Stadia, Google Game Streaming platform [2019-2021]

[Shifty Geezer]

As I say in the comments, cross-platform multiplayer would be bad for Stadia users as they have additional lag and lower fidelity. Unless they are matched with mobile gamers, they'll mostly get pummelled. Also, the security of Stadia's online gaming which is supposed to keep out cheaters won't apply if playing against PC and console gamers.

 

[PSman1700]

So no xim4 stadia support?

 

[Tkumpathenurpahl]

Also, given the billions it's cost Sony and Microsoft over decades to build themselves a solid online playerbase, why on Earth would either of them just hand all of that over to Google?

"Here you go, competitor, enjoy the fruits of our labour! What do we want in return? Why, nothing at all! For we, multinational corporations, are most well known for our magnanimity!"

They must be watching this, sat in front of their figurative fireplace, laughing as port and lamb fat dribble down their chins.

 

[chris1515]

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...s-say-it-broke-promises-over-game-performance

As Digital Foundry puts it: "Perhaps there's something more we're not seeing behind the compression but from a technical perspective, Red Dead 2 on Stadia doesn't seem to be delivering on key marketing promises - certainly not the spirit of them at least. At the reveal, we were told that Stadia's GPU has the power of Xbox One X and PS4 Pro graphics combined, yet RDR2 on Stadia only has 44 per cent of the X's rendering resolution, while even the 4.2TF PS4 Pro GPU is generating a higher pixel-count (even before factoring in its checkerboarding upscale). Stadia's GPU seems to be an offshoot of AMD's RX Vega 56 based on its specs, yet in 1080p mode, performance is more in line with the PC version running on a much less capable RX 570 or RX 580.

How Stadia performance is not as good as the same PC? Does they limit the speed because of the GPU power consumption?

The Google Answer

"First of all, 4K support was promised for all launch titles and while we're getting a 4K output video format from the Chromecast Ultra, I do feel it's a stretch to describe this as an ultra HD experience. The small print on the Stadia website explains things more correctly, but even the 'up to 4K' claim is still problematic when a title like Destiny 2 runs at 1080p instead. For my money, the Pro sub is still a clear upgrade as it's the only way to get 5.1 surround sound, HDR and image quality that looks a lot better on the big screen owing to its higher bitrate."

Another problem with overheating chromecast ultra. What a failed launch....

https://www.resetera.com/threads/st...units-causing-shutdowns.155111/#post-26796697

 

[JoeJ]

How Stadia performance is not as good as the same PC?

Likely it has many reasons, but may be related to OS / driver issues still needing some work.
Differences can be huge, looking at such older comparisons: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=pascal-win10-linux&num=7
(notice Linux can be faster too in some cases, and i do not know what OS Stadia is using at all)

 

[chris1515]

Likely it has many reasons, but may be related to OS / driver issues still needing some work.
Differences can be huge, looking at such older comparisons: https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=pascal-win10-linux&num=7
(notice Linux can be faster too in some cases, and i do not know what OS Stadia is using at all)

They use linux.

 

[chris1515]

The Gap with a Vega 56 in a PC is huge.

 

[BRiT]

How old is that benchmark chart? They say "destiny 2 launch gpu benchmark", and I'm pretty sure both sides have improved drivers since then especially for that game. Or is Launch the name of the benchmark level?

Oh, now I see it, it's from 2017 October, so over 2 years old.

 

[chris1515]

How old is that benchmark chart? They say "destiny 2 launch gpu benchmark", and I'm pretty sure both sides have improved drivers since then especially for that game. Or is Launch the name of the benchmark level?

Oh, now I see it, it's from 2017 October, so over 2 years old.

It is probably worse now, the gap is probably bigger.

Stadia vega 56 is equal to 1080p 60 fps
Vega 56 is 4K 60 on high at launch

This is crazy. I was thinking it is 1440p 60 fps because it looks bad but not crazy bad.

 

[BRiT]

Another problem with overheating chromecast ultra. What a failed launch....

https://www.resetera.com/threads/st...units-causing-shutdowns.155111/#post-26796697

What a dumpster on fire mess of a product.

 

[iroboto]

What a dumpster on fire mess of a product.

that HVEC decoding a killer

 

[BRiT]

Wow... nothing like flat out denial from the company to keep me interested in watching the catastrophe play out.

Google told CNN Business it "will happily work with users to understand their particular experience better," but noted it hasn't seen thermal shutdown problems during its extensive testing.

"During normal usage, the surface of the device may get warm to the touch. This is working as designed. Using your Chromecast Ultra to stream Stadia games is very similar to using it to stream TV shows and movies," the company said in a statement.
​

EuroGamer article: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...s-complain-of-extremely-hot-chromecast-ultras

At the time of writing, Google has not returned to the thread to offer any further support or advice.
​

https://www.reddit.com/r/Stadia/comments/dzd6v8

 

[PSman1700]

DOA product it is. Google better had pumped all that money into a normal local-hardware powered console to try to be competitive.

 

[BRiT]

In the reddit Stadia group, there are many that drank the cool-aid with some that are flat-out mad at anyone having or reporting issues.

Meanwhile, the Chromecast Ultra hardware is the same from 2016 with reports of overheating going that far back. How does a company the size of Google not revise the hardware over 3 years to solve their faulty design?

Something to think about is normally during video playback the device can Buffer more data and work from that. When its gaming its having to fetch and process data every single frame, so it is a much tougher working and usage pattern. The network is running all out. Some reports show it registering 150 F during brief gaming sessions.

 

[PSman1700]

Sounds almost dangerous to even use it with temperatures that high. Did they even test the product, under full load etc?

 

[Jay]

It is curious though as Google is right, it shouldn't be any different to streaming movies etc.
It doesn't even deal with controller as that connects directly to router.

This launch really has very little redeeming features. Can't actually think of one, but giving benefit of the doubt

Meanwhile, the Chronecast Ultra hardware is the same from 2016 with reports of overheating going that far back. How does a company the size of Google not revise the hardware over 3 years to solve their faulty design?

Wow, really, well that explains a lot. Apart from what was they thinking?

 

[Malo]

Sounds almost dangerous to even use it with temperatures that high. Did they even test the product, under full load etc?

Their response is that it can get "warm" but that the Ultra has been tested under many situations and does not overheat.

 

[PSman1700]

150 F ain't warm, that's hot, too hot to touch even. No idea how warm my ps4 gets, it can get quite warm to the touch, anything more then that shouldn't happen.

 

[Tkumpathenurpahl]

So, how soon can we expect to see Phil Harrison working at Sega?

 

[BRiT]

Stadia: Too hot for gaming!




* Stolen from various comments section.