Shadow Cloud Gaming on MacOS... & GeForce Now.

[amgff84]

Just an update regarding GeForce now and Shadow. It's been a while of use between the two and I have been going back and forth. I have found Shadow to be the better performing platform. I believe that GeForce Now is so overloaded with the free players that it is slowing down the servers, so my paid plan is suffering. On Shadow I have not experienced any issues like this, it is always fast and reliable. One issue, with no fault to either Shadow or GeForce Now is when loading games played on both, sometimes I have to shutdown the streaming service start it up again. Must be something to do with the game saves.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Been using Shadow 2-3 times a week. Definitely performs better on my wired connection (I guess wireless (even 5Ghz) in my wifi polluted apartment is really bad). Very happy with the service. Plays Starcraft II very well.

There was one bug on the last day of February that prevented a boot up, but they had it fixed within 4-5 hours. Other than that, I've never had a problem requesting an instance.

I even tried playing it natively on my MBP 13' display (quite a bit of a difference vs my 4k monitor). It is doable but not as nice as a full screen monitor.

Pretty happy with Shadow - especially for the $155 / year.

 

[amgff84]

Hey there again, here with a quick update regarding the topic.

While Shadow has been reliable and smooth, I have experienced very poor play quality with GeForce Now, and I suspect it has to do with the free tier. As a paying member, I am experiencing a very poor visual quality issue which has persisted since before the pandemic. Even before the pandemic, the popularity of Nvidia has caused a high interest of people to try out their free tier for GeForce Now. I believe this has caused issues with the paying members accessing their games in high quality.

Shadow has not experienced any of these issues, and this may be due in part to their higher cost. Shadow will soon be stirring the pot by adding options, and I have already signed up for a higher tier with more storage. Time will tell if their improved options will overload the servers, but I am hoping that shadow stays steady as they have all along.

This is why competition is important. GeForce Now has effectively created a better Shadow by allowing the diehard Shadow fans the better gaming experience (overall too).

The interesting thing here is that all streaming services are feeling the burn due to increased streaming over Covid-19 concerns. This will be a true test to the reliability and robustness of all streaming platforms.

 

[amgff84]

Hey there again, here with a quick update regarding the topic.

While Shadow has been reliable and smooth, I have experienced very poor play quality with GeForce Now, and I suspect it has to do with the free tier. As a paying member, I am experiencing a very poor visual quality issue which has persisted since before the pandemic. Even before the pandemic, the popularity of Nvidia has caused a high interest of people to try out their free tier for GeForce Now. I believe this has caused issues with the paying members accessing their games in high quality.

Shadow has not experienced any of these issues, and this may be due in part to their higher cost. Shadow will soon be stirring the pot by adding options, and I have already signed up for a higher tier with more storage. Time will tell if their improved options will overload the servers, but I am hoping that shadow stays steady as they have all along.

This is why competition is important. GeForce Now has effectively created a better Shadow by allowing the diehard Shadow fans the better gaming experience (overall too).

The interesting thing here is that all streaming services are feeling the burn due to increased streaming over Covid-19 concerns. This will be a true test to the reliability and robustness of all streaming platforms.

Just an update after Shadow officially released the sign up options. I have opted for Boost, which is the low tier, however, nothing changes from my current configuration. I might be gifting my son Shadow for his birthday, so with 3 subscriptions I will def want to pay for the cheaper options.

Throughout this pandemic, Shadow has been smooth and GeForce Now has been unplayable due to streaming quality concerns. 1920 x 1080 still is the optimal resolution as I run into issues using my ultra wide monitor, but this goes for GeForce Now too. The funny thing is, Windows 10 will display the full 2560 x 1080, but games usually run into freezing issues, but just run those as 1920 x 1080.

I have upgraded from my Mac mini to a slightly newer and more powerful Hackintosh Lenovo m93p tiny with OC BL. This machine in this current set up has everything working. EVERYTHING. Regardless, this has made no difference running Shadow when comparing it to my older and slower Mac mini, so good job Shadow.

