Trial of the Equilibrium: Part Five

 I'm at level 60, which means I have to face the Trial of the Equilibrium again.

Five star characters will be helpful, although not entirely necessary.  One account has Yanqing, Bailu, Bronya, and Gepard, while the other has Himeko, Seele, and Clara.  I just received Welt Yang on the account with Bailu.  After seeing what this character can do in a tryout, I have interest in seeing how he faces difficult enemies.  Getting him to level 70, along with his 5-star Light Cone, is taking some time.

On the account that doesn't have Bailu, I received her 5-star Light Cone and it is giving Natasha much-needed endurance.  That also took some time to get to almost level 70.

Previously, I mentioned upgrading Traces with the Echo of War environments.  You can make some important changes by finishing some of these enhancements--more DEF, more ATK, more HP.

 It's finished

 I tried one account and then, the other.  Both were finished in just a few minutes.

I had Qingque, March 7th. Bailu, and Dan Heng on one team.  That's the account that also has Yanqing, Welt Yang, Bronya, and Gepard.  I wanted to see how Welt Yang did in the Trial, but he wasn't necessary.  I'm surprised that everyone did so well.  However,  there must have been some mistake on the rewards, as nothing much appeared.

The other account had Dan Heng, Natasha, Clara, and Seele.  That account also has Himeko, which I was finishing upgrading.  I considered using my main character, which is on the path of Preservation, rather than Destruction.  He doesn't have many Eidolons, but he is powerful.

Well, I'm ready to Ascend my main character on the way to level 80.  They want 180,000 credits for the character and 200,000 credits for the Light Cone, which might take a while to finish four to six characters.  Is there life beyond level 80 yet?

Update 2023.07.19: Updated to version 1.2, On one account, I've got the main character (Preservation) up to level 80, but his Light Cone is only at level 71.  On the other account, I have longer to go, as I was trying to get Welt Yang to level 70, as well as getting my main character (Destruction) to level 80.

The account with the Preservation main character has completed the mission with Phantylia, The Ascended, etc.  After completing a new Forgotten Hall, I got the 4-star character Yukong.  Since characters that can create Imaginary Damage are few, this is good.  However, during the episode, the main character reverted from Preservation to Destruction, which was surprising but was during a battle.

Both accounts are through the battle with Phantylia.  That's amazing without any level 80 character. Still haven't spent any real money.

Apple Silicon Software Development seems slow

It's been about three years since the initial M1-based machines from Apple became reality.  Why is development lagging?

Steam Hardware Survey

The other day, Steam requested my computer's details.  One is an AMD Ryzen 7 with Geforce RTX 3050 Ti (laptop version, of course), and the other is a 2020 MacBook Air M1.  In reporting, Steam shows AppleVirtual processor and 1440x900 resolution, which is far from the truth, unless of course, you don't care to make your software the best and take advantage of the actual power that is available.

I've only had my 2020 M1 MacBook Air for about a year, but it seems as though most applications are only compatible through emulation.

I could understand why Adobe wouldn't be quick about it.  They were dragging their feet on the way to Mac OS X in 2000.  They wouldn't port Premier Pro, and Apple brought out Final Cut and Aperture.

Intuit was also complaining, but then, they wanted us to move to Windows because they told people "the Mac is just too difficult to program" or some such, used to justify the higher price and lower functionality.

What got me over the years was that Microsoft was Apple's enemy and yet, their software was better for Mac OS X than that of Adobe, Apple's friend.

It's 2023, not 2003

It still feels as though little has been accomplished since the M1 and other Apple Silicon processors have been available.  The performance is so good that you might not notice the speed of Intel emulation.  Mouse cursor positioning doesn't seem all that stable, though, as of macOS 12.x.

It's been almost three years and I would expect that developers would want to show what their applications could do on better hardware.

