Community MetaSteam | December 2018 - We got 99 problems, but 76 ain't one

[Ex-User (307)]

This sale the queue has been even more weird than usual for me, showing me a lot of those cheap, uninteresting hentai (in name only) puzzle games the first couple of days. I'd blame myself because I just click next when I see a game I'm not interested in (I'm in the queue for the cards primarily, not to discover games) and wishlist those that actually catch my interest in the few seconds of attention I give each page (I give them more attention if I'm not in a hurry to get my cards and if the title/video/pictures look interesting then i might stop there to read a bit about the game), almost never hitting the ignore/not interested button but as I look at the reason why these games were showing in my queue Steam said it was not because of games I've played, those I've bought, those I've wishlisted, those played/recommended by my friends but just because these games have positive steam reviews, which is a bit of a weak reason to show them to me back to back to back.

I started hitting that not interested/ignore button but then I swear a game I ignored the day before showed up again the day after in one of my 3 daily queues and the ignore button wasn't ticked.

It feels like there is still something weird going behind the scenes.

FWIW, I just want to corroborate this. I've been very focal laying out what I appreciate about Valve/Steam on this forum, but this is annoying me a bit.

I had never gotten these weird hentai "puzzle" games (or any "hentai" games in general) until right around when the sale started. Suddenly, I'm getting an average of at least one per queue, and I have no idea why.

I understand that it's partially my fault for having some of the adult content filters off, but I still don't understand where the "discovery" part is coming from. I own very few "anime" games on Steam (Recettear, BlazBlue, GG XX ACCENT, Ys Origin and Oath, and Legend of Heroes is basically my entire collection), and I own almost nothing that would be classified as "adult" (literally the "sexiest" my library gets is The Witcher 1/2). I own no VNs, and haven't wish-listed any either.

And yet, today, even after me hitting "ignore" on like six anime tit games in my queue yesterday, I got another stupid yuri VN and a scalie VN about dragons in my first queue. Then I got some weird AO pseudo-anime VN in my second queue. And finally some erotic gachimuchi puzzler and a furry game that came up with a literal rape warning in my third queue. So that's five shitty sex games in three queues.

I'm not here to rail against those games necessarily being on Steam, and I don't really give a damn if someone wants to play some low-effort "puzzle" game to get their jollies. But I really do not get why they're in my queues. If I'm into puzzle games, and I am, show me actual puzzle games. Not these non-puzzle sex games and VNs I showed no interest in! And I've never bought VNs on Steam, so stop showing me those all together!

If the system is trying to learn or predict some of my tendencies, it's completely off the mark with those games.

 

[Alexandros]

If the system is trying to learn or predict some of my tendencies, it's completely off the mark with those games.

Maybe, since adult content is relatively new on Steam, the algorithm needs more time to learn your preferences on these. It's possible that the system detects that you have the adult filter off and is pushing some of the adult titles to gauge your interest.

 

[Teggy]

Seeing those Star Ocean shots really makes me want to go back and finish Second Evolution. It’s so good, but there’s a point in the story where you’d kind of expect it to end and then...it keeps going. That’s when I fell off. I don’t remember the mechanics or story at all, though, so I’d have to play from the beginning.

 

[Stevey]

What an ending that was

 

[Wok]

But I really do not get why they're in my queues.

To be frank, I doubt the "Steam algorithm" (for discovery queue) is learning anything at all from my preferences. It seems like it is just showing me new releases, without any intelligence driving it.

Whenever I turn filters off, I suddenly get submerged with all the games which were previously filtered out, as if there was a dam which was holding them out of my view and that these games were patiently waiting for the time when I would remove the dam. Like, if I turn off the adult filter now, my discovery queue will only consist of awful anime adult games.

The relevant recommendation systems lie in other places on the store. For instance:

Styx because I played Hitman. Breathedge because I played NMS.

Deep Rock Galactic because it is tagged with Multiplayer Action Coop.

Card Game Games (sic) because I have played card games.

 

[lashman]

Community - So what did you get for a christmas present?

 

[Ex-User (307)]

Maybe, since adult content is relatively new on Steam, the algorithm needs more time to learn your preferences on these. It's possible that the system detects that you have the adult filter off and is pushing some of the adult titles to gauge your interest.

