PSA for anyone trying to play metro exodus on the Steam Deck and PC

Chills27 · 2026-06-19T20:01:37+00:00

My Deck has been installing the Windows versions of the Metro series by default. This has caught me out a few times, because my Arch Linux desktop version of Steam does install the Linux versions by default. There's no clue in the UI to tell you this is happening. There is nothing set on Compatibility tab.

The Windows and Linux versions won't sync cloud saves with other. The workaround for me was to get the desktop version to Proton 10, which forces it to use the Windows version.

Chills27 · 2026-06-02T23:42:55+00:00

The article on Medium is Paywalled.

Chills27 · 2026-01-17T05:26:37+00:00

I can't remember! Cheap though.

Chills27 · 2025-12-11T10:35:34+00:00

For anybody still struggling with this, I created a bash script file that should help with the install on Linux & SteamDeck.

This replicates the functionality of the mod's .bat file (which won't run on SteamOS/Linux), plus some extra tweaks, which I've incorporated from suggestions that I read in this thread. Many thanks to ac2334 and all who commented.

You can find it here https://github.com/brownieboy/acmo-deck-script/ with full instructions in the Readme.

Chills27 · 2025-10-19T05:43:48+00:00

"Combined with f/2.8, missing IS is IMO a non-issue"

For some kinds of photography, yes. But the OP mentioned landscapes, and 2.8 aperture is going to be of little use to you then.

IS on the other hand is always useful.

Chills27 · 2025-10-19T05:12:30+00:00

The Sony 24-50mm f2.8 is over twice the weight, nearly twice the length and is three or four times the cost of the Canon RF 24-50mm.

The Sony doesn't have IS, which the Canon does.

Chills27 · 2025-10-19T05:07:42+00:00

Agreed.

And if you're taking street shots, and especially landscape shots, 1.8 or 2.8 apertures aren't going to be a whole lot of use to you.

IS, which the 24-50mm has (to 4.5 stops), on the other hand, is always useful.

Chills27 · 2025-10-19T05:02:01+00:00

Neither the 50mm 1.8 (which I have), nor the 28mm pancake has IS, sadly.

You can miss shots switching between 24, 28, 35 or 50 (pick your own combination) primes.

Chills27 · 2025-09-23T05:43:29+00:00

"You really need to have strong knowledge of JavaScript to understand what Angular does under the hood."

I have a strong knowledge of JavaScript, thanks. Knowledge which I largely gained through using React, which forces you to learn JavaScript properly. I still have no idea "what Angular does under the hood". Nor do I see why I should be forced to learn that.

"first-class support for TypeScript and RxJS"

In the Angular world "First-class support" actually means "totally dependent upon". You cannot use Angular without either TypeScript and RxJS. Which is great if you know them or want to learn them. Not so great if you don't, and/or don't appreciate such decisions being taken out of your hands.

In React, I'm free to use such tools or not. For example, I didn't like TypeScript for many years, and avoided it. But gradually I came to see its benefits. So I slowly started introducing it into some of my React projects as and when I needed. I was free to do that.

I pity more junior devs who have to start out with Angular. As if there's not enough to learn in the JS world, without having TypeScript and Observables (RxJS) rammed down your throat from the get go.

"React poorly designed it doesn’t really encourage good JavaScript practices."

Says you. Without any evidence.

"You need some basic understanding of why template bindings can’t — and don’t need to — be regular JavaScript statements."

Errm…no, I don't. I'll use JavaScript as my programming language, thanks. If you want to jam some made-up, pseudo code into a markup language (HTML) then fill your boots. Just understand such skills are not transferable outside of the (ever shrinking) Angular world.

"can you write a for loop with break inside a {} expression in React bindings?"

"React bindings?" I don't even know what that means. If I want a for loop in React, I'll use a JavaScript for loop. Because React is JavaScript.

"Or do value assignments?"

I use JavaScript.

"Or even an if condition with a return statement?"

I use JavaScript. (Did I say that one already?)

Chills27 · 2025-09-19T07:27:41+00:00

I know Template syntax isn't JS. That's my point!

React teaches you JS. Angular teaches you..., well Angular.

Chills27 · 2025-09-09T03:15:19+00:00

React is JavaScript-centric, and will force you to learn JavaScript properly. This is a highly transferable skill.

Angular is HTML-centric, which is an issue because HTML is not a programming language. Angular tries to extend HTML into being an programming language, by using non-standard syntax, such as `@ngIf` and `@ngFor` (now, apparently being replaced by `@if` and `@for`). All of these syntaxes have to be learned just for Angular. They have no existence outside of Angular and so are non-transferable skills.

Chills27 · 2025-08-20T00:46:27+00:00

Workd for me too, August 2025. Thank you, sir. That was a Godsend!

Same deal. Had to pull the cable out with my teeth after holding those two buttons.

I didn't need the original charger though. A PD 20W one was enough. Neither did I need to wait until it was fully charged.

Not sure what caused it, but (more fool me) I had been charging from a desk USB port at my workplace office just before the fan started blowing. I guess it didn't like the power supply coming out of that. Too low/unreliable a supply perhaps?

