Gaming with SlowPsycho

Reading Time: 7 minutes

This month, I have been trying something new. As a prelude to whether I can afford the Elgato Stream Deck, I have been looking at using my mobile phone to experiment with the Elgato set-up and see if it is worth the money to invest in the whole shebang.

If I am honest, the £140 that the original Stream Deck costs, is not something that I think it justifiable at the moment. I am a small time streamer, with little regular viewer-base, and very few subscribers. I stream part-time because of my paid employment – someone has to keep the mortgage paid – and that means that I currently use a configurable keyboard.

My Current Problem – HID

The problem with using a standard configurable keyboard, such as this programmable keyboard I bought 2 years ago is that it’s only job is to replicate key presses or macros. This is a problem because if I want to change to a particular scene, I had to bind the key to something like Windows + F8. I also have the key bind for mute and un-mute on my microphone it is CTRL + ALT + Z.

This is where the problem lies. There are not many combinations of keystrokes that are uniquely available, either on Windows or games. I had one particular key bound to WIN + F10. Not something that immediately comes to mind, until I was playing Overcrowd: A Commute ’em Up (which is a great game by the way – a strategic business puzzler) and went to a Live scene. The thing is that when I pressed it, even with the modifier of the Windows key, it recognised the F10 and brought up the games debugging screen.

So I wanted to try Stream Deck because it promises to avoid the need to have keybinds. I can tell it to activate a scene and it does.

Stream Deck Integration

By installing the Stream Deck software on a PC, you can program the keys for the specific Stream Deck or the mobile app configured. The software is only compatible with specific integrations, but you again can also use key combinations if you have to.

Among the list of dedicated integrations there is your usual streaming clients OBS, XSplit and StreamLabs OBS, as well as more specialised apps like VoiceMod.

Within each integration there are easy to apply things like scene changing and controlling things like microphones, lights and more.

Stream Deck vs Stream Deck Mobile

So apart from the direct integration you have the core reason why I am trying out Stream Deck mobile apps before I even consider the read thing…. the price.

So the first thing that is the most important decision is the cost. You have already heard that I have difficulty justifying the cost of a Stream Deck and I rarely see it cheaper than full price. The range comes in at £209, £139 and £89 (You can see the three options via my Amazon affiliate link) which is a lot of cash.

The Stream Deck mobile however, that is just £2.69 a month. Certainly with the Android version you can pay directly via the Google Play Store, I am not an iFan though, so I am not sure of their arrangements.

This is a big cost difference though. It is going to take a few years for me to spend enough annual subs to match the same cost of the standard 15 button unit. The problem is, is that there some good reasons for the low, low price.

The Good: The Integration

I love the idea of the integration. At the moment in my OBS Studio I generally need control of my scenes, microphone and whether we are looking at the game itself or my desktop. I would love to increase this use to other third party apps, tweaks, maybe (but probably not) VoiceMod.

It is going to need me to overhaul how I organise my OBS though. That certainly means that where I currently build a Scene Collection for each game I stream, especially as I make use of the game’s logo in my Intro stream and my ugly mug needs to fit in around the game window; that poses a problem.

This is an ‘ugly’ but I will mention it now the Elgato Stream deck can be too granular for it’s own good. In OBS for instance, to change a scene, it demands a scene collection for me to get it to work. As far as I have found, there is no way to just say “stay on whatever scene collection I am on.” This is the same for things like the Microphone, I have to tell the Stream Deck software which scene collection I want the microphone turn on or off.

Another good thing that the Stream Deck mobile app can use the same powerful features as the Stream Deck physical. You can assign a key to an action, a combination of actions (bit like a macro) or to open a folder of even more nested buttons.

Let’s put it this way, with one button press I can select my Outro scene and turn the microphone off in OBS, as well as tell StreamLabs to start rolling credits thanking supporters.

The Bad: The Phone App

So far, the big problem for me is the phone app itself. On the basis that you should be spending more time on the games you play, the streams you do, the content you create. This means you need the Stream Deck to be available fairly easily, not go into sleep mode and need a finger print to open up your device, open the app and select your button.

I use my phone for everything. I even use it as a Sat Nav in my car, and TomTom mobile keeps itself alive for a two hour drive across the country. Stream Deck does not seem to want to do that though.

So far, without installing another app to keep the phone alive – a Samsung Galaxy S7 does not appear to eliminate a timeout – there is no setting I have found unless I want to touch the phone every few minutes.

The Decking Ugly: We Already Said Ultra Granular….

This granularity is something that has already caused me problems though. Stream Deck (the PC installation) did actually manage to crash my OBS Studio.

Picture the scene. You have a scene collection set up for one game and you remember to change the scene from Overcrowd: A Commute ’em Up to StationFlow. You diligently change the scene collection for the scenes, but leave the microphone to Default, yes you have to pick a scene collection and a scene for your microphone.

What happened to me, was that OBS was continually trying to set up two settings on two different scene collections. It froze, caused OBS to crash out to desktop and ALT + F4 was the last thing I wanted to happen. On the plus side I was not streaming at the time.

Oh – and I have to find more things for the buttons to do!

Having 15 buttons to play with is great. I have ideas on how to use them and I want to, but I sometimes feel like I am copying better streamers.

Have you played Monster Train? Go check out my Monster Train review after you have read this, but there are parts in the game where there is a narrative script. I would love to read that out using VoiceMod, finding a relevant voice for each scenario.

There’s the problem. One of my favourite streamers on Twitch is Cringer. He is the reason why I started streaming. I already think some things are so similar though; my on-stream cam, the minimalist approach…. and he does that sort of thing too. I don’t want to piss off someone who I… well admire is probably the wrong word.

Streaming With The App is Hit and Miss

I have tried to stream with the Stream Deck Mobile app a few times this week. Actually, the use of the app is only really hampered by the fact that the phone keeps going to sleep and that confuses the app entirely. I don’t know about physical Stream Deck users, but when my phone goes to sleep and I wake it up, it reverts to the top level buttons rather than where we are!

What I need to do is find a style that works for me. I have started using multi-actions and folders. I also need to actually get a Stream Deck. That also means that I have to change the way I manipulate OBS Studio. I am going to have to revert to a single set of scenes and simply move my camera each time I move my game!

At least with a physical device, I will have the confidence that I can tactile and muscle memory my way to pressing buttons rather than having to look at a screen to make sure I am pressing End Credits rather than Desktop. I also need to justify the expense of buying it by getting more viewers, but then I am only a small streamer.

Stream Deck is far better than a HID macro keyboard though!

I never realised what I was missing, I never realised how easy it is to manipulate scenes without triggering some ugly unintended consequence in a game.

I am finding new tricks to have fun with my Stream Deck and I could see me using it far more than in my streaming. I am sold.

If I have sold you too, then you need to pop over to Amazon to see how much they cost (You can see the three options via my Amazon affiliate link) – you can also find the Stream Deck Mobile app on both the Google Play Store & Apple App Store.