2

I have a turn based GameCenter game but do not receive push notifications when the other player has done their turn. Am I supposed to or will they only appear once the game is published?

enter image description here

Hamzah Malik
  • 2,540
  • 3
  • 28
  • 46
  • Simulator or device? I’ve generally found push notifications don’t work on the simulator. Also did you enable Game Center in both of the required places for the app on iTunes Connect? Both under Manage Game Center and under the Versions entry for the version you’re working on. – jbg Dec 30 '15 at 20:05
  • @JasperBryant-Greene device, I know you don't get them on simulator. I enabled game center in the app version in iTunes connect, what do you mean by under game center? I went to features>Game Center but there aren't any toggles. See screenshot in question – Hamzah Malik Dec 30 '15 at 20:08
  • There is an entry under Manage Game Center when you are viewing the app, and another entry when you are viewing a specific version of the app under Versions. – jbg Dec 30 '15 at 20:12
  • @JasperBryant-Greene have you seen my screenshot? Could you please specify exactly where – Hamzah Malik Dec 30 '15 at 20:13
  • I have the same issue with an unpublished game. Notifications where working just fine until like mid December or something for me, now they don't. – Philipp Schlösser Dec 31 '15 at 17:06
  • I'm having the same issue, I found this [thread](https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/23938) on the Apple developer forums that seems to be related. Additionally the `- player:receivedTurnEventForMatch:didBecomeActive:` event only fires after `- turnBasedMatchmakerViewController:didFindMatch:` is called. – knubie Jan 06 '16 at 20:12

1 Answers1

0

Game Center push notifications will work fine in unreleased apps. And by "fine," I mean "they are supposed to work, but may or may not because, well... that's how it is with Game Center."

First thing to look at: can you create a match, complete a turn, and send the match to another player, and the other player sees the match when they pull the list of matches from the server?

Second thing to look at: after the first player completes a turn, regardless of notifications, have both players open the Game Center app and check the "turns" button. Do they both see a turn for your app listed?

Third thing to look at: on both devices, check: Settings | Notifications | Game Center and see how they're configured.

The first two steps will confirm if you app is working and exchanging turns through game center. The third step will confirms how the devices handle notifications from game center.

I've found the game center push notifications to be generally reliable, but not 100%. There have been occasions when a turn notice just didn't show up. Even worse, the in-game event received by receivedTurnEventForMatch can take hours to show up... and sometimes goes days without working.

The one thing that always seems reliable, though, is saving the data to the server. So, if you poll the list of matches on player1's device, it reliably shows the currentParticipant changing as soon as player2 ends the turn. I've taken to frequently re-pulling the list of matches from the server and looking for matches that I've recently became active in. That's the only sure way I've found to notify users it's their turn (and even that requires opening the app)

Thunk
  • 4,099
  • 7
  • 28
  • 47
  • Yes all 3 steps confirmed. I have the game poll loadMatchData every 3 seconds while they have the match own and this way everything works perfectly. In the game center app, turns show up too – Hamzah Malik Dec 31 '15 at 10:01
  • hello @HamzahMalik i have a same problem when my app is in background the bagde update but dont show any notification of your turn i the notification center please suggest what i do thanks in advance – Manjit Singh Mar 01 '16 at 10:45
  • Like I said this seems to fix itself when you publish – Hamzah Malik Mar 01 '16 at 11:22