Google Stadia was the talk of the town at the GDC 2019, where the company brought the concept of hardware-independent gaming to life. The service will enable gamers to live-stream games directly to their browser from the Google datacenters, eliminating the need for high-end hardware to run a graphics intensive game. The company also announced its Stadia controller at the event, which looks like a hybrid of the Microsoft Xbox and the Sony PS4 controller. But the major speculation surrounding the devices remains whether average Internet connections can sustain Stadia’s capability or not. If not, then what is the future of Stadia?
Connection Speeds
Earlier, Google Stadia’s Executive stated that players will have to be equipped with a 25 Mbps internet connection in order to stream games at 4K resolution and 60 fps (frames per second). The actual consumption of bandwidth is lower, but Google recommends the aforementioned speed in order to boost performance. At a lower bandwidth, players may face issues with resolution and fps while streaming the game.
The average internet speeds in India are about 6.5 Mbps, whereas the peak connection speeds average at 41.4 Mbps. A lot of users prefer mobile internet in the country, which can give high speeds but at the same time, users may face issues with packet losses and data polling, adversely affecting the “Stadia” experience. The best bet would be using a broadband connection (preferably an optical fibre connection) in order to preserve internet speeds while not losing any data packets at the same time.
Since the Stadia controller connects directly via WiFi to the datacenter where the game is running, a high peak speed connection would fare well while playing a game that requires multiple responses to be sent over the internet in a short period of time. Although users can make use of Keyboards and mice too, Google emphasized that the Stadia controller provides enhanced compatibility with the Stadia ecosystem. Gamers who want to play a specific game on their TVs can use Chromecast to stream the game. Similarly, gamers can stream the game via the Google Chrome Browser on their laptops/desktops.
Availability
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Unfortunately, Google will launch Stadia in India much later than UK, Europe, US and Canada. Furthermore, Google hasn’t unveiled its pricing for the same, but it has confirmed that the customers will be notified regarding the payment plans somewhere around the month of July.
Throughout the massive map, players will be able to contest objectives such as resupply points and upon successfully doing so, they will be rewarded with special safes that will contain upgraded equipment. Another intriguing feature added to the game includes the ability to use a pistol when a player is knocked down. Using the pistol, the downed player can defend himself/herself against approaching enemies and can even kill them off if they are low on health points.
Paying attention to the fact that the map takes forever to traverse, the developers have included a total of 17 different vehicles in the game, some of which are, let’s just say, “unconventional”. Players can find prototype helicopters with inbuilt miniguns, Schwimmwagens (which can function on the ground as well as in the water) and the bright coloured tractor which captured a lot of attention, and for the right reasons. Players can explore rare vehicle lockups to discover tanks on the battlefield, which are nearly unstoppable except for the fact that players can use anti-tank weaponry to tear them down
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The Season 6 update will introduce new weapons like the G36C in the game. The rifle will be exclusive to the snow-laden Vikendi Map and will act as a replacement to the SCAR-L assault rifle. Both the guns utilize 5.56 mm ammunition. The G36C can be kitted with stocks, laser sights, thumb grips etc. Furthermore, a three-wheeled vehicle called Tukshai will be added to the game alongside the Jeep, the Darcia etc. Season 6 update will also introduce a new skin for the M762 assault rifle, which uses 7.62 mm ammo.
The Season 1 Pass for Apex Legends features 100 tiers of rewards, similar to Fortnite. The unlockables include new weapon skins, XP boosts and attractive banner frames for different characters/legends. Players can earn up to 1000 Apex Coins (in-game currency) via levelling up the battle pass, which can be used to buy the next season’s battle pass without spending “real” money.
As mentioned previously, the games will be streamable across a multitude of devices. Laptops, desktops, TVs and smartphones will be able to run the games without any glitches, Google says. Moreover, the company claims that the gameplay can be transferred “seamlessly” across various Google devices as well. Of course, latency and data centre availability will play a huge role in keeping the experience smooth and stutter-free.
The controller also features a “Google Assistant” button, which lets users pull up the voice assistant during the game itself and ask it relevant questions. For instance, if the gamer is stuck on a level and needs some help, he/she can directly ask the assistant regarding the level and get instant tips to complete it. The other special button on the controller is the Capture button, which lets the user capture a screenshot or a gameplay video for personal use or sharing purposes. 
Regarding computing, Google stated that it is continuously updating its Data Centres for better ping across all areas. Gamers were ecstatic when the company announced that upon launch, Stadia will support 4K games at 60 fps, with support for 8K/120 fps in the future. For achieving this milestone, Google will partner with AMD to build custom GPUs which will deliver 10.7 TeraFlops of power to each machine. Each module of Stadia will run on a 2.7 GHz x86 processor with 16 GB of RAM. Furthermore, Google also announced that one of the first games supported by Stadia would be Doom: Eternal, which is a first-person shooter with a huge fanbase.
It also includes support for cross-play, where gamers can play the same game across different platforms. Stadia offers game developers a chance to use its machine-learning based transfer tool, which will let developers drop an image into each frame of the video/game to transform the entire game into the image’s style. Moreover, State Share will let gamers share the exact state of their game via a URL, which can be clicked by users to launch a similar instance of the game on their own device. For streamers, Google introduced Crowd Play, where an advanced lobby system will let viewers play with or against their favourite streamers/content creators on YouTube.
