• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

OnLive thread of why you should be playing with us in the cloud

I bought the Onlive hardware when they had the big Christmas promotion, so I'm definitely a supporter. I even bought the monthly playpass. My biggest problem with it is that I'd rather play PC-specific games that I don't get the chance to play on the console. I already own an Xbox 360 so playing the PC ports of these games never appealed to me. Unfortunately, Console games make up 90% of the OnLive catalogue, which seems silly to me.

There's a metric SHIT ton of stuff on Steam - basically indy games - that I'd rather play on the online service, though.

If OnLive were to:

1. Change the lineup of games to favor PC rarities.
2. Make the games PLAYABLE (not just watchable) through their OnLive iPad app via some type of BlueTooth Controller.
3. Up the video quality...

I'd be singing OnLive's praises through the rooftops. Playing it really does feel like some type of magic that can't be real...
 
KiKaL said:
I think it's an awesome concept. I would probably use it but since I have All 3 consoles and a Gaming PC it really brings nothing for me. I still hope it succeeds though. It will be very cool if the demo of it running on an iPad ever comes out. Last I heard it was purely a tech demo.
They do have an app available for the iPad (not other iOS devices though) called the OnLive Viewer. It allows you to do everything but actually play the games. So cool, but a bit of a novelty/now publicly-available tech demo until they allow games to be played on it.

They are working on retrofitting some console games with touch controls. At Mobile World Congress, they showed off playing Virtua Tennis on a HTC tablet, and then showed the Evo functioning as a de facto microconsole which was pretty badass. They have yet to release any of their apps for Android though, even though they're obviously in the works. HTC just recently invested $40 million in OnLive, the ramifications of which nobody outside of those companies really knows.
 

JesseZao

Member
I signed up as a founding member way back and got Just Cause 2 for free. It had trouble recognizing my wireless mouse for some reason, and the IQ was rather poor.

Then I jumped back into the fold with the homefront deal and was really pleased with the improvements. IQ is good (really shouldn't be bad unless you have slow Internet or live outside the states) and input lag wasn't a problem for me anymore. Now it just came down to my ISP being lame at times.

Games I own:
JC2
Homefront
Metro 2033
AC: B
Batman AA
Defense Grid
Trine

Same tag as gaf/360/psn: JesseZao
 

distrbnce

Banned
I believe I'm already friends with the OP, but if any of you other guys are just jumping in, add me: distrbnce

KiKaL said:
I think it's an awesome concept. I would probably use it but since I have All 3 consoles and a Gaming PC it really brings nothing for me. I still hope it succeeds though. It will be very cool if the demo of it running on an iPad ever comes out. Last I heard it was purely a tech demo.

Even in your scenario, 30-Minute Insta-demos are a nice option in life. And they aren't even "demos" but the first 30 Min of the whole game.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Tonight is multiplayer community night. AC:B is on the docket. Never played the MP in it.
 

MaddenNFL64

Member
I bought Arkham for 5 bucks. badass deal.

I sometimes get service issues (the video feed goes low resolution), and I deal with some latency issues with my controller, but it's great. Never would be able to play that game on my shit laptop otherwise.

I'll keep a look out for deals on other games down the road. it's a nice service, and when it works, it's great!

I have maybe a 8-10 Mbps connection, and like I said, when it works, it's smooth outside of some minor latency drops.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Bboy AJ said:
The controls in HF not saving is now fixed, I think. There is no release notes or anything so I don't know other than what I can say from my experience.

It took this thread on GAF to get them to get their ass in gear. Thanks, GAF!
Welp, untrue. It's still fucked up. Something SO SIMPLE has been screwed up since launch.
 

Aru

Member
Is there some way to know if we are getting a SD or HD video from OnLive, aside from our own opinion ?
 
I'm a snob on the quality, so I'd rather play the games on a local PC.

However, It is a good way to play modern PC games with steep requirements without having to buy an expensive gaming PC . . . although you lose quality doing it this way.
 
