The Man in Black
Published
3W TDP
Simple game to run, controls are mapped to MKB by default. Not sure if I was running Native or a variant of Proton (forgot to check), but it works perfectly as the default setting.
Lowered the TDP, its a simple game and doesn't need much power at all.
3w TDP
Game runs at a smooth 60fps at 3w power.
4w TDP; 30fps/30hz refresh rate
Can reduce the screen refresh rate and still have perfect gameplay
8w TDP. optionally 40fps/40hz lock
Use touchscreen to navigate launcher
Game crashes to main menu with an error that network connection has been lost. Fixed by enabling offline mode before launching the game.
Running on bazzite:39.
Tested with regular Proton and Proton Experimental. Would not launch. Fixed by using latest GE Proton.
Was frustrating with a network connection lost crash. After enabling "Offline Mode" in SD settings, no further crashes.
I also tested Advanced Launcher mod, both with .Net6 built in (150mb file) and the regular .exe (6mb) with protontricks installing .Net6 desktop runtime. Neither would launch with Proton, Experimental, or GE. Would be nice to skip the startup videos, and potentially install the HD texture mods, but frankly I think the game looks pretty good on the SD screen. Probably worth testing older versions (7.*) of GE Proton to see about using that mod.
Text and distance to target indicators can be small. Not too disruptive to gameplay.
Using bazzite:39. No tinkering.
Videos played fine in the Steam version, default Proton.
Game does not seem well optimized, but it is beautiful. ~35-40fps on high settings, 45-55fps on low settings. Both at 15w TDP.
Played on High Settings and plugged into power. Because it is a low action game, 35-40fps stil looks good.
3w TDP and 200mhz GPU limit
using bazzite:39. The game uses little power and is great for on the go.
Using bazzite:39, runs perfectly. Can tweak to 6w TDP and 40hz refresh rate for battery life.
WINEDLLOVERRIDES="winmm,version=n,b" %command%
40Hz/40FPS maximum
Sometimes the text is a bit small, especially NPC Dialog subtitles.
Steam Deck LCD running bazzite:39.
Used Heroic Launcher to install the GOG version and added to Steam. Using GE-Proton8-28 and the game itself runs well without crashes.
Installed REDmod and bound console to the R5 key.
Highly recommend to check out HerrTiSo's report about the graphics settings, and shoutout to natyo3100 for the 720p FSR recommendation as it helps a lot in Phantom Liberty/Dogtown.
Occasional audio crackle when suspend/resume gameplay, however opening the game menu before initating suspend seems to solve this.
About 30 hours into the base game, and 7 into Phantom Liberty.
3w TDP
40hz/40fps, 7w TDP
Running Bazzite:41.
Game defaulted to 800x600 resolution, changed to 1280x800.
Runs at 60fps easily at 8w TDP, or 40fps at 7w TDP. Might be able to push it lower TDP.
The game crashed on me twice at the start of a cutscene. Didn't test ProntonGE, but tested Pronton 9, 8, and finally 7. Proton 7.0-6 seemed to work well with the cutscenes (and other people seem to have success with the same).
Enabled Gyro and back buttons for some QOL for aiming, switching weapons, and sprinting.
bazzite:39, community controller profile
40fps cap and reduced TDP to 8w
increased the font size to largest in settings
reduced the gyro sensitivity
10W TDP. Optionally 40hz/40fps cap
Using bazzite:39. No issues at all
Using bazzite:39.
Graphics Medium: 40 fps Graphics Maximum: 30 fps
Honestly, the graphics of this game are not that good to begin with, and I can barely see a difference.
13w TDP; 40FPS/40HZ refresh rate
Options>Accesibility>Large Text: On
LCD Deck running BazziteOS. 40FPS/40HZ refresh rate for smooth playability. Text is a bit small, set Large Text in accessibility.
Legends/Multiplayer not tested/not working.
