thingsiplay
@thingsiplay@beehaw.org
- Comment on Steam Deck Now Cheaper Than A Switch During Valve's Big Summer Sale 6 days ago:
www.laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/…/page-6.html#h-1…
Assuming this is the correct source for Canada’s law about copyright. In the section about backup copies 29.24 (1):
© the person, in order to make the reproduction, did not circumvent, as defined in section 41, a technological protection measure, as defined in that section, or cause one to be circumvented; and
(d) the person does not give any of the reproductions away.
So (d) means it is not allowed to distribute the backup copy. As far as I understand. This is standard in most countries in the world. Also I cited ©, because this is usually also standard law. Normally, you are only allowed to make backups, if you do not circumvent any protection. Well its up to the interpretation if the Switch has such protection measure that falls into this category. But still, for our topic, (d) is relevant and seems to not allow for distribution of backup copies.
Mind you, I am also not a lawyer. And not everything needs to go to court in order to have an understanding of the law. Off course, unless it is a bit of grey area like in the case of ROMs. But I think this is addressed in the above quote. I hope this is the correct source! So for the time being, I have to assume law regarding this is just the same as in most other countries, because there is nothing else for me to evaluate here.
- Comment on Steam Deck Now Cheaper Than A Switch During Valve's Big Summer Sale 1 week ago:
Downloading Roms from others is basically taking their copy. Its not a copy of your individual cart. And that’s the thing. You have the right to make a copy of your cart and use it. But you are not allowed to distribute the copy. One could probably get away by using Roms from others, but that is open to interpretation of law for individual countries. However the distribution itself is not allowed, in any (normal) country. And I also don’t believe (believe is not knowledge, I have no knowledge of Canadas laws) distributing personal backup copies is allowed in Canada as well.
Using copies from libraries is something different BTW, as these are not personal backups and are meant to be used by many other people. But that can be complicated too, in example in case of Archive.org. It’s a library in the US, but not other countries in the world.
- Comment on Steam Deck Now Cheaper Than A Switch During Valve's Big Summer Sale 1 week ago:
There are Switch owners who buy Switch games, dump (in other words backup copy) that on their PC as a ROM and then play it on the Switch Deck. Even this best case scenario is a grey area in some countries. And that is something most people won’t do.
- Comment on Steam Deck Now Cheaper Than A Switch During Valve's Big Summer Sale 1 week ago:
You can if you own the Mario game…
Owning alone is not enough. You need to dump it yourself. Downloading others Roms, even if you own the game, is illegal. Because you are only allowed to play what you dumped yourself, not the backup copy of a different individual cartridge.
- Comment on Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is Playable on Steam Deck - First Look and Recommended Settings 1 week ago:
We are giving away Shadow of the Erdtree on Twitter and Reddit for the next 12 hours!
( ͡° ʖ̯ ͡°)
- Comment on Microsoft Gaming CEO: “I think we should have a handheld, too” 3 weeks ago:
Sometimes its not just about selling enough to justify creation of new device. Sometimes its the potential that they have in mind. The prices are quite high, so they probably make some bucks out of it while it is hot. Soon the market on PC gaming handhelds will be saturated. Then they need to innovate and create something outstanding in whatever way. At least this is what the optimist in me thinks.
- Comment on Nightmare Kart for Steam Deck 3 weeks ago:
Would make more sense to link to the game page instead a screenshot. The game is also available on itch, to download the game independently and play without Steam account:
The game while in development was known as Bloodborne Kart and was renamed and all arts changed. I assume this was planned from the beginning, because Bloodborne is a fan favorite of its generation and would generate lot of interest. Seems to have worked.
- Comment on Do you still use your Steam Deck much? 4 weeks ago:
I like the ergonomics of the Xbox controller a lot (not the original ;-) ), but it would be nice to get rid of the proprietary driver and Microsoft wireless adapter on my Linux PC. Plus it’s missing motion sensors, which could be used in Switch emulation or for some cool custom control schemes for Steam games.
- Comment on Do you still use your Steam Deck much? 4 weeks ago:
Wish you the best and good recovery. I assume you also use it as a stationary machine connected to the tv/monitor?
- Comment on Do you still use your Steam Deck much? 4 weeks ago:
I hope too! I think they did not figure out how to make the controller not too big with the two touch pads, without sacrificing the other important elements. That was one of the deal breaker for the original Steam Controller, alongside the not that much optimal ergonomics in the hand. If Valve can pull off a Steam Controller 2 that is inline with the Steam Deck and is capable of replacing my Xbox controllers, then I would happily pay full price at launch (after reviews off course). It could be the ultimate game controller.
- Comment on Do you still use your Steam Deck much? 4 weeks ago:
My previous PC that I used until Nov 2023 was build on even older CPU in 2013 (Haswell), but has a 1070 and 16gb RAM. I directly upgraded from 750 Ti > 970 > 1070 and stuck with it. :D But also I was playing on 1440p and if possible at 120 fps. So my assumption is you play on 1080p and most games (maybe besides the newest hot AAA) should run fine at 60 fps if you lower the settings. We even have upscaling nowadays!
