DevQuests

What are DevQuests?

DevQuests are achievement development-related quests that Developers can take part in at any time. Each one has a specific goal and upon reaching that goal, the achievement developer will earn the badge. DevQuests are not available for Junior Developers.

General Rules

1. Set-Creation Credit: To be awarded credit for Set-Creation quests, contact the DevQuest Team via Discord ping in #devquest or via site message within 1 week after publishing the set. Include a link to the game and which DevQuest it is being used for. (No need to do this for DevQuest 015 or 020 -- We handle those in sweeps separately). Note: Sets may still be disqualified for quality or rules reasons at this point. Contact us prior to release if you wish to confirm eligibility.
2. Maintenance Quest Credit: For maintenance achievements (i.e.: DevQuest 001, DevQuest 005, DevQuest 014, etc), just create a column in the DevQuest Remastered sheet to the left of completed entries and fill it in as you work. Contact the DevQuest team when you are complete with all entries for review. For Maintenance Quests that can be repeated, one row of the column will be for which badge number you are working towards.
3. Revision Quest Credit: For Revision achievements (i.e.: DevQuest 002 and DevQuest 013), make sure your choice is already on the corresponding approved list. You will need to satisfy the repair plan. These quests should be more than simple one-achievement revisions. If a repair plan seems to be overly simple, contact us first to ensure it will qualify. When you start working on a revision quest, contact the DevQuest team so the sheet can be updated; this lets other users know it is being worked on.
4. Unless otherwise stated in a DevQuest's description, collaborations are not allowed.
5. Standard set quality or better is expected for DevQuest sets. If a set appears to be of insufficient effort or a copy/paste set, it may be rejected at the DevQuest team's discretion. Rich Presence is required for DevQuest sets. The DevQuest team is happy to suggest improvements for qualification.
6. New sets may only be applied towards one Set Creation DevQuest. No double-dipping.
7. Always contact the active authors on sets whose content you will update or add to.

Reporting

• Contact the team using the DevQuest team via site message or on in #devquest on Discord.

Schedule and Announcements

• DevQuests do not have a specific release schedule. Typically, they are announced shortly after their badge has been completed.
• New DevQuests and any updates to existing DevQuests will be announced in #developer-news on the RetroAchievements Discord and site news

The Quests

001 Ticket Massacre

Type: Maintenance
Goal: Resolve/close 50 tickets
Repeatable: Yes (Up to 3 times)

1. Falsifying ticket closures will result in disqualification.
2. The following do not count toward the total: Network issues, tickets for achievements you developed, tickets you opened, tickets closed on behalf of Junior Developers, and tickets closed as a result of ticket spamming.
3. May not overlap with DevQuest 002 or with any completion requirements for DevQuest 013.
4. Tickets for users banned from development count for double credit.

002 Retro Renovator

Type: Revision, Maintenance
Goal: Repair 3 sets from provided batch
Repeatable: Yes (Up to 3 times)

1. Pick a game from the list of approved DQ2 sets and then post your claim to the #devquest channel on Discord or send to DevQuest inbox.
2. Follow the revision process as normal: Post the plan on the forum, make a revision vote if any changes aren't on the "no need for approval list," and make a revision claim if adding achievements.
3. Resolve any open tickets for achievements kept in the set. Tickets for achievements being left demoted can be simply closed with reason of demotion cited.
4. Revisions must fix everything specified in the repair plan. Contact the DevQuest team for any clarifications to what is included in the repair plan.
5. Contact the DevQuest team with any questions you have.
6. When the set is ready mark it down on the doc under your name to be signed off by a DevQuest Member.

• If you identify a set you believe should qualify for DQ2, notify the DevQuest team for addition to the list and development of a repair plan prior to claiming. All claims must be on the list.

003 Singles In Your Area

Type: Maintenance
Goal: Tighten up the logic for 20 single-condition achievements
Repeatable: No

1. This is a chance to tighten the code up. Do not just add a bad line of code.
2. You do not need a revision vote to tighten up this kind of logic.
3. Achievements cannot be your own, you should just fix these anyway!
4. You must comment on each achievement or in the forum on what you changed for log purposes.
5. May not overlap with the required repair plan for DevQuest 002 or with any completion requirements for DevQuest 013.

004 Veteran Developer

Type: Special
Goal: Complete a set of special goals
Repeatable: No
RetroActive!

