Mac OSX [SOLVED] Apple Certificate

Could anyone who has built a GMS2 app for Mac OS, but have marketed it elsewhere from Apple's App Store please share any tips/experiences... I presume that doing this requires membership in Apple's Developer's program...?
I'm about 2 weeks out from launching my game and intend to make it available for both Mac OS and Windows.
thx
 

jeff300

Member
First, you need a code signing certificate from Apple, but you can use the free one for developers not shipping to the Apple Store.

Second, package up the compiled app. You can simply distribute a zip archive but I prefer making a disk image (dmg). There are plenty of tools to help you do this.

Third, upload your zip or dmg to any marketplace you like (Steam, itch.io, etc.) and/or your own web site. I do recommend spending some time making a decent looking developer and project page on the marketplace of your choice.

I personally distribute through my own web site and itch.io. I really like the itch.io platform and plan to release all my future projects there. I will stop distributing directly from my web site and simply link to my project page on itch.
 
First, you need a code signing certificate from Apple, but you can use the free one for developers not shipping to the Apple Store.

Second, package up the compiled app. You can simply distribute a zip archive but I prefer making a disk image (dmg). There are plenty of tools to help you do this.

Third, upload your zip or dmg to any marketplace you like (Steam, itch.io, etc.) and/or your own web site. I do recommend spending some time making a decent looking developer and project page on the marketplace of your choice.

I personally distribute through my own web site and itch.io. I really like the itch.io platform and plan to release all my future projects there. I will stop distributing directly from my web site and simply link to my project page on itch.
Thanks for the input. I'm now finding out that Apple requires have software notarized for anything to operate on MacOS 10.14 or newer. This involves making certain modifications within Xcode, then uploading to Apple's automatic "checker."
First, you need a code signing certificate from Apple, but you can use the free one for developers not shipping to the Apple Store.

Second, package up the compiled app. You can simply distribute a zip archive but I prefer making a disk image (dmg). There are plenty of tools to help you do this.

Third, upload your zip or dmg to any marketplace you like (Steam, itch.io, etc.) and/or your own web site. I do recommend spending some time making a decent looking developer and project page on the marketplace of your choice.

I personally distribute through my own web site and itch.io. I really like the itch.io platform and plan to release all my future projects there. I will stop distributing directly from my web site and simply link to my project page on itch.
Hey thanks, jef300. I'm having some difficulty with this process. I've acquired the appropriate certificate, but GMS2 doesn't seem to be able to "match" it, or access it. In my MacOS options, there is a field for entering, "Developer ID Application," but next to that, it reads, "Signing Identifier." I don't know which line of text or password or info belongs in this field because I can't figure out what the "Signing Identifier." I do have a 10-character ID that is associated with my Apple Developer Account and my Certificate, but that ID goes in the field above, "Team Identifier." I should not that I'm on a Mac trying to get this onto my desktop. Every time I press "Create Executable" I get the following message under Compile Errors:
error: Could not find matching certificate for Developer ID Application: ,please check your 'Signing Identifier' in your macOS Options.
 

jeff300

Member
Yeah, it isn't obvious what to put in the Signing Identifier field. You need to copy/paste the whole name of the certificate CONTAINER from the keychain. It should look like this:

Mac Developer: <your email address> (10 digit alphanumeric code)

Copy/paste that whole thing (including "Mac Developer:") in to the Signing Identifier field in macOS Options and it should work. When it comes time to sign the build, you'll be prompted, possibly twice, to enter the password for the signing key.
 
Yeh, I can't get it to work. My certificate reads as follows: Developer ID Application: my company name (10-digit alphanumeric). Bummer
 
It turned out that I had to do a merger between my personal Apple ID and my more newer-created Apple ID for Development program. When this issue was finally settled, the other was fixed.
 
Top