Is Steam Deck the answer to mobile Second Life?

[Bree Giffen]

So there is a new portable device called the Steam Deck coming out in December. Steam is an online game store for PC games and is also known for it’s VR support and it’s parent company Valve.  It’s essentially a portable game computer in the same form as the the Nintendo Switch. You can run anything that you can run on a PC. I’ve always been looking for a way to play SL when I go out someplace and the only option would be a gaming laptop which is typically quite expensive. The Steam Deck comes in at $400 at it’s lowest configuration with 64gb storage with optional plug in sd card storage. What do you think? Is this the low price gaming computer we’ve been waiting for?

[Chris Corvinus]

3 minutes ago, Bree Giffen said:

So there is a new portable device called the Steam Deck coming out in December. Steam is an online game store for PC games and is also known for it’s VR support and it’s parent company Valve.  It’s essentially a portable game computer in the same form as the the Nintendo Switch. You can run anything that you can run on a PC. I’ve always been looking for a way to play SL when I go out someplace and the only option would be a gaming laptop which is typically quite expensive. The Steam Deck comes in at $400 at it’s lowest configuration with 64gb storage with optional plug in sd card storage. What do you think? Is this the low price gaming computer we’ve been waiting for?

While it CAN run Windows 10, that doesn’t mean you should try downloading SL on it. It won’t work. (Before someone attempts this).

That being said, the $400 one is complete crap. It’s equivalent to a $300 laptop you buy from Walmart. It will be slower than a snail. I’m getting the next tier up which is much faster but more expensive. 

[bigmoe Whitfield]

40 minutes ago, Chris Nova said:

While it CAN run Windows 10, that doesn’t mean you should try downloading SL on it. It won’t work. (Before someone attempts this).

That being said, the $400 one is complete crap. It’s equivalent to a $300 laptop you buy from Walmart. It will be slower than a snail. I’m getting the next tier up which is much faster but more expensive. 

it's an amd gaming device,  it will work once you install windows 10 on it, but.  people are going to be upset about the controls.

[Chaser Zaks]

It runs arch Linux. You can install Linux builds of the viewer on it, or use proton to run the viewer in a windows compatibility layer. 

It features both touch screen and control inputs, and with the new control settings being rolled out soon, remapping the controls to the gamepad controls should be a brease.

I have pre-ordered the 512GiB model, and will be installing firestorm on it as proof of concept and for mobile SL. Additionally remote play is a feature I will be exploring to see if I can utilize my GPU of my desktop remotely.

[Chris Corvinus]

20 minutes ago, bigmoe Whitfield said:

it's an amd gaming device,  it will work once you install windows 10 on it, but.  people are going to be upset about the controls.

I suppose you can hook up a keyboard and mouse to it but it’s not going to be ideal. I don’t think it’s going to be powerful enough to run something like SL. Def not the $400 starter version 

[Extrude Ragu]

What you have to remember is that the Steam Deck is a handheld device.

You can't fit one of these in a portable device

A CPU that gets too hot will throttle. This is physics.

Modern CPU's can achieve more with less heat output, but only if the game is optimized itself i.e. running on a modern engine and designed to be power efficient.

SecondLife is not power efficient and can't take advantage of modern CPU's. I'd guess you will probably be able to cook an egg on your handheld console after playing SecondLife on it for 20 minutes.

[Bree Giffen]

Cooking eggs while playing sounds like a nice multi-functional feature! But I think it has sone kind of heat management and the chips are designed to run cooler. Maybe they use water cooling? The company is called Steam after all.

[Coffee Pancake]

While I'm sure it can be made to run SL ...

Do not preorder one with the intent of installing SL, at least until we have seen some actual independent benchmarks.

[animats]

It's not that mobile. It doesn't have a cellular connection.

It is, though, a rather capable machine for its size, and worth trying SL upon.

[Coffee Pancake]

20 minutes ago, animats said:

....and worth trying SL upon.