Aru said:
Is there some way to know if we are getting a SD or HD video from OnLive, aside from our own opinion ?
The feed is supposedly 720p at 60FPS. However, that's simply the video feed to you - it doesn't mean that all games are being run at 720p60. The video feed varies from 3 to 5Mbps depending on the strength of your connection.

They're supposed to roll out 1080p this year, and supposedly have people in a closed 1080p beta now. The video feed there should be around 10-12Mbps. No news on it for a long time though - I honestly expected it by now. I'm assuming they have their hands full with prepping for the European go-live.
 

Aru

Member
Thanks.

I'd gladly buy a few PC exclusives via OnLive when it's available in Europe.
I've been playing a few UT3 matches and it's a blast. Lag is minimal and my main issue is IQ, but should be better playing on an HDTV far from the screen.
 
speculawyer said:
I'm a snob on the quality, so I'd rather play the games on a local PC.

However, It is a good way to play modern PC games with steep requirements without having to buy an expensive gaming PC . . . although you lose quality doing it this way.

Quality drop is acceptable for me to drop so that I can play on my PC, Mac, or home TV whenever I want.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Just Cause 2 was added to the PlayPack yesterday. Rounds out the PlayPack to over 50 games. Very cool.
 

Seda

Member
I tried this with by 12/1 internet (more accurately, ~5/.8) when it first came out and the input lag was a no-go for me.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Mafia 2 is $5 today. Good deal on an otherwise $30 game.
 
They are trying really hard with this. I feel like it will all be for naught though since I don't know how they are making any money between really good game prices and those really good playpack bundles.

Edit- Damn I wish they accepted paypal.
 
I didn't originally like Steam when it came out because I happen to like physical copies of media. I can look over at my shelf and see exactly what my money bought me and can come back to them at any time without fear that the service no longer exists. But I eventually gave in and got onboard with some of what Steam does. I will never buy full versions of games on it for full price. I will only buy them at deeply discounted. But I will buy them.

Onlive, however, has failed to sell me on the concept. Not only do I not own the media, but it isn't even on a local machine of mine, such that I am at the whims of the internet? Pass. For now and for the foreseeable future, pass. I will do my part to unpromote this service with my friends; I've talked at least one of them down.
 

Aru

Member
Bboy AJ said:
Just Cause 2 was added to the PlayPack yesterday. Rounds out the PlayPack to over 50 games. Very cool.

I'd play 2 or 3 times the playpack fee if I could have access to the entire catalogue.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Aru said:
I'd play 2 or 3 times the playpack fee if I could have access to the entire catalogue.
That's not even the price of one full game. Pretty unreasonable.
 

Jo-El

Member
GrandHarrier said:
I didn't originally like Steam when it came out because I happen to like physical copies of media. I can look over at my shelf and see exactly what my money bought me and can come back to them at any time without fear that the service no longer exists. But I eventually gave in and got onboard with some of what Steam does. I will never buy full versions of games on it for full price. I will only buy them at deeply discounted. But I will buy them.

Onlive, however, has failed to sell me on the concept. Not only do I not own the media, but it isn't even on a local machine of mine, such that I am at the whims of the internet? Pass. For now and for the foreseeable future, pass. I will do my part to unpromote this service with my friends; I've talked at least one of them down.

Do you have a problem with their PlayPack service as well?
 

distrbnce

Banned
GrandHarrier said:
I didn't originally like Steam when it came out because I happen to like physical copies of media. I can look over at my shelf and see exactly what my money bought me and can come back to them at any time without fear that the service no longer exists. But I eventually gave in and got onboard with some of what Steam does. I will never buy full versions of games on it for full price. I will only buy them at deeply discounted. But I will buy them.

Onlive, however, has failed to sell me on the concept. Not only do I not own the media, but it isn't even on a local machine of mine, such that I am at the whims of the internet? Pass. For now and for the foreseeable future, pass. I will do my part to unpromote this service with my friends; I've talked at least one of them down.

