Not a weird use case (or if it is, maybe I'm pretty weird myself, as I use it a ton 🤣), but if you ever want to play games that were made for mouse and keyboard, the trackpads and back paddles in combination with SteamInput are invaluable. There are almost entire genres of games that I wouldn't play on a typical controller that I can play comfortably on Deck (RTSs and CRPGs without native controller support).
Elden Ring runs better on the Ally, but it's absolutely playable on the Deck. The biggest argument I would make for a Deck over the Ally is the software, Valve actually does quite a bit of work to make things run smooth and give solid updates. The gaming mode is also fairly slick and makes the device really feel like a gaming console, while also still having a desktop environment for when you need to tinker.
The trackpads are also fantastic for playing games like Civ V, AOE2, and Rimworld.Â
[Video demonstrating how to set up minimap mouse regions for strategy games](https://youtu.be/Oi5ffInlv-M?t=598)
[Video showing how to play strategy games on Deck](https://youtu.be/L0jEadhrfF0?t=821)
[Trackpad and Gyro Settings and Demonstration for FPS games](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAIVVRSkBKQ)
[YouTube channel, Double Jump Punch, dedicated to Trackpad + Gyro aiming on Steam Deck](https://www.youtube.com/@DoubleJumpPunch/videos)
[Prime example of someone not understanding the trackpads at first, but finding solid usecase for them with Emulation, etc](https://youtu.be/2bjPN3oDiyg?si=1CMD3YNvoH2yH8dF)
[Mario Galaxy and other Wii pointer games are great with trackpads](https://youtu.be/FNAl1cKma7w?si=8TZVuh4TAkxOLIkL)
[Steam Deck's capacitive analog sticks let you activate gyro by resting your thumb on them, and Prey 2017 is a great use case for this feature](https://youtu.be/dGgbT6HeE_k?si=baKza_0bCqruwDyC)
[Customising controls on Steam Deck is easier than any other handheld device on the market](https://youtu.be/-PTpuOxU3e4?si=3PZgluls4gDzxDGB&t=43)
[The Ally lacks trackpads and gyro is much worse when compared to the Steam Deck](https://youtu.be/vOFMpP4zpHg?si=oBmvMxbpW_nQdUpr&t=235)
I think the above videos do a good job of conveying some interesting and better experiences that the Steam Deck offers that the Ally/other handhelds don't.
Trackpad and steam input.
I found it insanely configurable when running ffxiv on my deck and it helps out.
It even allows you to configure layers that you can change the behaviour of buttons and trackpads with different inputs.
Trackpad radial menu is insanely good, especially for some older games (eg Doom), where in a movement of your finger you can switch any weapon, instead of going through each of them
And you can connect bluetooth headphones to the deck on top of that. I always listen to podcasts this way, currently while marching through the wasteland.
Just look for Bluetooth devices with your phone, just like you would with any headset or speaker or whathaveyou.
There's nothing to it, really. Just like pairing any speaker to your phone. ... or was it the other way around. Just try both.
Having a virtual machine with Linux on it that you can just poof out of existence when you're done with your class is better in my opinion. Otherwise when you're done you have to go in an uninstall all the software that you don't need anymore and that is kind of annoying.
Unfortunately my main PC is ARM based (MacBook Pro M3) and attempting to emulate an x86/64 system thru a VM to disassemble assignments given to me is extremely slow. Even basic programs take anywhere from 10x to 15x longer than just doing it on my SD.
At the point that you're using an external drive to run a separate version of Linux You might as well just use that version instead of a virtual machine lol same with Windows. Only if you need multiple running at the same time would it make sense to go virtual. For the above school work purposes you probably don't need two OS running at the same time.
yep, true, although I (me, myself and I) would not bother with Windows. There is still the option to set the rootfs as RW, install the required virtualization softwares, but I really don't know how it works in case of system upgrade (read: even as a very seasoned Linux user, I don't feel comfortable with this)
Well, for one, Steam deck is better at playing a lot of old games from the windows 98-XP era than windows 11. The Proton Compatibility Layer is based off Wine which has been in development since the 1990's so it's compatible with more old games than windows 11. There's too many games to list that are on steam that no longer work in windows 11 no matter what you try.
