Nvidia Shield Tablet Gets Android Lollipop Update, Half Life 2 EP1 and GRID

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Nvidia Shield Tablet Gets Android Lollipop Update, Half Life 2 EP1 and GRID

Posted by timothy on Thursday November 13, 2014 @07:54AM from the oopmh-and-grace dept.

MojoKid writes Nvidia's Shield Tablet is only a few months old, but Nvidia is already updating the device with a freshly minted OS, a refreshed Shield Hub and access to the company's newly upgraded GRID Game Streaming service. A number of new Tegra K1 optimized games are arriving as well, as well as a new game bundle which includes Half Life 2 Episode 1. The SHIELD Tablet Android Lollipop update will feature Android's new "material design" interface and improved app performance, according to Nvidia. The update will also come preloaded with a new version of Nvidia's own Dabbler drawing and painting app (Dabbler 2.0). In addition to a new interface inspired by Lollipop's design language, Dabbler 2.0 will offer full support for layers and it'll allow users to share their sessions over Twitch. Previously, accessing the Nvidia's GRID beta meant streaming games from a GRID server cluster on the west coast, but Nvidia is expanding the service with server clusters located in Virginia, Europe and Asia. For the best possible user experience, streaming games from the cloud must incur minimal latency, and adding more servers in strategic locations not only affords Nvidia greater capacity, but minimizes latency as well. Nvidia says the GRID service will be available in North America this month, Western Europe in December and Asia sometime next year. The company's GRID service gives gamers access to 20 top titles currently, including Batman Arkham City, Borderlands 2 and Psychonauts, among others, and Nvidia is planning to add new games every week.

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nVidia sucks by ArcadeMan · 2014-11-13 07:55 · Score: 2

And their new GeForce GTX 980 graphics card is really fucking amazing!

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1. Re:nVidia sucks by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 08:12 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah? maybe they do... But they just got a bunch of free advertizing... They're 'sucking' all the way to the bank
2. Re:nVidia sucks by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-14 06:30 · Score: 0
  
  Damn! I didn't know we was brothas! Wazzzup, cuz?
Hmmm ... by gstoddart · 2014-11-13 08:04 · Score: 2

For the best possible user experience, streaming games from the cloud

is a dumb idea?
Sorry, but why would I want to stream the damned game every time I play it?
No, I like the model where I download once, and ideally can play while my tablet is in airplane mode. In fact, any game I can't play in airplane mode gets deleted.
I wonder how many people are interested in this tablet, or if it's likely to be a complete failure as everyone things "who cares?".

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Lost at C:>. Found at C.
1. Re:Hmmm ... by xaotikdesigns · 2014-11-13 08:33 · Score: 1
  
  It's like Netflix for games. If they can get it to stream everything good and it's decently priced, I wouldn't mind checking it out.
  
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  XDInd
2. Re:Hmmm ... by gstoddart · 2014-11-13 08:44 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Because when we network speeds are fast enough, this WILL be the best possible user experience.
  As long as bandwidth is charged for by ISPs, then I disagree.
  See, everyone has said "ZOMG, the cloud and teh streaming". Meanwhile, your ISP is thinking "go ahead, suckers, stream all you want, it only makes us money".
  
  Cloud gaming is the way of the future.
  We shall see.
  Me, I'll stick with an XBox 360 disconnected from the interwebs.
  Don' need no steenking cloud. Don' need to steenking interweb connection. Don' need no steenking ads.
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
3. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 09:03 · Score: 0
  
  Unless you live right on their datacenter the latency will sink this idea of moving the client to a remote machine (be it called a mainframe or The Cloud TM). It can only work for games that don't require reflexes.
  On the pricing, I doubt they will beat Steam. The idea is to charge you more, not less.
4. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 09:37 · Score: 0
  
  Do you seriously think network latency will not improve? Ever?
5. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 09:58 · Score: 0
  
  Do you seriously think network latency will not improve? Ever?
  Do you seriously think the speed of light will improve? Ever?
6. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 10:08 · Score: 0
  
  Enjoy your massive input lag, wasted bandwidth and not being able to play when your internet is down or when you're on the road without a connection.
7. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 11:27 · Score: 0
  
  I apologize if I'm insulting your intelligence, but it sounds as if you're suggesting that the speed of light is the bottleneck here.
  If so, I would encourage you to study some basic networking courses, and then do the simple math to calculate which is faster: the speed at which light can travel through a fiber-optic cable around the world twice, and the speed at which a neuro-chemical signal can be sent from the brain to the tip of your finger.
8. Re:Hmmm ... by bananaquackmoo · 2014-11-13 11:39 · Score: 1
  
