Stadia: everything you need to know about Google's streaming service

Stadia: everything you need to know about Google's streaming service

Take a minute to imagine a world where you don't need expensive gaming gear to play the next big-budget version. In a world where all you have to do is open the Chrome browser, select the game you want to play, and then launch it instantly, without tedious downloads.

Well this will soon become a reality when Google cloud gaming service, Stadiums, is launched. From the Chrome tab to 4K 60fps gameplay in five seconds. No installation required. Already.

Google promises that the power of Google's Stadia cloud computing equates to a console that runs on 10.7 GPU terraflops, which is more than the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X combined. If Google delivers on its promises, it could completely change the game, both figuratively and literally.

Instead of investing in high-end equipment, Stadia (prototype as part of Stream Project moniker) allows you to use the computer of your choice to play video games, removing the high barrier to entry that most users encounter.

Instead, Google manages most of the work on its own servers, which can process the latest version of the game at high resolutions and high frame rates, encode it into a data stream, and send it over the Internet. via Internet.

At launch, Google promised that Stadia would support desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, without the need for a hardware box, but in Google's own data center.

We had our first overview of the service during an extended beta that took place in 2018 and which has now been fully revealed at GDC 2019.

Google's Stadia has a lot to learn, but based on what we've been playing in the past year, the famous Project Stream is an impressive showcase of what the future of the game will look like in the future. The cloud, inverting the video game industry as we know it today. his head.

Cut to the hunt

How does Google Stadia work?

Good news: as long as you have a fast and stable internet connection and are using a recent desktop version of the Google Chrome browser, you have everything you need to get started with Google Stadia.

Getting started playing a video game on Stadia is as easy as opening a new tab in Chrome and accessing the service's home page, or even skipping a YouTube video link to the game.

To get started, Google will ask you to run a login test that checks internet bandwidth, latency between your computer and servers, and any data loss. Google requires a continuous data rate of 15 Mbps, a latency of less than 40 ms, and a data loss of less than 5%. Once these conditions are met, you are ready to dive into a game.

The Project Stream beta featured Assassin's Creed Odyssey, a demanding title. When you launch the game on your Chrome tab, the game goes into full screen mode and runs exactly as if it were launched on a proper gaming computer (except without a detailed graphical settings menu). You can play with a keyboard and mouse or connect a game controller and play this way.

All your inputs on the computer are sent to Google's servers, processed in the game, and everything that happens is returned to you. That's why this latency is so important, because you can't have a good gaming experience if everything you do in the game shows a second later.

Stadia's limits are still detailed, but Google said that Stadia could hit a rate of up to 8K / 120fps, with 4K / 60fps being the norm. This is well above the standard bar for quality PC gaming.

All your inputs on the computer are sent to Google's servers, processed in the game, and everything that happens is returned to you.

What you're doing here is opening a new tab that directs all your inputs to a high-end gaming PC that streams images and audio to your computer screen. This system is simpler than others because it has a virtual desktop that remotely runs Steam, Origin, Battle.net or whatever.

In the case of Assassin's Creed Odyssey on Stadia, you must still log into a Ubisoft account to play, but beta testers are not required to own the game.

Stadia will also work well with Google Chromecast, which means that you will be able to play games directly on any TV with Google's dongle, phones, and computers.

You'll be able to use your keyboard and mouse or gamepad to play Stadia, and Google's Stadia gamepad, new hardware, seems particularly smart. First, the latency problem: the gamepad connects directly to the Google cloud, which simplifies some steps in the data transfer chain and reduces the gap between the inputs recorded by the game. It also has a dedicated Google Assistant button that, according to Google, will be loaded with information about the title you play, offering advice when needed or allowing you to access special features of the game. proposed by the developers.

Also, it will support multiplayer on multiple platforms, as of course other great players want to participate.

At this time, it is unclear whether Google will require players to purchase games and pay for the streaming service for separate transactions, or whether access to certain games will be integrated into the service.

What games will be available on Stadia?

In the Project Stream beta, the only game available was Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Although this did not give us a clear idea of ​​the games that Google will offer in the future, it nevertheless gave us a good idea of ​​the games that Google Stadium could offer.

For a 1080p gaming experience at 30 frames per second on high settings in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Ubisoft recommends A system with the following specifications:

For 4K settings at 30fps and the highest settings, the recommended specs include 16GB of RAM, a more powerful AMD Ryzen 1700X or Intel Core i7 7700 processor, and a thicker AMD Vega 64 graphics card. Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080. With Stadia streaming video, this limitation could be removed, allowing AAA games to run even for entry-level laptops.

Additionally, id Software has confirmed that Doom Eternal is coming to Stadia. Just a few weeks would be enough for the team to transfer the title to Google's cloud streaming service. Marty Stratton's id software revealed that Eternal Doom could run at 4K 60 frames per second in native HDR on Stadia.

