Hi Everyone As people who are in the know, know, the Steam Frame is on its way with a lot of development into SteamOS. Well in anticipation I'm working on getting Whirligig compatible with SteamOS (through proton) and the first stage was to borrow a Steam Deck and get it working there.
The first version is now available for beta download whirligig_v5.8000.
What's changed
SteamOS and the Steam Deck itself have some very specific needs and differences to both Android and Windows. I've gated the issues and worked on making things make sense.
SteamOS - Steam Deck
Internal storage will access the created video, music, download and audio folders in the Proton setup.
DLNA doesn't connect as it crashes Whirligig.
Webcam, Desktop mirror and NDI removed as not compatible/relevant with SteamOS.
Trackpads default to mouse and left click.
Touchscreen supported (mostly).
Quality settings applied for SteamOS. Supersampling replaced with Eye Resolution.
Media Foundation, WinRT and Directshow removed. VLC VideoLAN as default.
Panning for thumbsticks has been fixed.
Explorer and inputs menu are set to go full screen when accessed.
Current Known Issues
Touchscreen isn't working perfectly. Things like scrollbars are a little glitchy. Using the trackpads should work just like a mouse though.
DLNA has been turned off as it crashed the player. This needs to be better visualised but currently it would open anything.
VLC VideoLAN is the only reliable video playback engine so the others have been turned off. This needs to be better indicated in the Video Path menu.
Shortcut menu is below the bottom of the screen.
the onscreen keyboard is badly positioned.
The video wall option is in the wrong place.
Current place in development
I feel it's working pretty well but I'm currently in the process of finding the issues and improving the UI so that it doesn't have dead buttons etc. I would also like to add features that are more relevant for these devices. I don't know what that is yet but I'll try and add them anyway :)
Also the setup for a handheld device over VR is very different. Whirligig has a lot of options for main menus, setup, playback and input that would be much more suitable to the Steam Deck and should be default when installing on one. You should also be able to switch to it in all versions. So I'll be working on that.
And Finally
Whirligig has always been a player that works best on Windows with the desktop and VR working well together. I want it to work well across all platforms so that it works as a one player for all. Hopefully I'll be able to continue to develop it so it can.
If you like Whirligig and haven't given a positive review please do and if you don't have Whirligig but would like to help me test it on the SteamOS/Deck email me [email protected] and I'll happily send over a Steam Code :) Hope everyone is well, keeping cool, mentally and physically when needed and I look forward to your feedback.
Happy watching everyone
Phil