Steam Deck Windows Tips: Introducing Handheld Companion... This Changes Everything! #steamdeck #windows #handheldcompanion ▶ Overkill Gaming Discord Server: discord.gg/dCBMy6gFCk ▶ Twitter: twitter.com/OG_GameflixTV Today we will be covering a new app for Windows gaming on the Steam Deck that we believe will be a Game Changer. It is called Handheld Companion. It is a controller emulation software that also allows for precise customization of the Steam Deck controller for non-steam applications along with power management options. This video only serves as an introduction to Handheld Companion. Expect more in-depth videos covering specific features coming soon. If you enjoy this video or find it helpful, please leave a LIKE and also SUBSCRIBE for more. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to drop by our Discord server. Link is in this description. Shouts outs to: Benjamin LSR, Casper H and DLL by Max K., the Dev Team Software release page at Github, newest at the top: github.com/Valkirie/HandheldCompanion/releases Wiki, with information and instruction guides: github.com/Valkirie/HandheldCompanion/wiki Handheld Companion Discord Server invite. discord.gg/znHuywFz5M github.com/mKenfenheuer/hidapi.net youtube.com/@handheldcompanion www.paypal.com/paypalme/BenjaminLSR (edited) Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 2:27 - What is Handheld Companion? 3:16 - App Settings & Features 10:47 - Testing Handheld Companion in Battlenet 11:24 - Testing Handheld Companion in Gamepass 11:51 - Testing Handheld Companion in PS Remote Play 12:32 - What to do when using the SteamOS UI Windows 13:02 - Conclusion Hardware: Steam Deck 1.5 TB Dual Boot with SteamOS and Windows 11 Playlists: Steam Deck Gameplay Playlist ru-vid.com/group/PLHR7H690ynSi8RhmDia5mzssgNrXlCjXg Steam Deck Tutorials: My SWICD Setup for Best Controller Support... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GfATlwSlLuY.html How to Upgrade the Internal SSD... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--gtArgBFS0Y.html How to Play Overwatch 2 in SteamOS... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UppuJXYRTrA.html How to Set Up the SteamOS UI in Windows... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-81uQFmDtFx4.html Complete WinDeck (Windows 11 Only) Setup Tutorial... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3HbhYG7W6NE.html How to Dual Boot Windows & SteamOS (SSD Partition Method)... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ntvCVHP0AtY.html How to Dual Boot Windows & SteamOS (SD Card Method)... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZO33tQ5dE4Q.html How to Set Up Controller Support for Non-Steam Games (SWICD Method)... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-89Z_1y0DXhA.html How to Set Up Controller Support for Non-Steam Games (GLoSC Method)... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VyQ9s0D0dGA.html How to Set Up Custom Button Mappings in Windows:... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NmguZuffXeo.html How to Share an SD card between Windows & SteamOS... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VVoodxlO3oA.html How to Set Up Custom Boot Animations... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EsKpEpZox2U.html How to Play Any Game on the Steam Deck (Requires a PC)... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6qvgNY5s4Fw.html
Hey ! Thanks for reviewing Handheld Companion. Do you plan on covering gyro aiming outside of Steam using our Universal Motion Control (UMC) ? This is a unique feature from our application and brings gyro to virtualy any game, including your Xbox Gamepass catalog. Just make sure you've got Controller selected as your gyro source on the Settings page. On the otherhand, the other HC unique feature is the 3D controller overlay and it should be a great addition for content creators, giving you the ability to display device movements and input on top of your game or as a seperate window to be captured using OBS.
Yes, I plan to do a separate video covering Gyro. I used to get a lot of questions about how to do that in Windows I know a lot people will be happy with this feature. Kudos to you for making this all possible
Nice one, it doesn't make much sense to have SteamOS at the moment on the deck, I got windows 10 with the big picture gamepadui, riva tuner locking my fps to whatever number I want for more battery, also tweak it using scanline sync to avoid vsync and force the hz to match it.
Side note: If u have enabled steam opening automatic to the background, exit it before installing HC. If you don’t so, it will break because of steam’s controller drivers.
