Honkai: Star Rail, One Month Later

Isn't it amazing how far we've come since May 1st?

I had no real clue what this game would be but I knew that I had no luck with Genshin Impact and would try anyway.  I didn't want to spend real money.  That would probably limit things more than I would hope.

I have two accounts.  I started one on May 1st and hit a road block quickly, and I used another account that was also connected to Genshin Impact.

One account has Yanqing, Bailu, Bronya, and Gepard, while the other has Himeko, Seele, and Clara.  It's good to have such characters for the sake of progress.  The set of four have been able to take on level 53 characters and win.

 I've seen some lists that say some of the characters I have aren't the best.  Still, they're 5-star characters and are more capable than 4-star characters, in general.  It's odd to think that I have all of these characters at level 50 or more.  They'll be at level 60 within a day or two.  I noticed the Aptitude Showcase has characters at level 80.

Yanqing seems to do most of the work for Bronya, while she increases damage potential.  Bailu is a more versatile doctor than Natasha but either will do.  Gepard, being a Preservation character is an interesting mix of attacking enemies and keeping allies safe.

Himeko is useful but falls too easily, similar to Serval.  They can both deal a lot of damage but they'll be out of the battle sooner than others.  Seele is holy-shit amazing but she leaves the battle too quickly.  Clara is a strange mix of her and Mister Svarog.

IMHO, some of the characters like Dan Heng are much more than 4-star characters and some of the 5-star characters aren't as good as they could be.  I guess that they can't have 4.5-star characters, though.  It's interesting to use Dan Heng and Yanqing on the same team.  Much more is accomplished quickly.

There are so many little things to do to make these characters do their best.  Changing things once you think it's finished is difficult, but it works in the end.  I've switched Light Cones at fairly critical times simply because a 5-star Light Cone arrived.

The good thing in all of this is that I'm not spending money and I'm giving Honkai: Star Rail the attention it needs without making it an obsession.  I've seen loads of people spend hundreds of dollars on Genshin Impact.  I wouldn't, which is partly why I'm only at level 8 and you have to be at level 15 for anything interesting to happen.  On Honkai: Star Rail, one account is at Trailblaze level 44 and the other is at level 42.  That's pretty good, especially since no real money has been involved.

Of course, you need to get your character's level and Light Cone level as high as possible, but make sure all Traces are complete and buy 4-star Relics when possible.  Switch when necessary.  You can always build them on one character and switch them later.  Enhancing Relics is something I haven't found straightfoward.

Update 2023.06.13: Most of the 5-star characters are at level 60 and many 4-star characters are at level 60, as well.  I'm working on finishing traces for level 60.  The account with Himeko is at level 45 and is facing the Ebon Deer, without much success so far.  I've removed Himeko for the moment, as she isn't effective.  Qingque is probably more important, given the Quantum DMG, along with Seele.

Special Rail Passes did not get me a new character but Serval on each side, turning into an Eidolon, which boosted her.

Update 2023.06.16: Still feel the need for one Abundance character and one Preservation character to keep the team going.  Attempting to upgrade March 7th on the account that doesn't have Gepard.

Trial of the Equilibrium, Part Four is upon me, on one account.  One is at level 50, and the other is at level 48.  Most important characters are at level 60.  Is that enough?  I have no choice.  They can't be upgraded until the test is complete.  What combination will work?  Quantum DMG is probably a wise option, but Qingque is a four-star character and isn't strong.  Then again, Seele, on the other account, is a 5-star character who falls too easily.

Update 2023.06.18: Arumaton (Gatekeeper) is in the fourth Trial of the Equilibrium and is a pain, defeating every team quickly.  I finally finished one of the other missions where an Arumaton was involved.  Of course, it wasn't level 60 and the one in the trial is at level 60.

I've upgraded Herta on both accounts.  She and Qingque make it difficult for the Arumaton.

Update 2023.06.20: Both of my accounts are at level 50.  I continue to receive the "relic levels are low" message but I can't go get better relics because I get the "underpowered" message when I try Cavern of Corrosion or other bits where I could receive better relics.

Oh, and on the account with fewer 5-star characters, I changed the main character to Preservation.  This means that the character uses fire and needs to have his Light Cone replaced with one from Preservation.  It also means that all of the Eidolons that were already there (all six) did not apply.  I wonder if they're waiting, so if I switch the character back to Destruction, they'll be there.  He's weaker and stronger, at the same time.