Valve Software might not be doing as well as they want people to believe, but I suspect that they could buy a couple of M1-based Macs and update Steam for Apple Silicon.  If that worked out, they could re-jig Source to 64-bit compatibility, as well as Metal compatibility.  Apple might even help them, just to get more games on M1 Macs.  I should note the rumor that Valve and Apple talked about making Proton work on Macs and Apple refused.  Whether it happened or not, things need to be better than running Windows executables on another operating system.  Steam Deck with Proton works but it's not always wonderful.

It really wouldn't hurt Apple to create a division for games and keep it to help third parties develop outstanding games.  A couple of games I had for Windows are available in Apple Arcade but unavailable elsewhere.

It's interesting that Evernote is a Universal binary, but Dropbox is Intel-only.  Google Drive is listed as Apple Silicon, not Universal.  LastPass is Intel-only, but thankfully, Malwarebytes is Universal.

Serif's Affinity applications are Universal, but it seems a number of creative applications are not.  I'm thankful for Capture One Pro being Universal, as well as Affinity Publisher, Designer, and Photo.

How many years until Intel is completely gone from Apple machines?  When Apple pulls the plug on Rosetta 2 will they step up or step away?

Update 2024.07.29: I just updated to macOS 14.6, a Sonoma release.  I got an update for Steam, but I 99% know that it's Intel-only.  I checked updates on GOG Galaxy some 20 minutes ago and I'm waiting for it to finish.  That's perplexing since the Windows version updated a few days ago and I didn't have to check.  It told me.  It's time for the Heroic games launcher.

Electronic Arts finally got around to retiring Origin for the EA launcher, which is Universal.  Most of my games are still Intel-targeted.  Death Stranding is Apple Silicon only and is not available on Steam yet.  Divinity - Original Sin 2 is Intel only.

I've been reminded in some forums that there are 200+ Mac games.  I've also been reminded that you can use Whisky with the Heroic launcher to play some Windows-only games.  There are a few well-known games coming to Mac, including a new Assassins Creed (Shadows?) game.  I have a few of them but Ubisoft hasn't made a game I've loved since the original Rayman on Atari Jaguar.

Of course, it's not all about games, but they are essential to home users.

Update 2024.08.16: Now that the Qualcomm ARM-based machines using a Nuvia-developed SoC have been released, it should be interesting to see if there will be ARM-based games on Windows.  Apparently, the Windows' equivalent to Rosetta 2 is not so amazing.

Perhaps, if game developers start to design games for ARM on the desktop, they'll be able to target Macs as well as Windows machines.  Considering that the M1-based machines arrived in 2020, it's a bit frustrating waiting for something to happen.

I've downloaded Whisky and the Heroic Games Launcher but I haven't tried much, as I am not restricted to macOS, having a Windows 11 machine and a Steam Deck.  I need to focus.  I probably need more than my 1 TB drive and it might make sense to have a big, external drive for my Windows-based games for Mac since I have 230+ games on Steam alone and only a few are native to Mac.

Update 2024.09.02: I was just taking a look at the Steam hardware survey results.  macOS is around 1.3% of the total.  Is that surprising when Valve went out of its way to kill Counter Strike that was working and develop Counter Strike 2 with no executable for Macs?  All of their 32-bit executables from 2010 (?) still work on older machines but unless Rosetta 2 will run them, what's the point?

Why Apple and Valve couldn't even reach a compromise sends a message that isn't necessarily true.  Mac gaming isn't exactly alive but it's not dead, either.  However, the late 1990s were much better than now.

I tried Heroic Games launcher and downloaded a game that I know runs on Apple Arcade and it was fine on Mac.  I've been a bit slow to download much else because of the storage required.  I tried one of the Resident Evil games, which is native for Apple Silicon, and that was surprisingly good on an M1 MacBook Air.  If they have the RE Engine converted, they should be able to port to the whole series.

