Topic: PC Gaming

Some screenshots from my Steam year in review infographic.

August - September were clearly my XC3 months as I didn't touch my laptop then (ignore the translucent bar on Sept, it's only there because my finger was touching the screen there).

My games this year: platformers, anime boobs, and a few indies (surprised Final Fantasy Type 0 made my top 5 played games given I dropped it I assume pretty early on. Just goes to show how quickly most platformers can be cleared, and indies tend to be short).

A graph of my gaming interests apparently, which I find highly suspect, lol.

I have no idea how "cats" is so high up given that Stray was only my 7th most played game & I can't possibly think of what else is contributing to the statistic. I think Lollipop! has a few catgirl scenarios (exceedingly NSFW game, look up at your own peril), but again it's such a short game it can't contribute much.

I'm confused at the "LGBT+" statistic as well. I can only assume the ecchi trio (Gun Gun Pixies, Senran Kagura, Samurai Maiden) are being counted as they feature yuri elements at various levels, even though they probably wouldn't generally be counted as particularly "progressive" titles (clearly intended for the "male gaze" & all that, not that I have a problem with that, lol).

My top 3 games were Cities Skylines, Beat Sabre and Civ VI in that order. Which kinda surprised me because I don't really remember playing much Cities Skylines and Civ is such a time sink I'm shocked Beat Sabre beats it. Especially given most of the time I play Beat Sabre on the Quest itself......

Top genres/tags are VR, City Builder and Racing which doesn't surprise me at all

According to Steam, I played 18 games, 14 of which were new, and all without ever touching a controller!

My most played games were Neon White, Terra Invicta and the much improved Cyberpunk 2077.

I think the spider graph is just based on the tag cloud. I scored high for FPS, programming, walking simulator, great soundtrack, beautiful and cyberpunk all of which are tags on at least a couple of the games I played.

46 percent of my time on Steam this year was Monster Hunter Rise, which I believe also includes Sunbreak. Not bad given I already played like a hundred hours on Switch. I knew I played a lot of Rise (for me, I know my numbers are rookie compared to others), but it was interesting to see how it dominated my playtime for the first few months of the year, and then dominated my playtime over the summer when Sunbreak came out. That Sunbreak release also saw a massive spike in my playtime in a month, peaking at July and never coming that close again. It also made it look like I barely used a keyboard and mouse, but it is just because Sunbreak and Rise dominated my playtime and that was always on a controller.

Next up was Like a Dragon which made up 15 percent of my time (dominating most of August and September, as I was starting to get burnt out on Sunbreak and needing a change of pace), then WWE 2K22 at 7 and then Wildermyth and Wolcen both at 4 percent a pop (these three all dominated February and March for me, with a little of May, so I guess this was a slower portion of the year for me while waiting for new releases).

Apparently I played a total of 49 games through Steam though this year, which puts me in the top nine percent. And over half of these were new titles.

Somehow Warhammer 40k and Souls Like made it into my genre spidergraph? Absolutely no idea how that worked, but looter shooter, choices matter, hack and slack and party based RPG all sound about right.

It is also fair to point out, that this isn’t necessarily fully accurate as like “my year on PC” or whatever, because I play a bunch of titles outside of Steam. This year was the year I finally finished a play through of Cyberpunk, but i bought that through GOG. I tend to put a lot of time into the Division 2, Watchdog and AC games, but that is all through the Ubisoft launcher. I also play games on Xbox Gamepass PC or through EA Play.

All combined though, especially with my numbers from like PlayStation and Switch years in review, I played an absurd amount of games this year for an absurd amount of time.

I deleted Cyberpunk 2077 and Call of Duty Advanced Warfare from Deck since neither ran very well. Cyberpunk was running OK, then I changed some settings and it wasn't. Reverted settings but it continued having issues. Screw it. Wasn't that interested in it anyways.

And CoD also had performance issues, even on lowest settings.

I have Halo Infinite, DOOM, DOOM Eternal, Wolfenstein New Order, Wolfenstein Old Blood and Wolfenstein 2 for FPS. I can live without CoD.

