The "End" button on your keyboard should be instant, and there for exactly this job btw.
walderan
joined 2 years ago
I know this image is the go-to mock up for an idealized future, but the more I look at it the sillier it gets.
Correct, proper game mode is a Wayland session running steam big picture mode with exclusive special features baked in. That's why I said you don't get all the features, but you do get a mostly similar UI experience.
Thank you for your work, it was this plugin along with SteamlessTimes that the stable update broke and needed a fix, from the ones I use. Very convenient if you want individual control without having to switch to desktop.
With the recent updates in stable, the reverse is also possible, you can run the gaming mode (big picture mode) in desktop mode. Not all features will work, but you do get most of the convenience of gaming mode navigation, with the capabilities of the desktop mode in the background.
I have to preface this with the fact when I read the announcement for the deck, as a primary linux gamer, I could not believe my eyes and felt as if whoever came up with the specifications had me specifically as the target audience, so I might be a little bit biased. With that said:
Positives:
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There are relatively very few things you can't do if you are dedicated enough, meaning games/software you can install or devices you can plug in, etc. That comes with the domain of being a pc based on foss software, but it has almost no competition on the cheap, powerful, affordable and well supported handheld space.
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Trackpads. The fact that there are multiple pc-handhelds that have come out and continue to do so, with almost none of them including them is mind-boggling to me. They can provide tons of input types, and I'd consider most games developed for mouse/keyboard to be nearly unplayable without them.
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It's perfect for many types of games that you may own on steam/gog/itch that you might not want to play on a desktop. For example, I would never sit on my desk to play Celelste or Ori and other platformers, but they were a delight on the deck. In effect it opened up new genres for me, given that I'd never get, for example, a switch.
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Emulation powerhouse. Given the potential to play almost everything that can be emulated, combined with the ease of installation and the possibility of cloud saves, on a handheld, makes it a one stop shop for you emulation needs.
Negatives:
On the hardware side:
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I got the noisy delta fan (which I hear may not necessarily be an issue on currently shipped devices), and it can get a bit grating if you play in a silent room.
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The device, being on the bulky side, can get tiring on my wrists in certain positions, mostly when I hold it up on the same level or above my head.
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The battery can be short for demanding games, but that's physics for you.
On the software:
A few annoyances left and right, with minor bugs, and things misbehaving. I've had it for over a year now and most of my original issues have been fixed. Now we're waiting for the long-awaited version 3.5 to fix some stuff, and to add proper language support for non-english on the desktop environment side, which I consider a pretty glaring omission.
The good news is that federated open source projects should be a little harder to destroy.