Is there a way to download the app/game files from the Cloud?

Solar2D General Questions/Discussion
#1

Well, one thing I discovered by developing with Corona is that the builds gets larger than they are supposed to be due to some Corona libraries included to the app/game even when they are not requested in the code. The majory Android devices users suffer when it comes to large applications because of the lack of hard drive/SD memory.

My doubt is the following: Is there a way to download the app/game files from the Cloud as well as the majory of Android developers of large games do and keep the files untouchable by the app/game users?

#2

Yes, but you will need a server to store the files on. Coronium.IO is a great service for this sort of thing as it gets hosted on Amazon EC2 or Digital Ocean. There are plenty of hosting services available but you will probably need more than just file hosting - you’ll want a web service, too, which is where Coronium comes in.

Also, make sure that your config and build files are not including plugins that you don’t want to use and that your code is not including libraries (like physics.)

#3

Also, it should be noted that Corona adds ~10 megs to a distribution build. While it can increase an app’s size somewhat, I don’t think using Corona itself would necessitate server-side asset hosting. 

That said, having the ability to update in-game/app assets on the fly through remote querying is always a good idea. I just wanted to make sure you were aware that going this route won’t necessarily decrease the built app/game file size.

#4

Hum… A lot of users of my games complain about the size. And I don’t understand why there’s a need to have a lot of memory used by Corona in the app…

#5

Are they complaining about the actual size of the download itself, or are the complaining about the performance of the game on their devices?

#6

The size.

#7

Is there a sample code someone can post here about the implementation of that?

#8

Yes, but you will need a server to store the files on. Coronium.IO is a great service for this sort of thing as it gets hosted on Amazon EC2 or Digital Ocean. There are plenty of hosting services available but you will probably need more than just file hosting - you’ll want a web service, too, which is where Coronium comes in.

Also, make sure that your config and build files are not including plugins that you don’t want to use and that your code is not including libraries (like physics.)

#9

Also, it should be noted that Corona adds ~10 megs to a distribution build. While it can increase an app’s size somewhat, I don’t think using Corona itself would necessitate server-side asset hosting. 

That said, having the ability to update in-game/app assets on the fly through remote querying is always a good idea. I just wanted to make sure you were aware that going this route won’t necessarily decrease the built app/game file size.

#10

Hum… A lot of users of my games complain about the size. And I don’t understand why there’s a need to have a lot of memory used by Corona in the app…

#11

Are they complaining about the actual size of the download itself, or are the complaining about the performance of the game on their devices?

#12

The size.

#13

Is there a sample code someone can post here about the implementation of that?