Valve has begun beta testing Achievement Sets on Steam. The new feature lets you group achievements by category, track progress across expansions and seasonal content separately, and compare your results with friends.
Valve has begun beta testing Achievement Sets on Steam. The new feature lets you group achievements by category, track progress across expansions and seasonal content separately, and compare your results with friends.
Valve announced the launch on the Steam blog. According to the company, the new system should make it easier to track achievements in games that regularly receive updates, additions, and seasonal content. Previously, new achievements could add to the overall list and make it more difficult for players who had already collected all the previous ones to complete it.
Developers will be able to group related achievements into separate sets according to the structure of the game. For example, you can create categories for single-player and multiplayer modes, or group achievements by game class.
Each bundle will have its own progress bar. Once all achievements in the bundle have been unlocked, Steam will add a "Bundle Completed" trophy to the player’s profile. If the developers later add new achievements to the bundle, the player’s previous progress will be preserved.
Valve has provided two types of sets. The first is for the main game, the achievements of which are available to all players. The second is for downloadable content (DLC), which requires the purchase of additional materials. Until access to the DLC is obtained, its achievements will not be counted towards the overall progress of the game.
Developers will also be able to archive individual achievements or entire sets, allowing them to use the system for seasonal events and temporary holiday quests.
Players who have already earned these achievements will still see them on their profiles. However, archived achievements will not appear on the pages of users who have not unlocked them. Valve notes that achievements that are no longer obtainable should be archived.
Along with the new system, Steam has updated the Achievements page. Here you can view your overall progress, track completion of individual sets, and search for locked or unlocked achievements. Global statistics — the percentage of players who have earned a particular achievement — have been moved to the same page.
Users will also be able to compare their progress with up to three friends. The system will show rare achievements, completed sets, and achievements in DLC sets. The total number of achievements available may vary depending on the add-ons purchased and the presence of time-limited or archived tasks.
Valve has also renamed the Perfect Games tab to Completed. It will now show not only games where a player has earned all achievements, but also those where they have completed individual sets. In addition, such sets will be available to be displayed on the Perfectionist Showcase.
Other changes include showing games launched through Family Sharing in the game list and the ability to compare achievements with friends who have played them this way. Game pages in the Steam store and library will also show whether a game supports achievement sets.
The new system is already available in the beta version of the Steam client for players and developers. At the same time, support for sets depends on the specific game: developers must integrate the new feature into their projects. Valve plans to improve the system during beta testing and encourages users to share feedback.
