Cloudy Pad vs Tencent START

Cloudy Pad lets users deploy a cloud gaming instance on their own server, machine, or cloud provider and play games from their own library. It can be self-deployed, including directly on a server via SSH, or used through Cloudy Pad App, a web platform for deploying a gaming instance. Listed launchers include Steam, Epic, GOG, Heroic, and Lutris; listed providers include AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Scaleway, and Paperspace. Cloudy Pad can deploy a Sunshine or Wolf streaming server for use with the Moonlight client, with streaming up to 1440p. Its documentation describes hourly billing without a subscription, automated cost alerts, and Spot instances that can be up to 90% cheaper. The self-deployment guide requires Docker, a Moonlight client, an NVIDIA GPU or supported cloud provider, and a stable internet connection with at least 20 Mbps download speed. Steam use requires Proton, and compatibility can be checked on ProtonDB. Cloudy Pad is free and open source, though cloud provider usage may incur charges. The maker describes the project as experimental and says breaking changes may occur.

Tencent START streams games rendered on cloud servers to supported devices, so players can start supported titles without downloading them. The app listing says progress can continue across devices when players log in with the same account. Its library includes online, single-player, and independent games, organized with personalized categories and recommendations. Listed devices include iPhone, iPad, mobile devices, tablets, computers, and TVs; the iPhone app requires iOS 14.0 or later. Tencent describes START ENGINE as supporting real-time biological and dense plant rendering, dynamic tree simulation, and GPU-accelerated fluid simulation. Tencent Cloud says streaming uses Tencent-RTC and Tencent Mingmou encoding technology, and documents JavaScript, Android, and iOS SDKs and APIs. Its Game Streaming product is a PaaS solution for PC and mobile games, with functions migrated to application cloud rendering. Each concurrent cloud gaming instance supports one player at a time. A free plan is listed, and named paid options include a STARTvip student monthly card at 28 CNY a month, an eight-hour package at 28 CNY, paid once, and a VIP monthly card at 29 CNY a month. Other listed plans have no prices shown.