I think it makes sense to gauge my interest in adult oriented games, but it seems like the crazy escalation is a bit much. I really don't know if there's a "right" way for the algorithm to work, but it certainly feels weird to go from no sexy games to straight hentai puzzles and furry sex games.

• I have shown little interest in "anime" or Japanese games on Steam, and that's most of what it's showing me in terms of "sexy" content. That feels weird. If there's no other sexy content other than anime-styled, it seems like it be checking if I even like that style before shoving sexualized versions of that content in my face.
• I've also shown basically zero interest in VNs, and again, it seems prudent to check if I even like VNs before shoving sexed up VNs in my face.

It's not the end of Steam by any stretch of the imagination, at least not on my consumer side, but it certainly is annoying to keep getting games in the same style that I've consistently shot down across multiple queues.

Post automatically merged: Dec 25, 2018

To be frank, I doubt the "Steam algorithm" (for discovery queue) is learning anything at all from my preferences. It seems like it is just showing me new releases, without any intelligence driving it.

Whenever I turn filters off, I suddenly get submerged with all the games which were previously filtered out, as if there was a dam which was holding them out of my view and that these games were patiently waiting for the time when I would remove the dam. Like, if I turn off the adult filter now, my discovery queue will only consist of awful anime adult games.

The relevant recommendation systems lie in other places on the store. For instance:

Yeah I agree, I don't feel like it's learning anything. I've ignored and skipped quite a few sexy games in my queue, and if anything it's showing me way weirder shit now.

Like "Oh you don't like the average animu sex game? HAVE SOME EROTIC MALE WRESTLING GAMES, SOME FURRY SEX GAMES WITH RAPE AND SOME DRAGON SEX GAMES FOR GOOD MEASURE. WE HIT YOUR FETISH YET?"

And it's like, no dawg. If I said no to the tamer stuff, maybe stop escalating into weirder shit.

The actual storefront recs like you say are about a million times more relevant to me anyways.

 

[SpectrumWarrior]

I too have had many nsfw stuff in my queues lately, I had 3 iterations of Deep Space Waifu in 2 queues yesterday...
It looks like most of those are linked to me owning:
It got [nudity] & [adult content] tags for some reasons and for whatever rule, that game pops up like 6 times per 3 queues, everytime linked to something naughty (I didn't open this game since april).

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

Yeah, the Discovery Queue is just something i click through for cards usually. It's very rare that it actually suggests anything other than a genre i'm currently playing though. I play a horror game and i get a queue full of horror, i played a sim so i must want to buy 20 more of them right?

I get most of my recommendations by looking at the Similar Games section of stuff in my library, forum threads or the steam front page. There again i skip around game genres all the time so i imagine it's quite tricky to profile me. I could do without waves of sexy rpg maker games just because i like the work of some of the smaller devs who use the engine though.

 

[Ex-User (307)]

To the Discovery Queue’s credit, I actually appreciate a lot of what it’s doing. Other than the 1-2 weird fetish games I’m getting per set, I’m also getting some really relevant, solid recs. I haven’t wishlist a ton, but enough that it’s still useful.

Which is actually part of why the fetish/sex games is so weird and jarring. These useless, irrelevant games are just taking up the spot of something that would be way more interesting to me.

 

[MegaApple]

Chinese Paladin 6

How's the translation and general performance?

Post automatically merged: Dec 26, 2018

so I just played about 20mins of The Vagrant, which is on sale for $1.59 / 1.59€

Looks like I'll take a plunge at it.

 

[Knurek]

Hey guys, remember that Zelda-like that publisher of cried on Twitter sold 10 times better on Switch than on Steam?

Hmm, now how could this happen? What could be the reason? Let's see...

0% off during Steam's biggest sale of the year.
Well, okay, maybe the devs don't want to devalue their game. I'm sure the game's not discounted on eShop as well, right? Right?!

 

[madjoki]

Hey guys, remember that Zelda-like that publisher of cried on Twitter sold 10 times better on Switch than on Steam?

Hmm, now how could this happen? What could be the reason? Let's see...

0% off during Steam's biggest sale of the year.
Well, okay, maybe the devs don't want to devalue their game. I'm sure the game's not discounted on eShop as well, right? Right?!

It's not just this sale, It's been discounted exactly twice in two years, in Summer Sale 2017 and Black Friday 2018.

 

[Ascheroth]

How's the translation and general performance?