  I have the tablet. It's well built, bloat free, gets quick updates, has a tablet, has a good screen, is very fast, and is sized just right for me. Maybe it's not for everyone but I love mine. It IS a little pricey but I feel like I got my money's worth, which is the important part.
9. Re:Hmmm ... by bananaquackmoo · 2014-11-13 11:51 · Score: 1
  
  * I meant to say has a stylus, not has a tablet
10. Re:Hmmm ... by aliquis · 2014-11-13 12:03 · Score: 1
  
  It's a service with lots of games.
  But mostly it render games over at the Nvidia Grid so you get games which look better than what the Nvidia Shield could render itself.
  So if you have no PC to run the games with and stream from yourself this is the solution.
  As long as lag is acceptable or if there was none I think it's just perfect to use processing in the cloud rather than have the capacity at home but most often not use it.
11. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 12:15 · Score: 0
  
  I counter with the example of HughesNet latency.
  What now?
12. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 12:19 · Score: 0
  
  The Grid gaming is just a side feature. The Tablet itself still has a powerful processor and powerful GPU.
  You can play your regular games that you want to play in airplane mode - those are independent of GRID.
  GRID lets you play games that the GPU on the tablet couldn't handle. So if you wanted to play some new Batman game at 1080p, with a bunch of detail, GRID lets you stream the 1080p video of that, because at the graphics detail level, perhaps the tablet GPU couldn't handle it.
  So GRID is not necessary, you can leave it completely alone, and play your regular games. It is only there to enable you to play games that the GPU on a tablet can't handle. As long as your broadband can handle 1080p, 720p, or whatever streaming you select, GRID can be a benefit.
13. Re:Hmmm ... by xaotikdesigns · 2014-11-13 12:20 · Score: 1
  
  They've said that it's not for multiplayer FPS games where you'll definitely feel the latency, but playing by yourself shouldn't be a problem for most games. And as to pricing, well, Netflix is more expensive than buying the movie, after all, I'm paying over a hundred a year for it, but it does let me watch as many movies as I want, and if I play a game I don't like, it's probably cheaper than buying it on steam and finding out the same thing. Especially since I can just move on to the next game without having to pay anymore.
  
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  XDInd
14. Re:Hmmm ... by xaotikdesigns · 2014-11-13 12:22 · Score: 1
  
  Oh no! A cloud service isn't available anywhere that you can't connect to the cloud. I better cancel my netflix account since I can't watch it on the road without a connection.
  
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  XDInd
15. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 12:53 · Score: 0
  
  You been living in a cave or are you just illiterate? Most video games aren't cloud services.
16. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 14:39 · Score: 0
  
  Cloud gaming is a joke that will never go anywhere. There will always be too much latency and people want to play whenever they feel like it, which means at times without internet access. People also want to be able to revisit games instead of having some company hold their games hostage.
  A supercomputer churning out heavily compressed video is going to look like shit compared to something running in realtime on my game rig.
17. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 15:33 · Score: 0
  
  I'd be a lot more impressed with a companion Xzibit tablet.
18. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 17:12 · Score: 0
  
  Cloud gaming is the way of the future.
  As long as you keep your household under the 4Mbps "broadband" level that AT&T, Verizon and other last mile providers don't want to exceed, sure!
19. Re:Hmmm ... by Wing_Zero · 2014-11-13 17:43 · Score: 1
  
  The time it would take to take light to make a loop around the earth is 7.5 seconds, IF the light was strong enough to make it around the earth through a fiber cable, uninterrupted. (I couldn't find a max length of fiber, but it is used in the intercontinental network of 250,000 km, so at least that per stretch)
  Satellite internet has a minimum latency of 1/4 seconds, not counting congestion.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
20. Re:Hmmm ... by tehcyder · 2014-11-14 02:52 · Score: 1
  
  The time it would take to take light to make a loop around the earth is 7.5 seconds
  The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. The Earth is 24,000 miles round. I make that 0.13 seconds to loop round the Earth. Did you take c as 186,000 miles per hour by any chance, as you are out by a factor of about 60?
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
21. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-14 03:44 · Score: 0
  
  That's pretty much what this "Padfone" thing was: http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-DB596_stern0_P_20140603161043.jpg
22. Re: Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-14 04:12 · Score: 0
  
