leaderboard RetroAchievements Leaderboard

[Gloves | 12,594]

So I'm aware that some of you already use this website: retroachievements.org

I just started using it a week ago and I have to say I'm impressed with what they've done! TONS of games with achievements, and if a game you like doesn't have 'em you can make a request, or you can do as I've already done and become a Junior Dev to make the sets yourself (ShmupSpeed Achievements Coming Soon)!

I figured hey, let's see just how many of us are out here using the site, and if you're not already, feel free to join and compete with the rest of us!

My profile: https://retroachievements.org/user/Gloves

If there's enough of us on there I'll make this a proper leaderboard and keep update totals every so often, maybe we can even make it a thing and run our own events based on the system (they have some events themselves, too).

So... who else is with me?

[Gloves | 12,594]

Nobody?

[DefaultGen | 5,970]

24 minutes ago, Gloves said:

Nobody?

I am too lazy to set up an account/specific emulator to do this tbh. I mostly use Mesen, not the monstrosity that is RetroArch. Configuring RetroArch with all its fancy features feels like a hobby unto itself.

Edited October 18, 2023 by DefaultGen

[Gloves | 12,594]

14 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

I am too lazy to set up an account/specific emulator to do this tbh. I mostly use Mesen, not the monstrosity that is RetroArch. Configuring RetroArch with all its fancy features feels like a hobby unto itself.

You can download the RAnes version of FCEUX if you just wanted Mesen-like features on a NES only emulator, or there's RALibRetro for the majority of consoles all in one without the shitty Retroarch UI. 

I agree re: Retroarch specifically, it's been a huge chore to get it working, though now that I do it works fine 99% of the time and I'm playing emulators through it on my CRT and it's pretty darn close to the original, if you ignore that I'm using a ps5 controller. 

[Reed Rothchild | 10,083]

Tempting, but I'll be prioritizing the backlog for the foreseeable future.

I'll browse it though.

[a3quit4s | 4,545]

It’s a bummer these are only integrated with emulators but as ancient ass systems have no access to the internet it’ll be a pass from me. I’m an old ass man that only plays physical carts on physical systems lol

[Splain | 2,882]

I've wanted to check out RA for some time now, I'll give it a look

[Gloves | 12,594]

32 minutes ago, Splain said:

I've wanted to check out RA for some time now, I'll give it a look

[BlackVega | 583]

I don't even know what this is

[Link | 2,952]

This is a cool idea tbh but -

4 hours ago, Gloves said:

Nobody?

yeah, nobody.  it kind of makes sense. This seems like a fairly narrow Venn diagram overlap of people who like old games and want to complete online with hard proof. And that’s been a question for decades (think Twin Galaxies). 

 

The contests in this game.  are really engaging

[spacepup | 2,575]

Maybe not many *here*, but RetroAchievements is actually wildly popular and active.  Right now, for example, there are over 800 people actively playing games and earning achievements this way (I don't mean their community, I mean literally *right now*).  This has been around for a decade or more and has a very active and dedicated team.

They have a very consistent and active community, and they are adding achievements all the time, with tons of new people joining and requesting new sets for more games. 

This Venn Diagram you refer to is way bigger than you might think.  

I've heard about RA for a while now, but just yesterday joined to try it out after seeing Gloves' post.  I have to say, it was pretty easy to join and get everything setup.  https://retroachievements.org/user/sadikyo

To be honest, I thought there would be more interest here, since it brings modern achievements and competition elements to older games that most people like.  

[Link | 2,952]

I don’t even remember writing that tbh

[a3quit4s | 4,545]

16 minutes ago, spacepup said:

Maybe not many *here*, but RetroAchievements is actually wildly popular and active.  Right now, for example, there are over 800 people actively playing games and earning achievements this way (I don't mean their community, I mean literally *right now*).  This has been around for a decade or more and has a very active and dedicated team.

They have a very consistent and active community, and they are adding achievements all the time, with tons of new people joining and requesting new sets for more games. 

This Venn Diagram you refer to is way bigger than you might think.  

I've heard about RA for a while now, but just yesterday joined to try it out after seeing Gloves' post.  I have to say, it was pretty easy to join and get everything setup.  https://retroachievements.org/user/sadikyo

To be honest, I thought there would be more interest here, since it brings modern achievements and competition elements to older games that most people like.  

I would say most people here play on consoles with physical carts or maybe even like everdrive/powerpak devices with older or modern devices like analogue on their TV. People who play retro games on their computer are probably in the minority but that’s just speculation on my part. RA is definitely a cool service and I’d use the hell out of it if my analogue products supported it lmao

[BlackVega | 583]

22 minutes ago, spacepup said:

since it brings modern achievements and competition elements to older games that most people like.  

not me

[spacepup | 2,575]

For people here on VGS, you may be right.  In the broader sense, VGS is actually the small venn diagram of the larger gaming community right now.

