Does corona allows you to publish for different publisher accounts?

[niksam98]

Hello,

My name is Niklas. I have been developing apps with gamesalad for around 6 months now. I’ve become really good with it and I can create close to anything with it, but it has some serious drawbacks! Other sdk’s (including corona) seems to be much more reliable, and let’s you gain more controll of your app with more features and analytics etc. I am considering which of these I should get into, but I’m leaning towards corona without a doubt.

Before I decide, I need to know the answer to a question; Can you publish apps for different people using the same corona account? I’m asking because I sell many of my apps to someone that’s very unexperienced in this field. For example, if I sell an app to my client for $200, he wouldn’t want to pay another $475 for publishing. He would in the other hand feel okey to pay $125 as these are official fees by google and apple. So is this allowed?

Thanks in advanced, and I look forward to working with corona for many years!

[rob]

Corona SDK of course needs the developer to handle their own developer accounts with Apple, Google, Amazon, etc.  You can with one Corona SDK license publish to all three. 

When working with clients, Corona SDK really isn’t in the way, but you have to think about the model you want to use.  You can

a) Run your client apps out of your developer account.  Depending on how this is being monetized, this might work and it’s the simplest for you since only one developer account per market place is needed.

b) Build the apps but require the client to have a Corona SDK license and they do the final build and deliver.  They stay fully in control of the whole process.  It’s easy since you don’t have to deal with multiple developer accounts yourself, but you loose control of your source since they have to build and deploy.  Depending on your relationship with the customer, this might be a good route.

c) Learn how to manage multiple developer accounts.  This isn’t really a Corona thing.  You would have to have multiple teams in Xcode (yours, each client, etc.) which means having their certificates and keys in your Keychain Access app, being given administrator access to their Apple logins, like iTunes Connect, Provisioning Portal or some variant of that.  If they own the store and you want to deploy from your Corona SDK license, you will have to have their certs/keys and they can provide you the provisioning profiles etc.  It’s all doable.  On the Android side, things are a bit simpler, since you can build and give them the .apk file and they can do all the Google Play side of things.

In my work with clients, I’ve done all three depending on my relationship with the client.  You don’t have to use just one way, you can use any combination that works for you.

Rob

[niksam98]

@rob

Corona SDK of course needs the developer to handle their own developer accounts with Apple, Google, Amazon, etc.  You can with one Corona SDK license publish to all three. 

When working with clients, Corona SDK really isn’t in the way, but you have to think about the model you want to use.  You can

a) Run your client apps out of your developer account.  Depending on how this is being monetized, this might work and it’s the simplest for you since only one developer account per market place is needed.

B) Build the apps but require the client to have a Corona SDK license and they do the final build and deliver.  They stay fully in control of the whole process.  It’s easy since you don’t have to deal with multiple developer accounts yourself, but you loose control of your source since they have to build and deploy.  Depending on your relationship with the customer, this might be a good route.

c) Learn how to manage multiple developer accounts.  This isn’t really a Corona thing.  You would have to have multiple teams in Xcode (yours, each client, etc.) which means having their certificates and keys in your Keychain Access app, being given administrator access to their Apple logins, like iTunes Connect, Provisioning Portal or some variant of that.  If they own the store and you want to deploy from your Corona SDK license, you will have to have their certs/keys and they can provide you the provisioning profiles etc.  It’s all doable.  On the Android side, things are a bit simpler, since you can build and give them the .apk file and they can do all the Google Play side of things.

In my work with clients, I’ve done all three depending on my relationship with the client.  You don’t have to use just one way, you can use any combination that works for you.

Rob

That’s a bit dissapointing I guess option A is okey, but it will make some run away. The other two will increase the price so much that some won’t be happy to pay it.

Do I have to put my tax info in corona to monetize the apps? Or can I put this directly in the ad networks so that each client can have their own account? You had to this in gamesalad which made it impossible to different buyers on the same dev account.

I will stick to corona for now as I see it as a good transition between gamesalad and something like moai or xcode. It’s also nice that I’ll learn lua, since I just got my ti nspire cx cas for school so that I can make some games for it

Edit: Just to make sure; So you can’t build the app on your account and then send the .app to the client so that he can post the app from his dev acc?

[The_Lemon]

Of course. Build the app using corona ,then after that send the .app/.apk file to your client. The client can then test the app on his/her phone (assuming that,for apple at least, they are a registred dev) and publish it if they like it. 