  I live in England and I've been using the Grid beta since august with no problems, it works better than PlayStation Now which is really impressive when you consider the fact that the beta isn't even meant to work outside the US
23. Re: Hmmm ... by gj.r.sumner · 2014-11-14 04:12 · Score: 1
  
  I live in England and I've been using the Grid beta since august with no problems, it works better than PlayStation Now which is really impressive when you consider the fact that the beta isn't even meant to work outside the US
24. Re:Hmmm ... by Wing_Zero · 2014-11-14 05:36 · Score: 1
  
  hmmm, i may have a conversion issue somewhere, i had alot of converting from goggle's answers, but the satellite ping is straight off Wikipedia, so i won't take blame for that one ;) (I was using km as a base and used a few conversion tools online to help me) (i used 299,792,458 metres per second as my measurement)
  299792.458 km/s light
  40075.017 km Earth Circumference
  0.1336758678565556 Seconds around earth
  7.480781804783763 if you flip the numbers. my bad.
25. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-14 07:13 · Score: 0
  
  Satellite internet has a minimum latency of 1/4 seconds, not counting congestion.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
  Yes, exactly my point. That 250 ms latency is substantial and significant; furthermore, it's unavoidable without changing c.
26. Re:Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-14 09:02 · Score: 0
  
  0.13 seconds is 130ms latency. 0-50ms is good, 50-100ms is subpar, 100+ms is unplayable. So even with the most perfect, flawless fibre network in place everywhere in the world, you will never be able to reduce lag to the point where you can truly play a skill based game with someone on the other side of the world.
  You could play Poker or Blackjack though.
27. Re: Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-14 10:05 · Score: 0
  
  Pip pip cheerio, old chap. It's teatime! Would like to take some tea? Ring round then, ring round!
28. Re:Hmmm ... by smithmc · 2014-11-14 19:25 · Score: 1
  
  Whether you like the idea of streaming games or not is immaterial. It's not as though you can't play downloaded games as well, and also, at least IMO, it's a pretty solid tablet regardless of where the games come from.
  
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Short review by novitk · 2014-11-13 08:15 · Score: 4, Interesting

Had it for a month, comparing to Galaxy Tab...
Positives: usable stylus for $300, fast, speakers, minimial bloatware
Negatives: drains battery pretty good even when idle(can't survive 2 days for me), slow charging from PC USB port, glitches in Write stylus app
1. Re:Short review by xaotikdesigns · 2014-11-13 08:34 · Score: 1
  
  I'm considering one, the con's you list aren't that bad for me since I'd probably use it as my "around the house tablet" and take my Tab if I'm going to be out and about where I couldn't charge it as needed.
  I probably wouldn't expect good battery life while playing games and such anyways.
  
  --
  XDInd
2. Re: Short review by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 09:53 · Score: 0
  
  "Slow charging from computer Usb port. "
  Well duh.. computer usb ports are a fourth or eigth the amount of power the wall plug they ship the device with.
3. Re:Short review by bananaquackmoo · 2014-11-13 11:40 · Score: 1
  
  I have one and haven't had the battery problem you did. Maybe yours is defective? The USB port charging is fine and mine idles for about a week (but then I have nothing running in the background).
4. Re:Short review by aliquis · 2014-11-13 12:01 · Score: 1
  
