Introduction into LunarAds

LunarAds
#21

Sorry for the delay Richard. I am just happy it was not something i did. I look forward for a solution for inneractive issue.

Mo

ps1: Sometimes the ad window stay white which I assume it is because the ad network (inneractive and lunar ads promotions) did not have anything to show. Is adding more networks would help avoid blank ads?

ps2: I am still having problem where the ads is not refreshing every 15 or 30 sec (I set both times on the dashboard) [import]uid: 100814 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 105122[/import]

#22

Hello Richard.

I am still having issue with the ads not refreshing every x seconds (I tried both 15 and 30 secs in my dashboard ) I did not have much to deal with until now. I am using Director and put the launch code in the “init” area (usuallyaround the bottom of a module) Is the code needs to be put in a specific place when using director? It is just bizarre that the ads is refreshed every time I switch to a module that uses it ( so far options and score screens) but once it shows, it won’t show a different ads no matter how long I stay on that screen?

Another issue I sees (maybe not really an issue) is that time to time I get a white rectangle with no ads? All I can assume is that I may need to add some ads networks to my dashboard. So far I am only using lunar ads and interactive…By the way, say I have all those networks running, is there one ads network that would run more often than another or are they served in sequence with equal time.
Sorry for all these questions!

Mo [import]uid: 100814 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 106363[/import]

#23

Since the director class loads everything from main.lua, we recommend putting the LunarAds code there. Noone else is reporting refreshing issues so if you want to send us some code snippets of your app we’ll be glad to help you troubleshoot it.

The white rectangle issue is likely caused by the user-agent not being passed in correctly. We are working on a fix for that as some others have reported it as well, mostly on the Android side. Make sure you have the very latest SDK as well, we don’t do “daily builds” but we might have updated it since you last nabbed it from the site.

RIchard
[import]uid: 9046 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 106398[/import]

#24

Hello Richard.

Thanks for the info. I think i found why the ads were not refreshing. Line 236 in lunar.lua was:

lunarRefresh = 0 --( tonumber(params[pointer+2]) * 1000)

and I changed to:

lunarRefresh = ( tonumber(params[pointer+2]) * 1000)

Now the ads are refreshing!! I am using version 1.5 of the sdk so I am not why that line was set to zero?

Anyway it is working great other than that white rectangle (no ads) time to time.

Thanks Richard.

Mo [import]uid: 100814 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 106432[/import]

#25

Couple of questions. I tried to integrate this in an app tonight. I setup an AdMob account and it’s also using my existing Inneractive App ID too.

It for the most part is working pretty well, but I’m getting two problems.

First, sometimes I don’t get an ad. I expect this is just a fill rate issue, but I do see this in the console log:

Lunar Ads: Ad Returned
573 384 320 50 am 2 MY_LUNAR_CHANNEL nil 1.5 b82bfede301f6c970d21fd078d54dc6b 897 601

I suspect that nil is indication that I did not get an error. I’m doing interstitial type ads (with Regular banners since I could never trust Inneractive full screen ads to not lock up) so I’m trying to program it so that if I don’t get an ad, I don’t show any of my ad framing code. I hit a bug in Corona’s ad.init() listener on iOS, but it was working on my Kindle Fire. I don’t know how I can detect if I got an ad or not.

The 2nd problem is a display issue. Here is my code:

 lunar.showLunar ({  
 x = display.contentWidth / 2,  
 y = display.contentHeight / 2,  
 Halign = "center",  
 Valign = "center",  
 channel = MY\_LUNAR\_CHANNEL,  
 pubid = MY\_LUNAR\_PUBID,  
 appver = APP\_VERSION  
 })

and here is what I’m getting:

I see some scroll bars if I move my mouse over it and if I drag it I see the whole ad. It looks to me like the ad is pushed down and to the left a bit. How can I fix this?
[import]uid: 19626 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 106463[/import]

#26

@Rob: I, too is getting that NIL. Not sure what it is. Maybe the publish ID? I am also getting the white rectangle like you time to time. I believe there is callback:

[lua]-- Display ad at top left of screen, and fires callback.
function lunarCallBack()
print (“Ad touched”)
end

lunar.showLunar ({
x = 0,
y = 0,
channel = MY_LUNAR_CHANNEL,
pubid = MY_LUNAR_PUBID,
appver = APP_VERSION,
callBack = lunarCallBack
})[/lua]

Maybe you can use that?

