Windows 8 App Signing

jkanalakisjkanalakis Member, PRO Posts: 49
edited October 2012 in Working with GS (PC)
I've created a Windows 8 app, uploaded it, built it. When I click the online "start the app the signing process" in the publisher Web page, GameSalad starts up, but nothing happens. I'm assuming that GameSalad is trying to sign the Windows 8 app, but is failing. When I download the .zip package, it contains an .appxupload file and another .zip file with additional files. It looks like (from here) I need to sign the Windows 8 app myself, but I don't have a certificate to sign with. Are there any notes or instructions for getting a Windows 8 game to be signed and ready to run on a Windows 8 computer?

John K.

Comments

  • jkanalakisjkanalakis Member, PRO Posts: 49
    Found what I was looking for. Below are the details for anyone else interested.

    Signing and Testing a Windows 8 game...

    Prerequisites
    • Windows 8 SDK
    (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/hh852363.aspx)
    • Visual Studio 2012 Express or Professional installed
    (http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/eng/products/visual-studio-
    express-for-windows-8#product-express-windows-details)

    Setup
    • Download the App-­‐Signer zip file, available at
    (http://gs.downloadables.s3.amazonaws.com/AppSigner0.10.0.zip)
    • Extract to the directory of your choice (we recommend your Documents folder)
    • Go to Directory that the App Signer was extracted into
    • Right Click AppSigner.exe and select Send to > Desktop Create Shortcut
    • Right Click Shortcut and select Properties
    • Go to Compatibility Tab and select the Run as Administrator (bottom of window)
    • Apply > OK

    Usage
    • Double Click to Run Program
    • App Path ‐ Browse to the published APPX file that you desire to sign
    • Publisher ID ‐ This is the Publisher ID that was used during publishing
    • Key Name ‐ This can be anything that you desire. Ideal use case is to enter in the name of the Application without spaces.
    • Click Sign App
    • You are now ready to Side Load your game for ad‐hoc testing

    To Side Load for Testing
    • Browse to directory that has the signed APPX
    • Right Click the Add-AppDevPackage.ps1 and choose Run in Power Shell
    • Follow the prompts in Power Shell

    ◦ NOTE If this is the first time that you are side loading an application for testing, you will be prompted to Acquire a Developer License. The Account that you use to sign in must be a Microsoft Live account. Once you are signed in, continue following the prompts.

    ◦ NOTE If the version was not increased during publishing, and you have previously installed a version, you will need to uninstall the existing version prior to installing.

    • Once the app has been installed, proceed to the Windows Start Screen and click the icon for your test application
  • SlickZeroSlickZero Houston, TexasMember, Sous Chef Posts: 2,870
    @jkanalakis - Thank you for pulling all this information together and putting it in one concise post. This should help a lot of people. You rock! - *guitar solo*
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  • mintmomegmintmomeg Member, PRO Posts: 261
    edited October 2012
    HELP PLEASE I follow step till right clicking on Add-AppxDevPackage.ps1 then powershell pop up and then close after 1 sec (It said Add-AppxDevPackage is not command)
  • jonmulcahyjonmulcahy Member, Sous Chef Posts: 10,408
    HELP PLEASE I follow step till right clicking on Add-AppxDevPackage.ps1 then powershell pop up and then close after 1 sec (It said Add-AppxDevPackage is not command)
    your best bet is to contact microsoft on this one, thats not something I've seen before, but sounds like you could be missing a prerequisite.

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  • mintmomegmintmomeg Member, PRO Posts: 261
    Thanks Jonmulcahy It said " Add-AppDevPackage.ps1 file is located, an error message that the script file doesn't exist might appear." and I found that solution "To work around the access issue, copy the contents of the output folder to your local machine before you run the script... " but my question is how to copy contents of output folder to local machine
  • beefy_clyrobeefy_clyro Member Posts: 5,390
    I had major problems signing, I've found i had to copy the .appx file to the desktop of the windows 8 machine, then run the signer, take the file and certificate, put it back in the folder and then run the powershell
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  • mintmomegmintmomeg Member, PRO Posts: 261
    @beefy_clyro thanks but I dont have problem signing but I have problem after I run powershell and I said like I set some path not correct so I cannot run Add-AppDevPackage.ps1 I saw some sugguest that I need to rund this on local machine but I dont know how
  • SlowboySlowboy Member, PRO Posts: 329
    Hi Chaps, I'm not getting as far as you - when running AppSigner it falls over complaining that it "Could not find file 'countwinpaidCertificate.cer'".
    countwinpaid is what I entered as the Key Name, as per the instructions.
    Any guesses?
    Cheers
  • SlowboySlowboy Member, PRO Posts: 329
    Hmm, got past that ( I was putting the CN= into Appsigner, stoopid! ) , but now it's still complaining soon after that it can't find xxxxxxxPFX.pfx.
    ???
  • donganhdonganh Member Posts: 4
    The following certificate was selected:
    Issued to: CF76BFD4-878A-4735-B958-C0E5ECC8401C
    Issued by: CF76BFD4-878A-4735-B958-C0E5ECC8401C
    Expires: Sat Dec 31 15:59:59 2039
    SHA1 hash: 7AEFCAECE268F9CB0BB8A3109ACCB7BB5514F237