Also, it's worth a mention that Shadow now offers their lower tier at $11.99/month, and they now have upgradable storage so you can store all of your most used games instead of reinstalling every time you play something different. I have run into one issue not related to Shadow, but to the Windows gaming keyboard on Mac, (even with Karabiner keyboard mapper) where I couldn't use the F keys in game. I would have to switch off Karabiner prior to gaming. Now, this actually works out well because while in Shadow you have a Windows KB to match your gaming set up.

 

[kaardowiq]

I just switched to Boost on Shadow and I'm amazed! Playing BF5 in Ultra without any lag or something else. Would thought that there isn't any way for FPS (but 7ms to Shadow and 5ms from Shadow to gameserver will compensate most 20-40ms gamers on gameserver), but hey - still on upper level on the stats. Love it to just start the client and to play any Windows game. My only problem is that the beta client doesn't forward my mic - that's only a problem where in game voice is very important (games like squad, hell let loose, etc). For sessions with friends we'll just switch to other voice chats that I can run natively under OSX. Hopefully can switch to Ultra soon since I want to play in 4K.

I've been console player (Xbox) since original Xbox, Xbox 360, One, One X....

 

[amgff84]

I just switched to Boost on Shadow and I'm amazed! Playing BF5 in Ultra without any lag or something else. Would thought that there isn't any way for FPS (but 7ms to Shadow and 5ms from Shadow to gameserver will compensate most 20-40ms gamers on gameserver), but hey - still on upper level on the stats. Love it to just start the client and to play any Windows game. My only problem is that the beta client doesn't forward my mic - that's only a problem where in game voice is very important (games like squad, hell let loose, etc). For sessions with friends we'll just switch to other voice chats that I can run natively under OSX. Hopefully can switch to Ultra soon since I want to play in 4K.

I've been console player (Xbox) since original Xbox, Xbox 360, One, One X....

Shadow is awesome and I was able to get the mic working, I think you need a USB mic. I actually stopped using Shadow for now because I built a Lenovo Thinkcentre Hackintosh/Gaming PC... However, I ditch all of Apples products in a fit when they announced the switch to ARM, so the need for Shadow has gone away. I have GeForce now for my laptop because it's cheaper and even though I can't play all of my games, I can at least play a few.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I just switched to Boost on Shadow and I'm amazed! Playing BF5 in Ultra without any lag or something else. Would thought that there isn't any way for FPS (but 7ms to Shadow and 5ms from Shadow to gameserver will compensate most 20-40ms gamers on gameserver), but hey - still on upper level on the stats. Love it to just start the client and to play any Windows game. My only problem is that the beta client doesn't forward my mic - that's only a problem where in game voice is very important (games like squad, hell let loose, etc). For sessions with friends we'll just switch to other voice chats that I can run natively under OSX. Hopefully can switch to Ultra soon since I want to play in 4K.

I've been console player (Xbox) since original Xbox, Xbox 360, One, One X....

I decided to put together an AMD beast right before the virus hit and have been using that mostly. I subscribed to a year of Shadow and always wondered how Ultra was (waiting for reviews).

I can't bring myself to ditch Mac... just yet or maybe ever. I know after experiencing the power of a 3600x CPU and 64GB of ram and 2TB of NVME and a 5700 XT for half the cost of my 13' MBP............. I think I am done buying MBPs for a while ... maybe forever.

Still, the idea of being able to go back to mac and use Shadow Boost - get VS 2019 with my games.... (AOE II HD, Overcooked 2, Starcraft II, and WoW) then I could sell the desktop and ..... ahhh, I keep going back and forth.

 

[amgff84]

I decided to put together an AMD beast right before the virus hit and have been using that mostly. I subscribed to a year of Shadow and always wondered how Ultra was (waiting for reviews).

I can't bring myself to ditch Mac... just yet or maybe ever. I know after experiencing the power of a 3600x CPU and 64GB of ram and 2TB of NVME and a 5700 XT for half the cost of my 13' MBP............. I think I am done buying MBPs for a while ... maybe forever.