Unreal Engine 5 runs on macOS but it's the headlines about how bad its performance is on Windows that got my attention.  Trying new technologies is difficult but bringing a gaming system to a crawl is not good--just ask the Starfield people.

Update 2024.12.11: There are a few more games out for Apple Silicon:

• Resident Evil Village
• Resident Evil 7
• Resident Evil 4
• Assassin's Creed: Shadows

I've seen a mention or two about other games and that the Resident Evil Engine was ported, so any in the series could be ported.

With the M3 and M4 SoCs supporting ray tracing and other advanced technologies, there could be more games arriving, but Apple really needs one set of machines for gaming.  They need exceptional air flow, not the thinnest enclosures ever.  That said, my M1 MacBook Air is far ahead of most of the Intel-based Macs and about as fast as my Windows machine, AMD 5800H with Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050Ti.  The MacBook Air's graphics are way ahead of my 5800H's iGPU but not nearly as fast as the 3050Ti, of course.

What happened to the Nuvia/Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite/Plus?

Update 2025.06.13: This week, Apple announced that Rosetta 2 will be diminished with the new macOS Tahoe.  Developers are going to have no choice but to make their software Apple Silicon native.

Since it will be diminished, it will supposedly be effective for older games, maybe other older software that has no chance of being updated.  We'll learn about it soon enough.

 Hopefully, this will inspire developers to work at bringing their software to Apple Silicon after five years of hardware. 

Update 2025.10.30: Since the M5 14 inch MacBook Pro and M5 iPad Pro, people are surprised how fast the SoC is.  I'd like to see the MacBook Air with M5 SoC in spring 2026.  I'm not really happy or trusting of macOS 26 but it's part of the deal.  It's not that my M1 MacBook Air has become slower but that the games run much better on the M5.

I continue to get beta versions of Steam and yet, no native version for me.  I know that they're out there. It's interesting that Windows-based games are running, and running well, at that through Crossover.  I've had some success with the Heroic Games Launcher.  Whisky has been finished. 

Honkai: Star Rail, 2 months later

 Did you think that you would get so far?  Did you find the right combination to get what you wanted?

I have a co-worker, who is at a low level, asking me again if I got Silver Wolf.  I haven't.  I don't believe that I need her.  (I now have Welt, and his 5-star Light Cone, on one account!)

I've learnt plenty about my characters and in the Trial of Equilibrium, Part Four, I found that two 4-star characters work just fine.  Properly fitted, a 5-star character can do better, but that isn't necessary.  Bailu can revive "the dead", unlike Natasha, but Natasha has done just fine where I didn't have Bailu.  (However, I have a 5-star Light Cone that I want Natasha to use, but I don't have another Abundance character to host it until it's at maximum level. Having two doctors on the other account works wonders.)

Finding the right combination for a character is important.  After Trial of the Equilibrium, Part Four, I removed the relics of all important characters and used recommended sets.  This provided a much bigger upswing in the statistics than guessing which ones would work well.

As well, I found two 5-star Light Cones for the main character in Herta's Store.  This not only makes a difference for the main character, but allows another character to use a powerful Light Cone.  Destruction Light Cones have been in short supply for me.  On the other account where I switched the main character to Preservation, this still helped to bring March 7th up a notch.

I've chosen to raise the level of Qingque just after the main character, because of the Quantum damage.  This has resulted in easier victories against Arumaton Gatekeepers.

Getting supplies to push characters to level 70 is difficult.  I need loads of credits and loads of materials for the Synthesizer.  This will take time.  I can only imagine that pushing them to level 80 will be almost impossible and require loads of time.  Still, I'm not paying real money.

Update 2023.07.09: This really is taking time.  I find the materials to update a Light Cone on one character and run out of money.  Then, I can't seem to get enough Trailblaze power to complete Calyx runs.  Version 1.2 is arriving shortly.  I guess it won't be much different, since I'm already everywhere, trying to accomplish everything.

