Pitch Deck Teardown: Equals' $16M Series A Deck

It's a rare startup that thrives on its own , but that's exactly what Equals did after raising $16 million in Series A funding. Equals' mission is not to replace spreadsheets, but to ensure that spreadsheets can do everything their users ask them to do. As a regular spreadsheet user, I can understand this approach: I've built entire software solutions with very complex spreadsheets as the backend.

Additionally, as a land deck expert, I appreciate the sleek and bold design of the Equals deck.

I really like the division of the deck into two distinct sections that I rarely see in deck design: presentation and information. The last one, ARR, is a seven-slide breakdown of a company's financial reports that shows customer conversion rates, customer churn, and other numbers. This is a great idea: I often advise startups to tell a story in words and then tell the same story in numbers.

Let's see what else to like about this deck.

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Glide on this deck

The numbers on both traction slides have been changed and most of the (redacted) information is on separate data panels. There is also no data on market size or price of entry to the market, but we will get to that later.

1. Close slide

2. Opening speech

3. Shift mission

4. Problems slide

5. Solution/Mission Slide

6. Product("Same Answer")

7. Product demo slides

8. Product confirmation film

9. Traction slip

10. Slide traction 2

11. Product description slides

12. Product roadmap slide

13. Team changes

14. Request and use funds

15. Last slide

Three things to love

I've praised Equals for its design before, but this deck is so good that it's worth mentioning again: it's a beautiful deck. Some other things that caught my attention:

Make it a reality

For a while, it seemed like the easiest way to build a successful software startup was to figure out why people use Excel and then build a better, more targeted, easier-to-use tool. This has worked well for many companies, so just using Excel and replacing it with spreadsheets is a bold move. . . spreadsheet. Airtable has had some success in this area, so the first thing that comes to mind is whether there is room for another company in this space.

Equals provides a comprehensive and compelling case for a positive answer to this question, listing a number of software use cases:

[Slide 4] This is the problematic slide. . . Photo credit : Same

The problem seems quite real, but it seems to be mostly related to the origin of the data and the analysis/algorithms. Of course, Excel files can be complicated, but Excel itself has a relatively robust online solution (which is why "no Excel" seems a bit of a stretch). We also have Google Sheets, Airtable, and many other potential competitors in this space.

However, in the dry and boring world of spreadsheets, this is the most entertaining way to describe the problem you want to solve. I like this!

So it's Excel, but it's no longer online

[Slide 6] This is where the magic happens. Photo credit : Same

Founders, especially in tech, often face quite a challenge when trying to explain in simple terms what their startup does. I was impressed that the Equals team was able to turn the product into something so simple: a spreadsheet, but with database connectivity and collaboration. This very simple statement hides a lot of technical complexity and is sure to be an integration nightmare.

But hiding the complexity is a good idea: end users don't want to know why their tables aren't connected to Stripe data sources. You just need to work.

Quite elegant. In order.

This is how you pave the way for the future!

[Slide 12] This is a great way to plan your future. Photo credit: Same

Investors rarely care about such details in your product roadmap, but they do, you know ? This is a good overview of what you're interested in and doesn't detail the basics that the engineering team will build.

Although this plan was quite technical, I was impressed with the team's ability to resist the temptation to get too involved in the process. I don't know what they would associate with Command+K, but it doesn't matter: it's a high-level view that allows you to have room-level discussions about priorities for the next product. Year

I don't know what they associate with Command + K, but it doesn't matter.

Equals also does something clever with the previous slide: Slide 11 shows the features that have been created and then allows the story to flow smoothly on that slide (the existing features are now greyed out). This allows you to have a two-step conversation about the product: talk about everything you've built, then talk about everything you're going to build, and talk about how that will make the product more relevant to your audience. and perhaps expand your lead. also the user base.

This slide will teach you as a beginner that you should not spend too much time on your product. These two slides are great examples of how you can solve this problem elegantly.

In the rest of this presentation, we'll look at three things Equals could do better or differently, as well as the full version!

Three things that could be improved

The Equals deck isn't all rainbows and unicorns. . .

Pay attention to your audience

A fairly common problem with pitching is that it is sometimes difficult to determine whether the founders understand who they are pitching to. See this statement slide:

[Slide 8] Yes, but do investors care? Photo credit : Same

I believe this is a powerful slide to use in a company's sales efforts when communicating with new customers. However, I'm not sure how effective this investment offer is.

I see several problems here:

• I don't know what logo this is. Yes, I recognize Notion, but I don't know what Levity is or what it does, and I don't recognize the V logo. That means two of the three logos on this slide don't help me invest. So why use it?

• A collection of two quotes and one uncredited statement does not constitute a truly solid statement.

• The phrase “I don't think this will lead to anything in the future” in the final assessment can easily be misunderstood. I assume this guy intended for his product to last a long time, but that's not 100% clear from his quote.

• Quoting someone without naming them is bad manners. Who spoke these beautiful words? If you are the CTO of a company, you definitely need to highlight this. Think of it this way: If you praise “Apple employees” by saying “This is a really good product,” is that a good thing? It would be great if Tim Cook said that. According to him, there was a random sale at the Apple Store. . . You know where I'm going with this.

Overall, these changes appear neutral, at least in terms of attracting investors to invest. So it might be wise to ignore it completely.

