I blogged about the benefits of OpenFeint on my web site. I think many small shops should look into it as it adds a lot to your game with little effort. You can read the blog post here: http://www.diemonstersdie.com.
OpenFeint - good for independent and small shops IMO
(47 posts) (16 voices)-
Posted 2 years ago #
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Thanks! I've been considering OpenFeint, and I think your post has convinced me to go with it for my next update.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Very informative James, thank you!
I myself decided to integrate OpenFeint yesterday, had some difficulties at first, but I managed and I'm amazed and the features OpenFeint offers, it's absolutly amazing!One thing I didn't understand though, why can't we delete leaderBoards?! I've got 3 in my app and I need only 2... lol.
Overall, OpenFeint is a very powerful + amazing toolset for us indie's who can't afford to waste time on create these services.
~ Natanavra.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I tried OpenFeint both as a player and as a developer. The API is ok, but I just don't like the UI.
I recently discovered Agon Online and I loved it, really easy to implement and the UI is very clean and well designed.
my USD$0.02
rolando.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I've used OpenFeint with StickWars from the start, and have been very happy with the features, the regular updates, and the price. I've evaluated the other options very carefully, and OpenFeint still came out on top.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Oh, I've got a question about leaderboards, though. I couldn't find it on the OpenFeint site, so perhaps someone here will know.
Right now all of my scores are on CocosLive. Is there a way for me to download those scores and submit them to the OpenFeint server so that my players won't lose their high scores when I switch over? I know OpenFeint tracks accounts by device ID so theoretically it should be possible... the question is whether OF provides an easy way for me to upload existing scores with several different device IDs.
Edit: Also, Agon looks nice, but does anyone have any info on which one is more popular? I'm guessing OpenFeint...
Posted 2 years ago # -
@lindgrenM a quick idea, if you can retrieve a score then all you got to do is resubmit to OpenFeint...
1. Retrieve cocosLive Score.
2.[OFHighscoreService submitScore: retrievedScore LeaderBoardID:@"ID" yada yada];
3. Enjoy, every user that gets in your app, copies his score to OpenFeint.You could use it as a zombie attack on OpenFeint servers lol... assuming you have a lot of users...
~ Natanavra.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hi all,
I've had trouble getting OpenFeint to integrate properly with my game.
I need my game to to pause when the OpenFeint startup screen appears.
I've amended my header file as below:
@interface GameAppDelegate : NSObject <UIApplicationDelegate, OpenFeintDelegate, OFNotificationDelegate> {
UIWindow *window;
}In the associated 'GameAppDelegate.mm' file I have included the relevant methods, see below:
- (void)dashboardWillAppear {
[[Director sharedDirector] pause];
}- (void)dashboardDidAppear {
}- (void)dashboardWillDisappear {
}- (void)dashboardDidDisappear {
[[Director sharedDirector] resume];
// Run next scene
[self runIntroductionScene];
}When testing this code the OpenFeint screen appears but my game is not paused and the introduction scene plays in the background. Am I doing something wrong here?
Posted 2 years ago # -
When I was developing Peter und Vlad, I tried out many of these social leaderboard frameworks and eventually chose AGON Online, because of the basic and clean UI, extremely simple integration, great and responsive developers and most importantly good support for local offline leaderboards.
OpenFeint has grown a lot since we chose AGON but I tried them again just recently and I still feel like it needs the online connection a bit too much. If I understood the system, you have to connect online just to just to access the offline features, which just feels strange.
There is an unquestionable draw in the wast user base of OpenFeint but I still chose AGON as I felt it was the best experience for our users. Hopefully, it will grow to become a real competitor to OpenFeint.
Posted 2 years ago # -
@natanavra Yeah, I see that they have released version 2.2 which finally enables true offline support. When I first checked them out, they had no offline support at all and when I tried for the second time, version 2.1. had the strange quasi-offline support. They are definitely in rapid development and currently have full support for offline leaderboards.
Posted 2 years ago # -
@natanavra
johannth is very true about this...@johannth
OpenFeint released v2.2 just a 5 days ago. And just with that version you have full offline support. With all previous version that supposedly had offline support you needed to connect online at least once. Though I didn't have time to test 2.2 yet, but I think I'll do it today. Only boring thing is that you (as developer) have to manually download your game setup from openfeint site and put it in your game bundle so it can be accessed without online connection.Edit:
Lol, johannth you answered your own question while I was postingPosted 2 years ago # -
lindgrenM - I would post your question on their support site.
What I have noticed about OF is they will find short term solutions for developers while working on more elegant long term solutions whenever possible. I like the approach - which is similar to cocos2d in that you can get the latest code from SVN if a bug fix or addition was added without having to wait for an official release.
I think once OF gets their web player site up, it will really take off. I really like the fact that our games can get visibility through the device API and the upcoming player site online.
By the way, LongJohnnyE was kind enough to ease any concerns I had months ago when I was on the fence about using OpenFeint. That's kind of why I wrote the article. Many devs face the same issue - how to handle scores and other user specific data that gamers are now expecting. However, I bet many devs are on the fence like I was. I want let them know how simple it can actually be - from a fellow developer. OF isn't the only service out there, but my experience so far has been very positive.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'm using feint in my new games as well. It's very easy to integrate and gives you quite a bit for the time spent. I mostly chose it because of it's large user base, built in UI, and easy achievement support. I'm not crazy about how much space the UI uses, as I'd prefer something a bit more compact, but oh well.
Does anyone know if 2.2 fixed the bug where it crashes if you tilt the phone on the first time you run the game?
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hi Slipster216,
I'm experiencing a weird OpenFeint issue and I was wondering if you could possibly test your own code in the following way...
