Quoting: Liam DaweMy Stadia has arrived. No code, so completely fucking useless. Their customer service has so far been the worst of any launches.

I've been through: Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Steam Machine/SteamOS - Stadia is by far the worst launch so far of them all.

I agree. The pure vitriol on the subreddit is insane but I cannot say Google doesn't deserve it. The sheer amount of trolls/misinformation being spewed is overwhelming. I wish I could respond and correct all of it but honestly it's just damaging my mental health. I have a passion for Linux/Gaming/Technology that doesn't mix with the cancel/outrage culture of today.

---

Back to stadia. I did end up purchasing Metro Exodus to try and it does run well but not as smooth as Destiny 2. I do not know the resolution the game is running at.

Ultimately I returned it because Metro Exodus, like Borderlands 3, is a game with series history on Linux. Both of those games have Linux builds but only for Stadia because of Epic's anti-steam bullshit. I truly hope we see both of these games on Linux, via steam (or Epic Launcher now *laughs*) once Epic's deal expires. Manipulating the market to be against ONE competitor smells highly of antitrust to me.

This is also why I've held off on RDR2 as I want to see if it works in proton well next month first.

Dec 27th here and Stadia has been running great on my home 1000/600 cable internet. I've been playing the 'free' pro games quite a bit and I'm pretty impressed over all. I've not bought anything yet as I'm still playing Destiny 2 and Tomb Raider. Samurai Showdown plays as well as a locally installed game and the controllers feel tight and accurate. Despite the initial issues and customer service misfires I'm pretty sold on it. I play on my desktop under fedora, on my wifi chromebook and on my 4k tv with the chromecast ultra connected via ethernet.

On a down note, I occasionally get controller lag when we have 2 or more video streaming services going while I'm trying to play. I'd rather it reduce visual quality and keep the controls tight. Maybe that'll be something they work out later on.

Also, I'd probably not pay full price for a game on the service but when they start having steam-like sales i'll bite.

I have a 100/100 fibre connection, where I had some 6 year old powerlines from the router to my switch in the living room. That was totally ok for running the games through Chrome on my Ubuntu desktop, probably because that is only 1080p and a good connection for streaming netflix etc and downloading but for Stadia with the chromecast to a 4k TV it sucked. I then ran a ethernet cable from the router to the switch and that was an amazing difference.

The first Tombraider of the new trilogy runs amazing at 4k with a wired ethernet connection. I played like the frst third previous on Linux but never finished it due to just having to hy games, now I am over half way through on Stadia and with the next Tombraider coming with Pro in January I also might get the third on Stadia, I missed the recent sale though.

After some hours of really good gaming with Tombraider on my TV I then bough Red Death Redemption 2 in the current sale and got some really good hours of that as well. Until my controller then suddenly disconnected. I thought it might be low on battery but when I got it connected again it was still 2/3 charged. And I lost over half an hour progress in a mission.

That is a letdown to have the controller disconnect and then not reacting to any input for a while.
If my Steam Controller acts up, which is like months between when it suddenly gets low on battery, I can switch batteries, or continue with Keyboard and Mouse, but with Stadia on Chromecast you really only can play with the controller on wifi

It is really bad the controller is not easily opened up to switch batteries, and the charge time sucks too. How long will they last before you have to either try to replace the batteries yourself or get a new one?

Besides that I plan to continue with a pro subscription to get new games every month, and then maybe buy some big AAA games that never would be published on regular Linux from time to time on sale.

Quoting: thoughtfulhippo

• The controller is proprietary, and not usable with anything else.

After a firmware update I've been using my Stadia controller as a gamepad in steam. It's working great but it has to be wired. Just thought i'd chime in.

Last edited by slavezeo on 9 February 2020 at 11:25 am UTC

Quoting: slavezeo

Quoting: thoughtfulhippo

• The controller is proprietary, and not usable with anything else.

After a firmware update I've been using my Stadia controller as a gamepad in steam. It's working great but it has to be wired. Just thought i'd chime in.

It's not really any more proprietary than any other gamepad. SDL 2 already has support for it wired into their next release FYI.

BTW: Who will actually be continuing their Pro sub? I'm probably going to cancel mine, although I've got another week or so to decide. If a really good game appears again, I will likely re-sub to redeem it.

Still, can't see myself buying a console again thanks to Stadia.

I like the article I read on it recently: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-02-07-have-we-got-google-stadia-all-wrong

While I do have an obviously powerful gaming PC, I've also purchased consoles constantly and not needing to do that now will save me money. The convenience of it is brilliant, with a bonus point that I can play the same game on my Linux PC as my TV.