Still, the idea of being able to go back to mac and use Shadow Boost - get VS 2019 with my games.... (AOE II HD, Overcooked 2, Starcraft II, and WoW) then I could sell the desktop and ..... ahhh, I keep going back and forth.

One of my main motivators for getting rid of mac as my main machine is the cost going forward. If I had the money, I'd keep it.

 

[BigMcGuire]

One of my main motivators for getting rid of mac as my main machine is the cost going forward. If I had the money, I'd keep it.

Just spent the last few hours on my desktop playing WoW, Starcraft II with family and doing various other things I can't easily do on my Mac. Shadow is nice but there's just nothing as nice as a native Windows machine.

Blizzard has said that Shadow Cloud is specifically against the EULA and could result in banning. Makes me mad ... but it works really well - I can play on high settings on my MBP with almost no lag at 60+FPS. Doesn't come close to my AMD Windows desktop which can do 110+ fps with the same settings (and no lag).

Cost is insane... I'm not upper class (not even close) good grief, how is one expected to buy a $3,000 MacBook, a $1249 iPad, and a $1249 iPhone? I can't... and I have to buy one for my wife and myself.

I love Mac OS but I can't justify it anymore, especially when my desktop (should) will last for a long time and do all the gaming, work, and it is upgradeable. If only it could do iMessage.

 

[amgff84]

Just spent the last few hours on my desktop playing WoW, Starcraft II with family and doing various other things I can't easily do on my Mac. Shadow is nice but there's just nothing as nice as a native Windows machine.

Blizzard has said that Shadow Cloud is specifically against the EULA and could result in banning. Makes me mad ... but it works really well - I can play on high settings on my MBP with almost no lag at 60+FPS. Doesn't come close to my AMD Windows desktop which can do 110+ fps with the same settings (and no lag).

Cost is insane... I'm not upper class (not even close) good grief, how is one expected to buy a $3,000 MacBook, a $1249 iPad, and a $1249 iPhone? I can't... and I have to buy one for my wife and myself.

I love Mac OS but I can't justify it anymore, especially when my desktop (should) will last for a long time and do all the gaming, work, and it is upgradeable. If only it could do iMessage.

macOS is great, and I am a huge fan of Linux (Elementary, popOS, Ubuntu). Linux is catching up and I am guessing will be as usable as a mainstream OS in another 5 or so years. It's already pretty usable as a daily. I think when Steam and other gaming platforms are (more) usable on Linux is when you'll see it really start to shine. Mac has made it clear that they are not the platform for gaming, and I think Linux will beat them to it. I also think that mac has created a solid ecosystem that relies heavily on cell phones, and I don't think mac and android will be the only contenders forever, which may further hinder mac users. Clear OS and the Clear Phone are great examples. My point, Apple needs to do something about cost as they will lose their following eventually. Consider how many users they gained just from iPhones. Their top-shelf mac pro is twice the cost to a comparable Windows-based machine, and that's absurd.

I also have issues with Microsoft and their Surface line of devices.

For now, Windows will do. The issues with Shadow and the EULA is BULL. Shadow is simply an operating system on a machine, even if it's only virtualized. You already own the game, you are just playing on a different device.

I think game developers are in bed with hardware manufacturers and they are putting pressure on developers. Shadow is that good where it threatens the hardware manufacturers.

 

[kaardowiq]

I've just replaced my old systems for the current Mac lineup (including new iPhone and iPad). So switching away is a no go for the next few years... With Shadow I got the first time since Windows 95 back in touch with a Windows (Windows 10) system. To be honest - I've been playing on my Xbox in the past, so I already had an account for Live/Xbox/MS services. The new Windows 10 with side panel etc. looks really good, the SSO is great - integrated with mail, Skype, Xbox (can use Ultimate pass to play Age of Empires etc.), so I think this is really a forward compared to the past.

But with my problems on Shadow related to my AUX mic, I figged around the system settings which is more a mess than before. So many ways to get to the same options, many option are sooooo deep and hidden. Sometimes you do not really know if there's something to happen or not. But I could think to switch to Windows when my current setup becomes too old...

