I'm not really digging the loss of a chat lobby either, but I haven't really used steam very much to meet opponents in other games, so it may be fine.

I've played a few MP games and I'm still collecting my thoughts. I do agree with CR's assessment:

( we were in late and agreed to no arty, as it ruins the experience [at least in late era, exploding shells+mortars =mass death It forces you to charge immediately to keep your loses down or lose a significant fraction of men before you engage {and arty doesn't run out of ammo}]).
As it stands now, I think MP will need a dedicated group who agree on some standard rules. Jumping in random games has been hit or miss for me. Luckily, Steam seems to be a good way to organize such games.