@@fekett I tried this and it didn't work, I guess my application isn't broken, I'm just not understanding how to even make one input work on this application, I tried a lot of methods and nothing
@@awesomeruben after first open, the service isn’t started, it’s just app. You have to manually enable service in bottom left corner with “Start service” button. You can make this automatically in settings.
Great video as always. Question: Is the TDP adjustment ability utilized with kernel(s)? There is an app called SteamDeckController which has similar features to HC. SDC's TDP and Fan Control features use kernel(s) which has been reported to show up as installed cheats to various anti-cheat software and have had users getting banned.
Is this on the Battlenet version? If so, make sure Steam isn't running in the background. Also, the newest version of HC doesn't require lizard mode to be toggled on/off. It uses a new feature called Desktop layout which auto senses when a game is running. This can be toggled on/off as well, but shouldn't be required. If Steam is closed and you are still having the issue, try toggling Desktop Layout and see if the issue goes away.
I had everything set up perfectly then i made an mistake and touch the screen now i cant even see the controller on the hc app it just load the screen hc and thats it ! How do i fix it
Can you give more detail? When you say it doesn't show up like mine, what are you seeing exactly? Also, this video covers an older version of HC. You will want to watch one of my more recent videos because there have been changes to the app. It no longer uses Lizard Mode and instead has a Desktop Layout which has to be toggled off while in-game. We covered the changes and updates in this video... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZK38lOqT7hI.html and this video... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EdQH-J_hy98.html
I use SWICD in Windows games (non-Steam games) and I like it because with this program I feel real vibrations like the real Xbox gamepad. I find the haptic feedback experience with Steam OS or Steam Windows to be very poor. But I had a big problem with SWICD, it is impossible to deactivate the touchpads (left and right) to use only the joysticks, and in some cases it depends on the style you hold your “steam deck” in some cases I touch these touchpads accidentally and it is horrible. I tried everything about lizard mode and... either everything (touchpad and joysticks) work together or nothing works at all. But with this Handheld Companion app I found that the problem with the touchpad and joysticks was solved, and with lizard mode disabled I can play any game and if I accidentally touch the touchpads... it doesn't work!! Excellent!! But……. The vibration sensation is not the same as SWICD, it is the same sensation as the official Steam OS haptic feedback. Is there any solution? Currently I need to choose one: Or feel real vibrations with great care not touching the touch panels or feel poor vibrations without concern when touching the touch panels?
@@OVERKILLGAMING786 Hello, thanks for your answer, I saw in the HC app in the controller settings a section with "Vibration Strength” and by default it is 100% and I can't put more, but SWICD there are two settings, Amplitude and Period, and I configured them both with “30” (completely right) And I confirm that for example in driving games like “wreckfest” the crash sensation or "Days Gone" with "nitro" or "jumps", is not the same between Steam/HC App, the sensation is poor shocks with “haptic sense” but with SWICD it is a real vibration like the real XBOX S gamepad . On Steam OS or Big Picture, I know there is a setting to configure haptics in the advanced settings of the gamepad, but I set 12 dB (completely right) and it's not the same... I don't know how SWICD can do another type of vibrations instead of “haptics”, it is very curious
I just got the newest Steam Deck OLED. As of right now it is not dual booted because all of the drivers are not yet available for Windows. My older Steam Deck was dual booted
I installera handheld companion and my controller don't work in warzone 2 maybe i need to do some setting in game but cannot find it ... any help ? @overkill gaming
Handheld Companion has been updated a few times since this video and we have more up to date videos covering Handheld Companion and its features. Lizard Mode has been removed and replaced with Desktop Layout. We cover that in our updated videos: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EdQH-J_hy98.html
I hope this app has a reset to default, in swicd I messed up my profile and it was a pain getting in back to default. The r4 lizard mode trick was nice, it would be better if it automatically switched when playing games. Tdp is nice, be sick if we could increase the total tdp however. Would also like an option to increase vram passed 4gb.
So, the video you are watching is covering an older build of HC. There has been a major update since then and we put out a video covering some of those new features. Here is a quick overview of those new features in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EdQH-J_hy98.html. For more in-depth coverage check out this video as well...ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZK38lOqT7hI.html
Best channel covering the steam deck shoutout to the devs who created handheld companion as well 🔥🔥 is there a way to use the joysticks as a mouse tho instead of the mouse pads?
