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OnLive Bringing PC Games to Tablets. Arkham City, L.A. Noire, Allows Gamepad Use

mrklaw said:
But how long before it starts getting integrated into 'smart' TVs?
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Or how about a cable provider

Offer the service with someone like Verizon/Comcast/Cablevision, profit, hell the DVR Box can be the portal to Online goodness
 
I can't find this on the market on my phone (Incredible 2), but I can find it on the web store and it says it's compatible, yet when I tell it to install to my phone, my phone never starts to download...

wish I knew what was going on.
 
I see where people would be upset with the "buying games you don't really own" thing, it doesn't bother me but I get it. You shouldn't let that cloud your perceptions of the service though, because you don't have to buy anything. Just rent it, that's what I've been doing. I rented Space Marine for 5 days, beat it in that time and was satified 9especially because I knew I was never going to play it again)

OnLive is a great games rental service, imo.
 
Downloaded this on my android phone (Galaxy Nexus)
Only had on screen controls in Dirt 3, so was awful to try & steer. But it ran smoothly & seemed to work every well (over 3G)

I might need to get a tablet now! :D
 
Adamm said:
seemed to work every well (over 3G)
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Isn't that objectively impossible, or is there new 3G tech I missed? Though in the Vita 3G announcement threads it was still business as usual with people saying it's only truly viable for asynchronous/turn based multiplayer and what not on top of downloads due to the lag introduced so I guess I'm not the only one that missed this new 3G...
 
The universal controller will be released on Friday. The price will be set at $49.99 (US) and £39.99 (UK). OnLive PlayPack members can take an additional 30% off these prices.

In news that will come as no surprise to most, the soon-to-be-launched iOS OnLive Player app will NOT feature the ability to purchase games from within the app. Unlike the Android version, the iOS version features grayed-out buy buttons that are unable to be clicked.

The iOS OnLive Player app will NOT feature the ability to purchase games from within the app. Unlike the Android version, the iOS version features grayed-out buy buttons that are unable to be clicked.

The following games have touch controls out of the box. LA Noire will have touch controls soon.

■4 Elements
■Ancient Spirits
■ARES Exctinction Operation
■Around the world in 80 days
■Bastion
■Cake Mania 3: Lights Camera Action!
■Darksiders
■Defense Grid
■Dirt 3
■Flock
■Future Wars (not yet released)
■Kingdom for Keflings (not yet released)
■Lara Croft
■Lego Batman
■Lego HP 1-4
■Lego HP 5-7
■Mini Ninjas
■Osmos
■Puzzle Chronicles 2
■Puzzle Quest
■Royal Envoy
■Space Chem
■Split Second
■Steel Storm
■The Ball
■The Maw
■Virtua Tennis 2009
■Warhammer 40K: Chaos Rising
 
Tried out Lego Batman on my Galaxy Nexus. On-screen buttons are too small and close together, picture quality was a bit too blocky and there was too much input lag.
 
The presentation and how everything works is superb, but... the delay and compression artifacts kills it.

I can't play like this.


But 10 more years or so and this is all we'll be playing.
 
thehillissilent said:
Not sure, but the app will be built into Vizio TV's soon.
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Any news on when these are actually coming out? I'm very surprised that they're not out already. They were originally demoed at this past January's CES, and were slated for this holiday season.

Metalmurphy said:
The presentation and how everything works is superb, but... the delay and compression artifacts kills it.

I can't play like this. But 10 more years or so and this is all we'll be playing.
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They need to bump the output up to 1080p, or at least dramatically increase the bitrate. It's currently 720p and the bitrate is capped at about 6Mbps, which just isn't enough. I have a 25Mbps connection with no bandwidth cap - crank it up! At least allow it to scale to, say, 12Mbps.
 
Ready Up Already said:
Any news on when these are actually coming out? I'm very surprised that they're not out already. They were originally demoed at this past January's CES, and were slated for this holiday season.


They need to bump the output up to 1080p, or at least dramatically increase the bitrate. It's currently 720p and the bitrate is capped at about 6Mbps, which just isn't enough. I have a 25Mbps connection with no bandwidth cap - crank it up! At least allow it to scale to, say, 12Mbps.
Click to expand...

I also don't understand why they don't render the games at an higher resolution and then downscale the video, jaggies galore on lego batman.
 
http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/12/07/hands-on-with-onlives-new-tablet-app

The impressions are good overall for games that have controls retooled for touch (not virual overlays). They definately prefer the universal controller above all, and I can't blame them.
The promise of OnLive has always been to bring graphically rich, high-definition gaming experiences to devices that would otherwise be incapable of running them through the power of cloud streaming technology.

Initially, the service was limited to a lightweight desktop client for PC and Mac, and later, as affordable standalone hardware for your HDTV. But when pitted against the ongoing success of traditional console and PC gaming, OnLive has struggled to establish itself as a suitable alternative.

