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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Google Stadia conference with pricing, games, and release details set for June 6th at Noon EST/ 9 AM PST

VAMatt on 07 June 2019
Jranation said:
shikamaru317 said:
There is still one giant roadblock for game streaming, in the US at least. Data caps. The largest ISP in the US, Comcast, has a 1 TB per month data cap. If my math is right, you will go through your entire monthly cap with just 63 hours of 4K Stadia streaming at 35 mbps.

You guys dont have unlimited data? 

Every time this issue comes up, somebody mentions Comcast and their data caps. But, to the best of my knowledge, most Americans do not have a data cap. I certainly don't. None of the wired ISPs that serve my area have caps (at least, not as of ~18 months ago, when I last shopped for service).

jason1637 said:

There are certain plans that give you unlimited data if you pay more but most Americans have a data cap.

Do you have data to back up this claim?  I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'd like to see the evidence. In my experience, data caps are a rarity.



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jason1637 on 07 June 2019
VAMatt said:
Jranation said:

You guys dont have unlimited data? 

Every time this issue comes up, somebody mentions Comcast and their data caps. But, to the best of my knowledge, most Americans do not have a data cap. I certainly don't. None of the wired ISPs that serve my area have caps (at least, not as of ~18 months ago, when I last shopped for service).

jason1637 said:

There are certain plans that give you unlimited data if you pay more but most Americans have a data cap.

Do you have data to back up this claim?  I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'd like to see the evidence. In my experience, data caps are a rarity.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvqzd5/your-4k-netflix-streaming-is-on-a-collision-course-with-your-isp-data-caps



jason1637 on 07 June 2019
SpokenTruth said:

If you are concerned about latency, remember that Google has data centers all over the place. You can do a ping test of Google's DNS to get an idea.

Windows:

1. Hit Windows key.
2. Type CMD and press enter.
3. Type Ping 8.8.8.8 and press enter.

You are looking for the round trip times I have highlighted in yellow.  Again, these are round trip.  Cut the number in half to get an idea how fast a signal will get received by Google or sent to you by Google.

For Mac, it's similar.  Open your Terminal window and run the same command.  Your results will look a little different.  Times are displayed at the end of each line.

For Linux, you guys already know what you're doing.

Do this a few times during the hours you game the most to get the most ideal results. Type ping -t 8.8.8.8 to keep the test running longer than 4 pings.

Do you get better results if the number is higher or lower?



Cerebralbore101 on 07 June 2019

Alright after seeing their pitiful launch lineup of 30ish games, I just have to say that I feel stupid for assuming that they would have every AAA third party game on the planet at launch. If they don't quickly increase their library by a factor of 30 this will be DOA. It's basically Steam/GoG, except you need a solid internet connection to make use of it.

Also, WTF is Chromecast? Will this be needed to use the service after the base 1080 version launches?



jason1637 on 07 June 2019
Cerebralbore101 said:
Alright after seeing their pitiful launch lineup of 30ish games, I just have to say that I feel stupid for assuming that they would have every AAA third party game on the planet at launch. If they don't quickly increase their library by a factor of 30 this will be DOA. It's basically Steam/GoG, except you need a solid internet connection to make use of it.

Also, WTF is Chromecast? Will this be needed to use the service after the base 1080 version launches?

Chromecast is needed if you wanna use it on a TV.



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Lafiel on 07 June 2019
Cerebralbore101 said:
Alright after seeing their pitiful launch lineup of 30ish games, I just have to say that I feel stupid for assuming that they would have every AAA third party game on the planet at launch. If they don't quickly increase their library by a factor of 30 this will be DOA. It's basically Steam/GoG, except you need a solid internet connection to make use of it.

Also, WTF is Chromecast? Will this be needed to use the service after the base 1080 version launches?

Google ofcourse isn't using windows on their Stadia servers (that would have high licensing costs), but a custom linux version, so games first have to be ported to that OS and adjusted for the specific hardware spec they went for. That might be why the catalogue starts out fresh instead of with hundreds/thousends of titles.

The Chromecast stick is only needed to use Stadia on non-android TVs - every device that runs the Chrome browser can use Stadia once it fully launches in early 2020.