SO . . . How big is this market?

I might hear nits here. Ask an investor, “If I could steal 30% of Excel's business, would the market be big enough?” and you'll probably get a resounding “yes.”

The fact is that this deck has no commercial outlets. This means Equals missed two opportunities to tell investors what they think about their market. Who are the customers? How many? What is meant by value proposition? How do you reach these customers? How to convince them to stay? You need to answer these employee questions to be successful in fundraising - and that's where this presentation falls short.

What's the goal?

[Slide 14] Of course, but it's very vague. Photo credit : Same

Investors are not looking for standard numbers or vague plans about how your startup will use the funds raised. A well-designed allocation slide provides more than just a list of expenses; create trust. By being open about your financial needs and how they align with your business goals, you show potential investors that you're not just a startup looking to throw some money. No, instead you are a serious entrepreneur with a growth plan and a clear vision for the future.

I know many founders who have experienced this critical setback. Exciting but unnecessary expenses, lots of vague “other” fees, and unclear descriptions of how the funds will be used are some common obstacles that can deter investors. Equality falls into this trap: none of the goals are specific enough. Slides should be as clear and detailed as possible, avoiding generalizations and focusing on specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) goals.

• “Targeted Marketing” : Of course, but why?

• “Success Scale” : Yes, but what is the goal? How do you know if you are successful?

• Accelerate : Yes, yes, but if you write 10 new articles before fundraising and then submit 11 articles, you will achieve this goal.

Be specific. Use the “Use of Funds” slide to your advantage. Now is the time for courage that is bold, concrete and measurable, not abstraction. This slide lets you present your vision in dollars and cents. If you do it right, investors will start to align their future with yours.

Most importantly, a well-designed funds utilization slide helps paint a picture for your next funding cycle. Can you raise Series B if you achieve all goals? Big! Is your project leading you to success? Fantastic!

This slide is practically useless, which is a shame. Greater accuracy will make fundraising easier .

Complete presentation

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Pitch Deck Teardown: Xytes $30M Series A Deck

When I was a student in the UK , I remember that renting appliances such as washing machines and TVs was common for some people, especially short-term students. Israeli startup Xyte (pronounced "accent") just raised $30 million in what it says will be a return to the hardware-as-a-service model for manufacturers whose bottom lines are under constant pressure. If software-as-a-service works so well, why not hardware?

Xyte let me watch his 27-slide presentation on how he did it. Was I excited about the Xyte deck? Unfortunately, no. This 27 slide presentation did not have the information I needed as an investor to decide whether or not to invest. Look what I saw.

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This series of slides

Xyte's table consists of 27 slides, some of which contain redacted information. Newsrooms focus on customers and business performance, which is fair enough, but at the same time it's a bit more difficult to get an overview of the company as a whole.

1. Sliding cover
2. Company overview with team information
3. Group slides
4. Alternative slides
5. Ability to create 2 slides
6. market slides
7. Push the issue
8. Promote the value proposition
9. Pass through the solution
10. Slide 2 solution
11. Slide 3 solution
12. Dedicated slide interface
13. Traction slide
14. Slide "Any sector, any size" (client base)
15. Promote the value proposition
16. Business Transformation Slide.
17. Slide "Platform for business and commerce"
18. Customer research slides
19. Slide "Introducing a new product category"
20. "One Integrated Platform" slide.
21. Group slide 2
22. Intermediate slide
23. Slide business model
24. Slide "Entering the market".
25. Slide "Forecasts and Drivers"
26. Presentation slides about investments
27. The last slide

Three , two things to love

With 27 slides, you'd think there would be plenty to choose from in the Three Good Things category Dear Reader, I'm not going to lie, try as I might, I had a really hard time finding three good things in this deck.

So let's talk about two bright sparks I noticed in this inky void of despair:

Introduction Summary

[2. Slide] A very well done slide. Image Credit : Xyte

Overall, Xyte's slideshow was a pretty impressive cavalcade of mediocrity. That said, I really liked that one summary slide at the beginning.

While some of the key figures have been revised, at a glance they reveal many important facts that investors can pay attention to. In fact, I think this slide will be my go-to template for raising money for most startups: it's clear, to the point, and helps set the stage for what's to come.

Put everything together

I have a lot of respect for CV and this play has succeeded not once but twice The first sets the scene and the second (below) is a retelling of the same story but from an investor's perspective.

[26. slide] is a short summary that covers everything. Image Credit : Xyte

I really like the group way of working. This is great to show that the company is aware of the problem and has developed a smart marketing strategy. So much so that I will address each of these points separately:

• Big Chance: Yes! A startup must reach the "venture capital ladder" to become eligible for investment. Investors should be reminded here of the true size of the market, but this slightly more abstract summary works well.
• The only solution is yes! It's great to include a reminder of what you're actually doing.
• World class products. Honestly, I wish I could back this point up with data. Is it a world-class product? Maybe, but bring the receipt!
• Proven Solutions: Sure, but don't forget to include the reason. What supports this conclusion? I suspect that what the company is trying to convey here has to do with the following point. . .
• GTM's Scalability Strategy. The ability to get customers at scale is what makes a startup stop being a startup, and that's a good thing. For bonus points, I remind investors about the CAC:LTV ratio, but it's a good start.
• Drishti: Hmm. It's not a reminder of the company's vision, it's a missed opportunity. Maybe write a summary of the team to remind investors why this is the right team to start a business with.

