IRON NEST mission medals are in-game result conditions. Steam achievements are platform awards. A gold-on-all-medals achievement can connect the two systems, but a medal name, Steam description, and exact numerical threshold are not interchangeable. Use the post-operation result as the authority for a tested run.
2950790, Windows public 1.0, checked 2026-08-09. Exact hidden thresholds are left unclaimed until reproduced on current saves; Demo tables are excluded.Capture a clean baseline completion
Finish the operation normally before optimizing. Record the dispatch sequence, shots, ammunition, powder, requisitions, abilities, time if displayed, objective effects, choices, newspaper, and awarded medals. This baseline reveals which categories the mission evaluates.
Dismiss the newspaper and allow the normal transition. The developer FAQ explicitly makes correct completion and newspaper dismissal part of saved Challenge results; it is also the safest boundary for preserving medal evidence.
Test one variable per replay
If a medal suggests economy, repeat with fewer requisitions while holding accuracy and choices stable. If it suggests unaided fire, change assistance use without simultaneously changing shot count. If it suggests speed, preserve the same firing plan and compare displayed results.
One successful run with five changes cannot prove which change met the requirement. Keep a small matrix of attempt, changed variable, and resulting medal state.
Use names as clues, not complete rules
Search terms such as Minimum Assets, Minimum Requisition, and Unaided Fire reveal player intent but not a threshold. Read the exact live medal wording and save a screenshot. Community gold guides are valuable working evidence when dated for public 1.0, yet partial or contradictory cells should remain “needs confirmation.”
Official Steam descriptions prove the fifteen operation/gold pairs and four city outcome awards. They do not disclose every internal medal calculation.
Separate failure from non-gold completion
A completed mission can miss one medal without being bugged. Compare objective completion, result panel, and Steam notification. A failed mission may have an unread dispatch, wrong effect, forbidden target, or incomplete newspaper sequence rather than an achievement fault.
If a medal fails after an apparently matching run, reproduce once on the current patch and record all resource use. Do not reset the entire profile until save-safe options are exhausted.
Version-sensitive result states
PATCH 1.0 (1547) fixed the wrong or duplicate newspaper and record at the end of High Tide. PATCH 1.0 (1558) fixed crash-related save corruption and mission-entry failure. Results from older builds can therefore disagree for reasons unrelated to the intended medal condition.
Attach patch title/date to every threshold claim. When an update changes a mission, archive the older observation instead of silently merging it.
Build a reliable requirement row
A trustworthy row includes operation, medal label exactly shown, displayed hint, tested condition, evidence count, contradictory attempts, public version, and spoiler level. A threshold should state whether it is exact, bounded, or only suspected.
For narrative outcomes, include the entire choice sequence across a fresh run. A final newspaper alone cannot prove which earlier decision controlled the ending.
Troubleshoot medal reporting
Confirm Steam is online and the correct account owns/runs the base game. Check the in-game result independently from the Steam overlay. If a Steam achievement is delayed, restart Steam normally and verify files before altering saves.
For a reproducible discrepancy, report operation, medal, steps, patch, whether the newspaper was dismissed, and whether the in-game result appeared. Avoid publicly posting personal save files without inspection.
Confidence labels for a medal table
Use official for displayed names/descriptions, reproduced for a condition observed in multiple controlled runs, observed for one complete run, and unresolved for a community lead. Never convert an unresolved blank into zero or “not required.” This lets players choose whether to follow a safe confirmed route or help test a remaining condition without overstating certainty.
Date every confidence change and retain the run that justified it, including a failed comparison when it narrowed the possible threshold.