Mo [import]uid: 100814 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 106480[/import]

#27

Hey Richard,

Could you post a video to show how it works with other ad formats (like interstitial).

Thanks!
d. [import]uid: 100310 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 106583[/import]

#28

Hi Richard,

Don and I from Loqheart just tried integrating LunarAds last night, but we’re having performance issues on our game Cannon Cat.

It seems like on occasion when an ad loads our game freezes. Testing in the simulator everything seems to be working as expected, but on device we are getting freezing issues, and hardly getting any ads.

Maybe once every 20 loads on the iPod Touch we get an ad. The iPad has more ads being displayed, but still freezes. Sometimes we see the webpopup with an activity indicator but nothing is displayed.

We have inneractive added to our channel and we’re testing on an iPod touch 4th gen. Building with 811 ad hoc.

Also we’re getting a lot of these warnings in the Xcode console. Not sure if this is related, but it seems like it.

May 16 10:27:36 unknown build[20206] : Warning: Libinfo call to mDNSResponder on main thread

Anyone else experiencing issues?

(Also, does LunarAds only support banner ads? Or do you also provide interstitials?) [import]uid: 43096 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107066[/import]

#29

Hello David. I am sure Richard will have better answers but i can share my experience so far with you guys.

1- I too see many times the ads is not showing (white rectangle)

2- I do not see any freezes in my game but i am not showing any ads on my gameScreen.lua Only in my options.lua and scores.lua where not much is happening.

3- I tried cross-promotions interstitials (I will assume from Lunars Ads) and they show full screen but so far all i can see is a white screen with a small blue box with a “?” in it. It probably because nothing is sent (no ads?)

4- I am using build 790 and ipad2

5- I have inneractive, admob, leadbolt (all banners) and cross-promotion (lunar Ads)

6- App still in developement so only adhoc build so far.

Hope this help.

Mo
(LairdGames)

[import]uid: 100814 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107073[/import]

#30

Make sure you have the VERY latest SDK, I remember a few weeks ago we released a version with the refresh still disabled but soon after released the final version. I would definitely nab it from the site.

Richard [import]uid: 9046 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107076[/import]

#31

@david_loqheart,
Performance issues are associated with Corona not being able to truly thread a process. You can set your channel refresh to 0 and that will stop any refreshed from occurring which should help that issue.

We’ve had a small number of developer report that white box issue and are looking into it. One thing I can mention is to make sure you if this is an Android app to use internet permissions in your build.settings file.

Richard [import]uid: 9046 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107078[/import]

#32

@Richard.

I believe I have the latest version (1.5) Also i have noticed that if I check the box: “Show Interstitial ads?” in the cross-promotion section (top) i no longer gets ads (even from admob or inneractive…)? If uncheck it and re-start my app then I get ads back (even so many times it is still showing a white rectangle…no ads) When I check the box, nothing is shown at all (no rectangle white box, no rotating wheel)
Thanks.

Mo

EDIT: I actually do not need to re-start my app. I can see that the ads stop showing up as soon as I check that box and wait for the next refresh. I tried 15 and 30 sec. They show again when I uncheck the box. [import]uid: 100814 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107082[/import]

#33

@Richard

First of all, thanks Richard for answering our questions so promptly. We’re obviously excited by your service and want to have it up and running for our next update.

Here’s where we currently are. We downloaded the Latest-Latest SDK and it seems to have helped a little. We also set the refresh to 0 which has helped reduce some of the freezing.

We currently still get this loading image, when it’s trying to find an ad:
http://screencast.com/t/ubgqhrxa

And when an ad does show up, it’s cut off on the iphone and ipod touch:
http://screencast.com/t/w8VFvLan2

For some reason on the iPad, the ads show up okay though.

p.s. We get some real slowdown of our game when a Leadbolt text html banner shows up. Wonder if there’s something particularly draining about that type of ad.
[import]uid: 43096 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107108[/import]

#34

@David: I am also seeing that warning message on the console:

“May 16 10:27:36 unknown build[20206] : Warning: Libinfo call to mDNSResponder on main thread”

But it does not seems to affect the app. Again I am not showing any app in the game play screen. Are you showing ads during the game play? If it is then I expect some slowdown when the ads is loaded.

