[Resolved] For Google Play Editorial Promotion: Need Info About "getline1Number" Api And "shared Intent"

Solar2D Android
#1

Hi all,
 
after being promoted by Apple & Samsung wordwide and by Amazon in some countries now Google Play had a closer look at “Freeze!” and wants to promote the game, too.
 
But they send me a to do list:
 
 

[Issues that should be fixed]
 

  • : The promotional video in Google Play listing references non-Google Play 
        stores.
  • : The Description listed in Google Play contains references to non-Android 
        devices/platforms/stores.
        Please remove those references to avoid confusion.
     
    [Clarifications requested]
     
  • : Please explain use of getLine1Number API with READ_PHONE_STATE permission.
     
    [General feedback/suggestions]
     
  • : Would prefer a “skip” button.
  • : Shared intent: prefer sharing via intents rather than hard-coding links to 
        SNS. http://developer.android.com/training/sharing/send.html
  • : No issues on google play feature graphics
  • : Nice dark atmosphere with the monotone graphics ================================================
     
    Ok, the first two points are easy:
     
  • the game trailer I included in Google Play in 10 languages shows a lot of different ANdroid & iOS devices running “Freeze!”, obviously this is a no-go
  • the “references to non-Android devices” I guess target some of the review snippets I cite, like from iFanzine.com etc. ( as the game is almost the same on every platform I did cite reviews of the iPhone/iPad version on Google Play, too )   
     
    But now it gets complicated:
     
     
  • : Please explain use of getLine1Number API with READ_PHONE_STATE permission.
     
    Well, I can’t. Can anybody help me out here ( Tom? )? I always thought that the READ_PHONE_STATE permission is needed so that the Coronalabs runtime can handle incoming calls ( to prepare the app to be suspended )?
     
     
    After that they tell me that they would like to have a “skip button”, I guess to skip levels the player has problems to solve.
    But I won’t do that, “Freeze!” is a tough game and will stay that way, I already lowered the difficulties of some levels more than three times, now it’s enough … :wink:
     
    BUT WHAT’S THIS:
      - : Shared intent: prefer sharing via intents rather than hard-coding links to 
        SNS. http://developer.android.com/training/sharing/send.html
     
    Hm. Might this be connected to the FaceBook SSO API I’m using? Again, does anyone have an idea what I can tell the Google Play editorial staff about this?
     
    Thanks a lot,
    Andreas
#2

Andreas,

 

Regarding the READ_PHONE_STATE permission, Corona used to impose that permission on all Android APKs built with the Corona Simulator, regardless if they were set in your “build.settings” file, but as of the newest daily build we no longer include any Android permissions.  You now have to opt-in to them.

 

The READ_PHONE_STATE permission was only used to fetch the phone’s unique ID.  It was never needed for call interruption support, which comes for free on Android.  This permission is only required by by inneractive and InMobi ads… and the now defunct OpenFeint.  If your app does not use ads, then please feel free to remove this permission.

 

Regarding “share” intents, the closest equivalent Corona has is our native.showPopup(“mail”) API.  In fact, it uses the “ACTION_SEND” intent that they’re link refers to.  If you don’t include attachments and keep the text plain (no HTML text), then non-mail apps will show up on the list.  So, try giving that a go.

#3

congrats on getting editorial feature :slight_smile:

#4

Hi Joshua,

 

thanks for the clarification regarding READ_PHONE_STATE, I just removed it completely.

 

But I’m sorry, I don’t understand your answer for the “intent”-issue. In fact I know nothing about intents, and the Google Dev docs didn’t enlighten me on the first & second glance why this happens in my game. Is this caused by the FB or Twitter SSO? And what’s the purpose?

 

Please don’t write a complete tutorial now (I guess you have lots of things on your plate), but could you point me with a few more sentences in the right direction? I don’t want to change anything in the code, I just want to explain the Google Play guys why these “intents” are in my game ( the Coronalabs-way ).

 

Thanks & best,

Andreas

#5

I think what they are saying is that with Android there are built in ways to send intents (basically data) to other apps (like FB, Twitter, etc).  In native Android all you need to do is send the intent (again, the data) to the OS, and the OS will send the data to the appropriate app like FB.  However, if there are multiple apps that might receive the intent then a dialog will show allowing the user to select which app he/she wants to share the data with.  I am guessing the issue is that you are hard coding the messages to be sent directly to FB or Twitter instead of doing it the Android way.  Sorry I can’t really provide assistance with the Corona side of it as I don’t have experience in this area. 

