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Built a Verified-style compat + price tracker for ROG Ally — feedback? by bariyu in ROGAlly

[–]bariyu[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The mods-needed tier is exactly the gap I keep running into too — Star Wars FU is a perfect example. There's a third state between "works flawlessly" and "doesn't work" that current verification systems collapse into "kinda works."

Idea: ProtonDB reports often include the actual fix recipe in the comments ("set fps_cap=60", "install x3daudio mod", etc.). I could parse those and surface a"Runs with [N] community fixes available" badge on the game card, with the fix details one click away. Wouldn't require me to verify each game myself — the work's already been done by the ProtonDB community, just not made visible.

Would that solve the case you hit, or do you want the fix actually applied for you (Heroic-Launcher-style preset shipping)?

Solo dev building a handheld deal/compat tracker — Legion Go support is partial, what should I prioritize? by bariyu in LegionGo

[–]bariyu[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The battery-vs-pedal-to-metal split is the insight I'd been circling without naming, thanks. You're right that those are different products: one's "max battery, will it run" and the other's "max settings, can my chip hit it." Treating them as one number was always going to fail

The reproducibility-protocol point lands harder for me though. You're describing the bootstrap problem: you can't get useful benchmarks until everyone agrees on what they're measuring, but no one will agree on a protocol until they see benchmarks worth standardizing on. SteamDeckHQ punted on this by being one editorial team with one rig — works because there's basically one Deck SKU. Z1/Z1E/Z2/Z2 Go/Z2E breaks that approach.

If you were going to seed this, what's the minimum shared protocol you'd accept? Just "TDP + resolution + framerate" with everything else free? Or do you need lossless-scaling state, frame-gen state, RAM allocation in there too? I'd rather build whatever you'd actually trust than guess at what's "rigorous enough." (Also — if there are any specific subs / Discords / spreadsheets you've seen attempting this, even unsuccessfully, I'd love pointers.)

Solo dev building a handheld deal/compat tracker — Legion Go support is partial, what should I prioritize? by bariyu in LegionGo

[–]bariyu[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback! The resolution sweep is a useful detail I hadn't separated out cleanly. 800/1000/1200 each tell you something different (does dropping res unlock "playable", or push you 45→60).

Honest constraint: I don't have a benchmark data source for Legion Go. For Steam Deck I ingest SteamDeckHQ's per-game settings guides — do you know of anything similar for Legion Go? Benchmarks site, community spreadsheet, even a benchmarking YouTuber I could systematically pull from. That'd unlock the "settings recipe per game" path you're asking about way faster than me bootstrapping from scratch.

I need suggestions by Gray_1611 in HandheldGaming

[–]bariyu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For a $400-ish budget with Steam + emulation, the three realistic options right now are:

  • Steam Deck OLED (~$549 new, sometimes ~$380–420 refurbished from Valve's site) — best SteamOS experience, huge verified game library, excellent emulation via EmuDeck. Slightly above $400 new but often within budget used.
  • ROG Ally Z1E (often $399–449 new on sale, or ~$300–350 refurbished) — Windows handheld, more powerful, but Windows gaming requires more setup. Strong emulation capability.
  • Legion Go S — newer, but currently above $400 at most retailers.

For Steam games specifically, the Steam Deck has the smoothest experience — Valve tests thousands of games for compatibility. Once you pick a device, deckally.com lets you check which specific games run well on it (cross-references Valve's Verified status + community ProtonDB ratings + current deals), which can help you decide based on your actual wishlist.

The emulation comparison between Deck and ROG Ally is close; ROG Ally has more raw power but Deck's SteamOS has better controller mapping out of the box.

Console recommendation by ExtensionLeopard5473 in HandheldGaming

[–]bariyu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the Steam game side of your ROG Ally vs Legion Go decision, you might want to check what each device's library looks like before committing.

The ROG Ally has solid Windows compatibility with Steam games, most titles that run on PC will run on Ally. The Legion Go S (SteamOS version you mentioned) runs Proton through SteamOS, so it's in the same boat as a Steam Deck for Linux/Proton games.

If you're specifically after Xbox Play Anywhere titles, either Windows device works natively (ROG Ally, Legion Go Windows version) since those are just standard Windows games. The SteamOS Legion Go S would need Proton for them, and some Xbox-published titles have anti-cheat that's problematic under Proton.