Display
- Window Mode: Fullscreen
- Display Resolution: 1280x800
- VSYNC: On
- Upscale Method: FSR 3.0
- Upscale Quality: Quality
- Dynamic Resolution Scaling: Off
Graphics
- Preset: Custom
- Texture Quality: High
- Texture Filtering: Trilinear
- Shadow Quality: Low
- Level of Detail: Medium
- Terrain Detail: Medium
- Volumetric Fog: Low
- Depth of Field: Medium
- SSR: Low
- SS Shadows: Off
- Ambient Occlusion: SSAO Quality
- Bloom: On/Off to your preference
Accessibility
- Large Text: On
- Enhanded Wind Visibility: On
Steam Performance Settings
- Frame Limit: 40
- TDP Limit: 12-13 Watts
- Manual GPU Clock: 1600 Mhz (optional)
Text is a bit small, but readable
Using bazzite-deck:39. Works flawlessly
4w TDP, 40Hz/40FPS
Game defaults to a lower resolution - change it in settings to 1280x800.
Can lower the TDP to pretty much anything and it'll run well.
Completed start to finish on Deck LCD. Runs well with some graphics settings adjustments
40fps/40hz refresh rate. 12w TDP
Using bazzite:40.
Completed the game from start to finish on Steam Deck LCD.
35fps with dips into the low 20's in some areas runing all graphics settings on ultra.
Used settings below for a much smoother 40. Graphics still look good.
Resolution: 1152x720
Display Mode: Windowed
Foliage: Low
Post Processing: Very High
Shadows: Low
Textures: Very High
View Distance: Low
View Effects: Very High
V-Sync: On
AMD FSR (ingame): Off
DirectX API: DX11
Steam Performance Settings
Frame Limit 40fps
TDP Limit: 12W
Scaling Filter: FSR
FSR Sharpness: 2 (or to your liking)
It's not the best experience. SD Setting are max 30FPS, but my SD LCD is frequently in the mid-20's.
Definitely playable, but expect to play in the 26-30 fps range.
I tinkered with the settings a lot, testing various combinations of dynamic scaling, FSR and framegen. Too much input lag and FSR blurriness for my preferences, so FSR & framegen off.
30Hz Refresh Rate / 1400Mhz GPU
If the audio for the dialog stops playing, then the game will usually crash shortly thereafter. Happened some early in the game, but frequently during the Burnish Shores DLC.
Update to my previous entry with a lot more playtime on the Deck. Playable for certain, but ultimately I think the game is pushing the limits of the SD hardware.
Performance Tips on Steam Deck
Game consistently gets better frame pacing, and often 2-3 FPS higher when manually setting the GPU clock to 1400MHz.
- Base Game: Set TDP to 13W.
- Burning Shores DLC: The Deck needs the full 15W TDP.
Observations
- The base game and DLC have fundamentally different hardware requirements and Steam Deck performance.
- Both are mostly playable at 25-30 FPS, with dips into the high teens to low twenties during:
- Large cinematic cutscenes.
- Fights against large machines.
Settings can help mitigate dips, but expect sub-30 FPS when it really matters most (e.g., Apex Thunderjaw fights or the boss fight in Burning Shores).
This can make the gameplay frustrating when the Deck struggles to maintain 22-24 FPS.
Opinions on FSR
- Drawbacks:
- Item drop icons become blurry beyond recognition.
- Machines in the distance are blurry.
- The glider looks messy.
- Aloy's hair appears weird.
- FSR was avoided for most of the game but became necessary towards the end of the DLC to maintain low 20s FPS.
Issues with Frame Generation
- Frame generation provides higher FPS but introduces:
- Visual artifacts around the HUD area that looks like screen tearing.
- Input lag and acceleration issues, making aiming difficult.
- FPS still drops into the low 30s during big fights (~15-20fps native), rendering it ineffective.
Stability Issues
- If dialog audio stops working, or the map only shows a black screen, the game is likely to crash within the next few minutes. Tested with Proton 8, 9, and GE-9.
