A Year in Review

Lots of Data

Various data from throughout the year. Some of which will have monthly and/or yearly numbers.

• Number of sets release
• Achievements created
• Achievements earned
• Mastery awards awarded
• Code notes created
• Set requests made
• Leaderboards made
• Most earned achievements
• Most awarded mastery badges
• ...and more

Set Information

Month	Active Developers	New Sets	Revisions	Rescores	New Achievements	Link
January	45	90	9	21	3,496	Link here
February	52	67	13	55	3,454	Link here
March	57	69	12	175	4,244	Link here
April	51	105	20	17	3,691	Link here
May	63	124	24	5	4,881	Link here
June	61	108	22	4	4,181	Link here
July	63	73	10	6	3,368	Link here
August	58	76	4	8	4,657	Link here
September	60	56	13	0	6,807	Link here
October	71	137	14	2	5,896	Link here
November	48	73	18	2	4,455	Link here
December	X	X	X	X	X	Link here

Art Updates

May just list sets and link back to that months RANews page if users want to see the before and after images.

Junior Developer Stats

Month	Jr. Devs Added	Jr. Devs Promoted	Reviews Completed
January	14	4	12
February	14	2	17
March	14	3	21
April	13	7	12
May	15	2	16
June	19	3	14
July	6	6	17
August	9	1	16
September	17	4	20
October	20	0	25
November	6	2	12
December	X	X	X

Code Reviewers added in 2021: *SnowPin, *Infernox, *voiceofautumn, *SlashTangent, pinguupinguu, tralph3, KingS1zzle, **Searo, Pebete, blendedsea, *Delmaru, Ryudo * No longer a CR * Returning CR

If you are interested in becoming a Code Reviewer please reach out to any of the following users.

blendedsea, DanialARP, KingS1zzle, MrOwnership, Pebete, pinguupinguu, Ryudo, Searo, Shmelyoff, SporyTike, tralph3

Dev and User related changes

Some general info, DevQuest stats, and links to this years weekly wraps.

Should separate rules from general info.

• Sudoku/Picross Scoring Update. "1 point for easy, 2-3 points for medium, 4-5 points for hard" - 2/5
• User Code of Conduct updated to be more clear and simple. https://docs.retroachievements.org/Users-Code-of-Conduct/
• Rule - Logic backups required by developers when updating achievements.
• Users with less than 500 points will not be ranked in the global leaderboards
• Junior Developer site role introduced
• Rule - Set icons should be representative of the game and its common themes, and therefore should be instantly recognizable.
• Efforts made to standardize game genres have begun.
• Rule - Bonus, Multi, and Subset naming conventions updated to [Bonus] rather than ~Bonus~.
• Cheevo mascot created and discord emojis added for him. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/357633571307126784/883215430708248596/emotegroup.png
• RA Twitter account gets revived....then blocked 😢...then unblocked 😇.
• Rule - Sets are required to cover the content to at least game completion.
• Rule - Bonus set claims need to be approved prior to claim.
• QATeam created to increase and maintain set quality.
• Rule - Policy changes I need to add in here. https://discord.com/channels/310192285306454017/386068797921951755/842243958787670019
• Devs can now requests completed sets to be held in unofficial until a certain date to be released
• Rule - Changing the description to clarify or correct it to match the logic that is already present does NOT require a revision vote
• Rule - Altering the achievement's objective in any way DOES require a revision vote as always.
• DuckStation, NEStopia, Sameboy are officially unsupported
• Credit for set, badges, icons, etc. has started being put into the first post of a sets forum topic.
• Sole/Majority devs can now request forum topic transfers so they are now the author of the first post and can edit it freely.

Playtesters

The Playtester program was officially put into motion this year. Along with a slick discord role and icon, users are able to earn a Playtester site badge for playtesting sets, finding issues and validating achievement unlocks before a set goes live.

Stats go here... X playtester over the past year, X currently active. X sets playtested, X issues found, X achievements validated.

If you are interested in becoming a Playtester please reach out to Haruda.

Discord Updates

Role additions

In an effort to improve and organize the overall discord experience we have created several new roles and channels for the users. Here are the roles and channels that were added in the past year, as well a general purpose for them.