But now, the company is focusing on an area where it simply can’t be matched: mobile.


With the release of its new Android and iOS app, OnLive is bringing PC-quality games to devices best known for casual titles like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope.

While still rough around the edges in many regards, the idea of playing Batman Arkham City on an iPad or a Kindle Fire is so alluring that even OnLive’s harshest critics will find renewed interest in the platform.

When it releases on December 8, the new OnLive app will be available for just about every iOS and Android device currently available, but for our testing we were given a pre-release version of the software running on an iPad 2.

If you’ve used the old OnLive app, you’ve used the new one, except now, when you load you view your games library, you can tap Play Now and load the software.

In order to run, any device using the app must be connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G LTE. At a minimum, users will need a connection of 1Mbps, but HD visuals require a connection of 3Mbps to 5Mbps.

I tested the app with a variety of connections, including 4G LTE and Wi-Fi, and the app maintained fairly crisp and clear image quality throughout. While at times the service would become compressed when speeds dropped or a network was being overloaded, I never experienced a complete connection drop.

As noted in today’s release, games for OnLive’s tablet client can be played in a variety of ways – via a custom touch interface overlay, native touch controls added by developers or with the company’s new Universal Controller.

The overlay, which OnLive has dubbed the VPad, is available for over 25 titles on the service, including DiRT 3 and others, whereas only three titles have been retooled to have native support for touch control styles, most notably L.A. Noire.

Unfortunately, L.A. Noire was not available for hands-on testing on our pre-release unit, but we did see an example of the new control scheme during a demo. Rockstar has implemented new on-screen buttons and gesture control cues to replace traditional mouse and keyboard and d-pad controls. The on-screen buttons resemble typewriter keys and change to match each unique gameplay mode – driving, walking around, interrogating witnesses and investigating crime scenes.

We were assured that the new version of the game would be available at, or shortly after, the launch of the app, but no specific time was given.

Another title retooled for OnLive’s mobile app, Defense Grid Gold, an indie tower defense-style game, was available, however.

Normally, the game calls upon a keyboard and mouse to navigate the map, place defense mechanisms and access menus. Now, gestures like screen swipes, pinch-to-zoom and taps are used to replicate the experience. While OnLive has done a great job of limiting latency issues, there are moments when the lag between touch commands is apparent. It never reached a point where the experience was detrimentally impacted, but it did make me stop and take note.

The VPad overlays, on the other hand, aren’t quite as refined.

Testing pre-release versions of DiRT 3 and other VPad-adapted games yielded mixed results. While OnLive has done a great job of recreating a controller interface, responsiveness in analog controls and other commands ranged from slow to nearly non-existent.

Of all the touch control methods I tried, none seemed to be a satisfying alternative to a mouse and keyboard or a controller. I’m curious to see how game developers experiment with touch controls with OnLive, but the real potential of the platform is when tablets and smartphones are paired with the new Universal Controller.

OnLive has cleverly redesigned their controller to incorporate support for a variety of wireless protocols to make it compatible with just about any device, and to find the lowest latency method possible therein. For the iPad, the controller uses Bluetooth, whereas other devices may call upon Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies.


With the controller paired via Bluetooth, gameplay on the iPad 2 is great. Analog movement is responsive and relatively precise -- though I did experience times when small adjustments weren’t detected – and action buttons resulted in nearly 1:1 reflection on-screen.

While I would never want to use OnLive on a mobile device for competitive multiplayer shooters, it’s more than sufficient for most other types of gameplay.

What interests me most are the scenarios wherein accessing PC- or console-quality games would otherwise be impossible.

For example, during my testing, I took the test unit home and as my girlfriend and I watched a movie on the couch, I was able to prop the iPad 2 up and play an online match of Saints Row: The Third with another PC or Microconsole-based OnLive user. To do so otherwise, I would have had to go into another room and play, but with OnLive for iOS, all I had to do was power on my tablet, open the app and I was up and running.

With 4G LTE and mobile hotspots, the range of scenarios grows even further: playing on the bus to school or work, while visiting family back home or serving jury duty. What’s more, by having the entire game based in the cloud, you never have to worry about fragmenting your saves from one device to another.

It truly is the first real implementation of a unified gaming experience anywhere, anytime.

The introduction of the Universal Controller is exciting in and of itself. While it has been designed to work with OnLive’s mobile app, it can theoretically be used with any app or game that calls for d-pad controls. Before, mobile game developers could add d-pad support, but a product hasn’t existed to use it. Now there is.

Imagine what ChAIR – makers of Infinity Blade – can do for iOS games now that a product exists that eliminates the limitations of touch controls on Apple products.