Recommended Settings
Base Game
- Graphics: Low Preset
- Display Resolution: 1280x800
- Dynamic Resolution Scaling: Off
- Anti-Aliasing: SMAA
- Upscale Method: Off
- Frame Generation: Off
Burning Shores DLC
- Graphics: Very Low Preset
- Display Resolution: 1280x800
- Dynamic Resolution Scaling: Off
- Anti-Aliasing: FSR3
- Upscale Method: FSR3
- Upscale Quality: Ultra Performance
- Frame Generation: Off
L4 run and R4 activate Focus.
13w TDP, 40hz refresh rate
Audio crackling when suspend/resume
Traversal stutter
As a quick disclaimer, I run bazzite on my Steam Deck LCD, and thus am using a slightly different experience than stock SteamOS (i.e. updated Mesa Drivers, newer kernel, different scheduler).
The game suffers from traversal stutter, reducing the games fps when loading into new areas. I experimented with many different setting configurations in attempt to alieviate the short windows of FPS drops, and while I could not eliminate the stutter entirely. It has been speculated by others, and I am inclined to agree that the root problem is due to VRAM swapping. I do not experience the issue with my Ryzen mini PC (also running Bazzite).
These settings seemed to work best for me, targeting 40fps and (mostly) smooth frametime graph for a solid mix of visual fideltiy, no FSR artifacting, battery life, and smooth FPS for battles and cutscenes. If the game is set to 720p, borderless display, and FSR off the game scales linearly to 800p automatically.
Display
Display Resolution: 1152x720
Upscale Method: None
FOV: 70
Adaptive Performance: Off
FPS Limit: Off
Aspect Ratio: Auto
Display Mode: Borderless
V-sync: Off
Graphics
Original (no changes at all)
Steam Performance Settings
Frame Limit: 40FPS/40HZ
TDP Limit: 13 watts
Manual GPU Clock: 1200 mhz
Final notes: I did experiment with setting the GPU clock to 1600mhz, which makes the Steam Deck run hotter and louder, but does not effect the traversal stutter. If anything, 1600mhz made my frametime graph worse overall. Also testing using low settings, or using Original settings and reducing clouds & shadows, FSR upscaling on Performance/Balanced/Quality which all look muddy and pixeliated, but even runing low settings with FSR Performance STILL has traversal stutter.
In the end, you just have to deal with the FPS drops while roaming the wild on the Steam Deck.
5+ minutes to launch the game. 10+ minutes to load into the first mission
Game loading speed
Tried GOG version, installed via Heroic Launcher. Would launch in desktop mode, but not in game mode. Tinkered with Proton 8, 7, Experimental and would not launch. Finally got it to launch in game mode by setting WineGE and ProtonGE in Heroic. 5-10 minute launch and load times, respectively. Not worth the hassle.
Will test with Steam version next time it is on sale.
+com_skipIntroVideo
https://www.dropbox.com/s/n6g1qxf8wgdxzbd/quake4config.cfg?dl=0
The Quake4config.cfg for Ultra resolution textures fix. Thank you Ponk Ponyo, https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=175832751
Right trackpad mouse. Gyro on trackpad or right stick. Left trackpad radial menu for weapon switch. L4/L5 Quick save/load.
5W TDP, 40hz refresh rate. Can easily do 60fps
After replacing the Quake4Config.cfg, in game need to adjust resolution to widescreen, and 1280x720 resolution and restart to take effect. Skipping intros is a great QOL too.
For whatever reason, I had so many issues with the GOG version, but the Steam version works like a charm.
12w TDP, 40 hz/40fps cap
During some of the missions with intense gun battles, encountered FPS drops into the low 20's with Medium settings (Textures-Ultra). Set to low quality textures to play through those.
Crashed once during the final mission of the epilogue. This was at the end of a long play session, so I suspect it ran out of memory/zram. Playing through on a new game instance did not crash.
Running on bazzite:39 on Steam Deck LCD. Played through the entire Epilogue from start to finish. Runs okay at 35-40 FPS with medium settings (Ultra/High textures), but during missions with shootouts my FPS would drop into the 20's and be unplayable. Set the game settings to Low/Potato, which look like garbage but was able to aim & shoot accurately.
I am not sure if my issues were due to not being on mainline SteamOS, the LCD Deck, or perhaps settings configuration.