EDIT: I am WRONG, sorry you can’t send the .app file to your client to test or publish, as Rob said the key is tied to the your developer account. MB.

[rob]

That’s a bit dissapointing I guess option A is okey, but it will make some run away. The other two will increase the price so much that some won’t be happy to pay it.

Option C doesn’t require any additional Corona SDK licenses. Only B does.  It’s just more work on your part to manage multiple Apple developer accounts in your Keychain Access and Xcode setups.  In this scenario, your client would only have to pay for their $99 per year Apple account and their $25 one time Google Play account.  You would get some level of management to their account. They can make you a manager and you do all the work, or they can provide you the key/cert pairs and prov. profiles and you just deliver the .zip, .ipa or .apk files to them to deploy.

Do I have to put my tax info in corona to monetize the apps? Or can I put this directly in the ad networks so that each client can have their own account? You had to this in gamesalad which made it impossible to different buyers on the same dev account.

No.  Corona SDK never asks for any information about your bank or tax accounts.  This is all handled through the various store setups or various ad provider setups.  You only have to pay Corona SDK for the tier that you’re going to use.  We stay out of the way of any other financial setups you have with vendors.

Edit: Just to make sure; So you can’t build the app on your account and then send the .app to the client so that he can post the app from his dev acc?

You can do that for Android for sure.  The keystore used by Android is not tied to a developer account like Apple does.  With Apple, there has to be a certificate/key pair generated in the Apple developer account for the person who will own the iTunes Connect account.  The Apple Provisioning Portal is also tied in to all this.  If you want to just be able to give your client the built app to run, they have to give you their certfiicate/keys and provide you a provisioning profile built against that key/cert pair that you install in  your Keychain Access and Provisioning Profiles folder.   This is the Option C above.  It’s more work on you to maintain multiple Development Teams in Xcode, but this does work.

[niksam98]

@The\_Lemon

Of course. Build the app using corona ,then after that send the .app/.apk file to your client. The client can then test the app on his/her phone (assuming that,for apple at least, they are a registred dev) and publish it if they like it. 

@rob

That’s a bit dissapointing I guess option A is okey, but it will make some run away. The other two will increase the price so much that some won’t be happy to pay it.

Option C doesn’t require any additional Corona SDK licenses. Only B does.  It’s just more work on your part to manage multiple Apple developer accounts in your Keychain Access and Xcode setups.  In this scenario, your client would only have to pay for their $99 per year Apple account and their $25 one time Google Play account.  You would get some level of management to their account. They can make you a manager and you do all the work, or they can provide you the key/cert pairs and prov. profiles and you just deliver the .zip, .ipa or .apk files to them to deploy.

Do I have to put my tax info in corona to monetize the apps? Or can I put this directly in the ad networks so that each client can have their own account? You had to this in gamesalad which made it impossible to different buyers on the same dev account.

No.  Corona SDK never asks for any information about your bank or tax accounts.  This is all handled through the various store setups or various ad provider setups.  You only have to pay Corona SDK for the tier that you’re going to use.  We stay out of the way of any other financial setups you have with vendors.

Edit: Just to make sure; So you can’t build the app on your account and then send the .app to the client so that he can post the app from his dev acc?

You can do that for Android for sure.  The keystore used by Android is not tied to a developer account like Apple does.  With Apple, there has to be a certificate/key pair generated in the Apple developer account for the person who will own the iTunes Connect account.  The Apple Provisioning Portal is also tied in to all this.  If you want to just be able to give your client the built app to run, they have to give you their certfiicate/keys and provide you a provisioning profile built against that key/cert pair that you install in  your Keychain Access and Provisioning Profiles folder.   This is the Option C above.  It’s more work on you to maintain multiple Development Teams in Xcode, but this does work.

That sounds great! As long as it is possible, I don’t mind it being some extra work. It will be much more convinient for any client of mine.

Of topic: What way would you recommend to learn corona? I already understand the basics and the concepts of rules, loops, variables etc. What I need to learn is about when to use local values, how to structure your code and how to use graphics. Would the best thing to be just to go through the university course and then start to try?

Thanks for the detailed answer, Rob!

[rob]

I’d start with the tutorials on the Corona University page.

Rob

[rob]

Corona SDK of course needs the developer to handle their own developer accounts with Apple, Google, Amazon, etc.  You can with one Corona SDK license publish to all three. 