  I haven't had one.
  1) Best in class hardware (computing) performance, really only Apple Air2 come close/beat it in reality it seem - that one cost ~67% more though.
  New Nexus9 seem have about equal graphics performance but be weaker in the CPU department.
  AFAIK the screen is supposed to have a narrow range of colors it can produce though which is bad. Also I wish it was 10" rather than 8".
  2) The controller at first impression feel like it have less quality than the Xbox One especially but in actual usage it's nice.
  Buttons - Xbox One to Nvidia Shield to Dual Shock 4 doesn't matter all that much, most mechanic respons and longest range on the Xbox One and least of both on the DS 4. Xbox One wins?`
  Analog sticks - Xbox one have little resistance and easily bottom out. I think I have least control there, not very noticeable zero spot which may be good for FPS and such but wasn't my preference for shoot 'em ups. DS 4 isn't super comfortable but is best if you position fingers on the triggers and bumpers too. Better control than Xbox One, easily felt zero spot. Shield sticks have long(er?) movement, high resistance, clear zero, more comfortable than DS 4 and I like the positioning better.
  Triggers - Dislike DS 4 the most. Shield one feel like somewhat less quality than the Xbox One I guess.
  Bumpers - Most mechanical response and resistance on Xbox One. Like on everything except the sticks for some reason. However I think they are hard to push in and assume you'll lose in response time of them vs the DS4 one.
  I kinda think the same could possibly be said about the Xbox Ones buttons which on the other hand feels very nice (DS4 a little crowded?)
  Directional pad/cross - Xbox One very mechanical and your finger always rest on the cross. Second best and close to DS 4 in correctness? DS 4 standard Playstation layout, more or less always give the input you intended for it seems , least comfortable though? Shield uses a "pad"/"disc" with very little mechanical feedback. It's very comfortable to hold your thumb in but it doesn't track the intended direction good and for a fighting game I can nothing but assume it would often mess up your moves.
  Shield one make some more noise, sticks happen to be pushed down sometimes, underneath the design may not fit my hands perfectly.
  BUT - I kinda feel it would be the best forming one and the one I would had wanted to use if it only was that the directional pad isn't good enough.
  Xbox One comes with AA - batteries. Good imho since they are super easy to replace and you don't have to worry about wear, you can also use it with PC with no batteries inside. Should have like 35 hours battery life too. Uses Wifi Direct (No PC-driver.)
  Has rumble in triggers for Xbox.
  Shield uses a built in battery, also good for like 35 hours of battery life, also uses Wifi Direct (no PC-driver.)
  I don't know whatever battery can be replaced.
  Rumble is weakest and don't seem to be able to scale in intensity. Has a touch pad with bad feel and performance. Also volume control when hooked up to the Shield.
  Dual shock 4 have a built in battery, ~9 hours battery life and uses Bluetooth (work with PC.)
  Easy to open up and exchange battery which is available among other places online, that may break your warranty though. Have had quality issues with stick rubber wearing of and axles on triggers breaking.
  Have a very good touch pad, RGB LED-lights in front which likely will only be used by the Playstation (if for whatever reason you aren't bothered with screen glare you can have it on in some color though) and it have sixaxis (gyros and accelerators) which you can read when connected to PC (at least by cable) but I haven't tried to remap them with say the analog stick to see whatever it work as a driving wheel.
  Anyway, in short: I think the Shield Wireless Controller actually is excellent. Quality impression is lower and it has a built in battery and the touch pad is shit and the rumble the least interesting (weak and w
5. Re:Short review by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 15:26 · Score: 0
  
  I have no battery complaints, charges well, I use the stylus frequently and really love it... There have been a few firmware/os updates with a number of bug fixes. I got mine on release day and have really put mine through the ringer. Better than any of the Samsung Tablets by far, the only competition is the new Nexus Tablet..
6. Re:Short review by tehcyder · 2014-11-14 03:00 · Score: 1
  
  Also I wish it was 10" rather than 8".
  Nice problem to have.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
7. Re:Short review by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-14 05:03 · Score: 0
  
  Battery drain can vary massiveliy on the Shield, make sure you disable allow scanning for wireless networks even when off, draind battey like crazy. I get 8 to 12 hours out of mine web browsing and reading ebooks. If you're going to play 3D games away from the mains its essential to use power controls to limit frame rates to 30 FPS, its the differance between two hours and five hours life.
Hmmm ... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 08:33 · Score: 0

Because when we network speeds are fast enough, this WILL be the best possible user experience.
Unless, of course, you own your own super-computer than can render the game as well as it can be rendered with modern technology, and you pay the tens to hundreds of thousands monthly to keep it that way.
Cloud gaming is the way of the future.
Not a good move, Valve. by RyuuzakiTetsuya · 2014-11-13 08:35 · Score: 1

Getting the Half Life 2 Episodes is just heartbreaking.
It's like somehow the double reverse inverse(or something) of the Star Wars prequels. They're really REALLY good... but leave you hanging. You're actually better off acting like the Star Wars prequels and just pretend they don't exist.

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Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
1. Re:Not a good move, Valve. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-14 09:38 · Score: 0
  
  Nah, HL2:EP1 had an acceptable ending. The tower blew up, some combine flee and you get away with the girl on a train. EP2 is the real cliffhanger, but it's the worst HL2 game and not worth playing anyhow.
Half Life... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 08:38 · Score: 0

Android Lollipop is version 5. Half Life 2 is numerically the second game in the series. 5 - 2 = 3.