I can understand someone leaning towards wanting physical copies for the reasons you cited, but for me, having cloud copies of games offers its own advantages too. If my house burns down in a fire, I can still access them. If I go to a friends house or out of town, I can access OnLive games instantly.

I dunno, the ability to pull my games from the sky from anywhere on the planet seems just as cool as a full shelf. I see the advantages in each and I enjoy both.
 

Aru

Member
Bboy AJ said:
That's not even the price of one full game. Pretty unreasonable.

Okay I'd go for the price of a full game, but nothing more since I wouldn't keep the games after unsubscribing.

See Spotify for example. 10 €/month and you've got access to ALL the music on the service. I know it's different for games, but there should be some similar offer for a decent price.
Netflix is the same too, isn't it ? 9$ per month to view any movie from the catalogue ? Or am I mistaken ?
 

Pimpbaa

Member
I'll be interested in cloud gaming when it's 1080p or above and at 60fps or more and provides graphic quality above what is possible with consumer hardware.
 

Nimajneb

Member
OnLive is pretty cool as a demo and rental service, but the low video quality and input lag put me off actually buying any games. I'd rather just buy it on Amazon or Steam and play it on low settings if my PC can't handle it.

If the Play Pack had more games I would definitely be interested. I've always thought that GameTap was a great service, I just have way too many games in my backlog already to be able to justify paying a monthly fee for access to even more old games.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Aru said:
Okay I'd go for the price of a full game, but nothing more since I wouldn't keep the games after unsubscribing.

See Spotify for example. 10 €/month and you've got access to ALL the music on the service. I know it's different for games, but there should be some similar offer for a decent price.
Netflix is the same too, isn't it ? 9$ per month to view any movie from the catalogue ? Or am I mistaken ?
You're mistaken with Netflix. There are only certain movies, not every movie, that can be streamed.

You can do exactly what you want to do with the Playpack, but just with a non-comprehensive collection. Have you looked at the games on the Playpack? It's a pretty decent selection. I'm sure you can understand why publishers don't want new releases on a $10 a month plan.

People listen to music for decades. It's not the same with video games, for the most part. Gears 1 was a huge hit awhile ago but not too many people are going to be playing it in this day. I can still see people listening to, say, Kanye West's first album, College Dropout, these days.
 

19Kilo

Member
What I'm most looking forward to is all of the integration with AV devices coming. So far Vizio is adding it to their TV's and blu-ray players and they are making an Android client as well.

It will be really cool to have some random device capable of playing decent PC games right out of the box with little set up, same thing that's happened with Netflix streaming devices, etc.

They could probably be very successful if they get deals with cable companies to integrate it into their boxes and maybe provide the play pack or something as part of the cable tv service.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
distrbnce said:
I dunno, the ability to pull my games from the sky from anywhere on the planet seems just as cool as a full shelf. I see the advantages in each and I enjoy both.
I barely play games a year after release. I far, far prefer having all my stuff in the cloud, accessible anywhere, and all my saved games being accessible anywhere. It's a very cool feeling to instantly play any game.

My only beef is that I can't buy a game and then sell it afterward. As a result, I'm not buying any new releases for full price on OnLive. I'll stick to the sales. Games aren't worth $60 to me.
 

distrbnce

Banned
19Kilo said:
What I'm most looking forward to is all of the integration with AV devices coming. So far Vizio is adding it to their TV's and blu-ray players and they are making an Android client as well.

It will be really cool to have some random device capable of playing decent PC games right out of the box with little set up, same thing that's happened with Netflix streaming devices, etc.

They could probably be very successful if they get deals with cable companies to integrate it into their boxes and maybe provide the play pack or something as part of the cable tv service.

It's on the way... http://content.usatoday.com/communi...rating-onlive-video-game-service/1?csp=34tech
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Free World of Goo Playpass
   
Promo Code is WDPYXFDC
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
If you follow @OnLive on Twitter, they're tweeting coupons. Last one was 75% off ANY game on the service.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
OnLive: Are you a good egg? Use promo code EASTER634 in the next 30 minutes and reward yourself with 75% OFF any OnLive game! #OnLiveEgg

No games I want, I decided. Any suggestions? I have home front, metro, braid.
 