1. Has published at least 1000 achievements and worked on at least 25 sets as the sole or majority developer.
2. Has created achievements for at least ten different console IDs.
3. Has been an active developer for at least two years.
4. At least 85% of sets have dynamic rich presence (Vet Dev I required).
5. Yielded unlocks have exceeded 50,000.
6. As a sole developer, submitted one or more sets for code review and received an overall grade of at least 22.
7. Has used at least 75% of all currently available flags and features (Vet Dev I and VI required).
8. Has obtained at least two DevQuest badges.
9. Has obtained at least five badges through DevQuest.

NOTE

A constantly evolving toolkit means that these requirements are subject to change at any time.

005 Trigger Happy

Type: Maintenance
Goal: Update 50 achievements with the Trigger and Measured flags
Repeatable: No

1. Must put measured and/or triggered where it makes sense. Do so on all appropriate achievements in the set. Achievements with unnecessary use will not be counted. If you hit 50 and there is more in a set to update, you must update the rest of the set.
2. You can do achievements in your own sets at half credit. Put both achievements on the same line, with a / between them. Link each achievement ID to the achievement's page.
3. You must leave comments on set page for what you changed for log purposes
4. May not overlap with the required repair plan for DevQuest 2 or with any completion requirements for DQ13.
5. TEST all changes. Ensure triggers appear when they should, and do not appear when they should not. Ensure the achievement can still trigger when expected.
6. Subscribe to tickets on the updated sets so you can catch any Trigger or Measured related tickets.

006 The Unwanted

Type: Set Creation
Goal: Develop a set for an unpopular system assigned to you at random
Repeatable: No

Eligible systems:

• PC Engine CD
• Sega CD
• 32X
• Atari Lynx
• Neo Geo Pocket/Neo Geo Pocket Color
• Atari Jaguar
• MSX/MSX2
• Apple II
• 3DO
• ColecoVision
• Intellivision
• PC-8800/PC-8000
• Atari 7800
• Wonderswan/Wonderswan Color
• Odyssey
• PC-FX
• Amstrad CPC
• Arduboy
• WASM4
• Nintendo DSi

NOTE

No hacks or homebrew unless those are the only types of games left without sets.

1. Must be a full set, not just progression. Badges will be denied to those who make incomplete sets.
2. You may respin one time. Respins cannot occur until three months have passed since a wheel spin.
3. Tasks are available to restore your respin. See the Wheel Spin DevQuest Rules for more details.

007 Most Wanted

Type: Set Creation
Goal: Develop a set for one of the most requested games
Repeatable: No

Set Eligibility

At the time you claim the set, it must be in Most Wanted section of the latest issue of RANews.

1. If you already have one claimed when the game becomes eligible, you must be under 50% progress for it to count.
2. Any games listed in the console-specific bonus section in RANews will only be eligible to be claimed in the month it was featured in, but the set doesn't need to be released in the same month.

008 World Traveler

Type: Set Creation
Goal: Develop two sets for games that never had an English release
Repeatable: No

INFO

An English release is considered a game released in English in US, Canada, UK, or AU.
1. All claims intended for this quest must follow normal procedure.

1. All claims intended for this quest must follow normal procedure.
2. They must be full sets. Fodder for the Progression Only hub won't count.
3. Sets intended for World Traveler do not stack with other quests based around developing new content.
4. English translation patches will not disqualify a game from this quest.
5. Hacks and homebrew do not count towards the quest. Unlicensed titles may count as long as they aren't blatant bootleg ports or hacks of another game. If you're unsure if a game is valid, ask!
6. If a game was released in English on a platform, but was ported to another platform with no English version, half credit may be granted for the port on the platform that has no English release.
7. Games that only released in English on unsupported platforms will receive full credit.

009 Launch Party!

Type: Set Creation
Goal: Develop a set for a newly supported console within 6 months of RA support
Repeatable: No

• Must be a full set (to the extent of the games capabilities, See Watara vs PSP)
• Smaller consoles may be ruled ineligible

Current Launch Party Promotion Windows:

• Nintendo GameCube: 2024-07-15 through 2025-01-15

010 It Takes Two

Type: Set Creation
Goal: Join forces with other developers to publish two collaboration sets
Repeatable: No

1. Set must have a fair share of the work done by each dev - Sets like Animal Crossing DS would not be approved.
2. Must be a full set covering every aspect of the game.
3. Each Dev must publish at least 20 achievements each.
4. Achievements must make sense, no fluff to fulfill requirement.

011 The Genesis of RA!

Type: Set Creation
Goal: Develop a set for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive to celebrate the anniversary of RA's first achievement
Repeatable: No

1. All claims intended for this quest must follow normal procedure.
2. Must be full sets or a major/significant revision.
3. Sega CD and Sega 32X games are not eligible.
4. No prototypes or hacks.
5. Collaborations are allowed so long as the work is visibly split.