Last edited by Liam Dawe on 9 February 2020 at 11:54 am UTC

Quoting: Liam DaweI like the article I read on it recently: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-02-07-have-we-got-google-stadia-all-wrong

Thanks a lot for the link, a very good read and makes much sense. I guess Stadia wants to establish a brand for itself with some exclusives and then it is indeed more about extending the gaming market instead of replacing/reinventing it.

Quoting: Liam DaweBTW: Who will actually be continuing their Pro sub? I'm probably going to cancel mine, although I've got another week or so to decide.

Same here. I don't play often enough to warrant paying a sub for games I'm not that interested in.

However, I am very happy with Stadia - I specifically bought into it for both me and my son to play Borderlands 3. And I'm looking forward to Cyberpunk later this year (hopefully). And that's the value for me - I can buy games I want to play that don't natively support Linux, and play them on the non-pro tier without paying a sub.

Last edited by thoughtfulhippo on 9 February 2020 at 10:00 pm UTC

I will likely renew my Pro subscription. While I remain a hardware enthusiast there are some games that I want to play that aren't available for my platform (Desktop Linux) that are available for Stadia.

Take Metro Exodus for example. We have yet to see if we'll get a Linux binary release on Steam next Saturday. I've previously praised 4A games for releasing the previous Metro games and their remasters on Linux but now it remains to be seen if Exodus will follow suit. I wonder what effect Epic's meddling had on those chances. Either way, I'm able to avoid the controversy and enjoy the game on Stadia (after Cranking the controller sensitivity).

Another example is Red Dead Redemption II. If I wanted to play this game in 2020 my options are: PS4/Xbox/Windows and Stadia. I don't own a console and I don't use Windows. Dual booting Windows for a game is not optimal and it's clear Rockstar doesn't care about desktop Linux judging by the proton reports. Hypothetically I could use another service like Geforce Now (RDR2 isn't on GFN) but those services don't appeal to me at all. I don't use Windows at home or work for a reason. Why would I want to rent a Windows instance in the cloud? That's aside for my views of Nvidia and their support of Open Source.

It feels like Google took Valve's initial effort of the Steam Machine and foundational mesa/vulkan work and narrowed its scope to a single AMD SKU and paired it with with some interesting technology...and Google's advertising money.

I imagine the Witcher 3 would have released for Stadia had it been around at the time, see Cyberpunk 2077. Desktop Linux isn't an attractive target, Google's shiny new thing is. We've already seen AAA titles release for Stadia that aren't available via steam. (NBA2K20, Metro Exodus, Destiny 2, Red Dead Redemption, Trials Rising, Thumper, Monster Motocross, Ghost Recon, Attack on Titan 2, Rage 2, Borderlands 3, Assassins Creed Odyssey, Dragon Ball Z, Darksiders Genesis, Final Fantasy, Football Manager (Developers have stated desktop Linux isn't attractive/worth it), Just Dance, Mortal Combat, Wolfenstein: Young blood ).

I wish Valve would advertise the hell out of the Steam Linux runtime and perhaps incentivize developers to bring their Stadia releases to Steam, should Google allow it. I'd croak if Google/Valve announced a steam native/proton supported partnership for certain games. Either way, Steam remains my platform of choice but I cannot help but feel some solace in supporting a platform (Stadia) that also helps move Linux gaming forward, further proving its viability as a gaming platform. Stadia works. Game Streaming Works. Linux Gaming Works.


Native Linux Release > Supported Proton Release > Stadia > Unsupported/Non-legal tweaks

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As for my experiences with Stadia it's been a dream. I'm not able to enjoy 4K HDR gaming on my desktop pc in the other room running Linux but yet I'm able to in my bedroom via just a Chromecast ultra and a controller. Magic.

I'll gladly continue to accept the games Google gives away and only buy games that Interest me that I cannot play on another platform.

Games I've purchased on Stadia:

• Red Dead Redemption 2
• Trials Rising (Good Stupid Fun)

That being said I'm not blind to the shortcomings. It's a game by game basis but crossplay makes or breaks a game to me. I'd love to play borderlands 3 with my brother but that's currently not possible as his internet isn't strong enough for Stadia and cross play isn't supported in that game. Come on gearbox.

Edit: What will be especially disheartening is seeing previously supported Linux titles come "back" to Stadia. Rust and Rocket League come to mind as two possibilities.

Last edited by drlamb on 10 February 2020 at 1:34 am UTC

I plan to keep the pro subscription for now. I was pleasantly surprised by Februaries pro games with Metro Exodus and Gylt, and before that the first two new Tombraider games, even if I have those on Steam already.