But I did start playing Jedi Fallen Order again and wow, I really love this game! My one issue with it is difficulty. On standard difficulty it's too hard. Combat doesn't flow like you'd expect where you can attack, attack, dodge. Monsters attack suddenly without any tells. I kept dying over and over and over. So I changed to the easy mode, and it's way too easy. The damage reductions are fine, the issue is monsters and enemies just stand there half the time and don't attack. Like... come on. Isn't there an in between difficulty that's not super easy or super hard? So I've just been playing on Easy trying to upgrade my skills and get better at combat in hopes of switching back to Normal later.

Finished up Samurai Maiden today! I think it's more Ninja Gaiden/DMC with some Warriors elements than a Warriors clone (granted, it's more clunky than NG/DMC would be), and surprisingly challenging as it goes on. I think I may finish maxing out all the girls' affinities as I'm already pretty close to doing so, but I doubt I'm going to try & finish it on the higher difficulties as I think the only real reward will probably be extra concept art, which while neat isn't a huge motivator.

Oh, and for what it's worth it was patched last week (at least on Steam) to remove some of the wonky localization (or "censorship", depending on who who ask). When it launched all instances of "High School" or "High School Girl" were changed to "Gen Z" in the English subtitles which made some dialogue clunky as sometimes she was clearly describing a place (in one egregious instance, an explanation of how modern education goes from Elementary, to Middle, to High School, and University was changed to describing the differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, & Boomers), however all High School references have been restored.

So getting surround working on my PC was pretty trivial. The TV was a tad temperamental doing 5.1 PCM for a little bit but after a firmware update and reboot it was fine. What I need to get working now is 4K 120Hz which doesn't seem to be showing as an option for some reason. I could only get 4K 60Hz or 1080p 120Hz.... but looking now, I think my GPU might be the limit. The 1660Ti is HDMI 2.0 so 4K 120 isn't possible with HDR

Not that I'm going to be able to get 120fps at 4K on a 1660Ti anyways I guess!

You should be able to get 4K@120 via the Display Port output. There are converters from that to HDMI 2.1 if your TV doesn't have a Display Port input.

I just ordered a steam deck! Super excited to load it up with emulators. I can finally play certain games that are only on ps5!

Edit: I have heard the clunky argument but I don’t care because I never had a problem with the Wii U game pad.

@WaffleBoat
I think the difference is, Wii U gamepad wasn't designed to be taken with you. Steamdeck is. Clunky at home is one thing. Clunky on the go is another. It's also the weight of the system. It's much heavier than a Wii U gamepad.

Not that I'm arguing against it. I have one and love it. But I acknowledge it's very unwieldy and heavy, and as such not ideal for taking out of the house, or at least, not as ideal as a Switch OLED or Switch Lite.

Just keep in mind, most emulators were built for Windows and as such, have issues with Linux builds. Especially integrating into Steam. I couldn't get Dolphin to recognize the controller for my life. Only got PrimeHack working in a roundabout way because the default virtual device was KB/M inputs, so I manually mapped them all. You could probably get Dolphin working the same way, but would need to manually map keyboard keys in the controller config for each game. And it's a pain because when running through Steam, if sensor bar is set "above tv" it won't let mouse cursor reach the bottom to close windows, and if set "below tv" it won't let mouse cursor reach top to change tabs. There's a lot of nuisances like that.

Expect to put a lot of work into it to get everything working as intended. Going back and forth into Desktop mode every time you need to change something, using the on screen keyboard for everything which just makes it even more of a pain... As long as you're OK with that, you'll be fine. Me, I don't have the patience for it anymore, and frankly, I've lost interest in playing older games anyways (barring Metroid Prime via PrimeHack with gyro, and even that took me several hours to get working right, just for one single game). Any SNES/N64 I want are on Switch, but I honestly, I don't ever play those either.

Best experience will continue to be with compatible Steam games. Sticking with those it'll feel very console like. Still requires some tweaks on a game by game basis, but I typically just set everything on Low settings, cap at 30 (or 40 if battery life permits), and enable FSR. Avoid heavy games that, even on low settings, struggle to get 1.5 hrs battery. Unless you don't mind charging all the time.

