't recognize the steam controller so I couldn't actually play it. Need to see if I can mess around a bit with the steam control settings to see if I can get it working. Yakuza had a problem with going to sleep. I put the game to sleep last night and turn it on today and the audio was crackling. Probably could be solved by just quitting the game and reopening it.

 

The desktop OS is problematic. I can't get the keyboard option to consistently open but It does include an app store so you can download most emulators by it. (I don't know how to install anything in linux beyond that app store. Tried to download Google Chrome but couldn't figure out how to install it. Problem is that you need a separate device (laptop or PC) so you can actually get ROMs and such onto a USB stick (or the SD card). It's hard to emulate on it because while the performance is good it's hard to get the built in controls to work. I got Circra (3ds) installed but can't get it to use the steam controller because I think it looks to the OS as a keyboard. I got yuzu (switch) installed and working and it had a setting for the steam controller which was great. My only issue with Yuzu was the lack of a keyboard prevents me from getting beta builds to use the latest version. I haven't been able to try any other system due to needing a keyboard to hunt down PS2/3 BiOS.

 

Overall it's not ready for prime time and anyone that is expecting this to be a console PC experience is sadly mistaken. TBH the solution to it's problem would be Windows actually. Problem is the drivers are not good as of right now and I dunno how that will play out. From what I can tell the APU isn't actually custom. It's the Van Gogh APU that AMD had in it's forecasts but never released. I imagine they considered Zen 2 and RDNA3 to not be as compelling as Zen3+/RDNA3. It will be fine in SteamOS and runs great in steamOS but the windows driver situation is questionable. Generally you can just download AMD APU drivers from their site but I doubt this one gets that treatment for Windows and no other device is really gonna be using this APU to make them work on it. 

 

It should work better by the time late Q2 and Q3 people get it but compatibility will always be an issue. As long as you want to play recentish games though it should be fine. Need to mess around with it more. I think the problem Valve certification is having is that they probably just open the game play it for a bit then give it a rating. Linus' Horizon Zero Dawn and the audio glitch in Yakuza 0 would support that.

 

I think I am gonna keep my current reservation and just offer it to a friend or someone here. The Deck I got is the 64GB version but the seller replaced the 64GB with a 1TB SSD.

 

Thanks very much for the impression, dude.

 

Going back to your problem with emulators, I've heard that if you install the emulator onto Steam as a non-Steam game, then the controls would automatically bind where they should, so there's less fiddling. I know The Phawx went into details about that early on, but not sure if his more recent videos talked much about that.

 

As far as the other issues, or compatibility issues you had, sounds like Valve continues to issues updates, so hopefully by the time it reaches me, more of those issues will be sorted like you said.

 

As far as making Steam titles Deck verified, I wonder if there'd be a way for Valve to create a program that would effectively "play" the game, almost like a playtest, and see if issues crop up during the test, and issues patch fixes for Proton after that. I don't know though. I'm not a programmer.

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Brian

Brian

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On 3/20/2022 at 5:56 PM, Zaku3 said:

 

Auctions have been going for about 1.8k plus. This one cost me 2.4 wit tax. I'd be disappointed if not for buying it for a tax refund. I got because I had nothing better to do with my tax refund, wanted to try it out, and wanted something better then my 4500u Neo. Also had no clue when I'd get my Neo Next due to covid. 

 

If you want a simpler PC gaming experience then a laptop would be better. A case can also be made for an Aya Neo. Though it depends on what you are looking for. Want to get back into PC gaming then a prebuilt gaming laptop or desktop would be the best in this case. Depending on if you want to have portability. (Vacations, friends house, etc) If you want an emulation machine that can play PC games before in like bed then a Neo, Steam deck (eventually) or a similar device would be best.

 

I am gonna keep the deck and keep using it but I think my Next might arrive next week. Will keep whichever screen I prefer (etched glass vs non) and give the other w8th the 512GB to a friend or someone here.

I really wanted a handheld PC that I can game on and do some basic life shit with Windows. I never bought a Aya Neo or other handheld PCs because the lack of ease of use. I expected Valve to bridge that gap for me which I think they will but it seems unlikely to happen in the first year.  

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Zaku3

Zaku3

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2 hours ago, ManUtdRedDevils said:

I really wanted a handheld PC that I can game on and do some basic life shit with Windows. I never bought a Aya Neo or other handheld PCs because the lack of ease of use. I expected Valve to bridge that gap for me which I think they will but it seems unlikely to happen in the first year.  

 

Tbh Windows isn't bad on the Neo. Can't speak for the Next but oncr you get used to using a controller for windows it's not bad. Supposedly Win11 got more tablet features so whenever I get the Advance ill upgrade and see how things go with Win11.

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thedarkstark

thedarkstark

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2 hours ago, Firewithin said:

Aug 10th reserve and now says it wont be until at least oct for shipping.  PAIN

I mean that's nearly an entire month after preorders went live. My order went through 12 minutes after reservations went up and I'm "Q2" meaning I may not get my hands on one until early July so not really sure what you were expecting?

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Zaku3

Zaku3

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Posted

Hong Kong dealing wit covid has caused delays but I got a text from DHL saying I should have mine Neo by thursday. 

 

Im suprised it slower then from Japan figured it be almost the same amount of time. 5 business days while an anime figure I ordered get here Monday. 

 

Though FYI if you can avoid DHL I recommend it. It's too expensive, recommend EMS over it.

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