Hi guys,
We’re almost done with our latest game and the file size has grown quite a lot. We’ve got videos and a 16+ track soundtrack now!
What should we aim for? Are there any limitations?
Thanks!
Rob,
For iOS, my only “deal breaker” (unless I’ve got a VERY good reason) is that is has to be downloadable over a cellular connection - so under 100MB. Beyond that, I just make an effort to make it as small as possible without sacrificing quality. As a workaround, you could include lower-quality videos with an option to download higher-res versions after the app has launched? Given how crucial the soundtrack is to Hopiko, though, I’d say that you can’t scrimp on the audio quality.
By the way - I was a bad beta tester in that I didn’t issue any real feedback, but that’s primarily because it just plain worked for me! No bugs that I saw, and the latest build was a huge step forward in gameplay mechanics & look/feel. I look forward to giving you a couple of bucks for the real thing, sir. 
Thanks Jason!!
Yeah, I think we’re going to have to do some compressing and then offer a HQ upgrade (for free) in the settings. There are so many tracks now, it’s getting silly!
We’ll have another beta out shortly too!
You might consider implementing the ability to download ‘replacement’ HD/HI-FI content after the user installs. i.e. Bundle with reasonable, but not the best, then ask the user if it is OK to download HD content (or just do it on the first run, but that is kinda rude, so I propose the prior.)
Question for the community. Has anyone hosted ‘extra’ content with Apple before. If so, I wonder if this might be a case for using that extra storage.
Question 2 for the community. Have any of you ever done the above. i.e. After install content update/download.
Thanks for the response
I think I’m going to offer the HQ download option. Is there a way to get the percentage complete of an individual file download? Just thinking about the UI at the moment
Actually, as I’d be doing multiple files, I can just show the percentage complete of all the files
Yes, that was going to be my suggestion exactly.
Cheers,
Ed
@Rob: Looks good! I love the look/feel of Hopiko - but really of all your apps. You guys have just got your aesthetic nailed. And your download progress screen keeps up the tradition. Well done!
@Ed: I created an app for an art exhibition a couple of months ago that had over 700 works in it, and the client wanted them all to be available in hi-res, as they were pinch-zoomable. I included medium-res JPGs in the compiled app (which still came dangerously close to that 100MB cap, given the volume of them), and implemented a scheme where if the user navigated to the “close-up” view of a work, the app downloaded a high-res version in the background and quietly swapped it in (and kept it stored for later viewing sans download). I put a little “cloud download” icon in the upper-left hand corner while a hi-res version was being downloaded, but otherwise it should have been relatively invisible to the user. I think it worked out fairly well.
For hosting the images, I just bought a cheap shared domain/hosting package that came to like $5 a month. I suppose if the app became über popular, I’d need to find a way to handle the increased traffic, but it’s very niche, so it wasn’t an issue.
If you’re interested in seeing it in action, here’s a link (it was iOS only): http://appstore.com/lucassamarasalbum2
Thanks Jason!
BTW - I’m using mediafire to host the tracks. It’s $4.99 p/m and seems to do what we need
@Rob: It looks like Apple has a method for hosting in-app purchase content, which would be great as it’d allow you to borrow their storage and bandwidth. However, you’d have to do some finagling with Xcode to get it to work (which adds a layer of complexity that may or may not play nice with a Corona SDK project), and you’d have to make the user authorize their Apple ID to download it (an unwelcome extra step). Here’s a link to what Apple has to say about it: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/LanguagesUtilities/Conceptual/iTunesConnectInAppPurchase_Guide/Chapters/CreatingInAppPurchaseProducts.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40013727-CH3-SW4
For iOS, my only “deal breaker” (unless I’ve got a VERY good reason) is that is has to be downloadable over a cellular connection - so under 100MB. Beyond that, I just make an effort to make it as small as possible without sacrificing quality. As a workaround, you could include lower-quality videos with an option to download higher-res versions after the app has launched? Given how crucial the soundtrack is to Hopiko, though, I’d say that you can’t scrimp on the audio quality.
By the way - I was a bad beta tester in that I didn’t issue any real feedback, but that’s primarily because it just plain worked for me! No bugs that I saw, and the latest build was a huge step forward in gameplay mechanics & look/feel. I look forward to giving you a couple of bucks for the real thing, sir.
Thanks Jason!!
Yeah, I think we’re going to have to do some compressing and then offer a HQ upgrade (for free) in the settings. There are so many tracks now, it’s getting silly!
We’ll have another beta out shortly too!
You might consider implementing the ability to download ‘replacement’ HD/HI-FI content after the user installs. i.e. Bundle with reasonable, but not the best, then ask the user if it is OK to download HD content (or just do it on the first run, but that is kinda rude, so I propose the prior.)
Question for the community. Has anyone hosted ‘extra’ content with Apple before. If so, I wonder if this might be a case for using that extra storage.
Question 2 for the community. Have any of you ever done the above. i.e. After install content update/download.
Thanks for the response
I think I’m going to offer the HQ download option. Is there a way to get the percentage complete of an individual file download? Just thinking about the UI at the moment
Actually, as I’d be doing multiple files, I can just show the percentage complete of all the files
Yes, that was going to be my suggestion exactly.
Cheers,
Ed
@Rob: Looks good! I love the look/feel of Hopiko - but really of all your apps. You guys have just got your aesthetic nailed. And your download progress screen keeps up the tradition. Well done!
@Ed: I created an app for an art exhibition a couple of months ago that had over 700 works in it, and the client wanted them all to be available in hi-res, as they were pinch-zoomable. I included medium-res JPGs in the compiled app (which still came dangerously close to that 100MB cap, given the volume of them), and implemented a scheme where if the user navigated to the “close-up” view of a work, the app downloaded a high-res version in the background and quietly swapped it in (and kept it stored for later viewing sans download). I put a little “cloud download” icon in the upper-left hand corner while a hi-res version was being downloaded, but otherwise it should have been relatively invisible to the user. I think it worked out fairly well.
For hosting the images, I just bought a cheap shared domain/hosting package that came to like $5 a month. I suppose if the app became über popular, I’d need to find a way to handle the increased traffic, but it’s very niche, so it wasn’t an issue.
If you’re interested in seeing it in action, here’s a link (it was iOS only): http://appstore.com/lucassamarasalbum2
Thanks Jason!
BTW - I’m using mediafire to host the tracks. It’s $4.99 p/m and seems to do what we need