I installed Fedora 43 with this command distrobox create -i registry.fedoraproject.org/fedora:43 --init --additional-packages "systemd" -n test then I installed Mullvad VPN with these commands sudo dnf config-manager addrepo --from-repofile=https://repository.mullvad.net/rpm/stable/mullvad.repo and sudo dnf install mullvad-vpn. Once it's finished, I tried to type mullvad status but it gives an error message

Error: Management RPC server or client error  

Caused by:  
         0:   transport error  
         1:   No such file or directory (os error 2)  
         2:   No such file or directory (os error 2)  

How to solve this issue ? I just want to use mullvad-cli

I've been lucky to interview a lot of my friends over the last few years now; developers from plenty of projects, programs and apps. But this is one I've been looking forward to sharing for a long time now!

I interviewed the team behind Decky Loader, all about their history and work keeping it running.

If you don't know, Decky Loader is (from my own article):

...[an] indispensable little tool that turns a brand-new Deck from ‘fun handheld console’ into a full-blown customization powerhouse. From adding plugins to tweaking the interface, Decky Loader quietly powers a lot of the creativity and convenience that Deck owners have come to take for granted.

Download it, and you can customize the heck out of how your Steam Deck looks and functions, by community-made plugins.

Anyway, I'm quite proud of this one, and really grateful that they all took the time to chat to me to make this one happen. If you're at all interested in development, Steam Decks, open-source, or just gaming in general, then I think you'll enjoy this one too!

The link to my article is here, please let me know what you think of it! I love doing these interviews, and I've been lucky that so many have followed along with them so far :)

cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/starcitizen/p/1533992/getting-star-citizen-running-on-a-steamdeck-complete-guide

Edit: Updating crosspost with edits from OP.

Getting Star Citizen working on the SteamDeck was actually a bit easier than I thought it would be. A lot of the heavy lifting has already been accomplished thanks to the Linux Users Group. The game usually runs around 15-20 fps which is somewhat playable, although there are some places that will bring it down to 5-10 fps (certain parts of Levski). You'll see better FPS when you're out away from Cities/Stations. Total RAM used seems to be a little over 21GB (in SC v4.4).

Some pre-setup:

You'll need to increase the swapfile on the Steam Deck to use a small portion of the built-in SSD as some slower RAM. I set it to 16GB and it seems to be working fine, although LUG recommends a 32GB swapfile. So, if the game starts crashing and the game.log points to an issue with RAM, be sure to increase your swapfile.

Switch the SteamDeck to Desktop mode

• Go to "Power" -> Switch to Desktop

Open up a console and enter the following commands, one at a time:

passwd # Create a root password, for example "deck"
sudo steamos-readonly disable # Disable the read only FS
cd /home # There is a "swapfile" located here we'll reuse it
sudo swapoff -a # Stop swap process
sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=swapfile bs=1G count=16 # Increase swap to 16GB, change to 32 if desired.
sudo mkswap swapfile # swap ready file again
sudo swapon swapfile # Activate swap
sudo steamos-readonly enable # re-enable the read only FS

Download Star Citizen

Download the flatpak made available by the Linux Users Group and run the script for installing the Launcher.

Add the repo

flatpak remote-add --user --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak remote-add --user --if-not-exists RSILauncher https://mactan-sc.github.io/rsilauncher/RSILauncher.flatpakrepo

install the rsi launcher flatpak

flatpak install -y --user --noninteractive RSILauncher io.github.mactan_sc.RSILauncher

run the rsi launcher flatpak

flatpak run io.github.mactan_sc.RSILauncher

Add the Launcher to Steam

While in Desktop mode, open up the desktop version of Steam.
Go to "Games" -> "Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library..." And select the RSI Launcher

Note: The launcher works better in Gaming Mode. Just make sure to maximize the window while in gaming mode by dragging it to the top of the screen. I've found that the touchscreen keyboard doesn't work well when using desktop mode for the launcher.

