Topic: NVIDIA Project Shield

[Xessive]

Nvidia dives into the portable console market with "Project Shield."

Interesting. Hmm. Gives me pause. Interesting.

[gpw11]

Well, if anything, all these android-based gaming systems will probably mean that it will be the platform for mobile gaming.  Assuming, of course, that the manufacturers don't try to segment the market with exclusives ans dedicated marketplaces.


This still seems weird though.

[Xessive]

Nvidia is taking a radical direction, while it's portable the gamepad is not undersized.

Honestly, the most interesting part to me is the network streaming of PC games directly to it, either on its screen or a TV. This also suggests that Nvidia is really gearing up their GRID cloud gaming platform.

[idolminds]

I'm going to get in line for this right now!





This line is pretty short.

Not sure why they decided to go with this "handheld". Sure its technically portable, but who is really going to take that thing with them anywhere?

[Xessive]

I got a belated birthday gift.. It's a SHIELD! Yay!

I haven't opened the box yet since I'm still at work but I was too excited to wait before posting

I'll check it out when I get home in a few hours and let y'all know what it really feels like in my hands and how it operates.

[Xessive]

First reaction: Woah! That is MASSIVE!

It's certainly large, much larger than anything you'd carry around as a portable, but you can easily slip it into a backpack.

The hardware feels sturdy and the build quality is excellent. The rubberized grips feel great to hold and help keep the SHIELD stationary when you put it on a flat surface. The screen is pristine; it's a 720p but the display is sharp, the colours are vivid, and the viewing angle is pretty wide. The clamshell formfactor helps keep it compact and also feels sturdy, it doesn't feel like the hinge is loose or anything.

The gamepad fits snugly into my hands and it's essentially like the X360 controller with the analogues in the middle and the d-pad off to the left. The d-pad, buttons, and triggers got quality treatment and shoulder buttons in particular feel much better than the X360. I would seriously consider using this gamepad instead of any other.

For the software, it's running on stock Android 4.3, latest available for the SHIELD, and it comes with a couple of complimentary games: Sonic 4 EP2 and Exile, both immediately gamepad-friendly of course. There's also some Nvidia-specific stuff like the TegraZone app and the Console Mode app (which automatically launches when you connect the SHIELD via HDMI). The TegraZone app gives you immediate access to games that are optimized for the SHIELD and also to the streaming feature, which sadly only works with GTX Desktop hardware, not yet available for Notebook hardware, so my GeForce 780M can't stream to it. There seems to be an alternative which some people claim to be superior to Nvidia's streaming: Splashtop.

The virtual gamepad mapper helps as a workaround for games that don't support gamepads by allowing you to customize which buttons or gestures map to physical buttons. It's pretty awesome and Nvidia have done a thorough job in making it functional and very easy to use. I've made my own mappings for Swordigo and the game is so much better with a physical gamepad!

Honestly, with regards to the software structure, this is exactly what Sony should have done with the Vita: an Android device that can run major games and still retain traditional functionality, giving you the ability to install your favourite Android apps. Wanna sell Vitas? Make them useful. Sony already have an Android distro with the Xperia, so why not capitalize and mod it for the Vita?

Anyway, coming back to the SHIELD, it's definitely a hardcore item that's difficult to recommend to the average gamer, let alone general public. I've yet to test the Console Mode but if it works as I imagine it could very well be one of the SHIELD's strong suites as a streaming solution.

I'm going to delve deeper into my experience with the SHIELD and see how I feel about it in a couple of weeks.

[idolminds]

I've heard good thing about that thing running emulators. Would be pretty cool to have one just for that.

[Xessive]

I've heard good thing about that thing running emulators. Would be pretty cool to have one just for that.

Definitely awesome with that stuff.

So far the only hick-up I've come across is games that require a vertical screen orientation, for example Raiden Legacy, which is an arcade top-down shooter. It runs and the controller works but the orientation is counter-intuitive so I would have to use the touchscreen and hold the SHIELD like a book, which is less than ideal to say the least. The limitation is in the game itself since it doesn't allow adjusting the screen orientation.

Despite that, anything that works feels like it was made for the SHIELD.

I'm going to test a couple of emulators and see how they pan out on the SHIELD.

[Xessive]

Good news!

The latest update for the SHIELD adds a lot of enhancements, with a revamped TegraZone interface, and it updates the OS to Android 4.4.2 (KitKat).

The GeForce Experience 2.0 update on PC also allows Gamestream for a wider variety of Nvidia hardware across networks as well as over the internet.

I was finally able to stream directly to my SHIELD and while it works a bit more universally than Steam's In-Home Streaming it certainly suffers a bit more visually and in its performance (some noticeable latency), as opposed to Steam's nearly flawless streaming (with both my machines in the same locations I tested the SHIELD). The SHIELD seems to work best when sitting really close to my router. I believe that's a flaw in the SHIELD's built-in wifi receiver, which I've noticed is significantly weaker than most other devices in my house. It frequently loses connection in areas where everything else works relatively well (averaging 52% connectivity strength).

Either way, in the ideal setting I was able to play some Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag with gorgeous graphics on a portable screen.

At first, I asked myself "why the heck would I want to play on a tiny screen when I can just play the game on my PC with its much larger screen?" But, on occasion, I've caught myself preferring to chill out in the living room instead of my bedroom, getting really comfortable on the couch, then getting in the mood to play something. That's pretty much the only (arguably best) scenario I've come across. Total luxury. This will clearly add to my hedonistic *cautious sarcasm* lifestyle.