Cloud gaming in NZ?

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TechnoGuy001

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#290012 14-Oct-2021 20:09

Has anyone found a cloud gaming provider that has servers in Aus/NZ?

I only play like twice a week (~8 hours a week), if that, and I run Mac mainly, so hard to invest in a dedicated gaming PC. (Usually play games like Satisfactory)

I've been using Azure now and then, and while it works (surprisingly well), it's not cheap, one of the very few VMs they offer that work has some crazy specs, like 56GB RAM... You can't lower it.

I know there are a few cloud gaming providers out there with servers in the US/EU, but hard to find anything more local, and really don't want to go any further out then Aussie.

So was wondering if anyone else here in NZ has found a setup that works here for like 50c-$1 an hour or the like.

richms

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#2795537 14-Oct-2021 20:18

https://pentanet.gg/ are doing betas of geforce now at the moment, I have only used it a little and it seems fine in Auckland from Sydney to play on, but the things that make my PC unusable for gaming normally are also affecting it so I haven't given it a lot of use on the beta yet

Richard rich.ms

timmmay

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#2795557 14-Oct-2021 20:28

Would it be easier to buy a console? 8h a week sounds like a lot to me, that's like the sum total of all my free time!

Mehrts

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#2795566 14-Oct-2021 20:37

Have you thought about running a virtualised Windows instance on your Mac for your gaming needs?

Depending on your Mac specs, it might run surprisingly well.

TechnoGuy001

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#2795572 14-Oct-2021 20:51

Oh thanks @richms! I'll give pentanet.gg a try, at least I'll join the queue.

@Mehrts, I have an ok Mac laptop (2.9 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, Radeon Pro 560 4 GB, 16GB RAM), and I do run Parallels for my light Windows needs during the week, but doesn't really do gaming that well, at least not most of the games I play.

Which is why use bootcamp and dual boot Windows, which works pretty well on most games, but it heats up the MBP quite a bit and the fans go brrr. I've been doing it like this for years, but I've recently been trying the cloud gaming and kinda really like the quiet experience without crazy fan noise.

@timmmay, not thought about a console, I don't really own a TV (or monitor) haha, do all my work/entertainment on the 1 MBP. The games I play probably not the best on console either. But yeah, so little time, so much to do. But I find it's important to catch up with friends, chat and relax, at least most weeks.

SpartanVXL

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#2795607 14-Oct-2021 21:54

GeforceNow is the only nearby cloud provider for gaming, as mentioned above provided by pentanet in sydney.

Aws is opening a dc in nz in some years, likely to be able to run something on that.

Otherwise it’s building a gaming machine somewhere and using Steam remote play. Works well on fibre networks in NZ

michaelmurfy

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#2795619 14-Oct-2021 22:26

When I was using an iMac as my primary machine years ago I had a computer in the cupboard I would turn on and connect to via Steam in order to game. This setup actually worked very well.

These days, I just have a desktop machine running Windows which is the only Windows machine I own - everything else in the house is Linux / Apple.

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Mehrts

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#2795630 14-Oct-2021 22:57

For those with Nvidia Graphics cards and are also wondering about alternative remote gaming/streaming applications, look into an application called Moonlight.

It's an open source (free!) version of Nvidia's shield streaming setup & supports a wide range of resolutions and framerates.

Streaming over the LAN from a Windows 10 VM running under Proxmox to a Raspberry Pi 3B+ is buttery smooth, there's no noticeable latency while running at 1080p 60Hz over a wired Ethernet connection & the throughput set to 50Mbps.

PS/Xbox controllers and mouse/keyboard are supported out of the box. If other USB peripherals are required, such as racing wheel, then an application called VirtualHere can stream USB over IP, but unfortunately that's limited to only one USB device at a time for the free option, but it does work extremely well.

jjnz1

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#2800878 25-Oct-2021 15:01

My GeForce Now NZ review

I have been using GeForce Now provided by Pentanet for a few weeks and it seems to run great via the Windows desktop app, Chromebook browser and Nvidia Shield.

The Shield is buttery smooth but the controllers are difficult to master due to the native keyboard/mouse mapping, and I have given up trying to play using iPhone or Android tablet.