Add icons for the RSI Launcher in Steam (Optional)

While in Desktop mode, open up the desktop version of Steam.
Right click on the RSI Launcher
Go to "Properties" -> "Customization"
"Change" the "background", "Logo", and "Wide Cover" to the splash screen. Browse to this folder for the icon:
/home/deck/.var/app/io.github.mactan_sc.RSILauncher/data/prefix/drive_c/Program Files/Roberts Space Industries/StarCitizen/LIVE/EasyAntiCheat/
Note: Delete the *.jpg filter at the bottom to reveal the icons and select SplashScreen.png

For the "Cover", I found a logo from the StarCitizen Subreddit that works very well: https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/EmKaZzz1TqvrqdV2qbpqbXEHD9hRMrxK13aALdIb3IE.png

Fix Mouse Warping Issues

Sometimes entering interaction mode will make your view warp quickly to another direction which can be annoying when trying to use kiosks/ASOPs/shops. To fix this, go to the following folder location:
/home/deck/.var/app/io.github.mactan_sc.RSILauncher/data/prefix/drive_c/Program Files/Roberts Space Industries/StarCitizen/LIVE/

Then create a file called user.cfg
Edit the file and enter the following:

#use software cursor
pl_pit.forceSoftwareCursor = 1

Graphics Renderer:

I would recommend changing the Game Renderer to Vulkan (for 4.4 only. With 4.5 you'll want to use DirectX until a fix/workaround has been found for Vulkan issues).

*Note: If the game starts crashing while loading up, try switching the renderer back to DirectX.
Modify the user.cfg file we created/edited before, add a new line and enter:

r.graphicsRenderer = 0
Note: Enter a 0 value for DirectX or enter 1 for Vulkan.

Disable animations on launcher (optional)

Click the gear icon -> Game Settings -> Accessibility:
Then disable background video.

The first time I tried to start the game, it wouldn't load. Restarting the SteamDeck got it working.

Setup Useful Keybinds

After launching the game, press the "Steam" button, then go to "Controller Settings".
The default controller keybinds usually have issues with the normal mouse button clicks, but using trackpads for the mouse works very well.
My configuration:
L4 - Spacebar
L5 - Ctrl
R4 - '[' key (for accepting shared missions/invites)
R5 - 'B' key (The Cycling mastermode keybind isn't set by default for GamePads).

Switch this up however you want, but I found that the R4 and R5 keybinds were essential to being able to play the game without any mouse/keyboard hooked up to it.
L4 and L5 can be whatever you want. Setting an 'N' key might be another good option in case you use autodocking.

Under Current Button Layout, Click Edit Layout -> Trackpads
For "Right Trackpad Behavior" set this to "As Mouse"

• Set Click to "Left Mouse Click"

For "Left Trackpad Behavior" set this to "Scroll Wheel"

• For Clockwise Command click "Add command" and set it to "Scroll Wheel Down"
• For Counter-Clockwise Command set it to "Scroll Wheel Up" (or vice versa depending on what you like).
• Set Click to "Right Mouse Click"

Note - The Mobiglass works really well with the SteamDeck's touchscreen.

Additionally, there are some community Layouts available.

Graphics Optimizations:

I initially used the Performance Tuning guide from the LUG wiki for some settings, but ultimately set most options to Low/Very Low.
If anyone finds some better settings feel free to comment below.

Graphics Settings
Set Quality to Low.
Set Scattered Object Distance to Low
Set Planet Volumetric Clouds to Medium
Water - Low
Set Motion Blur to Off
Set Sharpening to 100
https://wiki.starcitizen-lug.org/Performance-Tuning

Some troubleshooting:
Usually the first time you run the launcher, the window size will be off. Just drag the top of the window up to the top of the screen and it should resize correctly (works in Gaming Mode as well).

This should also solve the issue where the "acknowledge" button is cut off at the bottom.

Occasionally, the launcher will think that it has no internet connection. A temporary workaround is to log out and then log in again to the launcher. A more permanent fix is to clear the launcher's cache.

Sometimes, if the game is having issues loading up the first time, simply restarting the SteamDeck gets everything working.

Sources:

• https://wiki.starcitizen-lug.org/Alternative-Installations#flatpak-installation
• https://wiki.starcitizen-lug.org/Troubleshooting/mouse-keyboard-issues
• https://old.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/waiujt/how_to_increase_the_swap_on_the_deck/

Edit:
Added notes about restarting the SteamDeck.
Added trackpad layout configuration.
Reordered Graphics Renderer section.

What are the chances this will work on non-Steam hardware?

Note: these are official videos on the Steam points store.

I’m trying to support GOG by buying some games for my Steam Deck (my only gaming pc), but the downloads through Heroic are really slow compared to Steam.

