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Like, umm, Amazon's AppStream? [1] There's a process that involves, approximately, running an installer on a virtual Windows desktop, after which you can stream
by SomeCallMeTim 11y ago
Like, umm, Amazon's AppStream? [1] There's a process that involves, approximately, running an installer on a virtual Windows desktop, after which you can stream an app to a Windows or Mac desktop or laptop. Or to a Chromebook (!!). You can even stream to an Android or iOS device, but without a physical keyboard or mouse you can't DO much with apps. [2]
And considering how much work we've done to cut down on latency, I wouldn't expect the Steam streaming app running over a generic VPN connection to even come close in performance -- the VPN is almost certainly going to run over TCP, while AppStream will run over UDP, meaning in any but the best network environments AppStream will clobber a VPN connection for latency.
[1] https://aws.amazon.com/appstream/ https://aws.amazon.com/appstream/
[2] Disclaimer: I work on AppStream for Amazon, but my opinions are my own and don't represent Amazon. I'm just commenting as someone who has a lot of experience playing with the product.
- cthalupa 11y ago>the VPN is almost certainly going to run over TCP, while AppStream will run over UDP OpenVPN offers UDP mode, and I believe Hamachi (the VPN software mentioned in the article) uses UDP by default as well.
- SomeCallMeTim 11y agoThat would help a lot, then. But the Steam in-house streaming feature may not have the same latency compensation features that we've built into AppStream. I mean, why would it? You're not likely to have a high ping time inside your LAN.
- _alex_ 11y agodoesn't appstream require that the app is appstream-aware? my understanding is that you can't just take an arbitrary windows binary an appstream-ify it. The VPN solution might have worse performance than an appstream app, but it works with the existing catalog of steam games.
- SomeCallMeTim 11y agoThe app is NOT required to be AppStream-aware, no. (Not since we created "Zero Touch" mode, anyway!) We periodically install random Windows apps (including games) to test the stack. Games work well. Too well, you might say. ;)
- motdiem 11y agoAhem - a bit late to this thread, but any pointer as to how to run a steam app with amazon appstream ? I've tried installing both games from humblebundle packages and steam + one game, but it seems to fail to properly package the app and launch it.
- SomeCallMeTim 11y agoHmm. I don't know what's different, but I KNOW Steam games work on AppStream. I remember playing Arkham Asylum from my own Steam account. As a developer I have tended to prefer the "standalone instance" route, and I almost certainly installed Steam that way: Follow the standalone instance instructions [1] and then log in to it as a remote desktop, installing whatever you need. If the Steam install process needs GPU acceleration, then you'll also need to set up a VNC server on the instance and connect that way. Windows' "Remote Desktop Connection" can't use the GPU, where a VNC connection can. BUT beware: Make sure your VNC password is as strong as possible; maybe even turn off VNC when you're not actively using it. Good luck! [1] http://docs.aws.amazon.com/appstream/latest/developerguide/appstream-test-app-ec2.html http://docs.aws.amazon.com/appstream/latest/developerguide/a...
- motdiem 11y agoThanks for the insights - Digging into it, my first install was standalone and failed for no proper reason (trying to run guacamelee from the humblebundle - no meaningful error message was given). Steam games seem to fail whenever something needs to be admin, most likely installing directX on first - run. I'm going to try running them once first before packaging the appstream and then see how it goes.
- rcheu 11y agoDid this work? I'm looking into doing this as well.