If the service can handle Assassin's Creed Odyssey at 1080p at 60 frames per second and Doom Eternal at 4K / 60 frames per second, Stadia will be able to play a lot of games in this setting. Other major titles could easily find support on the service.

Games with a significant online concentration may have denser prospects on Stadia. Since competing online games are often fast and require a reaction in a fraction of a second, the additional latency introduced by streaming will likely be a problem for serious competitors. But Stadia seems to be better placed than other similar services to combat this problem, with a unique fiber optic cabling infrastructure and a Wi-Fi controller that connects directly to the Google cloud. This could mean that online multiplayer titles like Fortnite support thousands of players instead of hundreds.

A recent Chromium update also added support for Nintendo Switch controllers in Google's browser. So it looks like we can get more than just PC versions.

Google also announced the launch of Stadia Games and Entertainment. It will be a new arm at Google for the sole purpose of designing games exclusively for Google's online streaming platform.

In addition to Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Ubisoft has announced that some of the upcoming games will also appear on Stadia, such as Trials Rising, a multiplayer motocross game, the naval warfare game Skull and Bones, and the strategy game Anno 1800.

Google Stadia will also make it easier for developers to implement a split-channel local couch co-operation via Stream Connect. This should allow players to not only visualize, but also interact in each other's worlds.

But, perhaps the most important development for content creators and their viewers is Crowd Play, which will allow viewers to play games with their favorite streamers with the click of a button.

The main goal is to design a system that is easy to play and show off to your friends. To this end, Stadia simultaneously sends a 4K signal to your device and YouTube, allowing you to record what you are doing.

The latest feature introduced by Google was State Sharing, which allows you to share any part of your adventure with anyone via a Google link. One use case would be that State Share would allow you to save your place in a tough boss fight and challenge your friends to beat it up.

If you get stuck, whether it's your game or your friends' game, the Google Assistant integration will allow you to access guides and procedures on demand.

What did Project Stream look like?

At best, Project Stream was good. In the worst case, Google will not allow you to play below a certain quality threshold and you will not want to.

We tested Project Stream in different settings. We played with unstable 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, fast Wi-Fi near 5 GHz and Ethernet connection, maintained and offering high bandwidth. Don't forget that it was without the dedicated hardware that Google has now introduced.

The Chromebook's very old hardware didn't stop it from gaming.

We also played on a 5-year-old Chromebook, a 2-year-old Razer blade, and a modern gaming console that would be happy to release Assassin's Creed Odyssey at 1080p / 60FPS on its own hardware. We even started one computer while another was running the flow, and Google simply transferred control to the second computer without interrupting the flow.

Overall, we would describe this experience as at least playable. The Chromebook's very old hardware didn't stop it from gaming. The main problems come from a bad connection: if the connection speed decreases, the quality of the game also decreases, with lower resolutions, latency and compression much more noticeable.

That said, our experience has taught us that visual degradation predates latency. So we were able to continue to seamlessly fight enemies, even if they started to look like swarms of ghostly pixels.

Overall, the graphics have been quite good, especially when played over a high-bandwidth connection using Ethernet cables. Colors, shadows, and anti-aliasing look nice, and the frame rate seems to vary between 30 and 60 frames per second.

Low frame rate was one of two issues we noticed. The other was compression. Most of the time, it's not very shocking, but when there is a lot of detail in a scene and a lot of movement, compression makes everything a bit distorted. The faces of the characters become blurry and the hard edges (obviously the character's hair) become soft. Will Stadia have solved these problems at launch?

This seems to indicate that the lower bitrate allows this type of transmission, but the truth is that most of the time it is invisible and it would be even more difficult to detect if you did not look for it (we were search this). Panning the camera and racing through dense forests in the game (and the combination of the two) were the only times the visual quality bothered us.

The experience is not confusing, at least until you remember using so little of your computer's processing power that you literally ran a full system antivirus scan in the background and nothing has changed Visuals are comparable to what you would get on a console, with the exception of compression artifacts here and there. And, with a stable connection, it compares favorably to domestic streaming on a Steam link.

Although Google's pricing and services model allows us to determine if Stadia is worth it, we can now say that its prototype is working and that it looks good. But will be Microsoft's XCloud do the best?

Will you be able to play Google Stadia on your phone?

Although Google hasn't confirmed this, Stadia will likely allow you to stream hit games, which are typically reserved for high-end consoles or PCs, on your smartphone or tablet.

This could mean that when 5G is rolled out in late 2019 or early 2020, traditional mobile and non-mobile gaming will no longer be an issue - you could end up using the Stadia controller with your phone playing games. Borderlands 3 o Starfield on the train on the way to work, or in a cafe.

You can also transfer your game from your phone to a TV or other screen, and use your phone as a small console where you can play all your games.

Computers and handhelds may have different libraries on Stadia, but since all the processing is done by Google, there is no reason why it is not possible to play console games on a phone without having enough internet speed.


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