Dark Mod on the Steam Deck

[refl3ks]

No issues whatsoever, runs great, easy setup. There's nothing like lounging around the couch being able to play my favorite FM's. Image was captured at work.

 

[jaxa]

Very cool.

I assume you are getting 60 FPS at 1280x800. You could also try connecting it to a monitor and doing 1080p.

[freyk]

Nice.

Would you write a howto install TDM on that device and place this in this topic?

Edited June 3 by freyk

[datiswous]

32 minutes ago, freyk said:

Would you write a howto install TDM on that device and place this in this topic?

I think it just boils down to going into desktop mode and install TDM with the regular installer.

Essentially the video is just showing Linux desktop and how easy it is.

Edited June 3 by datiswous

[refl3ks]

2 hours ago, datiswous said:

I think it just boils down to going into desktop mode and install TDM with the regular installer.

Essentially the video is just showing Linux desktop and how easy it is.

Yes, pretty much. Once the file is unpacked and downloaded, you have to add TDM.exe to Steam and launch it from there.

Edited June 3 by refl3ks

[refl3ks]

3 hours ago, jaxa said:

Very cool.

I assume you are getting 60 FPS at 1280x800. You could also try connecting it to a monitor and doing 1080p.

Its running very well, I prefer playing it in hand-held mode, I find it more appealing. I use a laptop with external monitors when I mess around with the editor.

Edit: Keeping Shadow Maps at Stencil instead of Maps drastically helps with performance. IE: Stencil - 60fps .. Maps - 35fps

Edited June 3 by refl3ks

[jaxa]

I'll be interested in a second generation of the Steam Deck, since it should be more polished, weigh less, and maybe improve performance massively. It depends on how long they wait before iterating and what kind of low-power budget chip AMD/TSMC can produce at that time.

9 hours ago, refl3ks said:

Its running very well, I prefer playing it in hand-held mode, I find it more appealing. I use a laptop with external monitors when I mess around with the editor.

I'm just wondering what the performance of the game would be at 1080p when docked. Newer games like Elden Ring only need to hit 30 FPS at 720p on the Steam Deck to be considered a playable experience, but older games might run well at 1080p, or even 4K with ancient patched games or console emulators.

Edited June 4 by jaxa

[JackFarmer]

14 hours ago, refl3ks said:

No issues whatsoever, runs great, easy setup. There's nothing like lounging around the couch being able to play my favorite FM's. Image was captured at work.

 

 

I take it that ingame you simply switch to gamepad controls?

[freyk]

On 6/3/2022 at 10:23 PM, refl3ks said:

Yes, pretty much. Once the file is unpacked and downloaded, you have to add TDM.exe to Steam and launch it from there.

Thanks, but can you be more specific?
Which file have you downloaded, unpacked at which location and did you use the installer?

Following your description:
You did something to get the files on that system
and then started the TDM windows executable(?) as a nonsteam game in Steam. 

For the non-steam game-executable, did you select "TheDarkModx64.exe"?
If so, you havenot played tdm how it was meant to be.

You have played the windows executable for TDM from Steam,
running on Steams Proton (WINE), on a LInux os.
Theoretically it performs slow, sound and graphics are not impresive. This all, because it is not the native performance.
(And TDM on WINE is  is not fully tested on linux/mac. )
But looks like, that it runs great!

But how about running the native linux executable "thedarkmod.x64" from steam on your steamdeck.
What are your opinions about that?

For some pointers, see:
https://wiki.thedarkmod.com/index.php?title=Installer_and_Manual_Installation#Linux
and
https://www.wikihow.com/Launch-Non‐Steam-Games-from-Steam-(Linux)
(From step 3)

Very old comparison between running a game native and on wine.
sub page of main article, with graphs:
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=wine_win7_2010&num=2
Main article
https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=wine_win7_2010&num=1

 

Edited June 8 by freyk

[cabalistic]

I have tested TDM on the Steam Deck, too, and just to be clear, performance depends on the maps you play. A lot of them run (mostly) fine on 60fps, but some do not. The opening scene for Iris, for example, drops down to 30fps.

[freyk]

For the ones who would like to tinker with a recent steamos os 3 image on a vm,
follow the instruction on site:
https://forum.endeavouros.com/t/tinkering-with-not-yet-released-steamos-3-0/24709

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/forum/topic/5200/

(didnt get it to work yet: after flashing the os disk, os starts but display turned to side and cant login. Maybe i should just use the recovery image as my main hd.)

old tdm topic:
https://forums.thedarkmod.com/index.php?/topic/17743-building-tdm-on-debian-8-steamos-tdm-203

 

Edited June 8 by freyk

[Xolvix]

I can't help must notice the discussion is around running the Windows version of TDM on the Desk which (when unmodded) is running Linux.

Not even acknowledging trying the NATIVE Linux build on Linux via the Steam Desk breaks my brain. It's like trying to speak French to a stranger in an English-speaking country first, seeing if you get lucky, and then switching to English if they don't understand.

But then again maybe it's true that Windows binaries have become something of a "universal" binary these days, which is why developers rarely build Linux binaries for games anymore.

[freyk]

No, Steams Proton just seems to be a great French translator on nice hardware.

Edited June 8 by freyk

[Xolvix]

Yeah I know, it's a translator. But in this case it seems unnecessary. There are situations when the Linux build of a game can sometimes be inferior to running the Windows one in WINE/Proton due to lacking functionality or odd quirks, but for the most part TDM doesn't have many issues from my experience. The purist in me just twitches when I see an unnecessary translation layer being used when the native one is right there.

[refl3ks]

On 6/4/2022 at 1:53 AM, JackFarmer said:

I take it that ingame you simply switch to gamepad controls?

