Will that tool help change the gameplay of many achievements that are still locked in your Steam game library?
Understand the basic situation of SAM
SAM stands for Steam Achievement Manager. It is a free software developed and launched by the player community. It came out around 2010. Its main function is to directly modify the achievement data belonging to Steam games stored locally on the computer, so that it can be used to unlock or re-lock the achievements of any Steam game.
This tool runs entirely locally and does not require a connection to its server. The original intention when it was developed was to allow gamers to independently manage their own achievement progress, such as restoring achievements lost due to bugs in the game, or to freely experience such situations in stand-alone games. Its source code is made public, allowing technically savvy users to scrutinize its working methods.
Concrete embodiment of core functions
The most critical function of SAM is to directly read and write files related to user data stored locally on the Steam client. When you start SAM, it will list all the Steam games in your account. Select any game and go in, you can see all the achievements list of this game, and you can change the status to "unlocked" or "locked" as you like.
Not only can it modify some statistical values related to the game, but it can also manage achievement status. Many such statistical values are often related to achievement unlocking conditions. For example, you can directly change the statistical value of "Kill 100 enemies" to 100, thereby causing the corresponding achievement to be triggered, which brings convenience to testing and repair.
Detailed steps for actual operation
You have to get the official version of SAM from a reliable community forum or open source code hosting platform. After downloading, it is an independent executable file and does not need to be installed. Before running, you must completely exit the Steam client. This is a critical step.
After turning on SAM, the software interface will load your game list, find the game you want to modify, and double tap to enter the achievement management page. Here, you can check the achievements you want to unlock, or uncheck them to re-lock them. After completing the modifications, click "Save" and restart Steam, and the changes will take effect.
Important discussion about security
For many players, the most concerning thing is whether using SAM will lead to being banned. Based on community feedback over the years, Valve seems to have adopted a tacit attitude towards such purely local achievement modifications, and it is extremely rare for accounts to be banned due to this. However, this does not mean that there is no risk at all. If it is abused blatantly, it may still attract attention.
With this key point, SAM implements modifications to the local cache data, which will be synchronized with the Steam cloud when connected to the Internet. However, the focus of supervision carried out by Valve is generally placed on multiplayer online games protected by the VAC anti-cheat system, while the management of achievement data for stand-alone games is relatively loose. However, any modification violates the Steam User Agreement.
Applicable scenarios and reasonable uses
One reasonable use is to repair achievements. For some stand-alone games, after updating or transferring the save file, the achievements that have been obtained may not light up normally. Using SAM, you can manually unlock these achievements again to make up for the shortcomings of the game itself. This is regarded by many players as a legitimate remedial measure.
For game developers and testers, SAM is a practical tool. Developers can use it to quickly verify whether the trigger conditions of the achievement system in their game are functioning normally, without having to repeat the lengthy actual game process. This can significantly improve testing efficiency and ensure that the achievement function is intact and error-free before going online.
Final advice to users
If you make up your mind to use it, it is extremely strongly recommended to back up your important data first. You can manually back up the file corresponding to your account ID in the userdata folder under the Steam installation directory. In this way, if any unexpected situation occurs, you can at least restore it to the state before modification to prevent data loss.
Always remember the rules of moderation. Endlessly activating all the achievements may quickly drain away your sense of pleasure and accomplishment when playing the game. The tool itself is neutral, and the focus is on how the user can control it so that it contributes to a better gaming experience rather than destroying it.
So with this kind of tool, do you focus on repairing lost achievements, or do you prefer to adjust the game progress by yourself to obtain a different experience? Welcome to submit your opinions in the comment area.