#6

JonPM is spot on.  Google just wants your app to send text to friends via their native API instead of directly to Facebook.  Effectively, they want your app to show a native popup of social media choices to post your message with, as shown here…

   http://developer.android.com/training/sharing/send.html#send-text-content

 

The closest equivalent that Corona has is via our native.showPopup(“mail”) function, but that function won’t list Google+, Twitter, or Facebook as an option… which is what Google wants.

#7

Hi JonPM, Joshua,

 

thank you both, this is all the information I needed to answer the Google Play editorial team. 

 

I explained it to them and did all the other stuff like re-cutting the 10 video trailers and pushing a new version without READ_PHONE_STATE, now it’s up to them.

 

And again: One of the reasons I work with the Coronalabs SDK is because of the great community & support.

 

Best,

Andreas 

#8

Happy to help Andreas.

Good luck getting featured on Google Play!

#9

Andreas,

 

Regarding the READ_PHONE_STATE permission, Corona used to impose that permission on all Android APKs built with the Corona Simulator, regardless if they were set in your “build.settings” file, but as of the newest daily build we no longer include any Android permissions.  You now have to opt-in to them.

 

The READ_PHONE_STATE permission was only used to fetch the phone’s unique ID.  It was never needed for call interruption support, which comes for free on Android.  This permission is only required by by inneractive and InMobi ads… and the now defunct OpenFeint.  If your app does not use ads, then please feel free to remove this permission.

 

Regarding “share” intents, the closest equivalent Corona has is our native.showPopup(“mail”) API.  In fact, it uses the “ACTION_SEND” intent that they’re link refers to.  If you don’t include attachments and keep the text plain (no HTML text), then non-mail apps will show up on the list.  So, try giving that a go.

#10

congrats on getting editorial feature :slight_smile:

#11

Hi Joshua,

 

thanks for the clarification regarding READ_PHONE_STATE, I just removed it completely.

 

But I’m sorry, I don’t understand your answer for the “intent”-issue. In fact I know nothing about intents, and the Google Dev docs didn’t enlighten me on the first & second glance why this happens in my game. Is this caused by the FB or Twitter SSO? And what’s the purpose?

 

Please don’t write a complete tutorial now (I guess you have lots of things on your plate), but could you point me with a few more sentences in the right direction? I don’t want to change anything in the code, I just want to explain the Google Play guys why these “intents” are in my game ( the Coronalabs-way ).

 

Thanks & best,

Andreas

#12

I think what they are saying is that with Android there are built in ways to send intents (basically data) to other apps (like FB, Twitter, etc).  In native Android all you need to do is send the intent (again, the data) to the OS, and the OS will send the data to the appropriate app like FB.  However, if there are multiple apps that might receive the intent then a dialog will show allowing the user to select which app he/she wants to share the data with.  I am guessing the issue is that you are hard coding the messages to be sent directly to FB or Twitter instead of doing it the Android way.  Sorry I can’t really provide assistance with the Corona side of it as I don’t have experience in this area. 

#13

JonPM is spot on.  Google just wants your app to send text to friends via their native API instead of directly to Facebook.  Effectively, they want your app to show a native popup of social media choices to post your message with, as shown here…

   http://developer.android.com/training/sharing/send.html#send-text-content

 

The closest equivalent that Corona has is via our native.showPopup(“mail”) function, but that function won’t list Google+, Twitter, or Facebook as an option… which is what Google wants.

#14

Hi JonPM, Joshua,

 

thank you both, this is all the information I needed to answer the Google Play editorial team. 

 

I explained it to them and did all the other stuff like re-cutting the 10 video trailers and pushing a new version without READ_PHONE_STATE, now it’s up to them.

 

And again: One of the reasons I work with the Coronalabs SDK is because of the great community & support.

 

Best,

Andreas 

#15

Happy to help Andreas.

Good luck getting featured on Google Play!

#16

Hi again,

everything worked out beautifully, Google Play Japan is featuring “Freeze!” right now with the big billboard, have a look:

http://apps.oetingerverlag.de/FreezeGooglePlay.png

For your info: This means about 6.000 daily downloads of the freemium version, so it’s not the biggest market, but still nice.

Best,

Andreas

#17

Congrats Andreas - that’s great!  I think we all know that when you’re an indie dev every single download helps :slight_smile:

#18

That’s great Andreas!

#19

Hi again,

everything worked out beautifully, Google Play Japan is featuring “Freeze!” right now with the big billboard, have a look:

http://apps.oetingerverlag.de/FreezeGooglePlay.png

For your info: This means about 6.000 daily downloads of the freemium version, so it’s not the biggest market, but still nice.

Best,

Andreas

#20

Congrats Andreas - that’s great!  I think we all know that when you’re an indie dev every single download helps :slight_smile: