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AppGameKit Classic Chat / AD commands

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Rickynzx
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Posted: 2nd May 2012 15:40
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Hi guys,

in the ad command SetInneractiveDetails( szCode ), is the szCode your user name account or the app id.


Rickynzx
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Paul Johnston
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Posted: 2nd May 2012 17:25
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It is the app id, for example it might look something like this TGC_AGK_other
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DVader
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Posted: 3rd May 2012 17:04
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Actually, on the subject of Ads, I am wondering if anyone has had much experience with them before? One thing I wonder about is when testing your app. Say you put in ad support way before the game is complete. Every time you test your game for the slightest change you will be running the ads. Would that constitute you cheating the system? If you are sure the ads work you could disable them for the rest of the tests of course, but I still wonder about it as I have never really looked into it. Perhaps they give you access to a test link until you are ready for release?

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Marl
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Posted: 3rd May 2012 17:55
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Quote: "Perhaps they give you access to a test link until you are ready for release?"

I've only looked at a couple of systems, but that's what they did.

A code or parameter indicates test mode.

The ad routine behaves exactly as it would in the live app, connecting to the ad server and whatnot, but a dummy ad is returned to test placement etc.

.. and obviously no revenue.

I've found no mention of this on the Inneractive site, so am not sure how they work theirs.

Perhaps we'll know more when ads are working.
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Ancient Lady
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Posted: 3rd May 2012 18:47 Edited at: 3rd May 2012 19:02
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I have a couple of questions about the Advert commands.

The example in Projects/Basic/Examples/General/Adverts is theoretically set up to work on an iOS platform, calling 'SetAdMobDetails'.

It is not possible to compile the example in the Windows AppGameKit IDE. It throws the error 'Could not understand command at line 13.'.

(By the way, thanks TGC for getting the error messages to point to the correct lines now.)

So, first, how do I get a Tier1 bytecode file created for use with Xcode?

Second, do you know what the platform appropriate commands for Windows and Android that do the same as 'SetAdMobDetails' does for iOS?

The same issue about Tier1 compiling probably applies to all platforms that the Adverts commands will be used on.

Finally, when compiling the project (using the bytecode) in Xcode 4, it complains that it cannot find the AdMob library:
Quote: "ld: warning: directory not found for option '-L/Users/greeneyes/AGK/IDE/apps/hit_the_spot/../../platform/apple/Lib/AdMob'"


I completely replaced all AppGameKit directories with the v1070 gamekit for the Mac that appeared in my Products page yesterday and rebuilt my Xcode project from scratch using the new interpreter_ios.

Thank you.

Cheers,
Ancient Lady
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Paul Johnston
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Posted: 3rd May 2012 19:16
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The ad commands are not yet complete, the ones released in 107 are just a shell and have already changed significantly. I now have them working on Windows, iOS, and Android so I can give you some concrete details.

Our cross platform ad provider will be Inneractive, since they are the only ones we could find that provided an HTTP image and link method of serving ads.

Our tests with AdMob only worked on iOS as it is not compatible with Android NDK (no layouts), and required all iOS tier 2 apps to link to the AdMob lib even if they didn't use them. So we're leaving platform specific ads for tier 2 only, or for you to add them to the interpreter in the compiling of your tier 1 bytecode into a final app. I believe someone has already posted a thread about using ads in tier 2 on the iOS board.
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Ancient Lady
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Posted: 3rd May 2012 19:19
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Thank you.

I look forward to seeing the updated Adverts command.

You guys really do rock!

Cheers,
Ancient Lady
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bjadams
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Posted: 3rd May 2012 19:20
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Yes someone supplied iAds guide for T2 iOS.
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Marl
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Posted: 3rd May 2012 22:11 Edited at: 3rd May 2012 22:12
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Quote: "I've found no mention of this on the Inneractive site, so am not sure how they work theirs."

In fact they use a test id "IA_Test", which looks to pull real adverts down.

I bet that racks up some stats if it's shared by all developers.

Their "Ad placement strategy guide" is an interesting read.

Its all about quality over quantity with advice and tips on how to place the ads in such a way that they attract attention without annoying the player or spoiling the game.

I wish more game designers read stuff like this, I've come across far too many games which seem to focus on throwing ads at you and forget that games are supposed to be about enjoyment.
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bjadams
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Posted: 3rd May 2012 22:50
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I never heard of Inneractive before.

How do they compare to other more popular Ad companies when it comes to pay per click & view etc?
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bjadams
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Posted: 5th May 2012 12:23 Edited at: 5th May 2012 14:00
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Ad commands seem to be working in 1071.

I have set up an Ad, and an actual advert comes up, so I think it works.
I click on the Ad and a browser window opens up.

Should I set the TEST variable to 0 or 1 for RELEASE?
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bjadams
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Posted: 5th May 2012 15:11 Edited at: 5th May 2012 15:12
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I have tested this Inneractive system a bit and in 30 minutes, the Ad only changed 1 time. It's always the same 2 ads showing up!

Don't know if its that effective to get paid for impressions for us this way.