    Done Adding Additional Store
    SignTool Error: An unexpected internal error has occurred.
    Error information: "Error: SignerSign() failed." (-2147024885/0x8007000b)
    I found this error when sign app. Anybody help?
  • jonmulcahyjonmulcahy Member, Sous Chef Posts: 10,408
    Make sure the publisher ID you inputted on the website matches what you put in the signing tool.

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  • WingmanappsWingmanapps Member Posts: 458
    Same problem with the pfx files missing here, did anyone solve this? I have a pkv file
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  • donganhdonganh Member Posts: 4
    Thank you! I passed it!
  • greenrhynogreenrhyno Member, PRO Posts: 152
    I kept getting a disk error when trying to sign and one thing I learned by looking at the console window is that your path to the .appx file CAN NOT have any spaces whatsoever or the signer will not be able to find the .appx file to sign. I had a space in the folder for the 2 word name of my game and the console would get hung up at the space and not go any further. Hope this helps someone. I was frustrated, took a break to watch "The Walking Dead" and then when I came back I found that problem. It's always the zombies that get my brain working again...
  • richiconrichicon Member, PRO Posts: 55
    So - from the above info you can ONLY submit/sign a Windows 8 App using a Windows computer?

    I'm currently trying to generate on a Mac but get a "Could not find Bundle name in plist" error
  • jonmulcahyjonmulcahy Member, Sous Chef Posts: 10,408
    So - from the above info you can ONLY submit/sign a Windows 8 App using a Windows computer?

    I'm currently trying to generate on a Mac but get a "Could not find Bundle name in plist" error
    you only need a windows 8 computer to test your app, you can build and submit using a mac. one change is that you don't sign windows 8 apps, even though the status window has a sign link. after generating your app:

    image

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  • ColorplayGamesColorplayGames PRO Posts: 69
    edited April 2013
    I'm a bit confused about the Windows testing process - do I need a developer account to be able to simply test a build on my PC? I'd like to see if my game even remotely works before purchasing a dev account if possible :)
  • richiconrichicon Member, PRO Posts: 55
    @jonmulcahy - You're a star. Thank you :)
  • atxryanatxryan Member, Microsoft Team Posts: 117
    I'm a bit confused about the Windows testing process - do I need a developer account to be able to simply test a build on my PC? I'd like to see if my game even remotely works before purchasing a dev account if possible :)
    You do not need to have an active developer account in the Windows Store to test your app. I.e. you don't have to pay the registration fee before testing.

    You *do* need to have a developer license on that machine before you can test. This is free. Check out this article for information on dev licenses: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/Hh974578.aspx. When you run the AppSigner tool from GS, one of the steps is essentially getting a developer license from command prompt. This license is used to sign your app for sideloading: http://ryanjoy.com/2013/01/sideloading-a-windows-8-app-onto-a-surface/.
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  • eschwartzeschwartz Member, PRO Posts: 22

    Because I'm working between several environments, Windows and Mac development for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, etc. deployment I tended to store all of my project files on a file server. The Windows APP Signer NO WORKIE that way. I absolutely had to move the download folder from Game Salad to my Desktop along with the App Signer folder and run App Signer AS ADMINISTRATOR. I had to bring the APPX file onto the desktop by itself. Once everything was on my desktop it signed okay (creating my Certificate file). I had to move the Cert and APPX back to the downloaded folder and right click on the PSD1 file and run with powershell. I renewed my developer license and answered all of the scary question it asked (saying Yes to all ;oP . )

    It was then installed and I pinned it to the start menu and played. Worked like a champ.

    That said, and yes it seemed far more complicated than I think it should be, the game had some wonky behavior. I developed it on the MAC for iPhone and iPad. Android devices seem to work well (no major anomalies). But Windows is quite a bit off. The Random function seems busted (for my particle affect they always go in the same direction).

    So, it seems the Windows side is still a bit away from product level. :(

    I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO USE THE WINDOWS CREATOR SHOULD I?

    Looking forward to it catching up to Mac and Android though.

    Enjoy,

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