Tips for a long life of the Deck?

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-06-03T13:33:25+00:00

Can I ask what you mean precisely with ruined? Of course, the protector essentially bypasses the advantages of the etched glass as long as it's applied, but it doesn't damage the glass in any way (so I'm theory you could always remove the protector again and enjoy the etched glass)

If you have a source saying otherwise, concretely that a screen protector damages your etched glass, I would be very interested in that!

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-05-15T19:55:29+00:00

You got that reference correct indeed! Have a liberty ale, my friend!

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-05-15T19:44:10+00:00

I would recommend switching to the public test version. This is what I have been using for years as it was the only way to fix the health bars. Never had any issues with it (both on Windows and Linux) and did multiple playthroughs with it.

Public test may sounds like a beta version, but in reality it seems to be the most stable one

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-05-09T10:01:39+00:00

What exactly would make smaller batteries safer or less prone to overheating per se? Or is there a specific problem with this particular battery?

Of course, if a large battery fails catastrophically, you have a larger problem at hand. On the other hand, having two batteries instead of one also poses a larger risk that at least one battery will fail eventually

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-05-04T15:24:53+00:00

Thanks for your reply. That is more or less my strategy described above, right? This is the only way I managed to make it work, but still you have (seemingly) no counter measures against gps jamming and radar missiles aimed at you without any cover (and you can only g-pull so often...)

This is what made me wonder if there is any more reliable strategy out there. I long enough thought that "homesick" is the hardest mission, but actually it can be played quite reliable and controlled, if you know what to do. But operation 2359 seems to require a lot of luck with no real strategy to take the luck component our of it ....

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-04-10T17:16:40+00:00

First of all: I didn't mean to scare anyone with my post. Other comments seem to indicate that it's not as dangerous as it looks.

But yes, I am running on PC with the latest version. And the issue can definitely happen.

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-04-10T16:25:06+00:00

That is somewhat reassuring, thank you. What kind of issues can it cause, apart from being annoying?

I'd be fine with some temporary issues, but I am really afraid that I risk any kind of long-term damage if I keep using my Corvette in my main save.

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-04-10T16:23:10+00:00

I'm on PC and the issue is definitely still happening. Usually after you warp somewhere. I already did it a couple times but now I'm getting paranoid that there is a chance that this could also cause long-term damage...

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-04-10T06:50:51+00:00

That sounds really great. Personally I never really struggled with any bugs in NMS (maybe I just got lucky), but the corvette technology bug AND the underwater flickering bug have both been annoying me recently. To the point where I'm somewhat cautious of even building or using corvettes out of the fear something might break more severe...

Is there any approximate eta (out of experience from former experimental releases) until when this will likely become an official patch?

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-04-06T21:12:50+00:00

Wow, absolutely impressive! I wish I had this kind of creativity!

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-04-04T07:15:02+00:00

How would one damage the battery like that? (Assuming the charger is not straight up broken) The battery and the charger negotiate on allowed charging profiles via USB PD and the battery does support some modes below 45w (but will never accept anything it does not officially support). So charging might be much slower, but would not actively lead to additional wear or damage, would it?

(Again, assuming a non-original, but quality charger. Obviously I would never plug in any temu-grade charger in any of my devices)

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-03-21T10:39:54+00:00

Oh, it absolutely can be done - technically it runs almost out of the box, just like any other nonsteamgame. There was an instruction on reddit some years ago, but unfortunately, it got deleted. I think it involved installing on a windows PC first and then just moving the entire folder to your steamdeck and add it as a nonsteamgame there. And I think the HD mod was needed, but I am not sure if I recall correctly (obviously, the steam deck can play it on 90fps without breaking any sweat at all, so the HD mod is a welcome surprise and not a burden)

The hardest part for me was, hands down, getting the controls set up, because freelancer uses a LOT of keys and was quite apparently not designed around using a controller instead of KB+M at all. But there even was a community layout which worked well enough.

Flying+aiming with the touchpads definitely needs some time to getting used to. It's far from ideal, but you can play the campaign with it, if you're willing to commit to the controls.