1) Launch your game (first ensuring that you have deleted any previous game app from either simulator/device)
2) When the OF setup screen first appears, click on the 'I don't want these features' option
3) Now immediately press the HOME button (on either the Simulator/Device)
4) Now re-launch your gameIn this scenario, I briefly see the 'Default.png' splash screen appear but then the whole screen goes blank and I experience a complete 'lock up'.
I've tested this scenario on OS 2.0 right up to OS 3.1 but still get the same problem.
My OpenFeint integration code looks fine to me and I was wondering if anyone else has hit this problem?
Posted 2 years ago # -
works fine for me..
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hi Slipster216,
I'm using the latest version of OpenFeint (2.2), are you on the same version?
Posted 2 years ago # -
is no one bothered by the fact that openfeint adds several MB to you app?
Posted 2 years ago # -
If your game is Landscape only you can remove the Portrait resources folder (and vice-versa). But yeah, there are still quite a bit of resources in there.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I'm still struggling with the OpenFeint integration. My code is below, if you can see anything wrong then please
could you let me know, thanks!// GameAppDelegate.h file
#import "OpenFeintDelegate.h"
@interface GameAppDelegate : NSObject <UIApplicationDelegate, OpenFeintDelegate> {
UIWindow *window;
}
- (void)dashboardWillAppear;
- (void)dashboardDidAppear;
- (void)dashboardWillDisappear;
- (void)dashboardDidDisappear;
- (BOOL)showCustomOpenFeintApprovalScreen;
@end// GameAppDelegate.mm file
- (void)applicationDidFinishLaunching:(UIApplication *)application {
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] setStatusBarHidden:YES animated:YES];
window = [[UIWindow alloc] initWithFrame:[[UIScreen mainScreen] bounds]];
[window setUserInteractionEnabled:YES];
[window setMultipleTouchEnabled:YES];
[window setBackgroundColor:[UIColor blackColor]];[[Director sharedDirector] setDeviceOrientation: CCDeviceOrientationPortrait];
[[Director sharedDirector] setAnimationInterval:1/240.0];
[[Director sharedDirector] setDisplayFPS: NO];[[TouchDispatcher sharedDispatcher] setDispatchEvents: YES];
[window makeKeyAndVisible];
[[Director sharedDirector] attachInWindow:window];// Disable OpenFeint 'Chat' feature
NSDictionary* settings = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObjectsAndKeys:
[NSNumber numberWithBool:YES], OpenFeintSettingDisableChat, nil];// Create OpenFeint delegate
OFDelegatesContainer *OFDelegate = [OFDelegatesContainer containerWithOpenFeintDelegate:self andChallengeDelegate:nil
andNotificationDelegate:nil];
// Initialise 'OpenFeint' system
[OpenFeint initializeWithProductKey:@"MyKey" andSecret:@"MySecret" andDisplayName:@"GameApp" andSettings:settings
andDelegates:OFDelegate];
}- (void)dashboardWillAppear {
[[Director sharedDirector] pause];
}- (void)dashboardDidAppear {
}- (void)dashboardWillDisappear {
}- (void)dashboardDidDisappear {
[[Director sharedDirector] resume];
// Run next scene
[self runIntroductionScene];
}- (BOOL)showCustomOpenFeintApprovalScreen {
return NO;
}-(void)runIntroductionScene {
Introduction *introScene = [Introduction node];
[[Director sharedDirector] runWithScene:[ZoomFlipAngularTransition transitionWithDuration:1.5 introScene]];
}Posted 2 years ago # -
Seriously, just ask on the OF forum. Why are you pausing the director in dashboardWillAppear? This seems like it could cause the black screen like you experienced. I am still using 2.1 and I don't override any dashboard functions.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hi jd,
Yes, I've also emailed this problem to OF support, but no response yet. I'll post their response back on this thread when they get back to me.
You're absolutely right, I don't need to pause in the 'dashboardWillAppear' method so I've deleted this code but unfortunately that hasn't fixed the problem :(
Posted 2 years ago # -
Post your issue here: http://help.openfeint.com/discussions/problems. I'm not sure what email you sent to but I know they track issues posted in that forum.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I don't get it why you all think that pausing director is bad inside "dashboardWillAppear"? I am doing this all the time because OF is already slow because of bunch of UI elements, and keeping your game at full speed below is just wrong. Maybe you have static menus from which you call OF dashboard, but I often have animations in the menu, so pausing the director (and resuming afterward) is a must for me...
Posted 2 years ago # -
Pausing & resuming Director in the dashboardWillAppear / dashboardWillDisappear methods definitely does not cause a problem. Pretty sure that is what they recommend in their documentation. I wouldn't put this "[self runIntroductionScene];" in the dashboardWillDisappear, method though. Otherwise every time the user opens and closes the dashboard you will be trying to re-run your initial scene. You can move that into applicationDidFinishLaunching before you initialize OpenFeint. The scene will get paused when the OF dashboard is shown, and resumed when it is closed.
What is happening when you run your game? Try what I suggested above. If that does not work, comment out all the OF code and make sure it runs OK without it.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Hi SmallMike,
Doing what you suggested worked! Thank you so much for your help.
The only problem I have now is that when the OpenFeint startup screen appears my Introduction scene is not being paused, even though I am calling '[[Director sharedDirector] pause];' in my 'dashboardWillAppear' method?
Any ideas why?
Posted 2 years ago # -
dnsolo - Try putting the initializeWithProductKey at the end of your introscene. That should make sure they see your intro and then it will init. I haven't tested this but it should work.
Posted 2 years ago #
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