|
Socoder -> Hardware and Technology -> ROG Ally |
|
| Tue, 19 Nov 2024, 03:36 | |
Jayenkai
|
ROG AllyOoopsie!!! For most of the year I've been waiting for the Switch 2 to arrive. Thinking "Should I just buy a SteamDeck?" but then carrying on waiting for that bloody Switch 2 announcement. Over the past couple of weeks I've been pondering if I should spend the "waiting for that Switch 2" cash on a MacMini M4, but I barely use the old 2015 MacMini for anything more than a storage device, and that has a 1Tb HD, so dropping to a 256Gb SSD will be quite the downgrade. .. And the £300 sits there, still waiting. And Xmas is coming, and god knows there's naff all else going on.. "Should I just buy a SteamDeck?" I found myself wondering, this morning. So I checked in on the status of SteamDeck, and it's still Linux driven. Now, don't get me wrong, I've nothing against Linux driven stuff, but if you look through the compatibility list.. It's very much based on modern games, and realistically, if I'm getting myself a modern gaming system, I'd still be playing the same early-2000's era games I've been playing this whole time. Half Life 2 being one of those, especially with all the 20th anniversary stuff going on. It's like the world wants me to be able to play Windows games, all of a sudden. And it sure would be good to have a Windows machine, especially if I can hook up a bluetooth keyboard and get Blitz/Max/Monkey going on there. Right?! So I'm still sitting here looking at the SteamDeck reading up on how much of a kerfuffle it can be to get Windows running on it, when I start reading about the ROG Ally. Nice and fast, large resolution, easy to hook up to the telly if I need to, and can even do bits of PC VR should I want to hook it up to the Quest3. And then I read more and more and more, and then I check Amazon, and it's currently down to £399 on Early Black Friday Deals, and I'm... .. checking that bank balance.. ... Yep, the Switch2's £300's still there. The ROG Ally will be here tomorrow, snow depending! -=-=- ''Load, Next List!'' 
|
| Tue, 19 Nov 2024, 10:01 | |
cyangames
|
Not heard of the ROG Ally before, keen to hear how it works for you though! https://rog.asus.com/uk/gaming-handhelds/rog-ally/rog-ally-2023/spec/ That sounds a bit good that! -=-=- Web / Game Dev, occasionally finishes off coding games also! |
| Tue, 19 Nov 2024, 11:19 | |
spinal
|
I don't remember it being much of a problem getting windows on the steam deck. Something like, download the steam deck restore tool thingy, partition the drive, reinstall steam os on the smaller partition, then install windows on the other partition. Tip, install windows 10 and while it's unregistered, perform the free update to 11, which also registers it for free! -=-=- Check out my excellent homepage!
|
| Tue, 19 Nov 2024, 13:39 | |
|
Jayenkai
|
I dunno. I think I've gotten far too lazy lately. I was chatting to CyanGames about how rubbish my GBAsp's screen is, and have looked into "it's easy, just use these 100 screwdrivers!" tutorials to switching that out, and I'm like.. ... "Yeah, ok.!!" We'll see how I cope with it, tomorrow. And we'll be getting a JSE Optimisationalism4 score, too  \o/yeay\o/(Though knowing how Amazon deliveries are around here, that might not be until after about 6pm) -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
|
| Wed, 20 Nov 2024, 00:08 | |
|
cyangames
|
Ohh, I'll have to run the JSE Optimisationalism 4 on my puter tonight!
-=-=- Web / Game Dev, occasionally finishes off coding games also! |
| Wed, 20 Nov 2024, 05:59 | |
|
Jayenkai
|
 Initial thoughts (whilst doing the first charge and setting up Windows) 1.oh Lordy, let there be an option to turn those RGBs off!! 2. The thing comes with a cardboard dock, how lovely, but the charge point is at the top, so you get a ruddy great big wire sticking out the top. *tsk* -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
|
| Wed, 20 Nov 2024, 06:08 | |
|
Jayenkai
|
 Aaah, Windows... -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
|
| Wed, 20 Nov 2024, 06:56 | |
|
Jayenkai
|
 Current status, downloading Half Life 2, GTA IV and Audiosurf via Steam on the Ally, whilst the Mac is copying a bunch of music onto a MicroSD card so that I can enjoy Audiosurf properly
-=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
|
| Wed, 20 Nov 2024, 09:12 | |
|
Jayenkai
|
All the three important games have been tested. Audiosurf is as gorgeous as ever. Having the music on the MicroSD is great, and it's as fast as ever! I'm playing it at 1920x1080, with full "premium" graphical fidelity, and it flows fantastically. Yes, yes, yes!!! Half Life 2 Just as silky smooth, also at full hd with as many options as I can be arsed to fiddle with. The menu setup is a bit broken, so I'll have to play with options. Toggling on Steam's Big Picture might help, but right now the menu is tiny half-visible text on a light grey background, and the "mouse" moves at 100 miles an hour, and the touchscreen is, for some reason, only working as a left-click. So you need to use the thumbstick to zoom it towards a tiny tiny checkbox, then tap the screen. It's very unintuitive, and I'm not sure why.. I'll try Big Picture mode, later. Hopefully that solves the issues. GTAIV God damn, the amount of pissing about with signing up to rockstar you have to do to run the bloody thing... I think my Windows install is already crying out for relief!!! But the game itself (once you reach it!) runs nice and silky smooth. More tests to come, but I've already had to pop it on charge. Rather than having a permanent new plug in the room, I've opted to try plugging it into the iPad's USBc connector. We'll see how well that does at charging it. If not, guess it's another plug. Nnngh... |update| Appears to be charging from that, happily, at a rate of about 10% in 20 minutes. |update| -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
|
| Wed, 20 Nov 2024, 16:17 | |
|
Jayenkai
|
My Scart to USB Encoder dongle won't work on Macs. Works fine on the ROG Ally, though  Play Video (Audio's a little out of sync, mind) -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
|
| Thu, 21 Nov 2024, 02:51 | |
|
Jayenkai
|
Had the thing up to 100% fully charged last night, so decided to try a "unplugged = how dead?" test. Woke up to find it down to 80%. Bloody Windows... In other news, switching to Big Screen mode on Steam causes Half Life 2's entire menu interface to transform into something infinitely more useable and visible. Highly recommended. Quite why they would go through the hassle of building an entirely new menu system, then NOT have it as the default, it beyond me. I tried emulation on it, last night, too, but RetroArch is the clunkiest, least user-friendly interface the world has ever seen. I thought it was just because it was "the stripped down menu for iOS" that caused it to be so shit on iOS, but no. That's how it actually looks. Who the hell thought that was a good UI!? I mean, seriously, who!?!? ugh.. Neither of these are the ROG Ally's fault, though, and other than the significant overnight drain, I'm quite happy with how it's coping so far. -=-=- ''Load, Next List!''
|
|
|
| |||
|
| ||||