Update 2023.06.25: Trail of Equilibrium, Part 4 has been succeeded on both accounts.  This took a lot of relic enhancing, a Kinetic Cannon, some Cosmic Fried Rice, and a disposable shield.  Accounts are at level 53 and level 52.

Honkai: Star Rail, without real money

I've been playing Honkai: Star Rail since it was available, a few weeks.  One account is at level 33 and the other is at level 32.  I haven't spent any real money to get them there.

Unfortunately, my experience with the Trial of the Equilibrium on the earlier one hadn't given me an easier path on the other.  Having a 5-star character hasn't been an overwhelming advantage, either.  Get your powerful Light Cones early and get them enhancements.  You can begin with 3-star Light Cones but once you have them where you want them and realize that they're not as powerful as you had hoped, you'll be want better.  This is likely the way they get people to pay real money--frustration.  Genshin Impact is the same way.

There are a lot of ways to build the characters you need, so that you can switch between them.  The Calyx challenges have been extremely helpful in returning valuable resources for raising team members.  The only cost has been internal to the game.  You must be patient or pay greatly.

That Trial of Equilibrium is a pain.  I tried various characters, including one 5-star character, but the combination hadn't been enough.  The good thing is that any Trailblazer experience you earn isn't limited just because you haven't passed the Trial of Equilibrium.  Eventually, I passed both of them and when the second Trial arrived, it was much easier.

I finished Jarilo VI with a lot of effort, some frustration, and some inspiration.  I continue to handle missions on the space station and Jarilo VI.

What's surprising is that I was inspired during combat by Epic Games' Battle Breakers.  Those characters didn't move from their spots, but knowing how to assign characters, to balance abilities, was helpful.  I was over level 500 on Battle Breakers and wasn't one to spend money.

Honkai: Star Rail is so different from Genshin Impact that I can't imagine that they're from the same company.

During the first week, I saw reviews stating that the author was at level 50.  That must have taken a lot of money and time that I don't have to spend.  I believe that I will arrive there, but in the next month or two.  That's soon enough for me.

Update 2023.05.26: Version 1.1 arriving soon.  Highlights page already online.

Update 2023.06.01: Level 40 on one account, 38 on the other.  Trial of Equilibrium is once again a big issue.  I'm seeing a message about relics needing to be at a higher level.  Characters are at level 50 and Light Cones are also at level 50.  Except for relics, things are the best that they can be.

Update 2023.06.04: Level 42 on one account, 40 on the other.  I'm through the Trial of Equilibrium again.  I used three 5-star characters and one four-star character.  It wasn't easy, but I had to revive two characters after the battle with the Fridgid Prowler and bring up the HP on everyone.  Consumables are good for that.  I used Cosmic Fried Rice.  The other battle was somewhat easier.

I still haven't spent any real money, but it looks as though it's going to be a lot more difficult without it.  The future seems to be relics-related.

Warning: If you don't go into Stagnant Shadow and get supplies before Trailblaze level 40, you might not be able to do it at all.  I keep seeing "Team is too underpowered message", even though I have three 5-star characters and all four characters are at level 50.  You can set the difficult level lower, but your rewards won't be as good, and will take more tries to win.

Update 2023.06.06: There are about 5.5 hours until the new version will be available.  I'm not sure it will make a difference but hopefully, bugs will be fixed and things will work more smoothly.

The Simulated Universe is up to level 58 characters, so I'm unable to play it too far, as most of my characters are level 50.  I've got two characters on each account ascended, on their way to level 60.

It's interesting that I have so many 5-star characters when I see videos of people giving tips that don't have as much as I do.

One account has Yanqing, Bailu, Bronya, and Gepard, while the other has Himeko, Seele, and Clara.  It's good to have such characters for the sake of progress.  The set of four have been able to take on level 53 characters and win.

Tried the game on a Google Pixel 6a, which was miserable and an Apple 2022 iPhone SE, which was acceptable, but still not great.  They've got issues to smooth out.  My Windows laptop computer with 16 GB of RAM and Nvidia RTX 3050Ti works fine, though, producing a lot of hot air. 

Update 2023.06.25: Trial of Equilibrium: Part 4 has been succeeded on both accounts.  This took a lot of relic enhancing, a Kinetic Cannon, some Cosmic Fried Rice, and a disposable shield.  Accounts are at level 53 and level 52.

Update 2023.07.30: I've surpassed the Trial of Equilibrium: Part Five and it was easier than expected.  I have at least one character at level 80 on each account and a few others close to that.  I'm filling every slot possible, and it's taking time but I'm doing it without using any real money.  Trailblaze level 62 doesn't really look any different from the lower levels, but it isn't easy to finish characters at this level.  Tasks are simpler, due to familiarity with the environments and characters' abilities.

