SteamOS

Update #2 12/21/22 - Pierre-Loup Griffais announced on Twitter that the filepath change is being rolled back and will be reintroduced next year with SteamOS 3.5. So you won’t need to reinstall or re-add anything yet.


Update 12/21/22 - It seems the new SteamOS update also changed the SD card filepath, which means EmuDeck and non-Steam games that are saved on the SD card won’t be recognized like they were previously. This will mean Re-adding or re-installing.


Valve just pushed the massive update to SteamOS out onto the stable branch for everyone to download! This update does a ton, including a bunch of fixes, a new horizontal level 2 overlay, an option to allow screen tearing, and rebasing SteamOS on a newer snapshot of Arch Linux (this is gigantic):

Rebased SteamOS on a newer snapshot of Arch Linux

  • This update pulls in the latest performance, security and stability fixes for the underlying packages that are the foundation for SteamOS
  • Most notably, this includes recent changes to KDE Plasma, Steam Deck's Desktop Mode. Full notes on these updates can be found on KDE's website here, here, and here. Here are a few of the highlights:
    • New Overview view to see all open windows and virtual desktops
    • Updates to KRunner, the built in assistant for searching and running tasks
    • New touchscreen gestures
    • New themes and wallpapers
    • Updates to widgets

General

  • Fixed issues with sleep affecting a small number of titles, where specific games would be frozen or exhibit glitchy behavior after waking up
  • Fixed a performance issue that could cause 100ms hitches during gameplay if adaptive backlight was enabled
  • Fixed a graphics driver crash when interacting with the map in DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT
  • Fixed issue with opening file managers if the gamescope session has been restarted
  • Fixed GPU clock settings sometimes not sticking if set manually (thanks to user xperia64 for the amdgpu kernel patch backport)
  • Fixed an issue with fan controller excessive sensor polling causing sporadic fan behavior and higher SSD temps on some NVME drives
  • New firmware for Docking Station
    • Fixes an issue where HDMI 2.0 displays are not detected during wake or boot up

Performance profiles

  • New option to allow Screen Tearing: at the cost of sometimes displaying partial frames, allows for lower average latency when VSync is disabled and the frame limiter is off,
  • Changed performance HUD level 2 to use a horizontal layout. It fits in the letterbox space for games running in a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Storage

  • Re-enabled TRIM for the internal drive as well as supported external storage devices, improving write performance
    • This includes a workaround ensuring that TRIM operations are safe for SD cards that advertise discard support but do not support it
    • Steam will periodically TRIM storage devices as needed
    • New button in Settings → System → Advanced to run trim immediately
  • Added an eject option for removable drives in Settings → Storage
    • This unmounts the removable drive, it does not physically eject it
  • External drives formatted as ext4 are now automatically mounted and available for use in Steam

Input

  • Disabled kernel DualShock 4 and DualSense trackpad → mouse emulation when Steam is running
  • Changed timing of virtual keypresses to improve game compatibility with on-screen keyboard
    • Fixes input issues with apps such as Street Fighter V, EA app
  • Fixed Steam Input's action set switching based on cursor visibility in Game mode
  • Re-enabled the built-in hid-steam kernel gamepad driver when Steam is not running in desktop mode, and added rumble support to it
  • Added support for the 8BitDo Ultimate Wireless controller dongle
  • Fixed a USB crash when using certain controllers such as the Hori Fighting Stick α

Audio

  • Fixed a case where the default audio device would display "echo-cancel-sink" and audio controls would cease to work correctly
  • Fixed a case where some applications would output audio to the wrong device
  • Fixed an audio driver bug that could lead to on-board audio crackling in some situations

You can view the changelog and discussion over on Steam. This is a very welcome update and we are so glad the rebasing has come stable!

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Noah Kupetsky
A lover of gaming since 4, Noah has grown up with a love and passion for the industry. From there, he started to travel a lot and develop a joy for handheld and PC gaming. When the Steam Deck released, it just all clicked.
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