steam deck = mobile modplug?

Exhale · March 10, 2022, 16:37:02

I am wondering if anyone here has a steamdeck, and if so, have you tried modplug on it? I have heard chatter that modplug does work on linux using wine which has gone a long way to tempting me to finally move to linux one day, but i am extra intrigued by the concept that now maybe we have modplug able to run on a mobile device of some sort.
Just a thought though, it is not like i can presently afford a steamdeck, although if i could i would definately want to know the answer to this question.
So does modplug work on the steam deck? Is there someone in our forums who can answer this?

manx · March 10, 2022, 17:11:03

We have about ~5% users using OpenMPT on Wine (https://buildbot.openmpt.org/statistics/).

Steam Deck supports installing regular Windows applications, see https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/steamdeck/faq:

QuoteDoes Deck support installing software from outside of Steam and can you use it with Proton?
Yes. You can install and add any game like you would on the Steam desktop. Just install the application and then add it to Steam from desktop mode and it'll show up just like it would on any PC.

So, there is nothing obvious that should prevent OpenMPT from working on the Steam Deck as well as it works on any other Linux with Wine.
There are some long-standing problems with bridged VST plugins as well as occasional issues and incompatibilities with Wine, however nothing that fundamentally breaks OpenMPT.
Now, OpenMPT is not particularly designed to be used on small screens, and how well it is usable with the available input controls on the Steam Deck is also kind of unclear, but I would certainly expect it to be working.

Exhale · March 10, 2022, 17:40:48

Quote from: manx on March 10, 2022, 17:11:03
Now, OpenMPT is not particularly designed to be used on small screens, and how well it is usable with the available input controls on the Steam Deck is also kind of unclear

Well that is the thing, it might not be designed for it, but that doesnt rule out that it might work wonderfully with the built in controls, we cannot know until someone has tested it, plus it would give us a little bit of info on how well the design of ompt works on a hand held device, free information - without anyone here making any changes to the software to make it work on android or apple devices... I think this would be interesting information to get no matter what the results are.

And since you seem to have confirmed my suspicions that there is no reason it wouldnt work, I guess it is all about waiting to find out from the first person who gets a steam deck and attempts this adventure on the device, hopefully to post that tantalising information here later

Saga Musix · March 10, 2022, 18:17:26

The screen size isn't optimal, but won't keep you from using OpenMPT. It's definitely better than the 1024x600 that is popular with smaller laptops. But one thing should be painfully obvious: OpenMPT, while allowing the mouse to be used in most places, is designed to be used with a keyboard. You will at the very least need an external keyboard (in fact, either a PC keyboard or a MIDI keyboard would work) for it to be somewhat usable.

Saga Musix · March 10, 2022, 21:25:37

Oh, and and it's also worth keeping in mind that you can in fact install Windows on a Steam Deck but supposedly the speakers don't work yet, so that makes it a bit.. useless, for the time being if you want to run OpenMPT on it. It's probably just a matter of time until that gets resolved, though.

And as for the question in the topic title - let's not forget that plenty of similarly-sized options already exist for mobile tracking (e.g. netbooks). They just weren't so suitable for gaming yet, which is what makes the Steam Deck stand out.

Saga Musix · July 03, 2022, 14:24:51

Now you can judge for yourself if you'd want to work with OpenMPT like that: https://twitter.com/cleanycloth/status/1543039294499069957

Exhale · July 04, 2022, 07:51:59

haha, I love it... if I had a steamdeck you bet I would be trying it

Although no functionality was demonstrated with touch screen keyboard etc... and I think the 'kinda sorta' was a hint there that is isnt very compatible, but I would def be experimenting with it if I had one.

obviously bluetooth keyboards being a thing that is around means that tablets and phones are very much a possible viable platform for modplug despite some of the protests, but in the end of the day it is just down to software compatibility... and tiny screens, but tiny screen resolutions is very much what modplug is still more than providing for with the layout... honestly I would love that in my pocket with a bluetooth keyboard and some good earphones you have a tracking powerhouse on the go, the hardware in those things can more than handle basic tracking, and I bet they can do plenty of vsts too if given the chance.

StarWolf3000 · July 04, 2022, 09:56:17

I don't know about the UI scaling, but at least you can choose the size of the font the Pattern Editor is rendered with. And yes, using a bluetooth keyboard (and mouse) will certainly improve work experience on the Steamdeck. I wouldn't want to fiddle with all the pattern data just via OSK and touchscreen/touchpad.