All this has given me time to try Genshin Impact again.  One account is at level 13, and the other is at level 9.  Prior to playing Honkai: Star Rail, I was stuck at Adventurer level 6 in Genshin Impact.

Switching from a OnePlus 8T to a Google Pixel 6a: What could go wrong?

 Now that the 8T is approximately 3 major versions behind, I wondered if it was time to switch.  I also recently bought a Razer Kishi V2, which for some reasons, doesn't work with it.  Android version 12 seems good but I wonder what kind of a mess the OnePlus/Oppo combination has made.  Things just don't seem quite right.  What better way to get a clear version of Android than from Google.

My last Google-labeled device was the 2013 ASUS-made Nexus 7 tablet with a Snapdragon S4 Pro.  It didn't seem to work very well with Android, but it worked well enough to play games.  It was much better than the previous year's version made by Nvidia.  However, even version 6 of Android just didn't work well and I gave it away.

I've spent time with Android 9, 10, 11, and 12.  They are better than previous versions.

Related to the Razer Kishi V2, there was a deal on the Google Pixel 6a for US$299.99, down from $449.99.  That's a good price for an unlocked phone.  It's slightly less than the US$399.99 I paid for the OnePlus 8T, but that had 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.  The Pixel 6a has 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.  Both have an OLED display but the 6a is limited to 60Hz while the 8T goes to 120Hz.  The Google Tensor SoC isn't all that different than the Snapdragon 865, but in all reality, the 8T is a flagship device and the 6a isn't.

Conversion

I charged the 6a and when I turned it on, the instructions asked if I wanted to switch from another phone.  As instructed, I plugged a USB, type-C cable into each phone.  The 6a couldn't see the 8T.  I wasn't surprised.  Sometimes, it's difficult to get the phone to charge.  I connected them wirelessly and that seemed to work.

After some time, it finished.  I wondered how it did a complete backup so quickly.  It didn't do a complete backup.  That's how.

It sent the list of apps, contacts, and more.  The apps were being downloaded immediately, but that took quite a while.  Apparently, the data was not always available.  A few Android apps still cling to Facebook and other methods of storing progress, while Google is clearly available.

It took about a week to get things running the way I wanted, although I'm still not sure everything is where it should be.  The OnePlus 8T is empty now, though.

Thankfully, the 6a has a tiny, compatible SIM slot.  Mint Mobile is hard at work.  I've yet to test communications speeds.

On the other hand, game speeds seem decent.  Scrolling a game in landscape mode is jerky.  Animation is fine but that movement across the width of the display is pretty bad.  Is it the display or the graphics processor or the lack of RAM?

So far, the 6a seems okay for the job, and if it seems not good enough, I only have to remember my first Android smartphone: the LG Optimus S that was forever short on storage.  I had to delete apps to update the operating system.  That phone was US$299.99.

Real Life

Okay, so out in the real world, away from Comcast/Xfinity, it's okay for the internet connection.  I was concerned because I tried it close to work and got 3G-type speeds.  At home, I turned off the WiFi and it was faster than the XFinity connection.

What's a bit disappointing is that the display is dark in sunlight, even on cloudy days.  I turned it up to about 80% of maximum brightness and I could barely see the display.  The display on the 8T was readily visible.  Something else that hurts is that the system continues to drop the brightness level to around 30%, without asking.

The horizontal scrolling jerkiness has become less but is still noticeable.  I suspect that having half the storage and half the RAM isn't helping.  However, the 8T was reporting that 150+ GB of storage were in use, and since I don't have that much, I'm not sure how things are working or what extra the 8T was reporting as used.

Cases

Crave Dual Guard case recommended by Amazon is strong but slippery.  It's slipped off the desk and has slipped out of my hands.  I'm glad the case is tough.

Instead, two Spigen cases caught my attention:

Spigen Liquid Air Armor

Spigen Tough Armor

I have used the Tough Armor case for the OnePlus 8T and it was very good.  I've settled on the Liquid Air Armor case for now, as it is a slimmer case.  It doesn't have the kickstand but I rarely used the kickstand for the OnePlus 8T.

Still, I have to remove the case for the Razer Kishi V2.  It's possible that an adjustment to the pads on the controller will allow the case to be used on the controller.