Those Traces on the edges need to be in use.  You need to complete Echo of War battles to complete the two that are keeping those from being used.

Complete the two toward the bottom and work your way up each line to increase abilities.

Honkai: Star Rail, One Month Later

Isn't it amazing how far we've come since May 1st?

I had no real clue what this game would be but I knew that I had no luck with Genshin Impact and would try anyway.  I didn't want to spend real money.  That would probably limit things more than I would hope.

I have two accounts.  I started one on May 1st and hit a road block quickly, and I used another account that was also connected to Genshin Impact.

One account has Yanqing, Bailu, Bronya, and Gepard, while the other has Himeko, Seele, and Clara.  It's good to have such characters for the sake of progress.  The set of four have been able to take on level 53 characters and win.

 I've seen some lists that say some of the characters I have aren't the best.  Still, they're 5-star characters and are more capable than 4-star characters, in general.  It's odd to think that I have all of these characters at level 50 or more.  They'll be at level 60 within a day or two.  I noticed the Aptitude Showcase has characters at level 80.

Yanqing seems to do most of the work for Bronya, while she increases damage potential.  Bailu is a more versatile doctor than Natasha but either will do.  Gepard, being a Preservation character is an interesting mix of attacking enemies and keeping allies safe.

Himeko is useful but falls too easily, similar to Serval.  They can both deal a lot of damage but they'll be out of the battle sooner than others.  Seele is holy-shit amazing but she leaves the battle too quickly.  Clara is a strange mix of her and Mister Svarog.

IMHO, some of the characters like Dan Heng are much more than 4-star characters and some of the 5-star characters aren't as good as they could be.  I guess that they can't have 4.5-star characters, though.  It's interesting to use Dan Heng and Yanqing on the same team.  Much more is accomplished quickly.

There are so many little things to do to make these characters do their best.  Changing things once you think it's finished is difficult, but it works in the end.  I've switched Light Cones at fairly critical times simply because a 5-star Light Cone arrived.

The good thing in all of this is that I'm not spending money and I'm giving Honkai: Star Rail the attention it needs without making it an obsession.  I've seen loads of people spend hundreds of dollars on Genshin Impact.  I wouldn't, which is partly why I'm only at level 8 and you have to be at level 15 for anything interesting to happen.  On Honkai: Star Rail, one account is at Trailblaze level 44 and the other is at level 42.  That's pretty good, especially since no real money has been involved.

Of course, you need to get your character's level and Light Cone level as high as possible, but make sure all Traces are complete and buy 4-star Relics when possible.  Switch when necessary.  You can always build them on one character and switch them later.  Enhancing Relics is something I haven't found straightfoward.

Update 2023.06.13: Most of the 5-star characters are at level 60 and many 4-star characters are at level 60, as well.  I'm working on finishing traces for level 60.  The account with Himeko is at level 45 and is facing the Ebon Deer, without much success so far.  I've removed Himeko for the moment, as she isn't effective.  Qingque is probably more important, given the Quantum DMG, along with Seele.

Special Rail Passes did not get me a new character but Serval on each side, turning into an Eidolon, which boosted her.

Update 2023.06.16: Still feel the need for one Abundance character and one Preservation character to keep the team going.  Attempting to upgrade March 7th on the account that doesn't have Gepard.

Trial of the Equilibrium, Part Four is upon me, on one account.  One is at level 50, and the other is at level 48.  Most important characters are at level 60.  Is that enough?  I have no choice.  They can't be upgraded until the test is complete.  What combination will work?  Quantum DMG is probably a wise option, but Qingque is a four-star character and isn't strong.  Then again, Seele, on the other account, is a 5-star character who falls too easily.

Update 2023.06.18: Arumaton (Gatekeeper) is in the fourth Trial of the Equilibrium and is a pain, defeating every team quickly.  I finally finished one of the other missions where an Arumaton was involved.  Of course, it wasn't level 60 and the one in the trial is at level 60.