Both seem fine.
Though so far I'd recommend Gate of Firmament over it , if you're looking for a Chinese RPG.
But "so far" is also only like 3 hours, haha.

Hey guys, remember that Zelda-like that publisher of cried on Twitter sold 10 times better on Switch than on Steam?

Hmm, now how could this happen? What could be the reason? Let's see...

0% off during Steam's biggest sale of the year.
Well, okay, maybe the devs don't want to devalue their game. I'm sure the game's not discounted on eShop as well, right? Right?!

Yeah, that publisher is full of shit.

 

[Alexandros]

To the Discovery Queue’s credit, I actually appreciate a lot of what it’s doing. Other than the 1-2 weird fetish games I’m getting per set, I’m also getting some really relevant, solid recs. I haven’t wishlist a ton, but enough that it’s still useful.

Which is actually part of why the fetish/sex games is so weird and jarring. These useless, irrelevant games are just taking up the spot of something that would be way more interesting to me.

Well, as I said I think it's not a coincidence that Valve started releasing adult games in mid September, we got the October bug immediately after and now people are seeing adult games in their discovery queues. I believe that the indtroduction of this whole new 'genre' messed with the recommendation algorithm.

That said, if the ratio is similar to the one you're describing, meaning 1 or 2 adult games in a 12-game discovery queue, I don't think that's a big issue. You have the adult filter off, so it makes sense that you'll get some adult content recommendations. Adult games are probably being treated as its own category which is why you might be getting anime VN recommendations even though you don't play regular anime or VN games. I mean, is there any other tyoe of adult game available on Steam? To be honest I assumed that it will all be games of that particular style.

 

[Ascheroth]

Still having a lot of fun with Star Ocean 4.
Finally met Lymle and now I get where the 'kay meme came from. Also I watched her introduction cutscene with english voices on youtube because I think that was the character that made everyone hate the game, lol.
And yeah, I can see that. Hearing it in English was close to being physically painful, I would absolutely not be able to play this game like that for a long amount of time without losting my sanity. (And I'm no dub-snob by any means, I like the dub for the Cold Steel games and Berseria and God Eater,....)
Meanwhile in japanese voices land Sawashiro is caressing your ears.
Quite a stark difference.

 

[Wok]

Sometimes on ResetEra, I like a post and I instinctively go and try to click on the "Like" button... but there is none... there is actually a "Report" button at the bottom left corner of each post. I don't know why I feel the need to "like" posts, I blame MetaCouncil for this!

When this window appears, I realize that I am not browsing MC. It has already happened several times.

 

[lashman]

Sometimes on ResetEra, I like a post and I instinctively go and try to click on the "Like" button... but there is none... there is actually a "Report" button at the bottom left corner of each post. I don't know why I feel the need to "like" posts, I blame MetaCouncil for this!

 

[Sophie]

Going through one of those days where I wanna play 10 things at once but can’t decide which one I wanna play.

 

[lashman]

Going through one of those days where I wanna play 10 things at once but can’t decide which one I wanna play.

every ... single ... time

i have like 150 games installed .... and i never can decide which one to play ; _ ;

 

[Anteater]

well I bought ass creed odyssey, it's $25.5 on GMG with VIP coupon, enjoyed origins so i hope i'll enjoy this too!

 

[Blizniak]

every ... single ... time

i have like 150 games installed .... and i never can decide which one to play ; _ ;

It's why I uninstall almost everything sometimes and install the one or two games I actually want to play at the time.

 

[Angelo]

It's why I uninstall almost everything sometimes and install the one or two games I actually want to play at the time.

This is the best course of action if you have a lot installed games. I do this too except for fighting games & local co-op/local multiplayer.

 

[EdwardTivrusky]

every ... single ... time

i have like 150 games installed .... and i never can decide which one to play ; _ ;

Get off MY computer! 120 games installed on Steam and i have been getting back into Elex on GOG, i also want to get back into Vendetta: Ravens Cry after firing it up to see how it runs on my new rig.

I'ma also spinning like a top trying to decide between the Divine Divinity bundle or Pillars Of Eternity...

 

[lashman]

It's why I uninstall almost everything sometimes and install the one or two games I actually want to play at the time.

i couldn't do that .... i tried so many times ... it's too late for me

Get off MY computer! 120 games installed on Steam and i have been getting back into Elex on GOG, i also want to get back into Vendetta: Ravens Cry after firing it up to see how it runs on my new rig.

