Google Stadia: Thread 01

[briareos_kerensky]

I suspect the hardware they're using for their VMs isn't up to the task of running Hitman at a decent framerate.

If that's the case, then Google greenlighted this project knowing fully that it'll be underwhelming and not up to the task. I wouldn't call this surprising, but I'd really want to know why they did it in the first place.

[Nu-Eclipse]

The controller and 4K chromecast still have a use, but not a chance I'm going to pay £10 a month - so yeah, why hasn't this died yet?

Worth noting that the original 4K Chromecast model, the Chromecast Ultra, got discontinued as a standalone model (although I do believe that Stadias still ship with it, unless I'm mistaken?).

The replacement model is the Chromecast with Google TV. I got one for Xmas last year and it is a surprisingly nifty device for what it costs (although whether it holds its own against other similar devices from the likes of Apple, Roku, Amazon and others is another debate).

But I agree with you. I wouldn't be jumping onto the Stadia ship at this point. Not interested at all.

[Nu-Eclipse]

If that's the case, then Google greenlighted this project knowing fully that it'll be underwhelming and not up to the task. I wouldn't call this surprising

Neither would I.

Pretty much their entire Pixel line is littered with a plethora of half-baked products and sub-par hardware.

[MartyG]

If that's the case, then Google greenlighted this project knowing fully that it'll be underwhelming and not up to the task. I wouldn't call this surprising, but I'd really want to know why they did it in the first place.

They promised 4K60 native - none of the games do that AFAIK, any 4K resolutions are upscaled and given it eats bandwidth at 4K, what's the point? I assumed it was Hitman 3 Brad was streaming, it should be able to do the original reboot okay (it's not that demanding) but 3 needs something with a bit more grunt. Google claim it's running on a custom x86 processor and a GPU with 10.7 teraflops of power along with 16GB of RAM, but given the quality I've seen it produce, it's sub-optimal (if you saw Destiny 2 when it launched, I'd have said GTX 1060 at best).

[briareos_kerensky]

Pretty much their entire Pixel line is littered with a plethora of half-baked products and sub-par hardware.

Still, I understand why they'd at least try in that market, even if they just want to deliver middle-to-low range products.
Why purposefully deliver a half-baked product in a market that's not really there and previous attempts have gone down in flames, with the result of of further advancing Google's reputation of starting and ending projects after putting no effort in them? Some tax-evading scheme?

[Brad]

Super casuals won't care about the lag but super casuals also won't pay a £10 a month sub + paying for games. They just buy an xbox or a playstation and maybe use gamepass or whatever. I fail to see their target audience basically.

[Cassius_Smoke]

I think even super casuals will realise something is wrong when they are trying to play FIFA or COD online with their mates and the lag is making them look stupid.

[Neon Ignition]

https://newsletter.gamediscover.co/p/discovering-your-games-regional-appeal

Google is reneging on contracts with devs to deny them agreed up front costs and to force them into engagement based schemes.

And with that you can hear the final nail hammer in.

[Brad]

400 megabits, 5ms, Ethernet connection, 6 core ryzen and it’s unacceptable performance at 1080p. That’s the 499 nails before this latest one lol

[Nu-Eclipse]

And with that you can hear the final nail hammer in.

...to the coffin that will take pride of place in a certain infamous internet cemetery!

[Brad]

...to the coffin that will take pride of place in a certain infamous internet cemetery!

Impressive! They've outdone Microsoft in much less time.

[Cassius_Smoke]

It's a perfect example of 'just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should'.
It doesn't take much for someone in a meeting to say 'yeah, but what about crappy Internet connections?' and the whole thing should have been scrapped. In fact, as Brad has shown, even a good Internet connections can't cope.

[Brad]

I seem to recall the term 'negative latency' being bandied about by them prior to launch. How's that working out then?

[QualityChimp]

400 megabits, 5ms, Ethernet connection, 6 core ryzen and it’s unacceptable performance at 1080p. That’s the 499 nails before this latest one lol

Ha, it's more nails than coffin!

[nonny]

I seem to recall the term 'negative latency' being bandied about by them prior to launch. How's that working out then?

God yeah I'd forgotten about that spiel at the Stadia launch.

To be honest MS have this right in not putting all their eggs in one basket and I've heard Phil Spencer say recently they want cloud to reach as many players as possible because it can, but the best place to play is still console... Which is why the Series S exists at such an attractive price point.

It's just a value add for them and almost an acknowledgement that whilst the tech will almost certainly improve over time it's still restricted by its inherent limitations.