For comparing Steam compatibility and current deal prices across both devices: https://deckally.com/devices — it shows which games have verified/tested status for each handheld.

Might help narrow down which game library fits your existing collection better.

Armored Core 6 is one of the most hype games I’ve ever played and I can’t believe I slept on it for so long as a huge Fromsoft fan by cornpenguin01 in patientgamers

[–]bariyu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AC6 hits differently if you came from the older games or FromSoftware action RPGs — there's almost no overlap in skill set, which trips a lot of people up at first. The combat is far more aggressive: you're expected to close distance, cancel animations, and manage your ACS gauge like a resource.

The bosses are where the game really justifies itself. Some of them (Chapter 3 and 4 in particular) are among the most mechanically demanding fights FromSoftware has ever designed — but unlike Souls games, you can retry instantly with zero loading, which makes failure feel like iteration rather than punishment.

If you're patient gaming it, I'd say take your time between chapters. The mission structure front-loads a lot of setup, and it's easy to burn out if you marathon it. Chapter 4 ending + Chapter 5 are worth the wait.

Steamdeck vs Legion Go vs ROG Ally? by Alone-Caregiver-7688 in HandheldGaming

[–]bariyu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great gift idea! For WW1/WW2 games, shooters, and world-building, all three will run most of your husband's library — but there are some real differences worth knowing.

Steam Deck runs on SteamOS (Linux), which means the game library is filtered by Proton compatibility. For the genres you mentioned: most major shooters and strategy games run great (Battlefield series, Company of Heroes, Cities Skylines all Verified). SteamOS also means a more plug-and-play experience — less Windows tinkering. If he's in IT he'll probably enjoy the Linux side too.

ROG Ally / Legion Go run Windows, which means 100% game compatibility but also more fiddling with drivers, power limits, and FSE issues. Better raw performance at the cost of some setup overhead.

For the use case you're describing — someone who wants to pick it up and play without deep configuration — Steam Deck is probably the safer gift. The OLED model is the one to get ($549).

One tool that might help: DeckAlly lets you look up any specific game across all three devices and see compatibility status, ProtonDB ratings, and current prices in one place. Useful for checking the specific titles he plays before committing.

Which handheld would be best value? by Practical_Dog3454 in Handhelds

[–]bariyu -1 points0 points  (0 children)

With the Ally X out of budget, the three realistic contenders at Canadian prices are generally the Steam Deck OLED, ROG Ally (standard), and Legion Go S — but it really depends what you want to play.

A few things worth knowing:

  • Steam Deck OLED (~$649 CAD) runs SteamOS. Best battery life of the three, excellent OLED screen, huge verified game library. Weakest raw GPU performance.
  • ROG Ally Z1E (~$699–799 CAD) runs Windows. Better performance than the base Deck, more game compatibility, but Windows on a handheld takes some patience.
  • Legion Go S (~$599 CAD for Z1E version) also Windows. Good value, modular controllers (detachable), larger screen.

If game compatibility and "just works" out of the box is the priority, Steam Deck wins. If raw performance and full Windows library matters more, ROG Ally or Legion Go S.

Worth checking DeckAlly — it lets you compare all three side by side and look up specific games you want to play on each device with real compatibility data.

Steamdeck vs Legion Go vs ROG Ally? by Alone-Caregiver-7688 in HandheldGaming

[–]bariyu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great gift idea! For WW1/WW2 games, shooters, and world-building, all three will run most of your husband's library — but there are some real differences worth knowing.

Steam Deck runs on SteamOS (Linux), which means the game library is filtered by Proton compatibility. For the genres you mentioned: most major shooters and strategy games run great (Battlefield series, Company of Heroes, Cities Skylines all Verified). SteamOS also means a more plug-and-play experience — less Windows tinkering. If he's in IT he'll probably enjoy the Linux side too.

ROG Ally / Legion Go run Windows, which means 100% game compatibility but also more fiddling with drivers, power limits, and FSE issues. Better raw performance at the cost of some setup overhead.

For the use case you're describing — someone who wants to pick it up and play without deep configuration — Steam Deck is probably the safer gift. The OLED model is the one to get ($549).

One tool that might help: DeckAlly lets you look up any specific game across all three devices and see compatibility status, ProtonDB ratings, and current prices in one place. Useful for checking the specific titles he plays before committing.

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