Why achievements are important and should be polished

[lordcarstein]

Hi everyone,

I really think that developers should not overlook achievements for this iteration of the game. The intend is to try to bring as many new players as possible into the Paradox series, capitalizing on the CK II success. After playing the demo, I cannot deny that EU IV is way more accessible than EU III, and I appreciate the work that have been put in the tutorial and the hint system.

However, a player unfamiliar to this kind of grand strategy game might be lost when it comes to which nations to pick and which kind of goals to pursue. Creating a strong achievement system might help them in that regard, and also extend the replay value of the title for the ones that do not want to set proper goals or targets for their games.

Even for veterans, some exotic achievements could lead them to unexplored parts of the game (I would love to get an incentive to play India ^^)

I think that the team is also counting on revenues on DLCs in the future, and that adding specific achievements when new content will be released might also help sales.

Thanks for reading!

 

[jcinq4]

Steam achievements are pretty nice, but i'm really looking forward to steam cards and badges for EU4.

 

[Fjoelsvider]

oh boy, i feel like going into details would lead to me being rather rude, which i dont want.

but there is barely any "feature" of any game despise more than achievements. i dont see any point why developers would(or indeed should) waste development time on them if it could be put to use on actual gameplay... im sorry, i do not mean you liking achievements is stupid or anything like that, i just think the existence of achievements itself is a mistake :/ does that make sense?

 

[Tildeman]

Pretty sure achievements are in. Though only obtainable in ironman mode.

 

[Viper1989]

I can see where you are coming from (eg. As France control/core all french culture provinces. As Portugal control x amount of provinces in the New World) but I think that a clean, refined tutorial goes much further in bringing new players into the game. I haven't played the tutorial in EU4 but I know in past PI titles they were quite weak.

 

[lordcarstein]

I can see where you are coming from (eg. As France control/core all french culture provinces. As Portugal control x amount of provinces in the New World) but I think that a clean, refined tutorial goes much further in bringing new players into the game. I haven't played the tutorial in EU4 but I know in past PI titles they were quite weak.

Indeed super super weak
Now the tutorial itself is much better, but the strong point to my eyes is the hint system

oh boy, i feel like going into details would lead to me being rather rude, which i dont want.

but there is barely any "feature" of any game despise more than achievements. i dont see any point why developers would(or indeed should) waste development time on them if it could be put to use on actual gameplay... im sorry, i do not mean you liking achievements is stupid or anything like that, i just think the existence of achievements itself is a mistake :/ does that make sense?

How cannot you go into details without being rude? You lack arguments and thus would have to go ad hominem or ad personam?
Development time for achievement is extremely small. And they were in EU III, CK II but not integrated in Steam.

 

[BoleslavLev]

Steam achievements are pretty nice, but i'm really looking forward to steam cards and badges for EU4.

What are those cards and badges good for? Is it like with achievements, that you are just happy when you get some, or is there something more?

 

[XRW]

oh boy, i feel like going into details would lead to me being rather rude, which i dont want.

but there is barely any "feature" of any game despise more than achievements. i dont see any point why developers would(or indeed should) waste development time on them if it could be put to use on actual gameplay... im sorry, i do not mean you liking achievements is stupid or anything like that, i just think the existence of achievements itself is a mistake :/ does that make sense?

+1, the cards are even worse, in that you can sell them, and steam takes a cut. Basically steam has found a way to create product from thin air, get people to buy and sell them while steam skims off the top. It's not much but it adds up.

 

[lordcarstein]

What are those cards and badges good for? Is it like with achievements, that you are just happy when you get some, or is there something more?

Purely cosmetics indeed. However my point in this tread is not to say that I love achievements or anything like that. If you hate achievements please try to propose solutions to help the new player to extend the replayability of the game. Forums can be an option, but many players do not read them, and new paradox players even more I would guess.

 

[lordcarstein]

+1, the cards are even worse, in that you can sell them, and steam takes a cut. Basically steam has found a way to create product from thin air, get people to buy and sell them while steam skims off the top. It's not much but it adds up.

Paradox gets money from it too. As much as Steam.

 

[trcanberra]

I like the idea of achievements in the basic game that guide people, along with continuing to update the tutorial and hints as questions arise.

 

[Lessing]

Achievements are an awesome thing. Players can pick and choose whether to completely ignore them or pursue them, or even be lead by them, increasing replay value.

There is really no argument against achievements at all. And "the devs should spend their time elsewhere" is an arrogant thing to say since the devs are very much allowed to do what they think is sensible.

 

[n0z3k1ll3r]

Also once you've actually got the achievement tracking system itself in place making the achievements themselves takes very little time.