Update 2024.07.15: Ordered a Razer Edge Wi-Fi model to replace the Pixel 6a.  It's been over a year with this awful phone and I just don't want to deal with the frustration any longer.  Newegg had a deal for US$100 off, putting the final price at about 66%.  The Snapdragon G3X should provide a much better experience.  Even the Snapdragon 865 was better than the Tensor 1st generation.

Google Play Games...on Windows?

 I looked at using the Android environment on Windows but didn't like the idea of using Amazon's store of games.

I recently got an invitation to use Google Play Games and the experience is very limited.

Since I have Windows 11 and virtualization is enabled, I only had to download the initial installer and download the application.  It was fairly quick but it looked like it had been cobbled together (even for a beta test release) and I suspected at one point that I'd accepted malware.

When finished, I logged into my games-playing Google account and proceeded to watch the instructions.  There isn't much more to tell.  Most of the games weren't something I would even think to play.  Considering that the previous countries were in Asia, it wasn't surprising that most of the games were popular there.  Are 100 games a good start?  Apparently, Google have to tweak things so that they run smoothly on Windows.

I guess it will take some time and they're probably wondering if this will be more successful than Stadia was.

Considering that I have a few iPhone games on my Mac, this should fill gaps on casual games on Windows, since Windows phone is dead.

Update 2023.04.02: I have downloaded Hades' Star and Eversoul.  Eversoul seems to be a Genshin Impact-type of game, but in Korean, and with big boobs.  Hades' Star seems to be an empire-building game that is annoying.  I'm sure that someone else will find it engaging.

I'm still not sure that it's going to make an impact with the current selection of games.  There are a number of games in my account that I would like to use on the computer, but they aren't available yet.

Update 2023.11.22: Once I finally got into Eversoul, I see that it is no more than a boob show, objectifying female characters at every turn.  It is less than it should be.  While many mobile RPG games have an unfortunate view of women, Eversoul doesn't even try to be a good game.

Lately, I've been trying Tower of God: New World.  I'm up to level 101 on that.  I spent a little money, but I probably would have made the same progress without it, just a few days later.

Grand Cross: Age of Titans has also caught my attention and they currently have a crossover even with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the anime series.  I normally wouldn't play this kind of game, but it's from Netmarble, just as Tower of God: New World is.  It takes a rather long time for things to happen and beware what happens when you're not on the game.  It may seem to be a single-player game, but you co-exist with many in the same general area and they might attack without provocation.  I'm a bit tired of the building and character upgrades.

That said, I'm still playing Genshin Impact outside of Google Play Games.  At level 41, I've put some effort into it, and even destroyed my Corsair M55 Pro mouse button.  They've compared the game to Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and I can only say that there is so much to see and do that I can't imagine that you can play the game for free.

Update 2023.12.29: I've been playing Netmarble games more lately, including Seven Knights II, which doesn't run on Google Play Games on Windows.  I'm at a point where I don't seem to be able to progress.  I'm not even sure that spending money will help me progress.  In all three of the games, I have plenty of characters and many of them are powerful, but not powerful enough.  Perhaps, I need more knowledge in enhancing equipment.

I picked up Sword Chronicles: Awaken and Black Clover.  These are on Android and iOS, as well, but not on Google Play Games on Windows.  Google has increased the number of games available on Windows but it's not yet impressive.  A lot of them are still money grabbers.

I've played Sword Chronicles: Awaken for a few weeks and it's confusing.  There is a social element, where you get to know your characters.  In other games, you merely buy them gifts, but this one has you playing games, being asked questions, eating with them, and sharing the hot springs with them.  Battles are fairly simple and can be placed on automatic.

Black Clover is an adaptation of a Shonen Jump series.  It's something I've not read or seen.  Then again, I haven't seen Shonen Jump since the first few issues.  There are so many opportunities to explore and battle that it's a bit overwhelming and confusing.  If you like anime, you'll appreciate what they've done with the characters.  I've made quite a bit of progress in a few hours, but I'm not completely sure how.  I'm not far into the game, but I'm seeing the limitations of the SR characters quickly, as I've topped out a few of them at level 40.  You can rank them up when you have materials but earning the materials is a battle, and remembering where to earn them is also a battle.

Update 2024.06.29: Google Play Games isn't getting better.  However, Tower of God: New World crashes on my Google Pixel 6a and only gets close on Google Play Games.  It's one game that I hoped Netmarble would put on Windows.

I've been playing Seven Knights II on Windows for a while.  Since the company has a launcher for its games now, I signed up for Solo Leveling: Arise.  I recently added Grand Cross: Age of Titans, which I've been playing on Google Play Games (when it works) and on the Pixel 6a.

