How DOOM: The Dark Ages Runs on the Steam Deck - Steam Deck HQ
steamdeckhq.com
With SteamOS getting a quick new update, we decided to check out DOOM: The Dark Ages on the Steam Deck and see just how well it is running.

The TL;DR: The game won’t launch on current steamOS, but preview build 3.7.6 fixes the launch issue.

Unfortunately the game is unable to maintain decent frame rates even with severe reductions in graphical settings.

The drastic decrease in performance compared to Doom 2016/Doom Eternal is due to the game using mandatory ray tracing for lighting.

It’s possible that we’ll see some patches or mods that improve performance, but at launch it will not be a good deck experience.

EDIT: Not sure why Lemmy is embedding that youtube video, there’s an actual article about the performance, and there’s a different video on how the Steam Deck itself actually performs with the game.

    • Shiggles@sh.itjust.works
      132·
      2 days ago

      What’s the worst AMD card that can run it again? But it’s tooootally just because everybody has to have ray tracing, right? It would just be inconceivable to have, uh… unrealistic light rays? That’s what my game has to have to be playable these days, fucking light rays?

      Yes, it stinks that AMD’s ray tracing performance is so far behind. But ray tracing is an unnecessary gimmick, and mandating it is a stupid choice. Imagine mandating your game has to have V-sync, or motion blur, or depth of field, or any of these garbage settings a sizable percentage of the playerbase immediately disables?

      • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml
        31·
        2 days ago

        Ray tracing can save hundreds of hours of labor time over older methods of lighting, shadowing, that devs would have to do to simulate ray tracing. Or, in many instances, thousands of hours of bake time pre-baking lighting.

          • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml
            2·
            2 days ago

            This is a historical trend, new technologies making development easier is exactly why we got 3d accelerated games in the first place. And idk what gpu you’re buying, cause mine wasn’t even $1000 and runs everything great.

        • Fubarberry@sopuli.xyzOPMEnglish
          5·
          2 days ago

          Yes, but it’s literally limiting sales and hurting user review scores to save some predictable development hours. And the increase in performance demands means that for most users, the entire game will look worse because everything else is being penalized over a minor lighting improvement.

          Doom Eternal looks incredible and runs fantastic on deck, the ID engines have historically been famous for looking great with incredible optimization. This doesn’t live up to that legacy at all. It might have saved them some development time, but it’s literally making it a non-option for a lot of Deck users and people with weaker PCs.

          • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml
            6·
            2 days ago

            It really is a bummer that idtech of all things is moving away from working on all hardware. I played through Doom Eternal my first time on a 960 at 1080p with 60fps and never a stutter.