Onlive

[Oizu]

Launches June 17th in the US, considering its simply a browser plug in, I assume it'll work on Linux, anyone else planning on getting it?

[Nevon]

Not a chance.

[donkyhotay]

I had to look on wikipedia to find out what in the world you were talking about. Reading the description I wasn't surprised to see which companies had already signed up for it, many of them (especially ubisoft and EA) are well known for their horrible DRM policies. This looks like yet another DRM scheme wrapped in fancy paper. I'm not directly opposed to the concept of being able to run games remotely like that, however I can just see hundreds of people signing up for it, many of these users spending money to "buy" a video game on it. Then finding out they haven't really bought anything when a problem occurs, account accidently gets deleted, the service goes out of business due to lack of subscribers, etc. and they end up owning nothing. Sure it theoretically could allow linux users another way of possibly playing games on their computer (However I see no mention that the plugin will be linux compatible) but I wouldn't touch it...

[ELD]

Donkyhotay you are going a bit overboard about DRM there. This is not some new crazy DRM scheme, it is infact a new way to play games.

What is crazy about it is that you have to pay your rent to onlive to use the service and then rent the games on top of that. It works out cheaper and easier in the long run to buy a game normally.

[donkyhotay]

Donkyhotay you are going a bit overboard about DRM there. This is not some new crazy DRM scheme, it is infact a new way to play games.

What is crazy about it is that you have to pay your rent to onlive to use the service and then rent the games on top of that. It works out cheaper and easier in the long run to buy a game normally.

Maybe I missed something but my understanding is that you pay for the subscription, then you buy the games to play on top of that. Now if it's a matter of specifically renting games from them then it's ok, you're renting and haven't purchased anything. I don't like "buying" something that is tied to a service so badly that if I choose not to use that service I can't use the product I paid for it anymore, even if that service is free.

[Melcar]

It is DRM. In fact, you can call it "hardware DRM". That little modem thingy you have to get for the service? Yeah, that's it right there.
As for the technical aspects of it, I doubt they will be able to deliver their promise of a lag free gaming experience and impressive graphics. The games will most likely look and run no better than with a $500 machine, and the service itself will probably cost you more in the long run than just buying that aforementioned $500 machine. Last I heard it was to be $15 for the service itself + the equipment + the actual games + whatever extra costs you incur from your ISP (since you will need a very good connection).

[ELD]

"I don't like "buying" something that is tied to a service so badly that if I choose not to use that service I can't use the product I paid for it anymore, even if that service is free."

Then don't buy it, you have a choice.

You are all on this forum and use Linux because of choice, you know you have one, if you use it just don't complain afterwards.

Anyone who buys into something when they know they don't physically own it has no right to complain (this isn't a dig at you, just generalising).

Or anyone who buys into something which is tied into something else and then complains about it also bug me, you knew about it so why do it?!

[donkyhotay]

"I don't like "buying" something that is tied to a service so badly that if I choose not to use that service I can't use the product I paid for it anymore, even if that service is free."

Then don't buy it, you have a choice.

You are all on this forum and use Linux because of choice, you know you have one, if you use it just don't complain afterwards.

Anyone who buys into something when they know they don't physically own it has no right to complain (this isn't a dig at you, just generalising).

Or anyone who buys into something which is tied into something else and then complains about it also bug me, you knew about it so why do it?!

Umm... If you see my first post you'll see I mentioned I wouldn't touch it. I know I have a choice, and I choose not to use DRM. Most people have no clue about this though, they can't make an informed choice because they have no idea. It's like the issue with people buying books on the kindle, when amazon had to recall some of the books they simply deleted them from people's kindle remotely. Sure they were given their money back but it drives home the point that many companies want to sell you something without actually *giving* you something, just a temporary license for it. As far as I can tell this seems like just the same type of thing.

[ELD]

If you also read my post you would see i noted it was not aimed at you, it was a generalised mini-rant.

You're right in the fact that anytime they could remove it from you and you will lose it anyway if you don't keep up with the monthly payments.

Exactly why i think it is always a better idea in that regards to buy a physical copy.

But also i do like to use steam (i see both sides to every story) so i don't have to keep a copy of everything lying around (incase i lose it, which i do a lot with cd's!).

This service seems a lot worse though in the fact that you don't even own anything, it's all rented as far as i can tell, so if you don't keep up a payment, your game is gone.