Minor tweaks aside, I think this Investment Summary slide did a great job and I'm glad the team decided to include it.

In the rest of this presentation, we'll go over three things Xyte could improve or do differently, plus a full presentation!

With Kansas On Deck, No. 23 Texas Tech Basketball Post Players Pick Good Time To Step Up

In the final minutes of Saturday's Big 12 Conference game at United Supermarket Arena, Darrion Williams had two chances.

The first option was a chance at UCF as a mid-range jumper for the 6-foot-2 forward. Williams drew several looks as the Knights pushed the Texas Tech basketball team's offense into a zone to slow down. During the match Williams missed a few shots.

The second option was to reverse the cut. He had a clear path to the hole, though the UCF defense did well to pile up the basket and force tough looks all afternoon.

Williams stopped for a moment, stood up and shot, giving Tech a 60-57 lead.

It was one of the key things Williams did during the match. His double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds was the catalyst that led the Red Raiders (17-6, 6-4) to a 66-59 victory that snapped the team's three-game losing streak.

“I'm happy we won,” Williams said. “I was tired of losing.”

Williams still had a decision to make before the game.

In Tech's last two games, Williams began wearing a headband. Unaware, Williams decided to stop wearing the armband after the Red Raiders lost both games, even one of which saw him score 17 points against Baylor for the transfer to Nevada.

Headgear aside, Williams has recently become a bigger part of Texas Tech's operations. He logged 37 minutes, 53 seconds on the court against the Knights in his third straight game as an Ironman at Tech. Every second photo on the slide matters.

“The ability to make a simple play without turning the ball over, without handling the ball, giving us another guy who can pass and make decisions,” Tech coach Grant McCausland said, “is huge for us and could be No. 1. He was overestimated how important he is to our team...

Part of the comeback in the scoring column has come from the scoreboards, an area of ​​concern for McCausland all season.

Game recap: Darrion Williams' double helps No. 23 Texas Tech end basketball losing streak: 3 to take

On Saturday, the Red Raiders won the rebounding battle for the second time in the Big 12, outscoring UCF 37-44 with a 14-12 edge on offense. Warren Washington (10 points), returning after missing Tuesday's game due to illness, added six total rebounds to help the cause.

“They rebounded the ball really well,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “I thought Williams and Washington were great. Both of these guys are active on both committees. “They focused their efforts on offensive and defensive rebounds.”

Dawkins was without his team's best rebounder, 7-foot center Ibrahima Diallo, and Texas Tech took advantage of Washington's return.

"Obviously rebounding is one of our weaknesses," Washington said, "and it's something we've really looked at and worked on in practice. I'm happy we can win the rebounding battle."

Texas Tech's guard trio of Pop Isaacs, Joe Toussaint and Chance McMillian scored 23 points on 6-of-32 shooting (3-of-14 from 3-point range), led by Washington, Williams and Kerwin Walton. Lifting heavy loads.

Walton led Tech with a 12-point effort in the first half, with the senior forward making four 3s (someone else hit more than one). That gave the Red Raiders a first-half lead, and then Williams and Washington did the rest.

His emergence in this position comes at the right time for the Red Raiders. Next Monday's home game against Kansas, a quick turnaround for both teams: the No. 1 Jayhawks on Saturday. 4 beat No. 4 Baylor. 13 64-61.

MORE: Opinion of Texas Tech basketball team unlikely to change in three games | the geese

Texas Tech and Kansas have similar roster structures, with most of the action revolving around their center; For Kansas, that's 7-foot-2 Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson. He doesn't tend to have success behind the arc, but it comes down to the Jayhawks' color scheme, which will keep players like Williams and Washington busy.

With the losing streak behind them, the Red Raiders can carry momentum into their final eight games of the Big 12. As McCausland has been saying for weeks, Texas Tech's prospects will be reduced to holding the glass, and its players know it.

“We've been (getting) hard on ourselves the last few weeks,” Williams said, “so we really emphasized that in practice and came out today, but we've got to build on that.” Be a toy."

This article originally appeared in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Post players ranked 23rd in Texas Tech basketball's win at UCF.

Kansas vs. Texas Tech | 01/24/2022 | NCAAB match

Use CryoUtilities To Make Your Steam Deck Run Better

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Optimizing Steam Deck performance ultimately depends on which settings work best for different games. For example, in our guide to playing Palworld on Steam Deck, we discuss the fine-tuning settings that really help the game shine on a handheld device. However, there are things you can do yourself to improve your board's performance, and that's what we'll discuss today.

Before we get started, I want to point out that the main tool we'll be talking about today uses CryoUtilities, a set of third-party scripts and commands that provide a more convenient way to manage Steam Deck memory. This requires some knowledge of navigating the Steam Deck outside of the Steam app, so you may want to familiarize yourself with that before continuing. If you don't know this but are confident you can fit it, I've included detailed instructions for everything you need.

Set sudo password

Before we start installing and configuring CryoUtilities, we need to prepare the Steam Deck for this process. This means you need a sudo password to protect your Steam Deck from OS-level changes you don't want.