Role	Purpose
@Art-Helper	Users interested in helping complete art requests
@Art-Visitor	Users given temp access to the art-discussion channel to discuss their art request results.
@Bomb-Squad	User assisting mods in preventing drama and maintaining discord peace.
@Claims-Manager	CobaltZeroni, tracking developer set claims.
@CleanupTeam	Users helping out with site cleanup actions.
@DC Rollout	Developers who are working on Dreamcast sets for the release of console support.
@Peaker	Top 3 users or the Peaker event.
@Play-Tester	Users interested in playtesting developer sets before they release.
@QA-Team	Users monitoring achievement set quality and adherence to the developers Code of Conduct.
@RADocsTeam	Users helping with revamping RADocs.
@RANews-Contributor	Users who have contributed to RANews.
@semi-weekly	Users interested in semi weekly discussions.
@TechTeamWeb	Users helping with RAWeb updates and maintenance.
@Unwanted	Users who qualify for any tier of the current month of the Unwanted event.
@Writer	Users helping out with writing requests.

Channel additions

Channel	Purpose
#admin-site-cleanup	Request site cleanup actions that require admin action. Such as post edits, user verification, and forum topic transfer.
#aotw-voting	Voting channel for current weeks Achievement of the Week winners
#art-requests	Post requests for achievement icons and badges.
#bombsquad	Bombsquad user discussion.
#claims	Developer related claim discussion.
#daily-distractions	Daily DistRActions event discussion.
#devquest	DevQuest discussion.
#github-discussions	Webhook channel for GitHub discussions.
#netplay	A place to coordinate netplay sessions with friends.
#play-testers	Playtester discussion.
#qa-inbox	Messages to QATeam user get forwarded here.
#qa-log	Log channel for notable QATeam events.
#qa-team	QATeam discussion.
#radocs	RADocs revamp discussion.
#ranews-cover-voting	RANews cover voting for contributors.
#ranews-inbox	Messages to RANews user get forwarded here.
#ranews-team	RANews discussion.
#rapatches	RAPatches discussion and workplace.
#rollout	Sega Dreamcast discussion and rollout.
#site-cleanup	Request site cleanup actions for developers to perform. Such as linking games to hubs.
#site-cleanup-discussion	Site Cleanup discussion.
#twitter-team	RA twitter discussion.
#writing	Handling spelling/grammatical errors in achievement titles/descriptions and other related tasks.
#writing-requests	Writing requests to be handled by the Writing team.

Events

Ongoing Events

• Achievement of the Week
  • Hosted by: ikki5 & Flara
• Challenge League
  • Hosted by: SnowPin
  • Current challenges:
    • #1 - Leapforg added 1/31
    • #2 - Unwanted
    • #3 - Peakstreak added 3/29
    • #4 - BINGO!
    • #5 - CL3 x VGM added 7/4
    • #6 - Ticket to Ride
    • #7 - Devember
• Communiplay
  • Hosted by: SporyTike & StingX2
• Daily DistRActions
  • Hosted by: Bendyhuman
• DevQuest
  • Hosted by: QATeam
  • Current Quests:
    • #001: Ticket Massacre
    • #002: Summer Set Repair
    • #003: One Single Condition
    • #004: Veteran Developer
    • #005: Trigger Happy
    • #006: The Unwanted
    • #007: Most Wanted
    • #008: World Traveler
    • #009: Launch Party!
    • #010: It Takes Two
    • #011: Happy Birthday RA!
• Leaderboard of the Month
  • Hosted by: Searo
• Master of the Month
  • Hosted by: Jam
• Peak Streak
  • Hosted by: Bendyhuman
• Simple Monthly Master
  • Hosted by: Hotscrock
• The Unwanted
  • Hosted by: SlashTangent & televandalist