[twilightrazor]

xD im apart of the service and first of all you dont have to buy the 'micro console' you do, however, need a Windows or Mac computer and depending on the game, you can buy 3-5 day passes or unlimited access. Almost all of the 12 or so games they have currently have a "Full Version" 30min demo. All of the games I've played on it look amazing! i have comcast high speed internet and it works fine. It Does Not work with wireless internet currently.
PS i have a windows vista computer downstairs as well as computer with Ubuntu 10.04 in my room

ubuntu 10.04 is absolutely amazing! ive used ubuntu before but this version is spectacular

xD

EDIT: The onlive launcher starts up via wine but i cannot connect because i use wireless in my room! haha!
to download the launcher change firefox's user agent to IE8

[rabbotz]

drm too far. if i cant own a physical copy, forget it.

[scaine]

You all very much seem to be missing the point here. Yeah, you're renting for 5 dollars a month, and yes, you also pay again for each game you want to play, but :

You can play on a netbook with an Intel GMA4500. Or a Mac. They've even, to my disgust, got it working on an iPad.

That's more the point of this service. Non-gaming hardware can play 720p games.

First impressions review from the Crave team :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20009033-1.html?tag=nl.e775

And, no, I wouldn't touch it either. But anyone posting in Ubuntu Forums is likely to be technical enough to either have little interest in games, or be technical enough to enjoy the challenge of running Wine-based games on their impressive rigs. We're not the demographic for this service.

[stragee]

Some of you may be interested in watching this vid http://bit.ly/cgWHk0. It seems to actually be working as intended surprisingly. Given that it works on Macs, I don't think it's much of a stretch for it to work on Ubuntu as well.

If they can continue to improve their proprietary compression to the point that people with average connections can use the service, I almost see this taking the market by storm. The idea of being able to use this on anything with a browser is really interesting..like iPads for example.

Personally I'd just like to see a flat rate monthly fee for X number of games. A pricing structure like gamefly has maybe, without waiting for anything to come in the mail.

[floweringmind]

The issue here isn't DRM. The issue is that many Linux users want to play games and many Linux users want to get rid of Windows. If you play games you are currently stuck in many cases with Windows as they don't run well under Wine. Especially the latest games.

Onlive could really help gaming on Linux. Onlive is actually free for the first 12 months right now. After that it is $5 a month. You choose what games you want to buy and they are cheaper than ones you buy in the store and you can just rent them for a couple of days if you don't want to buy it.

One of the huge benefits to Onlive is that you don't need a gaming computer, you just need a high speed Internet connection. You can also play games that are on xbox or playstation on a PC.

I have a feeling that it won't be on Linux unless they start making money and they will also have to deal with the likes of Microsoft using it's muscle to prevent that.

So if the Linux community wants it, they will most likely have to work on getting it to work in Wine.

[guimaster]

I had to look on wikipedia to find out what in the world you were talking about. Reading the description I wasn't surprised to see which companies had already signed up for it, many of them (especially ubisoft and EA) are well known for their horrible DRM policies. This looks like yet another DRM scheme wrapped in fancy paper. I'm not directly opposed to the concept of being able to run games remotely like that, however I can just see hundreds of people signing up for it, many of these users spending money to "buy" a video game on it. Then finding out they haven't really bought anything when a problem occurs, account accidently gets deleted, the service goes out of business due to lack of subscribers, etc. and they end up owning nothing. Sure it theoretically could allow linux users another way of possibly playing games on their computer (However I see no mention that the plugin will be linux compatible) but I wouldn't touch it...

Firstly we should remember that the reason companies pursue these restrictions is because of software pirates. If people didn't pirate games we wouldn't have these restrictions forced upon us. If people are honest we would never lose our freedoms. But because of dishonest people our freedoms are continually taken away from us. Democracy without morality is impossible. We can deceive ourselves that this isn't true but the truth is that we lose freedom everyday in the name of "security."

Secondly, I agree that the concept of "buying" a game on such a platform is ridiculous. This is a business model that will only serve to annoy customers in the long-run. What they should do instead is have a flat-monthly rate which allows you to stream any game you want for as long as your ISP allows.

Lastly, running Windows to play games is a huge privacy risk because Microsoft loves to harvest data on it's users. So I don't understand how this is a bad security risk in comparison. Since you can't do anything but stream games it is actually less of a risk than running Windows, because you won't be sending private emails. I don't really care if Big Brother tracks what games I play. But reading my personal emails is nobody's business but mine.

[TheBuzzSaw]

Yes, but piracy is the last of these companies' problems. It is just the scapegoat they choose to publicize the most. If you watch them carefully, when they're not blaming piracy, they're busy blaming second-hand sales, bad reviews, and various other legal activities for their bad sales. Heaven forbid they admit they make lousy games much of the time.