 

[amgff84]

I've just replaced my old systems for the current Mac lineup (including new iPhone and iPad). So switching away is a no go for the next few years... With Shadow I got the first time since Windows 95 back in touch with a Windows (Windows 10) system. To be honest - I've been playing on my Xbox in the past, so I already had an account for Live/Xbox/MS services. The new Windows 10 with side panel etc. looks really good, the SSO is great - integrated with mail, Skype, Xbox (can use Ultimate pass to play Age of Empires etc.), so I think this is really a forward compared to the past.

But with my problems on Shadow related to my AUX mic, I figged around the system settings which is more a mess than before. So many ways to get to the same options, many option are sooooo deep and hidden. Sometimes you do not really know if there's something to happen or not. But I could think to switch to Windows when my current setup becomes too old...

I had issues with mics until I used a USB mic and selecting the USB option in Shadow settings. You should not need to do any setup inside of windows... Probably not anyways.

I want to be clear that I think Shadow is great and superior to GeForce now, in fact, both of my kids still use Shadow on their Macs.

Windows handles all of their settings options oddly but I heard the next update will start to clean all of that up.

 

[kaardowiq]

Thanks for the hint with the USB mic, but that isn‘t an option atm, would like to use my Xbox Headset via AUX of my Air Pods Pro via BT. Hope this‘ll be fixed soon

 

[BigMcGuire]

For my Logitech G433 there is a MASSIVE difference between USB and Aux audio quality. I do have a nice Asus ROG gaming motherboard... but I did not expect that much of a quality difference. I had my wife listen just to make sure it wasn't me - big difference. (USB was worse).

@amgff84 Agreed. I am getting to the point where I'd rather leave WoW anyway - that company has taken some questionable steps lately and... it's a big time sink. If they ban me for using Shadow, they ban me. I'm going to month to month payment just in case. I'd rather play AOE II HD, Overcooked 2, or something a little less time consuming anyway.

Still trying to decide if I want to upgrade Shadow to Shadow Boost. For California it upgrades next month!

 

[kaardowiq]

Would immediately upgrade to ultimate vor RTX and 4K support, to use it on my big 4K TV, instead of current FHD on my small 32“ monitor. But atm no upgrades in Germany.

 

[amgff84]

For my Logitech G433 there is a MASSIVE difference between USB and Aux audio quality. I do have a nice Asus ROG gaming motherboard... but I did not expect that much of a quality difference. I had my wife listen just to make sure it wasn't me - big difference. (USB was worse).

@amgff84 Agreed. I am getting to the point where I'd rather leave WoW anyway - that company has taken some questionable steps lately and... it's a big time sink. If they ban me for using Shadow, they ban me. I'm going to month to month payment just in case. I'd rather play AOE II HD, Overcooked 2, or something a little less time consuming anyway.

Still trying to decide if I want to upgrade Shadow to Shadow Boost. For California it upgrades next month!

I have noticed USB picks up some (interference noise?). Kind of like a low key buzzing or static, and I believe that has to do with wifi? I think USB 3 and USB 2.0 will pick it up, or not pick it up, respectively. Meaning, and I could have them mixed up, but USB 3.0 will pick up the interference, so try the other one to see if there is any difference. It can't hurt to try.
[automerge]1595173514[/automerge]

Would immediately upgrade to ultimate vor RTX and 4K support, to use it on my big 4K TV, instead of current FHD on my small 32“ monitor. But atm no upgrades in Germany.

I'd be hesitant to go with that as you will need mega bandwidth capabilities. If you have that, then great. Personally, I'd be more open to a higher frame rate than higher fidelity.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I have normal Shadow cloud and it pulls 50 mbps to play 60FPS smoothly. I do have a 4k monitor and find it very very playable (almost no lag). (I use a USB C Anker extension that has Ethernet).

And I had to tune that down, it wanted to do 75mbps but I don't really notice much of a difference.

If my wife is on a Zoom call and my mother in law is watching Netflix, there's no way I'm doing Shadow on my Time Warner Cable.

