Recent patch notes sounded like they might be hinting at upcoming ROG Ally support, but it’s now confirmed.

  • bitwolf@lemmy.one
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    3 months ago

    The exciting thing I am taking from this, specifically because of the ROG Ally are two things:

    • Valve intends to support nvidia drivers in SteamOS (the ROG Dock)
    • Valve intends to ensure eGPUs are a good experience on SteamOS

    If these do make it to fruition that would be a huge benefit overall for Linux gaming.

  • thingsiplay@beehaw.org
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    3 months ago

    I’m actually a bit surprised this takes so long for Valve. Because I think Valve wants to be in a position what they envisioned with Steam Machines, where many systems are created by different manufacturers. Only with a reference model that everybody can fallback to as the base model, the Deck. Guess creating an operating system that can be installed on arbitrary handhelds is not easy (go figure).

    BTW this is not a unique concept either, because we had similar strategies before with home computer systems and console like systems in the 80s and 90s: MSX (actually from Microsoft) and 3DO are “popular” examples.

    • ekZepp@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      The new one indeed have it… considering your paying the combined price of a desktop pc gaming + a steam deck to buy one.

    • Fubarberry@sopuli.xyzOPM
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      3 months ago

      The original Ally was pretty debatable hardware wise when compared to the deck. It was more powerful, but had worse battery life (especially in low power games), worse controls, poorly designed heat routing that burned up SD cards, etc. There was also stuff like how the higher resolution screen wasnt really necessary for the screen size, and the performance hit was very significant unless you capped at 720p.

      • TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Right on. I’m just excited that this form factor is going to “be a thing” for a while, because god damn, I love my deck.

        But realistically, it could be a drop in replacement for my mobile computing solutions if it was just a bit beefier.

  • Santo@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    I really hope Valve takes up this market with strong software. I believe Microsoft is lagging behind just using regular Windows for that.

  • xavier666@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    If Asus wants some positive PR after a rough 2024, they should offer the Ally with SteamOS preinstalled.

  • 🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 ℹ️@yiffit.net
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    3 months ago

    I saw an ad for this thing on TV the other day. IDK why, but seeing things like this on TV always makes me giddy ever since I first saw Secret of Mana advertised on TV. Seeing new tech (and video games before a certain time) having commercials on television is like seeing a unicorn.

  • Daxtron2@startrek.website
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    3 months ago

    I’ve been looking at the ally for a while, the eGPU support is interesting too. SteamOS support would be the final addition to make me pull the trigger on it. Anyone own it and can give their 2¢?

    • Fubarberry@sopuli.xyzOPM
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      3 months ago

      Don’t own it, but I would recommend against the regular Ally due to some known hardware issues and Asus warranty trying to scam people into expensive “not covered by warranty” repairs.

      The new Ally X has some tempting hardware upgrades though, if no major defects have shown up in a couple months it might be worth checking out.

    • Cort@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Their proprietary external GPU connector (xg Mobile graphics) was recently reverse engineered so you may soon* be able to connect desktop graphics cards.

      Still in the early revisions, though all the info is on GitHub by osy86

  • julianwgs@discuss.tchncs.de
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    3 months ago

    Valve shouldn’t give their blessing to SteamOS on the Ally. That should be Asus‘ job. However they could give Asus a cut on every game sold through their device on SteamOS (like a few percent). That would make it much more financially interesting for Asus and they might put an official team behind it, to support SteamOS.

    • bitwolf@lemmy.one
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      3 months ago

      It mentions that the work from Valve was for accessory support. So they may not be extending that much effort towards getting it on specific devices. Rather, I think they’re working on generic PC support on the side.

      • julianwgs@discuss.tchncs.de
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        3 months ago

        Yes, thats how Open Source works or they can keep paying Windows. Asus knows their hardware much better than Valve does and has a much bigger interest in a good user experience, but currently lacks the incentive, because Windows is a „good“ paid alternative. Honestly I don’t understand all the downvotes.

        • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Open source just means you can get the source code, it doesn’t mean you can take over a project.

          Asus can’t just take SteamOS, apply some driver tweaks, change some options, and release it as a SteamOS device.

          A lot of SteamOS is proprietary, and Valve of course owns all the IP related to the branding. Asus literally needs Valve’s blessing to do it.

          Asus are certainly welcome to help Valve with their code, but Valve could also say no this is our project.

          And of course they can fork the open part of SteamOS and brand it as something else, and not install steam/steamUI, but that’s half the reason people use the steam deck. It wouldn’t be SteamOS without that.

          • julianwgs@discuss.tchncs.de
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            3 months ago

            Okay, understood. May be SteamOS was the incorrect wording. I meant the Linux Kernel, Arch, Proton. I am assuming most changes are related to hardware and software compatibility which should all be open source.

  • cum@lemmy.cafe
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    3 months ago

    Hell yeah. If Valve was smart, they’d have pushed for this a lot sooner. They should focus on making it more device-agnostic. If the consumer’s device revolves around their storefront, then it’s a massive win for them.

    • Womble@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      They tried that method with the steam machines, it didnt work. A bunch of companies put out half arsed cash in versions and it went nowhere. By putting Valve’s whole weight behind one platform that they tested extensively they got a great product that has made waves. Opening it up now that it has momentum makes sense, but they absolutely made the right call making the steam deck the focus rather than making it hardware agnostic.

      • Leaflet@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Even if Valve pushed their own Steam machine back then, it would have failed miserably. It simply had terrible game support because Proton didn’t exist (or integration with wine). Only the few native linux games out there would work.

        But now Valve has Proton. I doubt the Steam Deck would have taken off if it wasn’t for that.