Linux Air Combat on "Steam Deck"


This is the new Valve "Steam Deck" portable console gaming PC. Linux Air Combat version 8.94SD runs nicely on it. Learn more in our "LAC and Steam Deck" forum.


Default control mapping for Linux Air Combat on the Steam Deck. The left joystick controls rudder and throttle, and the right joystick controls Aileron and Elevator for primary flight control. The D-Pad controls view direction for looking Left, Right, Forward, or Backward. The left trigger switches the view straight up. The right trigger fires machine guns. Other single-purpose controls activate additional flight functions as indicated. Both of the throttle levers can be "clicked" by pressing down on them to activate additional functions, including clicking through the 'Tap Menu" to access the 11-element menu of "less-urgent" functions in the list near the bottom of this illustration.


Downloading:

Download the latest LAC/SteamDeck AppImage from our production download archives HERE. Store it in any convenient location within your filesystem. To keep this discussion simple, we will assume you will store it in your home folder at /home/deck.

Mark as "Executable":

Activate a bash shell for command-line access through a terminal from your home folder according to well established LINUX/UNIX norms. Use the well-known "ls -l" command to confirm that you can see the downloaded file. For our purposes in this discussion, we will assume it is named "Lac894-x86_64.AppImage". Issue the following command:

chmod +x Lac894-x86_64.AppImage

If you don't see an error message after that command, you can assume it worked.

First Execution

Next you will issue another command line as follows:

./Lac894-x86_64.AppImage

Linux Air Combat will start right up on your Steam Deck. You'll be able to view and access all of its features through the prominent menus. When you fly a mission, all of your flight controls will be mapped as shown in the diagram above.

Subsequent Executions from the command line

Repeat the above command each time you want to run Linux Air Combat from a command Line. (No need to mark it as Executable again.)

Make LAC available from your Steam Deck's Desktop Mode Launch Menu

create an extra copy of Lac894-x86_64.AppImage named "lac" with the following command line:

cp Lac894-x86_64.AppImage lac

Write a short little "shell script" file named "LacLaunch.sh" with your favorite text editor. It will contain only 5 printable characters on a single line as follows:

./lac

Store that file in your home folder.

Issue the following command to mark that new script as executable:

chmod +x LacLaunch.sh

Right-Click on the "Application Launcher" icon that LINUX displays on the bottom "kicker panel" of your desktop mode. (It looks like a small blue ball with a white crescent adjacent its right edge.) A new menu frame will pop up. From there, click "Edit Applications'. Another new menu frame entitled "KDE Menu Editor" will pop up, representing the existing arrangement of your LINUX start menu. Right-Click on "Games". Another new menu frame will pop up. Right-Click on "New Item". Another new frame menu will pop up, prompting you for "Item name:". Enter your desired menu name for Linux Air Combat, like "LAC". Then click "OK". You'll then be able to edit additional fields named "Description", "Comment", and "Command". For "Description", we suggest "Linux Air Combat". You can leave "Comment" blank. In the "Command" field, carefully insert this text:

bash ./LacLaunch.sh

Save this work by left-clicking on the "File" drop-down menu exactly as you would expect after editing any other common application. Then click "quit" to exit the KDE Menu Editor.

At that point, you should see your new entry for "LAC" in the "Games" area of your LINUX Start Menu exactly as you might expect.

MAKE LAC available from an icon on your desktop that you can double-click with your own fat finger

Once you can see LAC in your Linux Start Menu, you can Right-click on it and then click "Add to Desktop" or "Add to Panel" for even easier acces from your desktop or your kicker panel.