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discmage's avatar
discmage
Start Member
1 month ago
Solved

Start Dev Competition submission concerns...

I have just gone through the submission process and would like to clarify some things, if this is the wrong thread please tell me and I'll post as needed...

  • Do I need to be verified on the Meta Developer Dashboard (admin or team) to enter the competition?
    • I have submitted documentation twice and been rejected both times. The images given were very clear, but 'potential' reasons for rejection was clarity. 
  • Is there a way to make sure that I have given the right Invite URL and judges have access to the final result?
    • If I go to my invite URL, there is no link to the .apk, therefore I am not sure I have given the correct URL for the Release Channel build.

  • If the release candidate is not named 'Competition' would this fail as a submission. Does the release candidate have a different 'name' than the application itself, if so, where do I define this?
    • I think I have done this correctly, but the process is a little convoluted to submit an apk for just a competition (in my mind)...good practice for if/when I ever get to a legit release though!

  • Should I submit all the recommended visuals in the app on the Meta Developer Dashboard such as logos, screenshots, header images etc.
    • This is not the competition submission pages, this is in the actual app submission on the dashboard. I have added imagery in the Devpost competition entry.
app submission
meta horizon start
  • discmage's avatar
    discmage
    1 month ago

    OK, so did a search in the main docs category on DevPost. But the fact that RC is not Release channel actually confused me, I think you are right that it is Release candidate, and that's on me.

    I think you are right, make a new release channel called 'Competition' at the top right with the green button 'Create Release Channel' on 'the Meta Developer Dashboard > Distribution > Release Channels' page.

    https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/spatial-sdk/ts-mqdh-deploy-build#upload-build-to-release-channel

6 Replies

  • discmage's avatar
    discmage
    Start Member
    1 month ago

    I just saw that you can push a release to another channel, so if you uploaded a release to Alpha, Beta, RC, etc... you could just add the Competition Channel, and then push your build to the new channel.

    As I reuploaded it, I had to rebuild the application to increase the bundle number (as it found a build on my release channels with the same bundle number)...so pushing it to another channel would skip having to do this.

  • jiink's avatar
    jiink
    Start Member
    1 month ago

    I'm in the same boat as you. It's my first time doing anything in the Developer Hub and Developer Dashboard.

    > Do I need to be verified on the Meta Developer Dashboard (admin or team) to enter the competition?

    I think that's something you only need to worry about once you want to officially publish it on the store. I could be wrong though...

    > Is there a way to make sure that I have given the right Invite URL and judges have access to the final result?

    When I go to my entry's link, it redirects to an oculus.com/experiences/... page that looks like this:


    I know there's not an apk download but I think the key here is that "Join" button on the right. I think the idea is that distribution is handled through Meta's app testing distribution system instead of giving an APK directly.
    Another way I sorta-verified that the link is working is by visiting the link in an incongnito/private browser window, at which point I'm met with a login screen, which I think is a good sign.

     

    > If the release candidate is not named 'Competition' would this fail as a submission. Does the release candidate have a different 'name' than the application itself, if so, where do I define this?

    I'm not sure the "release candidate" is the right terminology. From what I understand you need to make a new "release channel" (via the green button in the top right corner of the picture below) and name it "Competition" and upload your apk into that. Here's what my developer dashboard looks like:


    This was tough for me to navigate too. BTW I think the "RC" channel stands for release candidate and is unrelated to the competition submission.

    > Should I submit all the recommended visuals in the app on the Meta Developer Dashboard ...

    I'm wondering the same thing. I'm struggling to even figure out how to do that. I noticed that after I got my release channel set up, the app's icon in my own headset got turned into the template icon.

    Take all my thoughts with some skepticism, I just thought I'd share something until someone more experienced has better answers. Thanks for asking these questions, these were all points I had trouble and doubts with too.

    P.S. I am having some major issues getting this reply to work, so I apologize in advance for any duplicate replies...

    • discmage's avatar
      discmage
      Start Member
      1 month ago

      Summary of it all for any others trying to find it.

      - Go to Meta Developer Dashboard > Distribution > Release Channels' page.
      - Make a new release channel called 'Competition' using the top right green button 'Create Release Channel'. This would be as well as the default RC, Alpha, Beta channels.
      - Download the Meta Developer Hub app (or use the Unity or Utility approaches linked below).
      - Click on the 'Competition' release channel, in the 'App Distribution' in the Meta Developer Hub app. You should see Upload there.

      You'll need to upload the .apk using Oculus Platform Utility, Unity, or the Meta Developer Hub app. Web uploads in the Meta Developer Dashboard has been deprecated.

    • discmage's avatar
      discmage
      Start Member
      1 month ago

      OK, so did a search in the main docs category on DevPost. But the fact that RC is not Release channel actually confused me, I think you are right that it is Release candidate, and that's on me.

      I think you are right, make a new release channel called 'Competition' at the top right with the green button 'Create Release Channel' on 'the Meta Developer Dashboard > Distribution > Release Channels' page.

      https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/spatial-sdk/ts-mqdh-deploy-build#upload-build-to-release-channel

    • discmage's avatar
      discmage
      Start Member
      1 month ago

      Appreciate your response! Good point on the Release channel thing, I will definitely look into that, your idea makes more sense...apart from the fact I did not see this approach on anything about submissions I think...I might just do both to be sure (and I guess the RC one is already done...so, yay?)

      Good luck with your entry!

  • discmage's avatar
    discmage
    Start Member
    1 month ago

    Ah, I just found the Events and Competitions channel...I will keep this here (and not double post) as I don't think I can delete posts. 

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