Since you can’t do any background downliading on Heroic on the Deck, I tried downloading the games on my desktop PC through Heroic and importing them on the Deck. Still it’s really slow..

Downloading directly on GOG is also really slow, so I wondered how you were doing it since I can’t have a 40gb game taking 5 hours to download.

Especially because turning off the Deck or my weak computer means starting from scratch again.

I’m on Linux for everything by the way.

How do you manage this?

It's a fresh month and that means we can take a look and see what's been popular for players on Valve's SteamOS powered handheld the Steam Deck.

A good chance to see not just what's popular, but also some ideas perhaps on what to pick up for your next game. Like November 2025's number 1 - Dispatch, which I also thought was pretty amazing. ARC Raiders is a new one this time, which can run on Steam Deck but you might find it's a bit unstable (and doesn't look very good). Another new entry is Where Winds Meet which should be getting some Steam Deck optimisations too.

So I've had my deck for about a year, basically using steam cloud to swap between my laptop and deck. For my vortex question, I play some modded games using vortex, specifically cyberpunk. But how do I install vortex and for simpler mods is it plug and play when it comes to installing simple mods? Like once vortex is installed can I just download the mods with vortex. Most of my modding (like in noita for example) has been through steam workshop which syncs mods and load order across the two machine, but there are exceptions like the previously mentioned cyberpunk as well as skyrim (i think my modlist is too demanding for the deck)

As for Decky I saw this post and i know decky is for plugins and thats really it. Where can I download it and what else does it do?

As i was typing this out i was bouncing around thoughts, so hopefully theres a coherent questions somewhere in here

Edit: for decky I also have emudeck, decky says it can add acheivments and other things, what do those add?

My personal opinion is that the frame is a bit of a Trojan horse for widening the hardware they can run games (via Steam) on. With folks playing more and more indie and lower power requirement games, the rise of retroid pockets and Android gaming in general has taken off, and initiatives like gamehub lite have made it possible to run even Skyrim on these low power handhelds.

On the same token, the amount of performance per watt that Apple has been able to get out of custom arm based silicon is astounding. Valve has said they wouldn’t release another steam deck unless it represented a generational leap. That sort of leap would be something like the intel —> m1 that Apple produced.

What’s most exciting for me, is better steam support on multiple architectures. I think what’s most exciting for Valve, is their software and storefront running on more devices and providing a better experience than ever before. From VR to the deck to the desktop to the living room, I think their strategy at this point is pretty clear.

You must own Lossless Scaling for this to work.

My experience with using it generally good. It has way less added latency than game's built in frame gen through FSR/etc. which makes it the only viable frame gen option for most games on deck.

If you can get a fairly consistent 30fps in a game, you can use this to go up to 60fps and have it work pretty well. If you're running below 30 fps or if the game's fps is very unstable, this may add too much input latency or not feel smooth.

Where Winds Meet continues to be a big hit on Steam and it works quite well on Desktop Linux but it needs a lot of improvements on Valve's Steam Deck.

On Steam Deck even with various settings dropped down and upscaling, the performance in various parts is just not playable with drops down to 20FPS and at times below. Thankfully, for any fans of this free to play RPG, there's plans from the developer Everstone Studio to get things into better shape

The November blog is out!

Hi everyone!

First of all, I wanna say that I love my Steam Deck and Linux. I'm spending 90% of my gaming time on the Deck.

That being said, the external storage situation on Steam OS is really shitty and it makes me understand why some people just stick to normal consoles.

I've been using external storage for years on Playstation and never encountered a problem which made me reinstall everything.

In around a month, it happened to me twice on Steam OS.

All the Steam games on my external drive just disappeared and Retrodeck tells me that (probably because of an update to Steam OS) it can't find my rom folders anymore.

Such things makes me look stupid when I'm trying to show my son how kind of "better" the Steam Deck is compared to my Playstation 5.

I've seen that Valve is saying that we shouldn't rely on external storage, but there is no real choice now that game are taking so much space and with only 256gb at my disposal in the Deck. I hope they'll improve this with the launch of Steam Machine as it'd be a big step toward an almost console like experience.

Would having an SD card be safer than an external hard drive in such situation?

Buying more internal storage is a solution that I'd want to avoid as it would only be usable with one device..

Edit: this time just restarting the Deck solved the problem as the disk wasn’t mounted. Last time, the disk was mounted but the Deck couldn’t find the right path towards my games..