ULTIMATE Steam Deck Emulation Guide (EmuDeck 2.1)

EmuDeck just got a big update, 2.1.0. This is the Ultimate Guide to getting Emulation setup on your Steam Deck.

RESOURCES

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S U P P O R T F A N T H E D E C K
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C H A P T E R S
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00:00 EmuDeck 2.1.0
01:18 What’s New
05:45 Resources
08:48 Download EmuDeck
09:14 Easy Mode
10:56 Custom Mode
15:21 Add Games
17:37 Steam ROM Manager
19:53 EmulationStationDE
21:30 Home Screen

[FanTheDeck]

Sorry for the confusion but the new version of EmuDeck is out RIGHT NOW. It just came out today. I've been working on this video for over a week so I was using the Beta version to capture footage.

[pastalex]

I just happened to check for emudeck updates today because I was having some bugs, then I started seeing these videos. Perfect timing!

[ashishgup]

I hope someone makes a good video on the input profiles. I find the emulator level hotkey stuff always pretty confusing but it's so important to actually take advantage of the emulators. Most emulators like Dolphin or pcsx are designed for keyboard based machines. I'm glad EmuDeck devs recognize this. But I don't see top youtubers covering this aspect properly.

[emiliosanchez]

Great tutorial as always. Im still not really emulating at all right now but I am really happy videos like these exist if I ever do start doing that!

[DarkWorldQ]

I am very glad that they made it easier to transfer ROMs from a USB drive to the Steam Deck.

[cashy]

Been waiting on CEMU AppImage for a while. Ended up manually setting it up myself before this update, and general stability (frame times) as well as loading times are improved significantly.

[NyctalopeDiurne]

Fantastic video! Please go for part 2, and 3, and more! I am legally obtaining (ahem...) some sweet Switch roms at this very moment, among other forgotten gems and I'm gonna follow your guide to bring some of this emulation emulation magic to my SD. Oh boy, I can't wait :))

[PietroPizzi]

Great Tutorial, as always. It even get's noticeable better each iteration :)! I would say it's THE best or at least one of the best out there!

The best new thing for me is that we don't have to import ALL games per emulator into steam. Before, I always had do move all games, except my favorites, out of the emu folder, then run Steam ROM Manager and then move everything back. That was very tedious.

One thing/idea for your next round: I would like to know more about the update and reset of the emulator configs, because I always fear that I lost important work that I have done after first installation. Specifically but not only:
- Where are all the specific configs for every emulator, so that I can backup it just in case?
- What configs must be redone if i choose to update it with Emudeck (to get all eventual improvements Eemudeck has made to this configs)? Eg. Controller configs in the emulator settings (like to activate gyro and set all connected controllers to Nintendo-Pro for Cemu) or specific game configs like setups and community patches like 60fps-patch aso. (for BotW that's a complete Cryobyte video to rewatch :D). I remember, if it wasn't another problem, that for ScummVM my library was empty and I had to reimport all games again (what wasn't to easy because many games get's imported with different versions and I had to figure out again which ones are the "best" ones) and what happens to the game saves in this case?
- For retroarch, is it "just" the retroarch config or can I loose all configs for all cores?
- And should I even worry... maybe not because the Emudeck configs are so great in the meantime that no one really have to alter settings that are in files which could get overwritten to play everything correctly?
Questions over questions :D...

And obviously yes: We want a Part 2 with all the specifics about the emulators :)!!

[TheScripflipNetwork]

Crazy that I was configuring this app yesterday with the older version and its update is already news

[chrislaustin]

WOW, this is just insane, as this was great before, but with each new update, it just gets better and better. I agree 100% to give Pico-8 a look, for those who may not have known about it in the past. Celeste, one of gaming's best indie titles, actually started out on the Pico-8, and there are many more games that deserve a look see.

[evantimo]

this tutorial make me even more love my steamdeck. easy to configure emulation with just a few press of buttons

[chumbusthings]

Fan the Deck giving the good news early as always!

[joshuasavoy]

The best emulation deck video tutorial. Thank you sir.

[gimubatulo]

Oh yis. Vinny’s here. 🍄 byniot. Awesome video, real great stuff on your channel @FanTheDeck, always nice to see you talk about Deck updates :D

[Pretender]

@6:50 If you got a Dock with ethernet connection next to the computer, you can try Barrier, software based KVM, using main pc's keyboard and mouse to switch between Deck and PC operations.
Currently i have a 3 monitor setup, with the left monitor connected to both PC and SteamDeck, (rightside is alternatively connected to old pc)

[Gremwu]

Respect for knowing the Legacy of Kain Series.. Raziel is my favorite character

[Bennytek]

Just watched the entire video and I don't even own a Steam Deck 😅 Great job with the video! It was both informative and entertaining :)

(Valve will surely release the Deck in Australia any second now... Right? 😭)

[TheThurston]

My biggest issue is not knowing which file to put my roms in. MAME for instance. Does it go in arcade file? There are 3 MAME rom files locations. Which does the rom go in? Wish someone had a guide explaining which games go where. Same issue with xbox 360. There's so many possible places for them to go.

[KrisKomar]

Special note: if you have a Sega CD game, that is also 32X capable you need to put it in the Sega 32X folder, not the Sega CD folder. I learned this the hard way.

[Kclerie]

SO at 16:19 it looks like you're copying the zip files unpacked, is this the way? Or do I need to unzip all of the files?