Deck shines brightest with mid tier games and AAA that aren't from the last few years. The more recent stuff typically push the system too hard to run well, chew through battery like crazy, or both. However, there are exceptions. Gears 5 (playable if you edit the EAC folder name in desktop mode in game's installation files) and Halo Infinite single player campaigns run very well at low settings and get around 2.5 hrs battery life. Granted, you need to sign in online to play but, thats gonna be pretty common for games on Deck. Titanfall 2, Jedi Fallen Order, etc, they all require signing in and being online to play.

@JaxonH
Thanks for that! Im pretty sure it can run other OS though so windows isn’t a problem. And I mostly want it to be able to play Spider-Man and stray without supporting Sony.

@WaffleBoat
Oh ya, you can put Windows on it if you want. I would caution against it though because you’ll lose the best part of Deck- the console like experience and efficiency of SteamOS. You’ll see what I mean once you get yours. At least, do thorough research first to make absolutely sure it’s what you want. But, it’s certainly an option.

You’ll do fine with those two games. They’re both certified. Spiderman is a hog though. You can squeeze 1.5 - 2 hrs battery life on the lowest settings. But I have a nice trick for extending battery life, if you’re interested.

Deckmate attachment and the lightest 10,000 mAh battery in the world, the Nitecore NB10000. At just 150 grams, plus the weight of Deckmate attachment, you can increase your battery life by around 60% (It’s 38.5 Whr but that’s rated at 3.85 Volts, and devices use 5 Volts and have to “upconvert”, basically you only get around 60% of rated battery capacity in real use case- I don’t fully understand it but I do know that’s the case).

It took a lot of research to find a battery that light weight. As a result of being so lightweight it’s not going to output the full 45 W Deck can take. But it does output 20 W, and since the vast majority of games draw 20 W or less, it’s good enough. Even Spiderman averages around 20 W on lowest settings.

@Matt_Barber
Fair call, and they're a bit cheaper than I was expecting. Although probably shouldn't surprise given, you know, a DP to HDMI adapter is basically what the Switch dock is. But yeah, even so, I don't expect I'll be running that many games at 4K 120fps anyways with a 1660Ti. It'll probably be more along the lines of 1080p 120fps or 4K 60fps

@skywake
I’ve found 4k 60 to be the absolute most I want or need. The benefits beyond 60 frames, I can barely notice. And the benefits beyond 4K, I can’t notice at all. So that pairing seems to give the best bang for buck. I also don’t bother with HDR as I found it to be an absolute nightmare on windows, causing more issues than it solves, making some games look absolutely horrid. I’m just not a fan of HDR and don’t think I ever will be, as I can’t recall a single game I’ve played where I thought it was a notable improvement, but, I know some people swear by it.

Btw I use a Display Port to HDMI for my PC. In fact it’s the only way I could get it to work right. HDMI just gave me a black screen. So, ya. It’s totally viable.

@WaffleBoat, how would playing Spider-Man on the Deck be not supporting Sony? I guess they wouldn't get as much money since you wouldn't be buying their hardware & they probably don't make as much money via Steam as they do in their own ecosystem, but they're still definitely getting some of that money.

Stray is understandable though given it's self published by the devs on Steam.

I never understood the praise for Stray. I never bought it because it didn't seem worth my time. But I watched gameplay to see what it's about.

And while I am a huge cat person and think it's utterly adorable, the gameplay didn't seem compelling. In fact it seemed average at best. A cute little romp for cat lovers if you can catch on sale for $4.99 one day, but not a game I'd spend $30 on. I was particularly surprised it received a GotY nomination. While it certainly looks way better than Untilted Goose Game (another one I never understood the hype for), it just doesn't strike me as being that good of a game.

It's praise seems to hinge on 3 things- good graphics (and it does have nice, pleasing graphics, I'll give it that), it's appealing to cat lovers (which, I'll also admit it does appeal to me for that reason), and being bought and paid for by Sony, which, any time a game is PS exclusive it seems to be favored in the eyes of the media.

Idk. One day I'll catch it in a deep sale and give it a go on Deck.