Gamepad works on launch. I use the mouse touchpad to navigate the menus.

On 6/4/2022 at 2:51 AM, cabalistic said:

I have tested TDM on the Steam Deck, too, and just to be clear, performance depends on the maps you play. A lot of them run (mostly) fine on 60fps, but some do not. The opening scene for Iris, for example, drops down to 30fps.

That is true. FM optimizations are a big deal. Are most opening scenes locked at 30fps?

On 6/4/2022 at 2:20 AM, freyk said:

Thanks, but can you be more specific?
Which file have you downloaded, unpacked at which location and did you use the installer?

Following your description:
You did something to get the files on that system
and then started the TDM windows executable(?) as a nonsteam game in Steam. 

For the non-steam game-executable, did you select "TheDarkModx64.exe"?
If so, you havenot played tdm how it was meant to be.

This is the process I used:

1. Go into Desktop Mode
2. Download Chrome from the Application Manager
3. Download tdm_installer.linux64.zip 
4. Unzip+download in /home/documents
5. add TheDarkModx64.exe as non-steam-game
6. set compatibility to Proton 7.0-2
7. Profit

Edited June 8 by refl3ks

[Wellingtoncrab]

I imagine the GPU utilization will vary between missions, but given there is often a lot of head room on the GPU in TDM do you have a sense of the battery life you are getting playing the mod?

Looking forward to these being more widely available as it seems like it’d be nice constant out there to target for performance.

[refl3ks]

On 6/8/2022 at 10:15 AM, Wellingtoncrab said:

I imagine the GPU utilization will vary between missions, but given there is often a lot of head room on the GPU in TDM do you have a sense of the battery life you are getting playing the mod?

Looking forward to these being more widely available as it seems like it’d be nice constant out there to target for performance.

I haven't played TDM enough on the Steam Deck to drain the battery, my assumption would be anywhere between 2-3hrs running at 60fps. Might be able to cough out another hour by lowering the settings and locking the framerate to 30.

[STiFU]

On 6/3/2022 at 6:46 PM, refl3ks said:

No issues whatsoever, runs great, easy setup. There's nothing like lounging around the couch being able to play my favorite FM's. Image was captured at work.

 

That picture would be worthy of our Facebook site, @Springheel.  (If @refl3ks grants permission of course)

[chakkman]

Cool.

How is the screen for the dark gameplay? I'm still hanging on to a TN panel monitor, because IPS has horrible IPS glow and backlight bleeding, which totally destroy the gameplay in dark games, and VA has terrible motion blur for the most part. I don't know what panel tech the Steam Deck is using. Looks like it's IPS.

Edited June 9 by chakkman

[cabalistic]

On 6/8/2022 at 8:53 AM, Xolvix said:

I can't help must notice the discussion is around running the Windows version of TDM on the Desk which (when unmodded) is running Linux.

Not even acknowledging trying the NATIVE Linux build on Linux via the Steam Desk breaks my brain. It's like trying to speak French to a stranger in an English-speaking country first, seeing if you get lucky, and then switching to English if they don't understand.

But then again maybe it's true that Windows binaries have become something of a "universal" binary these days, which is why developers rarely build Linux binaries for games anymore.

To be clear, I personally did use the native build. It works fine I haven't tried Proton, so I don't know how they compare.

[datiswous]

15 hours ago, STiFU said:

That picture would be worthy of our Facebook site, @Springheel.  (If @refl3ks grants permission of course)

Yeah or Twitter. @thebigh ?

Btw. I think the Twitter and Facebook accounts can be coupled so when you post something on Twitter, it will be posted on Facebook as well (and vice versa). I'm pretty sure there's also a Wordpress plugin that sends blog posts to SM accounts.

[datiswous]

13 hours ago, chakkman said:

How is the screen for the dark gameplay? I'm still hanging on to a TN panel monitor, because IPS has horrible IPS glow and backlight bleeding, which totally destroy the gameplay in dark games, and VA has terrible motion blur for the most part. I don't know what panel tech the Steam Deck is using. Looks like it's IPS.

I think your view on this is somewhat biased. ips glow and background bleeding is monitor specific, just check reviews and you find plenty of models without the issue. Personally I own an S-PVA (60hz) and an AMVA (75hz) monitor and they play TDM just fine. Not sure if it is the same for playing hardcore FPS online (I do play other fps games on it, but just single player).

Edited June 10 by datiswous

[thebigh]

I can put that up on twitter tomorrow once I've thought of what to say about it. It'll be a change from all the "Happy birthday mission X" tweets. I don't know how to link it with the FB account though as I don't have access to that.

[datiswous]

On 6/8/2022 at 4:59 PM, refl3ks said:

• add TheDarkModx64.exe as non-steam-game
• set compatibility to Proton 7.0-2
• Profit

You should try starting the game from the Linux executable, you're now running a Windows version. This is because the Linux version of TDM for some reason also adds the Windows executable. At some point we get the situation that people say they play on Linux, but actually they don't (well at least not nativelly), but they don't know.

[Xolvix]

1 hour ago, datiswous said:

You should try starting the game from the Linux executable, you're now running a Windows version. This is because the Linux version of TDM for some reason also adds the Windows executable. At some point we get the situation that people say they play on Linux, but actually they don't (well at least not nativelly), but they don't know.

It's not just the Linux version. When you download TDM using the installer/updater tool, it'll download a zip file called tdm_shared or something similar, which it will automatically unpack into the download directory. This zip contains (among other things) the game binaries for both Windows AND Linux. I guess it keeps things simple since you can use the downloaded files on both systems if you want, but it does result in some extraneous files. On the plus side, I guess since TDM uses OpenGL this makes it quite easy to use in Wine without any real downsides if you really want.