It is so much better as a Windows application.  The Netmarble launcher takes very little RAM in contrast to Google Play Games that takes over 25% of my 16 GB.

The good thing is that I've stopped trying other games on Google Play Games.  I didn't even start it today.  Of course, on Android, it crashed visually during a big battle, but it apparently did the rest to finish what it was doing.  I canceled and re-launched and it showed progress.  If it sounds as though I don't like Google, I don't.  They're past all the extra chances.

That Razer Edge is looking really good right now.

Update 2024.07.15: Ordered the Razer Edge.

Update 2024.09.30: I've had the Razer Edge for a while now.  I did a Factory Restore on the Pixel 6a after the Razer copy copied part of my primary Android/Google account.  Of course, it didn't copy most of the music because that was difficult.  I reactivated my early Google account on the Pixel 6a.  Android on Windows?  It's gone.  The Razer Edge handles most of the graphics pretty well.  The G3X SoC seems to be the Snapdragon 888 with a better GPU section.  I could probably use it to cook when it warms up.  Unfortunately, the Razer Edge is stuck at Android 12 and the Pixel 6a will probably get Android 15 too soon.

Steam Deck is here!

 

So, it arrived after FedEx led me to believe that it wasn't arriving when it was scheduled.  It went from "out for delivery" to "pending" in a matter of minutes after 5 P.M. local time.  30 minutes later, it had been delivered.  I don't do unboxing videos, so the three photos will have to suffice.

First Impressions

It's big compared to the early handheld from Epyx/Atari or from Sega.  It's a bit heavy at times.  The anti-glare display is great.  It has touch capabilities, so you can operate games and the operating system in a number of ways.  It takes what the Steam Controller had and amplifies the capabilities.

There is a cleaning cloth that arrived with the unit, as well as the charger.  Instructions are minimal.

I have around 30 games in my Steam library that are "great" with Steam Deck.  I have installed over 10 of them.  Most operate well, but Ni no Kuni Remastered has some audio glitches.

Some of the "great" games are games I have never tried, so it's good that Steam Deck is showing me what works well.  There are a lot of games that need adjustments in the next category.  I was pleased to see the Unreal Tournament 2004 is one of those.  Apparently, keyboard interaction is manual, so the player must invoke the keyboard, rather than it being displayed automatically.

It's odd that not all of the Valve games hit the "great" category.  There are two games attached to Half-Life that I'd like to play but they don't fall into the "great" category: Black Mesa, Half-Life 2 Update, and also, Portal Stories: Mel.  Portal Stories: Mel falls into the untested category, so anything could happen, including that it could work perfectly.

Most everything is good, but the connection to Wi-Fi seems a bit dodgy.  I'm not really worried.  This is the best Linux-based machine I've ever had.  It's based on Debian with KDE Desktop  although I haven't tried that.  I had hoped to play some games I have from GOG Galaxy, but there is not a Linux version.  However, there may be a way to make it run on Debian.

It's only been two days.  I have much to learn and do.

Getting to the enjoyment part

I have 21 games installed and a 512 GB microSD Card on the way.

Some of the games are fine but the controls aren't always what I'm expecting.  I was pleased to see that Chorvs/Chorus was available and bought that quickly.  After having several games in the Galaxy on Fire series, I hurried to buy another game from the same developers.  The controls work as expected, once I invested the Y-axis control.  I slso bought Road 96, which seems great, but the controls are troublesome.  Distance is a game that will take some time to get the controls where I like them.  Right now, I can't find which controls work.

Another problem is accessing the game menus.  Some use the Start/Select buttons, but others seem to randomly assign the buttons for menus.

I managed to install Unreal Tournament 2004, which is a first-person shooter for keyboard and mouse but just working the menu has been interesting.  I can get to the option with the right track pad control, but as soon as I go to select it, that control moves the pointer.  I'm hoping for a way to use the D-pad to go up and down the menu and the A button to select the function.  Obviously, with a game from 2004, there won't be any updates to make it work better.

Past the initial phase

I have 27 games installed now.:

aperture Desk Job

Galaga

Pac-Man

Bayoneta

Bright Memory Infinite

Bugsnax

Children of Morta

Chorvs/Chorus

Distance

Doom II

The Gardens Between

Half-Life 2

Heaven's Vault

Moonlighter

Ni no Kuni, Wrath of the White Witch, Remastered

Okami

Ori and the Blind Forest, Definitive Edition

Portal

Portal 2

Redout

Road 96

A Story about My Uncle

Trigon

Trüberbrook

Unreal Tournament 2004

Vanquish

Yonder, The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

Update 2022.12.15: It's been about one month.  A few games require precise cursor movement and the Steam Controller trackpads were never my easiest controller bits.  I've been playing Pixel Puzzles Japan to push myself to learn how to use those pads.  It's helped a lot.