When working with clients, Corona SDK really isn’t in the way, but you have to think about the model you want to use.  You can

a) Run your client apps out of your developer account.  Depending on how this is being monetized, this might work and it’s the simplest for you since only one developer account per market place is needed.

b) Build the apps but require the client to have a Corona SDK license and they do the final build and deliver.  They stay fully in control of the whole process.  It’s easy since you don’t have to deal with multiple developer accounts yourself, but you loose control of your source since they have to build and deploy.  Depending on your relationship with the customer, this might be a good route.

c) Learn how to manage multiple developer accounts.  This isn’t really a Corona thing.  You would have to have multiple teams in Xcode (yours, each client, etc.) which means having their certificates and keys in your Keychain Access app, being given administrator access to their Apple logins, like iTunes Connect, Provisioning Portal or some variant of that.  If they own the store and you want to deploy from your Corona SDK license, you will have to have their certs/keys and they can provide you the provisioning profiles etc.  It’s all doable.  On the Android side, things are a bit simpler, since you can build and give them the .apk file and they can do all the Google Play side of things.

In my work with clients, I’ve done all three depending on my relationship with the client.  You don’t have to use just one way, you can use any combination that works for you.

Rob

[niksam98]

@rob

Corona SDK of course needs the developer to handle their own developer accounts with Apple, Google, Amazon, etc.  You can with one Corona SDK license publish to all three. 

When working with clients, Corona SDK really isn’t in the way, but you have to think about the model you want to use.  You can

a) Run your client apps out of your developer account.  Depending on how this is being monetized, this might work and it’s the simplest for you since only one developer account per market place is needed.

B) Build the apps but require the client to have a Corona SDK license and they do the final build and deliver.  They stay fully in control of the whole process.  It’s easy since you don’t have to deal with multiple developer accounts yourself, but you loose control of your source since they have to build and deploy.  Depending on your relationship with the customer, this might be a good route.

c) Learn how to manage multiple developer accounts.  This isn’t really a Corona thing.  You would have to have multiple teams in Xcode (yours, each client, etc.) which means having their certificates and keys in your Keychain Access app, being given administrator access to their Apple logins, like iTunes Connect, Provisioning Portal or some variant of that.  If they own the store and you want to deploy from your Corona SDK license, you will have to have their certs/keys and they can provide you the provisioning profiles etc.  It’s all doable.  On the Android side, things are a bit simpler, since you can build and give them the .apk file and they can do all the Google Play side of things.

In my work with clients, I’ve done all three depending on my relationship with the client.  You don’t have to use just one way, you can use any combination that works for you.

Rob

That’s a bit dissapointing I guess option A is okey, but it will make some run away. The other two will increase the price so much that some won’t be happy to pay it.

Do I have to put my tax info in corona to monetize the apps? Or can I put this directly in the ad networks so that each client can have their own account? You had to this in gamesalad which made it impossible to different buyers on the same dev account.

I will stick to corona for now as I see it as a good transition between gamesalad and something like moai or xcode. It’s also nice that I’ll learn lua, since I just got my ti nspire cx cas for school so that I can make some games for it

Edit: Just to make sure; So you can’t build the app on your account and then send the .app to the client so that he can post the app from his dev acc?

[The_Lemon]

Of course. Build the app using corona ,then after that send the .app/.apk file to your client. The client can then test the app on his/her phone (assuming that,for apple at least, they are a registred dev) and publish it if they like it. 

EDIT: I am WRONG, sorry you can’t send the .app file to your client to test or publish, as Rob said the key is tied to the your developer account. MB.

[rob]

That’s a bit dissapointing I guess option A is okey, but it will make some run away. The other two will increase the price so much that some won’t be happy to pay it.

Option C doesn’t require any additional Corona SDK licenses. Only B does.  It’s just more work on your part to manage multiple Apple developer accounts in your Keychain Access and Xcode setups.  In this scenario, your client would only have to pay for their $99 per year Apple account and their $25 one time Google Play account.  You would get some level of management to their account. They can make you a manager and you do all the work, or they can provide you the key/cert pairs and prov. profiles and you just deliver the .zip, .ipa or .apk files to them to deploy.

Do I have to put my tax info in corona to monetize the apps? Or can I put this directly in the ad networks so that each client can have their own account? You had to this in gamesalad which made it impossible to different buyers on the same dev account.

