PSN's Trophy System Seriously Needs Some Work

"The title of this article may shock you, because the trophy system is honestly a very well built system that has had some nice improvements over the year, and it is my favorite system over all consoles for many reasons, but in all honesty, it is actually hugely limited as to what it could actually do, what I actually envision it to be one day. If you find the trophy and achievement systems on Microsoft and Sony’s official consoles to be the best that they can be right now, then I really advise you to read this article. I used to think they couldn’t add much more to the trophy system than it has already, but then I started thinking…"

[iamnsuperman]

I think it is well built and does what an achievement system should do. Saying this I agree with the progress bar. What a great idea.

[Red_Orange_Juice]

They should really expand on trophies especially online. Sony should create an official website like psntrophies or playstationtrophies and have all crazy rankings and stats, that would be popular.
They're really addicting especially because of platinums and ability to just compare trophies isnt enough

[Errod88]

like this Sony showed off
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[SilentNegotiator]

You're already able to look at trophies on the playstation site.

And hey, this site must be taking notes from Kotaku; report a story or write an editorial and then go after the subject of that article with another article.

[kreate]

yea. that shiny blue platinum trophy is what makes the difference. i need more of those.

[jadenkorri]

i would so get more into home, if that trophy system was implemented that errod88 linked. i haven't logged into home for at least 6 months maybe more

[StraightPath]

It would be better to just get a life then waste time away on worthless trophies.

p.s on xbox 360 you can delete games which have 0 achievements.

[WeAreLegion]

So that people don't know you suck at them? I don't think so...

[calis]

Yeah pretty sure most of us don't care what random gamers who think trophies are some kind of social standing think about 0% games.

[InactiveUser]

@Crow, calis, and agreers

Pretty sure I'd rather not have my trophy list cluttered up with garbage I just wanted to try out for 5 minutes.

0% has nothing to do with sucking at the game and more to do with the game sucking.

The way it is now, if you don't want your list cluttered, you have to go onto a different profile to test games and demos (just in case they add to your list also, like the Free Realms demo). It's a dumb, wasteful process. Just give the ability to remove or hide trophies you don't want.

[calis]

I'm in your corner. I personally do not care about my trophy numbers, or why they should be added if you're just testing a game but I also do not get why there is no option to remove them.

[GuyThatPlaysGames]

I like trophies but I have one disagreement that trophies and achievements share, and that is the stupid simple achievements/trophies. An example is you enter online multiplayer and you get a trophy. Kill your first enemy and get a trophy. All trophies/achievements should be worthy of achieving and not just handed to you.

[aquamala]

ever since the new PS store update it now takes forever (minutes!) to look at trophies, I think it's safe to say now that the only person that would take the time to look at your trophies is ... you

and what I don't understand is if you just go to this web page (replace the XXXXX with a psn handle) it comes up instantly

http://us.playstation.com/p...

[Jaces]

The only flaw I find with the system is the status bar for each game. I have 100% on most games I've played but that damn DLC addition kills my 100% and knocks me down to 60 or 70. It's beyond infuriating for a completionist like myself.

Don't bother telling me to buy the DLC and beat it because DLC is just another word for content that should have been in game but was cut due to greed.

[pixelsword]

Isn't there already a progress bar when you look on your profile when you are on the firend's list?

[Kalowest]

Some games have a built in "progress bars" like Resistance 3 and Gears of War 3. But yes their should be a universal one.

[showtimefolks]

I rather have trophies than achievement points

There are many thing any did wrong this gen and many ms did right with xblive

Cross game chat-good
Xblive points system instead of real money-bad/stupid
Achievement-ms started something nice

Ps3 trophies Sony took the achievement idea and made it more gamer friendly, I mean who doesn't like trophies
.

So while the trophy system could use SE small tweaks that I am sure will get for ps4 launch p, I am not sure t needs an over haul

[GalacticEmpire]

Even if it's the best there's always room for improvement, just don't fix the things that aren't broken.

[PirateThom]

Game percentage and DLC percentage can be separate, but it's up to the developers to programme it that way.

Just as a point of note.