Completed Events

• 2021 Retro Olympics - Spring Edition
  • Hosted by: voiceofautumn & Searo
  • Results:
    • Gold: Gamechamp
    • Silver: TheoVellum
    • Bronze: Bendyhuman
• Devember 2.0 - See other section of RANews
  • Hosted by: SlashTangent & wilhitewarrior
  • Results:
    • 824 tickets closed/resolved.
    • 63 Inactive Developers Freed of Tickets
    • 41 developers qualify for event badge
    • More information here. <-- Link to more results here
• RA Family Feud
  • Hosted by: StingX2
  • Results:
    • Team I Hate SM64: Pampa, Blotch, VenHur, Tayadaoc [419]
    • Team Wahoo: Haruda & Pampa50 & Adamjohnny5 [350]
    • Killer Yoshis That Love: Bendyhuman, Draco655 [348]
    • Midcore Team: tinycyan, Venhur [318]
    • America's Favorite Cat: adamjohnny5, Terrorvan [197]
    • Where Is The Dragon Eggs: Snowpin & Draco655 & DanielARP [72]
    • Team Damageless: Spory, Shinx, Daniel, TheRecognitionScene [0]
    • Team Spoon: wilhitewarrior, RyanRJ, Pebete [0]
• Retro Battle
  • Hosted by: Thoreau
  • Results:
    • RB1 winner: HolyShinx
    • RB2 winner: Bendyhuman
    • RB3 winner: TheoVellum
    • RB4 winner: MatheusBrazuca85
    • RB5 winner: Draco655
    • RB6 winner: HolyShinx
    • RB7 winner: betinho006
• The Big Achievement 2020
  • Hosted by: televandalist
  • Badges created and awarded.
  • Results:
    • 3 Platinum winners.
    • 1 Gold winner.
    • 3 Silver winners.
    • 9 Bronze winners.
• The Great Jacko
  • Hosted by: StingX2 & DanielARP
  • Results:
    • 8 developers qualify for event badge.
    • 31 set revisions completed
• VGM 8
  • Hosted by: WateredWillow
  • Results:
    • 1st: Salsa
    • 2nd: Pelouch
    • 3rd: JAM

Other Stuff

• RAPodcast episodes 13-24
• RATalks
• Rescore Project has been complete. Lasting from June 2019 through April 2021.
• Awesome video by @iShade on What are Retro Achievements? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0hmYv6czs8

RANews

• 1 Year Anniversary in August

RABot

List major updates this year

RAGuide

List new guides this year with links to them

RAIntegration

• 0.79 - https://github.com/RetroAchievements/RAIntegration/releases/tag/RAIntegration.0.79
• 0.79.1 - https://github.com/RetroAchievements/RAIntegration/releases/tag/RAIntegration.0.79.1
• 0.79.2 - https://github.com/RetroAchievements/RAIntegration/releases/tag/RAIntegration.0.79.2
• 0.79.3 - https://github.com/RetroAchievements/RAIntegration/releases/tag/RAIntegration.0.79.3
• 0.79.4 - https://github.com/RetroAchievements/RAIntegration/releases/tag/RAIntegration.0.79.4

RAWeb

List major updates this year

• Site rank Percentage now has 2 decimal point precision
• "More Info" section look updated

RAPatches

New this year. List some general stats like number of patch files, etc.

New Console/Core Support

• Achievement support added to the Yabause Sega Saturn Core. 4/11
• Intellivision support added on 1/18
• Watara Supervision support added on
• PSP support added on 10/1

RATools

• Version 1.8.0 released on 2/27
  • dynamic recompilation (only process the parts of the script affected by changes)
  • several other optimizations around script processing
  • several minor improvements to better report the actual cause of an error
  • update analysis queries for website changes (NOTE: ticket list now requires setting a Cookie value in the ini file)
  • fix multiplication not being distributed over complex term
  • fix wrong condition being removed when two never() conditions overlap
  • fix PauseIf being removed from alt if it also exists in core
• Version 1.8.1 released on 5/9
  • add trigger_when() function
  • add deduct() helper for tally() function
  • support scaling for modifier conditions (AddSource, SubSource, AddAddress)
  • support for hex constants (hXX) when deconstructing rich presence and leaderboards from server data
  • add copy to clipboard links for leaderboard title/description
  • fix bitcount() not being allowed in prev() and prior() functions
  • fix syntax highlighting in dictionary when not ordered by key
  • fix stack overflow evaluating very long chain of ANDed conditions
  • fix issue simplifying comparison with multiple constants
• Version 1.8.2 released on 8/22
  • add disable_when() function
  • add any_of(), all_of(), none_of(), and sum_of() functions
  • allow functions to have default parameters
  • allow functions to be assigned to variables
  • support for anonymous functions
  • support for collapsing duplicated rich presence strings into keyed ranges
  • improved badge handling for non-local achievements
  • modify underflow adjustment logic to generate statements that don't require underflow adjustment
  • for example [a - b > n] => [b + n < a] instead of [a - b - n + max(b) > max(b)]
  • add links to view user achievement history from game stats dialog
  • fix error indicator not updating when lines added/removed earlier in the script
  • fix goto source not going to the correct line when lines added/removed earlier in the script
  • fix scaled modifiers not supported in leaderboard values
  • fix indirect addresses not supported in bit() function
  • fix underflow adjustment for prev() comparisons
  • fix impossible comparison [byte > 400] affecting neighboring conditions

