Author: Trafficblast

Google’s new game-streaming service, Google Stadia, is launching in November. Unlike traditional consoles from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, Stadia is a streaming service with no local hardware beyond the controller. This means everything happens in the cloud. Naturally, people want to know what happens if Stadia shuts down, as numerous other Google products have in the past.

During a Reddit AMA today, Stadia’s director of product, Andrey Doronichev, said this is a question that the team gets a lot. And he understands how people might be afraid to move to the cloud.

“I hear you. Moving to the cloud is scary,” he said. “I felt the same way when music was transitioning from files to streaming. I still have all my old CDs in the garage… although it’s hard to find a CD player these days :)”

Doronichev went on to say that movies, photos, and documents have all generally moved to the cloud, and that has generally gone well. The same can be true for games, he said.

“The same happened to Movies and Photos and my Docs and other files… And it’s great! Games are no different. Eventually all of our games will be safely in the cloud too and we’ll feel great about it,” Doronichev said. “We’ve been investing a ton in tech, infrastructure and partnerships over the past few years. Nothing in life is certain, but we’re committed to making Stadia a success.”

Doronichev added that Google Stadia will support the “Takeout” feature from day one. This allows players to download the metadata of their games, including game saves. However, games themselves cannot be downloaded, so if Stadia shuts down, players may not be able to access their games.

“Of course, it’s OK to doubt my words,” Doronichev said. “There’s nothing I can say now to make you believe if you don’t. But what we can do is to launch the service and continue investing in it for years to come. Exactly how we’ve been doing with gMail, Docs, Music, Movies and Photos. That’s exactly what we’re committed to.”

Concerns about game ownership and ongoing support for games is not exclusive to Stadia. The servers for older console and PC games are often shut down over time as developers shift their focus to newer titles. While physical media remains important in the gaming industry, digital is taking up a bigger piece of the pie as time goes on.

Stadia launches in November in some parts of the world, including the United States. A $10 USD/month subscription gets you access to a growing library of games. A $130 USD Stadia Founder’s Edition comes with the Google controller, a Chromecast Ultra, 3 months of Stadia Pro, a copy of Destiny 2 (and all the expansions), and other extras.

Microsoft’s game-streaming service, xCloud, is attempting to steal some of Stadia’s thunder, as the first public trials will begin in October.

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Gears 5 doesn’t release until September, but Microsoft is inviting players in for a sneak peek during this weekend’s technical test for the multiplayer mode. The client is already available to download for Xbox One and PC, and now the studio has confirmed exactly when the servers go live.

When Do Servers Go Live

The tech test begins July 19 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET, and it runs through the same time on July 22. A second tech test runs the following weekend, from July 26 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET through July 29 at the same time.

What’s In It

The Gears 5 Tech Test includes three modes (Arcade, Escalation, and King of the Hill), along with two multiplayer maps–District and Training Grounds. The test also includes the new Bootcamp mode, which is a tutorial mode of sorts that teaches players the basics.

Also included in the tech test is “Tour of Duty,” which is a progression system that rewards players with the “Tester Weapon Skin” by completing certain challenges; the skin will be available in Gears 5 when it releases.

How To Get In

Access to the Gears 5 tech test is locked behind a paywall. You must either pre-order the game or subscribe to Xbox Game Pass (standard or Ultimate) to try out the game.

For lots more on the granular details on the Gears 5 tech test, read this FAQ. You can also see the minimum and recommend PC specs here.

Captain American, Red Skull, And Black Widow

These three have been in plenty of comics, TV series, and movies, but the three pictured above seem to be from the MCU specifically–seeing as Red Skull isn’t offering any refunds for the Soul Stone test.

HBO debuted a new trailer for His Dark Materials during the show’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2019–a panel that included executive producer Jane Tranter, writer Jack Thorne, Dafne Keen (Lyra Belacqua), Ruth Wilson (Marisa Coulter), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Lee Scoresby), and James McAvoy (Lord Asriel).

The His Dark Materials books, beginning with The Golden Compass (Northern Lights outside of North America) in 1995 and concluding with book 3, 2000’s The Amber Spyglass, are a fantasy series set in a world in which humans’ souls are embodied in companion animals that live outside their bodies. The series follows Lyra Belacqua, a young girl whose journey goes to some very surprising places by the end.

Tranter discussed why she chose to tackle this adaptation–one that’s been attempted more than once in the past. “I thought it was time for the books to be liberated in a space which could do them justice,” she said. “I think that all of those different adaptations have all been brilliant in their own ways, but the real estate of contemporary television–being able to stretch those books out and sound every note that Philip Pullman sounded in the novels–I just thought it was time.”

She said the show starts the same way as the Philip Pullman books on which they’re based–with the attempted murder of Lord Asriel, which Lyra thwarts.

Thorne, who handled writing the adaptation itself, said when he starts an adaptation (he wrote the stage play for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child previously), he learns as much as possible about the original work’s author first. “I think that’s what we’ve tried to do, is just try and capture the important notes, and tell them to the best of our ability,” the writer said.

Thorne revealed that he and Tranter worked on 46 drafts of the first episode. Getting the daemons–an integral part of the series’ lore–right was particularly important. “You do sometimes get lost in other stuff, but the thing about the daemons is that they are characters,” Thorne said. “Everything that Philip built is for a reason.”

Keen and Wilson discussed shooting with their “daemons,” revealing that they used puppeteers to represent the CG creatures during filming. The puppeteers were later edited out as the CG daemons were added, but the actresses said it helped them to have physical representations in the room.

Miranda, famous for his musical Hamilton, said the His Dark Materials book are particularly important to him. “When my wife and I started dating we read these books together,” Miranda said. “They’re in a really special place in my heart.” He was thrilled when he was offered the part of Lee Scoresby, and he revealed how his character will enter the show: Lee’s first scene is set on his hot air balloon, where he sings a duet with his daemon.

Keen, on the other hand, revealed she wasn’t a fan of the books when she auditioned for the part, and had only read about halfway through the first novel, The Golden Compass, because she didn’t believe she’d be cast. When she got the part, though, she dove in again, and found she couldn’t put them down.

“Literally until I finished the three books, I did not close the book,” Keen, who X-Men fans know as X-23 in Logan, said. “They’re just so fun, they’re so entertaining, they’re so good, because Philip’s amazing.” She repeatedly raised her hands to her head to mime her mind being blown.

Part of the reason the books are so popular is they’re far more than they appear. “That’s why these books are so fascinating,” Wilson said–they’re not just a coming-of-age story, but deal with religion, philosophy, and more. Fans no doubt are hoping this adaptation won’t shy away from those aspects the way some previous ones–particularly the 2007 movie–have.

Tranter took the opportunity of the panel to clarify what she believes the source material’s stance on religion is.

“Philip Pullman, in these books, is not attacking belief, not attacking faith, not attacking religion or the church per se,” Tranter said. “He’s attacking a particular form of control where there is a very deliberate attempt to withhold information, keep people in the dark, and not allow ideas and thinking to be free.”

She said that although that authoritarian force is represented by the Magisterium in His Dark Materials, it doesn’t equate directly with any real-world churches or religions. Fans might have different ideas, but Tranter seemed firm in this position.

The executive producer also said it took a while to get HBO on board. “It was a long process,” she said. “It took us a couple of years to really begin to put the pieces together in a way that people other than myself and Jack…and a small group of people could see.” Eventually, HBO got it, and they came on board as a partner to the BBC. “It’s not an easily comprehensible piece, and I think [HBO] felt that was very much for them,” Tranter said.

Hopefully, fans will believe it’s very much for them, as well, when His Dark Materials arrives on HBO this fall.