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OnLive


Dateranoth

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This has finally gone live and I'm going to join up just to test it out. The concept is very neat, but I'm skeptical. They're offering a 1 year free membership right now, and it might be worth checking out. To sum it up:

Powerful Gaming Made Easy

  • Connect to OnLive with your TV, PC or Mac® or TV and play games instantly
  • Games run over the Internet from state-of-the-art OnLive game data centers
  • Controller action and game play are relayed up and down the Internet at blindingly fast speeds
  • Enjoy instant game play on your PC, Mac® or TV. No high-end hardware required

If you haven't been following the news, the idea behind OnLive is that instead of running a video game locally, players connect via broadband to a gaming system that runs and stores their data and the entire game itself. The service hopes to mark a big shift in the way gaming works. Not only it promises a fluid and lag-free experience on Windows and Mac OS X systems with very low hardware requirements, it also gets rids of downloads, patches and physical discs.

http://www.onlive.com/

EDIT:

Appears the free membership is a first come first serve waiting list. So if you're interested get over there and sign up now.

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Was going to sign up, but use a wireless network rather than wired.

Sounds like something to keep your eye on. I would bet it won't be long after what is basically their beta stage before it's picked up. They just aren't supporting it atm to narrow down potential trouble in the beginning. A good strong signaled wireless connection will surely work once they allow it.

  • Wi-Fi:
    Currently, to use OnLive, you need a wired Ethernet connection to the Internet. If you normally use Wi-Fi in your home, you'll need to connect your computer directly to the Internet with an Ethernet cable. Also, you'll need to make sure that your computer is using the wired connection as its preferred connection to the Internet, not the Wi-Fi connection. This may require you to disconnect from the wireless network you are using.
    We realize that not currently supporting wireless could be a major hassle for many of you, and we'd like you to understand why:
    OnLive technology does indeed work well with good quality Wi-Fi connections, and in the future OnLive will support wireless. But OnLive is a very new technology that uses the Internet in ways it has never been used before. During initial stages of the rollout of the OnLive service, we need to be able to understand and address Internet connection issues as they arise. Since wireless connections are subject to interference and drop-outs, when users are connected to OnLive through wireless, it adds another layer of network issues that are hard for us to separate out from Internet issues. Once OnLive is better established, we will be able to allow wireless connections. Bear in mind that at such time as wireless is supported, OnLive will require a good quality Wi-Fi connection to provide a steady gaming experience.
    We apologize for the inconvenience of requiring a wired Internet connection at this time.

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Gave this a try today, and I'm not disappointed. I'm not disappointed because I expected it to be bad, but I hope that it gets better. I really expected the quality to be down, but I didn't expect the controls to be so laggy. The quality is something that makes sense for the service and I get that, but it is never going to work with delayed controls. I tried UT3 and it was impossible to play currently. I haven't tried RTSs, but I imagine they would be much more playable with the current service.

The other downside is the monthly fee on top of games that you pretty much have to rent. Full price for a game that may or may not be available in 3 years is iffy to me.

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Yea, that lag, and the quality will never compare to hardcore gamers pc... but I don't think that's who the service is for... I really think its for gamers that have gone to console or just stopped all together, maybe partially due to the hardware upkeep and requirements of pc gaming today. And for them.. a little controller lag to be able to play on their pc might be just fine.

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It's only available because they basically already have a stream setup. What you see when playing is compressed video footage of the game. So, it's merely a matter of bandwidth to allow others to view it while playing.

I agree its meant for lower end users, and the controller lag may be more acceptable to them. However, when I tried UT3 it was unplayable. I don't think it was meant to be that way though. The email I got said they were only 10 days into having actual users so I expect a lot of improvements as they get the bugs worked out.

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  • 2 months later...

Good news for any of you wireless users who wanted to try this!

http://blog.onlive.com/2010/09/15/onlive-wi-fi-hits-the-airwaves/

We’re excited to announce that OnLive Wi-Fi Beta, mentioned in my recent post, is now available for all members. Using the new Wi-Fi Beta feature is easy. Start the OnLive Game Service as you normally do. A message will pop up letting you know you are using Wi-Fi. Just select “Wi-Fi Beta” and that’s it.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I don't foresee me ever buying from there, but having the timed demo is a feature I really like (plus the fact pretty much all games have the demos). So I know I like a game before I purchase it from steam or retail.

That is a very nice feature they have. I'm a supporter of the service. I'd be an even bigger fan if you could play online with non-onlive players.

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