I've upgraded Herta on both accounts.  She and Qingque make it difficult for the Arumaton.

Update 2023.06.20: Both of my accounts are at level 50.  I continue to receive the "relic levels are low" message but I can't go get better relics because I get the "underpowered" message when I try Cavern of Corrosion or other bits where I could receive better relics.

Oh, and on the account with fewer 5-star characters, I changed the main character to Preservation.  This means that the character uses fire and needs to have his Light Cone replaced with one from Preservation.  It also means that all of the Eidolons that were already there (all six) did not apply.  I wonder if they're waiting, so if I switch the character back to Destruction, they'll be there.  He's weaker and stronger, at the same time.

Update 2023.06.25: Trail of Equilibrium, Part 4 has been succeeded on both accounts.  This took a lot of relic enhancing, a Kinetic Cannon, some Cosmic Fried Rice, and a disposable shield.  Accounts are at level 53 and level 52.

Honkai: Star Rail, without real money

I've been playing Honkai: Star Rail since it was available, a few weeks.  One account is at level 33 and the other is at level 32.  I haven't spent any real money to get them there.

Unfortunately, my experience with the Trial of the Equilibrium on the earlier one hadn't given me an easier path on the other.  Having a 5-star character hasn't been an overwhelming advantage, either.  Get your powerful Light Cones early and get them enhancements.  You can begin with 3-star Light Cones but once you have them where you want them and realize that they're not as powerful as you had hoped, you'll be want better.  This is likely the way they get people to pay real money--frustration.  Genshin Impact is the same way.

There are a lot of ways to build the characters you need, so that you can switch between them.  The Calyx challenges have been extremely helpful in returning valuable resources for raising team members.  The only cost has been internal to the game.  You must be patient or pay greatly.

That Trial of Equilibrium is a pain.  I tried various characters, including one 5-star character, but the combination hadn't been enough.  The good thing is that any Trailblazer experience you earn isn't limited just because you haven't passed the Trial of Equilibrium.  Eventually, I passed both of them and when the second Trial arrived, it was much easier.

I finished Jarilo VI with a lot of effort, some frustration, and some inspiration.  I continue to handle missions on the space station and Jarilo VI.

What's surprising is that I was inspired during combat by Epic Games' Battle Breakers.  Those characters didn't move from their spots, but knowing how to assign characters, to balance abilities, was helpful.  I was over level 500 on Battle Breakers and wasn't one to spend money.

Honkai: Star Rail is so different from Genshin Impact that I can't imagine that they're from the same company.

During the first week, I saw reviews stating that the author was at level 50.  That must have taken a lot of money and time that I don't have to spend.  I believe that I will arrive there, but in the next month or two.  That's soon enough for me.

Update 2023.05.26: Version 1.1 arriving soon.  Highlights page already online.

Update 2023.06.01: Level 40 on one account, 38 on the other.  Trial of Equilibrium is once again a big issue.  I'm seeing a message about relics needing to be at a higher level.  Characters are at level 50 and Light Cones are also at level 50.  Except for relics, things are the best that they can be.

Update 2023.06.04: Level 42 on one account, 40 on the other.  I'm through the Trial of Equilibrium again.  I used three 5-star characters and one four-star character.  It wasn't easy, but I had to revive two characters after the battle with the Fridgid Prowler and bring up the HP on everyone.  Consumables are good for that.  I used Cosmic Fried Rice.  The other battle was somewhat easier.

I still haven't spent any real money, but it looks as though it's going to be a lot more difficult without it.  The future seems to be relics-related.

Warning: If you don't go into Stagnant Shadow and get supplies before Trailblaze level 40, you might not be able to do it at all.  I keep seeing "Team is too underpowered message", even though I have three 5-star characters and all four characters are at level 50.  You can set the difficult level lower, but your rewards won't be as good, and will take more tries to win.