[spacepup | 2,575]

Just now, BlackVega said:

not me

since it brings modern achievements and competition elements to [older games that most people like].

I know not everyone cares about achievements - typically I don't either.  I just meant that it brings modern elements to classic games. 

[a3quit4s | 4,545]

16 minutes ago, spacepup said:

For people here on VGS, you may be right.  In the broader sense, VGS is actually the small venn diagram of the larger gaming community right now.

We aren’t even a pimple on the ass of the entire gaming community lol

[Gloves | 12,594]

26 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

I would say most people here play on consoles with physical carts or maybe even like everdrive/powerpak devices with older or modern devices like analogue on their TV. People who play retro games on their computer are probably in the minority but that’s just speculation on my part. RA is definitely a cool service and I’d use the hell out of it if my analogue products supported it lmao

I'm not playing on a computer. I'm playing on my crt through an Nvidia Shield. It's very close to playing on original hardware. 

And my original hardware is right there beside it for when I wanna use that, too. Using one doesn't mean you can't enjoy the other. 

[a3quit4s | 4,545]

18 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I'm not playing on a computer. I'm playing on my crt through an Nvidia Shield. It's very close to playing on original hardware. 

And my original hardware is right there beside it for when I wanna use that, too. Using one doesn't mean you can't enjoy the other. 

Oh I wasn’t saying that at all, it doesn’t matter to me how people play I was just speculating that most people here seem to be on a console and a TV. And are we really about to debate that the Shield isn’t a computer? Did you also say that playing on a shield is very close to playing on a NES!

[Gloves | 12,594]

27 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

Oh I wasn’t saying that at all, it doesn’t matter to me how people play I was just speculating that most people here seem to be on a console and a TV. And are we really about to debate that the Shield isn’t a computer? Did you also say that playing on a shield is very close to playing on a NES!

A NES is a small computer if we wanna be pedantic about it. 

And yeah. It's very close. I'm sat here playing and I can tell you with both running side by side, it's very close. No, I won't be beating Mike Tyson on the Shield, but I can do a deathless run of Isolated Warrior or Contra just fine.

[a3quit4s | 4,545]

39 minutes ago, Gloves said:

A NES is a small computer if we wanna be pedantic about it. 

And yeah. It's very close. I'm sat here playing and I can tell you with both running side by side, it's very close. No, I won't be beating Mike Tyson on the Shield, but I can do a deathless run of Isolated Warrior or Contra just fine.

Which one of the supported emulators do you run on shield? Retroarch?

[Splain | 2,882]

Ok there's way more stuff here than I thought there'd be. Even obscure games have dozens of achievements in them. Some games it feels like too many, like every single difficulty x every single level in Dr. Mario is its own achievement, but it does make me want to fire it up and get them all lol.

[sp1nz | 733]

I want to play more but I get sidetracked easily: https://retroachievements.org/user/sp1nzoK

It's a very cool system even with its "flaws", for example, arbitrariness of challenges a dev might put out, revisions and incomplete sets that prompt revisions to begin with.

I think they're in the process of adding some kind of "game beaten framework" that disregards extraneous/arbitrary achievements and counts beating a game and/or completing a game with some distinction (not sure though). I doubt I want to compete in the framework in any real capacity but I might just happen to get on some mastery leaderboard on their ezine eventually just from wanting to complete lots of stuff on some system(s).

I tend to get pretty torn in gaming with choice paralysis / to be a completionist or not to be etc. Like if I start a new game through an emulator with achievements, it's a carrot for more than beating a game or even completing a game and that might be enticing at times but also really off-putting at times. When only playing through a game once or re-playing it once, then achievements can work as extra value that can be harnessed, but then again emulation can take away from the experience depending how you do it too. Do I want to 1CC / No Death some random kusoge just because I started it or just beat multiple games - anyway that's fully a me problem, not the system's fault for providing an option.

I remember playing Phantasy Star for RetroAchievements and drawing my own maps while going through it but at some point I noticed I screwed up and would have to replay half the game for some achievement and then lost interest for the time being. Spoiling yourself on what achievements there are and what their requirements are on first playthrough is not something I'm planning to do in games, RPGs will be especially bad for that, since they're not usually interesting to play through multiple times. At least Hardcore setting allows you to fast forward and doesn't consider it cheating, which I find cool, but in RPGs it kind of kills the vibe when you could abuse fast forward for leveling and stuff, it's a choice between saving your precious time or potentially losing interest from playing it in a way that didn't exist back in the day. I mainly like using fast forward for slow transitionary things with no gameplay I guess.

[Gloves | 12,594]

26 minutes ago, a3quit4s said:

Which one of the supported emulators do you run on shield? Retroarch?

Retroarch is the UI, it runs whatever cores you load. I use Mesen for NES and Snes9x for SNES.