I think one reason steam achievements are viewed with some hostility is that they are seen as entirely external to the game. They can feel as if they were just tacked on to a finished game, and created for dubious purposes other than improving the actual game experience for the player.
But it is clear that not everyone sees them like this. Obviously, some people appreciate the way achievements (when done well) can guide them to go back and explore parts of the game that they haven't done so before.
I'd argue that there are other ways to encourage people to explore the game and what is possible, other ways to show the player all the cool things you can do, that completely avoid the negatives of steam achievements.
Cirno wrote:I don't get all the hate for achievements. If you like them, great. If you don't, then ignore them. Where is all this nerd rage coming from?
While some of the hate for achievements here has been over the top and not very well justified (it's the internet, that's what you get), I can understand if people are annoyed that precious developer time is being spent on something that, to them, doesn't add anything to the game, and is only going to be appreciated by steam-using players who like achievements.
In the end, how steam achievements are handled won't affect me, 'cause I'll be getting my DRM-free version of FTL when it comes out.