Update 2023.06.06: There are about 5.5 hours until the new version will be available.  I'm not sure it will make a difference but hopefully, bugs will be fixed and things will work more smoothly.

The Simulated Universe is up to level 58 characters, so I'm unable to play it too far, as most of my characters are level 50.  I've got two characters on each account ascended, on their way to level 60.

It's interesting that I have so many 5-star characters when I see videos of people giving tips that don't have as much as I do.

One account has Yanqing, Bailu, Bronya, and Gepard, while the other has Himeko, Seele, and Clara.  It's good to have such characters for the sake of progress.  The set of four have been able to take on level 53 characters and win.

Tried the game on a Google Pixel 6a, which was miserable and an Apple 2022 iPhone SE, which was acceptable, but still not great.  They've got issues to smooth out.  My Windows laptop computer with 16 GB of RAM and Nvidia RTX 3050Ti works fine, though, producing a lot of hot air. 

Update 2023.06.25: Trial of Equilibrium: Part 4 has been succeeded on both accounts.  This took a lot of relic enhancing, a Kinetic Cannon, some Cosmic Fried Rice, and a disposable shield.  Accounts are at level 53 and level 52.

Update 2023.07.30: I've surpassed the Trial of Equilibrium: Part Five and it was easier than expected.  I have at least one character at level 80 on each account and a few others close to that.  I'm filling every slot possible, and it's taking time but I'm doing it without using any real money.  Trailblaze level 62 doesn't really look any different from the lower levels, but it isn't easy to finish characters at this level.  Tasks are simpler, due to familiarity with the environments and characters' abilities.

All this has given me time to try Genshin Impact again.  One account is at level 13, and the other is at level 9.  Prior to playing Honkai: Star Rail, I was stuck at Adventurer level 6 in Genshin Impact.

Switching from a OnePlus 8T to a Google Pixel 6a: What could go wrong?

 Now that the 8T is approximately 3 major versions behind, I wondered if it was time to switch.  I also recently bought a Razer Kishi V2, which for some reasons, doesn't work with it.  Android version 12 seems good but I wonder what kind of a mess the OnePlus/Oppo combination has made.  Things just don't seem quite right.  What better way to get a clear version of Android than from Google.

My last Google-labeled device was the 2013 ASUS-made Nexus 7 tablet with a Snapdragon S4 Pro.  It didn't seem to work very well with Android, but it worked well enough to play games.  It was much better than the previous year's version made by Nvidia.  However, even version 6 of Android just didn't work well and I gave it away.

I've spent time with Android 9, 10, 11, and 12.  They are better than previous versions.

Related to the Razer Kishi V2, there was a deal on the Google Pixel 6a for US$299.99, down from $449.99.  That's a good price for an unlocked phone.  It's slightly less than the US$399.99 I paid for the OnePlus 8T, but that had 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.  The Pixel 6a has 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.  Both have an OLED display but the 6a is limited to 60Hz while the 8T goes to 120Hz.  The Google Tensor SoC isn't all that different than the Snapdragon 865, but in all reality, the 8T is a flagship device and the 6a isn't.

Conversion

I charged the 6a and when I turned it on, the instructions asked if I wanted to switch from another phone.  As instructed, I plugged a USB, type-C cable into each phone.  The 6a couldn't see the 8T.  I wasn't surprised.  Sometimes, it's difficult to get the phone to charge.  I connected them wirelessly and that seemed to work.

After some time, it finished.  I wondered how it did a complete backup so quickly.  It didn't do a complete backup.  That's how.

It sent the list of apps, contacts, and more.  The apps were being downloaded immediately, but that took quite a while.  Apparently, the data was not always available.  A few Android apps still cling to Facebook and other methods of storing progress, while Google is clearly available.

It took about a week to get things running the way I wanted, although I'm still not sure everything is where it should be.  The OnePlus 8T is empty now, though.