By default, you do not have a sudo password. This is something you will have to do manually, so if you haven't done it before, you can simply follow the steps below.

Press the STEAM button on your Steam surface to display the menu. Choose Power > Switch to desktop. This will take Steam Deck out of game mode and allow you to change everything in the operating system.

Once the desktop loads, go to System Preferences > Users . From there, provide your user account email address and click Change Password .

Enter the sudo password you want to use. You can select a text field with R2 , then press X in Steam to open the keyboard. Elsewhere, you'll be asked to press STEAM + X to open the virtual keyboard. You can also connect a wireless mouse and keyboard to your device to make it easier to use.

Once you've set your sudo password, you're ready to move on to the next steps.

How to reset your Sudo password if you forget it

If you set a sudo password and don't remember it, you'll need to reset it. The easiest way to do this is to fully restore your Steam Deck to factory settings by pressing the STEAM button , then going to Settings > System and scrolling down to Factory Reset . However, this will remove everything from your Steam Deck. If you want to reset your Sudo password but don't want to lose your data, there are more detailed instructions on how to do so, although they are a bit more than I can cover in this particular guide.

How to install CryoUtilities

The easiest way to install CryoUtilities will require you to use desktop mode on your Steam console, so be sure to spend some time controlling your mouse with the touchpad or pairing a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard for a smoother experience.

Before installation, let's first change the amount of VRAM (video memory) that Steam Deck can use. This will make CryoUtilities' work much easier. First, turn off your Steam Deck. This can be done by pressing the STEAM button and then selecting POWER and SHUTDOWN in Game mode, or you can select the Start menu and then Shut Down in Desktop mode.

After closing the Steam Deck, press and hold the Volume Up button and then press the Power button. Keep pressing the Volume Up button until the boot menu loads. Now go to Setup Utility > Advanced , then change the UMA frame buffer size from 1GB to 4GB to accommodate the maximum video memory in the Steam Deck. Restart Steam Deck now and return to desktop mode.

To install CryoUtilities, go to the official Steam Deck Github page. You may have to enter the address manually or you can use Google CryoUtilities and try to find it that way. The manual address is https://github.com/CryoByte33/steam-deck-utilities .

Here find once the section called “Simple” and click “Download from this link” . This will allow you to download the CryoUtilities installer in one click. The easiest way to store it is on your Steam Deck. So you can find it easily.

Now double click on Install CryoUtilities and select Continue . This will load some data and then open the dashboard. In a few minutes the installation will be completed.

How to use Creo tools

Now that it's installed, find the CryoUtilities icon on your Steam desktop and double-click it to open the program. You'll be prompted for your sudo password and a disclaimer will appear stating that the developer, CryoUtilities, is not responsible for any damage to your Steam platform. Make sure to read this disclaimer and do not click on random items in the program, as some of these settings may cause problems with your system if you do not know what you are doing.

Please be sure to read the disclaimer before using this software to understand the risks associated with its use. Credit: Joshua Hawkins

Once logged in, most people simply click the Recommended button. This will make changes to the Steam Deck backend provided by the CryoUtilities developers, and you won't need to do anything else from there. If you want to learn more about the capabilities of CryoUtilities, you can always watch a detailed video created by the program's creator, Cryobyte33. However, I only recommend it for advanced users who are comfortable making deeper changes.

Ultimately, the settings recommended by CryoUtilities should make a big difference in your Steam Deck's performance. Please note that this will not allow the set to play high quality AAA games at the highest settings. But it will eliminate many of the lag issues that have plagued games on these mobile devices for a long time. If you plan to play your Steam collection frequently, I recommend following this process to gain an extra dimension.

If you find it easier to watch a video, YouTuber GameTechPlanet has a really great tutorial.

Can you track Steam Deck's performance?

Another thing I recommend on the Steam Deck if you care about performance is to use the Steam Deck's built-in performance monitor. This can be enabled by clicking the... button in the Steam panel (located on the right below the touchpad), then going to the Performance section and changing the Performance priority level to a level higher than Off. .

Level 1 shows you the basic settings like FPS. However, I think Level 2 can be really useful without breaking the immersion in different games because it provides information about FPS, GPU performance, CPU usage, and even VRAM usage, as well as displaying more detailed information about battery usage. . Of course, if you want to see more information, you can also go to level 3 or 4, where more detailed information is provided in the drop-down box. But as I mentioned above, this might crash the games you're playing, so I don't recommend doing that.

FPS Boost Easy Steam Deck

How To Customize Your Steam Deck Theme

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When it comes to customizing your Steam deck, there are many ways to create your own. You can buy lots of skins and cases or controller skins to give you a unique look and feel, but if you want to customize the look of Steam Deck's menus and interface, that's a whole different matter.

The best way to customize your Steam deck, at least as I've found over the past few months, is to install a third-party downloader called Decky. This downloader opens access to several plugins, including a CSS downloader that you can use to change the theme of your Steam Deck.

How to install Decky?

Before installing Decky, you need to make sure you have a sudo password. If you haven't installed it, I recommend that you follow our detailed instructions in our guide to install CryoUtilities, a set of scripts and commands that help improve the performance of Steam Deck. Once the sudo password is set, you can install Decky yourself by downloading the installation file. Here are the steps.

