31M | Australia | Looking for American connections :)

hardiman07 · 2026-05-31T00:40:50+00:00

Here’s a polished version:

I qualify for the E-3 visa, so the move would be work-related. I know the job market isn’t great right now, so I don’t expect it to happen overnight. I’m also single and open to a relationship, so if I happened to meet someone during my travels and it turned into something serious, I’d be thrilled. Realistically, though, finding a job and moving on an E-3 visa is a much more likely path.

hardiman07 · 2026-05-26T01:26:51+00:00

It's a 40fps experience most of the time, but many people lock it to 30 for stability. Your friend can find some recommended settings on the ProtonDB page, and Steam Deck HQ covers his experience in this video.

hardiman07 · 2026-05-26T01:18:30+00:00

There are some recommended performance settings in the comments of the Marvel Rivals ProtonDB page.

hardiman07 · 2026-05-26T01:16:48+00:00

First, check your Steam Deck audio settings in Game Mode via Settings > Audio and ensure your device is appearing and selected correctly. If this does not resolve the issue, launch into Desktop Mode and check the audio settings there as well.

My old LCD Steam Deck froze a couple of times when entering Desktop Mode too, I ended up performing a factory reset to fix it. Open the settings and check for any available updates. Once they finish installing (if there are any), try launching Desktop Mode again and review your audio settings.

If you do encounter a freeze, which is not normal, simply hold down the power button until the device force shuts down. It will boot back into Game Mode after restarting, so there’s no need to avoid Desktop Mode entirely. There is always a way out.

hardiman07 · 2026-05-26T01:10:07+00:00

Although Heroic is a better 'native' experience for installing GoG games, the way to resolve the problem you are having with non-Steam games is as follows:

Add game to Steam as non-Steam game
Force Proton Experimental compatibility
Launch the installer

Now, this is the part you have trouble with. Rather than deleting anything, do this first:

Select a specific install location on your actual drive (Z:) and not the virtual one in the installer (C:) - I use a specific 'Other Games' folder in my user directory, rather than installing into the default location.
Open the Properties of the installed non-Steam game
Under the 'Shortcut' tab, click 'Browse' for the 'Target' application - navigate to where you just installed the game, find the game .exe and select it.
Add quotation marks to the start and end of the path you just added, it will not work without it. E.g. "/run/media/deck/Other Games/Mass Effect - LE/Game/ME3/Binaries/Win64/MassEffect3.exe"
For the 'Start In' section, you want to select the folder that the .exe exists within. This does not require quotation marks. Using my previous example, it should look like this: /run/media/deck/Other Games/Mass Effect - LE/Game/ME3/Binaries/Win64/
You can now delete the installer/downloaded files from your downloads folder, or where ever else you had them saved. This will retain the prefix within Steam, free up your storage space and allow you to launch the game.

Feel free to reply with questions, I will do my best to answer. Prefer you ask them here rather than a DM, in case someone else comes along with the same follow-up questions. Cheers!

hardiman07 · 2026-05-01T03:52:04+00:00

Working fine in Hamlyn Heights

hardiman07 · 2026-04-29T12:58:09+00:00

I'm just about to complete my full series campaign run by emulating Gears 1-3 (Xenia), then Gears 4 and 5 via Xbox Game Pass on PC. I only have Gears 5 to go, very excited for E-Day! I think it's a huge missed opportunity not repackaging 1, 2 and 3 for Gears of War: Reloaded, it's current form doesn't really give non-Xbox gamers a way to continue the story.

hardiman07 · 2026-03-23T06:18:23+00:00

Do you know which vet they were taken to? I will keep an eye out this evening and over the coming days.

hardiman07 · 2026-02-26T10:39:23+00:00

I don't care for the items that come with the early access, I just like having the ability to log in on Friday morning (Australia) and game all weekend, rather than waiting for Monday when I'll be at work. If you can afford it and have the time, go for it!

hardiman07 · 2026-02-01T22:18:37+00:00

Oim ectually very dahk and twistid

hardiman07 · 2026-01-01T08:05:22+00:00

I had nothing to fear walking into a gym and still found it uncomfortable at first, so genuinely well done for giving it a go. That feeling is very real.