5w TDP, 500mhz GPU, and 30fps limit
Using bazzite:39
13w TDP
I'm impressed at how well this game runs on the Steam Deck LCD (running Bazzite:40).
You basically have two options for graphics, either going for Medium-High Settings & 80% Resolution Upscaling (default) or 40FPS/Low Settings/Native Resolution.
Both are good options, I much prefer Native Resolution to eliminate the FSR artifacting and ghosting that is very noticable around the cat. It does drop into the 25-30fps range when loading into a new area for about 2-3 seconds, but afterwards is a solid 40.
Graphics Settings
Resolution Scale: 100%
Max Frame Rate: 60
Motion Blur: Off
Sharpness: Maximum
Effects Quality: Low
Shadows Quality: Low
Texture Quality: High
Mesh Quality: Low
Steam Performance Settings
Frame Limit: 40 FPS
TDP Limit: 13 watts
**Requires tinkering**. Once the game is property configured runs ~40fps on Steam Deck LCD, with drops into the mid-30s (20fps on metro)
SteamDeck=0 %command%
- Refresh Rate 40Hz
- 12w TDP
- (optional) Half Rate Shading On.
Small text, almost unreadable
Experimented with sub-12watt power limits, and noticed minor artifacting at the right side of the screen.
Frame Pacing is uneven, with spikes and drops as you move throughout the world. Tweaked settings can help reduce the lows, but was not able to eliminate it.
By default, the game runs terribly on the Steam Deck. Should not be considered "Verified" in my opinion as tinkering is mandatory. With changing the settings, I was able to get around 40fps, but the frame time was never steady and had drops into the mid-30s regularly.
With that said, after setup, I am enjoying playing the game on Steam Deck LCD, running Bazzite.
The Steam Deck build is gimped. No "Exit to Desktop" button on the main menu and being locked to 30fps. Use the command line argument "SteamDeck=0 %command%". Thank you to Patola who linked this thread, https://steamcommunity.com/app/979690/discussions/3/3320862598750530211/
Below are the game Settings that worked best for me.
Graphics:
Resolution Scale: 90
Texture Detail: Medium
Shadow Quaity: Low
Anti-Aliasing: Medium
Post Process Quality: Low
View Distance: Medium
Effects Quality: Medium
DirectX: DX11
Motion Blur: Off
Film Grain: Off
CPU Performance Mode: On
Physics Objects: Off
Audio:
Audio Mode: Small Speakers
Steam Performance Settings:
Frame Limit: 40FPS/40HZ
Half Rate Shading: On (Game looks good either way, so having it on can help with performance)
TDP Limit: 12 watts (tested down to 8, and noticed artifacting and poor performance)
5w TDP
Had to get close to read in the museum
Using bazzite:39.
Can turn the TDP down to 5W and still get 60fps on the LCD Deck.
(optional) Change d-pad up to keyboard spacebar key. Spam it for achievement.
bazzite-deck:39
Using the 'Golden 40' settings from CryoByte33's YouTube video. No cryoutils, as running on bazzite Linux. Works great.
If I am nitpicking, there are some odd water reflections in the caves of the B&W expansion, but nothing gamebreaking.
occasionally after resuming from sleep,some crackling audio. Fixed after restarting game.
8W TDP
EA app is the worst. When entering my user/password it ALWAYS says invalid credentials, even though I have tried it about 8 times or so and verified that those were entered correctly. Finally, got it to work by logging going to my Desktop PC, logging into the EA website, and connecting EA to my Steam account. Now it sometimes just logs in and launches the game, and other times it asks for credentials. Fuck EA.
I am strongly considering sailing the high seas to get a DRM free copy of the game.
-nolegal
6w TDP, 500mhz GPU
This may be an issue with bazzite in game mode, but the menu options for "Close game", and "Power" (to shutdown or restart) simply do not work in the Steam interface.
Game runs well, camera & controls jank included.
3W TDP
using bazzite:39. Works perfectly ootb. Reduced to 3w TDP for battery and still runs 60fps on LCD SD.