Of course, these are all just excitement-inducing hypothetical scenarios, but that’s what’s intriguing about OnLive; it’s far from perfect, yet it’s forging the foundations necessary to do unprecedented things.

The updated versions of OnLive’s iOS and Android app will be available for download tomorrow. For more coverage, stay tuned to IGN.com.
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I would love to see Valve snatch this company up and integrate it into steam...and treat it like Steamplay.

Very very unlikely though. Im sure OnLive isnt looking to be bought.

For me right now the technology isnt appealing to me but in a few years Im sure this service will be very impressive.
 
i played some lego harry potter. It's actually surprisingly good barring the shit touchscreen controls. Need a controller
 
thehillissilent said:
That is due to your connection. I'm using Verizon FIOS and I don't get jaggies when I play games on the PC client and microconsole.
Click to expand...

Think about what you're saying. It's a video, videos don't make those jaggies, compressed videos even help hiding them. And my connection certainly wouldn't increase the amount of jaggies. The game itself is being rendered (before being encoded into a video), at a low enough resolution for the jaggies to be visible.
 
Metalmurphy said:
Think about what you're saying. It's a video, videos don't make those jaggies, compressed videos even help hiding them. And my connection certainly wouldn't increase the amount of jaggies. The game itself is being rendered (before being encoded into a video), at a low enough resolution for the jaggies to be visible.
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They must have AA turned off for that title then. However, when I played it, it wasn't a jaggied mess.
 
Here's what it looks like:

untitledafjy2.png


The artifacting around letters, that might be my connection, the jaggies around batman and other stuff certainly isn't.

Also I played the Dirt 3 trial, and while jaggies aren't noticeable, you can still tell it's at a low resolution, but AA is ON on that game.
 
Metalmurphy said:
Here's what it looks like:

untitledafjy2.png


The artifacting around letters, that might be my connection, the jaggies around batman and other stuff certainly isn't.

Also I played the Dirt 3 trial, and while jaggies aren't noticeable, you can still tell it's at a low resolution, but AA is on on that game.
Click to expand...

I said in a previous post that they must have AA turned off, but I guess I'm not as bothered by jaggies as you are.
 
thehillissilent said:
I said in a previous post that they must have AA turned off, but I guess I'm not as bothered by jaggies as you are.
Click to expand...

The thing is, if they were rendering it at an high resolution, considering they have to send the stream at 720p, we would get a supersampled look and AA wouldn't even be needed. Seems like a waste of an opportunity imo.
 
Metalmurphy said:
The thing is, if they were rendering it at an high resolution, considering they have to send the stream at 720p, we would get a supersampled look and AA wouldn't even be needed. Seems like a waste of an opportunity imo.
Click to expand...

Well, they are probably rendering at 720p because they are running in a virtualized environment on the server farm end and they want to conserve resources. They run multiple games per server (One GPU per game). I agree it probably would be better for them to render at a higher resolution. It's totally possible for them to do it.

cjelly said:
That's bizarre.
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If you mean Apple not relasing it yet, it's because they are Apple. You also cannot buy games directly on the IOS version due to Apple wanted a 30% cut of purchases. However, you can sidestep that by buying games on OnLive's website. You can buy games directly using the Android App though.
 
I managed to get my PS3 controller to connect to my touchpad, but only the analog sticks and d-pad work. I'm guessing I haven't mapped the buttons yet, but I don't know what to map which input to which key.
 
br0ken_shad0w said:
I managed to get my PS3 controller to connect to my touchpad, but only the analog sticks and d-pad work. I'm guessing I haven't mapped the buttons yet, but I don't know what to map which input to which key.
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Some people have been having similar problems. I would highly recommend buying the universal controller, which will go on sale for $50 tommorow.

http://www.onlive.com/controller

Pandoracell said:
How do we get the free Lego batman?
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You can download the app and sign it. You should then get an email about it being available to you.
 
mrklaw said:
I thought it was supposed to be out now for iPad, and 'later' for iPhone/touch?
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No, only reviewers have had access to the IOS app. Apple hasn't officially released it for any of the devices yet. It will probably be released at the same time, but again that is up to Apple.

EDIT: Here are the minimum requirements for smartphones/tablets

Phone: 0.5Mbps
Tablet: 1Mbps

Wifi is still highly recommended though. It works just as good on 4G LTE from what I've heard. Watch out for those bandidth caps.
 
For those wondering about wireless controller compaitibility, here's a FAQ I stole from OnLivefans forums. Basically the Universal Controller is the only controller that has been determined to work fully with Tablets/Smartphones. Other have gotten certain controllers to work, but they offer limited functionality.

http://onlivefans.com/showthread.php?14160-The-Controller-FAQ
The Controller FAQ
Its a work in progress so feel free to correct me.

