this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2023
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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

What’s the alternative for those of us who own a steam deck and don’t want can’t install windows? Streaming with xcloud is not a viable option since the main feature I need (besides portability) is the hability to stop the game in any moment and resume in the same place instantly.

I think game pass is great with all the games they provide. I’ve used it for some time and I really like it but I’m on a different place now where I need certain features more than a lot of great games

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I also have a steamdeck, but that is a hard ask.

Without Windows you will have to stream it probably:

  • if you have a normal PC but you just prefer using the steamdeck anywhere at home, you could stream your PC with Sunlight&Moonlight (kinda like steamlink but people say it works better)
  • GeforceNow might also work
  • If you own an Xbox you can also stream from there instead of using xcloud. This should also be no issue for quick resume.

Other Options requiring Windows:

  • I believe you can install Windows to a microSD so you can just use the SD card if you want to boot to windows instead.
  • Other option would be to get an Asus ROG Ally
[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That was my point, there’s a lot to do if you want to experience the steam deck capabilities with game pass. I’m not saying it’s not great, of course it is, but as a parent with very very very limited time, it’s not useful for me (yet). Here’s hoping we get a client for Linux some time soon or I’ll have to tinker to install windows on my ssd.

Thank you anyway for all your recommendations, really appreciated.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

With Steam you're essentially paying a (sometimes) premium for a whole suite of features: Steamworks (drop-in support for matchmaking and multiplayer lobbies), numerous edge servers on a global CDN (faster downloads), Steam input (plethora of configuration options for any controller or HID), remote play (play local games with a remote player), shared shader caching, upstream contributions to the Wine, Vulkan, DXVK et al stacks, a highly open and permissive API, streaming video of your game while you play it, Steam cache servers (build a local fileserver to cache game downloads), the list goes on. And if you find a bug, you can report it on their bug tracker and someone will actually investigate it. It is a no-brainer.

Other services just give you a desktop shortcut at best. People say, "I don't need these features, I just want games." If they've ever launched a game on Steam, they've probably benefited from these features and more without realizing it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I really hope Microsoft is working on this. Either a way to use gamepass with Steam, or (more likely) a game pass launcher/storefront for Linux. They seem to be playing nice with the Steam Deck so far (e.g. getting Halo TMCC multiplayer to work on the stema deck), so I'm hoping it's just a matter of time.