 

[kaardowiq]

I‘m running on Gigabit up & down, on worries on speed here, even here are running some server and 4K Netflix streams from Wife and kids. So 4K, RTX and maybe 144FPS should do of supported by Shadow.

 

[amgff84]

I‘m running on Gigabit up & down, on worries on speed here, even here are running some server and 4K Netflix streams from Wife and kids. So 4K, RTX and maybe 144FPS should do of supported by Shadow.

That's awesome bud. I have decent internet at 250 mbps, however, at peak it's like 100. Still enough to run shadow at 60fps in 1080 flawlessly. My only other option here is a lot more for not much better, or DSL.

 

[amgff84]

So as an update, I have installed Shadow and GeForce now on my latest machine which is a 2010 MacBook Pro 17" with the i7. Works well with GeForce Now, even on WiFi! Shadow hasn't been tested yet as I am waiting for my new account to be ready. I also have a 2010 15" with the i5, but I broke it during the TIM replacement process and need to replace the display, but I will have that done within the next month.

 

[amgff84]

So, GeForce Now has been released for Chromebook. You can now officially game on a Chromebook assuming the WiFi chip is worth anything. This may be a game changer for Chrome OS. The one reason I went back to Mac from Android and Windows was because of Mac's simplicity. Chrome is also simple, and I can game on Mac and Chrome OS now through apps like GeForce Now. I will be testing this on a Neverware CloudReady OS as soon as I can throw the machine back together and install the OS.

Anyone think they can help out?

 

[lyuluck]

nice report,

 

[maflynn]

That's my point, what is the market that shadow copy is after, gaming, or cloud computing? If its the former, they will have some tough sledding thanks to the competition.

I can't say that I'm surprised

Cloud Gaming Company Shadow Files For Bankruptcy

Cloud gaming companies have had limited success with Google recently shutting down Stadia game studios and NVIDIA having trouble getting games for their platform. Shadow, the cloud gaming service operated by Blade looked promising with high-end hardware and a large wait-list of customers however...

www.techpowerup.com

Cloud Gaming Company Shadow Files For Bankruptcy​

by Uskompuf Today, 00:28 Discuss (9 Comments)
Cloud gaming companies have had limited success with Google recently shutting down Stadia game studios and NVIDIA having trouble getting games for their platform. Shadow, the cloud gaming service operated by Blade looked promising with high-end hardware and a large wait-list of customers however it all appears to have come to an end after the company filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. The Paris Commercial Court ruled that the server provider 2CRSi used by Shadow retains the right to take 30.2 million EURO worth of hardware to pay debts owed. The US branch of the company also filed for bankruptcy in the California Northern Bankruptcy Court with similar debts owed to 2CRSi. Blade issued a statement claiming that their Shadow game streaming service had been a victim of its own success and that they hope to find a new investor for the company so that they can keep it's hardware.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I can't say that I'm surprised

Cloud Gaming Company Shadow Files For Bankruptcy

Cloud gaming companies have had limited success with Google recently shutting down Stadia game studios and NVIDIA having trouble getting games for their platform. Shadow, the cloud gaming service operated by Blade looked promising with high-end hardware and a large wait-list of customers however...

www.techpowerup.com

Wow... it worked so well. I just signed another year agreement. I wonder if they'll let us out of that?!

Oh my gosh.... that is a surprise for me. I used this heavily last year. . Was nice running steam games that needed Windows. Worked so well.

 

[amgff84]

I can't say that I'm surprised

Cloud Gaming Company Shadow Files For Bankruptcy

Cloud gaming companies have had limited success with Google recently shutting down Stadia game studios and NVIDIA having trouble getting games for their platform. Shadow, the cloud gaming service operated by Blade looked promising with high-end hardware and a large wait-list of customers however...

www.techpowerup.com

I am surprised that you find it unsurprising given the GPU (and overall hardware) market currently. I cancelled my sub a while ago, but I still have my kids and they both work just fine. I stand by it being an excellent service and I am sad to hear the news. We'll see what the future holds. I wonder if they are obligated to honor the remainder of peoples contracts if they go out of business?