I'ma also spinning like a top trying to decide between the Divine Divinity bundle or Pillars Of Eternity...

story of my life

 

[Blizniak]

i couldn't do that .... i tried so many times ... it's too late for me

It's never too late. Uninstall EVERYTHING, just leave Chuchel and play it.

 

[Durante]

Sometimes on ResetEra, I like a post and I instinctively go and try to click on the "Like" button... but there is none... there is actually a "Report" button at the bottom left corner of each post. I don't know why I feel the need to "like" posts, I blame MetaCouncil for this!

When this window appears, I realize that I am not browsing MC. It has already happened several times.

I always almost click "warn" here when I want to reply. Like right now.

 

[lashman]

It's never too late. Uninstall EVERYTHING, just leave Chuchel and play it.

i can't ... i really really can't ; _ ;

I always almost click "warn" here when I want to reply. Like right now.

well CLEARLY you need to post more in here

 

[suiko]

I got only one present for xmas, Knurek deleted me

also, I subscribe to not install more than 10 games before finishing some of those installed, works real well as a motivator to finishing games.

 

[lashman]

I got only one present for xmas, @Knurek deleted me

wut? why?

 

[suiko]

this is a joke, he really gifted me delete (a game)

 

[lashman]

this is a joke, he really gifted me delete (a game)

ahhhh, oki doki

 

[Knurek]

I can gift you some other puzzle games, suiko
//EDIT: Here you go

 

[Routa]

Get off MY computer! 120 games installed on Steam and i have been getting back into Elex on GOG, i also want to get back into Vendetta: Ravens Cry after firing it up to see how it runs on my new rig.

I'ma also spinning like a top trying to decide between the Divine Divinity bundle or Pillars Of Eternity...

Adventures of Pete and Pete

I'd also go with Pillars

 

[suiko]

I can gift you some other puzzle games, suiko
//EDIT: Here you go

that was not my intention !
but thank you, santa

 

[lashman]

that was not my intention !
but thank you, Satan

FTFY

 

[SRossi]

That said, if the ratio is similar to the one you're describing, meaning 1 or 2 adult games in a 12-game discovery queue, I don't think that's a big issue. You have the adult filter off, so it makes sense that you'll get some adult content recommendations. Adult games are probably being treated as its own category which is why you might be getting anime VN recommendations even though you don't play regular anime or VN games. I mean, is there any other tyoe of adult game available on Steam? To be honest I assumed that it will all be games of that particular style.

This. I don't get what's so weird and jarring here. That's exactly what I would expect to happen with something like the Discovery Queue. It' there so you discover something new. If you don't like that stuff to the point you find it weird and jarring you have the option to explicitly exclude those things.

 

[Ex-User (307)]

This. I don't get what's so weird and jarring here. That's exactly what I would expect to happen with something like the Discovery Queue. It' there so you discover something new. If you don't like that stuff to the point you find it weird and jarring you have the option to explicitly exclude those things.

I feel like this is willfully ignoring the exact inability to fine-tune preferences, and the inability for the algorithm to suss out minute differences in individual preferences.

If I tick "General Mature Content" this is literally the list of example games:

If I tick "Nudity or Sexual Content" I get this as the example list:

If I tick "Frequent Violence or Gore" I get this as an example list:

There is like a chasm of difference between the "nudity and sexual content" of The Witcher, Rust and Wolfenstein versus Hentai Boob Puzzler Clone #4359. The same way there's a chasm of difference between a tagged "anime" game like CrossCode, Danganronpa and Long Gone Days versus Hentai Boob Puzzler Clone #3720.

I don't mind seeing some RPG-ass RPG Maker games, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want to see horny games just because they're classified as having the same artstyle.

 

[SRossi]

So you are saying the filtering is not granular enough for you? You want to see nudity, sexuality, violence and gore BUT you don't want to see hentai, anime nudity and furry stuff? Maybe you could ask Valve to implement a Furry and Hentai filter? No sarcasm, maybe email them and ask.

Still, apart from your preference to not see Hentai and furry stuff, I think the DQ does what it should; present you things that are on the store, not something you are currently playing, not on your filters, just to see if you may be interested in it. To discover something out of your comfort zone.

