HI @richard - we're currently working on a feature that will handle this directly for brainCloud 5.9.

In the meantime, an interim approach would be to:

• Manage the Lives in a virtual currency.
• In the item catalog - you can indicate the currencies to award from the offer via the extra data JSON.
• And create a post-hook on PurchaseUserItem - calling a script to award the appropriate currencies - and immediately consume the new "item" that was purchased...

Just a thought...

[But yeah - we're going to have a more direct solution in 5.9 - which is currently targeted for November release.]

Paul.

Thanks for reporting this @devsleeper !

@devsleeper - we hope you like it!

Hi folks,

We are pleased to announce the Early Access availability of our new Visual Studio Code plug-in.
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=braincloud.vscode-bccfs

As you would expect, this plug-in enables developers to create and edit cloud code scripts directly from the comfort of their Visual Studio Code IDE.

Key capabilities:

• Connect to a Team; Switch Teams
• View all apps (that the developer has access to)
• View/edit/delete cloud code scripts of each app
• Create new scripts (script names must have an extension of .ccjs)
• Create new folders (folder names must be all lowercase)
• Supports Intellisense for brainCloud API
• Allows devs to edit the script metadata (example parameters, timeouts)

Integrating with Visual Studio Code enables developers to leverage the advanced capabilities of that IDE, such as refactoring and AI assistance! (Note - the AI suggestions aren't always right - but they will hopefully get better!)

Also note that the extension does not support running the scripts from the IDE. You still need the brainCloud Portal for that!

Key requirements:

• Public BaaS and/or Private instances supported
• For connecting to brainCloud Platform version 5.8 or higher
• Uses brainCloud SSO and our Builder API to establish an API connection.
• "Builder API Access" must be enabled from the Team > Setup > Team Info menu. Does NOT require Static API Keys.
• Developer must have write access to the App > Design > Cloud Code > Scripts page

Troubleshooting tips:

• If you get into a weird state, click on the brainCloud extension, expand the "Environment Info" section, and click "Reset Local State". Don't worry - it only affects the local IDE state. All your scripts on brainCloud are still saved - you'll need to log in again.
  

Anyway - give it a test run and let us know what you think!

Paul.

Cool. Thanks for the update @MattForemanDev !

Hi @MattForemanDev ,

Thank-you for the very detailed explanation of your situation. We'll review it with the devs.

Question - do you know if the id used to identify end-users is the same across both devices? i.e. I'm assuming that ideally, if someone logs into the game via Quest - and then later Rift - you'd want them both accessing the same account - with the same player progress, etc. - right?

Paul.

Cool - good to hear it. And once again: thanks for reporting it!

Hi @richard,

Hmm - yeah - I don't think that JSON is currently editable in the portal.

Paul.

Hi @richard,

Thats a good question. Often devs set up a set schedule for their tournaments - so the list of tournaments that could be active at any time is just "known".

[And to clarify - I assume that you are asking how you would know the active tournaments across all leaderboards. To get the state of tournaments on a specific leaderbord, you would use the GetTournamentStatus() call].

For more dynamic games - where the tournaments may be created dynamically (and programmatically) for liveops-related events - I don't think we have an API that easily lists them right now.

That said, we are looking into the best way to do this - because we'd actually like to add that sort of information to the new Calendar View (as introduced in 5.8). And of course, the use case you suggest is important too.

So we're actively looking at the best way to represent and query this - and will ensure there is API support for this as well.

So - rest assured - direct support for this use case is coming soon. We'll keep you posted!

Paul.

Hi @william ,

We do have plans to support the new receipts. The work has been assessed - but not scheduled yet. I would expect it to be early next year.

Thanks for asking!

Paul.

Hi,

Oculus authentication is supported.

The devs are currently gearing up to add IAP support for the Meta Horizon store.

I hope that helps!

Paul.

Hi @william,

We've deployed a patch for this. Can you re-test and let it know if it solved your problem?

Paul.

HI @william ,

The devs identified an "inconsistency" in the implementation of that bridge call - where, depending upon how a script was invoked, the property being consulted to return the results wasn't always set.

We're preparing a fix to patch in later today.

Thanks for reporting this!

Hi - clever use of getScriptName() - maybe too clever!

I'm passing this onto the devs. My guess is that bridge.getScriptName() isn't returning the full [or proper] path to the script.

