Hey everybody- I'm putting the finishing touches on a universal game that'll launch in December. The rumors say iOS4.2 will be out in November, so the vast majority of the devices out there will be able to run an OS with Game Center. Granted, there are still lots of devices that will be running 3.x. For 3.x devices, I plan on using OpenFeint. For iOS4 devices, I'm currently using Game Center through OpenFeint, so your scores & achievements get sent to both places - and you can access either set of leaderboard/achievements from within the game. It'd be cleaner to support only Game Center for iOS4 devices and OpenFeint for 3.x devices though (less pop-ups, menu buttons, etc). If you had your choice, would you want your iOS4.x iPhone, iPod or iPad to use OpenFeint and Game Center simultaneously OR just Game Center? Whatcha think?
Personally I really dig Game Center for its simplicity, although both would more than likely satisfy more users IMO.
Thanks for the thoughts guys. There's no local score/achievement saving in GC like there is in OF - so if you're playing without an internet connection, those scores don't get submitted. I treat that as a "must have" feature - thoughts on that?
We have decided to go Game Center only. We love Plus+, but having one set of scoreboards/achievements will make it simpler for the end user (and us the developer!).
The thing about OF for me is that its C++ (last time I used it), its huge (file size wise), it takes up a shitton of memory annnnddd its not as awesome as GC.
Ok, how about this....suppose you play the game when you have OS 3.x and rack up some leaderboard/achievement stuff on OpenFeint. Then you decide to update to iOS4.2. Bam - no more OF? Pissed that you lose your stuff?
All future updates will be GC for 4.x and just local high scores for 3.x. But to be honest, we are thinking of dropping support for 3.x soon. It is getting too confusing keeping track of all the permutations, and being a two man outfit we need to maximise use of our time.
Very good point. Supporting 4.x, I already need AT LEAST 4 iPads to do the required testing for each release...and 4 iPhones/iPods. AT LEAST! There are still a big number of people running 3.x though. Some devices can never support 4.x. Tradeoffs.
I can see dropping 3.x support for new products though. Coding all the contingencies for each OS definitely adds to the development time, cost & pain. That won't make those users happy, but then again...I can't find many new games these days for my 286 running MS-DOS.
Good thoughts there...I swear I searched before I posted a new thread. Apparently my search skills are, umm, bad.
I don't care about OpenFeint, Game Center is better and future proof IMHO. Apple will add new features for it in iOS5 and so on.
What is it about GC that you like over OF? Is it the built-in nature of it? Not having to know another login? Something else? Thanks!