Cheers.

Mo

EDIT: opps, sorry I just looked at the screencast shot. So indeed you are showing ads during game play. If you are loading the ad during the game start and not refreshing the ads during game play then I will think it will be ok… [import]uid: 100814 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107111[/import]

#35

@David

For the cut add on the ipod/iphone, you can try this:

lunar.showLunar({x = (left + 80), y = (bottom - 55), channel = “xxxxxxxxxxxxx”, pubid = “111111111”})

If you pass x and y, you can basically offset the add on the screen. Please note “left” and “right” are define like this on my app:

[lua]local left = display.screenOriginX
local top = display.screenOriginY
local right = display.contentWidth - display.screenOriginX
local bottom = display.contentHeight - display.screenOriginY[/lua]

These helps me deal with the black bars on device. Please note also than in my case I am showing my ads on the bottom but center rather than right like you.

Hope this help.

MO [import]uid: 100814 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107113[/import]

#36

Thanks Mo!

Yeah, we are basically showing the ad just once when you enter the level. So any delay will happen only at the beginning. And we turned off the refresh, so that helped.

We’ll try out your fix for the offset issue. Though, if we re-position for all devices, it’ll sort of look weird on the iPad. Anyway, we’ll see what we can do. Thanks! [import]uid: 43096 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107117[/import]

#37

@David. No problem. Just to let you know, using the same technique, my ads show ok both on ipad2 and iphone4 (bottom/center. Of course, Android is another ball game but I will not release for Android first so I will cross that bridge when I get there.

Good luck!

Mo.

EDIT: Are you guys not afraid to show ads during game play? I mean p"“ing people off” On the other hand it is a gorgeous FREE game so people are getting a great deal! Would love to hear your opinion once you release the ads version and have some data to compare:)

[import]uid: 100814 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107124[/import]

#38

@Mo @Richard

Turns out it’s NOT a positioning issue. We threw it up on the top left to see, and it looks like it’s a sizing issue. The add is too big and only the top left of the ad is showing in the 320x50 frame.

You can see it here:
http://screencast.com/t/61W4pdYdV

Richard, can you help us with this sizing issue?

Mo, In terms of the user experience, we are going to try it out and see what happens. There are pros and cons of course no matter what ad type you choose. Interstitials don’t affect your gameplay, but they are more in your face and force you to close them. In-game banners can get visually in the way, but for the most part stay out of your way in terms of changing your behavior. And it depends on what type of game you have. Most of the experience of Cannon Cat is in-game, so ads in there make the most sense revenue-wise. But we’ll let you know what we find out. I’m sure we’ll optimize more based on data.
[import]uid: 43096 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107135[/import]

#39

@david, I reported the same problem above and haven’t gotten an answer yet. I haven’t pursued it further because I’m working on a for-pay project right now, but I certainly would like to get this app out on Android and Amazon and then re-release in on iOS using Lunar Ads.

[import]uid: 19626 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107137[/import]

#40

@David: Humm, that’s strange. i do not have that issue. It seems that Lunar return some screen/ads size. For instance here my return for iphone 4 (simulator)

80 265 320 50 lb 2 xxxxxxxx nil 1.5 yyyyyy 960 640

Ads that are too big seems to scroll automatically for me. Do you have that issue on all ios test devices?

In any event, thank you so much for your candid answer in term of ads use on game screen. I agree with you that only experiment would tell you either way. And yes, I would love to learn from your experience!

@Richard: I have noticed that when I had my issue with ads refresh (not refreshing) the issue was due to line 326:

lunarRefresh = 0 – ( tonumber(params[pointer+2]) * 1000)

Now it fine and I see the version 1.5 on the site is also corrected but I believe (I could be wrong) the sdk was also 1.5 then too. I think it would help if the code# gets update every time something is change like 1.5.1 and so on. If new release always use the major release# it makes difficult to follow. Just a suggestion of course.

Mo.

EDIT: @David. I think you are using an ipad3, correct? Maybe that issue. It sounds that the webpopup cannot display the all ads and shows you 1/4 of the ads (at least looking at your screenshot) Like i said, my app looks good on ipad2 and iphone 4…
[import]uid: 100814 topic_id: 25730 reply_id: 107153[/import]