We'll check it out and get back to you!

Hi folks,

In case you hadn't noticed, we have released brainCloud 5.8 to our Public BaaS. It will be made available to private licensees in the coming weeks.

brainCloud 5.8 has some great new features:

• Classroom Invites - for inviting and setting up a whole class of team members. It will even set up private apps for each student!
• App Calendar - a new calendar view that's great for Product Managers. View Sales Promotions & Redemption Campaigns - and keep track of platform launches, ad campaigns, store promotions, and more. The Calendar is going to be a central part of brainCloud - so stay tunes as we continue to add to it!
• Steam Ownership Checks - our AuthenticateSteam() call can now optionally validate that the user owns the game. Just turn on the option in the Steam settings on the App > Design > Core App Info > Application IDs page.
• IAP Improvements - we've added a new API that allows devs to provide more context for Apple and Google IAP purchases - which in turn allows devs to re-use the same price keys across multiple products in brainCloud. We felt your pain - we hope this helps!
• Push Optimizations - we're constantly monitoring and assessing the system for where we can make improvements - and this release we made significant gains in the Push Notification system - especially when sending notifications to all players or targeted segments.

Those are just some of the highlights of brainCloud 5.8. See the release notes for more info.

So - what do you think? Do you like what you see? Do you have a question? Did we fail to mention your favorite new feature?

Hit reply and let us know!

Paul & the brainCloud Team

Hi @devsleeper - please contact our support directly (via the support chat widget) to provide that information.

Note that I think Steam will only return friends that you have that also have the game.

Also note that Jason is correct - you don't have to use that call unless you wanted to make a local (braincloud) copy of those friend relationships.

Good points @antony .

Hi @william - thanks for the suggestion - I'll present it to the devs.

One note - when doing custom queries, MongoDB should automatically choose the appropriate index for it -- you shouldn't have to mention it in your query. Thus - adding a custom index for queries that you are finding slow SHOULD pseed them up... (thus your last feature is actually part of the system)

Hi folks,

We at brainCloud, like many of you, have been following the Stop Killing Games movement with interest.

I am interested in what you think of it?

We are all in a similar spot I suppose -- caught in the middle!

As gamers - we love games - and it's awful when a game you love (or never had a chance to love) gets shut down and becomes unavailable to play.

As game developers (trying to make a living at this for us and our families) - any handcuffs to how we all work to make a living feels like overreach.

I definitely respect what the movement is trying to do. That said, I don't think many of the influencers that have jumped on board appreciate the technical complexities involved. We are far from the days of simply self-hosting a multiplayer server from home.

That said - how the backend is built (and what it's used for) has an impact. Custom solutions are often single-purpose and heavy - and of course require full-time devops and software maintenance to keep things running. This costs mucho $$$.

But that's where services like brainCloud come in.

Unlike custom-developed server solutions, brainCloud costs are elastic - scaling with the player count. And there's $zero cost for personnel to operate and maintain the backend - as the brainCloud team takes care of all that.

Which means that games can be operated for a much longer period of time before studio's need to make the hard decision to shut them down.

Take Anthem, for example - a game reportedly still drawing 15K daily players, yet slated for shutdown. Obviously, it's a AAA game with custom tech, but it illustrates a point: many games still have life and loyal players, but not enough revenue to support full-time ops and maintenance teams.

But on brainCloud? No problem. Our elastic pricing model is designed to scale with your player base — from indie games with just a few thousand users (on plans starting at $15/month) to larger-scale titles with millions of monthly players. And because brainCloud handles the backend operations for you, there’s no need for dedicated DevOps/Maintenance teams. As player activity (and revenue) naturally declines over time, costs decrease as well, helping studios preserve the long tail without breaking the bank.

Which is to say that I think gamedevs are being responsible, and are aligned with the spirit of Stop Killing Games, by using elastic BaaS services like brainCloud for their backend. We know that your games are your babies - and you want to see them live on...

Which is why we are also investigating the possibility of offering Sunset plans for games -- so that gamedevs who find that their games no longer warrant active development can better afford to keep them up and running (at low player counts) for players to continue to enjoy.

Anyway - I'm interested to hear your thoughts!

Paul.

And... the upgrade is complete.

Hopefully a non-event for everyone!

Reach out to support if you see any weirdness!

Cheers,

Paul.