@JaxonH
I'm not so sure on the comparison between Stray and Untitled Goose Game. Sure they're both animal based third person puzzle/adventure games but that's kinda where the similarities end. Untitled Goose Game is amazing because it doesn't take itself seriously at all. It's basically just a fun sandbox. I haven't played Stray but from what I've seen it seems to take itself a lot more seriously. Which can be good, and it's certainly a pretty game. But it's not the same thing

But yeah, I don't think it's (Stray) a game I want to spend $30 on. It's on my wishlist but I'm not about to rush out and buy it, even at the current sale price. There are no shortage of other "arty" walking-sim/puzzle games out there. Hell, there a few unplayed in my backlog......

On the 4K/120Hz/HDR bit? I mean, yeah. I mostly agree with you there. Though I'd say there is certainly value to 4K especially on a TV when you're sitting reasonably close. I certainly notice the gap in resolution going between 1080p and 4K but it's diminishing returns, above 4K is dumb. 120Hz? I mean, in terms of smoothness VRR makes more of a difference than a higher framerate. I'd take 60Hz with VRR over 120Hz without it any day. But for the types of games I'd be playing with a controller? 60Hz is fine

HDR but, HDR certainly makes a difference. Sure Windows makes it something I don't want to turn on and HDR in general is a bit hit and miss. Not just with games but with movies and everything. But when it works and you have a panel that actually takes advantage of it, it definitely adds a lot. Though admittedly its hard to do a side-by-side so some of that may be a bit of a placebo effect

I can't wait to get my SteamDeck attachment and show you guys the setup once it's all done.

I spent so much time meticulously researching the lightest battery, the best right angle magnetic USB-C adapter, the perfect length USB-C cable, a 180 USB-C reverse adapter to point cable downward on backside with a sleek look...

I just got confirmation from the Deckmate creator via private message on Reddit that weight is 25 grams for attachment + adapter that sticks to battery. So all in all, total weight with battery, Deckmate attachment and adapter, USB-C cable and adapters, is 850 grams on the money. Basically exactly the same weight as OneXplayer 2, and the exact same battery life, except better efficiency thanks to Steamdeck OS and architecture vs Windows and x86.

Something I didn't know is, when you're dealing with portable batteries, if they say 10,000 mAh, that's the nominal rated capacity. But you won't actually get that. Because the batteries are rated at 3.7V and the USB port is 5, it must convert, and in the process there's a conversion loss. In addition there's an efficiency loss. Basically, most batteries have an actual rated capacity of between 60-70% of the nominal capacity. The Nitecore NB10000 is one of the few that actually states both the nominal and real capacity: 10,000 mAh nominal and 6,400 mAh real.

So instead of 38.5 additional Watt-hours, it's really only 24.6 Whr of actual battery life you'll get. All batteries are like this, most just don't advertise it which I think is kinda scummy. Props to Nitecore for actually engraving both capacities on the enclosure.

I thought I may be able to push it with the Nitecore 20,000 mAh which weighs 295 grams, vs the 10,000 mAh which weighs 150. But I did the calculation, and total weight would be 1,000 grams. Which is almost exactly the weight of Steamdeck with Switch OLED on top of it without the joycon (tablet only). It's usable but... you can feel the weight. It wouldn't be a problem except for gyro aiming, which requires holding the system up in the air to tilt. So I decided against it.

But per my calculations, the Nitecore NB10000 should increase battery life by a smidge over 60%. So a game that only gets 90 minutes, would then get 2 hrs 25 min. A game that only gets 2 hrs, would then get 3 hrs 15 min. A game that gets 3 hrs would then get close to 5 hrs.

It basically extends the Steamdeck battery life from 1.5 - 3 hours, up to 2.5 - 5 hours. Which is roughly on par with the original Nintendo Switch, as Zelda BotW on max brightness got 2.5 hrs.

Now.

That may not seem like a lot, but at least it's somewhat respectable. We made the v1 Switch work despite its battery life, and if I can at least get Deck on par with that, I'll make it work too. What's unacceptable to me is having way worse battery life than v1 Switch. Sure, it ain't great but it at least meets the minimal threshold of practical usability.

I thought Stray was a decent game, if not an outstanding one, and that it didn't overstay its welcome in a year full of otherwise very drawn out games.

Mainly though, the critics were just bowled over the cute idle animations.

I bought the PS5 physical version of the game and haven't played it yet, this s--t better be worth it.