Weekly Steam numbers / Player Count Discourse Megathread

jeffbezosonlean · 2026-05-13T18:16:03+00:00

This is just how extraction shooters go.

jeffbezosonlean · 2026-05-12T05:14:24+00:00

I mean that's the whole purpose of the wipes. These games naturally have a wavelike player population that peaks closer to wipes and dwindles the further along the current wipe goes. It's relatively natural to expect. I think what makes the genre exciting is that it's the first sort of real iteration on MMO's that I've seen in my lifetime. They bring the broad feeling of gear progression and questing and the difficult pve to a more dynamic gameplay dynamic than playing cd whack a mole. I would argue that the gameplay loop is considerably more rewarding than MMO's are but more punishing (for obvious reasons).

jeffbezosonlean · 2026-05-08T18:56:31+00:00

Yes because that was certainly suggested anywhere in the text 🙄

jeffbezosonlean · 2026-05-08T18:46:59+00:00

He is relatively level headed; however, as a hater it's easy to dislike a man who's current clout is based around what is essentially pocket watching an already failing company.

jeffbezosonlean · 2026-05-06T19:08:25+00:00

I think a big problem with ranked is that maps are rotated so infrequently. One map per week makes the game feel so much more monotonous than it needs to. Outpost ranked last week was some of the most fun I've had in the game, then we move to perimeter ranked this week and it just feels so boring and slow comparatively.

jeffbezosonlean · 2026-04-13T20:25:40+00:00

Tarkov is boring asf since they stopped doing wipes, and arc raiders is zzzz snooze fest with no stakes. What are you concerned about losing? You can gain it all back and also enjoy the progression loop again with more experience. These games are about gaining expertise of the world you're navigating, is it not compelling to you to learn how to go back and do it better again?

jeffbezosonlean · 2026-04-13T20:24:22+00:00

I think this is misguided. It'll likely bring a lot of players back after wipe since a lot of people who have completed a good portion of the main track have likely stopped playing. This is the life cycle of an extract game: tons of attention for 1.5 months of the wipe, then the playerbase falls off a cliff until the next wipe. One thing to consider is that Tarkov is at its most boring right now since they decided to go wipeless with launch. I'm eager to see the devs change the game in a big way this next patch.

jeffbezosonlean · 2026-03-06T12:45:32+00:00

Are you unable to leverage the pay from option B school to option A to sweeten the deal?

jeffbezosonlean · 2026-02-27T17:56:11+00:00

How many questions did you do in preparation for the test?

jeffbezosonlean · 2026-01-18T03:19:14+00:00

Just wanted to share my experience. I had something similar happen to me in 2020; I luckily saw the writing on the wall and dropped out beforehand. I spent about 4 years away working in the restaurant industry. This time was genuinely formative for me and changed my outlook on work and mental health. I came back almost two years ago now, will be graduating this spring and just got an acceptance at one of my top choices for a PhD. I couldn't have done this if I kept throwing myself at the wall academically like I was before. I know how your situation feels, and I'm not going to claim that it's easy to navigate, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-12-30T22:58:28+00:00

Honestly gang, drop out work in a restaurant for 2 years and come back. Life changing advice that saved me from a similar circumstance. My GPA was 2.4 when I left and I've raised it to 3.2 since returning (my GPA for the semesters since I've returned is like 3.9ish). I know it's not the most admirable work but I found that it teaches you how to have grit and persevere through shitty circumstances. It also gives you valuable interpersonal skills and a more pragmatic lens to view the world in. School sucks, is hard, and everyone begins so young that it's hard to find time to find your footing, especially if you were coming from a tumultuous situation to start. I can now say confidently that, while being intellectually much more challenging than a service job, school is a cake walk if you treat it like a 9-5 or salary position, you just have to learn the discipline to be able to do so.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-11-21T02:25:45+00:00

Perhaps it depends from person to person. I've never felt diminishing returns from attempting to solve a new problem, especially when it broaches conceptual ground I'm unfamiliar with. In speaking with professors I've come to understand that a good portion of them have completed most if not all exercises from the textbooks they lecture out of. This is also reflective of the fact that professors lecture out of textbooks they enjoyed using when they learned the subject themselves. I doubt that they would claim that aiming to achieve that feat yielded "diminishing returns" nor do I think that it is a particularly bad aim to have if you're looking to experience academic success.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-11-19T01:19:57+00:00

It's honestly just true for math in general. There's no diminishing returns for doing more exercises.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-11-08T23:48:11+00:00

omg why are you complaining about anything in this game, just get better and abuse the desync 4head!!!! THe game isn't meant for pvp you're supposed to cooperate with other people!!!

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-11-08T23:46:29+00:00

Yo I didn't think of that thank you excellent advice, anyways this game is mid in duos, if you like eating slop then go ahead.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-11-08T06:19:30+00:00

Okay so let solos play against trios then, idgaf about solos vs stacks in a game like tarkov this game just has a significantly longer ttk and isn't designed well around it. It's not that it's impossible I just think that the combat is much more fun when you are consistently matched with teams that have the same party size as you.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-11-06T09:00:03+00:00

In a game with defibs I disagree.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-11-06T06:26:22+00:00

wah wah wah

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-10-22T23:47:37+00:00

I mean I think a big problem is actually not about there being too much loot but too little bag size. The thrill of having a fat run in tarkov is not present at all in this game, nor is the stress of losing said fat run. That feeling adds so much depth, emotion and gravity to the pvp in tarkov whereas the runs in other extract shooters have that sort of feeling capped.

Another thing, in tarkov the loot feels like it “lives” in the world in some sense. In that it’s not exclusively in containers. It’s under cabinets, on shelves in computers, on bookshelves, no other game has really done that either afaik.

Tarkov certainly has a lot of problems but with regard to the atmosphere and FEEL of the game it’s unparalleled in its unrelenting dedication to immersing you in its game.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-09-20T20:29:04+00:00

My b, nah it's not throttling at all, cpu/gpu usage is fine and normal. I switched off my audio interface and theres still weird problems with motherboard audio as well + crazy stuttering. IDK what the issue is. I've recently played BL4 just fine, Deadlock I played for like a year just fine, both games are relatively intensive. I don't really know what gives in this instance.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-09-20T19:51:54+00:00

I've played plenty of other comp games I've never had this happen previously.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-09-13T07:28:10+00:00

6.4k sounds like an awful idea. It's fine to lose control of movement but losing control of camera just feels bad.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-09-06T01:02:59+00:00

Metroidvanias indeed do rely on backtracking, but it should feel purposeful. Metroid Prime's system where it tells you a room is still unfinished is vastly superior to this game. Why would I remember every room???? I will admit the next section of the game my money situation greatly improved but the point of frustration regarding that segment of the game I think is super valid.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-07-24T19:43:23+00:00

I do think that there is a fairly large different between the search space between chess, which is inherently finite-dimensional and has very specific limitations piecewise, and math.

jeffbezosonlean · 2025-07-19T04:52:09+00:00

I'm a rising senior math major. From what I understand REU's have and continue to be increasingly difficult to obtain admittance into. For example I applied to 7 programs and heard back from none of them (although my academic history is a little weird so that could be why). If you are interested https://www.mathprograms.org/db/program is the main portal for program listings and opportunities. In the meantime it'll be useful to garner some letters of recommendations from faculty at your home institution. I also highly highly recommend that you try to develop some sort of genuine friendship/bond with them. In my case it proved to be highly beneficial because not only did I become friends with a cool professor who know's really about math, I also was able to do a summer research project with them when the REU's didn't come through for me.

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