 

[Tizoc]

aaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy lmao (Double click to enlarge or something)

EDIT: I should try downsampling...

 

[Knurek]

aaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy lmao (Double click to enlarge or something)

EDIT: I should try downsampling...

Secret best Telltale game.

 

[Deleted member 113]

As usual, and despite expecting the contrary, I bought a ton of games already in Steam's Winter Sale.
Mostly, indie titles (RPGs, adventure games, ...), and DLCs for games I already own.

I discovered a few new games, bought several early access games that will be releasing their final versions soon, and bought many games by smaller developers.
For some reason, I even bought a game based on the TV show The Love Boat, which I didn't know it existed!


I'll try to cut back a bit on new game purchases in early 2019, to start tackling these latest purchases.
Thankfully, Bethesda, and the developers who signed for exclusivity with Epic, have helped in this regard.
Heck, they even helped me cut back on game purchases during these sales, since there are a few games from these developers/publishers who went from a sure purchase, to a "maybe when they are featured in the $1 tier of a bundle", at best (I'm looking at you, tinyBuild Games and Team17).

 

[Durante]

I wrote down my last 5 discovery queues to get a better idea of what kinds of games I get (note: I have nothing hidden in the store and no ignored tags):

Obra Dinn
Thronebreaker
Just Cause 4
Call of Cthulhu
Graveyard Keeper
Sunset Overdrive
Thief Simulator
Epic Battle Fantasy 5
Lethal League Blaze
F1 2018
Katamari Damacy REROLL
DUSK

The Council
ATOM RPG: Post-apocalyptic indie game
The Messenger
Donut County
Cultist Simulator
Shenmue I & II
UNO
Life is Strange 2
Wandersong
Party Hard 2
MY HERO ONE'S JUSTICE
Crystalline

Reigns: Game of Thrones
Do Not Feed the Monkeys
60 Parsecs!
UNDER NIGHT IN-BIRTH Exe:Late[st]
VCB: Why City
Gachi Heroes
Lucy Got Problems
Welcome to Bummertown
Changed
RESONANCE OF FATE™/END OF ETERNITY™ 4K/HD EDITION
CHRONO TRIGGER®
Coming Out on Top

Bendy and the Ink Machine™
Minit
Strange Brigade
Equilinox
Meteor 60 Seconds!
El Tango de la Muerte
The Banner Saga 3
Unavowed
Scheming Through The Zombie Apocalypse: The Beginning
Steven Universe: Save the Light
Moss
Cattails | Become a Cat!

The Red Strings Club
The Curse of Monkey Island
家有大貓 Nekojishi
3030 Deathwar Redux - A Space Odyssey
Radiant One
Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon
Darkestville Castle
EARTHLOCK
Noel The Mortal Fate S1-7
Exiled Kingdoms
Gamer Career Tycoon
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth

There were 8 or so games in the list that looked at least somewhat intriguing and which I hadn't heard about before.

More interestingly, there were only 2 dating sims, and of those 2 one is gay and the other furry. The only traditional "hentai" thing I can see is Lucy Got Problems, and that looks rather tame.

I guess I still have to go through more lists to get to the hentai puzzles.

 

[Stevey]

Feeding the backlog

 

[Deleted member 113]

Lots of good recommendations on those queues, Durante .

The discovery queues I got during these sales have made me aware of a few games that were new to me, and I bought several of them, so the queues did their job.
I also did get several games with Hentai in the title, and half-naked generic anime characters, but the ignore button is there for a reason.

 

[madjoki]

Best of 2018

The Best of 2018

Edit: Valve quality, it's sub pages are not working at all.

 

[Tizoc]

Secret best Telltale game.

I'm starting to feel like some trials should be pursued further. I did a quick read to see what other ways I could end a trial with and it reveals some more information to the case.

If anything, it's a decent game and the cases are interesting with some curious twists, so it's worth a replay to see these different endings.

 

[Wok]

aaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy lmao (Double click to enlarge or something)

EDIT: I should try downsampling...

Why game is it?



I want to try PhotoLemur.

 

[Tizoc]

Why game is it?



I want to try PhotoLemur.

Law & Order Legacies.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

Presumably silly/outdated question but I thought to replay HL2 and wanted to make sure first; you can't get a VAC ban for using console commands (god mode, level select etc) right?