[BlindMango]

Game trophies and DLC/add-on trophies can, in-fact, be separated as far as organization goes. However, when it comes to seeing the game's total percentage in the list of games, it could be at 100% after the game releases, but could drop to say 85% when DLC comes out, then when selecting the game you can see the progress of the main game then all the pieces of DLC. I don't mind it too much and see how it makes sense, but it is still a fairly popular requested feature to make two percentage bars, one for the main game, and one for all the cumulative DLC

[JD_Shadow]

The only problem could come with those games that have multiple pieces of DLC that all have their own trophy lists. If you have something for a game like, let's say, Burnout Paradise, that has a few DLC packs that add new trophies to the game, the amount of bars that would end up being there would just crowd everything up, and the end result would just get messy. Where would all those bars go that would keep things as neat and tidy as they are.

I could understand if a game has one major DLC item that added some trophies (and even that is questionable), but for a game that has several additions, it's going to get dumb in a hurry, I think it's much more feasible to be able to use the main menu item as a folder, and it's not broken.

[Soldierone]

I hate that. It makes it seem like i didn't even try to finish some games.... I get 100 percent, look at it later and its at 65 percent.... I don't feel like buying every piece of overpriced DLC to "finish" these games.

[Hellsvacancy]

I RARELY compare trophies, it takes way to long to sync

[pandaboy]

Took me 15 mins to sync once. Truly pathetic.

[Reverent]

Agreed. Honestly, that could really be the only thing I would complain about. Sony's trophy system would be perfectly fine if it synced faster. On my old account (back when I got a PS3 at launch) ?I never bothered to look through my trophies until like last year, and I was level 18... I left my PS3 sit on over night while my trophies synced and they still weren't finished by the time I woke up (about 6 hours later). I just gave up and have never bothered to try syncing them since lol.

[Soldierone]

If it does it again, try "rebuilding the database" on your PS3. I had the same issue, I did that, and now it syncs up faster. It keeps getting slow though, and "comparing" trophies still sucks. I hate how it locks up too, so if you accidentally press it you are screwed for 5 minutes.

[wsoutlaw87]

plus helps for that. also doing it more frequently helps to

[DOMination-]

I Dont see why you should get plus just for that. It should sync when you unlock. The fact the vita is the same is ridiculous because it means Sony have built a stupid system and can't fix it.

[Hicken]

It should sync when you unlock it? You mean, even if you're offline?

The Vita, by the way, is NOT the same: trophies you unlock are synced instantly, provided you're online. Never had any trouble with that on mine.

And you wouldn't get Plus JUST to sync trophies, but it's a welcome bonus.

The only thing stupid is the entirety of your comment. Luckily, you've got another bubble; you should try and fix it.

As for the trophy system itself, it's not so much that it "seriously needs some work." The title makes it seem like it's a broken system, when it seems to be more about what improvements or additions they'd like to see.

[DOMination-]

Hicken, you really shouldn't get so offended by what some guy on an internet forum says. We can all have different opinions without resorting to petty personal insults can't we?

As for bubbles - until last week I had a good track record in this place, but then in an article about the new Microsoft London studio, it was filled with idiots. My comment was literally "I can't believe there are so many troll comments above me" and I predictably got reported and banned for three days. So if you could give that back as it was probably you who took it from me in the first place, that would be great.

I have a Vita and I have never noticed instant syncing. I do tend to play only classics on it though, so maybe that's why and an unfair assumption on my part. If that's actually the case then fair play, and disregard my last comment. I hope this is in PS4.

My first comment still stands though - it's ridiculous that the PS3 can't do that. And obviously, if you're offline, it would sync automatically when you sign in. It can't be that hard, the other console has done it for 7 years.

[pixelsword]

DOM's right, auto syncing shouldn't be a caveat of Plus, Sony should make all technological improvements open to everyone who bought the console.

[BlindMango]

The Vita allows you to always view your trophy list and if you have trophies that need to be synced, then those trophies are synced in the "background" when viewing your trophy list. It shows the progress bar for the sync at the top-left while you are in the trophy app and doesn't disturb or interrupt you viewing your trophies,

A much better way of doing it, but still not exactly instant syncing once the trophy is awarded

[MizTv]

It was better than nothing
And I'm very happy with it

[Sarcasm]

I think they should reduce the number of trophies it requires to gain levels. I mean jesus, I have 1000+ trophies and I'm only "Level 12." That's years of gaming. I should feel like level 40 or something.

Not that it really matters. But if they are trying to give people a sense of playing a big RPG and be more addicted, then they should lighten up the requirements.

[SAE]

If you had high level you will see it as a silly thing and sony dont want you to feel like that . they want you to buy more games ..