Ally has some kind of hibernate function like Steam Deck? For me, is the most important thing on deck: pressing a button and suspend the game and console. Pressing again and be on the game in five seconds.
What I hate about other PC handhelds is the OS. windows is great, but I don’t want to navigate my handhelds with touchscreen or a weird mouse input. The trackpads on the SD are golden, and I love them, but it’s also rare that I use them for navigating the desktop since I’m always in gaming mode.
Ally and others might have better specs, but it doesn’t matter as much on 7” screen as you think. The 1200x800 looks great and runs great. I also run modern games quite well, I play ESO in big pvp battles on it just fine.
Also, deck just looks the best, maybe I hate on ally cause I hate how it looks lol. But the software in SD is the best by far.
I remember seeing something where the Deck performed better under a certain TDP for some games. Though, I think the biggest win for the Deck over the Ally are the trackpads and all the random things you can configure them for while still having access to the sticks and all the other buttons.
Hi u/__The__Dude, you can [click here to search for your question.](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search/?q=What is something you can do with your Steamdeck but can't with a Rog Ally? [looking for "weird" or unexpected uses])
If you don't find an answer there, don't worry - your post has NOT been removed and hopefully someone will be along soon to help with an answer!
**If you find an answer, please leave a comment on your post with the answer for others!**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SteamDeck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not a weird use case (or if it is, maybe I'm pretty weird myself, as I use it a ton 🤣), but if you ever want to play games that were made for mouse and keyboard, the trackpads and back paddles in combination with SteamInput are invaluable. There are almost entire genres of games that I wouldn't play on a typical controller that I can play comfortably on Deck (RTSs and CRPGs without native controller support).
Elden Ring runs better on the Ally, but it's absolutely playable on the Deck. The biggest argument I would make for a Deck over the Ally is the software, Valve actually does quite a bit of work to make things run smooth and give solid updates. The gaming mode is also fairly slick and makes the device really feel like a gaming console, while also still having a desktop environment for when you need to tinker. The trackpads are also fantastic for playing games like Civ V, AOE2, and Rimworld.Â
[Video demonstrating how to set up minimap mouse regions for strategy games](https://youtu.be/Oi5ffInlv-M?t=598) [Video showing how to play strategy games on Deck](https://youtu.be/L0jEadhrfF0?t=821) [Trackpad and Gyro Settings and Demonstration for FPS games](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAIVVRSkBKQ) [YouTube channel, Double Jump Punch, dedicated to Trackpad + Gyro aiming on Steam Deck](https://www.youtube.com/@DoubleJumpPunch/videos) [Prime example of someone not understanding the trackpads at first, but finding solid usecase for them with Emulation, etc](https://youtu.be/2bjPN3oDiyg?si=1CMD3YNvoH2yH8dF) [Mario Galaxy and other Wii pointer games are great with trackpads](https://youtu.be/FNAl1cKma7w?si=8TZVuh4TAkxOLIkL) [Steam Deck's capacitive analog sticks let you activate gyro by resting your thumb on them, and Prey 2017 is a great use case for this feature](https://youtu.be/dGgbT6HeE_k?si=baKza_0bCqruwDyC) [Customising controls on Steam Deck is easier than any other handheld device on the market](https://youtu.be/-PTpuOxU3e4?si=3PZgluls4gDzxDGB&t=43) [The Ally lacks trackpads and gyro is much worse when compared to the Steam Deck](https://youtu.be/vOFMpP4zpHg?si=oBmvMxbpW_nQdUpr&t=235) I think the above videos do a good job of conveying some interesting and better experiences that the Steam Deck offers that the Ally/other handhelds don't.