HALF LIFE 3 CONFIRMED
1. Re: Half Life... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 08:57 · Score: 0
  
  ZOMG, I KNEW IT!
Re:But what does Bennett think? by rogoshen1 · 2014-11-13 08:40 · Score: 1

why mod down? this is a valid question. I find that I ask myself many times each day (before even the most minor of things): "WWBHD?"
Perhaps when NVIDIA's NDK supports Netbeans.... by mark-t · 2014-11-13 09:35 · Score: 1

I'll probably start to pay attention to their android offerings
Which probably means never. But hey...
As an aside, I now predict that this post will rapidly be replied to by at least 3 or 4 commenters who will attempt to argue that eclipse is infinitely better than Netbeans, either completely unsubstantiated, or positing only subjective points of comparison, and if I weren't mentioning it here, it would also be replied to by at least one 'insentive clod' remark by somoebody who uses vi. The latter may still happen regardless, but I expect the fact that I've already mentioned it lowers the likelihood.

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File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
1. Re:Perhaps when NVIDIA's NDK supports Netbeans.... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 11:14 · Score: 0
  
  Netbeans? Are you fucking serious?
  IntelliJ and Eclipse already work. Why must you go on some kind of religious rant about IDEs?
  Use the right tool for the job, instead of creating a cult around one single tool you think should be good for every possible job.
2. Re:Perhaps when NVIDIA's NDK supports Netbeans.... by mark-t · 2014-11-13 16:14 · Score: 1
  
  ...
  And you accuse me of starting a religious rant?
  Of course I know that no single tool is good for every possible job... but believe me when I say that I've used plenty of different IDE's, and have found that of the ones currently available that I have tried, Netbeans has the best overall offerings.
  For example, a wysywig editor for designing swing user interfaces, live connections to a database, allowing editing of the database without leaving the IDE, and probably most important of all, projects developed with netbeans are not in any way dependent on netbeans to build... the buildflle that it uses for a java project is just a regular ant file, and a plain makefile for native projects, so absolutely nothing special is needed to build such projects in other environments. They are also easy to import into other IDE's with minimal effort, generally requiring no actual project conversion of any kind. I have experienced a lot of grief building a java project that was developed with eclipse outside of eclipse.
  
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  File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
3. Re:Perhaps when NVIDIA's NDK supports Netbeans.... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-14 06:26 · Score: 0
  
  but believe me when I say that I've used plenty of different IDE's [sic]
  No, I don't believe you.
4. Re:Perhaps when NVIDIA's NDK supports Netbeans.... by mark-t · 2014-11-14 07:32 · Score: 1
  
  I suspect you were just trying to be contrary with that remark, but if you don't believe what I'm saying about what I've tried, then it really seems kind of pointless to be trying to convince me that I'm wrong about what I've said I prefer to use.
  
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  File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
No mention of the spontaneously cracking trim? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 10:43 · Score: 0

Hmmm... Again, no mention of the spontaneously cracking trim, which Nvidia lied about and said was fixed, but it turns out it wasn't fixed and they are still randomly cracking, and now Nvidia refuses to respond to their customers which are demanding an answer in the form of a petition? Or how about the notoriously weak WiFi antenna, which can be blocked by "holding it wrong".
Or how about the shoddy screen which scratches very easily because it lacks Gorilla Glass, or how about how the battery drains incredibly fast, how the screen distorts from barely pressing it, how it loses charge even while plugged in, and how it gets incredibly hot and actually melted two units and almost burnt down houses according to the Nvidia forums?
This tablet is a cheap ass fucking joke that was pushed out the door with zero testing, and now Nvidia tries to sweep all the issues under the rug. But oh lookie, a 7 year old game is being released, how innovative!
This article is pure payola.
1. Re:No mention of the spontaneously cracking trim? by Cederic · 2014-11-13 21:51 · Score: 1
  
  But at least you were able to draw our attention to the issues some people are suffering.
  Me, I'm pissed off that the Shield already has Lollipop and my Nexus 5 doesn't. But I guess I should be impressed by Nvidia's turnaround time.
Re:But what does Bennett think? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-11-13 19:51 · Score: 0

You know, there are good people who would pay for a picture of white underpants with the initials "WWBHD?" on them.
I may or may not be one of them, but just sayin'...
Any relation to Metacreations' Art Dabbler? by WillAdams · 2014-11-14 01:30 · Score: 1

Always was rather fond of it --- owned by Corel now?

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