My set up:

My ping to AU Geforce is 40ms with 0% packet loss over my VF 1GB fibre, on MAX settings. Also using 5Ghz Google WiFi for my wireless.

I use:

Nvidia Shield (non-pro version) hardwired connected to a 4K TV with a Switch pro controller
Asus Chromebook wireless - 1080p touchscreen, 8GB ram, using Chrome browser, Playstore (Geforce Now Android app doesn't work anyway)
NUC PC wireless -Windows 10, i7 gen8, 8GB Ram, using Geforce Now Desktop app.
Android tablet wireless - Samsung A series 10", using Android app.

Pricing:

I am on a founder plan @$21 NZD month. I get priority server access, and up to 4 hours game session time before I have to reconnect.

Experience:

When using a computer (chromebook/NUC) the experience is fine - you start the game, it logs you into their Windows virtual machine, and the game starts. Occasionally the games have different loaders and behave differently - and the Geforce menus are different - Ctrl+G for most games' menu, and Shift+F2 for others.

It is very noticeable that you are logging into a VM - but there is no Windows UI - I know that it is Windows because one of the game launchers spat me out into an Edge Browser window (which had no internet access anyway).

Using an iPhone or Android tablet, I haven't found out how to use it without a bluetooth controller - for me it just doesn't work using the onscreen virtual controller buttons.

Also when using the Nvidia Shield, iPhone or Tablet, because it is very much tailored for a Windows computer with a keyboard and mouse, and close up monitor (compared to a TV), the UI isn't quite right. Text is often too small (I had to get my glasses), and the controller buttons seem very hard to get the hang of (Cities: Skylines for example). But general game play especially MMO/FPS games are fine on the Shield, Chromebook and Windows desktop.

Android Tablet 3/10
- couldn't use controls without bluetooth controller
- smooth visuals
- text was small - needed to adjust down from 1080p on the VM
iPhone 3/10
- couldn't use controls without bluetooth controller
- smooth visuals
- text was small - needed to adjust down from 1080p on the VM
Nvidia Shield 6/10
- Bluetooth controller default sensitivity was set to slow - you need to change it from within game settings
- very smooth visuals
- text was small - had to get my glasses and get closer to TV
- Getting into the game requires using the controller like a mouse to navigate through the game start up
Chromebook 7/10
- Once the DNS issue was sorted - very smooth. Screenplay froze for half a second once during a 1 hour test.
Windows Desktop (NUC) 9/10
- Using Geforce Now Windows App - easy and smooth. Games were designed for keyboard and mouse so makes it easy.

Browser Issue:

I have been chatting to the Pentanet support guys about getting the web browser working but it appears Nvidia still region block NZ, so play.geforcenow.com doesn't allow you to log in using your Pentanet credentials. I have a work around for getting the browser and iphone working and it requires using a smart DNS proxy like DNS4me:

Add a custom DNS's to DNS4me:

This will allow geforce now to work in NZ via the browser. The Windows and Shield app work fine without this.

Alternatives for GeForce Now:

A few months ago, I created an Aussie based Cloud Windows Server VM with an Nvidia Tesla T4 or P4 cloud GPU and installed a few things that made it a personal Geforce Now server which I could connect via my Shield and Windows App. This worked well - I could stream Borderlands on the highest setting on my 1440p monitor and it was amazing. The cost for the Google Cloud server was $60 per month which for testing purposes was fine. But the kicker was the egress traffic - a 4 hour gaming session was $15 just for the traffic alone. I did find that my personal Geforce Now server I built did have slightly better graphics, but the cost to play was unbelievable. The only upsides were you could stream any games not just Geforce Now games (see link below), and the better quality graphics.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/6/21168645/nvidia-geforce-now-2k-games-titles-bioshock-borderlands

Things to note:

Geforce Now uses your Steam, EPIC, and UBisoft accounts to verify you own the games you want to play
Geforce includes about 80 free games
Free games like Destiny 2 require you to purchase expansion packs to continue playing
Some developers have removed their games like Borderlands due to issues with licencing and royalties etc, and cross platform gaming licencing
Screen play seems to be maxed at 1440p (but upscaled to 4K on Shield)
On MAX settings it warns you that you may go through 15GB per hour.
If you try and play a game that you don't own, the VM will start and the Steam launcher will open asking you to pay for it.
Game updates are never required - this is handled by Nvidia.