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

I would mind some trophy currency addition. For like exclusive themes/avatars etc. Something to make me feel like it's worth it to buy x multiplat game on a Sony console.

[BlindMango]

Very nice idea, and a specific currency for getting trophies to get rewards! You'd actually be getting things for your accomplishments

[maddfoxx]

They were actually working on something like that with "PlayStation Rewards" (I was in the beta a few years back). I dont know what happened to it tho. Seems like they scraped the idea. It was pretty cool. Got some exclusive avatars and themes out of it. . . avatars that no one else will be able to get. :)

[TronEOL]

I'm pretty sure they canceled it because people started hacking the PS3 and giving themselves trophies. So rather than implementing a system that could detect "fake trophies", they just ditched Playstation Rewards.

We'll most likely see it launch with the PS4 though (most likely be available on PS3/Vita at that time too).

[Soldierone]

@tron That makes no sense though because Sony said it about 500 times to everyone in the beta. "Trophies do not directly increase the rank"

Yeah they still had an effect, but if thats the issue then why not just actually keep that true?

[mi_titan27]

I was part of that beta myself, i had reached legendary, alot of that was based on your PSN purchases as well, as completing certain tasks

[maddfoxx]

@TronEOL. PlayStation Rewards wasn't based on trophies. Dont know where you got that info from. :-/

[taylork37]

I love trophies...but i hate how they are implemented.

It was a little more acceptable when you could view them offline, but you are telling me I have to sync for 20-30 seconds everytime I earn one if I want to look at them?

There had to be a reason they made them online only, but I really have no idea.

[daggertoes83]

yea that sucks. Whenever i get one and want to see what other ones i need in the game and it takes 30 secs to sync it is kinda crazy.

[imtheman2013]

My solution to this is that when I am trophy hunting, I turn the trophy mode to offline; no sync happens and I can quickly check which ones I need. And if you have PS+, you can set your PS3 to auto update the trophies to the server at like 6 am. This is what I do and I thoroughly enjoy collecting trophies.

[Mr_Luke]

like imtheman says, if you check them while you're in the game you can turn the offline mode on. Nothing sync anymore and it shows right away all the trophies. If you do while you 're in the XMB it could start the sync, but if i don't want to wait, for example, i just press circle and i check them all (stopping the sync).
At least with PS+ it does the sync alone while i'm not using the console.

[rainslacker]

You can set the system to view them in offline mode so you only see the ones that are on your system.

To do so you press triangle on the XMB where it says trophies(not the whole list, but the main selection), and I believe the selection is "mode", or something to that effect.

If your in a game it will not sync the trophies if you go to view the list. If you are connected to PSN and not in a game it will then sync up new trophies with the server, and takes about 15-30 seconds.

The reason they went with an online mode was because you can now use it to view Vita trophies.

If you should ever lose all the trophy info on your system...say install a new hard drive...then you can still sync it and get them all back on your system. Off-line mode will not show you Vita trophies however.

[oakshin]

press triangle and press x on "OFFLINE MODE"

edit well my post was pointless

[WeAreLegion]

I wish they would add that STUPID trophy room to Home...and give Home a full release on the PS4. It's a huge money maker for Sony, by the way. Will full integration on PS4 and an upgraded graphics/physics system, it could work so well!

[Neko_Mega]

Thinks they need to do about the trophy system:

Faster trophy added to your list without have to syn it.
An maybe adding a place in Playstation Home that has a room that holds all your trophy's in it with the name of the game above it.

Other then that, theirs really nothing that needs to be change.

[SolidDuck]

I don't want to go into to much detail but I think for the ps4 they should turn PS home into an mmo, and use trophies u get in the games u play as currency for weapons and armor. It would give Sony a instant game with every ps4, a reason to log onto home if it was a pretty good mmo, and it would get people wanting to play more games to get more trophies. It would make trophies even more addictive and give an actual in game reason to go for platinums and all trophies. It would take a lot of work but if done right, i believe it would be a huge success.

[TrustMe]

That would actually be an awesome idea.

[DragonKnight]

*facepalm* This article is so ridiculous. And umm, there is a progress bar, it's an overall level progress bar. If you want a specific trophy progress bar, that's on the developers to include, not Sony. Everything in this article is just stupid.

[TronEOL]

Actually, any "system" involved with the console is up to Sony to provide. The developers are only obligated to develop the games (and now include trophies/achievements).