Thankfully, the 6a has a tiny, compatible SIM slot.  Mint Mobile is hard at work.  I've yet to test communications speeds.

On the other hand, game speeds seem decent.  Scrolling a game in landscape mode is jerky.  Animation is fine but that movement across the width of the display is pretty bad.  Is it the display or the graphics processor or the lack of RAM?

So far, the 6a seems okay for the job, and if it seems not good enough, I only have to remember my first Android smartphone: the LG Optimus S that was forever short on storage.  I had to delete apps to update the operating system.  That phone was US$299.99.

Real Life

Okay, so out in the real world, away from Comcast/Xfinity, it's okay for the internet connection.  I was concerned because I tried it close to work and got 3G-type speeds.  At home, I turned off the WiFi and it was faster than the XFinity connection.

What's a bit disappointing is that the display is dark in sunlight, even on cloudy days.  I turned it up to about 80% of maximum brightness and I could barely see the display.  The display on the 8T was readily visible.  Something else that hurts is that the system continues to drop the brightness level to around 30%, without asking.

The horizontal scrolling jerkiness has become less but is still noticeable.  I suspect that having half the storage and half the RAM isn't helping.  However, the 8T was reporting that 150+ GB of storage were in use, and since I don't have that much, I'm not sure how things are working or what extra the 8T was reporting as used.

Cases

Crave Dual Guard case recommended by Amazon is strong but slippery.  It's slipped off the desk and has slipped out of my hands.  I'm glad the case is tough.

Instead, two Spigen cases caught my attention:

Spigen Liquid Air Armor

Spigen Tough Armor

I have used the Tough Armor case for the OnePlus 8T and it was very good.  I've settled on the Liquid Air Armor case for now, as it is a slimmer case.  It doesn't have the kickstand but I rarely used the kickstand for the OnePlus 8T.

Still, I have to remove the case for the Razer Kishi V2.  It's possible that an adjustment to the pads on the controller will allow the case to be used on the controller.

Update 2024.07.15: Ordered a Razer Edge Wi-Fi model to replace the Pixel 6a.  It's been over a year with this awful phone and I just don't want to deal with the frustration any longer.  Newegg had a deal for US$100 off, putting the final price at about 66%.  The Snapdragon G3X should provide a much better experience.  Even the Snapdragon 865 was better than the Tensor 1st generation.

Google Play Games...on Windows?

 I looked at using the Android environment on Windows but didn't like the idea of using Amazon's store of games.

I recently got an invitation to use Google Play Games and the experience is very limited.

Since I have Windows 11 and virtualization is enabled, I only had to download the initial installer and download the application.  It was fairly quick but it looked like it had been cobbled together (even for a beta test release) and I suspected at one point that I'd accepted malware.

When finished, I logged into my games-playing Google account and proceeded to watch the instructions.  There isn't much more to tell.  Most of the games weren't something I would even think to play.  Considering that the previous countries were in Asia, it wasn't surprising that most of the games were popular there.  Are 100 games a good start?  Apparently, Google have to tweak things so that they run smoothly on Windows.

I guess it will take some time and they're probably wondering if this will be more successful than Stadia was.

Considering that I have a few iPhone games on my Mac, this should fill gaps on casual games on Windows, since Windows phone is dead.

Update 2023.04.02: I have downloaded Hades' Star and Eversoul.  Eversoul seems to be a Genshin Impact-type of game, but in Korean, and with big boobs.  Hades' Star seems to be an empire-building game that is annoying.  I'm sure that someone else will find it engaging.

I'm still not sure that it's going to make an impact with the current selection of games.  There are a number of games in my account that I would like to use on the computer, but they aren't available yet.

Update 2023.11.22: Once I finally got into Eversoul, I see that it is no more than a boob show, objectifying female characters at every turn.  It is less than it should be.  While many mobile RPG games have an unfortunate view of women, Eversoul doesn't even try to be a good game.