012 Hacker's Habit

Type: Set Creation
Goal: Create two new sets for robust hacks
Repeatable: No

1. Sets intended for this quest must be complete and encompass all notable content specific to the hack.
2. Acceptable hacks must be either complete overhauls that drastically change the level design, or introduce new mechanics that greatly change how you progress through the game.
3. Meme hacks, single-level hacks, and other small modifications aren't eligible.
4. Smaller hacks may warrant only a half point credit.
5. You are limited to one point (full game credit) per franchise. Examples: If you create a set for a good-sized SMW hack for a full point credit, you can't do a Mario 64 hack for any points. If you do a small Mega Man 2 hack, you can get at most half credit for a Mega Man 3 hack, etc.

013 complete.me

Type: Revision, Maintenance
Goal: Provide significant content to three sets that are progression-only or were demoted due to being incomplete
Repeatable: Yes (Up to 3 times)

1. Choose from a provided list or grab one from a hub, just make sure you let us know when you start so we can mark it!
2. Must go through the revision process as per usual!
3. Make sure you take care with the set and don't just throw in a bunch of filler.
4. Don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or suggestion
   • This quest can be done multiple times (current limit: 3)

014 Laudable Leaderboards

Type: Maintenance
Goal: Create leaderboards for 10 games that currently do not have any
Repeatable: No

1. Cover different game modes/difficulties when applicable.
2. Try to cover leaderboards that make sense for the game. Some examples:
   • For Arcade-type games it is fine to just add High Score leaderboards, possibly highest in a single life
   • For Racing games time trials for tracks are pretty standard
   • Speedruns for Platformers
   • Minigames that track high scores or time are good candidates
   • And so on. Reach out if you have any questions about a specific game
3. You can do your own sets for half-credit as long as they were published prior to this DevQuest (2022-03-02).
4. You must leave comments on set page for what you added for log purposes

015 Console Conqueror

Type: Special
Goal: Publish a set for every supported platform on RetroAchievements
Repeatable: No
RetroActive!

Ever-Growing

Each console ID will have an achievement associated with it. Newly supported console IDs means new achievements!

Opt-In Quest

You must have developed sets for 10 or more supported platforms before opt-in. Opt-In to this quest by notifying us on #devquest channel on Discord or sending a message to the DevQuest account

1. This quest is awarded in sweeps; do not ping claims or completions. Any set will be counted as long as it meets the requirements, even if used for another DevQuest or if it was made while a Jr. Dev.
2. Meme sets may not be counted at the discretion of the DevQuest Team.
3. Doing the same kind of set (ie: all Flappy Bird clones) will only be counted towards one platform.
4. The only requirement for an unlock is that you are the sole or majority developer of a set on that console ID. Collaborations require at least 20 achievements made.
5. For the more dire consoles, specific requirements are in the achievements themselves.
6. This DevQuest is 100% retroactive! Potential future revisions of your work will not count against you, so no worries about losing eligibility for an unlock.

016 Wish This Set

Type: Set Creation
Goal: Publish a set for a game that has been featured in RANews' Wish This Set feature at any point in time and does not currently have a set in core
Repeatable: Yes (Up to 2 times)

1. Collaborations are Acceptable as long as both contribute equally to the set with a minimum of 20 achievements each.
2. Must be full sets containing all content and challenges appropriate to the game.
3. The person that wrote the Wish This Set may not be one of the developers making the set.
4. Quest is available year round, and gets new games eligible every release of RANews.
5. If you already have a set claimed at the time it becomes eligible for this DevQuest you must be under 50% progress for it to count.
6. Once a game has been featured it remains eligible until the game gets a set.

017 RA World Cup

Type: Set Creation
Goal: Publish 2 Sets for 2 different sports games, 1 must be a physical sport
Repeatable: No

1. That means both sets must be DIFFERENT SPORTS. You cannot do two baseball games, or two soccer games.
2. Must be full sets containing all content and challenges appropriate to the game.
3. No Homebrew/Hacks/Unlicensed.
4. New sets only. No multiplayer subsets or revisions.
5. Other picks are subject to DQ team approval if eligibility is questionable.
6. Collaborations must be approved by the DevQuest team; games done via collaboration must have sufficient content or modes to justify qualifying.