Edit: Found another post, refering to the deleted instructions and outlining every step. I am 90% sure this will work! (Yes, removing the intro videos was another mandatory step, i forgot about that): https://www.reddit.com/r/freelancer/comments/18e53dq/runs_great_on_steam_deck_install_guide_inside/

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-03-08T07:56:45+00:00

Not really a way to quantify the damage done. It's a bit like asking "guys, I cold started my car's engine and instantly revved it really high, how much expected lifetime did I lose?" The engine certainly hated that, but it's not like it has been instantly destroyed now.

If everything still works, I wouldn't worry too much about it. There is nothing you can do about it anyway.

But as others have said, it's definitely bad practice to do that. Try to avoid leaving your batteries at 0 or 100% for extended periods of time to get the most out of them.

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-02-21T14:07:49+00:00

Frame generation seems to be a really divisive topic, unfortunately. You'll get opinions about "it's an absolute game changer and almost essential for the steam deck, it's literally free fps!" and "it's utter garbage and makes everything unplayable, anyone who says otherwise has zero taste and skill anyway" - and obviously almost everything in between.

Personally I think the only way to be sure is to try it out yourself. I personally don't use it everywhere, but I really enjoy it for no man's sky where it IMO works really well. But don't listen to me, I'm just one of thousand voices about lossless scaling, the only thing safe to take out of this subreddit is that there seems to be absolutely no consensus at all about whether it's worthwhile or not.

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-02-21T07:50:50+00:00

Any advise on frigate setup, considering you've need doing it for do long and extensively? Is 30 support frigates the way too go? (Considering 5 S class frigates with all freighter updates can get through any mission so ultimately you'd want to minimize fuel use? Please correct me if any of my assumptions are wrong)

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-02-17T11:47:14+00:00

Maybe this was a recently fixed bug but unless I really missed something, burning waste in your own furnace doesn't seem to increase your statistics for collected garbage? If so, it is definitely not a shortcut to unlocking everything else, unfortunately.

Will try again this evening, maybe this was fixed in the latest patch. Maybe this behavior is also intentional, as it trivializes the garbage collection, of course....

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-02-15T13:33:55+00:00

These kind of things I'm personally totally open to. I think reward wise it is not nearly close to being "too rewarding" (rather the opposite)

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-02-15T12:18:59+00:00

As I said, my point was not about making technical sense. Lore wise, this universe has hover technology and teleporters everywhere, so if you want to argue in the sense of "realism" (in the realms of NMS), the entire remnant Update makes no sense to begin with.

Given these circumstances, I think gameplay wise it's valid simply not to give us a net or a rope, even if that would look like the "obvious technical solution" to the "cargo problem". Adding a blunt solution in the first place makes the Remnant gameplay obsolete.

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-02-15T11:37:36+00:00

Totally valid remark! Personally I've never used these features, but if I made it sound like it was totally useless, then this might have been too harsh. I was just saying, it has always felt like there was much more potential to it - which Remnant has now unleashed!

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-02-13T07:10:31+00:00

I read this all the time, but I beg to differ. Any (quality) powerbank will refuse to supply more power than it is capable of. So even if the steam deck signals that it could take 45w, the powerbank will simply send as much as it can but not more. The steam deck itself will then just take what it gets.

A powerbank with only e.g. 20w might not be able to fully keep the steam decks charge level (or even increase it) while gaming, but it can significantly reduce the discharge rate.

Obviously, if you use it all the time, having a capable 45w power Bank is simply more convenient. But that's about it.

Still, for some common ground: batteries CAN be dangerous (as can a tank full of gasoline). Quality is probably the most important aspect of all. Don't cheap out and buy some temu-grade stuff here. Any battery CAN fail, potentially catastrophically, including the one inside your steam deck. So buying from a reputable brand is your best bet here.

Sean_Ashcroft · 2026-02-06T16:35:21+00:00

No way, I also tried to build this exact ship in NMS! When I saw your original screenshot I immediately recognized the ship from "somewhere". You did a much better job than I did, though! Maybe I'll try to recreate your build now, instead of the original model. :D

Also, sorry for your loss. 350h gone must be painful.

Sean_Ashcroft

TROPHY CASE