Booster sets are a new feature. After all your drops have...well, dropped, if you log in once every 2 weeks you are eligible for a booster pack which is something around 3 cards. It's new though, so we don't know the frequency or even if everyone will eventually get one. They've suggested it will be tied to the supply on the market place some how.

My guess is that you may get lucky once in a while, but it will probably not be a reliable way to get cards/make badges.

As far as I'm concerned, this just gives me an excuse to start up certain games from my backlog that I may otherwise not have been in the mood for. Add in the random "booster pack" drops, which I can then sell for a small profit, I call it a win-win.

I like it, I've got about £4 for free for doing nothing.

Worse.

It's Ugly Baby. (Or, "1, 2, 3, Kick it - Drop that Beat like an Ugly Baby")

Wasn't this levelling system tied to unlocking social features on Steam?

Trading Card system, in my opinion, is superfluous & completely pointless.

Thanks for all the info about this. I was gifted Trading Card Beta access yesterday without any info, so now I at least know what is is about.
It doesn't look like thing for me, though.

Yep, we'll see how this "booster pack" thing works...

I use steam quite often. I've never heard of this, though, never seen it advertised on steams front page or anything...

Using that system, very nice new interface and badges. Interesting how it will look like when it'll be finished.

I do think Devs get a cut, because on the purchase confirmation screen it subdivided the 15% fee into "5% Steam fee, 10% Blocks that Matter fee".

Yeah that's the transaction fee for the Community Market. If people sell their cards that way, Valve gets a cut. So it certainly works out for them, kind of the same as TF2 items were almost like creating money out of thin air.

It's still in beta, and it only affects a few games at present. If you want an invite to the beta PM me your Steam details and I'll send you one.

I don't mind it. It's completely pointless but it's not exactly harmful.

I can see one benefit - I have a huge backlog, like many others. 1,2,3 KICK IT got cards a week or so ago, so I finally played it and loved it. What started as a test run for a silly mechanic ended in appreciation of a new game. I'm also seriously considering finishing up the badge and getting a profile background.

It's nice that they are sending some profit the way of the developer. I think it's important to remember, though, that the transaction fee is the least of steam's profit here. Anytime you add money to the wallet, steam has your cash. So if people add money to the wallet to buy cards, which transfers it to another wallet, steam still owns it. Depending on how people use the wallet money determines their profit margin. I bet they make a lot more from increased game sales from card buyers increasing overall wallet values than the transaction fees.

Thanks for all the opinions. This is obviously a 'not for me' thing, but hope those for who it is, enjoys it. Just don't blow your rent money on a virtual number :)

I find it pointless but I do not mind it. If I get discounts for doing 'nothing', why not?