henke on 14/7/2016 at 11:28
First impressions/thoughts/questions about this thing
I set it up yesterday but didn't have a chance, nor a well-enough-functioning PC, to test it properly until today. I'm on a wireless network, with my comp ethernetted to the router but the Steam Link separate. Just played a bit of Dark Souls 3, Distance, and Road Redemption. It does feel like there's a slight input lag, but it's so slight I'm not sure I'm not just imagining it. What I can say for sure is that I managed to make it further into the current area I'm in in DS3 than I have on 3 previous attempts on my PC, so it's by no means unplayable.
Distance and Road Redemption worked well enough, with the only hiccup being that Distance is still marked as "Running" in Steam on my PC after I shut down the Link, and my profile says In Game: Distance. When I try to start it up on Steam it says the app is already running, starting another game doesn't stop Distance from being marked as Running, and the process for it is not in the Task Manager either, so I can't shut it down there. The only way to convince Steam I'm not playing Distance anymore was to restart the computer. Nothing major, but a bit annoying.
Tried it briefly with the Steam Controller yesterday. Undertale worked fine, but in Hyper Light Drifter I couldn't get it to work properly outside of the menus, despite 3 restarts of the controller. Connected the Dualshock 4 today using a USB cable and that works fine. Starting the Link is done by pressing the PS-button on the gamepad.
To those of you who've used the Link already(Brethren), is there a way to run the network test again? It ran once when I set it up, but that was before I'd connected my PC directly to the router and I'm wondering if I'd get different results now. I've googled this, but I'm not finding anything.
henke on 14/7/2016 at 19:15
Nvm, found the Network Test (it's in the "Select computer to connect to" screen). I got 9% frame loss, network time: 20ms, and variance: 26ms. Whatever that means. Been playing a lot of DS3 on this today. Mostly it's buttery smooth, but there have been a few instances of severe screen freezing lag as well.
Renault on 14/7/2016 at 19:21
Sounds like you have it covered. Funny thing is, when I first set mine up, I picked the wrong language, so now on startup everything shows up in Scandinavian or something. I just blindly press A and it gets me into the Steam client and everything's fine. But I have no idea how to go back and correct the language thing.
twisty on 15/7/2016 at 03:25
I'd love to get one as well but unfortunately there's very little indication as to the Australian release date. Not sure why they don't offer international shipping.
Anyway, how do the games look compared to how they look on your PC?
WingedKagouti on 15/7/2016 at 03:59
Quote Posted by twisty
I'd love to get one as well but unfortunately there's very little indication as to the Australian release date. Not sure why they don't offer international shipping.
Consumer protection laws, refunds, repairs and shipping costs are the likely culprits. Even if Australia has the exact same laws on this subject as England, they still have to consider supply chains for physical products that may require repairs. They probably could negotiate something with someone, but they'd first have to find the best deals and then get them through their corporate infrastructure.
Malf on 15/7/2016 at 08:47
Got one on the way to me. Weirdly, it's because I can't see myself using the Steam pad while in front of the computer, but quite like the idea of using it for PC gaming on the living room telly.
twisty on 17/12/2016 at 10:23
I finally managed to pick up a Steam link today. As EB have an exclusive supplier arrangement in Australia, it's been a struggle trying to get my hands on one due to it being totally sold out in Western Australia over the past two weeks.
First impressions after playing a handful of games is that I'm surprised that there is such little conversation about the Steam Link here. I'm totally amazed at how good this thing is at streaming games from my PC to the lounge room TV. As I've got a pretty decent PC, some of the newer games are probably a little too demanding to play in their full glory (but can still be played at slightly lower settings), but so far all of the games that I've tried look amazing on a big screen.
I also picked up a Steam controller however and so far have been struggling to get a consistent experience out of it. It's ok so far in some games but very unintuitive in others. It's Day 1 I guess, so probably need to spend a bit more time with it.
Zerker on 17/12/2016 at 11:23
I've just got a dedicated second gaming PC hooked up to the TV, so the device is obviously not for me. I am also spending more and more timing playing games that are NOT from Steam (hello GOG). Glad it works as intended though :)
N'Al on 9/2/2017 at 08:18
I've finally managed to set up my Steam Link in a way that seems to work ok - router in the bedroom via ethernet into a Powerlink, then ethernet again from the Powerlink in the living room to the Steam Link. Haven't run too many tests yet, but performance seems stable so far.
At the moment, though, the only way I've found to start up the Steam Link is to unplug and re-plug the power cable at the back. I then need to plug my laptop USB mouse into the Steam Link to connect it to the laptop, then put it back into the laptop to use Steam.
Surely there's got to be a better way of doing this?
Should I get myself a Steam Controller as well (didn't bother with one so far, but would do so if need be)? Or can I use another controller I already own? FWIW, that's two wireless 360 controllers, as well as a wireless dualshock 3 and a wireless dualshock 4. Or something else entirely?
Cheers.
henke on 9/2/2017 at 09:26
I think the powerbutton on a DS4 brings up the menu that lets you turn it off. But yeah, it does suck that there's no power button on the device itself.