Lately, I've been trying Tower of God: New World.  I'm up to level 101 on that.  I spent a little money, but I probably would have made the same progress without it, just a few days later.

Grand Cross: Age of Titans has also caught my attention and they currently have a crossover even with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the anime series.  I normally wouldn't play this kind of game, but it's from Netmarble, just as Tower of God: New World is.  It takes a rather long time for things to happen and beware what happens when you're not on the game.  It may seem to be a single-player game, but you co-exist with many in the same general area and they might attack without provocation.  I'm a bit tired of the building and character upgrades.

That said, I'm still playing Genshin Impact outside of Google Play Games.  At level 41, I've put some effort into it, and even destroyed my Corsair M55 Pro mouse button.  They've compared the game to Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and I can only say that there is so much to see and do that I can't imagine that you can play the game for free.

Update 2023.12.29: I've been playing Netmarble games more lately, including Seven Knights II, which doesn't run on Google Play Games on Windows.  I'm at a point where I don't seem to be able to progress.  I'm not even sure that spending money will help me progress.  In all three of the games, I have plenty of characters and many of them are powerful, but not powerful enough.  Perhaps, I need more knowledge in enhancing equipment.

I picked up Sword Chronicles: Awaken and Black Clover.  These are on Android and iOS, as well, but not on Google Play Games on Windows.  Google has increased the number of games available on Windows but it's not yet impressive.  A lot of them are still money grabbers.

I've played Sword Chronicles: Awaken for a few weeks and it's confusing.  There is a social element, where you get to know your characters.  In other games, you merely buy them gifts, but this one has you playing games, being asked questions, eating with them, and sharing the hot springs with them.  Battles are fairly simple and can be placed on automatic.

Black Clover is an adaptation of a Shonen Jump series.  It's something I've not read or seen.  Then again, I haven't seen Shonen Jump since the first few issues.  There are so many opportunities to explore and battle that it's a bit overwhelming and confusing.  If you like anime, you'll appreciate what they've done with the characters.  I've made quite a bit of progress in a few hours, but I'm not completely sure how.  I'm not far into the game, but I'm seeing the limitations of the SR characters quickly, as I've topped out a few of them at level 40.  You can rank them up when you have materials but earning the materials is a battle, and remembering where to earn them is also a battle.

Update 2024.06.29: Google Play Games isn't getting better.  However, Tower of God: New World crashes on my Google Pixel 6a and only gets close on Google Play Games.  It's one game that I hoped Netmarble would put on Windows.

I've been playing Seven Knights II on Windows for a while.  Since the company has a launcher for its games now, I signed up for Solo Leveling: Arise.  I recently added Grand Cross: Age of Titans, which I've been playing on Google Play Games (when it works) and on the Pixel 6a.

It is so much better as a Windows application.  The Netmarble launcher takes very little RAM in contrast to Google Play Games that takes over 25% of my 16 GB.

The good thing is that I've stopped trying other games on Google Play Games.  I didn't even start it today.  Of course, on Android, it crashed visually during a big battle, but it apparently did the rest to finish what it was doing.  I canceled and re-launched and it showed progress.  If it sounds as though I don't like Google, I don't.  They're past all the extra chances.

That Razer Edge is looking really good right now.

Update 2024.07.15: Ordered the Razer Edge.

Update 2024.09.30: I've had the Razer Edge for a while now.  I did a Factory Restore on the Pixel 6a after the Razer copy copied part of my primary Android/Google account.  Of course, it didn't copy most of the music because that was difficult.  I reactivated my early Google account on the Pixel 6a.  Android on Windows?  It's gone.  The Razer Edge handles most of the graphics pretty well.  The G3X SoC seems to be the Snapdragon 888 with a better GPU section.  I could probably use it to cook when it warms up.  Unfortunately, the Razer Edge is stuck at Android 12 and the Pixel 6a will probably get Android 15 too soon.