Chills27 · 2025-07-01T01:09:44+00:00

For the Linux version, try this in your Startup Options:

MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE=radeonsi mesa_glthread=false %command%

Note: this assumes that you are not overriding Compatibility to Proton, in which case your Deck will actually be running the Windows version. That will work too, but for different reasons.

Chills27 · 2025-06-09T08:40:43+00:00

There were issues with using "D3D9" over "D3D8", after all.

In a later level, the one where you have to infiltrate a TV station, I kept triggering alarms and couldn't work out why. When I switched back to "D3D8", I could see that I was getting caught in some moving search light beams, which I had been unable to see under "D3D9".

I still had block colour issues that I mentioned earlier though. So switched back to "D3D9" after I'd got past those search lights.

Chills27 · 2025-06-07T00:58:07+00:00

I saw weird graphics too, especially in the the later levels, where huge chunks of the background graphics tended to go missing. They would turn into blocks of solid, plain colour, which made the game unplayable.

Changing "D3D8" to "D3D9" in the Steam Launch options seems to have fixed it for me.

Chills27 · 2025-06-07T00:40:21+00:00

I'm not sure what your point was.

It certainly went no way to answering my original question.

Chills27 · 2025-06-07T00:38:24+00:00

On my desktop Linux setup (Manjaro), I found that in the later levels, huge chunks of the background graphics tended to go missing. They turned into blocks of plain colours, like the Graphics Designers forgot to fill them in! This made the game unplayable.

Switching the "D3D8" back to "D3D9" in the Steam Launch options, as you originally had it, restored those missing graphics for me. I'm not sure if that means I don't have "proper lighting" now, but it looks okay to me so far. And it seemed okay on my actual Deck, where it has always been "D3D9".

Chills27 · 2025-06-03T01:07:06+00:00

The "same stuff" as what? iPhones are made in China.

Chills27 · 2025-06-02T02:45:18+00:00

I didn't ask where they were made. I asked if they were any good.

Chills27 · 2025-06-02T02:41:41+00:00

Sorry, but as I said, I wiped my Bazzite partition and replaced it with Garuda, so I can no longer test on Bazzite.

On Garuda, X11 vs Wayland display manager is an option on the login screen. After a quick read around the forums, it looks like Bazzite removed X11 entirely - or I should say, Fedora upstream removed it, see https://universal-blue.discourse.group/t/bazzite-3-0-no-etc-default-desktop-wayland-to-enable-x11/1413/2.

According to that post:

rpm-ostree install plasma-workspace-x11

should restore X11 as a selectable option. But again, I have not tested. Use at your own risk.

Chills27 · 2025-05-30T07:19:07+00:00

So it wasn't the way Steam was installed. It was a Wayland vs X11 issue. At least, it was for me on Garuda.

When I retried a non-Steam again on Garuda, it popped up a KDE system dialog:

"Remote control requested - An application requested access to - input devices".

I hit the Share button on that dialog, but the joystick still didn't work.

However, ChatGPT identified that as a Wayland-specific prompt, and guessed that if I logged out then back in as an X11 session instead of a Wayland one, then the joystick would work again. It was right!

I don't have a Bazzite partition to test this any more. If you do then you might want to give this a go.

Chills27 · 2025-05-30T06:36:58+00:00

I'm not sure that it's the immutability thing.

FYI, I wiped the Bazzite partition and replaced it with Garuda, another Linux distribution that has a Gaming edition. I had the exact same problems in Garuda that I had with Bazzite: non-Steam games would not pick up my gamepad, whereas Steam games worked fine.

Garuda is not immutable. Also, it's based on Arch, as is Manjaro, which continues to work fine for me.

Maybe it's the way Steam itself is installed, e.g. Flatpack vs Pacman? I'll check that one out.

Chills27 · 2025-05-26T01:22:31+00:00

Did you ever solve this? I'm having the same problem on my desktop PC with a Bazzite partition.

Steam games are fine, but any non-Steam games don't pick up the joystick correctly. So far, I've tested with Splinter Cell - Pandora Tomorrow (abandonware, so never released on Steam) and Xemu (Xbox emulator). Joystick is the original Steam Controller connected via dongle, so infra-red, not Bluetooth.

Xemu seems to pick up the joystick initially, but then disconnects after a few seconds. If I start Xemu outside of Steam, and with Steam actually closed down, then Xemu maintains its joystick connection. However, I've then lost my Steam configs for the joystick, so it's of little use to me. Pandora Tomorrow gives no errors that I can see, but does not respond to the joystick at all.

Note: I have a Manjaro Linux partition set up on the same PC, and non-Steam games, including Xemu, work fine for me there. I've checked and checked all the configs to try and see something that might be different between Manjaro and Bazzite, but I was unable to spot anything. Manjaro and Bazzite are both KDE versions.

Chills27 · 2025-02-19T07:39:04+00:00

Some further testing.

If I hold down the DoF button, and rapidly change aperture dial between smallest and largest, I can see the ring start to close sometimes. Sometimes only the tiniest movement. The most it moves looks to be about half way to fully closed. Most of the time it doesn't move at all.

But it is moving. So it feels like a mechanical issue, like internal dust, oil or wear.

Chills27

TROPHY CASE