I would recommend using moonlight and sunshine. The steam streaming is pretty good but moonlight is better
this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2023
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Yeah, I'll second this.
I had loads of issues trying to get my controllers working with the Steam Link app, but with Moonlight and Sunshine they worked straight away.
Just be aware that whichever way you do it, your laptop will need to be unlocked, and the game plays on it as if you were sat in front of it, including the sound coming through the speakers. There may be a way to mute the laptop speakers, but I'm not near my computer to check.
I think there's an option to enable/disable sound on the host computer somewhere in the streaming settings.
Moonlight works on the nvidia shield?
Yes. Nvidia shield runs Android. Moonlight runs on all desktop OSes, plus iOS and Android and a few smart TVs
I just have to ask what sunshine is? Tried reading the docs but I don't get it - is it used instead of the nvidia driver thing that you usually connect to moonlight? And if it is is there a benefit except the obvious privacy part?
Yes exactly, its a open source server for the moonlight client. It's less polished then the nvidia drivers, but nvidia announced the end of their support for the protocol, so its only a matter of time until the nvidia driver server is removed from the drivers. Then you either can't upgrade your drivers, or use moonlight.
So the open source sunshine is the future for the host side. Plus it works on multiple platforms and supports AMD
I'm gonna get it and try it out on my setup. Thanks!
I have a steam link box in the bedroom and another in the lounge - controllers just to connect to the link, and the link handles sending the button presses to the computer running the game.
The steam link app on the Shield would work in a similar way. I would suggest to use ethernet if you can, or even a powerline ethernet plug, for a smooth streaming experience
This is pretty similar to my setup except for using a Valve Steam Link over the nVidia Shield. PS5 controllers connected to Steam Link. Steam Link connects to my desktop (over lan, previously PoE worked well). It works quite well overall. A small number of games seem to have issues with being streamed, but they're pretty few and far between.
You must connect your controller to the Shield, indeed. Works very well!
I use this exact setup, heavily. I've used both XBox controlllers and Switch Pro Controllers (the pros unfortunately have a weird driver issue, where you don't get full analog range out of the sticks). The controller connects directly to the Shield via Bluetooth, and the Steam Link app recognizes them, no problem.
The Steam Link app is occasionally quirky, but overall, I'm very happy with the setup. Have played Elden Ring, Hollow Knight, Celeste, Armored Core 6, Mass Effect, all this way. My wife has done a bunch as well. We've even done multiplayer with Tales of Symphonia and Plate Up, and I've done emulated games with Dolphin, although that was a fair bit trickier to setup.
Not sure what tv you have- smart tvs today sometimes can run steam link natively.
The controllers connect to the Shield. You can also connect keyboard and mouse to it.
I find Steam Link to be slow and low framerate though. Sunshine running on the PC and Moonlight running on the Shield seen to do the trick. I also disabled the image sharpening on the Shield because it looks really odd.
Nvidia GameStream being disabled now is a really fucking shitty thing for them to do. Sunshine lacks the ability to change the PC resolution to match the streaming resolution.
I wish we could get Steam Link on Xbox. That’d be the ideal solution for me since I’ve got the controller already setup. The Shield is probably a decent solution, but it’s an extra device in the chain.
There's Moonlight for Xbox, which is basically Steam Link but better.
Has anyone figured an easy way out to be able to play other launchers games through this fashion? Xbox game pass games and other launchers won’t accept the controller input.
I saw someone mention moonlight and sunshine, perhaps those work.