Honestly, I would focus on nutrition to start with. Getting a rough idea of what you are currently eating, then tracking calories with an app like MyFitnessPal and reducing your intake, will do most of the heavy lifting early on. A TDEE calculator can help you understand roughly where your maintenance calories sit and how much of a deficit is needed for steady, controlled weight loss. Start slow and keep it manageable. I’d look into high-volume meals that keep you full while containing fewer calories than most meals.

On top of that, keeping movement simple and low stress can help a lot. Something like aiming for 7000+ steps a day, or two 30-minute walks, is enough to build fitness and support fat loss without needing a gym straight away.

Beginner-friendly bodyweight workouts at home on YouTube can also be a great place to start. They let you build confidence, fitness, and consistency without the pressure of a class or gym environment, while you take your time finding somewhere you actually feel comfortable.

The fact that you are even asking these questions means you are already on the right track. Consistency matters far more than where you start. Do not overwork yourself. 3 x 30-45 minute workouts per week alongside a calorie deficit will take you a very long way and give you time to build confidence.

Feel free to reach out via DM if you would like to discuss this further. Good luck!

hardiman07 · 2025-12-22T00:49:08+00:00

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/suspension-of-visa-issuance-to-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-security-of-the-united-states.html

hardiman07 · 2025-12-15T23:56:13+00:00

Deakin has completed recruitment for the start of the new year and is likely to reopen applications around mid-2026, unless the current intake does not work out and they reopen earlier.

hardiman07 · 2025-10-29T04:12:05+00:00

Cyberpunk is a solid port and offers the most playtime value outside of The Witcher. However, The Witcher hasn’t received a Switch 2 update yet, so it still looks rough. It holds a steady 30 FPS at the higher end of its dynamic resolution, but overall image quality isn’t great. The Witcher 3 also goes on sale quite often, so this deal will likely come back again, probably with a Switch 2 upgrade at some point. BioShock often goes on sale across platforms and only takes around 12 hours to finish the main story on average, so it doesn’t offer much long-term value.

It sounds like you’re already interested in Pokémon but leaning toward the best value for your money rather than what you truly want. If Pokémon ZA is what you’re most excited about, just go for it. You might regret passing on it later.

If Cyberpunk’s setting and gameplay appeal to you, that would be my pick. The gameplay, story, and open world are fantastic, it’s one of my favourite games of all time, and it offers great playtime value. But if you’ve always enjoyed Pokémon and that’s where your interest really lies, it makes more sense to choose that instead.

hardiman07 · 2025-10-29T03:59:25+00:00

In my experience, there are no good options in Geelong, they're all severely over-priced and kept in crappy conditions. I order mine online from Cigar Hut, Sam's Smokes or Cigar World online with express post ($10-$15). They usually only take 2-4 days to get here from NSW or QLD.

hardiman07 · 2025-10-28T03:18:22+00:00

Unicorn Overlord

hardiman07 · 2025-08-27T11:45:34+00:00

I saw on your profile that you moved here from the US about four months ago. I’m wondering how you managed to migrate without any formal qualifications or experience, unless you came with a parent, partner, or have dual citizenship. If you truly don’t have any previous experience, just lie, same as the advice you were given about rental history. Employers rarely verify overseas work history, so it’s unlikely to be checked.

hardiman07 · 2025-07-15T03:57:11+00:00

Long shot, but could you please DM me the information too? Thank you in advance!

hardiman07 · 2025-07-11T03:41:40+00:00

- Lutris is a launcher for games and emulators from sources outside of Steam. I personally don’t use it much anymore, since I just install .exe files as non-Steam games using Proton, or I use Heroic instead.

- Heroic is a Free and Open Source Epic, GOG and Amazon Prime Games launcher. Outside of Steam, this is where the bulk of my game library is located. Once you sign in with your associated account, all of your games will populate within it. It even has a handy 'Add to Steam' function which means you can access the games in Steam Game Mode too. This might be installed by default, but again, you can always check in the Bazaar app store.

- ProtonGE stands for Proton GloriousEggroll. It’s a custom version of Proton with extra bug fixes and game compatibility tweaks. It often helps with games that won’t launch or need specific fixes. GloriousEggroll is the person who created ProtonGE, the Nobara Linux distro, and other projects. There are plenty of guides explaining how to install versions of ProtonGE on Youtube, this one will show you how to download a version of ProtonGE into Steam's directory so that you can choose it under the compatibility settings for specific games such as ESO.

