RetroAchievements functionality will no longer work until the API is brought back up

[Jav1]

Hi,

Wll Retroachievements be available again in Launchbox? Is there any alternative to the API?

Edited November 3, 2023 by Jav1

[C-Beats]

13 hours ago, Jav1 said:

Hi,

Wll Retroachievements be available again in Launchbox? Is there any alternative to the API?

They don't have a public API at the moment. We can review adding it back in once/if they get it back up. Once it comes back up we'll have to consider whether adding it back in makes sense or not. They will probably have endpoint changes, and we'd still have to see how stable their new solution is. The website and it's API has been pretty unstable over the last 5-6mo and we don't want to spend time developing integration to a third party that isn't stable.

[Kefka2b]

Really hope you will be able to get it back, it really added to the library experience and helped making you want to play unknown gems in a romset that you never heard of before.

[SILLYPILLYSTUDIOS]

Any guesses when it comes back?

[C-Beats]

No idea. It's on them right now and they aren't offering any sort of ETA on when to expect it done. They recently pushed some web changes and have been working on changing how the data is stored/retrieved via their database but I'm not sure how much more they have to go before they get it up and running. At this point we'd probably wait a few months minimum after it's brought up to ensure the new API is stable as well to look into any endpoints that may have changed during the transition anyway so I wouldn't expect integration would be added back into LaunchBox until at least the end of Q1 2024.

[SILLYPILLYSTUDIOS]

Alrighty, then.

 

[superdavit]

Once it's fixed, it would be great if LB could display BOTH the regular achievements, as well as the "hardcore" ones.  Just putting it out there. 

[WCopeland]

Happy to represent from the RA side. We "soft relaunched" the full API a week ago and formally announced today that it's fully restored. We've made significant improvements to our infrastructure and code. Pages that previously took 30 seconds to load are now loading in less than 1.

With the exception of a minor tweak to `GetUserSummary`, we haven't made any major changes to any of the endpoints. They all should respond much faster now than their previous state. We've also enhanced the API to include "beaten games" metadata in the `GetUserAwards` endpoint. We've relaunched our API docs at https://api-docs.retroachievements.org. Currently, the docs are targeted towards our JavaScript/TypeScript wrapper. Soon, the docs will have an option for referencing the raw endpoints (which are currently linked at the bottom of every page).

Our third-party relationships are important. Let me know if there is any additional data that LaunchBox requires or would be useful. We may be able to augment our endpoints further to facilitate it.

Edited December 7, 2023 by WCopeland

[C-Beats]

Thanks for letting us know @WCopeland

I'll have to review the code and ensure all the calls we were making still work, is there a channel you'd prefer I reach out to you or the RA team if I run into anything and need to ask a question, or raise a suggestion? Feel free to PM with the reply if you'd prefer.

[WCopeland]

Hey @C-Beats

I've started a new discussion on our GitHub here: https://github.com/RetroAchievements/RAWeb/discussions/2081

This can serve as a central place for consumers to submit enhancement requests and us to work on them / track their progress. Having this in a GH Discussion is probably a decent format for now, as it can also serve to give other API consumers a heads-up if enhancements are on the way they could also benefit from.

[C-Beats]

15 hours ago, WCopeland said:

Hey @C-Beats

I've started a new discussion on our GitHub here: https://github.com/RetroAchievements/RAWeb/discussions/2081

This can serve as a central place for consumers to submit enhancement requests and us to work on them / track their progress. Having this in a GH Discussion is probably a decent format for now, as it can also serve to give other API consumers a heads-up if enhancements are on the way they could also benefit from.

Thanks, I'll make sure to post any findings I have when I review the API changes in the app

[SILLYPILLYSTUDIOS]

Wait, it’s been finally added back in now?

[faeran]

34 minutes ago, SILLYPILLYSTUDIOS said:

Wait, it’s been finally added back in now?

The only thing I see mentioned is that the RetroAchievement's full API was brought back online recently and CBeats will now need to do a review of any API changes before any decisions will be made for LaunchBox.

[SILLYPILLYSTUDIOS]

Let’s wait for the results

[C-Beats]

The latest beta turns this functionality back on. Please review and let us know in the beta thread if you run into any issues with it. You WILL need to update your RetroAchievement credentials in options as well as potentially rescan your games for achievements.

[MrDeKat]

Fantastic news and amazing job!!!! 

Edited December 11, 2023 by MrDeKat