Java Verified Experiences

[pjohnsen]

Finally some good news, the game has now passed QA on: N95, N85, N78, 6500 slide, N82, 6500 classic, 5610 XpressMusic, N95 8GB, and 6300
and still pending on 6280 and N72(I know this device isn't supported by Ovi, but my wife has been testing using this so I decided to list it anyway)

So now comes the waiting for it to be published.

I know the game runs on a number of other devices, even the JavaVerified device groups cover numerous more than what has passed now, but I would like to see the game actually show up in the store before adding those to the distribution.

I also have the Chinese version which hasn't been submitted yet. I am a bit unclear about the rules for overlapping distributions of content files, the publishing guide says that if device and one of country or language overlaps then the file won't show up in the store. I guess that means I should make a whole new content item for the Chinese version.

[pjohnsen]

So I noticed today that the Wyrmgard RPG actually showed up in the store. However in the publishing tool it still says published to 0/1 channel.

And now for the bad news: although trying most of the day I have still not been able to buy the game from the store I have tried directly opening Ovi client and selecting Buy .. this asks me to re-enter my password (btw. the UI for this is not good ... focus handling seems screwed up), but after that I just get: Unable to connect to server, please try again later.

I then tried the 'send to my phone' from a PC browser .. this sends an sms with a link to the app. This opens the browser, but then somehow redirects it to the Ovi Client which seems to get stuck in an endless 'Loading...' loop.

I haven't been able to buy any other apps. either so I don't think this is specific to my game.

Anyone else experiencing similar problems when trying to buy an app.?

I should mention that as I'm located in Denmark operator billing isn't supported, but shouldn't I be able to buy the game using credit card billing?

[pjohnsen]

Some updates:

The app. still says: published to 0/1 channels. This seems to have the consequence that report tab isn't working, ie. it shows that there are no published files.

I also tried searching for the app without luck. No matter what search term I try, the app. doesn't show up. The app is named 'Wyrmgard RPG', I've tried searching for 'wyrmgard', 'Wyrmgard', 'rpg', 'RPG', 'wyrmgard rpg', 'Wyrmgard RPG' - no luck.

The app does show up if I choose the Games/Adventure category. However I still haven't had any success when trying to buy the app. I always get: Unable to connect to server. Please try again, which is very disappointing How are we supposed to sell apps. if users get this too.

I've now removed the devices that aren't supported by Ovi from the distribution and added the others from the JavaVerified device groups. I guess it will take a while for this to go through QA. I can't help wonder why there are devices listed on the distribution tab, if selecting them results in the app. being prevented from proper publishing.

I have also submitted the Chinese localized version. I'm still uncertain what the situation is with Ovi in China, I never got any response from Nokia about this. The initial statement here on the forum (http://discussion.forum.nokia.com/fo...d.php?t=164601) neither listed China as supporting credit card payments nor as having only free content.

[pjohnsen]

So after updating the distribution I got this failure:

"Comments from the QA team:
All the devices listed for the platform S40 3rd Edition FP2 have "ASSUMED TO WORK”, “BRIEFLY TESTED” as compatibility. Each platform should have at least one device as “FULLY TESTED” as compatibility. Please refer to “Technical & Quality Requirements” document found from https://publish.ovi.com/help/content_providers (public, Qa in progress -> Qa failed)"

In that category I have 5300 and 6300 selected. 6300 had already passed ... Damn they have made this system bureaucratic

Anyway I set 6300 to fully tested and locked the file again.

Why on earth doesn't the system check this requirement automatically instead of wasting everyone's time with this.

[raoulj]

Good thread; thanks pjohnsen for documenting your experience (uphill struggle) with getting your game published. Don't give up!

It certainly explains why one platform is much more successful with their appstore than the other

Btw, I just tried searching for "wyrmgard" in Ovi Store mobile app and it didn't find anything

[pjohnsen]

Thanks, raoulj. I also still can't find it using search

Some good news though, the English version has now passed QA on all the additional devices (think it has now passed for about 50 devices). Hope this will be updated in the store during the next content push.

However I'm still unable to purchase the app. (or any other app.) Clicking on buy in the ovi client lets me re-enter my password and then always fails with: Unable to connect to server. I have tried this on both N82 and N85 with same result.

I have notified Nokia of this through the feedback form, but not heard anything back yet. If anyone else are experiencing similar behavior please let me now, e.g. by replying to this thread. I suspect it has something to do with the region I'm located in (Denmark), which isn't on the list of countries with operator billing .. at least not yet.

[pjohnsen]

I found this interesting blog post about how signing and JavaVerified has affected j2me development: http://javablog.co.uk/2007/08/09/how...-killing-j2me/

I sure hope this can be improved in the future

[grahamhughes]

Hmmm... it seems to me that JV has been the least of your problems, and that if Nokia had not chosen to abandon it in favour of their own process, your game might have been published some while ago (subject to the obvious problems with Ovi's deployment system, that is!!).

[mgroeber9110]

It seems that getting your application published is an adventure of epic proportions in its own right. Thanks for your very insightful blow-by-blow account.

I also tried searching for the app without luck. No matter what search term I try, the app. doesn't show up. The app is named 'Wyrmgard RPG', I've tried searching for 'wyrmgard', 'Wyrmgard', 'rpg', 'RPG', 'wyrmgard rpg', 'Wyrmgard RPG' - no luck.

I am able to find it with keyword "Wyrmgard", but only after setting the "mobile" in my profile to be an N78, whereas the default was a 5800. I have read some other posts by people who were fooled by this - Ovi Store only shows content available for the currently selected phone, and if you browse from the PC and the app you are looking for doesn't supporting whatever is the default model, you may not see it.

Now I wonder what people do who own more than one model?

ciao marcus

[pjohnsen]

@Graham: You are right. I actually had a very good experience with JV for this application However at my day job, we have lately been struggling with VeriSign not being supported in many Nokia devices. It's a vertical application with a lot more complicated setup (bluetooth and network connectivity) ... so it will be difficult to get through JV. Anyway I just came across the post and wanted to share it.

@marcus: Thanks, the game is not supported on S60 5th, so it makes sense you don't see it for 5800. Why on earth this is the default device on store.ovi.com instead of "any device" is beyond me (for me it seems to be that E71 is now the default, but that doesn't help). It makes it impossible to link to the application from other sites, I would think this would be an easy fix for Nokia. (I think proberts have a thread here with a workaround using an iframe). Search is partly working now, i.e. searching for the originally devices (6300, 6500, N78, N82, N95) works, but not for the newer added devices (e.g 5700) doesn't find the app.

I also have trouble purchasing the app (or any other app.). I've only got it working on N85 using 3G. Using WiFi or when testing on N82 I always get 'Unable to connect to server' after being asked to re-enter my password. So I must admit I don't think it's possible to sell any substantial amount with the current state of Ovi store.