When a game lists "recommended" specs, what does that mean?

[Vuitton Vampire]

Does it mean able to run at 60fps 1080p on high? Does it mean you can run it at 60fps 1080p on low but wont drop below 60?

What does "recommended" mean? Because there are a few games were I have WELL above rec specs and have issues running.

[Gus the Crocodile]

It doesn't have a standardised definition.

[Radene]

Originally posted by Gus the Crocodile:

It doesn't have a standardised definition.

That's a problem. Makes people get grumpy and accuse devs of "releasing broken games".

[Gus the Crocodile]

I don't think that's a problem, specifically. 'Minimum' and 'recommended' having standardised meanings when not every game is targeting the same things would be a bigger problem as far as I'm concerned.

I do think it'd be nice if it was a more common practice for devs to say at least vaguely what kind of experience they think those specifications would get you. Maybe Valve could help encourage that by including a description field in that section of the backend, or something.

It's always going to be a bit up in the air though; there's only so many configurations you can test, only so much detail you can meaningfully give, and what's acceptable or unacceptable, stable or unstable etc is always going to involve some subjectivity. People ultimately need to be okay with a bit of uncertainty and/or with doing their own research. There's always the refund option if it's not up to your personal standards.

[ღ B U N N Y ᠌ ⁧⁧X]

I always thought recommended system requirements means "You need this to play the game on the highest settings" to be honest