Aru

Member
Playpack is a nice start. Would be nice if they could change the games selection from time to time.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
I grabbed Batman for $7.25. I should have bought it when it was $5 but oh well. Anyone buy anything with the 75% off codes?
 

JesseZao

Member
I think I've got what I want for now, but will probably get Amnesia if the price is right when that comes to OnLive since my computer can't run it well if at all if I remember correctly.
 

onken

Member
Even if it ever did come to Japan (which it never will) the input lag would be too much of a deal-breaker for me in most games. Would work quite well for those single-player
fap games
graphic adventures though, assuming you don't mind not actually owning any of the games and having your sessions constantly monitored.
 

JesseZao

Member
onken said:
Even if it ever did come to Japan (which it never will) the input lag would be too much of a deal-breaker for me in most games.

The input lag isn't a problem actually. Unless you don't live in the states or have decent internet, it works very well.
 

JesseZao

Member
Another free microconsole deal. (THQ must be a big partner with OnLive)

Pre-order Red Faction: Armageddon for 49.99, get microconsole free + RF:Guerrilla.


If you were on the fence about the service or wanted to get a cheap console for it, this would be the best way to get into it.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Any predictions for E3? Here's hoping for new publishers on board.
 

JesseZao

Member
More big and indie publishers licensing games in the monthly pass could possibly get me to bite. More Eidos/SE games were supposed to be coming (Thief or Deus Ex I think were supposed to be added). They have enough sales with one time use 75% off coupons that it doesn't really make sense to buy anything at full price (thank you steam!).

More tablet support would be good but would probably need to be able to use a compatible controller as I don't want to have a virtual gamepad/keyboard on the screen. Maybe extend the viewing app to android/iphone devices and expand the social aspect of the product with that.
 
JesseZao said:
Another free microconsole deal. (THQ must be a big partner with OnLive)

Pre-order Red Faction: Armageddon for 49.99, get microconsole free + RF:Guerrilla.


If you were on the fence about the service or wanted to get a cheap console for it, this would be the best way to get into it.

I would have rather waited for this game over Homefront.
 

Afrikan

Member
OldJadedGamer said:
I would have rather waited for this game over Homefront.

I wish it were a PC exclusive instead of a multiplat....but I guess this is their way of placing their console in homes, next to a Wii/PS3/360.

maybe this would be a cheap solution for a Wii owner to play console type multiplat games. Too bad for Onlive Wii2 is releasing this year.
 
Afrikan said:
I wish it were a PC exclusive instead of a multiplat....but I guess this is their way of placing their console in homes, next to a Wii/PS3/360.

maybe this would be a cheap solution for a Wii owner to play console type multiplat games. Too bad for Onlive Wii2 is releasing this year.

OnLive appeals to me because I'm a hardcore Mac user. The fact that I can play a PC game on my Mac/TV without worrying about system requirements is a huge selling point to me.
 

Helznicht

Member
So what is considered "decent internet"? I have a 50 MB connection from Comcast that tests almost always at that value or more, at sub 100 ms pings. Yet, input lag on the service feels around 500ms or so, way to much for it to be enjoyable for me.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
OldJadedGamer said:
New deal. Get a free home unit for pre-ordering Duke Nukem for $45
I wonder what the DNF port will be like. Homefront's port was and still is shit. Still no dedicated servers, settings still not saving, buggy, random disconnects.

Worth it, however, because of the free console with the HF preorder. I don't need a console anymore, though, so I won't be doing it for Duke.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
Borderlands added to the Playpack.
 

Bboy AJ

My dog was murdered by a 3.5mm audio port and I will not rest until the standard is dead
OnLive and Frictional struck a deal. They say it's because of a certain OnLive forum. As a result, they're giving Amnesia away for free. Use promo code THANKYOU within the next 24 hours.

Bunch of new games added. Oddworld, Ghostbusters...
 
Top Bottom