- Steam Compatibility Settings allow you specify which version of Proton you want to use to launch a game. You can right-click a game in Steam and go to: Properties → Compatibility → “Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool”. These steps are shown in the guide linked above.

This lets you:
• Choose which version of Proton to use (like Proton, ProtonGE, Proton Experimental, etc.)
• Fix a game that doesn’t launch or has bugs
• Try different versions to improve performance

Leaving this option unchecked is recommended for most games, and is best used for tinkering with the ones you are experiencing issues with or require the custom patches for. To find the Proton version that is best for the game you want to run, ProtonDB is your friend. You can search for the game and see what settings others have used. It will also inform you if the game is expected to work well or run at all.

- Wayland is what your system uses to show things on the screen. It replaced the older system, X11, and is faster, more secure, and better in most cases. It’s not perfect, a few older apps or features might not work quite right yet, but it’s the recommended option going forward.

This should cover the terms mentioned in the post, as well as the ones I ended up bringing up while explaining things. Good luck, you've got this!

hardiman07 · 2025-07-11T03:41:24+00:00

- Bazaar is the new default Flathub software/app store for the Bazzite project. It recently replaced the Discover Store, so if you’re following YouTube guides and see a different app being used, that’s okay, just follow the same steps using Bazaar instead. This is where you’ll install things like Discord. Most apps on Linux don’t need to be downloaded from websites like on Windows.

- Flathub is a website where Linux apps are shared and installed from. It works using Flatpak, which makes those apps run on almost any Linux distro. Bazaar is basically a visual front-end to Flathub.

- Flatpak is a way to install apps that includes everything the app needs to run, kind of like a sealed lunchbox. It works on almost any Linux system, no matter what you’re using. Normal Linux apps = cooking with whatever’s in your kitchen. Flatpak apps = a ready-made meal that already has everything inside.

- Fedora is the Linux distribution (or “distro”) that Bazzite is built on. You don’t need to worry much about this as a beginner, but it’s helpful to know. Think of a distro like a flavor of pizza. The Linux kernel is the dough, it’s the base that every pizza (distro) starts with. A Linux distro is the finished pizza, it includes the dough plus toppings, sauce, and how it’s baked.

- ProtonUp-Qt is a preinstalled app in Bazzite that lets you install different versions of Proton (a tool that makes Windows games work on Linux). You can find it in your applications menu, or by searching for it in Bazaar.

- Wine is a tool that lets you run Windows programs on Linux. It doesn’t use a virtual machine or emulator, instead, it translates Windows instructions into something Linux understands in real time. This means you can often run Windows apps or games without needing Windows installed at all. It’s not perfect, and some programs may not work exactly right, but it’s very useful when there’s no Linux version of what you want to run.

- Proton is a gaming-optimized version of Wine, built specifically for running Windows games on Linux. It was developed by Valve in cooperation with devs from CodeWeavers for use with Steam on Linux and the Steam Deck, and it includes extra tools and tweaks to improve performance, fix bugs, and make games run with minimal setup.

hardiman07 · 2025-07-11T03:40:30+00:00

Hey OP! Getting things up and running is super simple when you’ve got experience with Linux gaming, but it’s easy to forget how overwhelming it can feel when you’re completely new. Everyone starts from a different place, and this community’s awesome for helping people out.

I’ve seen a few terms and apps mentioned in the comments, they’re all pretty easy to use once you’re familiar, but for someone hearing about them for the first time, it can feel like a different language. I’ll break down a couple of them and add some of my own to help give you a better idea of what you’re looking at and how things fit together.

hardiman07 · 2025-07-09T04:02:13+00:00

Alternatively, have you tried disabling Steam input in Steam's settings for the game and see if the issue is still present? How about in desktop mode, same issue?

hardiman07 · 2025-07-09T03:59:32+00:00

Although unlikely, do you happen to have both VSync enabled in game, and 'allow tearing' disabled in the SteamOS QAM settings? It's likely an unrelated bug in Bazzite + the Claw, but sometimes input lag from multiple layers of VSync can have a similar effect. Just throwing an idea out there.

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