I have 38 games installed at this point.  Several of the Bandai Namco games have been modified to use the controllers and they work well.  I'm struggling with other games and the Underdog Detective game shows the video upside down with menus right-side up.

As they test more of the games, I have more choices.  I've removed one or two since I started but I continue to try everything.  I think back to when I started playing games and using different kinds of controllers made the games easier to control but occasionally, games were just a pain to play.

I just saw the system update for SteamOS 3.3.3 and updated the device.  Hopefully, the experience will continue to improve and more games will become available out of my 129 Steam-hosted games.  The odd thing is that Quake III Arena doesn't work but Quake III Team Arena will work with adjustments.  Obviously, some development software would never be ported and software dependent on those products just wouldn't work.  I remember some problem with Unreal Tournament III, where it was ready to go on Windows, Mac, and Linux, but there was a dispute about using the package outside of Windows and so, the other two versions were never allowed to be distributed.

I'll continue to hope that almost everything can be made to work.  Surely, Steam Deck is becoming a success and developers should consider the implications of not offering their games.

Update 2023.03.01: SteamOS 3.4.4 has been out for a while and the Proton layer has been updated a few times.  Most everything works as expected and the glitchy-ness has subsided.

It's still interesting to play games that expect a keyboard and mouse but they work with the unique controller trackpads.  A few games require the Steam button + X to invoke the keyboard but it's becoming better.

Update 2023.03.19: Valve has the Steam Deck on sale for 10% off.  I've had mine a few months, so I don't know whether to be happy or upset that I didn't get it for less.  Still, it's a good experience.  SteamOS 3.4.6 is out and they've handled more situations.

I have more games and what I've put on Steam Deck seem to run well.

Update 2023.04.19: I've been reading a bit on Steam Deck HQ and Gaming on Linux.  They're both worthwhile resources with plenty of current information and reviews to offer.

Proton 8.0, based on WINE 8.0 is out and should fix even more problems.

I saw some article recently about how older games are so much better on the battery life than newer games are.  Of course, when you planned for a 1024x768 or 1280x800 resolution display, you didn't need as much power, did you?

Hi-Fi Rush isn't too bad, but obviously, Hogwarts Legacy, which taxes most machines, is going to hurt a portable's battery life.

I recently bought a 1 TB microSD card and there was no way to transfer the games from one card to the other.  When I switched cards, I needed to download and install the games again.  I've been a bit more picky so far, even though I have more space.  Despite a good internet connection, I don't want to waste it.  There have been a few M.2 drives made available in the 2230 size for Steam Deck but they are expensive.

Update 2023.05.14: What about the ASUS ROG Ally?  It's going to be interesting but Windows 11 doesn't really have a mobile/portable interface.  Launching games will be a mixed experience from Steam to EA to Ubisoft to Epic Games.  They're not all that easy to use with a mouse and keyboard, how will they be without them?

There are a number of people working on resources to make Linux gaming better and Valve is involved in making their machine the best, of course.  Would I like to run my purchases from stores other than Steam?  I would but I am happy with a single interface.

Update 2023.08.31: It's been about 9 months since I got the Steam Deck.  Lenovo has been leaking information about a Windows-based handheld (Lenovo Legion Go) with controllers that can be removed, Switch-like.  It's obviously going to be expensive in the premium version, similar to ASUS ROG Ally.

Steam Deck needs to be nothing short of excellent.  It's coming along, with fixes for most new games.  Some of the developers want to see their games running on Steam Deck, so they make some useful modifications, short of a Linux-based executable.

There are more than 11,000 Valve-tested games for Steam Deck.  I only have 168 games on Steam and 44 games installed on Steam Deck.  42 of those games are ready but Toxikk hasn't even been tested and UT2004 requires some adjustment to play.

Update 2023.11.16: The Steam Deck OLED model is on sale, or more correctly, out-of-stock OLED model has been ordered by the hungry masses.

Since the Legion Go and the ROG Ally are available, Valve needed to do something to draw attention back to Steam Deck.  Apparently, the update is very good.  I'm not parting with that kind of money again, but I would definitely want to buy the new one, instead of the Lenovo or ASUS products.  Mine is still good.