018 Subset Station

Type: Set Creation
Goal: Publish 2 Subsets
Repeatable: No

1. Read through Subsets document to learn more about subsets.
2. Subset types that are not approved by default always need Developer Compliance approval. Seek this by sending a DM to DevCompliance on the site. Include as much detail as possible explaining why it fits as a good subset idea.
3. If you are not the author of the core set for the game, you will need to pass a revision vote with your subset plan. This is in addition to any necessary Developer Compliance approval.
4. Subsets must be from two different games, but can be from the same series.
5. Subsets must be two different types of subsets (i.e.: Can't do two Bonus sets, Can't do two Professor Oak Challenges, etc
6. A subset worked on at the same time as the core set is permitted, but only one of your subsets may be done this way.
7. If you are already working on a subset at the time this DevQuest goes live, you must be under 50% progress when informing the DQ Team for it to be counted.

019 Wheel of Genres

Type: Set Creation
Goal: Develop a set from a specific genre or subgenre as determined by a spin on the Wheel of Genres!
Repeatable: No

1. Games chosen should have a decent amount of content. Small games like short hacks, homebrews, and demos may be rejected at the discretion of the DevQuest Team. If in doubt, ask when you ping to choose the game for the quest.
2. You may respin one time. Respins cannot occur until three months have passed since a wheel spin.
3. Tasks are available to restore your respin. See the Wheel Spin DevQuest Rules for more details.

020 Genre Conqueror

Type: Special
Goal: Publish a set for every genre!
Repeatable: No
RetroActive!

Opt-In Quest

You must have made sets for at least 5 genres before opt-in. To opt-in, make a copy of the opt-in google sheet linked here and submit it to us to get started

1. This quest is awarded in sweeps; do not ping claims or completions. Any set will count as long as it meets the requirements, even if used for another DevQuest or if it was made while a Jr. Dev.
2. This DevQuest is 100% retroactive! Potential future revisions of your work will not count against you, so no worries about losing eligibility for an unlock.
3. Genres used for this quest are the main Genre hubs. We'll contact you to ask which genre is preferred.
4. If a set belongs to multiple top-level genres, we will ask you which genre to count for that set; if later on you do that same genre, you may ask us to reassign the set to the other genre.
5. Please fill out the Genre field in all sets for you wish to be credited and also assign it to the correct hub(s). Sets with unfilled Genre fields will be skipped.
6. Falsifying a genre or subgenre field will bar you from this DevQuest.
7. Sole or Majority Dev will be credited. If it is a collaboration, you may also receive credit if you reach 20 achievements, even if not majority dev.
8. Excluded Genres: Other and Literature.
9. Added Genre: Party and Minigame subgenres combined as Party or Minigames Genre

020 Subset Subgenre Conqueror

Type: Special
Goal: Publish a set for every subgenre!
Repeatable: No
RetroActive!

Opt-In Quest

You must have made sets for at least 15 subgenres before opt-in. To opt-in, make a copy of the opt-in google sheet linked here and submit it to us to get started. You may use the same sheet to opt in to this and to DevQuest 020.

1. This quest is awarded in sweeps; do not ping claims or completions. Any set will count as long as it meets the requirements, even if used for another DevQuest or if it was made while a Jr. Dev.
2. This DevQuest is 100% retroactive! Potential future revisions of your work will not count against you, so no worries about losing eligibility for an unlock.
3. Genres used for this quest are the Subgenre hubs.
4. If a set belongs to multiple subgenres, all will count. Exception: Compilations will only count for Subgenre - Compilation.
5. Please fill out the Genre field in all sets for you wish to be credited and also assign it to the correct hub(s). Sets with unfilled Genre fields will be skipped.
6. Falsifying a genre or subgenre field will bar you from this DevQuest.
7. Sole or Majority Dev will be credited. If it is a collaboration, you may also receive credit if you reach 20 achievements, even if not majority dev.
8. Excluded subgenres: 4X, Pachinko, Specific Extreme Sports subgenres (each will count towards Subgenre - Extreme Sports), subgenres of Board Games and Card Games (Each will count towards their Board Game or Card Game subgenre parent), Literature subgenres.
9. Subsets will not count unless approved by DevQuest. Ping DevQuest team for approval request.