Verdict:

With the price of GPU and computer gear quite high, this seems like a reasonable service for the occasional and non-serious gamer as long as you have a fibre connection.

I have tried it on a VDSL connection (50Mbps down) and that has quite high packet loss (could have been something on the network) but it did work fine on default settings.

I have yet to try it over a 4G/5G wireless broadband connection.

richms

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#2800889 25-Oct-2021 15:17

I got in on its beta and it was suffering the same problems I have with gaming on my PC, clearly in need of a windows reinstall so I am putting that off till I get a new computer where I will have to reinstall windows anyway. Seems I have really bad interupt latency when CPU gets high and its not any of the easy to change drivers.

So I thought I would give it a shot on my crapbox machine, and it works great there, Really means I can game without upgrading hardware. My gaming PC is 8th Gen and a 970 so essentially useless on current titles, and the crapbox PC is also 8th gen, but an i3 8100 and no graphics card, just onboard.

Im not really into shooters but I gave saints row the third a go and was suppressed at how little the latency addition of streaming mattered. I was expecting it to be on par with playing on a crappy LCD TV or similar but its much better than that.

Richard rich.ms

TechnoGuy001

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#2800903 25-Oct-2021 15:56

I did end up trying GeForce Now via Pentanet (now that's it's officially out), and seems to run well. Though, I wouldn't recommend it for people who run screens above 1080p, especially not on a Mac at 2880×1800, playing games like Surviving mars, or AOE, text etc comes quite blurry upscaling from 1080p. Can't image what it would be like on a 5K iMac, or HiDPI 4K displays. Hopeful GeForce will add support for more resolutions.

This is one thing my custom Azure VM does well (via Parsec), you can pick your own resolution. I feel the tradeoff (higher latency) is worth it, to get a clearer UI/game graphics. For me the cost is about $25 for about 4-5 hours gaming. (I think, or was that for 2 nights, I forget)

But for some games, with big UI elements, GeForce isn't so bad.

I was pleasantly surprised by the latency going to AU, it feels faster/better than my Azure VM.

Samdacombe

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#2815735 19-Nov-2021 14:22

I have signed up through Cloud.gg but the methods tried to access the service so far (Chrome browser and Android App) have both told me that my region isnt supported.

Do I need to be subscribed to some of the premium services for this to be unblocked perhaps?

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TechnoGuy001

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#2815762 19-Nov-2021 15:08

Samdacombe:

I have signed up through Cloud.gg but the methods tried to access the service so far (Chrome browser and Android App) have both told me that my region isnt supported.

Do I need to be subscribed to some of the premium services for this to be unblocked perhaps?

I didn't try there chrome browser or android app, I just installed the NVIDIA GeForce NOW app on my computer and logged into the cloud.gg system from there. Didn't have any issues using it in NZ on there free tier.

Shapenz

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#2816973 22-Nov-2021 11:13

I gave Geforce Now a spin using the above instructions. Was really impressed with how seamless it was - I'm by no means 'good' but I couldn't tell that I wasn't playing on a local machine.

The disappointing thing is how many publishers wont allow their games on the platform- It's a bit of a downer with no Borderlands, AOE or Halo etc.

Awesome technology let down by licensing stuck in the dark ages.

Samdacombe

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#2816983 22-Nov-2021 11:44

TechnoGuy001:
Samdacombe:

I have signed up through Cloud.gg but the methods tried to access the service so far (Chrome browser and Android App) have both told me that my region isnt supported.

Do I need to be subscribed to some of the premium services for this to be unblocked perhaps?

I didn't try there chrome browser or android app, I just installed the NVIDIA GeForce NOW app on my computer and logged into the cloud.gg system from there. Didn't have any issues using it in NZ on there free tier.

For any people having the same issue as me, make sure that you select the other services option and log in with your Pentanet account, not your nvidia account...