Update 2023.11.17: Just like that SteamOS 3.5.5 is here.  I haven't had much time to test the differences, but it seems smoother.

According to the numbers, I have 211 games on Steam, 77 are "Great on Deck", and I have 45 games installed.  I still haven't got a handle on how to play a FPS with a controller.  I'm more used to WASD and a mouse or trackball.

Apparently, Valve has been re-working some of their original games for better play on Steam Deck.  I'm disappointed at the Counter Strike 2 release.  They had a download for Mac but it was everything but an executable game.  Is it time for them to embrace 64-bit-ness?

Update 2023.12.01: Loaded SteamOS 3.5.7 earlier this week and loaded another Steam Client update a day ago.  It seems smoother, although the updates seemed to hiccup, and I have to run the update twice.  However, the Steam Deck is still amazing and it's so good just to play.

There might be a time or two that I think about a game I had with Ubisoft or Epic Games, but that's rare.

I ordered a gaming keyboard and mouse combo from Temu, so I'll see if Temu's listed products are worth it, and how they interact with a Linux-based device, plus I'll learn to use desktop mode.

Update 2023.12.13: I've got the mouse/keyboard combo connected to the Steam Deck and played UT2004 for the first time.  Becoming accustomed to the keyboard will take some time but play was good.  I also went to Desktop Mode for the first time and it's interesting to see a Linux distribution that's fairly easy to use.  Explanations happened as soon as I switched to that mode.  Switching back was easy, as well.

My previous experience with Ubuntu in the early 2000s wasn't great and I didn't accomplish much.  Trying to install FreeBSD was a difficult proposition and I was unsuccessful.  It still isn't "The Year of Linux" but it's much more user friendly than it was.

The keyboard from Temu doesn't have a numeric keypad, so it's very compact.  For roughly US$31, the combo is a good deal.  The mouse is very good.  I suspect in the end, they won't last very long under normal usage.  However, for add-ons to a Steam Deck, they're a good choice.

Sprint is no more

Today, I got a notice to log into T-Mobile, as my account had been moved.  Now, I'm as vulnerable as all of those long-term T-Mobile customers who have been through six hacks in the last few years.

Supposedly, nothing else has changed.  

My plan has been changed, however.  My 60 GB of Mobile Hotspot data has been whittled to 5 GB and anything over that will proceed at "max 3G speeds".  High speed data for the phone is at 100 GB, which is not exactly Unlimited but better than the 22-25 GB that is typical.

Update 2023.01.20: T-Mobile announced another hack that happened in November.  My data may or may not have been there at that time.  My data is there now though.  I'm not feeling secure, and I'm wondering why morons are in charge of T-Mobile's data.  Oops, make that two--one in November and one in January.

Update 2024.03.23: Somewhere in the past year, they put the Mobile Hotspot back to 60 GB of data and the last time I used it, it didn't seem to be at 3G speeds.

ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 OLED is here!

Imagine that a Ryzen 7-based 5800H laptop computer with OLED display is available.  Add 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage, GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, plus touch screen capabilities in just over 4 pounds for US$999.  I ordered one, an ASUS ZenBook Pro  UM535.  I've always felt that ASUS' laptop computers were an alternative to Apple, but it took me three recent tries to arrive at this one.

It isn't a gaming machine.  It is officially a creator's machine.  It only has a resolution of 1920x1080, but that's fine, considering the games that I will play, and the photos and video that I will edit.

What's wrong with the MacBook Air M1?  Nothing is really wrong with it, but I'm missing some games that I played daily on the Windows machine.  Sadly, a number of those games aren't playable on the Steam Deck, as well.

So, first impressions are:

Great display

Poor WiFi

Decent keyboard and trackpad

For US$1399.99. I would feel that the display was too much of the cost.  At the price I paid, it's a good machine.  It hasn't been 24 hours and I've had multiple instances of difficulty connecting to the router downstairs, even though my other devices aren't having a problem. I'm wondering if this is a Windows 11 thing, along with Intel's crappy compatibility in the WiFi department.

I haven't really pushed the machine, but Unreal Tournament 2004 and Asphalt 9 were smooth.  That should be the case with this hardware.

Bitlocker was enabled, even though I don't have the key.  I disabled it.  Besides, the SSD already has some encryption.

It also came with Alexa enabled.  I removed that and McAfee anti-virus.  Getting rid of the stickers could be more interesting.

Initially updating software is always a pain and of course, the WiFi connection didn't work during the updates, so I used my iPhone as a hotspot with T-Mobile 5G service to complete the updates.