1. Make sure Steam Deck is charged or connected to a charger. The last thing you want to do while installing an app is run out of battery.

2. Enter Desktop mode on your Steam deck by pressing the Steam key > Power > Desktop mode.

3. After launching desktop mode, open your favorite browser and navigate to decky.xyz. Here you can find the Decky Loader website and download the file directly to your Steam Deck.

4. After downloading, double-click the file and wait for System Decky to install. Make sure you select the Recommended Settings option and restart Game Mode after the installation is complete by clicking Game Mode on your desktop.

Install the CSS Loader

Back in game mode, press the menu button (like three dots) to the right of the steam deck. This will show the various settings. Scroll down and select the app icon that looks like a plug. You can check for updates using the settings tool, but if you want to start installing plugins, select the icon that looks like a marketplace.

This will load the Decky Store where you can find various plugins. You can decide which plugins you want to use, but the main one you should install here is the CSS Loader plugin. Scroll down until you find it and select Install.

Now wait for the CSS Loader to install and return to the Game Carousel home page. Here you can again select the menu button, then the plugin icon, and then CSS Loader. If you select the Download button (it looks like a downward arrow), you can choose from different themes in the store. The themes you choose to use here are a matter of personal preference, many of which can be mixed and matched to make your steam deck look more like your car.

How To Get ‘Palworld Running On A Steam Deck

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Palword has taken the gaming world by storm, offering a new take on Nintendo's popular Pokemon series with timeless monster appeal. While you can play through Early Access on PC and Xbox, many Steam Deck owners are wondering if they can play on Steam devices. The short answer is yes, but the long answer is that you need to change some settings to make it smoother.

Does Palworld work on Steam?

Although it is not listed as "Steam Deck Playable", Paulward is listed as "Steam Deck Playable" on Valve's Steam Store front . This means that while it's technically playable, you'll need to configure various settings for it to work properly. Of course, you can download the game and start playing, but you may experience frame rate issues, stuttering and freezing.

How to make Palworld work better on Steam Deck

To make Palworld work better on Steam Deck, change some game settings to make things easier on weaker Steam Deck hardware. There are many recommended settings, but the ones I'll mention are the ones I personally use to play Paulwords on my Steam deck

Now, it's important to note that you won't get 60 FPS (frames per second) while playing Palworld on Steam. The game isn't optimized for this and the Steam deck isn't powerful enough. Some user mods, like the Steam Deck Essentials mod, set the base game lower than it supports, but you still won't get a stable 60 FPS. The module probably makes the visual quality too low , at least in my opinion.

I recommend getting a solid 30 FPS instead, and the above settings will make it on older Steam LCD decks. OLEDs will perform slightly better after Valve optimizes a few things in that model's hardware, but don't expect improvements that require tweaking. That said, I didn't limit the maximum FPS to 30 so the system could overclock as much as possible. Jumping to 45 or 50 FPS for certain sequences won't be a problem, but if you want a stable FPS that doesn't go up or down all the time, you can always limit it to 30.

Many others on Reddit suggest lowering the visibility. However, I found it very interesting to control with another five or six fps which gave me the visual appearance of grass, rocks and other objects while doing so. In over 10 hours of gameplay on Steam, as well as on handheld devices, I rarely dropped below 30 FPS. Sure, it might not be the peak of the game, but 30 FPS on Steam is still impressive for a new game.

With VSync and motion blur disabled, I'm trying to match the screen refresh rate and FPS at the same time as VSync. This can cause more problems than help in this case and motion blur makes the game look bad. You can turn it off to hide some low resolution changes if you want.

Please note that this setting does not prevent Steam Deck from experiencing graphical errors. Even if you run everything in low mode, the FPS can be dropped below 30. But I think this setting is still very playable, so the outlook for the game isn't too bad.

Common problems while playing Palworld on Steam

If you plan to play Palworld's Steam Deck, there are a few things you should know.

First, if you are playing on battery, you should wait an hour or two of playing before connecting. This game really drains the Steam deck's battery, and while the OLED has slightly better battery life, I recommend having a charger if you plan on playing on battery power.

Additionally, if you install CryoUtilities on your Steam deck, you can optimize the game to limit the amount of memory it uses. Optimizing Steam Deck performance is a complex process and requires the following documentation from the makers of CryoUtilities to get everything right. So if you're not comfortable doing that, it's best not to mess around. If you want to do this, you can follow this guide to set it up.

Steam Deck's Palworld performance will see some improvements when FSR 2 (FidelityFX Super Resolution) is enabled. But now DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is the only option this game offers. There is an FSR mod that enables this, but it requires a few files for everything to work properly in the game. DLSS and FSR is a new upscaling system designed to deliver better frame rates by rendering frames at lower resolutions and then upscaling them to higher resolutions, using deep learning AI from Nvidia and AMD. This generally increases FPS and stability in modern games, but can reduce visual quality.

Also, Palworld doesn't work well with Steam Deck's virtual keyboard, which means you can't change world names or character names. No one has found a solution yet, so if it doesn't work properly, you'll have to use the name given.

Finally, Palword currently suffers from a major memory problem. This means that the longer you play, the more RAM it will use from your Steam deck. So, to avoid this particular problem, I recommend saving and exiting the game every few hours, at least until the developers fix it.

