I picked up a Steam Deck (which is quite awesome) and wanted to see if I could get MVP working on it. It's basically a handheld gaming computer that can play the latest AAA games, serve as an emulator for older gaming systems and adding older computer games - like MVP 2005.
It was pretty simple.
I just copied my EA Sports directory from my computer to a folder on steam deck over the network
Added the game to Steam as a non-steam game
This one is important. Click the Compatibility Mode for the game to use their Proton, version 7.x works.
That's it. The game just worked and was smooth, including the Total Classics I have.
The controller layout wasn't perfect. So I created a profile, found where it was on the Steam Deck and copied over my profile and the Xbox config files to that folder from Windows and it worked exactly like my xbox controller, with my profile.
So now I can easily play any version of MVP/TC on the go (without lugging around a laptop and controller).
I think that's pretty awesome!
If you want to push to a TV, you just need a USB-C -> HDMI cable/converter.
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I know some people around here had trouble getting MVP to work on Windows 10+. Using a Steam Deck is a rather cheap alternative ($400 for the lowest version). Or you can install the free Steam OS on a computer you have.
Hope this helps someone.
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Also got Madden 08 to work: