Testing Your Game Center-Aware Game
To help you test your game, Apple provides a sandbox environment for Game Center. This sandbox environment duplicates the live functionality of Game Center, but is separate from the live servers. The sandbox allows you to test your Game Center features without making your game visible to regular users. You should thoroughly test your game in sandbox before submitting your game for approval.
Testing a Game Center-Aware Game
As a developer, you are required to create a separate Game Center account for Sandbox. At any given time, you must choose whether to log into Sandbox for testing, or into the live environment. Start by launching the Game Center app and logging out the currently authenticated player. After this, run your game or another Game Center-enabled game. Depending on how that app is distributed, you enter different credentials. If that app is provisioned for development, enter your test account information (logging you into the Sandbox). Otherwise, enter your live account information (logging you into the live environment. Table 11-1 shows which builds run in which environments.
Build | Audience | Game Center Environment |
|---|---|---|
Simulator build | Developer | Sandbox Environment |
Developer build | Developer | Sandbox Environment |
Ad-hoc distribution build | Beta Testers | Sandbox Environment |
Signed Distribution build | End Users | Live Environment |
The Sandbox does not allow sharing of information about what games are being played. This prevents your testers from revealing the existence of your game to other players.
Testing Your Game in Simulator
Leaderboards and achievements work the same way in Simulator as they do on a device. However, matchmaking invitations may not be sent or received while your game is running in Simulator.
© 2012 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Last updated: 2012-09-19)