Steam Beta Separates Base-game And Dlc Achievements
Valve’s new Achievement Sets give supported games separate progress tracking for base-game and DLC achievements, with more ways to show completion on Steam profiles.
Valve has introduced Achievement Sets in the Steam client beta, allowing developers to organize a game’s achievements into separate groups. The change can distinguish base-game achievements from those tied to downloadable content, so DLC achievements do not count toward a player’s overall game progress before they have access to that DLC, according to Engadget.
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How Achievement Sets Work
In games that support the feature, players earn achievements by playing as they normally would. When they view those achievements afterward, Steam groups them into sets created by the developer rather than showing only one long list, The Verge reports. Each set has its own progress bar, and completing every achievement in a set awards a “set complete” trophy that players can display on their profiles.
Engadget reports that Steam uses blue for base-game achievements and their progress bars, and purple for DLC achievements and their progress bars. The outlet also says a player’s completed-set progress will continue to show 100 percent even if a developer later adds achievements to that set.
Options for Developers
Developers must update their games to define the sets, Engadget reports. Base-game and DLC achievements are not the only possible divisions: developers can also group achievements by single-player or multiplayer mode. Both reports describe seasonal sets, including achievements associated with a holiday or a game season. According to The Verge, developers can archive seasonal sets.
Support is already available in some games. Among the examples listed by The Verge are Against the Storm, Crusader Kings III, DREDGE, Portal 2 and Team Fortress 2. The feature is available in the latest Steam client beta, rather than being presented in the reports as a general client release.
A Revised Achievements Page
Valve is also redesigning Steam’s achievements page to make the new groupings easier to browse. The Verge says the page will summarize overall progress, progress within each set and details of individual achievements. Engadget adds that players will be able to compare their progress with up to three friends, including rare achievements earned and sets completed.
For players who track completion, the immediate distinction is between finishing the achievements in a game they have and pursuing achievements attached to additional content. Whether that distinction appears for a particular game depends on its developer adding support for Achievement Sets.
Sources
This story was compiled by AI from the reports below. Read the originals for the full details.