It's been a year since I had a Windows machine and that 7th generation quad core i7 Omen by HP wasn't much faster than the 3rd generation i7 MacBook Pro.  This feels so much faster.  I want to say that it's smoother but Windows 11 feels broken so far.  None of the game launchers seem happy.

I connected my Corsair mouse and there was no mention of new hardware and it seems to be working without incident.  I had so much trouble with the iCue software, I'm not sure that I want to load it onto Windows 11.

Update 2022.12.10: Was searching for new Intel WiFi and Bluetooth drivers and the machine restarted.  It mentioned something about fTPM being corrupt, having a new CPU, and tried to use Windows Hello to check my face to log into the machine.  I freaked out a bit.  I couldn't access the internet and needed Microsoft Authenticator to authorize the login.  I couldn't use Microsoft Authenticator for some reason and it took me some time to find solutions.  It's all working again.

Update 2022.12.14: The machine is still working but the WiFi is still erratic.  For a company that sells routers and extenders, I'd think they'd be better.  I ran Windows 11 diagnostics and I've had some marginal improvement.  A new driver and diagnostics have helped but it just isn't all that reliable.  I'm wondering if Windows 11 has something to do with the problem.  I've seen a few comments about it being beta test quality.  It's just odd that the ZenBook Pro is the only device out of four that is having WiFi issues on the same household connection.

Games run well, whether they use the inbuilt Radeon technology or the mobile RTX 3050 Ti.

I did some research and the Ryzen 7 5800H and the Apple Silicon M1 don't seem that far apart in performance but the MacBook Air seems much faster in launching applications and switching web sites in a browser window.

 Update 2023.01.04: I got an e-mail from ASUS thanking me for taking the effort to write a review but that it did not follow their guidelines and was rejected.  I guess you can't tell people that the WiFi isn't working well and that it was the only one of four devices not staying connected.  Oops. 

Update 2023.01.21: Saw a report about Intel's WiFi hardware dropping connections in other machines.  It didn/t mention the Intel hardware I have but I wouldn't be surprised if all of their technology is just a bit sloppy.

I've moved to another room and my computer desk is pretty much right above the router, so I'm getting a better signal.

Windows update 22H2 was ready today and I confirmed that I wanted it installed.  Things don't seem different so far.  Hopefully, the bug fixes will make things better.  Windows 11 seems buggy.

Update 2023.06.04: I haven't seen a firmware update for a while and only occasional Windows updates, although a substantial feature update is due.

Machine is working well.  Fans kick in frequently while I'm playing Honkai: Star Rail and other recent games.  Graphics are good and OLED is sharp.  Keyboard is...meh.

Update 2024.09.09: Microsoft keeps pushing AI-related updates and each one seems to degrade performance of games and other high usage applications.  The machine itself is doing a great job.  The keyboard is still annoying.  They should have ditched the numeric keypad in order to have a better keyboard.

Update 2025.06.11: 2.5 years on the same Windows machine is amazing.  The other day, it didn't seem to be responding.  It's happened a few times but the power button didn't seem to work, either.  I didn't want to open it, but it makes me wonder if the heat is getting to it.  It's a Creator's machine, not a gaming machine.  (Trying telling me that processing video doesn't take a lot of power.) I have the fans set to start early, to avoid a meltdown.  The laptop cooler is working but may not be enough.

Windows updates are still a pain, but this last one may have made it less worse.

I looked at the ASUS ROG Zephryus G14 with an RTX 4060 and AMD 8945HS as a replacement.  It's a bit smaller, a bit more powerful, and it's made for gaming, so that the airflow should be improved, plus the AMD processor should be more efficient. 

Update 2026.05.24: Got a replacement about 1 week ago, an MSI Crosshair 16 HX with AMD Ryzen 9 8940 HX and Nvidia RTX 5060.  That's a step up, although not a big one.  The ZenBook Pro was starting to overheat a bit since I've been playing Where Winds Meet.  It doesn't help that Windows 11 performance has been going downhill with all the AI bits they're using whether you approve or not.

Since the Ryzen 9 8940 HX is three generations newer and has twice the number of cores, it should do much better and for the most part, it does.  The RTX 5060 is at the same position in the RTX lineup, but with 8 GB of GDRAM instead of 4 GB.

I'm not getting the best out of it yet\, and there is a BIOS update that may fix that, but the update procedure is a pain.

I updated the ZenBook without a problem.  I've updated many a machine without a problem.  MSI wanted me to jump through hoops.

In any case, the ASUS machine may have a second life as a Linux machine running CachyOS.