I know what your system is capable of. It’s a little bit on the edge now, especially the CPU was holding it back for many other areas as well, but, as you said, it holds up suprisingly well given how old it is. The 900 and 1000 GTX series is probably the best graphics card generation we ever had (9 and 10 series are based on the same tech I think).
Happy cake day (I talked/wrote too much, was just thinking out loud, got kind of nostalgic lol).
- Comment on Valve Working on Video Clip Recording and Sharing in Steam Client 4 weeks ago:
But Live broadcasting/streaming works right from Steam without third party tools. I did that years ago: steamcommunity.com/?subsection=broadcasts Or was it not on Linux? Right now I can setup and broadcast and the stream appears as Live (0 viewers). And when clicking the stream in Steam client or in browser, would not start playing. But I could swear it did years ago.
- Comment on Valve Working on Video Clip Recording and Sharing in Steam Client 4 weeks ago:
Valve Time.
- Comment on Valve Working on Video Clip Recording and Sharing in Steam Client 4 weeks ago:
Finally. This is common feature on consoles now and Windows users have easy access to such a functionality with Nvidia software in example. I am very certain this functionality will make it to the Deck, because we have plugins that do that already in a very simplistic manner (without the integrated game functionality off course). The hardware and software is capable of doing that. To me, it makes no sense to develop such a functionality for Steam and not bringing it to Steam Deck.
Hey, maybe this is one of the selling points for Steam Deck 2? I hope not, because this should be usable with any Deck or any PC handheld in general. Then people could record with Windows handheld PC, but the Steam Deck would not be able to?
- Comment on Steam Deck hits 15,000 games rated Playable and Verified 5 weeks ago:
I did not believe you first, but after counting the number of zeros, I think you are right.
- Comment on Steam Deck hits 15,000 games rated Playable and Verified 5 weeks ago:
15000 games is more than 15 games.
- Comment on Steam Deck game library now 29% larger than that of Nintendo Switch 5 weeks ago:
You are disrespectful, not me. Just like you I do not agree and tell you the reason why I think you are wrong. I’m sorry if you feel in any kind of personally attacked by me, that’s not my goal. But with the kind of attitude you give me here with this reply, its probably the best we stop arguing.
- Comment on Steam Deck game library now 29% larger than that of Nintendo Switch 5 weeks ago:
Switch and SteamDeck are consoles. Just in a handheld form. Like any other system, the experience will be different. That is exactly the reason why people do comparisons, to find the right system for them. The size of the library might not be important for you, but maybe for someone else. Games are the reasons why people buy these systems. It makes sense to compare different things about the games, including its number of available games.
It is very important to know, because SteamDeck is based on Linux and historically there were only a handful of games (we talk about a few hundred) playable. So for people who wasn’t informed before, its a good information to know that the library of playable games grew significantly.
but this is truly apples and oranges.
For you maybe. But the fact is, which you still ignore, that people are here to decide which of these systems to get. Both are handheld gaming systems and it makes sense to compare them, regardless of your feelings. Because people need these comparisons to find the correct device.
But saying one is “better” is kind of difficult.
Without comparing them, it will be impossible to answer which system is better. And I know which one is better for me, because I informed myself before purchasing stuff. And I’m sure there are lot of people who don’t know how many games are playable on the Deck.
- Comment on Steam Deck game library now 29% larger than that of Nintendo Switch 5 weeks ago:
That can be said about any console too. The fact is, people have limited money and time. Some people have to decide which of these devices to get and it makes lot of sense to compare them. Off course they differ, but that is why people need the comparisons. But in the end both machines are handhelds with screen, battery, controls and both are here to play games.
Lets do a car comparison! Imagine someone looking at two different cars, one traditional and the other electrical car. Both are vastly different, but both serve the same. And have lot in common, despite some of its technology is lot of different and the user experience also differs lot. But people still can afford only one car and need comparisons to decide which one. And that is a similar situation with the consoles or handhelds.
- Comment on Steam Deck game library now 29% larger than that of Nintendo Switch 5 weeks ago:
Valve actually does a lot to make discovery easier, compared to Nintendo:
- Personalized recommended system based on played games: Interactive Recommender
- A dedicated explore list you can go through: Discovery Queue
- The numerous festivals: Steam Next Fest
- Listings for genres and other categories, examples: Action, Great on Deck, Local Multiplayer & Party
You really can’t say Valve wouldn’t do a lot to help with discovery.
- Comment on Steam Deck game library now 29% larger than that of Nintendo Switch 5 weeks ago:
Given that most game developer don’t even target the Steam Deck, it’s quite impressive. The Switch and Deck have a lot of junk games too. And both are handhelds, capable of docking to the tv/monitor. While both systems are vastly different, they have lot of in common and people might buy only one of the systems. Therefore comparisons fair or not, are still comparisons people make and decide.
- Comment on Valve has little to worry about as new Steam Deck rival arrives 5 weeks ago:
I have a Rii mini keyboard as a remote control for YouTube, when I sit back. Typing anything on such a keyboard is a struggle and usually don’t type on it. The integrated keyboard from the handheld in the picture doesn’t look particularly good either. But I have to say, with such a small screen and especially with Windows not optimized for this task, such a keyboard is probably better than having none.