MicroConsole
•MicroConsole Controller
•Universal Controller
•Wired Xbox Pads
•Wireless Xbox Pads via the Microsoft Wireless Gaming Reciever
•Other controllers that emulate the above

PC/Mac Client
•Universal Controller (Via Bluetooth?)
•Wired Xbox Pads
•Wireless Xbox Pads via the Microsoft Wireless Gaming Reciever*
•Other controllers that emulate the above*

Android/iOS
•Touch/On Screen pad
•Universal Controller
•NOT the Transformer Dock
•NOT any USB Gamepad
•NOT any other Bluetooth Controllers**
•NOT the Xperia Play**

The MicroConsole controller uses a totally different implimentation of BlueTooth, It DOES NOT work with any thing else, even if you use the wire. Please stop making threads about it. The reason for this was related to supressing latency, an issue I assume OnLive have no rectified. It was not done to be mean.

*Implies driver issues exist, so look into things such as MotionJoy

**Implies limited success as in you can use some buttons but not move
Click to expand...
 
Marty Chinn said:
The problem on the go is finding a fast enough pipe. Onlive has a hefty minimum speed.
Click to expand...

4G works perfectly fine from my (stationary) tests. Where I live I'm completely covered in 4G, and it keeps getting rolled out more and more so unless you live in the middle of no where I highly doubt you'll have problems finding an acceptable connection.
 
like others have said, THIS is the future folks. And this shows how important console exclusives will be down the road. Sony is in a good position with all their studios. Microsoft is slowly expanding, after closing down a couple a few years ago.
 
Here is the current Android compatibility list. This list will definately grow. Also, just because a device is not listed, it doen't mean that it doesn't work. Below are just the ones that are confirmed to work. However, it is confirmed NOT to work on devices that use ARMv6 architecture.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.onlive.client

The OnLive app requires at least Android 2.3 Gingerbread and has been tested on the following devices:
Acer Iconia Tab A500
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer
HTC Evo View
HTC Flyer (not working currently. Awaiting update from HTC (http://onlivefans.com/news/the-htc-...working-with-the-new-onlive-android-app/5732/))
HTC Jetstream
Motorola Xoom
Samsung Galaxy Tab
Sony Ericsson Tablet S
Toshiba Thrive
HTC EVO,
HTC Nexus One,
HTC Rezound 4G,
HTC Sensation
HTC Sensation XL
Motorola Droid 2
Motorola Droid X2
Motorola DROID BIONIC 4G
Motorola DROID RAZR 4G
Motorola Photon 4G
Samsung Galaxy S II 4G.

The Universal OnLive Wireless Controller has been tested with the
Acer Iconia Tab A500,
ASUS Eee Pad Transformer,
Motorola Xoom,
Samsung Galaxy Tab,
Toshiba Thrive.

(OnLive will continue to update these lists as additional smartphones and tablets are tested.)
Click to expand...

The OnLive player app is also coming to the Amazon Kindle App store in January 2012. However, you might have to root the Kindle Fire to enable Bluetooth. However, there is a micro USB port that you could use with an adapter that should work with the controller as well.
 
thehillissilent said:
Here is the current Android compatibility list. This list will definately grow.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.onlive.client



The OnLive player app is also on the Amazon Kindle App store. However, you might have to root the Kindle Fire to enable Bluetooth. However, there is a micro USB port that you could use with an adapter that should work with the controller as well.
Click to expand...

i'm sure the controller will work on anything 3.0 and above.
 
gcubed said:
i'm sure the controller will work on anything 3.0 and above.
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As long as it supports bluetooth. I made a correction to my previous post. It won't be avaiable in the Amazon Kindle app store till next month. However, you can root your device and start playing now. Kindle Fire's hardware does support bluetooth, but Amazon didn't include drivers for it.
 
I downloaded it for my phone. I instantly tried to find a bt gamepad that would have a holder for my phone. I was shocked at the lack of options, that and everything available is ugly and bulky.
Also, it works fine on my evo 3d. I didn't notice it on the list.
 
McLovin said:
I downloaded it for my phone. I instantly tried to find a bt gamepad that would have a holder for my phone. I was shocked at the lack of options, that and everything available is ugly and bulky.
Also, it works fine on my evo 3d. I didn't notice it on the list.
Click to expand...

It definately works on more devices than are listed. But the devices listed are the only ones that have been officially tested. As far as using a Bluetooth controller, I highly recommend purchasing their Universal Controller instead of using a third party one.

onlyindreams said:
Can I use the controller from my onlive microconsole instead of buying the new universal one?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, you have to purchase the new one. It does suck though that you can't use the old one. That Microconsole controller has some custom wireless tech in it.
 
This thing isn't in the app store yet. When can I get it? I'm on 4.3.3 on my iPad 2. Is this gonna cause problems. Telling me that I need 5.0?
 
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