[damage84]

Just an FYI after updating to the latest Virtual Box and installing Guest Addons/Direct3D support I was able to login to OnLive AND play games. The only issue was the sound was a little glitchy. Sounded a little clippy but for the most part it worked great.

[willhurley82]

I play games. Windows is a resource hog, compared to my Linux set up (dual-boot). I want to switch 100% to Linux AND play games. I also want to be able to play games on my laptop, ideally, but that's not going to happen. That's where cloud computing comes in.

I play a game remotely on a better computer and it streams back the video of it. Pretty sweet, if you ask me. This could open up a whole new WORLD for gaming on a Linux system, because, in theory, compatibility issues could stop being an issue for us. My e-mail is on a cloud and a lot of my stuff is on it. We don't give the potential for our e-mail accounts crashing a second thought, but buy a remote game for $50, and it's mass hysteria. Will I try cloud gaming? Yes, but I'm not going to go overboard and buy a **** ton of games.

Oh, and as far as copyrighted entertainment media goes. Who hasn't downloaded an mp3 illegally? Society as a whole butchered our rights with media. I'll be the first to admit that I don't spend the $3,000 per year buying cd's anymore. But, you can't design cutting edge entertainment if your company is steadily going out of business, which is why companies go overboard with copyright tech. I can't even run some of my games from iso format, to save my disks from wear and tear. Yes, I think it's a ROYAL pain-in-the-***, but it's a necessary evil.

[TheBuzzSaw]

Oh, and as far as copyrighted entertainment media goes. Who hasn't downloaded an mp3 illegally? Society as a whole butchered our rights with media. I'll be the first to admit that I don't spend the $3,000 per year buying cd's anymore. But, you can't design cutting edge entertainment if your company is steadily going out of business, which is why companies go overboard with copyright tech. I can't even run some of my games from iso format, to save my disks from wear and tear. Yes, I think it's a ROYAL pain-in-the-***, but it's a necessary evil.

Wrong. It is an unnecessary evil. Companies are going out of business because they continue to make bad games and/or they do not know how to behave in an era where there is no such thing as "one copy". Plenty of businesses are finding ways to thrive in the new world. Lord of the Rings Online is free to play now, and they're making more money than when they were charging per player. Mojang, Zynga, and others come to mind too.

[Miscni]

I play a game remotely on a better computer and it streams back the video of it. Pretty sweet, if you ask me. This could open up a whole new WORLD for gaming on a Linux system, because, in theory, compatibility issues could stop being an issue for us. My e-mail is on a cloud and a lot of my stuff is on it. We don't give the potential for our e-mail accounts crashing a second thought, but buy a remote game for $50, and it's mass hysteria. Will I try cloud gaming? Yes, but I'm not going to go overboard and buy a **** ton of games.


I can only agree with you on that point, and since I switch back to Ubuntu, I have tryed to achive many goals, so I dont need to use Windows.

And one other thing, that you mention is, about ; "in theory compatibility issues could stop, being an issue for us." I can totally agree there to, mainly because, many games keeps getting news patches, and results in, that Wine cant run the game/games.

I do play games, and I would guess, that a large number, on this site here "Ubuntuforums", also does to. And no, I am not saying all, only saying a large number.

One of the first real known MMO games, was World of Warcraft. And I was also against, to pay for a game every month, but in time, I stop thinking about it, like 10-11 millions other people also did. Ofcouse it is not right, to pay for a new expansion, and still pay every month to play. Besides that, blizzard annouced after WoW Cataclysm, that there would be no more buying expansions, that it all will be in that monthly fee. And after my appenion, that was very acceptabel. But I still quit WoW, and move over to another MMO, namely RIFT.

Rift was working to Ubuntu 10.04, but after the lastest patch, I was forced to move back to Windows 7 (Really hate that OS). But my point is, that almost 1,5 million, maybe more or less, are playng Rift, and they really dont care about, that it cost a little bit of money, to play each month.

The same thing goes for Onlive, you can install it on Mac or PC, you don't need to think about Hardware upgrade, for playing those games, and that is after my appenion, a very big deal, for those people, who cannot afford, to upgrade there computer Hardware, but they can afford to pay Onlive, and still use a old computer, to play those games.

But now, when we are talking about gaming/console etc for Ubuntu, I cant stop to notice, that some Ubuntu-users, really "dont" like, that some other Ubuntu-users, are asking for help or advise, how to "play" a game on Ubuntu, mainly because some think, that Ubuntu is not build for that. Well I can only say, that is some "This word has been censored". We are all entitle to have our own appenions. But we also need to be a little more helpfull about the problem we have here.

I only hope, that in time, that wine or some other software, will work, so it could help out Ubuntu-Gamers.