So I hope that in he near future, we will see more Ad systems supported, even if they work on just a few platforms.
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Paul Johnston
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Posted: 5th May 2012 16:36
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Quote: "Should I set the TEST variable to 0 or 1 for RELEASE?"


For release it should be 0.

Quote: " the Ad only changed 1 time. It's always the same 2 ads showing up!"


It may be that the UK doesn't have a lot of advertisers and US users will see more varied ads, but the ad is platform dependant as well. So Android users are more likely to get Android specific ads and iOS users are more likely to get iOS ads.
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bjadams
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Posted: 5th May 2012 16:42
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Thanks Paul, its a good option to have to start off with.
Hope that in the future you can add a couple more Ad provider systems.
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Impetus73
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Posted: 5th May 2012 17:16
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Tested the ad function. I clicked a few times in the windows app, even if the ad was for android, and now i got $0.002 haha

Now, how do i get an android player for 1.071... Can someone post it, if they made it? no need for all to generate our own, if someone did it once.

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Marl
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Posted: 5th May 2012 17:41
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Quote: "Now, how do i get an android player for 1.071... Can someone post it, if they made it? no need for all to generate our own, if someone did it once."


The Zoq2 just posted one http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=196514&b=41&msg=2345250#m2345250
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Impetus73
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Posted: 5th May 2012 18:00
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Great!

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The Zoq2
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Posted: 5th May 2012 18:57
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Are ads even working on android yet, mine arn't showing up...
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Marl
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Posted: 5th May 2012 19:37 Edited at: 5th May 2012 19:38
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Yep definitely working

They appear to use world coords so might take some fiddling to get them on screen.

I can see now why the scissor commands are in there.

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The Zoq2
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Posted: 5th May 2012 20:36
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That's odd, beacuse they don't show up on my phone...
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Paul Johnston
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Posted: 5th May 2012 22:31
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Quote: "They appear to use world coords so might take some fiddling to get them on screen."


I'll make sure they are fixed to screen in the next version.

Quote: "That's odd, beacuse they don't show up on my phone..."


I've noticed that occasionally it'll provide an invalid ad response, in this case it will be invisible until the 2 minute refresh kicks in and it tries again.
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DVader
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Posted: 13th May 2012 00:10
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I've finally got round to properly testing this as I now know you can change the company name later, thanks guys
It displays an ad, but I can't seem to click it at all. Regardless of test mode or live mode. I'm not sure what to try next beyond a small test program rather than adding it to an existing project which is what I have done so far. I create it at the start of my code and position it in the main loop, would that possibly be causing it not to detect a click?

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bjadams
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Posted: 13th May 2012 00:43
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set up & position the ad at the very start NOT inside the main loop where sync() is
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DVader
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Posted: 13th May 2012 01:03 Edited at: 13th May 2012 06:03
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Taking it out of the loop has made no difference unfortunately. I think it is because I offset the screen. I have tried clicking above the ad and, hey presto it opens up the browser. I'm not sure what I can do about that as I cannot change that in the game. The ad never moves so it appears fixed to the screen, but not the area you click in.

Also, now I have the browser doing something. It seems to bring up the same site for each of the 2 ads it displays. The site is nothing what so ever to do with the ad.. It takes me to some site called usagc.mobi, with some registration screen. Is this normal? Does it take some time to register/migrate your account properly? I only seem to see 2 ads looping at the moment as well.

Edit - One click seems to have registered. But I still think that link is a little suspect. Unless it's a image mix up somehow, but I'm not going to worry about it now I have seen it register on the site. I have also seen it working on the android and although on the PC, the ad stays right where it is no matter how I scroll, on the android it moves with the offset.

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Impetus73
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Posted: 13th May 2012 11:43
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The USAGC site, seems to pop up if you click the ad too often, this to prevent people from sitting all day clicking their ad's for money. You'll have to wait for the next ad to show up (next impression), before you click again, or close and reopen the app. You'll get more ad's in a few days as your click and impression numbers increase.

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DVader
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Posted: 13th May 2012 21:10
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I think there may be some delay from sign up for it to work. I have actually seen a proper web page that actually is related to the ad now. Heh, I got that site from first click, so can't be just clicking too often. I have a few cents listed by the looks, so it must have worked.
Still not got the actual placement to work properly yet though on a scrolling viewport. I'm going to try repositioning it so it stays put in android and hope that fixes it on PC also. At the minute it is offsetting the click co-ords when I move the viewport on the PC. On the android the ad moves with the scroll. I'm not sure if this is a bug or just from missing commands.

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Paul Johnston
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Posted: 14th May 2012 17:46
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Quote: "I think it is because I offset the screen"


That'll be it, I've fixed it for the next version.
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Ancient Lady
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Posted: 14th May 2012 17:57
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You TGC developers are guys after my own heart. You hear about a problem for a client and you fix it, without anyone holding a whip over your head.

Thank you for all your good works. (I know this is supposed to be the 'amiga' smiley, but I think it's a very cool check mark.)

Cheers,
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Marl
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Posted: 14th May 2012 18:13
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Quote: "Still not got the actual placement to work properly yet though on a scrolling viewport. I'm going to try repositioning it so it stays put in android"

Something like this?

