So this is interesting... Others have tried, but I believe Google is the only company in a position to deliver the network latency performance to actually make it sorta-work.
I will believe this when I see it. You will probably need less than 100 ms and that is round trip. They will need thousands of servers and if you live in Montana you are SOL. If anyone can do it google can but I am still skeptical. https://www.pcgamer.com/google-stadias-specs-and-latency-revealed/ Playing on a Pixelbook on a Google internet connection, the site saw smooth framerates. It also took some latency measurements. Here's how it compared to gaming on other platforms: Google Stadia: 166ms Google Project Stream: 179ms PC @ 30fps: 112ms PC @ 60fps: 79ms Xbox One X: 145ms This was not a controlled test by Digital Foundry, and it can be assumed that Google had set things up to showcase Stadia in the best light. Still, it's an interesting early look.
So this is the result of project stream? http://forum.fith.co/index.php?threads/google-project-stream.1733/ I tried it and it worked fine, though lots of graphical popping. It's definitely where this industry is heading, but this first iteration will probably be too frustrating to be viable. Kinda like Netflix when it first came out...
I don't know. Netflix was pretty good about shipping those discs back in the day. USPS did inject a little latency...
Made me chuckle and think about SneakerNet. "Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway."
Netflix still shit the bed for me every now and then, could be the fire stick too... Regardless, this new iteration of gaming will be interesting to watch unfold.
Since the Fire stick is wireless, do a speedtest from Fast.com (there's an app, too, for your phones) that'll run a speed test to Netflix's servers (it's their service). At least you can see if your ISP is throttling you (Verizon Wireless will limit me to like 5 mbps but if I'm on my network it'll shoot over 150 mbps).
In my limited experience playing AC Odyssey on project stream, I think the system is definitely on the right track. I agree that the graphics would go to shit in a heartbeat if you didn't have good internet, and I suspect some of those issues weren't related to my ISP (Google Fiber). The response time was good enough to play AC, but isn't good enough for a twitch response game. For example, if you spammed crouch the character wouldn't keep up and there were noticeable delays. Anything requiring super quick reflexes would be a no go. I'm really interested to see their subscription model. If it's something where you pay by the month for a library of games, that could be really fun. Subscribe for a month, play what you want, let it lapse until more stuff hits you want.
Phill Harrison thinks fighting games will work on the Stadia, they are even devolping them for the platform. He even says you can play games at 4K and 60FPS with only a 30 mega bit internet connection, I need to see that to believe that but still. Then again people who are pros at fighting games will not touch the Stadia, unless there will be people who will do it.
I will say that the latency is the big what-if. The requirement for bandwidth isn't so bad. Consider this: An actual 30 Mbps (mega-bits-per-second) connection can download 12 GB in an hour at full speed, with a little room for overhead. (30 mbps * 60 seconds) * 60 minutes = 108,000 / 8 bits (to bytes) = 13.5 GB I used 12 GB because it was above what Netflix calls Ultra HD usage for an hour. Compression is going to be a big part of this so long as what you're focused on is clear to the eyes. If the target audience is people that either don't want to keep up with console or computer hardware changes, play casual games (a little more RPG/theatrical than trigger happy), this might be a good product for them. I'd be happy to use the service to play a single-player Final Fantasy or the like, but most of the people in this forum that play Apex Legends, PUBG, or TitanFall aren't the target audience (yet). Your friend Steve that hasn't bought anything since his original XBox and still has HD-DVDs is the target audience, because he bought 150 Mbps Cable Internet to get $30 off his triple-play package, and thinks it'll be fun to play Doom again, or Quake: You Remember the First Game Wow You're Old Tournament Edition.
Hate saying it but we will all probably live to see a day where gaming consoles no longer have physical media (already happened with PCs). Will be sad when that happens. There's a sense of satifaction/absoluteness when you own a physical copy. Legally speaking you don't even own most of your digital purchases.
I mean shit man, I recently just got a 90’s Bose 5.1 surround sound system. Glad I still got my cds. BTW, old school Bose speakers thump!
