Steam Deck equipment have gotten more and more widespread, however a designer is cooking up a technique to remodel the transportable system right into a PC steering wheel. Dubbed the Sol Wheel, the add-on goals to make the most effective racing video games even higher on Valve’s handheld, and it might prevent from shopping for the true deal.
Ethan Solodukhin – of Esol Designs – is the one behind the wheel, and whereas the most effective Steam Deck dock and SD playing cards are a useful technique to give some total pep to your transportable PC, the Sol Wheel looks like it may very well be excellent for racing sport lovers. At the moment heading into its second day of a 60-day marketing campaign, the attachable Steam Deck accent may be very a lot within the early phases of improvement, but it surely seems prefer it has potential.
A video on the Kickstarter web page reveals a render of the wheel and the way it’s more likely to work, with it attaching to the Deck after which being clamped to a desk. A clip uploaded to Reddit final month reveals a prototype for the Sol Wheel in motion, as Solodukhin steers his automobile in F1 2022, however the accent might most likely be used for different racing video games like Filth Rally, Forza Horizon 5, or Gran Turismo Sport.
In keeping with Esol Designs, the rationale behind the Sol Wheel is to supply a “cheaper various” to different steering wheel equipment, including that it will likely be “primarily” for the Steam Deck. This suggests the equipment may very well be appropriate with different gadgets, however Ethan hasn’t mentioned which of them but. It’ll even be one nice house saver, contemplating how cumbersome different PC wheels are.
The Kickstarter web page says that the subsequent step is so as to add a spring perform to the wheel, as an alternative of a rubberband one. There are additionally plans so as to add extra color and create some dashboard performance.
On the time of writing, the marketing campaign solely has two backers, however its creator is hoping to boost $10,000 USD (£8,671 GBP). Bear in mind, there’s all the time a danger when pledging to Kickstarter or any crowdfunded venture as you’re supporting the venture in precept and never shopping for a completed product, so maintain that in thoughts if you happen to do again the Sol Wheel. There are not any ensures that builders will attain their finish objective, and even launch a completed product ( you Star Citizen), but it surely does sound prefer it may very well be a helpful Steam Deck accent.