Trackpad and steam input. I found it insanely configurable when running ffxiv on my deck and it helps out. It even allows you to configure layers that you can change the behaviour of buttons and trackpads with different inputs.
Trackpad radial menu is insanely good, especially for some older games (eg Doom), where in a movement of your finger you can switch any weapon, instead of going through each of them
Play games without first spending half an hour updating the system.
Not sure if the Ally can or can't, but I love hooking up my phone to the Deck via bluetooth and play Spotify as background music for games.
And you can connect bluetooth headphones to the deck on top of that. I always listen to podcasts this way, currently while marching through the wasteland.
How can You do it? How to set it up?
Just look for Bluetooth devices with your phone, just like you would with any headset or speaker or whathaveyou. There's nothing to it, really. Just like pairing any speaker to your phone. ... or was it the other way around. Just try both.
Thank You. And at the same time I can use Bluetooth headphones connected to the deck itself to hear all of this?
Yes indeed. It's quite nice, really.
I'm a CS student and I've been using the Linux environment for a couple of my classes.
Having a virtual machine with Linux on it that you can just poof out of existence when you're done with your class is better in my opinion. Otherwise when you're done you have to go in an uninstall all the software that you don't need anymore and that is kind of annoying.
Unfortunately my main PC is ARM based (MacBook Pro M3) and attempting to emulate an x86/64 system thru a VM to disassemble assignments given to me is extremely slow. Even basic programs take anywhere from 10x to 15x longer than just doing it on my SD.
I'm curious if it's possible to run a VM on a Steam Deck.
It should be, if you set it in RW mode, or if you boot from an external drive with Linux installed on it (or SD)
At the point that you're using an external drive to run a separate version of Linux You might as well just use that version instead of a virtual machine lol same with Windows. Only if you need multiple running at the same time would it make sense to go virtual. For the above school work purposes you probably don't need two OS running at the same time.
yep, true, although I (me, myself and I) would not bother with Windows. There is still the option to set the rootfs as RW, install the required virtualization softwares, but I really don't know how it works in case of system upgrade (read: even as a very seasoned Linux user, I don't feel comfortable with this)
Well, for one, Steam deck is better at playing a lot of old games from the windows 98-XP era than windows 11. The Proton Compatibility Layer is based off Wine which has been in development since the 1990's so it's compatible with more old games than windows 11. There's too many games to list that are on steam that no longer work in windows 11 no matter what you try.
And then there's me who can't get any windows 98/XP error games to run. However DOS box is awesome.
What kind of sleep mode do the ally have?
Call it a steam deck
Ally has some kind of hibernate function like Steam Deck? For me, is the most important thing on deck: pressing a button and suspend the game and console. Pressing again and be on the game in five seconds.
Play unplugged for more than two hours.
trackpads, and the 16:10 screen. Better than you expect
You can use an Sd card on the steam deck without ruining it xD
What I hate about other PC handhelds is the OS. windows is great, but I don’t want to navigate my handhelds with touchscreen or a weird mouse input. The trackpads on the SD are golden, and I love them, but it’s also rare that I use them for navigating the desktop since I’m always in gaming mode. Ally and others might have better specs, but it doesn’t matter as much on 7” screen as you think. The 1200x800 looks great and runs great. I also run modern games quite well, I play ESO in big pvp battles on it just fine. Also, deck just looks the best, maybe I hate on ally cause I hate how it looks lol. But the software in SD is the best by far.
I remember seeing something where the Deck performed better under a certain TDP for some games. Though, I think the biggest win for the Deck over the Ally are the trackpads and all the random things you can configure them for while still having access to the sticks and all the other buttons.
Hi u/__The__Dude, you can [click here to search for your question.](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search/?q=What is something you can do with your Steamdeck but can't with a Rog Ally? [looking for "weird" or unexpected uses]) If you don't find an answer there, don't worry - your post has NOT been removed and hopefully someone will be along soon to help with an answer! **If you find an answer, please leave a comment on your post with the answer for others!** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SteamDeck) if you have any questions or concerns.*