*side eyes the room full of computers that only get powered on to test SL viewers* .. I will be very interested to see how it runs and what it can do. But I'm also betting I have a $50 thrift store laptop that will kick its butt.

Also a little leery when it comes to valve and hardware support, they have a track record of releasing something awesome, leaving it up to the community to make functional, forgetting it exists and then dumping the excess stock.

Edited July 27, 2021 by Coffee Pancake

[sirhc DeSantis]

5 hours ago, Bree Giffen said:

So there is a new portable device called the Steam Deck coming out in December. Steam is an online game store for PC games and is also known for it’s VR support and it’s parent company Valve.  It’s essentially a portable game computer in the same form as the the Nintendo Switch. You can run anything that you can run on a PC. I’ve always been looking for a way to play SL when I go out someplace and the only option would be a gaming laptop which is typically quite expensive. The Steam Deck comes in at $400 at it’s lowest configuration with 64gb storage with optional plug in sd card storage. What do you think? Is this the low price gaming computer we’ve been waiting for?

'We' are not blowing a months food budget on a useless toy as 'we' don't live in Mums cellar for many years. 40 bucks? yeah for a useless toy at xmas that two can share. Or 10x over a year to keep 3 boxes at a reasonably cracking pace

Plus Steam is the biggest bloatware I have ever met and I used to do mainframes

[animats]

1 hour ago, Coffee Pancake said:

Also a little leery when it comes to valve and hardware support, they have a track record of releasing something awesome, leaving it up to the community to make functional, forgetting it exists and then dumping the excess stock.

Um, yes. Same reason you don't want to use a Google service for anything that has to run for years.

SL on Google Stadia comes to mind. (The basic problem with running games on remote clients, i.e. "game streaming" is that either it costs too much, or it's being sold at a loss to get market share until the price can be raised so that it costs too much. Although having SL on GeForce Now would be nice. There's a free tier, which lets you get an hour of connect time before you're kicked off and go to the end of the line. For those times when you really need to log in from a phone.)

[lucagrabacr]

I thought about this, possibly after someone mentioned it - but the thing is, it will only be useful to existing SL users who want to get on SL while on the go, which is good for those people.

But having proper Android / iOS viewers would be more useful in term of reaching out to new people since most people won't get Steam Deck just to get on SL, and those who did get Steam Deck to game won't suddenly get on SL because they got a Steam Deck, they would've gotten on SL on PC to begin with if they're interested in SL

[Bree Giffen]

Yes, I still think SL needs a mobile viewer for the Apple and Android devices to really get a new audience. The Steam Deck will only appeal to PC and handheld console gamers... of which I am. I will wait until there are reviews of the actual product by people who have bought it.

But, I am reserving one for 2022. It’s only $5 to reserve and you can cancel any time.

Edited July 27, 2021 by Bree Giffen

[Ted McGregor]

 

[crashnoww]

The answer is yes. I've been running SL on the deck for a few months now. It runs pretty well too. On medium I get from 100 fps in empty areas to 25 fps in moderate areas.

I'm not sure if I can post links here, but if you want to see my video, showing SL running on the deck, search "Second Life running on the steam deck" by RealEvil ind. on YouTube.

[Bree Giffen]

2 hours ago, crashnoww said:

The answer is yes. I've been running SL on the deck for a few months now. It runs pretty well too. On medium I get from 100 fps in empty areas to 25 fps in moderate areas.

I'm not sure if I can post links here, but if you want to see my video, showing SL running on the deck, search "Second Life running on the steam deck" by RealEvil ind. on YouTube.

I'm sure the video can be posted. How did you install it to the deck?  I didn't get one yet because my desktop crashed and I had to get a regular laptop instead. Very cool to see SL running fairly well and seeing that all normal SL functions can be carried out. 

 

[crashnoww]

8 hours ago, Bree Giffen said:

I'm sure the video can be posted. How did you install it to the deck?  I didn't get one yet because my desktop crashed and I had to get a regular laptop instead. Very cool to see SL running fairly well and seeing that all normal SL functions can be carried out. 

