Support us on Patreon to keep GamingOnLinux alive. This ensures all of our main content remains free for everyone. Just good, fresh content! Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal. You can also buy games using our partner links for GOG and Humble Store.
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

Today, the Google Stadia streaming service officially launched for those who picked up the Founder or Premier Edition.

Well, sort of anyway. Some people have it, a lot of people don't, we certainly don't and it appears the team at Stadia give different answers to different people on when you will actually be able to access it. I've also seen plenty of people whose orders have been cancelled without warning or explanation. Even worse still, some people have been sent their hardware without an access code. Google have, so far, done a terrible job at communicating on Stadia and so the initial launch doesn't seem to have gone down well at all.

Oh, they also have the most ridiculous launch trailer I've ever seen:

YouTube Thumbnail
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Accept Cookies & Show   Direct Link

The more I think about it, the more amazed I am at just how badly this has been managed. Take a look at the actual proper Stadia website for example, there's not a contact or support link in sight.

So they originally had a tiny lineup, then did a Reddit AMA where they said a bunch of the hooks they used to get people in weren't actually ready at all and hastily announced a few more games just before release. Nothing about it has so far looked like they've been in any way prepared to launch a gaming service.

One thing that I've seen confirmed now, as many suspected, is that input lag does seem to be a real problem. Google talked big about their powerful hardware and everything they were doing to bring it down, but it seems they haven't solved anything at all so far. Looking at the Eurogamer article, the input lag table included was quite impressive. This video from The Post also makes it look pretty awful.

From what Jason Schreier of Kotaku said on Twitter from "one person involved" that "preorders were below expectations". I really can't get my head around that. Somehow, they didn't get as many preorders as they had hoped and simultaneously failed to get them into the hands of people who did buy into it early. Words are honestly failing me right now. Incredible.

Eventually, at some point we will get access to it to report on how it works when played on a Linux desktop. When that is, I can't tell you, Google can't either. We're playing delivery bingo right now.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
10 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
42 comments
Page: «4/5»
  Go to:

Liam Dawe Nov 20, 2019
Quoting: kaiman
Quoting: Liam DawePeople got both the hardware and code yesterday, who ordered months after the first lot did after they went up. Google messed up badly.
So someone confused a FIFO with a LIFO queue? Come on, that could have happened to the best of us! And it's not like Google has a strong standing in software development :‑D.
Yup. My hardware comes tomorrow, yet I ordered start of October. There's people who ordered in June, who won't get it until December.

As for the Stadia team, they've now decided to just repeat this line to everyone who hasn't been given a code to even access the service (even after delivery of the hardware):
QuoteHi there, we're sorry for the delay. We're aware that some users may not have received their invite codes in the expected time frame. We've now continued to roll out codes in the sequence in which we received your pre-order. Thanks for bearing with us.
sypher7 Nov 20, 2019
I think the order in which people are getting their orders might come down to local supply. I ordered on June 6 and got both my physical order and code yesterday; however, it shipped out from a warehouse near me so maybe that is why I got it so quickly?

Hard to say, but definitely isn't as straightforward as the ordering getting reversed.
edo Nov 21, 2019
If your internet is fast enough for stedia, you can afford downloads
Eike Nov 21, 2019
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Quoting: edoIf your internet is fast enough for stedia, you can afford downloads

With a data rate suitable for Stadia, it can take you hours before you have finished a download and can start playing.
Ehvis Nov 21, 2019
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Finally saw some screens in PNG format. Didn't help much. I thought the screenshots of Shadow of the Tomb Raider were especially disappointing. Since I've been playing that recently, I know what to expect if everything is on full settings. But detail seems low. Even scaling the 4k screenshots down to 1080p didn't make it better. It still looks bland and washed out. I think the main problem is that the compression removes all the texture from the textures. This reduces a 4k picture to something with less fidelity than a 1080p screenshot. I suppose it could acceptable in a couch/tv setup, but on a PC with a monitor it's just bad. And it seems like the whole 4k thing red herring since none of the detail that you would expect from it survives the transmission (if rendered at all).

So for now it looks like the only people that will probably be happy with it are casual console gamers that don't want to get rid of their dedicated device. But with a very good internet connection without data cap of course. And can connect their chromecast to an ethernet cable because apparently wifi causes bad lag spikes (not too surprising).
Skipperro Nov 21, 2019
Just FYI - I've just tested it with some co-workers on a company's network (fiber optic 1 Gbit, in Germany) using just an office-PC, Chrome browser, mouse and keyboard (controller is still in transit).

If looks FANTASTIC. We were able to spot some input lag on Destiny 2 if we looked closely, but it was very small. The game was perfectly playable.
Image quality was also satisfying. No compression artifacts, no resolution drops ect. Everything sharp and in HDR. Don't know what resolution it was, but my monitor was FullHD and it looked like FullHD.

I will test it at home later (got 50 Mbit) too see if it's still as smooth as now. But overall - I'm surprised. I was optimistic, but didn't thought it would run so well.


Last edited by Skipperro on 21 November 2019 at 11:50 am UTC
clatterfordslim Nov 21, 2019
Obviously for smaller screens then, as in mobiles? The lag is because it is trying to produce a bigger picture obviously. Wonder if the lag would happen if you streamed it using lower resolution? Why would you want 4K anyway? 4x 1080 that's a lot of data to stream down and back up when you move on screen. Still give Stadia a year or six and hopefully they will have it sorted.:D
Skipperro Nov 21, 2019
Just tested in on home network (50 Mbits, Munich, Germany). Same Quality as at work with 1 Gbit. I haven't played Destiny 2 before, but I've reached the city in without any problems.
If I would try to be picky, there was still slight lag while moving mouse. I've noticed it when I was looking for it, but during the normal gameplay it never bothered me - even in close combat or while aiming at moving enemy. If I was running and moving mouse sideways the same time, rotation was sometimes little stuttery, like instead of updating mouse position every frame it was updating every second frame. Moving mouse while standing still don't have this effect.

But this is all I could find. Image quality is stunning. I've got overclocked i7-7700K and Titan Xp GPU (use this PC for Deep Learning) so I'm used to nice looking graphics and visuals in Destiny 2 via Stadia are in my opinion - gorgeous!

Also, just realised - my wife was looking at YouTube videos a notebook in the same network while I was testing it. Didn't even noticed. :)


Last edited by Skipperro on 21 November 2019 at 3:26 pm UTC
Liam Dawe Nov 21, 2019
Quoting: GuestMy hardware shipped today, ETA within next two days. Not sure when I will see the code though, but it's an improvement over the December estimate.

I wonder how many canceled pre-orders?
Mine is here right now, on my desk. No code. Their support team literally doesn't have a clue when it will come.
Skipperro Nov 21, 2019
Quoting: Liam Dawe
Quoting: GuestMy hardware shipped today, ETA within next two days. Not sure when I will see the code though, but it's an improvement over the December estimate.

I wonder how many canceled pre-orders?
Mine is here right now, on my desk. No code. Their support team literally doesn't have a clue when it will come.

I've just got my hardware, still unpacked, but I've received code earlier via email. Check your mailbox, it should be there.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.