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Set Development Roadmap

The following is a detailed road-map of most things you would want to consider while making an achievement set. It's not required to follow this exactly but is meant as a guide.

Initial Research

  • Game manual: Review
  • Game Faqs: Read/check
  • Game Cheats: Find, note
  • Longplay: Review/watch
  • Similar sets: Compare, note favorite ideas
  • Partimes: check if they exist
  • Speedruns: check if they exist

Conceptual Design

  • Achievements 1: Brainstorm, include ideas from similar sets, manual, etc.
    • Note secrets, progress, key events, collectibles, scores benchmarks, Easter eggs, bosses, key items, par times, internal rewards.
  • Research 2: Check/test that designs are possible.
  • Memory 1: Estimate needed addresses for achievements.

Memory hunt

  • Memory 2: Search for needed memory addresses.

Achievement Design

  • Balance 1: Balance set for difficulty distribution, remove or redesign those that don't fit.
  • Achievements 2: Build the list, push complete to unofficial (not required).
  • Memory 3: Search for solutions missing, depending on the game's memory.
  • Achievements 3: Add new ideas as they come.
  • Achievements 4: Rework or remove ideas that are impossible.

Pre-release Final steps

  • Titles & Descriptions: Finalize
  • Bugs 1: Test achievements for bugs, possibly make/use movies.
  • Game page: Update. Game icon, images, info, resources, similar games.
  • Leaderboards (optional): Code
  • Rich presence: Code
  • Badges: Create

Release

  • Achievements 7: Push to core
  • Points: Balance to your cap
  • Ordering: Do it
  • Forum post: Make announcement

Post Release

  • Bugs 2: Fix those that come.
  • Balance 2: Re-balance set difficulty based on feedback.

Changelog

Released under the GPL-3 License. There are no copyright-protected ROMs available for download on RetroAchievements.