I didn’t start out well, handheld companion didn’t work in game, only two buttons work, the rest didn’t register as default, do I have to set every keys for every game? I’m on window 11 steam deck, playing epic store games
The video you watched is showing an older version of HC. We have two newer videos showing the newer features. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZK38lOqT7hI.html. As far as the button issue, you don't have to set up buttons for every game. Did you toggle off Desktop layout while in game? If not then this may be what caused those issues. We go over my setup in this video
@@OVERKILLGAMING786 I watch all the video but I still can’t find a solution to play Microsoft store games using Handheld companion. I am using steam deck tool software and it work for all game, but I really like Handheld companion but it doesn’t work.
After trying HC, my gyroscope wont run anymore with steam games.. i uninstalled HC and reinstalled steam but no chance. Seems like my gyro is dead. Where can i get the controller drivers for the steam deck? Thank you!
Valve doesn't provide a driver for the controller. If you like you can drop by our Discord and speak directly with one of the developers of Handheld Companion.
its very frustrating to use steam deck not all games work as they should with Handheld companion whether its with steam deck app or out of steam deck app, and its frustrating setting things up, it just takes the joy from having a device that works with games out of the box. When I play for example fifa 18 pressing B opens menu whether i play it with steam app open or closed, and so on, other games are even more a nightmare. Is there a dam way to have things done way more easy to have steam deck work with all games. So I guess steam deck is only a good device if u play games via the steam app only, if u play games u downloaded then prepare yourself for a dam headache
It may be how you have it setup. I haven't played FIFA, but every game I play on Windows using Handheld Companion works perfectly, whether its a Steam Game or a game from another launcher. You can always drop by our Discord and speak directly to one of the devs of the Handheld Companion project named CasperH. He may be able to help you with your issues. But from what your saying it sounds like you have Lizard mode enabled while you are in game. In my videos I state that Lizard mode should always be disabled while in a game and I show how I toggle it on and off with a hotkey. That is probably why the menu pops up when you press the B button. Try disabling Lizard mode and see if you still have the issue. For further help drop by our Discord.
Is there a way to disable features in the app? I have a custom profile for desktop mode on steam deck and handheld companion breaks itself and steams version. I just want the overlay and hot key function from handheld companion
Sustained basically sets the minimum TDP and Boost sets the maximum. The TDP will fluctuate between the two. If you want to set the TDP at a specific wattage set both to the same value
Not sure how to disable to the Steam keyboard. You can try changing the keybind for the Windows keyboard to a different keybind than the Steam keyboard. On my Steam Deck I have the keyboard bound to one of the triggers on the back because I rarely use them in game.
for some reason HC does t work for me for games outside steam!! fortnite and others doesnt recognize controller and when does even when steam is closed it does dual press action button 🙃
Like I always mention in the videos, if you need assistance drop by the Discord. More than happy to help you there. Also, one of the devs is a member in our Discord
Thanks for the great video.. do we download and install the larger file Handheld.Companion-Release-net7.0-0.14.0.9-offline.exe from the github link or the smaller file Handheld.Companion-Release-net7.0-0.14.0.9-offline.exe? Thank you for clarifying
For games that allow the use of keyboard/mouse and controller to be used without forcing you to choose one or the other you can map the back buttons to keyboard actions in the Custom Mapping section at the bottom of the hotkeys tab. For games like COD that force you to choose between KBM or controller I am being told that there will be a new feature in the next HC build release to allow for custom button mapping so that you can map the back triggers to XYAB on the controller for example. I am also being told that it will be released very soon, like in the next few days.
Quick question : are you dual booting on this Deck or did you some how get the steam game mode on windows ? Because when i open steam I see the desktop version , is there a way to make it look like that when i open steam on windows?