Palworld Dedicated Server Setup Guide - Free Palworld SteamCMD Server Setup Guide

Microsoft Flight Simulator Boeing 777 By PMDG Gets First Spectacular Flight Deck Screenshots

Today, Microsoft Flight Simulator developers released new information about the aircraft's upcoming expansions and revealed the corresponding new airport.

We start with PMDG's first look at the interior of the Boeing 777.

The developer, via CEO Robert Randazzo, has released four images and detailed explanations of each, as you can read below.

The beta process for the 777 is progressing quickly, with another beta version released to the team last night. Over the last few weeks we have focused on finding/resolving some conflicts between our C++ code and the Clang compiler. Clang (used by msfs) is slightly less sophisticated in the way it handles some of the problems that naturally arise over the life of source code. Therefore, it is important to identify and resolve these conflicts as they cause stability issues for the end user. what we don't want. The Beta team did an excellent job helping us reproduce the events we saw and then verify that the fixes were correct.

As we look forward to the release, we've been busy creating detailed previews and, yes, even videos. Watch for them to start the introduction here... This is a natural indicator that we're feeling pretty good about the overall project, and we're starting to scan the schedule for suitable release dates. As with the initial release of the 737, we will keep you updated and as soon as we are sure the date is set I will let you know. We currently have a “window”, but this window is quite wide as there are still some features in the package that have not yet been implemented that we would like to go through.

There was supposed to be an "interior review" this week, but Vin has been away for the last two weeks, so instead of a full interior review, I asked Vin if he could send me a few photos showing his level of detail, especially happy about it; Vin has been simulating PMDG cabins since 2001 and, like Jason, has spent a lot of time in those 23 years sticking his nose to blueprints and diagrams, studying the fine details that previous simulators couldn't model well.

However, with MSFS the game changed (literally: HA!) and since every product line is a learning experience, the 777 benefited tremendously from the experiences with the DC-6 and the 737. We were able to leverage our industry. The resources, data collection, technology and fundamental skills that Vin and Jason brought to the table to create what we believe is the best 777 simulation ever created outside of a corporate environment. (And – PMDG and Boeing would say – probably the best office simulation, even in a corporate environment, but more on that later).

In this image you can see the fine details inside the Korrey switches, with a slightly rounded surface that rolls up to reveal the status indicator underneath when the switch is moved to the closed position. You can also see the fine structure of the spring mechanism that closes the switching shield on the left and right injection valves. I disassembled Korrey's switch for Vin so he could see how the mechanics worked, and it helped him create an animation simulation that looked decent and worked properly.

Another area we are very happy with is the fine detailing of the surfaces and the use of high quality materials to make them look realistic when modeled. In this image you can see that the texture of the Velcro is quite subtle and the vapor permeable surface of the shell on which the device sits stands out when approached during the simulation. There are also subtle details on the screw head and torque tubes, and these details really bring the entire cabin together, even if you don't notice them individually at first.

A few more ambient shots for you, showing the high level of detail of the interior. Thanks to our excellent access from our industry partners, we were able to double-check our results against the actual aircraft to ensure we were capturing the aircraft correctly, and I think we did. Details such as the mechanism for opening/closing the window and the hardware that holds it together are all very clearly visible in this image, as is the structure of the table top, which can be folded when necessary.

My favorite details in this last picture are the jacket stored in the closet to the right of the cabin door and the crew bag pocket behind the captain's seat. The helmet storage box above the captain's head is also very detailed. The shelf behind the captain's chair also has anti-slip strips and the texture is such that it feels as if you could rub your hand over the rough surface. These are small things, but overall they give the entire salon a feeling of authenticity.

Finally, Randazzo said that the team still has a busy few weeks ahead of them and he is confident that the aircraft will live up to even the highest expectations.

Next we can look at the Seafire Mk.III from Flight Replicas. The developer notes that this is still a work in progress, but development has progressed far enough to show this.

Orbx has launched Gold Coast Airport (YBCG) in Australia and is available from Orbx Direct for $16.20.

It has the following features:

• High quality delivery at Gold Coast Airport
• 2024 Updated airport layout
• Textures 4k
• Animated tracks with sounds
• In the main terminal
• Unique GSE vehicles
• Incredible attention to detail, both on the ground and in the air
• For highly optimized performance
• Dynamic airport lighting
• Separate traffic signs
• Detailed floor marking

As always, I want to leave you with the fact that you can find daily Microsoft Flight Simulator news here on TechRaptor to keep you up to date on the ins and outs of the add-on industry.

(4K) London Heathrow - Las Vegas British Airways 777-300 |: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020

Steam Deck Tips And Tricks: Get More From Your PC Gaming Handheld

Key findings

• Use Steam Deck shortcuts to quickly access features like screenshots, force quit games, and adjust brightness.
• Set a lock screen PIN to prevent others from accessing your Steam Deck and playing with your library.
• Stream games from your gaming PC to Steam Deck over Wi-Fi for more storage and increased productivity.

The Steam Deck has remained one of the best portable gaming consoles since its launch in early 2022, and now that the OLED version is available, it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon.

Changes

How to add non-Steam games to your Steam library

Since every other company has its own launcher these days, you quickly find that your PC gaming library is spread across multiple apps.

