The long awaited stats update is here, giving a visual flair to all that game data you’ve been logging! I just want to get it out of the way: this new stats page is intended to be a permeant Backer-exclusive feature. While I’m typically against locking features away, there has to be something enticing for paid users and stats were always meant as the end goal for this.
But please don’t let that stop you from enjoying this update as there are many other improvements and features to be enjoyed by all here! In addition you can still explore the stats of those who do have access to get an idea of what your friends enjoy. Finally you can always gain access by becoming a Backer yourself!
The Stats
Lets get right to it, I’ll breakdown each section and give a brief description of what each stat represent. Let’s go!
First you’re welcomed with a banner made up of all the games the user gave the highest ratings to, adding a personal flair to their page. Next we can see how their logs are currently broken up with the count of games and how much each type takes up in terms of percentage.
Then similarly we have the game statuses representing the same but with how each game is logged with its game status. To add some extra fun, we can also see the top genres that dominate these statuses.
Then below that we can see a bar graph making up how many games were played that year. This can be changed with the different tabs above to display average rating per year and lastly the number of games finished per year. Hovering over the bars will display the year and the stat being represented.
This next section is all about the top 6 games in each category. Here you can see games spent the most time in, greatest number of playthroughs, and highest number of journal days logged.
Finally we have two more classic bar graphs showing a breakdown of all the games marked played and how they’re categorized into genres and platforms. Hovering over these bars will also reveal the actual percentage along with an average rating for that platform / genre.
To the right is a pie chart of how your ownership field stacks up, giving you a sense of your collection’s real estate. Finally at the bottom we have your highest rated studios based on how many games you played and the ratings you gave. This one may still need tweaking to how it ranks studios which is why it sports that beta tag.
That’s that! All stats here will show as they are used, so for example, if you don’t log ownership then the pie chart won’t show an empty chart. Instead that section will simply be hidden. This applies to all the stats you see above so that your page isn’t bogged down by empty fields. Can’t wait to see how everyone’s page looks, and again this is a Backer-exclusive feature so be sure to check out the Patreon if you’re interested in seeing how your collection looks!
List Folders (again?)
Yes you read that right, list folders are back again one update later retooled for the better!
I started to notice profiles that have many folders became difficult to navigate and browse their actual lists. So this solution is to instead treat folders as a preset filter rather than an actual filesystem folder. So by default you now see all lists from the start, making it clear you won’t be missing a thing.
Then after that each folder is displayed along with how many lists are inside, selecting one then updates the lists to the right with that folders contents. With this sidebar active at all times, it makes it much easier to swap between folders and then always have all lists listed from the start.
You can also collapse the view by selecting the x if you want maximum browsing space. Just select the Folders title to reopen the sidebar if desired.
Average Ratings
You may also notice that the threshold text when sorting by average rating on the main games library is gone now. This is because the ratings threshold is no longer a static number.
Instead it’s now a dynamic formula that is recalculated daily, one that takes in the number of plays and number of ratings into consideration based on the averages for each. The idea here is that it allows it to scale with the amount of ratings that come in so that it doesn’t have to be constantly updated. It’s a new system to it may need some adjusting at first but we’ll see! Also an extra decimal point was added.
Games Page Beta
Here’s another backer-exclusive at launch, but will be available for everyone after initial feedback!
This is a revamp of the game’s page, with a focus on reorganizing the various stats so that it’s easier to read. As you can see all log types are now displayed under the ratings graph while the lists and reviews were moved to underneath the description. Then putting the static information of platforms and genres to the right grouped together.
The idea here is that this page will hopefully be easier to read and get that quick glance info.
Now you may have also noticed the new ‘Refresh game data’ button to the left. This is a new Backer / Supporter exclusive feature that allows users to refresh the game’s data from IGDB at anytime. There is a 5 minute cooldown after a refresh but otherwise this should allow quicker updates for games that may need a sync. The only reason this is locked behind a paid status is to prevent API overload as updating many games at once all the time can cause performance issues.
Other Notable Changes
Those were the highlights but there so many more changes and bug fixes that I hope it’s a noticably better experience using the site! Here’s a small list of highlights:
- Sorting by alphabetically ignores “The”, “A”, “An” in the beginning of titles
- New filter for game categories in filterable areas
- Search results greatly improved and now come with a journal button
- Playtime hours can now be logged with decimals
- Better accuracy of unsaved warning dialog check
- Backers page now has navigation to see all the backers
- List notes support formatting
- And much much more!
Check out all the changes on the changelog here: https://www.backloggd.com/changelog/#1.8.0
Special Thanks
Thank you to our Patreons as this update wouldn’t have gotten here without them! Really hope they enjoy exploring the new stats page and remember you can too by becoming a Backer yourself!
Backer Special Deal
To celebrate the stats page launch, this month only, you can sign up for a year long subscription on Patreon and you’ll get a discount of 16% off (don’t ask me why, but that’s the max Patreon would let me)! Ends up being about $2.52 / month. Check it out on the Patreon page itself: https://www.patreon.com/backloggd
Until Next Time
It was super satisfying to actually implement the stats page, as that was one of my big goals from the start. I can’t wait to eventually expand it in the future but for now we’ll be taking a break from stats.
In the near-future I’ll be focusing on creating systems that can support merging games. Why might we need that? Well for now it’s needed when duplicate entries make their way to Backloggd and need to be removed, so we also need a way to move all the logs from the deleted game to the original. It may also help with a certain version combining feature but that’s for another day.
As always be sure to follow all the socials for the latest on Backloggd and don’t forget to check out our awesome community on Discord. Talk about the site, share lists, or games in general!
https://twitter.com/BackloggdApp
http://discord.gg/Ac6XNNN
Thanks for reading and see you on the site!