021 Homebrew Heaven

Type: Set Creation
Goal: Publish three new sets for homebrew games!
Repeatable: No

1. Sets intended for this quest must be complete and encompass all notable content specific to the homebrew game.
2. Sets for homebrew systems (like WASM-4, Arduboy, and Uzebox) are worth half credit.
3. Collaborations are allowed. Credit will only be given to collaborators with 20 or more achievements in the set. At DQ Team discretion, overly inflated sets may be disallowed.
4. Homebrew that is essentially the same as another you've done will not count (i.e. multiple Flappy Bird clones can only garner credit once)
5. One set per large homebrew collection maximum (i.e. One Net Yaroze 2014 Collection set allowed)

022 This Belonged in a Museum!

Type: Revision, Maintenance
Goal: Obtain 12 Points by dusting off older sets, bringing them up to current RA standards
Repeatable: No

1. The quest is completed upon obtaining 12 points towards its goals.
   • Full Set Dust-Off = 4 Points
   • Miscellaneous Task = 1 Point
   • At least one set dust-off required for the badge.
2. Full Set Dust-Off: Clean up old code notes, update achievement logic for modern best practices (removing unnecessary Hits and Resets to use Delta checks instead, for example), update with cleaner badges, update descriptions and achievement titles, new dynamic RP.
3. Misc Tasks: Update a set in order to remove it from the following QA Hubs. Doesn't stack with a Full Set Clearing.
   • No Dynamic RP
   • Player-Input RP
   • Single Save Support
4. No Collaboration allowed.
5. This quest does not stack with other revision DevQuests. If a set would also be eligible to DQ2 or DQ13 those quests will take priority.
6. Sets are subject to DevQuest team approval, along with a small plan on what the dust-off will be about. Sets already in the approved DQ22 list do not require approval, only notification.
7. Badge updates must go through the Icon-Gauntlet revision process.
8. Revision rules apply as usual, meaning if you only clean-up the logic and don't change the achievements scope you don't need one.
9. Devs' own sets made prior to 2024 are eligible for half the points on a Full Dust-Off. As with sets that are not pre-approved, they will need to be sent to the DevQuest team for approval.

Wheel Spin DevQuest Rules

1. You may respin 3 months after you spin. This requires and consumes your respin token for that quest
2. You start with one respin token (per applicable DevQuest)
3. Each wheel spin quest has its own kind of respin token (can't save your DevQuest 006 token for use in DevQuest 019)
4. You may not bank extra respin tokens
5. Once you have used your respin token, you may restore it by fulfilling one of the Respin Tasks, listed below

Devquests With Wheel Spins

• DevQuest 006: The Unwanted
• DevQuest 019: Wheel of Genres

Respin Tasks

Do any of these tasks to earn a new respin token:

• Resolve (Not close) 10 tickets from inactive devs (can be used towards DQ1, Ticket Massacre)
• Earn DevQuest 003 (Singles In Your Area)
• Update 10 achievements towards DevQuest 005 (Trigger Happy)
• Earn a point towards DevQuest 002 (Retro Renovator) or DevQuest 013 (complete.me)
• Make a set for DQ16 (Wish This Set)

Suggestions

• If you have suggestions for a DevQuest, send a message to the DevQuest account with the following info:
  • Quest Name
  • Award Type - If there is one specific goal then you would want a badge-based award. If there are multiple goals then you would want an achievement-based award.
  • Game Type - State whether hacks, homebrews, prototypes, unlicensed, and/or subsets are allowed.
  • Goal(s) - A brief description of the DevQuest. Examples: "Develop a set for such-and-such console," "Develop a Holiday-Themed Set," "Create Dynamic Rich Presence for 10 Games," etc.
  • Rules - List any specific guidelines and criteria that submissions must meet. Is there a minimum achievement count? Are there minor exceptions that result in half-credit? Do submissions need to be pre-approved? The more simple they are, the better!

Changelog

Last edited about 2 months ago

View full history

7ef52f2-Small updates (#119)

7425e94-Updates to docs/developer-docs

1367071-Update devquests.md (#110)

28b7230-chore: run a formatting pass

43a4231-Update Launch Party Windows (#78)

fcc12ab-Typographical Fixes (#71)

4f8b72a-One more link. (#69)

b31c885-Typo and Link updates (#68)

4beeca1-Update Set-Creation quest approval rule in General Rules (#67)

3e36bde-DevQuests: Minor Formatting fixes (#38)

c700549-Clarify DQ8 Elligibility Wording (#37)

6d19dcc-Fix malformed #devquest links in DevQuest doc (#36)

7cf5b00-Reformat DevQuests Document, Add Wheel Respin Information (#35)

b917f3b-chore: move devquests and rollouts to developer-docs section

dae9588-Added Rollouts, and DevQuests to the general sidebar. (#26)

2abdb42-feat: hook up i18n (#12)

f37e212-chore: fix all english docs broken links