ZDL on Steam Deck

[30000 Pigeons+]

Just wanted to quickly share my setup for GZDoom with ZDL on Steam Deck. GZDoom installs via Flatpak through KDE's Discover in desktop mode, and while it's a bit tricky to get the Flatpak version to work with ZDL, it is doable, and I'll walk you through the steps here.

First, download the Linux version of ZDL 3-1.1, which I'll link below. No need to install anything, just extract the tarball wherever you want it. Then, click the icon of three horizontal bars in the upper right hand corner in the Dolphin file browser and click “Show Hidden Files” in the drop down menu, which will enable access to the paths we'll need to open. The Flatpak version of GZDoom by default can only access files from one specific folder, which is “rootfs/home/deck/.var/app/org.zdoom.GZDoom/.config/gzdoom.” We'll place our WADs and our mods in this folder. Be careful when doing so, as in the “org.zdoom.GZDoom” folder, there's a folder in addition to the hidden “.config” folder called “config” which is not hidden. Make sure not to confuse the two.

https://github.com/lcferrum/qzdl/releases/tag/3-1.1
The needed file is “ZDL_3-1.1_Linux_x64.tar.gz” under “Assets”

Launch the “zdl” executable in the folder you extracted, then the trickiest part is next, which is adding GZDoom to ZDL. There are a lot of different files that seem correct to try, and it took me a while to narrow it down. Go into the “General settings” tab and and click the “+” icon under “Source Ports.” Click “Computer” on the tab on the left hand side under “Look in,” then go to “/var/lib/flatpak/exports/bin,” and add the file “org.zdoom.GZDoom,” which should be the only file in the folder. Then add your WADs by clicking the “+” icon under the “IWADs” section. When the file browser in ZDL comes up, make sure to right-click and then click “Show hidden files” so we can access the folder we need. Then navigate over to “/home/deck/.var/app/org.zdoom.GZDoom/.config/gzdoom,” and add your WADs.

UPDATE: I recently reinstalled SteamOS and had to repeat this process, and this time when adding the source port to ZDL, the file "org.zdoom.GZDoom" was located in "home/deck/.local/share/flatpak/exports/bin." I'm unsure of the reason for this variance, but if you're having trouble finding the file for the source port, this may be why.

At this point, you can return to the “Launch config” tab and add your mods. Click the “+” icon under the “External files” section, make sure to turn on “Show hidden files” again, then navigate over to “/home/deck/.var/app/org.zdoom.GZDoom/.config/gzdoom” and add your mods. Then choose GZDoom from the drop down menu under “Source port” and click the game you wanna launch in the “IWADs” section. That's it, you should be good to go. If you want to launch into the main menu, set both “Map” and “Skill” to "default" and click “Launch.”

Controller support isn't working and I haven't found a workaround for that, but you can add the ZDL executable into Steam as a non-Steam game and configure keyboard bindings to the Deck's buttons that way. It works well enough. If I do find a way to get controller inputs working, I'll be sure to write a guide for that too.

[ramon.dexter]

If I do find a way to get controller inputs working, I'll be sure to write a guide for that too.

You've mentioned "the way" before. Add the ZDL to steam as a non-steam game, and configure the controller for your needs.

[sonoda]

Is it possible to have mods saved in sd card and load it from there?

[wildweasel]

Is it possible to have mods saved in sd card and load it from there?

I'd imagine if you know what the mounting point is to the SD card slot from the file system, you probably could. It's probably going to be in /media somewhere.

[ramon.dexter]

Is it possible to have mods saved in sd card and load it from there?

You can install games on sd card on steamdeck. So the question is little bit self-answering.