How do steam achievements work

There are many threads around the web regarding those games AND achievements, but the common conclusion is: Some games just don't sync them properly and that's it. Python Javascript Linux Cheat sheet Contact. Can I earn Steam achievements while offline? Tags: Steam Achievements. Related Cannot delete Steam, path leads to wrong disk How to access Steam chat logs?

Statistics track fine-grained pieces of information, such as playtime, number of power-ups used, etc. You may choose to use them simply for tracking internal game data - so that, for instance, you can grant an achievement based on multi-session game play statistics collected from the user across multiple computers.

There are three types of statistics your game can store: INT - A bit signed integer e. Set By - Sets who can modify the stat. The default is Client. For more see Game Server Stats. Increment Only - If set, this stat is only allowed to increase in value over time. Max Change - If set, sets a limit on the amount that the stat's value can change from one SetStat call to the next. Min Value - If set, the minimum numerical value this stat may take.

Max Value - If set, the maximum numerical value this stat may take. Default Value - If set, the default value that this stat will initially be set to for a new user.

If not set, the default value is zero. Aggregated - If set, Steam will keep a global total for this stat. See Global Stats below for more information. Display Name - The name of this stat, when displayed in your app. Achievements have the following properties: ID - An automatically-generated numerical ID for each achievement.

Progress Stat - Specifies a stat that's used as a progress bar in the Community for this achievement. The achievement will also automatically unlock when the stat reaches the unlock value.

Display Name - The name this achievement will have in client notification pop-ups, and in the Community. May be localized. Description - A description of this achievement, for displaying in the Community. Set By - Sets who can unlock the achievement. The default is client. Achieved Icon - The icon to display when it is achieved. Unachieved Icon - The icon to display when it is not yet achieved.

By default, games are limited to achievements at first. The following steps need to be taken. Firstly, the 'Steam Rating', which is currently based on how many hours you've played in the last two weeks and is yet another completely pointless feature needs to be replaced by an achievement score, based on how many achievements a player has unlocked.

This way friends will be able to visit your Steam profile and see how skilled you are or simply how many games you've got! Valve then need to push the bigger developers to include Steam achievements with their games. It would be silly to ask every single developer to include achievements, as this would potentially put smaller indie outfits off releasing their games via Steam. However, huge releases happen on Steam all the time, and every single one of these should come with achievements, no exceptions.

As it stands, there is no real reason to care at all about Steam achievements, and in fact you'll find that certain gamers will buy a multi-format game on a console rather than PC just so they can bag the achievements available. Surely this is reason enough for Valve to make the necessary changes to their currently broken system.

Sections Close Back. Blogs Close Back. Write for Game Developer. Blog Now. Connect Close Back. VALVe recently added the function so that it is possible to earn achievements in offline mode. They did not announce it, though, for some reason. One can only speculate about this. The condition for this to work is that, while online, you have run the game once or viewed the details in your library.

Otherwise Steam wouldn't "know" that there are achievements in the first place. Also, note that achievements you earn do not register onto your Steam account until you connect back to the Steam service have an internet connection and are dated at the time of reconnection.