Distant Worlds 2 - My concerns about possible Paid/manipulated negative ratings

[LordMM]

Alright, folks. the entire thing is possibly a conspiracy theory, but this is something I have been suspecting for some time. Ever since user reviews, upvotes/downvotes were a thing. There has always been a system where they can be misused to either upsell your product or damage your competition.

https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/upda ... am-reviews

Fiverr, for those who may not know, is a website that offers people items, tasks, or feedback for the low price of $5.00. So if you need something designed, created, or some other odd job or task done, it acts as an independent marketplace where you can get your job completed.

It seems, however, that Fiverr is also host to a number of people offering their services to review games on Steam. According to Phil Iwaniuk of PcgamesN, within an hour of setting up an account and sending out a message to various members saying they would write reviews, he received thirteen replies. In cross-referencing their Steam library lists, Iwaniuk found twenty games that at least two of the people seemed to have in their library as a positive review.

In today's day and age where competition is getting tough. I have come to suspect the review system is being heavily used to target rivals. I am not blaming anyone in perticular. It definitly would not go beyond most corporations these days.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ ... sd5-report

What's perhaps more distressing, however, is just how simple it is for a company to potentially pay a very small amount to receive a positive game review on Steam. An interesting report from PCGamesN has revealed that there are numerous sellers on odd jobs website Fiverr that plainly state, "I will play and review your game on Steam."

PCGamesN writer Phil Iwaniuk bluntly asked 13 sellers if the review would be positive and only one person replied that a thumbs-up actually would not be guaranteed

Assuming these guys were being paid to downvote a game, would they do it for the money? This reminds me of the steam reviews of Aggressors: Ancient Rome where people with 6 - 10 minutes of game time were giving them a negative rating.

Assuming you wanted someone to spam down your games Reddit page with positive or negative reviews

I am not saying all concerns and criticisms are fake. Sometimes, certain criticism, excessive dramatization, language used in certain reviews and Reddit posts sounds wrong.

[Retreat1970]

Are you somehow implying this will happen to DW2 and doom the sales? Or is this just in general?

Who's paying for this anyways? I'm very poor and could supplement my income

[LordMM]

Not will...could happen. DW2 could possibly be one of the greatest 4X space strategy games on the market. Some AAA companies might not like competition.

[Webbco]

[&:]
Bit weird to post this here...

[Siddham]

Yes I think this kind of thing is a possible concern. I have noticed how many junk reviews there often are on Steam.
By junk I mean a review based on a few minutes and comprising a line or two trashing the game.
To me these are buy to review & refund. Maybe some of them are paid.

[Erik Rutins]

Moving this to the General Discussion forum. Frankly, while I know there have been review issues on Steam and other places, if I could just ask "real" customers to take the time to review our games, it will always be a larger number than any review trolls. So if your concern is DW2, the best thing you can do is post your own review once you've played it.

[Retreat1970]

"could" is one of the worst words in language. This is just speculation and future prediction.

[Amalek28]

ORIGINAL: LordMM

Not will...could happen. DW2 could possibly be one of the greatest 4X space strategy games on the market. Some AAA companies might not like competition.

Are you really serious about this? Do you seriously think that any AAA company would spend money to "bomb" a NICHE GAME like DW2? Unbelievable what fantasies some people have.

[balto]

For a few months (I think it has been only a few months) under the REVIEWS, there is a slider where you can filter out the minimum amount of time spent on a game. I think the first level is 10 hours.., meaning if a reviewer spent less that 10 hours, it is filtered out. While that does not solve the problem of bogus reviews, it helps a little bit.

Also, there is a way for the developer to block this "time spent" filter. If you see a game where the reviews do not have this filter.., could be an issue.

Lastly, and stating the obvious, I never buy a game until I see some Youtubes on it.

[sPzAbt653]

Unscrupulous Advertising Tactics have been around since the Snake in the Garden. Beware opinions and advice. Find Reviews on YouTube that actually show how something works and how a game plays. Products and services not only pay but also provide their products and services free of charge to advertisers, including those that pose as reviewers.

Another fine reason to steer clear of steam, the downfall of niche gaming.

[gamer78]

I disagree with the part Steam is downfall for niche gaming. [:)] Not all of us -wargamers- use Dollar or Euro as currency. 8 years ago I buy GG War in the Pacific from Matrix now it costs a small fortune. And Matrix games on Steam have positive user reviews I observe. For space 4x games I have Galactic Civilization 3 with all the expansions. For a second game on space DW'2 would be perfect.

[Lobster]

ORIGINAL: gamer78

I disagree with the part Steam is downfall for niche gaming. [:)] Not all of us -wargamers- use Dollar or Euro as currency. 8 years ago I buy GG War in the Pacific from Matrix now it costs a small fortune. And Matrix games on Steam have positive user reviews I observe. For space 4x games I have Galactic Civilization 3 with all the expansions. For a second game on space DW'2 would be perfect.

+1

I have bought many many niche games on Steam. That's how people find them at all! Niche game producers certainly don't have the advertising bucks to paste their stuff on every web page you open like Amazon or Omaha Steaks. Steam is a boon to niche game producers because it actually gets the game out in front of millions of people. As for the concern about false reviews, just look at time played. Ignore the rest. And don't forget the filter for most recent reviews. The game may have been improved since release.

[Gilmer]

I just don't see how the numbers would add up for them, if the game they are trying to damage is a good game. They'll have way too many people saying it is good. Now, paying people for a good review - THAT I could see happening. But again, there will probably be a lot of people honestly reviewing the fame.

[Lobster]

If you want you can look at the review and see how many games the reviewer has and even see exactly what they have in their library and exactly how many hours they have played each game. So if someone is posting good or bad reviews about a game and are getting paid for it or them then it wouldn't take more than a minute or two to determine if the review is suspect. Steam gives you plenty of ways to sniff out reviews that are disingenuous.