Steam Deck not only makes PC gaming affordable and portable, it also makes it a great choice. There's so much you can do with Steam Deck that we keep coming back. These are some of the best Steam Deck tips and tricks we've discovered while playing.

Use Steam Deck shortcuts

To view a list of useful Steam Deck shortcuts, press and hold the Steam button for a few seconds. Some of the most useful shortcuts are:

• Screenshot : Steam key + R1.
• Force quit game : Press and hold Steam key + B
• Show keyboard : Steam + key
• Increase brightness : steam button + left stick up.
• Lower brightness : steam button + left stick down.
• Enter key : Steam key + right control pad.
• Tab : Steam button + cross down.
• Esc : Steam key + left control pad.
• Show cursor : Steam button + trackpad / right joystick (right trigger for left click).
• Right click : Steam key + L2.
• Left click : Steam key + R2.
• Magnifying glass : steam button + L1.

Give your Steam Deck a lock screen PIN.

If you don't want family or friends accessing your Steam Deck and disrupting your library, there's good news: you can add a PIN.

To enable PIN setting, go to Menu -> Settings -> Security . Set a PIN that you remember and choose whether you need it when you wake up or turn on Steam Deck, when you log in, when you switch to desktop mode, or any combination of the three.

Steam deck in hibernation mode

Between gaming sessions, you don't need to completely shut down your Steam Deck console or exit the game you're playing.

Instead, you can easily pause and resume your game by putting your Steam Deck to sleep while playing, then turning it back on for the next session and continuing from the same point.

To put Steam Deck into sleep mode, simply press the power button and then press it again to wake it up from sleep mode.

Stream games to your Steam Deck

There is another way to solve the Steam Deck space problem: using Steam's Remote Play feature (e.g. Steam Link).

If you have a good gaming PC with the Steam client and Steam games installed, you can stream games from your PC to your Steam Deck over your home WiFi.

Changes: How to stream games to your Steam Deck

This has two advantages: firstly, you don't have to install games locally on Steam Deck, and secondly, you can take full advantage of the additional processing power of your gaming PC for higher frequencies, more frames and better performance. Experience. .

It's easy to do: all you need to do is make sure both devices are working and connected to the same network, then click the "Hold" button for the corresponding game in your Steam Deck library.

Turn on night mode to avoid eye strain.

Steam Deck's Night Mode can help prevent eye strain and help your eyes and brain get some rest before bed.

It works by reducing the frequency of blue light emitted from the Steam Deck screen. It may look a little orange when you first activate it, but your eyes should quickly get used to it and will probably thank you for it (or would thank you if they had the chance).

To enable Night Mode in Steam Deck, go to Menu -> Settings -> Display . From here, you can set a time for Night Mode to turn on automatically , or turn it on immediately and set a Night Mode tone .

Adjust Steam Deck performance options

To change the performance of the Steam Deck, press the three-dot menu button and go to the Battery section.

Try changing the frame rate and refresh rate in performance settings to make the game smoother or extend battery life. Lower frame rates and refreshes should increase battery life, but decreasing them too much can cause the game to become too choppy. You can also try FSR as a scaling filter and reduce resolution to improve gaming performance; Try different combinations until you find what works for you.

If you only want to make changes for a specific game, you must check the “Use profile for every game” box before making changes.

Remap the controls and use the rear paddle shifters.

To remap in-game controls:

1. Click on the Steam button
2. Select driver settings
3. On the next screen, press A to select controller settings.

On this screen you will see a map of the current controls. However, you also have the option to add more by clicking on “Controller Settings”.

Now you can remap the various controls. Another advantage is that you can remap the back petals to your liking.

The rear blades are rarely used at all. There are four pallets labeled L4, L5, R4 and R5. You can assign them to game controls and use them for more comfortable gaming.

Adjust the screen brightness

To decrease the brightness of the Steam Deck, click the three dots button on the right side of the Steam Deck to open the options menu and adjust the brightness slider .

Although there is a temptation to increase the brightness to the maximum, we recommend reducing it.

Changes: Steam Deck OLED: What's new and should I update?

One of the complaints people have about Steam Deck is its battery life. Without some adjustments, it is easy to drain the battery of a portable device in two to three hours with the LCD version, and not much longer with the OLED version.

Reducing the brightness is a step towards extending your pleasure.

Buy a microSD card

SanDisk 512GB Ultra microSDXC

The SanDisk Ultra microSDXC is a great option for easily upgrading your Steam Deck storage.

We highly recommend purchasing a microSD card (or more) so you can easily access more games. Games don't load as quickly as NVMe SSDs, but it's always nice to have extra storage without a huge additional cost.

Steam Deck is available in different storage sizes: 256GB for the original LCD version and 512GB or 1TB for the new OLED version.

Changes: The best microSD cards: A small device that allows you to significantly expand your storage

Although it's theoretically possible to replace (and upgrade) internal storage, this isn't an option for many people.

To save money, we bought the 256GB model and found that we could only load the console with four games. Of course, this depends on what you install, but Forza Horizon 5, for example, takes up over 100GB of storage space.

Installing a microSD card is a good way to solve this storage problem.

Check out some game guides.

