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AppGameKit Classic Chat / Export to IPA or APK could have more customization options

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Steve O
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Posted: 29th Dec 2014 17:36 Edited at: 29th Dec 2014 17:38
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If you export the project to an iOS IPA file from the AppGameKit 2 IDE you end up with an IPA that is not ready for the App Store.

Here's a summary of what the exported IPA file contains and should be more flexible as export options:

- Only 2 Launch Images, Default-568h@2x.png and Default.png which are AppGameKit placeholders in portrait mode and can't be chosen as export options. This is just a fraction of the amount of Launch Images that you normally include. Normally you would also include Launch Images for Portrait and Landscape mode for 3.5 inch and 4 inch screen iPhones and for iPad, both Retina and non-Retina. If you want to support iPhone 6 and 6 Plus resolution you also still need to include their respective Launch Images.

- App Icons: All icons are there except the 180x180 pixels @3x version for iPhone 6 Plus

- The Info.plist file: Lots of info is set, but i miss the option to set he build number, so I have to do it manually.

What it comes down to is that after exporting to IPA you have to unzip the IPA file, add and edit resources, then zip the Payload folder and rename it from .zip to .ipa. This requires a lot of work.

Exporting to Android APK file also requires some additional adding of icon files for the drawable-xxhdpi version of the icon file, but overall less extra customization needed than for IPA export.

It would be really great if we had more export options in the near future.

Appify Media - http://www.appifymedia.com
SopiSoft Digital Entertainment - http://www.sopisoft.com
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paulrobson
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Posted: 29th Dec 2014 18:38
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This is well worth considering. It is a bit annoying on the part of Apple and Android who do not seem to have heard of SVG. Using a similar product I had a system which had two SVGs - one for the Icon, one for the Default Screen and it just exported/scaled/boxed these to "work".

This could be difficult because of the difficulty of exporting SVGs reliably - I used Inkscape's command line, the only thing I've found that works reliably, but that's a bit hard to integrate in.

I can't see the significant problems in having (say) an icon_small.png, icon_large.png (to handle pixellation and detail loss, say 128x128 and 1024x1024 ?) and a default.png which were scaled and boxed to the umpteen sizes Apple (especially) require.
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Funnell7
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Posted: 29th Dec 2014 19:45
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Quote: "What it comes down to is that after exporting to IPA you have to unzip the IPA file, add and edit resources, then zip the Payload folder and rename it from .zip to .ipa. This requires a lot of work."


Steve O, is there any chance you'd be able to detail the exact steps required to make the exported IPA ready for publishing? I actually raised this issue on the AppGameKit thread as I was experiencing a 'Payload' error. Here's the link;

http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=212859&b=41&msg=2544702#m2544702

This has stopped me in my tracks and I have no clue what to do to proceed.

Many thanks!
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Steve O
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Posted: 29th Dec 2014 21:07
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Quote: "Steve O, is there any chance you'd be able to detail the exact steps required to make the exported IPA ready for publishing? I actually raised this issue on the AppGameKit thread as I was experiencing a 'Payload' error. Here's the link;

http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=212859&b=41&msg=2544702#m2544702

This has stopped me in my tracks and I have no clue what to do to proceed.

Many thanks!"


Your error says your IPA does not contain a Payload folder, which is strange since the latest version of AppGameKit 2 (2.0.10) does export an IPA with a Payload folder. Not sure if this once was a bug in earlier versions of AppGameKit 2.

An IPA file is a zip file that contains a Payload folder containing an YourAppName.app file that is also just a folder. The app folder contains the application binary, resources, etc.

What I do is open the IPA file with the Mac OS X Archive Utility. This will extract the Payload folder. From there I open the app folder inside the Payload folder and then I edit its contents and add extra resources. When I'm done I zip up the Payload folder to Payload.zip and rename it to MyApp.ipa

Appify Media - http://www.appifymedia.com
SopiSoft Digital Entertainment - http://www.sopisoft.com
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paulrobson
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Posted: 29th Dec 2014 22:17
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It should be relatively straightforward to produce a Python script to do this.
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Jambo B
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Posted: 30th Dec 2014 14:06
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Quoth Steve O:

Quote: "It would be really great if we had more export options in the near future."


Agreed. I really think this should be a priority. The 'Export to IPA' (or APK) dialog should allow the user to specify paths/filenames for all the files needed to make the IPA 'App-Store ready'. If the filenames are not entered, placeholders should be used instead.

I'd also like to see the 'Export to IPA' dialog save its contents - maybe as part of the .AGK project file.

James
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bjadams
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Posted: 30th Dec 2014 22:17
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I think all these options will be added to future versions of AGK

IPA generation from within AppGameKit is still something very new that until a few months back was said to be "not possible"
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Ancient Lady
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Posted: 2nd Jan 2015 01:57
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I haven't tried to use the AppGameKit IDE on my Mac mini.

But, for iOS applications, Apple insists that the IPA uploaded for the App Store be built in XCode. That is somewhere in the details of the Developer License.

So, unless the AppGameKit IDE can mimic Xcode just right, any IPA generated by it will not be acceptable for the App Store.

Cheers,
Ancient Lady
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Funnell7
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Posted: 2nd Jan 2015 21:53
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Quote: "  the latest version of AppGameKit 2 (2.0.10) does export an IPA with a Payload folder. Not sure if this once was a bug in earlier versions of AppGameKit 2"


Yeah, I'm using the latest version of AGK... Interestingly, I followed your steps anyway (even though the Payload folder was present) and when I zipped it back up and changed it to an ipa, I no longer get the error...

Now I'm getting an issue about the signing process;

Quote: "Missing or Invalid Signature. The bundle 'XXX' at bundle path 'XXX' is not signed using an Apple submission certificate."


One step forward, two steps back lol... I'll keep at it
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Paul Johnston
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Posted: 6th Jan 2015 04:10
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I'll take a look at these for the next version. Unfortunately if you edit any of the files inside the Payload folder then the IPA needs to be resigned otherwise the signing checks will fail during installation of the app. You could edit the app files at the source, which AppGameKit then puts inside the IPA, these files are stored in "AGK2.app/Contents/Resources/share/geany/ios/ source/AGK 2 Player.app", you could also drop extra files like landscape Default.png files into this package and they will be included, at least until I figure out the best way of including these in the export dialog.
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JohnnyMeek
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Posted: 6th Jan 2015 08:38
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Quote: "So, unless the AppGameKit IDE can mimic Xcode just right, any IPA generated by it will not be acceptable for the App Store."


https://itunes.apple.com/app/id820823235

..Was created with the exporter
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JimHawkins
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Posted: 6th Jan 2015 09:09
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Xcode is not required. A Mac with either Xcode or Application Loader is.

-- Jim - When is there going to be a release?
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Wilf
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Posted: 6th Jan 2015 22:05
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This website creates all necessary icons and launch images from just a couple of Source Files. I just dropped the generated files into AppGameKit 2 Player.app and it worked like a treat.

Twitter: @itanican
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