This is the SteamOS UI running in Windows. We put out a video a while back showing how to set it up. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-81uQFmDtFx4.html
If you have Steam running while using HC and you set the keybind as Steam + X then it could result in a conflict. Not sure there is a setting to disable the keyboard in Steam. I will have to check. You can also set the keybind in HC to something else like Steam +Y and avoid the issue that way
That should be coming in the next update. But we do have tutorial up on the channel showing how you can make your own custom FPS overlays here --> ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kkSWkBsA-e0.html
i can't get xbox games to work on my deck. even on clean windows installs, the native games refuse to open (only streaming works). i'm suspecting it might be because of this software.
What you are experiencing is a common problem caused by incorrect date and time settings in Windows. Check your date and time settings. If dual booted follow the instructions in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wc2L62Ae9A0.html... Otherwise when switching between Windows and SteamOS the time and date will be thrown off and will cause Gamepass games to fail to launch. If further help is needed drop by our Discord.
@@OVERKILLGAMING786 oh god. seriously? i'm going to try to fix that and i'm going to be so mad if it's that. [edit] it's still not working, but it might be because i messed something up reinstaling game service and stuff. it's saying "this app can't open" instead of just not doing anything like it was before i tried to fix it again. idk i'll try to reset windows again tomorrow. but i've eliminated a bunch of suspects today. it's not shutup10 or my debloating stuff because i installed fh5 on my desktop pc to test it and it worked, so i'm free to do that to my steam deck again if i want. it's not handheld companion because it works for you. it's not an activation issue because i bought a new windows key and it's still not working. it's progress. [edit2] OH yay it worked! After i fixed the time, then switched back to an offline windows account instead of the online one, it worked! Thanks!
I believe they are working on a version for other handhelds as well. We are planning to acquire another handheld device for the channel. We will be testing when it arrives.
Hi guys, i cannot get this app to launch, downloaded offline and online versions, exit steam before installing/launching application, i click on it, the HC screen comes up then disappears with nothing....please help.
Did you check the app tray to see if it is running in the background? I think I have heard of this issue before and it had to do with C++ redistributal runtime needing to be downloaded. You can hit up the devs in the HC Discord. They are pretty responsive
Yo can someone reach out to the devs and change where the configuration file is. I dont like it mixed in with my "my documents" and would be nice if it was under the HC folder in programs.
If you would like to communicate with the devs you can easily reach them in the Overkill Gaming Discord in the HC chat section or in the official HC Discord server
You have to select which features you want to show up in the quick tools menu. You can do this by going into the hotkeys menu and pressing the pin button next to those features.
hey anyone can solve this problem? button keeps on pressing itself in few games such as unravel, fifa 22, company of heroes 2 and some more. idk why. but some works flawlessly. for example in fifa, in the settings (in a match) it keeps on navigating to the lowest point (if theres any). in unravel, from starting the game, it will automatically move the character to the left at all times..
I have a question if anyone has an answer to it, so I have both steam OS and Windows 10 on the internal storage dual booting them, and then I finally decided to turn on steam OS and update it's firmware which was a big mistake, now Windows 10 is acting up and also restarting and failing to just stay on the main screen for longer than 30 minutes, anyone have a solution?
downloaded it and went through the setup and reset my deck but when I launch it it just pops up the logo big in the middle of my screen then after a few seconds disappears and does nothing do you know how to fix
@@OVERKILLGAMING786 nice, i think this addresses alot of the things been bugging me, having the hotkey toturn on lizard mode is gonna be nice, i did have a key to pull up the keyboard set up but i kept having to back out the game then open steam cos its not opening in the backround for some reason on start up and it just gets annoying all the little quirks so i think im gonna like this new way more.
@@OVERKILLGAMING786 can you explain how you manage to emulate the dualshock 4 through handheld companion? I install and the Xbox controller workers but playstation controller does not. Please help
Interesting, it boots up for me in far less time. Do you have Windows installed on the internal storage or an SD card? HC loads for me in about 8-10 secs at startup
@@OVERKILLGAMING786 i have windows installed on a sandisk extreme pro sd card so that might be the reason but then again everything else performs grest cus of the fast read and write on extreme pro version
Awesome! Thanks for the vid! Btw for that keyboard overlay, is it possible to bring that keyboard up when we boot windows and have to enter the password or do the services run once you log in?
