RetroAchivements Question

[moudrost]

Occasionally, a game that has achievements doesn't indicate that within LaunchBox. Is there a way to create the relationship so the available and completed achievements will appear? I'm not exactly sure how LaunchBox knows when to show the panel and tab or not.

This game for example has achievements and will work just fine using RetroArch with this version of the game.

https://retroachievements.org/game/17691

 

This is the data that is missing.

Any help would be appreciated.

[zombob]

I believe Launchbox requires the title to be named exactly the same as the retro achievements site does in order it to display the tab and sync properly.

In your case, retro achievements names the game   ~Homebrew~ 8-Bit Rhythm Land

This can be very annoying for showing achievements for home brew and hack versions of games.

[moudrost]

There are other homebrew that seem to work named as they are.

I noticed the alternate name is set on this one in the format that you mentioned.

I tried setting the alternate name in the same way on 8bit Rhythm Land but that doesn't work. It did work if I set the main name exactly as you indicated on the record, but that is not ideal. I guess I'll live without the few that won't work right instead of destroying the names.

Edited January 11, 2023 by moudrost

[zombob]

Perhaps the alternate name needs to be published to the games database and then it will work?  I assume that is why Alter Ego works, launchbox recognizes and links it.  Adding only to your local association won't help in that case.

[zombob]

I have submitted the request to add the alternate name  ~Homebrew~ 8-Bit Rhythm Land
to the launchbox database for you. 

[moudrost]

I found a ticket related to this issue on the bug report site. https://bitbucket.org/jasondavidcarr/launchbox/issues/3722/add-and-fields-into-the-platform-xml-for
 

Sounds like a lot of the work of adding alternate names was done but often gets removed by well meaning helpers thinking the name is wrong or isn’t needed. Hopefully a longer term fix will get done at some point. I would add them all myself if I knew the work wouldn’t be wiped out. I appreciate your help and input.

[artvnov]

When adding the LittleBigPlanet game for PSP, the auto-search assigns it the ID #7093. However, the game actually has the ID #6799. This is likely the reason why the game's retro achievements are not displayed. Can you please advise on what I should do to ensure that the game is assigned the correct ID?

[C-Beats]

50 minutes ago, artvnov said:

When adding the LittleBigPlanet game for PSP, the auto-search assigns it the ID #7093. However, the game actually has the ID #6799. This is likely the reason why the game's retro achievements are not displayed. Can you please advise on what I should do to ensure that the game is assigned the correct ID?

If you click that link where it says the number does it go to the right DB page? The number in the DB url and the number shown in the app aren't always the same number.

[C-Beats]

Just now, C-Beats said:

If you click that link where it says the number does it go to the right DB page? The number in the DB url and the number shown in the app aren't always the same number.

Also DB ID and RetroAchievements aren't connected. We search by the ROM Cheevo hash using their RA Hasher tool. You don't need to have a DB ID attached to detect RetroAchievements for a game.

[artvnov]

1 minute ago, C-Beats said:

If you click that link where it says the number does it go to the right DB page? The number in the DB url and the number shown in the app aren't always the same number.

Yes, clicking on link #7093 takes me to page #6799.
Answering an unasked question in advance, my ROM has a supported hash. When I launch the game, the emulator (RetroArch) identifies it as supported.

[C-Beats]

2 hours ago, artvnov said:

Yes, clicking on link #7093 takes me to page #6799.
Answering an unasked question in advance, my ROM has a supported hash. When I launch the game, the emulator (RetroArch) identifies it as supported.

I can't remember which of the Sony systems it is but depending on what command was used to create the CHD (createcd vs createdvd) it can fail in RAHasher which would potentially be the reason we aren't identifying it. If you look in \\LaunchBox\Data\Platforms\Sony PSP.xml is there any "RetroAchievementHash" value assigned to the game in question?

[artvnov]

6 hours ago, C-Beats said:

I can't remember which of the Sony systems it is but depending on what command was used to create the CHD (createcd vs createdvd) it can fail in RAHasher which would potentially be the reason we aren't identifying it. If you look in \\LaunchBox\Data\Platforms\Sony PSP.xml is there any "RetroAchievementHash" value assigned to the game in question?

Yes, in the Sony PSP.xml, the game was assigned #7093. I have now changed it to #6799. Almost nothing has changed. However, the correct # is now displayed in the editor window.

[C-Beats]

4 hours ago, artvnov said:

Yes, in the Sony PSP.xml, the game was assigned #7093. I have now changed it to #6799. Almost nothing has changed. However, the correct # is now displayed in the editor window.

Again, I don't care about the Games DB ID. It has nothing to do with RetroAchievement functionality. Look for the field I specifically asked you to.

[Gaming.Zone]

I just wanted to add that the name of the ROM file doesn’t matter at all. I prefer to name my files a certain way locally, and they still match without any issues. As @C-Beats mentioned, LaunchBox compares the file hash against the RetroAchievements database, not the filename itself.

I’ve also noticed that when a game is actively being updated or rebuilt on RetroAchievements — for example, when new sets of achievements are being added — a title that previously showed achievements can temporarily lose them. It’s rare, but it does happen.

One example I ran into was a ROM that originally matched a No-Intro release, then later switched to the TOSEC version, and eventually ended up being recognized only in the Lost Levels archive (which curates ROMs not included in standard DAT groups). In cases like this, the RetroAchievements coverage can shift as the curators refine which ROMs are supported.

[artvnov]

On 10/5/2025 at 4:39 PM, C-Beats said:

Again, I don't care about the Games DB ID. It has nothing to do with RetroAchievement functionality. Look for the field I specifically asked you to.

Sorry, English is not my native language. I misunderstood your question.

<RetroAchievementsHash>COULDNTFILEHASH</RetroAchievementsHash>

Edited October 6 by artvnov

[C-Beats]

2 minutes ago, artvnov said:

Sorry, English is not my native language. I misunderstood your question.

<RetroAchievementsHash>COULDNTFILEHASH</RetroAchievementsHash>

That gets put in there if we get an error from RAHasher attempting to hash the ROM and get us a value for it. You can try to remove that and save the file and try the scan again and see if it comes back like that or not. If it does we'd have to walk through and show ya how to run the executable directly to potentially get you a better answer as to what is going on.

[artvnov]

8 minutes ago, C-Beats said:

That gets put in there if we get an error from RAHasher attempting to hash the ROM and get us a value for it. You can try to remove that and save the file and try the scan again and see if it comes back like that or not. If it does we'd have to walk through and show ya how to run the executable directly to potentially get you a better answer as to what is going on.

Removing didn't work. But I open RA, copied the supported hash, pasted it in this field, and it worked! I specifically checked it by earning an achievement for this game. Thanks for giving me the idea!