add warning to low population multiplayer only titles

[Coldflame]

imo there should be a warning on the buy button for multiplayer-only or predominantly multiplayer games that consistently have player counts too low to enable play. this is basic due dilligence for anyone likely to be reading this, but theres a substantial portion of less-aware consumers who shouldn't be buying basically nonfunctional products based on information that isnt made clear by the store page

[Shade30Seven]

I dont see any harm in adding that to the store page, What would stop them from looking into the product elsewhere before they buy?

[Thermal Lance]

This is not the kind of problem that needs to be solved by surrounding people with cushy pillows.

[Start_Running]

Or you could jyust ask in the forums.

[magicISO Sweden]

Start_Running a écrit :

Or you could jyust ask in the forums.

or use https://steamdb.info/

[Tito Shivan]

And how many players is supposed 'low population' to look like?

[Coldflame]

Tito Shivan a écrit :

And how many players is supposed 'low population' to look like?

there's different ways to determine what the right number would be, which might involve aggregating the lobby size of the games in question or just a flat figure. extreme cases are games that require a dozen or more players but have single digit average counts, but even for something that's like 5v5 and only hits double digits during peak times you can make a compelling case that the experience is substantively degraded in a way that a buyer should be made aware of.


the fact that player count data is obfuscated from community hubs below a couple hundred adds to this problem. i don't think it's ethical to conceal this information from the client when it's publically available regardless and is collated elsewhere in a way that a layperson might not be aware of

[☄️⁧⁧Sneakydude555]

Should probably do that yeah. I have a Addon on my Firefox that shows player count on steams store page on a specified game. Considering most people are coming from console to steam these days, i think its a good way to show more people how the steam ecosystem works

if you're wondering what addon im using its called "Augmented Steam"

[Start_Running]

Coldflame a écrit :

Tito Shivan a écrit :

And how many players is supposed 'low population' to look like?

there's different ways to determine what the right number would be,...

And therein lies the problem.

Because there's always going to be a disagreement as to what method was used vs should have been used.

You can generally tell what the matchmaking sitch is like just by looking at the most recent reviews or peeking the forums.