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AppGameKit Classic Chat / AGK Player for iOS (Instructions and Frustrations)

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xCept
21
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Joined: 15th Dec 2002
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Posted: 1st Dec 2015 05:23
I find the process of getting AppGameKit Player installed on iOS devices to be not well documented (a two sentence readme file) and tedious. I understand a lot of this is not in TGC's control, but other similar development kits have managed to get their 'player' apps approved and released directly on iTunes, perhaps after some direct communication with Apple (i.e., Intel App Preview for XDK). Has TGC pursued this matter at all with Apple since 2011?

As it stands, I believe we only have the following two options available to get the AppGameKit Player on iOS devices, both require OS X computers and the entire process has to be repeated each time an AppGameKit update is released. You also need a paid Apple license and have to know how to create app identifiers, provisioning profiles, etc. I realize this is also the requirement for publishing iOS apps, but for a new user just wanting to develop and test on iOS it is a cumbersome ordeal.

Here are my own noted steps to get AppGameKit Player installed on iOS devices from the latest version:

- For Both Methods (On OS X) -

1.) Download the latest Mac version of AppGameKit V2 from TGC My Products page.

2.) Unzip its contents to a folder on your hard drive.

3.) Run AGK2.app.

Note that on default OS X installs, the AppGameKit app will fail to launch because it isn't from the App Store and is from an untrusted source, so the user must first go to Security & Privacy under System Preferences to allow apps downloaded from either Anywhere or Identified Developers.

- Building through AppGameKit IDE -

Before beginning, you have to go through the process of creating an appropriate app identifier and connected provisioning profile for the app from the Apple Developer Portal. You also should then download the provisioning profile and double-click it to install (although the latest Xcode/OS X are pretty good at syncing these automatically). Additionally, you need to have the app icon and splash screen assets for the player, which I found under tier 2 > apps > interpreter_ios (see steps 1-2 in following section to install project files) but only within the Mac version of the AppGameKit product.

1.) From AppGameKit IDE, select Tools > iOS > Export AppGameKit Player.

2.) Fill out the dozen fields with the necessary information. This includes navigating to the directories for the assets, provisioning profile etc.

3.) Click Export and hope that everything, including entitlements, are accurate to generate a valid IPA.

4.) Go through the process of syncing the unpublished IPA with your device, which requires connecting the device via iTunes. For users who never or rarely sync their devices through iTunes, this can lead to an onslaught of headaches and syncing issues.

At the very least, this Export AppGameKit Player command in the AppGameKit IDE should auto-populate every field except the Provisioning Profile data (which itself should be optional for those on jailbroken devices). Users should not have to hunt down or create their own app icon or splash screen data just to compile the player. This information is also not preserved if you close and re-open the IDE, so you get to start all over if needing to rebuild it again.

- Building through Xcode -

To go this route, you need to have all the provisioning/distribution profile details configured, downloaded and installed on your Mac from the Apple Developer Portal. To compile and run directly on the devices and avoid the need to install it via iTunes, you will also need to have the latest XCode version installed that is compatible with your device's iOS version.

1.) From AppGameKit IDE, select Tools > Install Additional Files.

2.) Specify a location for AppGameKit Projects and C++ Libraries and click Install.

3.) Launch Xcode and open the interpreter_ios project buried in the C++ libraries directory installed previously.

4.) Change the bundle identifier (Target > Info) to one that matches what you've configured for provisioning profiles

5.) Change all of the Code Signing Identity data (Target > Build Settings), as they will be Paul Johnston's by default.

6.) With your device plugged in and set to develop on, select Product > Run. If everything is correct it should build and run to the device. However, in my case many times there are some provisioning sync issues so then you have to press 'Fix It' and re-enter your credentials to refresh the provisioning data from Apple's server.

7.) To export as IPA, select Product > Archive. When complete, the Archives view should open (Window > Organizer). Then click 'Export' then either 'Save for Ad Hoc Deployment' or 'Save for Development Deployment' and follow the steps. You'll need to ensure you have the proper provisioning/distribution profiles synced from Developer Portal.

When going this route, I think that the Code Signing Identity data could, by default, be set to Automatic rather than explicitly Paul's information to alleviate some need of manually changing this in Xcode.

I just wanted to share my thoughts and also the brief process of how to get the player installed on iOS devices. It still would be great if this would some day be available on the App Store (even though it would take a week to get updated) and I think it'd open the doors to many more new iOS developers.
CJB
Valued Member
20
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Joined: 10th Feb 2004
Location: Essex, UK
Posted: 1st Dec 2015 10:17
I have taken the plunge and got myself a reasonable up-to-date Mac (my old iMac 4,1 just wouldn't cut it - even with updgrade CPU and firmware... too many glitches). My new MacBook Pro is all El-Capitan'd and xCoded up and ready for me to start playing, so xCept, your brief guide above couldn't have been timed better! It looks like I have quite a sharp Apple flavoured learning curve ahead of me, but will hopefully be worth it.

p.s. Do I need an Apple Dev Licence in order to create a provisioning profile if it's just for testing on one device?

Thanks!
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JohnnyMeek
10
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Joined: 23rd Apr 2013
Location: Slovenia
Posted: 1st Dec 2015 13:45
I've found that exporting the player from the IDE is very simple. You can leave a lot of the sections blank, like icons and splash screens, the default images are used.

The only thing that isn't straightforward is initially setting up the certificates and provisioning profiles, but you need to this with whatever engine you use.
SpecTre
Developer
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 24th Feb 2003
Location: UK
Posted: 1st Dec 2015 14:26
Quote: "I just wanted to share my thoughts and also the brief process of how to get the player installed on iOS devices. It still would be great if this would some day be available on the App Store (even though it would take a week to get updated) and I think it'd open the doors to many more new iOS developers.
"


+1 for this, it would make life so much easier. I have found that if you just go with the flow with Apple then they will just take the p*ss out of you, that is why when they rejected my app again for no good reason I sent a lengthy slightly strong worded message to them and funnily enough they then accepted my app within 3 days!
I think TGC need to try and upload it again and then persevere with this to get it accepted as it puts people off due to Apple being complicated enough!

Another feature of AppGameKit I would like to see is to be able to just export a MAC app straight from the IDE like you do for iOS instead of having to go through the process of using Xcode for tier 1 projects on the MAC store.


https://forum.thegamecreators.com/thread/214795

If you can skip my ranting in the above thread from when I first tried to do the process lol then there is a good tutorial provided by Wilf on there telling how to get the AppGameKit player on your iOS device to test your apps. I always do this process now when a new update is available.


Also I am in the process, when I get a spare 5 minutes! of doing a series of tutorials on how to release your apps on the iOS and MAC stores including the provisioning profiles, getting the app info ready including icons etc in the developer site and also uploading the app for iOS with Application Loader and Xcode for the MAC app.

You can check the first PDF for uploading a MAC app here:

https://forum.thegamecreators.com/thread/215918


Just hope it will help and stop any frustration in doing the last steps of getting your apps online when you have finished your project as I know I was ready for throwing my MacBook Pro through the window a few times!
If anything is wrong or any errors in the PDF then just let me know and I will update it. I am hoping that TGC will use it or some of it to help others as their documentation is soooooo bad with lots of gaps in the process which leaves you at a loss sometimes. I have tried to put lots of screen grabs in there so it is easy to see what to do.


Cheers.
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