Emulator Updates

RALibretro

• Version 1.3.5 released on 4/20
  • support for new RetroArch save state container format
  • add yabause as a supported core (Sega Saturn)
  • add freeintv as a supported core (Intellivision)
  • add potator as a supported core (Watara Supervision)
  • add quicknes as a supported core (Nintendo Entertainment System)
  • add swanstation as a supported core (Playstation)
  • make video settings global
  • block additional core settings in hardcore
  • ignore header (if present) for Atari 7800 games
  • fix integer scaling when window menu wraps
  • fix log file not being written to correct directory when launched with full path
  • fix 100% CPU usage while paused
• Version 1.3.6 released on 5/15
  • add settings for fast forward speed and allow sound while fast forwarding
  • remove Gearsystem as supported core for Genesis
  • add PicoDrive as a supported core for Sega CD
  • add m3u to file filter for loading Sega CD games in Genesis Plus GX
  • fix memory map for FreeIntv core when using 0.79 dll
  • fix rendering issue in VecX hardware mode
  • fix crash when using FBNeo core after selecting a custom controller for a previous game
  • fix disc handling when m3u contains filenames longer than 128 characters
• Version 1.3.7 - 7/23
  • allow SRAM size mismatch (prevents loss of save data for Sonic Delta 40MB)
  • generate z64 hash for n64 and v64 files
  • fix wrong color for cores using XRGB8888 when loading save state while paused
• Version 1.3.8
  • Support for PlayStation Portable via the PPSSPP core
  • Support for core option categories
  • Support for core using preloaded ROM without duplicating it
  • Allow non-game CDs to be loaded without unloading game
  • Renamed SwanStation back to DuckStation
  • Timestamps added to log.txt
  • Fix throttling for cores with threaded audio
  • Fix issue where save state extension would be lost if path contained a period

RANes

• Version 1.0 Released on 2/6
  • Upgrade to official 2.3.0 release of FCEUX (15 Dec 2020)
  • x64 support
  • Fix leaderboard/achievement not resetting with emulator reset
  • Fix hashing of unif formatted ROMs
• Version 1.1 released on 11/7
  • Upgrade to official 2.5.0 release of FCEUX (21 Oct 2021)
  • Support for toolkit DLL larger than 2MB

RAMeka

• Version 1.0 released on 7/27
  • Includes several compatibility improvements from upstream. Otherwise, as far as I can tell, there was one bugfix around custom skins, and one feature around stereo support for game gear audio.
  • Memory map has been updated for SG-1000 expanders (Dahjee at $2000, Othello/Castle at $4000). This makes Dahjee games work the same between RAMeka and Genesis Plus GX. Knightmare has been updated to use the new mapping, and Rally-X already supported both via alts. Genesis Plus GX does not map Othello/Castle correctly, and the other cores that support SG-1000 don't map either Dahjee or Othello/Castle at all.
  • RetroAchievements menu has been moved to the main window

RASnes9x

• Version 1.1 released on 12/5
  • Upgrade to current (2021 Dec 4) master of Snes9x
  • Disallow forced PAL in hardcore
  • Support for >2MB RAIntegration.dll

RetroArch Updates Specific to RetroAchievements

Supervision supported added in 1.9.2