Google Stadia: Thread 01

[MartyG]

So first Stadia fail (actually there are two already).

1) I can't use it as I haven't been sent an access code and there isn't one in the box

2) Chromecast 4K Ultra is micro USB

So fail all round really.

And trying to contact their support ...

[vanpeebles]

Might learn you some learnings then!

[MartyG]

Looks like this code issue isn't a one off just for me - loads of people have hardware but no codes. Considering how many people Google employ and the amount of money in the bank and the fanfare they've been making about Stadia, this much #fail is quite incredible.

On the plus side, the controller is very nice, kind of like a PS4 / Xbox hybrid - D-Pad in particular feels good. Shame that if you want to use it on a PC you have to plug it in. Wired controllers are so 1990

[EvilBoris]

I've bought it to secure my username on the service so no one else can have it, and obvioulsy to take the pain so noone else on this board has to - true altruism

People might get the impression you like complaining....

[MartyG]

People might get the impression Google failed at their Stadia launch.

[MartyG]

Google have now manage to deliver an access code, although why they didn't include it in the founder's edition packaging I don't know (or why they were telling people it'd take 3-5 business days to get one).

The setup is a right old ball ache, requiring you to use two different apps on the phone (Google Home and Stadia) and you also have to provide payment details for a pro subscription despite the fact you've already paid for 3 months pro on the Stadia app (I will be cancelling the subscription shortly).

All that out of the way and I've tried Samurai Showdown and Destiny 2 and thankfully you can save link Destiny 2 to your previous game. Oddly it showed that I had to buy the expansions, asking me to pay for them when I linked save, but once in Destiny it looked like it was Shadowkeep, so not totally sure what's going on there.

But, the important stuff, how does it play. The answer is surprisingly well, if any game was going to show lag issues it would be Samurai Showdown and whilst I wouldn't want to do competition play, the perceptivel lag is actually minimal. There was the odd frame stutter, but it's difficult to tell whether that was the game or stadia (as I haven't played SS outside of Stadia).

Destiny 2 however, I have put a lot of time into on PC (running 4K on a GTX 1080) and it looks a bit muddy on Stadia. Not sure how well that describes it, but it simply doesn't look 4K crispy goodness. Load times don't really seem any quicker (although I've been running from a NVME drive) this time however, there was noticable lag at times, both control and stream. It's also doing some weird lighting glitching that I've never seen happen in Destiny before.

Overall though, it's a better experience than I was expecting, it's just a shame this isn't like Game Pass, because as it stands, I won't be purchasing games at RRP on this service. Not sure it's worth £120, but that controller actually feels very good in the hand.

[Brad]

Thanks for the hands on Marty. It sounds like what I expected it to be; the worst way to buy and play games. Seems like the tech isn’t ready really.

[MartyG]

If it was actually a subscription service with access to a library of games to stream for a monthly fee, then I'd say it's worth a look, but the fact you're having to pay nearly full RRP for most of the games on top of a monthly fee for the top tier streaming (there's a slight discount if you have a pro sub) then no.

There is no consistency in the quality of the stream you're going to get as it's so variable on transient conditions. As an add-on extra to Game Pass as Microsoft seems to be doing, then I think there's a place for this type of service, but as a sole means of playing games, well I'd rather work through my back catalogue tbh.

Hopefully there will be a method of using the controller wirelessly on PC at some point as I do quite like the pad. The rumble in it is very good.

[Neon Ignition]

They're talking about the controller over on Era, apparently someones opened one up and basically if it develops a fault and you're not under warranty you might as well bin it and buy a new one. It's seemingly been specifically designed to be as difficult as possible to open up and in a way that it will largely break if you attempt it meaning you can't carry out XBO/DS4 style fixes for small faults or wear and tear.

[MartyG]

I've tried the service in Chrome with an Xbox One controller and the results are largely the same. Samurai Showdown doesn't fair too badly, but Destiny 2 is a stuttery mess. Controller lag, sounds glitching, hitching - it seems pretty likely these are virtual instances sharing a multicore CPU and I very much doubt these are running anything decent in terms of GPUs, given it can't match my GTX1080 in IQ.

That said, there is something to be said for being able to have a quick game on the office PC before work (this is a Ryzen 1600 with a AMD RX460 and 16GB of RAM, so it's definitely not a gaming rig).

[fishbowlhead]

Anyone expecting to get anywhere near even standard console settings, let alone decent pc rig, standards, please take your keyboard and smack self round face.

On a serious note, thanks for the impressions Marty, sounds truly awful.

[MartyG]

Having only tested two titles it's difficult to give an more accurate picture of the service - I don't know whether the issues with Destiny are down to Destiny itself, the service or the hardware it's running on.

The experience with Samurai Showdown I wouldn't describe as "truly awful" but something does feel very slightly off when you're controlling the game - it's marginal and some folks might not notice it at all. It's not so bad to say it's unplayable, as that game seems to work reasonably well, it's definitely a different experience to streaming Destiny.

Edit - should just add that even when Google bin this in 12 months, it's not a total loss because the Chromecast Ultra works nicely with Plex and the controller should be good for using on the PC (Google say this will support wireless connections soon).

[Neon Ignition]

Destiny will remain an odd one, it really should run great given how well the PC version runs

[MartyG]

Another Stadia fail.

I was capturing screens and vids last night (which you can do via a dedicated button on the pad), but it turns out the only place you can view them is in the Stadia app. There's no way of downloading them to the PC or copying them from the phone. I can only surmise it's because they're not kept locally, but that doesn't explain why I can't simply download them via the Stadia website.

Looks like those images and vids are captured server side as they look way better and have zero lag when viewing them back.

[Team Andromeda]

The setup is a right old ball ache, requiring you to use two different apps on the phone (Google Home and Stadia) and you also have to provide payment details for a pro subscription despite the fact you've already paid for 3 months pro on the Stadia app (I will be cancelling the subscription shortly)

Look I get you bashing for the pricing but I only had to use the Stadia App on my phone and it was very easy to set up, sometimes when I buy a years sub of Nortons Security from the likes of Amazone or Argos I still have to enter my card details to complete the set up and that is case for others .

I am quite impressed with how good it works with no extra hardware on the TV in the spare bedroom. but the price model for games and lack of a subscription game service like Gamepass is a killer for this. I'm quite amazed google didn't have something in place for the 1st year at least to get the product off to a decent start