 

There are multiple ways of installing Firestorm viewer:

On Steam OS (Linux) - install the native linux version, install it from the Discovery store or install the Windows version and run it with Proton compatibility.

On Windows - install windows on the Steam Deck in dual boot, then install Firestorm normally.

 

Steam OS native version installation:

1. Using the Discovery store - not safe (for me at least) because the app is wrapped by a 3rd person (not tested).

 

2. Downloading Firestorm for Linux from their website (tested, seen in video)

2.1. Go to Desktop mode and download the Firestorm Linux version from their website. Make sure it's the Linux version.

2.2. Unarchive it and right click install.sh > execute in Konsole (terminal). You'll get a warning that you're not root, and it will install it in the Home folder.

2.3.  Check to see if you have all dependencies: (you might need to set up a password in Linux, see Google on how to do that) Navigate to the newly created Firestorm folder and open Konsole from there with right click. Type this in Konsole "LD_LIBRARY_PATH="./lib:${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}" ldd bin/do-not-directly-run-firestorm-bin | grep not\ found" (w/o quotes). It will tell you the missing dependencies. Google about how to install the missing ones. Disable the write protection on the Steam Deck (Konsole > sudo steamos-readonly disable), Install the dependency, then re-enable the write protection (sudo steamos-readonly enable).

2.4. Double click "firestorm.sh" to see if it starts up.

2.5. Open Steam > Add a game >  Add a non-steam game. You should see Firestorm in the list, check it and click Add selected programs. (if it's not in the list, browse for it and add firestorm.sh).

2.6. Add artwork for the grid, hero, icon etc (optional).

2.7. Run Firestorm through Steam to test.

2.8. Return to Gaming mode on the deck and run Firestorm.

2.9. Customize the controller: Steam hardware button, while in Firestorm, to see the menu > slide to the right and Controller configuration. 

2.9.1. Here you can make it your own. I've used the left joystick set as directional pad > set as the directional keys on the keyboard (disable WASD as movement in Firestorm). Right joystick set as directional pad and set the commands for the camera (clockwise, counterclockwise, spin over and spin under). You'll have to delete (set as empty) the alternative key bindings in Firestorm, for each command assigned or you'll have conflicts).

2.9.2. Set the other buttons as you see fit. I've set the right trackpad as mouse with left click and the left one as scroll with right click. Bumpers as scroll for fast scrolling. Triggers as ALT and CTRL for camera manipulation (as seen in video). X - Show keyboard, B - Esc, A - Chat, Y - Inventory. You can also set the grip buttons for other functions. You might need to attach a physical keyboard to the deck if you want advanced keys combinations.

2.10. If the resolution or the aspect ration is messed up, enable the developer menu > Set window size > 1280 x 800. You might need to increase the scaling to 1.10 and increase the chat font size.

 

3. Install the windows version of Firestorm on Linux, using Proton (not tested):

3.1. Download the windows version >  add the installer to Steam > Proprieties > Force compatibility > Proton Experimental (or use GE versions if you have them installed). Run the installer from Steam and let it finish. (it might not run).

3.2.  Change the target of the already added installer entry in Steam, to the newly installed Firestorm.exe. You'll have to locate it. Run Firestorm through Steam and follow the above for the settings.

 

4. Install Windows (tested): Follow a tutorial on how to get dual booting on the deck. Install Firestorm on windows normally.

4.1. Install Glossi (for the controller).

4.2. Add Firestorm.exe to Glossi, then add it to Steam through Glossi. Run Firestorm from Steam (or the controls won't work).

4.3. Customize the controls just like described in the 2.9. section. To get the exact same type if interface, run Steam in Big Picture mode.

4.4. Add the Windows touch keyboard to the taskbar for easy access.

 

Issues i've found so far:

Linux: Voice doesn't work at all. (it might work with the proton version, i haven't tested it). Native controller support crashes the program. Clicking HUDs is messed up, off target or some HUDs won't show at all if hidden.

Windows: Everything works, including voice. I can't remember the HUDs situation. Typing might be a little clunky.