Yeah I had the same problem

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Grumpy Jedi
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Posted: 15th May 2012 01:19 Edited at: 15th May 2012 01:21
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Quote: "That'll be it, I've fixed it for the next version. "


Great News Paul!

I just put the ads into the lite version of my game and discovered I have the problem with ads not being clickable when the view is offset, which is 90pct of the time in my game

Will that version be going live soon?
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DVader
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Posted: 15th May 2012 07:04
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Marl, yeah something like that . But I figured this was a bug, as it has proven to be I thought it would be addressed quite quickly so thought it best not to mess for now.

Good news that it is fixed! I hope the new patch won't be too long coming, as I hope to finish it soon. After seeing the tiny bit of revenue from some tests I have done I am rather keen to see what it will do when released

I think the ad commands are so simple and easy to use, a great new addition!

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basjak
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Posted: 15th May 2012 19:18 Edited at: 18th May 2012 02:45
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guys am totally lost:

szcode: do I have to apply for 1 every time or one off.

how will android and intel app up accept that.

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DVader
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Posted: 15th May 2012 22:12
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@ basjak, the ad commands are really simple to use! The szcode is the name of your app you setup at Inneractive. Each app you create can have a different name and szcode unique to it.

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Ancient Lady
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Posted: 15th May 2012 22:27
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The Inneractive code will consist of the 'company' name you register, plus the game name, plus the platform. All separated by underscores.

For example:


They don't allow you to include things like ', Inc.' in the company name, only alphanumeric values, no spaces or special characters. Same for the app name.

Cheers,
Ancient Lady
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basjak
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Posted: 15th May 2012 23:20
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many thanks guys, but do I have to go and register at the inneractive website or related companies do the process automatically?
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basjak
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Posted: 15th May 2012 23:53
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ok I got it. many thanks guys.
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basjak
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Posted: 24th May 2012 09:53
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sorry am bringing back this thread:

1- when creating add at inneractive website, I set the section "use location" to yes. correct or no?

2- I installed the app on my mobile and only android battery charger or ebay adds appear and if i clicked on it, it goes to USAGC website.

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Impetus73
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Posted: 24th May 2012 18:32
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basjak, I think the "Use Location" will pick ad's related to where the user of the device is, like norway/usa/UK and so on. Just select NO on that selection, to get more ad's.

You'll get more ad's as your app get's more click, I also only got those lame battery ad's the first days. The USGC pop's up to prevent you from clicking your ad all day long, and make money that way. You can only click a few times, for every different ad shown, until you restart the app.

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bjadams
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Posted: 24th May 2012 23:56
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I'm still not convinced about the validity of this ad thing. if the user has wifi switched off and no 3d data connection, he'll basically get an ad-free version of your game to play!
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basjak
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Posted: 25th May 2012 05:06
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@ Impetus73. Thanks.

@bjadams. All modern mobiles have 3g data connection and ago will not work on old mobiles.

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DVader
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Posted: 25th May 2012 05:38
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I have thought of that bjadams, you can also start and close the app quickly and it displays no ads, I have tested anything I think a user may attempt. I think, because you have only just requested an ad, it fails to let you create one again, so soon after just making one.
What I intend to do is do a check for online connectivity, if it fails end the game. Then specify it will only play with some sort of internet connection. It would be a free app so they can't complain. Also to recreate the ads every so often (and check online availability) to eliminate the start and stop method.
Hope that gives you some ideas

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Impetus73
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Posted: 25th May 2012 19:38
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bjadams, and DVader, try that with my app, and see my solution


I just placed what I call a "Local Ad", an AppGameKit sprite at the same location as the ad, to atleast give the "annoyment" of an Ad to the user, or gift to TGC depending on your view.

The ad, that I got from TGC:




Code example for 640x480 landscape:



This will show the Ad whenever the inneractive Ad is not showing, for any reasons. I strongly reccomend this trick, in support of TGC. you can add more local ad's also, that links to your stuff, or whatever. Just make the ad change from time to time randomly.

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bjadams
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Posted: 25th May 2012 23:00
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Impetus I like your way of thinking!

Thanks a lot!
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polomint
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Posted: 26th May 2012 09:43
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That's an excellent idea Impetus,

Blackberry App Development & ZX Spectrum Game Development.
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Marl
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Posted: 28th May 2012 23:54 Edited at: 29th May 2012 00:06
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Didn't the latest build include putting a blank sprite up as a marker until the ad loads?

Perhaps that blank sprite should not be so blank

Quote: "What I intend to do is do a check for online connectivity, if it fails end the game. Then specify it will only play with some sort of internet connection."

No internet - no game? I don't like this idea much. The chances are your target user base won't like it much either.

Let me give an example of why it wouldn't work for me.

My broadband is throttled at peak times - a penalty for high off-peak usage.

You would expect this to mean the internet is slower - like the good ol' days of modems, but it's not the case. In actual fact you tend to get a couple of good connections, the rest fail.

The result is that during these times, some ads might not appear, while others do - its a bit hit and miss.

But it's better to miss a few ads and get the rest than kill the game and not allow the user to play until the connection is better.

With ad-based revenue you want to encourage users to play, not encourage them to connect to the internet.
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