Cerebralbore101 on 07 June 2019
Lafiel said:
Cerebralbore101 said:
Alright after seeing their pitiful launch lineup of 30ish games, I just have to say that I feel stupid for assuming that they would have every AAA third party game on the planet at launch. If they don't quickly increase their library by a factor of 30 this will be DOA. It's basically Steam/GoG, except you need a solid internet connection to make use of it.

Also, WTF is Chromecast? Will this be needed to use the service after the base 1080 version launches?

Google ofcourse isn't using windows on their Stadia servers (that would have high licensing costs), but a custom linux version, so games first have to be ported to that OS and adjusted for the specific hardware spec they went for. That might be why the catalogue starts out fresh instead of with hundreds/thousends of titles.

The Chromecast stick is only needed to use Stadia on non-android TVs - every device that runs the Chrome browser can use Stadia once it fully launches in early 2020.

Thanks for the info. That clears up a lot about what Chromecast had to do with it. 

Sounds to me like Stadia will need games to be ported over just like a regular console. If so, then that can't be good. Who is going to do the porting? Google, or the original game devs? If it's the original game devs, then why should they bother porting to a platform that might not work out? If it's Google, then it should work out fine right? 



VAMatt on 07 June 2019
jason1637 said:
VAMatt said:

Every time this issue comes up, somebody mentions Comcast and their data caps. But, to the best of my knowledge, most Americans do not have a data cap. I certainly don't. None of the wired ISPs that serve my area have caps (at least, not as of ~18 months ago, when I last shopped for service).

Do you have data to back up this claim?  I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'd like to see the evidence. In my experience, data caps are a rarity.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvqzd5/your-4k-netflix-streaming-is-on-a-collision-course-with-your-isp-data-caps

That's a story about Comcast data caps.  I know that data caps exist.  I'm skeptical of your claim that most Americans are subject to caps.  From what I've seen, most wired broadband customers do not have a cap.  I'm gonna do a little Googling and see what I can find.  



VAMatt on 07 June 2019
jason1637 said:
VAMatt said:

Every time this issue comes up, somebody mentions Comcast and their data caps. But, to the best of my knowledge, most Americans do not have a data cap. I certainly don't. None of the wired ISPs that serve my area have caps (at least, not as of ~18 months ago, when I last shopped for service).

Do you have data to back up this claim?  I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'd like to see the evidence. In my experience, data caps are a rarity.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvqzd5/your-4k-netflix-streaming-is-on-a-collision-course-with-your-isp-data-caps

I've not been able to quickly find data on how many people are subject to caps.  But, I did find this:  

"A company that tracks ISPs and data caps in the US has identified 196 home Internet providers that impose monthly caps on Internet users. Not all of them are enforced, but customers of many ISPs must pay overage fees when they use too much data.  BroadbandNow, a broadband provider search site that gets referral fees from some ISPs, has more than 2,500 home Internet providers in its database."

The article goes on to state that the site lists every provider that it can find, even tiny ones with fewer than 100 customers.  So, this essentially tells us that less than 8% of ISPs in the US (not including mobile carriers) cap their customers data usage.  

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/08/at-least-196-internet-providers-in-the-us-have-data-caps/



jason1637 on 07 June 2019
VAMatt said:
jason1637 said:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvqzd5/your-4k-netflix-streaming-is-on-a-collision-course-with-your-isp-data-caps

I've not been able to quickly find data on how many people are subject to caps.  But, I did find this:  

"A company that tracks ISPs and data caps in the US has identified 196 home Internet providers that impose monthly caps on Internet users. Not all of them are enforced, but customers of many ISPs must pay overage fees when they use too much data.  BroadbandNow, a broadband provider search site that gets referral fees from some ISPs, has more than 2,500 home Internet providers in its database."

The article goes on to state that the site lists every provider that it can find, even tiny ones with fewer than 100 customers.  So, this essentially tells us that less than 8% of ISPs in the US (not including mobile carriers) cap their customers data usage.  

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/08/at-least-196-internet-providers-in-the-us-have-data-caps/

Oh I always figured it was higher but if data caps are that rare then good news for Stadia.