According to 9to5Google, Amplitude Studios' upcoming strategy game, Humankind will be the first Stadia release with a touch-focused control scheme. It will come out on August 17th. Direct touch uses multitouch finger inputs, much like traditional mobile games. It is not the same way that you used to play Stadia on your smartphone with a Bluetooth controller overlay or gamepad.Google shared some screenshots that give an excellent idea of how direct touch works in Humankind. One finger tap selects objects in-game. Two fingers cancel. Drag your finger around to move your view. Three fingers bring up the pause menu.Stadias State Sharing feature will be available in the game. This allows friends to pick up from where you left off by simply sharing a screenshot or a video clip. You can also use the feature Leave Your Mark in Humankind to let your friend play through your world and find the ruins. They can then compare your achievements with yours.Direct touch is better than using a controller in a 4X turn-based strategy games like Humankind. This is because controller support can be frustrating. Strategist games require you to navigate complicated menus and be precise about where troops are deployed or how structures are built. Although you can transfer a mouse to a stick controller, you will not have the same level of finesse as you would otherwise. Good console-specific releases like Civilization Revolution of strategy franchises such as Civilization Revolution are beloved because they simplify a game's core elements so that they can be used with a touch or controller.For streaming games services like Stadia, touch controls can present additional challenges. You might expect faster responses from touch than a controller. This isn't always possible when you have slower internet connections. Google didn't respond to a question about whether it had made any adjustments to account for latency when using direct touch.9to5Google first discovered direct touch in an Android update earlier this year. It is still unclear what the implementation of the input method involves. Google claims that direct touch is a custom feature that Humankind uses and that it should be easier to transfer games to Stadia using the same control methods. It remains to be determined if direct touch will help mobile-first titles to come to Stadia, but it does mean games should be easier to play on your smartphone in the future.Humankind will be available on PC, Mac and Stadia from August 17th 2021.