No.  Corona SDK never asks for any information about your bank or tax accounts.  This is all handled through the various store setups or various ad provider setups.  You only have to pay Corona SDK for the tier that you’re going to use.  We stay out of the way of any other financial setups you have with vendors.

Edit: Just to make sure; So you can’t build the app on your account and then send the .app to the client so that he can post the app from his dev acc?

You can do that for Android for sure.  The keystore used by Android is not tied to a developer account like Apple does.  With Apple, there has to be a certificate/key pair generated in the Apple developer account for the person who will own the iTunes Connect account.  The Apple Provisioning Portal is also tied in to all this.  If you want to just be able to give your client the built app to run, they have to give you their certfiicate/keys and provide you a provisioning profile built against that key/cert pair that you install in  your Keychain Access and Provisioning Profiles folder.   This is the Option C above.  It’s more work on you to maintain multiple Development Teams in Xcode, but this does work.

[niksam98]

@The\_Lemon

Of course. Build the app using corona ,then after that send the .app/.apk file to your client. The client can then test the app on his/her phone (assuming that,for apple at least, they are a registred dev) and publish it if they like it. 

@rob

That’s a bit dissapointing I guess option A is okey, but it will make some run away. The other two will increase the price so much that some won’t be happy to pay it.

Option C doesn’t require any additional Corona SDK licenses. Only B does.  It’s just more work on your part to manage multiple Apple developer accounts in your Keychain Access and Xcode setups.  In this scenario, your client would only have to pay for their $99 per year Apple account and their $25 one time Google Play account.  You would get some level of management to their account. They can make you a manager and you do all the work, or they can provide you the key/cert pairs and prov. profiles and you just deliver the .zip, .ipa or .apk files to them to deploy.

Do I have to put my tax info in corona to monetize the apps? Or can I put this directly in the ad networks so that each client can have their own account? You had to this in gamesalad which made it impossible to different buyers on the same dev account.

No.  Corona SDK never asks for any information about your bank or tax accounts.  This is all handled through the various store setups or various ad provider setups.  You only have to pay Corona SDK for the tier that you’re going to use.  We stay out of the way of any other financial setups you have with vendors.

Edit: Just to make sure; So you can’t build the app on your account and then send the .app to the client so that he can post the app from his dev acc?

You can do that for Android for sure.  The keystore used by Android is not tied to a developer account like Apple does.  With Apple, there has to be a certificate/key pair generated in the Apple developer account for the person who will own the iTunes Connect account.  The Apple Provisioning Portal is also tied in to all this.  If you want to just be able to give your client the built app to run, they have to give you their certfiicate/keys and provide you a provisioning profile built against that key/cert pair that you install in  your Keychain Access and Provisioning Profiles folder.   This is the Option C above.  It’s more work on you to maintain multiple Development Teams in Xcode, but this does work.

That sounds great! As long as it is possible, I don’t mind it being some extra work. It will be much more convinient for any client of mine.

Of topic: What way would you recommend to learn corona? I already understand the basics and the concepts of rules, loops, variables etc. What I need to learn is about when to use local values, how to structure your code and how to use graphics. Would the best thing to be just to go through the university course and then start to try?

Thanks for the detailed answer, Rob!

[rob]

I’d start with the tutorials on the Corona University page.

Rob

[scottadelman]

Hi Rob,

Do you know of any guides on option C?  I have a client that I am working with and would like to be able to do this.  Just not sure where to start and I dont want to mess up my own ability to distribute apps.

Scott

[rob]

I don’t know of any guides off hand.  I would have to use Google to find them.

Rob

[scottadelman]

Ok I guess to further clarify… is there anything specific that needs to be done as a Corona user?  Do I need to mess around in Xcode?  Or would I simply add the other cert and use their prov profile with Corona?

[rob]

You will have to have Xcode know about both accounts.  You will end up with provisioning profiles for the other account that Corona SDK will see.

Rob

[scottadelman]

Hi Rob,

Do you know of any guides on option C?  I have a client that I am working with and would like to be able to do this.  Just not sure where to start and I dont want to mess up my own ability to distribute apps.

Scott

[rob]

I don’t know of any guides off hand.  I would have to use Google to find them.

Rob

[scottadelman]

Ok I guess to further clarify… is there anything specific that needs to be done as a Corona user?  Do I need to mess around in Xcode?  Or would I simply add the other cert and use their prov profile with Corona?