Yes. When Windows boots up if you tap the text field where you enter your password it should bring up the same keyboard. That's using the touchscreen though. For the hotkey I have not tested that yet since I'm so used to just tapping the screen and entering my pin
You could also just set the deck to bypass password input so it works more like the deck. When I turn my deck on it logs me in, launches steam deck tools, turns on my VPN, and launches playnite in full screen mode. It's amazing.
2:13 haha I made it into the video!! I just spent all night putting windows back on my deck bc I just have to have gamepass and db breakers. Glad to see new stuff for windows on deck!
@@shrimpinpat oh yeah! been playing high on life and HC is working great with it. I wouldve gone with cloud gaming but unfortunately it's not available in Taiwan :/ db breakers needed windows due to its type of easy anti cheat
Can I change the Controller Buttons into other ones? Like in SWICD you could change every single button into a other one...is their a possibility for that?
I have a very important question that I think every viewer would probably want, when connecting the steam deck with Windows 10 on the big screen how would you resize the screen to fit the borders if the AMD display driver doesn't give that option?
@@OVERKILLGAMING786But if the TV can do 1080p why isn't it possible to use 1080p on it? I have no choice but to downgrade the resolution? I found out the only way to really resize the screen is to use the AMD drivers but the steam deck Windows 10 isn't running on AMD or invidia
You can play in 1080p. You can play in actual native 1080p on your TV/Monitor. I'm not talking about a scaled 800p. But actual 1080p, natively on your TV/monitor
@@OVERKILLGAMING786 thanks for replying OVERKILL, ye I was wondering if I could delete everything and start from scratch without having to do all the steps of adding it again
Do you have to have windows to download it? Cause everytime I try it says "vigem Bus Driver can not be installed on the following windows versions:" and goes through a bunch of them. Also got another error trying to download it saying fatal error has occurred.
Are you downloading the latest version? github.com/Valkirie/HandheldCompanion/releases/download/0.15.0.3/Handheld.Companion-Release-net7.0-0.15.0.3.exe
@@OVERKILLGAMING786 yes. And then it finishes downloading even though it says a serious error occured and it wants me to restart the computer now in order to download handheld companion. But even when I do, nothing happens
So far no issues with MW2 in my personal experience, but the devs are reworking the TDP controls which were operating at the kernel level so that they do not trigger the anticheat if a change to TDP is made while in game. The next update will have this fix. But if you want to use the app now, just make sure not to tweak TDP while in game.
Help. Once installed, it won't let me select which controller I want to emulate. Can't figure it out, the drop down boxes are unresponsive and it shows pictures of all three controllers
You need to deploy the service bottom left then click start if it doesn't start on its own that is. This shouldn't happen all the time but always make sure the service is started (running)
@@IMIute deploy service is also unresponsive. The start service will let me push it, and once I do, it loads for a few seconds and goes right back. Edit* if I click remove service then the deploy service option becomes available, once clicked it activates and still all three controllers are up with no option the select one for emulation
This is great. But does anyone know if you can assign a hotkey to enable/disable the controller? (like holding a button same as SteamDeck Tools). This is really useful to quickly disable the onboard controllers when you want to use external controllers when docked for example.
@@OVERKILLGAMING786 On the custom the input is hotkey but output is in keyboard. Is that how you mapped the back buttons? using the keyboards input? for example keyboard SHIFT for run? Thanks!
I love your videos. Thanks for all the great info. Wondering how your getting such a smooth experience with modern warfare. Ive been working on it now for days.. watched countless videos. I still cant seem to keep it from stuttering periodically.
Tell me more about your setup? I have tried it with Windows on an SD Card and on the internal SSD and it was pretty smooth in both cases. Better yet, come on over to our Discord and we can chat there.
Can I know what application you use to map mouse input? Or do you just use SWICD for mouse mapping with no any controller mapping and use Handheld Companion for controller mapping?
You can use the steam deck controls as a gamepad with gyro (mouse emulated(only gun aiming)) with this by choosing the xbox 360 controller emulation in the app and then creating a desktop controls profile in steam big picture that deletes all the buttons except the trackpads for mouse and clicks with the right track pad and up down left right keys on the left track pad and then set gyroscope to activate on right trackpad touch. You have to delete all other buttons in the profile.