Alternative would be using a virtual keyboard on a small screen, which overlaps parts of it and does not have the greatest touch input screen. Look how small the screen is. Such a small 6" screen is only an option for smartphones, but not for an operating system like Windows with a regular desktop to play games on it. Therefore, such an integrated keyboard is probably a good idea. Even if it sucks.
- Comment on Valve has little to worry about as new Steam Deck rival arrives 5 weeks ago:
The thing is, none of the competitors and rivals are competitors and rivals to Valve. Every sold device that can play Steam games, is a win. Unlike traditional consoles, Valve only benefits from competition. The Steam Deck kicked off a trend and made handheld PCs popular for the “masses” (relatively speaking off course).
Besides that, any handheld PC with Windows is just not at the same level of Steam Deck. The few more games that are playable is a plus, but the entire system is such a downgrade for a gaming first device.
- Comment on An Alternate Reality Of The Steam Deck (Anti-cheat Support!) 1 month ago:
The problem is not that anyone can modify the Steam Deck, after all it can be done with any Windows based system as well. Most and the biggest cheat program and programs are running on Windows. I don’t think giving up Linux as it is is a good thing and follow footsteps of Windows by incorporating more DRM, more controls, more hardware and software restrictions, just to make sure a deep Kernel level access of a rootkit based anti cheat tool can run.
The focus should be a different on: Make Steam Deck more popular as a target for publishers (meaning a big audience) and make it as easy as possible for developers (Proton does a good job). The problem isn’t a technical problem to solve in my opinion, so no need to make it “worse”. And Valve maintaining two different operating system versions, splitting up the user AND developer eco system, to test for isn’t good solution either. Suddenly people have to track not only if a game runs on Steam Deck, but also explain them on top of Proton and all other stuff that they need an alternate version. The website for the games would need to list both compatibility too. It’s a mess.
I understand your intention and why this is suggested by you. I just don’t think its healthy and would not even guarantee to solve the issues at all. The devs and publisher still would need to cooperate and support it officially. I don’t think any online game with anti cheat that runs on Steam Deck has a problem with cheaters using Linux. They have a problem with cheaters using Windows, even with the most intensive rootkit anti cheat installed and running at all times (Vanguard). I would not approve your suggestion (note I did not downvote, because you just want to discuss this).
- Comment on EA SPORTS WRC will be adding EA anticheat, game will not playable any more. On ProtonDB game is rated Platinum 1 month ago:
This is the equivalent of Sony requiring PSN account in countries where no PSN account exist. Just on a different technical level, but with the same outcome. This should be illegal.
- Comment on Why install other Linux ISOs on Steam Deck? 1 month ago:
I will have to look into nix more. I remember when it came out, thought it might be neat if it caught on and got developed and supported well, maybe that’s the case these days?
It’s still a niche off course. And the packages from the Nix package/repository in the end is just installing an application like from any other repository. But its usable on any distribution. That’s the point here, because it can be used on the Steam Deck without root privileges (as far as I know) and packages should stay after an update. I wasn’t much talking about the distribution itself.
- Comment on Why install other Linux ISOs on Steam Deck? 1 month ago:
In SteamOS you can also make use of the Nix package manager, which has official support from Valve github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/7173.
/nix
is included in default installation I think, but I never used it. Then there is also Distrobox, which lets you install any package from any distribution. I also never used this and apparently it works on Steam Deck too? github.com/89luca89/…/steamdeck_guide.mdDepending on how complicated or limiting these alternative options are, they may be enough. If you want develop a game and only have a Steam Deck, then maybe for testing it would be a good idea to keep SteamOS. I don’t know how viable it is to have dual boot, but that could be an option too? I guess a builtin SSD would be a requirement for this.
- Comment on Why install other Linux ISOs on Steam Deck? 1 month ago:
SteamOS itself is write only and changes to the system get lost with updates. Also someone might just like certain distributions more. And they can have customization and optimization built in, without digging deep into a rabbit hole you don’t understand.
A “why” explained by the bazzite project itself can be found here: github.com/ublue-os/bazzite/?tab=readme-ov-file#w…
Bazzite started as a project to resolve some of the issues that plague SteamOS, mainly out of date packages (despite an Arch base) and the lack of a functional package manager.
Despite this project also being image-based, you are able to install any Fedora package straight from the command line. These packages will persist across updates (So go ahead and install that obscure VPN software you spent an hour trying to get working in SteamOS). Additionally, Bazzite is updated multiple times a week with packages from upstream Fedora, giving you the best possible performance and latest features - all on a stable base.
Bazzite ships with the latest Linux kernel and SELinux enabled by default with full support for secure boot (Run ujust enroll-secure-boot-key and enter the password ublue-os if prompted to enroll our key) and disk encryption, making this a sensible solution for general computing. (Yes, you can print from Bazzite)
- Comment on 1 month ago:
Maybe you find some hints here: www.protondb.com/app/22300?device=steamDeck (Fallout 3 user reports for Steam Deck) or www.protondb.com/app/22370?device=steamDeck (Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition user reports for Steam Deck)
- Comment on 1 month ago:
Source?