AMD GPU Cloud supercomputer; something for EU?

[sahel]

Today I read an interesting article about AMD's plans to develop 'a cloud supercomputer for graphics rendering':

http://www.betanews.com/article/AMD...percomputer_for_graphics_rendering/1231475506


Basically the idea is that a game that makes use of this system, gets it's graphics rendered completely on AMD's servers. Clientsoftware or a webbrowser for example is then used on the customers computer to play the game.

This would mean that any device with the necessary bandwith and the computing power to refresh pictures with 60fps could be used to play games that demand much more hardware-wise.


Ofcourse I thought of the possibilities for EU:

- possibly far wider reach of players since the hardware requirements could go down a lot.
- players can be online for longer times (if simple laptops, or mobile devices can run EU).
- media attention, it would be one of the first virtual worlds / games to make use of cloud computing in this way.
- other?

But ofcourse there are downsides:
- costs, I doubt AMD would do this for free just because it's fun
- safety, the rendered video must ofcourse only be send to the pc real user of the avatar.
- other?

Maybe if MA would offer this as an extra service with a monthly fee, it could be really interesting. That way if you don't need the extra gpu power and / or extra costs you don't have to. If however you are sick of your old laptop with intel graphics and 3danalyzer you could consider buying some gpu power. Or maybe you really need just that little bit extra during LG rather than upgrading you whole pc .


Any thoughts?

 

[AJack10600]

Future Dreams my friend Nothing worth bothering about for now...

Bother about the new Phenom II X4 if you want more AMD gaming Performance

 

[sahel]

Some news about this subject.

At the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the company OnLive released it's plans for a cloud-computing service .
http://www.onlive.com

The idea is that OnLive's servers run games (demanding ones, like Crysis). Players can connect and only send their mouse and keyboard (or gamepad) data to the servers. Compressed video is sent back in real time. The company said it will feel like you are playing the game locally.


Ofcourse there has been much talk over this. These are two good articles about it for example:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2343704,00.asp
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/gdc-why-onlive-cant-possibly-work-article?page=2


Some swear it's totally impossible, others think the company wouldn't work for 7 years and make such a fuzz if they couldn't make it true, and others are claiming the end of gaming as we know it is near.

Also a dutch company (Gaikai) revealed plans for cloud-gaming:
http://venturebeat.com/2009/03/25/onlive-video-on-demand-service-shakes-loose-a-competitor/

Can we really play HD streamed games without lag soon? If the technology is really as good as the company promises, I think it might could make some big changes in the way games are played. In any case it looks like cloud computing / gaming is 'hot', and i'm very curious how the roll-out of OnLive's services in the USA will proof to be.

 

[TheMZ]

The bandwidth would cost you ten times the computer you need to run EU.

 

[sahel]

The bandwidth would cost you ten times the computer you need to run EU.

According to OnLive a lowend broadband connection would suit just fine:

Of course, a broadband connection is required. For standard definition (480p) resolutions, users will need a minimum of 1.5 megabits/sec. A 5 megabits/sec connection will support high definition (720P or 1080i) connections. Initially, the service won't support 1080p or higher resolutions, but that may come later.

 

[aridash]

even if the bandwidth is there, the latency will kill First Person/action games. i really dont see this as viable in the near term, its maybe something for 10 years when everyone has fibre to the home.

 

[heehaw]

it's called streammygames.com you freaking noobs. client player works on iphone, netbooks, ipods, gps systems, cell phones, mids, gameboys

 

[sahel]

it's called streammygames.com you freaking noobs. client player works on iphone, netbooks, ipods, gps systems, cell phones, mids, gameboys

I know about streammygame.com, and it certainly is a nice service. But afaik you still need to render the videoimage yourself, the program then streams it to other devices. Not really the same (but nice yeah ).

 

[kpward]

...very interesting... must subscribe.

Good find, mate.




darri

 

[Foxypilot]

I want EU on my iphone. maybe this route could make that happen

 

[sahel]

Sony registers 'PS Cloud' trademark.

"Sony requested a trademark on the name 'PS Cloud' yesterday", I read in an article on tweakers.net today.

Here is the original article from kotaku.com:

PlayStation Moving Into The Cloud?
By Michael McWhertor, 12:40 PM on Mon Mar 30 2009, 10,706 views

Sony may be the latest company to explore the hot topic of cloud computing, the off-loading of software and services to remote servers, based on recent trademark filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has registered a trademark for "PS Cloud," protecting it against it against all manner of video game-related things, like "entertainment services, namely, providing an on-line video game that users may access through the internet." The possible service, which has not been announced, could follow the recently announced OnLive model, which plays your games remotely, or Valve's SteamCloud service, which hosts Steam user preferences and game saves on outside servers.

If we had our druthers, the latter might be more appealing, as having more remote access to account-specific content could be a boon to PlayStation 3 (and PSP) owners who would like to have game saves and DRM-restricted content away from their home console. It's not like the PS3 is the most portable of game machines.

But if it were the former, the ability to play games that aren't stored locally, especially on the PSP, could be appealing. A cloud-based service could possibly come with fees attached, as OnLive has planned, revenue that would likely help Sony's PlayStation business out.

Or it could be a big, fluffy cloud controller. That would be just heavenly.

Keep in mind that some filed trademarks never make it to market as an actual product, so we're just getting our kicks speculating.

It seems that cloud computing surely is a hot topic in techworld right now. I'll be posting interesting stuff about this subject as it pops up in the news in this thread.

 

[waperboy]

But seldom faster than the net latency...

Eventually, this could make super-computers an off-the shelf commodity

 

[Lobbe]

wow VERY interesting NEWS

 

[DoubleWolf]

I bumped into Onlive and their setup today and I'm VERY impressed. I've seen a lot of critics out there talking about lag issues and bandwidth, which I fully understand and want to see for myself. They claim bandwidth and lag will virtually be a non-issue. But if it works half as good as advertised this could revolutionize the gaming industry.

Think about the implications: You never have to upgrade your hardware ever again to play the most technologically advanced games. The fact that they are basically just streaming the video means they could take the possibilities of gaming FAR beyond what is capable in a home PC or console, on a much lesser system. Their internal servers can handle all the calculations and processing, and with some really high end equipment, the potential for creativity becomes almost limitless.

The cross platform compatibility is also a key point. PC users can play against Mac users, against TV users, hell, maybe even one day cell phone users. And the cost to gamers should be well reduced since they are only purchasing a virtual game, and not a tangible object with packaging, a disc, etc. Or the producer having to test multiple systems and release update after update for all the different drivers and system combos.

The technology seems almost impossible that it would work, and I'm still slightly skeptical, but it does have very high promise. I can understand the concept behind it and definitely see this in the future. Didn't think it was possible in this day in age. If it works, I think we'll be looking at a complete paradigm shift in how we view, interact with and play video games.

As far as EU is concerned with this technology, I think it would be VERY well suited to something like this. It kind of works this way now in the sense that a lot of our information is stored on MA's servers and not locally. If they were able to implement something like this, they wouldn't have to worry about system requirements or compatibility. You could access EU from anywhere, on any device. And the processing power could be increased exponentially, opening the doors to all sorts of interesting possibilities.

I'm definitely keeping my eye on this one...