To include a per-trophy progress bar should be a simple task on Sony's part and should be included in the trophy menu, not just in-game.

[DragonKnight]

Nah, it's up to the developers because they create the specific trophies and their conditions to obtain them. Or maybe it's up to both of them, but it in no way is a Sony only issue.

And in all honesty, there hasn't been a more nitpicky thing to talk about this entire gen. Honestly, it's ridiculous.

[BlindMango]

I was talking about specific trophy progress bars, and it is not up to the developers to include, as there is no such feature that's built into the trophy system, the only thing developers can do is show you your progress through stats in their start menu.

I'm talking about viewing your trophy list and seeing actual progress bars under trophies you'd normally have to keep a checklist for.

[Belking]

Not a fan of trophies myself. This is something i think sony needs to just do over. They make it too painful to do simple things like sync them. It takes too long. MS makes it simple and its more unified and much faster and simpler. So far it's achievements > trophies until sony improve things.

[ajax17]

I definitely agree with wanting to be able to delete games which were mistakes or whatever. I don't like seeing a trophy list for a game I never play.

[TrustMe]

The only thing wrong with Trophies is having to synch them all the time, and even then you can get around it buy turning Trophies to offline

[MasterCornholio]

Thats pretty annoying and theres a ton of games that require you to refresh your trophies before playing them. But thats a minor issue that i expect will be fixed with the PS4.

[sdplisken]

i love trophies and the leveling system just fine

all sony needs to do is reward you with something for every platinum - avatars would be perfect cause theyre cheap and you can show em off

take god of war ascension coming up for example, if you can get the platinum then wouldnt it be badass to get a god of war avatar that cant be bought only obtained?

how awesome would it be to get a MGS4 platinum avatar?

[REDGUM]

The only gripe I have is to put the system back the way it was as the loading times in game are apauling. At leased before the update you did'nt have to load the trophy's, they were there too look at ingame straight away.

Having said that though, I have'nt read this article yet.

[abzdine]

generally PSN sucks! so many problems with region locked payments, PSN cards, trophies have to synchronize manually everytime i wanna take a look at the list, the Store sucks, Vita PSN implementation is the poorest ever seen, worse than PS3 in 2006... no way to compare trophies with friends from trophy screen you need to open friends and compare...

i dont care about leaderboard and things like that i'm not trying to be number one in trophies but i'd like everything PSN related to be more user friendly by not requiring infinite loading times and by making thing smarter cause Sony loses loads of money by locking PSN and by not allowing multi account on vita.

[BlindMango]

Actually you are able to compare with friends directly from the trophy app, at the top-right of the app, there is a large button that says "compare trophies" and when you press it, there are options to share with friends of people from your players met list.

Regarding Vita being worse than PSN was in 2006? Hell to the no, I was there in 2006 and can say that is certainly not true, but I do agree that PSN needs some more work with integration and seamlessness.

[despair]

The headline is misleading. What is mentioned is not "serious work" just some additions that are already supplied by non-sony websites.

[jocomat9]

i had a cool idea. Sony should let you pick your favorite trophy that you have gotten and it should show the trophy pic on your psn player profile on the bottom right. That way people can see one trophy that your most fond of. Some platinum trophies look badass and it would be cool to show them off to other players.

[vydeljr]

i got 23 platinums but now Im starting to out grow it. If I get a trophy while playing fine Im so backed up on games trying to platinum it its not even funny. Doesnt help that I have a life outside my gaming world working a lot of hours in everything else. Demon souls took forever to platinum i put 48 hours in that game then accidentally erase my game cuz I was half sleep loading it up then put 65 more hours in it and platinumed it. I have to say that was the hardest platinum I got out of all of them then bayonetta.

[ufo8mycat]

The Trophy system is fine. It is a step up from the GamerScore achievements on 360. The trophy system has a easy and simply representation of games you have got all the trophies for, indicated by the platinum trophy.

If anything 360 needs this. Having a Gamerscore of 34,520 is meaningless, as it doesn't mean you got 34 platinums so to speak.

Of course you can improve, but saying it needs 'drastic improvements' is silly.

[ado908]

Hell of a lot better than achievements. At least the trophies give you something to work for. I always loved trying to platinum a game I really liked on the Ps3. But on the 360 something like a platinum achievement is not available. They're just there...Xbox needs a leading achievement. Similar to a platinum trophy.