Crossover Achievements is an addon that combines achievement data from both Retail and Cataclysm to share achievements between both versions.
There is an achievement you already completed in Retail during WOTLK or Cataclysm, but you only care to do those things you never did? With this add-on, those things will be flagged as completed so you can focus on the achievement you never did
Do you want that achievement flagged as complete back in Retail after doing it in Classic? With this add-on, you can.
FEATURES
- Calculate account achievements in Classic based on characters' achievements
- Export Classic achievements data to be Imported into Retail
- Export Retail achievements data to be Imported into Classic
- Calculate crossover achievements by mixing Classic and Retail data
CLASSIC ONLY FEATURES
- Translate faction exclusive achievements to the opposite faction (Retail already has this feature in Blizzard's UI. Classic have it since Cataclysm but currently there are many achievements that are not working correcly)
- Show in every achievement which character has completed it, to differentiate achievements earned by the current character or others (Retail already has this feature in Blizzard's UI)
- Generate achievements links using the completion date from other characters if the current character hasn't completed the achievement (It is not possible to implement this feature in Retail)
Can you explain in detail how to transfer data between Classic and Retail?
Sure, to transfer achievements data between Retail and Classic, first, you need to log into Retail.
It sounds complicated, but trust me, it isn't.
1 - Install this add-on in both versions, Retail and Classic.
2 - Connect to the game in Retail and once you are in the game, exit the game.
3 - Connect to the game with Classic and once you are in the game, exit the game. Currently there is a bug in Classic with some achievements not being recognized by another faction character, so if you completed Classic achievements in both factions you will need to do this twice, with an Alliance character and a Horde character.
4 - With both games closed open your Windows Explorer and go to your WOW installation folder, for example "C:\World of Warcraft" and go to the retail add-on folder in which the add-on is installed, in this example "C:\World of Warcraft\_retail_\Interface\AddOns\CrossoverAchievements"
5 - Double click the file TransferData.cmdThis file will copy the add-on data from Retail to Classic and from Classic to Retail.
6 - You are done. The next time you log in with any of your characters you will see all your achievements, no matter if was obtained in Classic or Retail.
To have all the information, you need to log into any character that has completed an achievement.
Once you do that, you will have a file called "CrossoverAchievements - Retail. lua" with all your characters' achievement data in the folder "_retail_\WTF\Account\AccountId\SavedVariables" of your WOW Folder. Accounted is a name that identifies your WOW account; Every player has a different value.
Copy that file to the folder "_classic_\WTF\Account\AccountId\SavedVariables" without renaming it, overwriting the file if already exists.
Then, open WOTLK Classic, and the add-on will load that file to combine Retail and WOTLK Information.
The transfer between WOTLK Classic and Retail is the same, but you need to copy the file "CrossoverAchievements - WOTLK. lua" from the Classic folder into the Retail folder.
To simplify the process, I have included with the add-on a CMD file (TransferData. cmd) that will copy the Lua files for you. You only need to execute the CMD, which will copy both Lua files, transferring both Classic to Retail and Retail to Classic simultaneously.
If you are using Mac, the cmd file from 5 won't work for you, and you will need to copy the data files manually.
In that case, move to the folder WTF in which add-ons store their data. With the previous example you need to enter into the folder "C:\World of Warcraft\_retail_\WTF\Account" for Retail and "C:\World of Warcraft\_retail_\WTF\Account" for Classic
In those folders, there are as many folders as WOW accounts you have. You need to find what folder correspond to your account. Inside your account folder, there is another folder "SavedVariables"
In your account folder there are many files from all your add-ons. Search the files "CrossoverAchievements - Retail. lua" and "CrossoverAchievements - Cataclysm. lua"
You need to copy Cataclysm file from your account, saved variables folder in Classic into the equivalent folder from Retail, and with Retail file copy it from Retail into Cataclysm.
How does this addon work?
For this add-on to work, you must install it on your Retail Client and Classic Client. The add-on consists of three parts, the main add-on that process all Achievements data and two add-ons to export and import data between versions. The export add-on will generate a Lua file in your game WTF folder that you need to copy to your WTF in the other version manually. After doing that, the Import add-on will read that Lua file and combine achievements data from both versions.
The add-on also contains a replacement of Blizzard's Achievements UI modified to show as completed an achievement if any character in your account has completed it.
It combines both Classic and Retail using Import/Export data, regardless of whether Blizzard officially recognizes those achievements as complete or not.
So, this addon shows fake achievements?
Not exactly. This add-on shows achievements unrecognized by Blizzard, but those are not fake. Achievements are not a thing compared with other in-game items like mounts, pets, transmogs, or toys. An achievement is just information about an action that you did in-game, and it is no other than a checklist of things to do. So, because it is just information about what you did, I can import and export it to show your achievements across versions.
In Blizzard's UI you only see your Classic account achievements in Classic and all your Retail account achievements in Retail. But even without having shared achievements between Retail and Classic such information could be calculated based on the information that currently Blizzard provides. If there were crossover achievements between versions, you would see the achievements this add-on calculates.
This add-on only shows an achievement as completed if it has been flagged by Blizzard as completed in any version, which means the information about the achievement that shows the This add-on is not false. You have already done that, but not in the version Blizzard recognizes when you are playing. This add-on is not capable of falsely flagging an achievement that hasn't been completed in any version, nor can it change the date on which you completed the achievement.
But my character has not completed those achievements.
That's true. But that is also a misconception about account achievements. An account achievement does not mean that your character did all things flagged in the UI. An account achievement implies that you did that while playing the game, not necessarily with the character you are playing.
In fact, Classic and Retail official UI is already shown in the achievement info if you have completed it with your current character or not, and this add-on includes that functionally backported to Classic.
So, no, your character hasn't done those things. You, the player, did it. This add-on only show you what you did playing Classic and Retail.
It is not the same doing a WOTLK or Catalcysm Achievement now in Classic that in Retail.
Sure, it is not. Some are harder in Classic. Some are easier. But that is why achievements have the date on which you accomplished them. Just because it is not the same difficulty does not mean you haven't completed it. No one stops you from completing those achievements again in Classic.
What about achievements' rewards?
I can't modify the game to grant you achievements' rewards like mounts, pets, or titles. Unlike the achievements, those are in-game items and not information.
To unlock the reward, you must complete an achievement in your Retail account for Retail characters or in any Classic character for the Classic account. I can't grant rewards for Crossover Achievements.
What about meta achievements?
For now, you need to complete meta-achievements the official way to unlock them. So, a meta-achievement only be unlocked if you complete it on your Retail account or your Classic account. Maybe in the future, I will calculate how to show completed meta-achievements if you completed the required achievements across multiple characters from all versions.