To find the manual for the game you are currently playing, click the Steam button and select Manuals .

Steam Deck really simplifies most of your portable gaming tasks, such as: B. changing performance settings and game controls.

The same thing happens with game instructions. By browsing these player-submitted game guides you can get the help you may need to beat that boss or level or find that hidden area.

Of course, there are tons of travel guides online, but the easiest way is to click a few buttons and find the perfect guide right before your eyes.

Adjust your graphics settings and optimize your game

If you try playing on Ultra settings, you'll probably find that Steam Deck doesn't work as well as you'd like. Try reducing the graphics a bit. We didn't always find it necessary, but switching to high settings can provide smoother operation when needed.

The advantage here is that it still looks good since it still has a small screen.

As PC gamers, we are used to simply launching our games and basking in the beauty of the visual delights.

If you have access to a gaming PC, you can use the Remote Play streaming feature mentioned above to run Steam Deck games at high graphics settings without taxing your GPU.

However, the Steam Deck's capabilities are slightly different than a full-fledged gaming PC, so some adjustments may be required.

With the best gaming settings, multiple resources are available to maximize performance and extend battery life. These are proven settings for any game that are worth trying if you want to get the best gaming experience without having to figure it out yourself.

ShareDeck and Steam Deck HQ are two customization sites that help you optimize your gaming settings.

Connect other devices to Steam Deck via Bluetooth or USB.

Thanks to its Bluetooth capabilities, the Steam Deck can work with a variety of devices including mice, keyboards, and headsets. So if you need more precise control, you can easily connect these devices.

Tap the Settings button , then scroll to turn on Bluetooth . Now you can easily connect and use your device. It also works with many devices.

Changes: How to use Bluetooth headphones with Steam Deck

You can also consider connecting devices via USB to a USB hub that connects via USB-C. Simply plug the hub into the Steam Deck's USB-C port and you'll have several additional ports for connecting peripherals (or maybe even a TV or monitor).

Check for Steam Deck updates

Valve regularly creates updates to Steam Deck to improve functionality and user experience.

We recommend checking Steam Deck regularly for updates. To do this, click on the Steam button on the left and select “Updates” . When the update is ready, an exclamation mark will appear in System Settings .

Some of Valve's Steam Deck updates included significant improvements. Originally, one of our complaints about the Steam Deck was that the fans were too loud, but Valve released a patch that made them much quieter.

Check game compatibility for your Steam Deck.

Once you have a Steam Deck in hand, you can pretty easily see which games are performing well. The ones in your library are already marked as:

• Checked
• interpreted
• Unsupported
• Stranger

We've found that the list of games you can play can grow quickly. So it's worth checking out your library for new games.

Changes: How to find out which games work with your Steam Deck

The Steam Deck Store also offers you compatible games, so you can be sure your game will work before purchasing.

Just because a game is marked as “unsupported” doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. We've seen several games that only required a few controller changes to run. So if you already have the game and want to play it, don't let this label stop you from giving it a try.

Force Quit if your Steam Deck is frozen.

If you find that your Steam Deck has frozen while playing, you can force stop it by simply pressing a few buttons. Pressing the Steam button and the B button at the same time will exit any problematic game.

Desktop navigation in desktop mode

To access Desktop Mode on Steam Deck, press the Steam button and select “Switch to Desktop” to “On”.

Desktop mode gives you the full desktop experience: you can surf the web, send email, move files, and even install applications, just like you would on a laptop or PC.

Install Epic Games on your Steam Deck.

If you've exhausted your Steam games catalog or just want to play more, don't worry because you can also install Epic Games on your Steam Deck. This might sound a bit blasphemous, but if you don't mind doing it yourself, it's pretty easy.

Changes: How to Install Epic Games on Your Steam Deck

This also has obvious advantages, as Epic regularly offers games in its store. Installing Epic Games on your Steam platform is a bit tedious, but we have written a guide to help you (link above).

Upgrade your Steam Deck's internal storage.

Karsar MP600 Mini

This NVMe PCIe Gen 4 x4 drive is the perfect size for your Steam Deck and is also a great way to upgrade it.

Another way to improve your Steam Deck is to upgrade your internal storage. The Steam Deck uses a compact NVMe solid-state drive that's relatively easy to upgrade, but requires a few steps and a few hours.

You'll need the right tools (not just a screwdriver) and a lot of patience to open it, but using the larger NVMe M.2 2230 drive will allow you to boot faster than if you use your storage with a single MicroSD card would expand. .

Upgrading your Steam Deck SSD will require you to reinstall Steam OS and reinstall all of your games.

We did this with the Corsair MP600 Mini, increasing the storage from 256GB to 1TB relatively easily, and now we can store a lot more games and load them quickly.

Customize your Steam deck

Steam Deck is a rather modest device and is unlikely to stand out from the crowd if you have several such devices at home.

If you just want to make your device look a little different, you can visit Dbrand and find some amazing skins to personalize your device. The company created a fun Nintendo Switch skin called Switchdeck, but there are plenty of other styles as well.

You can also try different on-screen keyboard themes for your Steam Deck. To do this, go to Menu -> Settings -> Keyboard and you can choose between different styles and themes. You can also purchase additional styles from the Steam Points Store.

The most useful Steam Deck features you may not have known about