Minecraft players may relate to this game because it is what it says it is. Pixelized characters fighting against each other in an epic battle of survival doesn’t sound very convincing, but it actually is. Pixel’s Unknown Battle Grounds may sound something like Player’s Unknown Battlegrounds, but it looks nothing like it. Retro visuals adorn the game, with harmless-looking weapons like the AK-47 and Multiple barrel shotguns scattered throughout the map. The game is still in beta, so players may encounter some bugs, but the game offers the smoothest experience out of many other 3D games out there.
The first-person shooter combines intense firefights of the original game with a battle-royale genre, similar to what was seen in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout mode. With a multitude of maps like Nuketown, Crash, Standoff, Crossfire and Hijacked, the game will go up against the likes of PUBG Mobile and Fortnite mobile. Unlike PUBG and Fortnite, this franchise has a separate fanbase that is expected to follow the game’s development on mobile.
The beta version of Call of Duty Mobile was first released in December 2018. The game featured different multiplayer modes like Free4All (Solo mode). Search and Destroy, Frontline and Team Deathmatches. Furthermore, Call of Duty introduces its iconic zombie mode in the mobile game. While the beta version of the game included just a single-player zombie mode, it is expected that the full version will have co-op multiplayer mode too.
As per reports, players will be able to play as special characters from the Call of Duty universe. Furthermore, players will be able to customize their characters and weapons as to their liking. For doing so, they will have to spend in-game currency that can also be purchased digitally. The game will be a standalone title, with no correlation to any previous Call of duty storylines. To match up to the competition, the game will be free to download.
Selected gamers who are a part of the game
First released for Microsoft’s Xbox in 2014, the Halo franchise will be available to play on PC via popular gaming portal, Steam. The franchise package will include Halo Reach, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 4. It is interesting to note that all the iterations of the game will not be released at once, instead, Microsoft plans to release all the games in chronological order. This means that Halo: Reach will be the first game that will land in the hands of gamers. Even though the game was first released in the year 2010, it’s still a classic and is rated as one of the best gameplay experiences of all time by gamers worldwide
If you want to win a game, remember that PUBG is not a deathmatch, it’s a survival game. You may have a good aim and praiseworthy skills, but none of it matters if you don’t make it to the endgame. This is why survival is key. Pay attention to your surroundings when you are parachuting down to the ground. Try to get the maximum loot from an area before a fight breaks out, and participate in the fight only if you have the resources necessary to do so. Try to draw the least amount of attention to yourself, because even the best players will find himself in a turmoil if they get shot at by multiple players simultaneously. 
Sound sense wins you almost 50 percent of the game. Professional PUBG players always focus on their surrounding noises on the battlefield. Knowing that someone is approaching you may be the only information you need to shoot that enemy down, even if they have better inventory than you. While playing the game, try to use earphones/headphones in order to gain an idea of directional sound during firefights. Moreover, keep paying attention to the minimap, because you can “see” nearby footsteps on the map even if you did not hear them. An orange directional marker will give you an indication of nearby enemies so that you can focus on that particular direction.
Ever wondered why the backpack has a strict limit? This is because you can’t go around stuffing every item in there. A lot of PUBG players end up with a lot more ammunition than they need, or too little of healing equipment when it comes to bandaging up. In all entirety, you should never have more than 200 rounds of any ammunition in your backpack, because that’s just a waste of valuable space. Furthermore, if you’re using a sniper rifle, less than 100 ammunition rounds are more than sufficient for you. If you kill an enemy (or multiple enemies), you can always use their crates to stock up on ammunition and other equipment rather than filling your backpack up to its capacity. Some space should always be available in the backpack to flash-loot someone’s crate or a house (picking up equipment without paying attention to what you’re gathering).
If you’re playing in a squad (which a lot more players prefer), you may have experienced a lack of coordination amongst your team. This is generally due to improper communication between players and can be fixed by informing your teammates regarding any important developments in the game. If you find some surplus ammunition that you know your teammate needs, use the pinging system or the chat system to inform him/her about it. Keep updating them about the incoming zone if you’re still outside the circle of safety. If you see an enemy who’s far from your reach, let your friend with a sniper rifle handle him. Never be afraid to toss a smoke grenade near your knocked-out teammate to revive him/her. Having an extra member on the squad can be the difference between a chicken dinner and a heartbreaking defeat.
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The first look of the game is now out, thanks to Warner Bros. and Niantic Games. The primary mission of the game is to save non-magic folk (also known as Muggles) from evil wizards, and capture them all before they cause any more havoc. The players will play as a recruit of the Statue of Secrecy Task Force, which is a venture by the Ministry of Magic and the International Confederation of Wizards to lock down all the rogue wizards that threaten the sanctity of the wizarding world.
The game will also introduce “Spell Energy” to limit how much users can play in a given stretch of time. Once a player runs out of Spell Energy, he/she won’t be able to cast spells until the Spell energy is replenished at “Inns” by collecting food items and drinks. Also, the player can brew potions to help him/her during battles and travelling. The items required for brewing can be found around the map, and their availability depends on the environment (such as weather, time of day).
