Achievement System

[NassimO]

Hey peoples !

I get this idea when i check my stats on Steam ; why not add a achievement system on the game ? Ones can be simple like create your first link between 2 industries, and others can be more difficult like be a Chairman in less than 10 years.

I've made some simples to explain my idea.

















When you get one, the picture pop up in the news place



That's all !

[CommanderZ]

Ehhm...why? Because games on Steam have them?

[NassimO]

No, just for add more game experience, fun and challenge

[Arie-]

Although I would probably ignore them, I do have to say I really like your ideas for achievements

[Terkhen]

I see two big problems with the achievement idea:

a) It would need some kind of account system in OpenTTD. Too much work for only achievements.

b) Given the amount of money you can easily get in this game, getting the achievements would be trivial. You can always load the right NewGRFs to make it even simpler.

[peter1138]

Only 3 "type of RR"?

[CommanderZ]

Thinking about this a bit more, this would best be implemented as custom server-only modification. The "achievement unlocked" message can be delivered via chat and then the list of achievements could be visible on some website. This would enforce that the rules are obliged and that the difficulty is set to a reasonable level.

I even have a feeling that something at least a little bit like this already was used on some server.

[dihedral]

such a system could be implemented and hooked into openttd via the admin network. collecting certain stats (number of vehicles, age of company, etc.) is quite simple there and if you need to patch the game, writing a patch that can pass data on to the admin network is easier and safer than implementing the entire system in openttd.
displaying the messages as proposed will be not possible however (at least not without modifications ) however, you can send chat messages e.g. *** Company xyz has 100 Trains
so creating the system in an external app is doable already.

[Zephyris]

"Cheating" to get achievements really isn't an issue; the role of achievements is to get a casual gamer into the game with some simple and fairly achievable aims... Think of it as a way to grab more gamers' interest.

[Arie-]

That reminds me of something I once read, where someone claimed that simulation games with "open endings" are usually a lot harder for people to get into because of the lack of objectives. An achievement system might change this. And yes, I know about the scoring system, but currently that's not suitable for a lot of games I play, so maybe for others as well, furthermore, during a game, there not really is any focus on this scoring system as a reminder of how someone is doing.

[hawk]

I see two big problems with the achievement idea:

a) It would need some kind of account system in OpenTTD. Too much work for only achievements.

b) Given the amount of money you can easily get in this game, getting the achievements would be trivial. You can always load the right NewGRFs to make it even simpler.

If this was to be implemented I understand how you would need some kind of account system but I think there would need to be someway to reset your achievements as I would think that after a few games the majority of them already be completed. Of course this would depend on how many different achievements there actually are.

edited for typo

[planetmaker]

It would not necessarily need an account system. It could be handled similar or in parallel to the existing highscore system which works in a purely local way.

[Arie-]

Maybe, but the idea behind achievements is that some are easy but also some ridiculous achievements should exist. These then seriously give you headaches. One of such an achievement I remember is HL EP:2, where you come across a small garden gnome, this particular achievement was unlocked if one would carry this gnome with him/here during the course of the entire episode.

[NassimO]

Maybe, but the idea behind achievements is that some are easy but also some ridiculous achievements should exist. These then seriously give you headaches. One of such an achievement I remember is HL EP:2, where you come across a small garden gnome, this particular achievement was unlocked if one would carry this gnome with him/here during the course of the entire episode.

Little Rocket Man

I've some question :

-Is there a possibility to display a achievement when a player earn it ?

-And if it's possible to display achievement when you earn it, is it possible to change to dark green for example when you use the dark green color ? The colors i use for the background of the achievement icon is from the color swatches of the company.

[Arie-]

You rush things. First a general consensus should exist to:
- what the system should do
-- what is an achievement
-- what is the purpose of an achievement
-- where is an achievement stored
Before these things are clear do not even think about things like interfaces and what things should look like. If the system behind the achievment system is flawed a proper user interface is useless.

[NassimO]

Okay ! Tnx for the tips !

I think i'm gonna make a PDF or something.

[CommanderZ]

You would better learn C++ before designing a solution to the problem (if you don't know it already)

[Arie-]

Okay ! Tnx for the tips !

I think i'm gonna make a PDF or something.

Want to borrow one of my software requirements books for a while?

edit: @CommanderZ You're right, for people who have never written a line of code writing requirements is rather difficult, after all, requirements should form the bridge between developers and the customer. None the less, if NassimO manages to put down his ideas on this matter "on paper" nicely this would make discussing possible benefits or drawbacks of certain solutions easier.

ps. I've never written a single line of C++ (or any other C language), I've only ever worked with Java and PHP.

[NassimO]

Okay ! Tnx for the tips !

I think i'm gonna make a PDF or something.

Want to borrow one of my software requirements books for a while?

No thanks ! I'm gonna read some topics on this forum. And my PDF gonna talk about the question you asked up there :

-- what the system should do
-- what is an achievement
-- what is the purpose of an achievement
-- where is an achievement stored

But if i need some help or questions, i know who to ask

[dihedral]

@Arie- you do java programming?