Feature Request: Player Region Filtering and Maximum Latency Preference for Steam Networking

ソースファイル、テスト、エントリーポイントのいずれも特定されていません。まず GameNetworkingSockets の networking API と、示されている Steam Networking Sockets、P2P、Steam Datagram Relay の境界を確認してください。実現可能なコントリビューションには、対象範囲の絞り込み、定義された優先動作、および明記されたテストまたは統合ポイントが必要です。

Feature Request: Player Region Filtering and Maximum Latency Preference

I would like to propose a feature that would give players more control over the network quality and regions used for multiplayer connections, particularly in games using Steam Networking Sockets, P2P networking, and Steam Datagram Relay.

Many multiplayer games rely on P2P connectivity, relay infrastructure, or a combination of both. However, players generally have very limited control over which regions they connect to and what level of latency they are willing to accept.

This can sometimes result in connections with very high latency, increased jitter, packet loss, or geographically distant players, even when better connection options may be available.

I believe Steam Networking could potentially improve this by allowing players to configure optional network preferences.

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1. Player Region / Country Filtering

It would be useful to allow players to optionally define which regions or countries they are willing to connect to.

For example:

Allowed regions:

• Brazil
• United States
• Japan

Or:

Blocked regions:

• China
• South Korea
• Russia

The purpose would not be to prevent players from those countries from using Steam or playing the game.

The purpose would simply be to give an individual player control over which geographic regions they are willing to accept for a particular multiplayer experience.

This could be completely optional and configurable on a per-game basis.

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2. Maximum Latency Preference

I believe this could be even more useful than geographic filtering.

Allow the player to specify a maximum acceptable latency for multiplayer connections.

For example:

Maximum latency: 100 ms

If a potential connection consistently exceeds the configured limit, Steam Networking could avoid that connection when possible.

Possible presets could be:

• 50 ms
• 75 ms
• 100 ms
• 125 ms
• 150 ms
• Custom ms
• No limit

This could potentially work dynamically using the network information already available to Steam Networking.

For example:

Player A
Region: South America
Latency: 38 ms
Jitter: 3 ms
Packet Loss: 0%
Relay: Available

This would be considered a good connection.

Whereas:

Player B
Region: Asia
Latency: 280 ms
Jitter: High
Packet Loss: 1.5%

could be avoided automatically if the player had configured a 100 ms maximum latency preference.

3. Combining Region and Latency Preferences

The two systems could also work together.

For example:

Allowed regions:
Brazil + South America

Maximum latency:
100 ms

Or:

Allowed regions:
Any

Maximum latency:
100 ms

The second option is particularly interesting because the player could essentially say:

"I don't care where the other player is located, as long as the connection quality is good."

This would make the latency filter useful even for players who do not want to use geographic restrictions.

4. Steam Datagram Relay and Network Path Selection

Since Steam already operates Steam Datagram Relay and Steam Networking provides detailed connection statistics, I believe this information could potentially be used to make better connection decisions.

The system could consider factors such as:

Region
↓
Available relay / route
↓
Latency
↓
Jitter
↓
Packet loss
↓
Overall connection quality

Instead of simply finding an available connection, Steam Networking could prioritize connections that satisfy the player's configured network preferences.

This would be particularly valuable for P2P games, where the quality of the connection between individual players can have a much greater impact on gameplay than the player's connection to the game's backend servers.

5. Network Information in the Steam Overlay

Another feature that would be extremely useful would be exposing more network information directly through the Steam Overlay.

Steam already provides a performance overlay showing information such as:

FPS
CPU usage
GPU usage
RAM
Temperature

It would be very useful to also display multiplayer network information such as:

Ping / RTT
Jitter
Packet Loss
Connection type
Region
Relay being used
Network route

For example:

FPS: 60
CPU: 42%
GPU: 68%
RAM: 11.8 GB

Ping: 42 ms
Jitter: 3 ms
Packet Loss: 0%
Region: South America
Relay: São Paulo

This would allow players to immediately understand the quality of their multiplayer connection.

6. Per-Game Configuration

I think these settings would work best if they could be configured individually for each game.

Different games have very different latency requirements.

For example:

A competitive game might benefit from:

Maximum latency: 50–75 ms

while another game could work perfectly well with:

Maximum latency: 100–150 ms

The configuration could potentially be accessible through:

Steam → Game → Networking

or directly through the Steam Overlay.

7. Automatic Connection Quality Mode

Another possible option would be an automatic mode.

For example:

Connection preference:

○ Best connection
○ Low latency
○ Balanced
○ No restrictions

In "Best connection" mode, Steam could automatically prioritize available players and network routes based on latency, jitter, packet loss, and other relevant network measurements.

This would allow users who do not want to manually configure anything to simply choose the best available connection.

8. Optional / Opt-In

I believe this feature should be completely optional.

Players who do not configure any restrictions would continue using the existing behavior.

Players who want more control could enable their preferred settings.

This would avoid changing the default matchmaking/networking behavior while still giving advanced users more control over their multiplayer experience.

9. Why I Think This Would Be Valuable

The Steam networking infrastructure is already capable of measuring and handling many aspects of network connectivity.

GameNetworkingSockets already provides detailed network statistics, P2P connectivity, NAT traversal, IPv6 support, and integration with Steam Datagram Relay on Steam.

Because of this, I believe that exposing some of this information to players and allowing them to define network preferences could significantly improve the multiplayer experience.

The main goal is not to exclude players based on nationality.

The goal is to give users more control over:

Connection quality
Latency
Network stability
Geographic proximity
Relay selection
Multiplayer experience

This could be especially valuable for P2P games where a single high-latency connection can negatively affect the entire gameplay experience.

Suggested Feature Summary

If I had to summarize the proposal into a few settings, it would be:

NETWORK PREFERENCES

Maximum latency:
[ 100 ms ]

Allowed regions:
[ South America ]

Blocked regions:
[ None ]

Connection quality:
[ Best available ]

Display network information in Steam Overlay:
[ Enabled ]

I believe these features could make Steam Networking significantly more transparent and give players much greater control over their multiplayer connections.

Thank you for considering the suggestion.