Multiple versions of the same app (tablet vs phone etc)

fmakawafmakawa Member Posts: 565
in iPhone and Android Publishing

Hi all,
Is there a way to make GS or Google Play recognise 2 different versions of the same app so I can release slightly different version for tablets and phones? Can GS recognise the difference between tablet and phone? Or can I upload 2 different APK into Google Play under the same app and stipulate that one APK is for tablets and another for mobile?

Comments

  • SocksSocks London, UK.Member Posts: 12,822

    @fmakawa said:
    Can GS recognise the difference between tablet and phone?

    Yes, GameSalad can tell you what device your app is running on.

    If you look under > Devices > Platform, you will see the following list . . . .

    Region
    Language
    Name
    Version
    Device Model

    . . . use these to determine the model the app is running on.

  • fmakawafmakawa Member Posts: 565

    @Socks said:

    @fmakawa said:

    . . . use these to determine the model the app is running on.

    Isn't that only useful with the iPad/iPhone dichotomy? What about Android with a gazillion devices?

  • SocksSocks London, UK.Member Posts: 12,822

    @fmakawa said:

    @Socks said:

    @fmakawa said:

    . . . use these to determine the model the app is running on.

    Isn't that only useful with the iPad/iPhone dichotomy? What about Android with a gazillion devices?

    Your question is vague (to me at least) ?

  • fmakawafmakawa Member Posts: 565

    @Socks Using the device model to identify tablet or phone is only useful with iPhone and iPad is it not since there are only the two? For Android which its infinitely larger device pool I would not be able to easily identify device types and hence wont be able to render the appropriate format? No? I ask because I think for mobiles my app is better suited to displayed as a portrait and then for tablets as a landscape (with the appropriate content adjustments)

  • SocksSocks London, UK.Member Posts: 12,822
    edited November 2016

    @fmakawa said:
    @Socks Using the device model to identify tablet or phone is only useful with iPhone and iPad is it not since there are only the two?

    Not sure what you mean by "only useful", if you think it's 'only useful' then I'll take your word for it, that it's no good for your particular needs.

    P.S there are 33 iOS devices rather than 2 (if I understand what you are saying?)

    @fmakawa said:
    For Android which its infinitely larger device pool I would not be able to easily identify device types and hence wont be able to render the appropriate format?

    What is "the appropriate format" ?

    For me all that would matter when it comes to displaying a project would be the aspect ratio. (?)

    @fmakawa said:
    No? I ask because I think for mobiles my app is better suited to displayed as a portrait and then for tablets as a landscape (with the appropriate content adjustments)

    That seems odd, displaying an app on 'mobiles' (phones) in portrait would suggest they are more tall than they are wide - but then on tablets you are choosing the orientation that defeats this aspect ratio by displaying the app so that the screen is wider than it is tall ??

  • fmakawafmakawa Member Posts: 565

    @Sock>; @Socks said:

    P.S there are 33 iOS devices rather than 2 (if I understand what you are saying?)

    Wouldn't devices have iPad or iPhone in the device name? I was thinking of a contains function thereby grouping multiple devices under one umbrella. Hence 2 rather than 33. I suppose they could be using an alphanumeric names rather than a simple iPad and iPhone format.

    @fmakawa said:
    For Android which its infinitely larger device pool I would not be able to easily identify device types and hence wont be able to render the appropriate format?

    What is "the appropriate format" ?

    For me all that would matter when it comes to displaying a project would be the aspect ratio. (?)

    By appropriate I meant the tablet version of the game vs the mobile version of the game.

    That seems odd, displaying an app on 'mobiles' (phones) in portrait would suggest they are more tall than they are wide - but then on tablets you are choosing the orientation that defeats this aspect ratio by displaying the app so that the screen is wider than it is tall ??

    The differences in the orientation would be catered for be recoding the app and the displays. For example in the mobile version I wouldn't show the solution typed by the user already thereby saving space and giving more room for the keyboard/tiles for typing whilst in the table version since its bigger I can have both.

  • SocksSocks London, UK.Member Posts: 12,822

    @fmakawa said:
    Wouldn't devices have iPad or iPhone in the device name?

    Device name on an iOS device will always display "iPhone OS", even iPads, when iPads joined the iPhones in the Apple iOS lineup the OS name was never changed to reflect the newer iPads, so everything is called 'iPhone OS".

    The attribute you want is "Device model", this will tell you whether you have an iPad or an iPhone.

    @fmakawa said:
    I was thinking of a contains function thereby grouping multiple devices under one umbrella.

    Not sure what that means.

    @fmakawa said:
    Hence 2 rather than 33. I suppose they could be using an alphanumeric names rather than a simple iPad and iPhone format.

    Sorry, not sure what this means either !! Are you guessing this stuff ? I mean, are you simply guessing what identifier devices are using (i.e. alphanumeric or 'iPad' / 'iPhone') ? This is information is known and available.

    I'm not sure I'm being much help here, lol, your questions are confusing me for some reason . . . need more coffee !

  • fmakawafmakawa Member Posts: 565

    @Socks said:

    @fmakawa said:
    Wouldn't devices have iPad or iPhone in the device name?

    I was confusing Device Name and Device Model. Even then it wouldn't have helped since all of the devices use iPhone in the device name.

    When I said alphanumeric I meant like MC769 (iPad 2 variant). The problem with that is checking all the versions to verify which have been identified as tablet and which are phone. And whilst this is simple with iOS since there are fewer (even taking into consideration the many variants) it would be nigh on impossible to determine for Android since they are so many and constantly changing.

    So, I asked too if it were possible to upload 2 different APK into Google Play, a tablet variant and a phone variant. Much like in the Publishing platform I can choose between iOS Universal or just iPad or just iPhone.

    I wanted to do this because to make game player easier on the user I thought it best to differentiate the interface between devices

  • KevinCrossKevinCross London, UKMember Posts: 1,894

    While I can't answer your questions have you considered how much work it would be to keep two versions updated? I'm assuming you're kind of talking two or more versions of the GameSalad project file too? One for phone and one for tablets (hence the two different APK files instead of just one)

  • fmakawafmakawa Member Posts: 565

    @KevinCross said:
    While I can't answer your questions have you considered how much work it would be to keep two versions updated? I'm assuming you're kind of talking two or more versions of the GameSalad project file too? One for phone and one for tablets (hence the two different APK files instead of just one)

    No. I would keep one version and before publishing I would simply remove the scenes that were not relevant to whichever version I was publishing. It would make doing updates easier but it would still be a bit of a mare nonetheless.

  • ToqueToque Member Posts: 1,188

    I thought about making my game cannonball Pop seperate iPhone and iPad versions. I settled on stretch universal with modifications.

    For 200 downloads it was probably best.

  • fmakawafmakawa Member Posts: 565

    @Toque I'm having problem with Universal and I think I might have to change the layouts completely for the two different options hence the question. For iOS it easy enough to publish them differently but Google Play I have no clue

  • ToqueToque Member Posts: 1,188

    @fmakawa said:
    @Toque I'm having problem with Universal and I think I might have to change the layouts completely for the two different options hence the question. For iOS it easy enough to publish them differently but Google Play I have no clue

    Sorry can't help you there.

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