Google Play OBB downloader extension disapeared from the Asset Store

I downloaded this one last month and now seems to be have been pulled out:

http://u3d.as/content/unity-technologies/google-play-obb-downloader/2Qq

Any alternate download URL?

 

I was also wondering about this, as it seems to be the only extension that deals with obb downloads, and even the unity documentation refers to this plugin that no longer seems to exist?

 

I was just about to start on a split binary this morning, and the plug-in is gone. Anyone care to share a link to the previous version of the plug-in, or perhaps share some good news that the 50MB limit is being lifted?

Thanks!

 

it's been days and still no1 at unity is mentioning this.

at least tell us if it's gone for good or you're making changes to it.

 

This plugin had terrible ratings, and few ppl mentioned in comments that it was not working with Unity 4+(Didn't use it, so can't confirm). So, I also interested in this plug-in..

 

You can use asset bundle instead of that plugin

 

yep. i've used bundles before (hosting them on my own server).
but how can i host the bundles and then retrieve them from the google play server?
i mean, how do i get a hold of the url link ?

 

That plugin was specifically for downloading the OBB from Google's servers if it wasn't detected on device, so you can't really use bundles instead.

You don't really need that plugin anymore either, I believe originally Google stated that an app must be able to fetch it's own expansion file if it was not present but that may not be the case anymore.

With the Split Application Binary option you don't need to do much to get OBB's working in your Android app these days.

 

wow, great news! i'm going to try this asap!

 

yes. it now works automatically!

thank you very much!

 

i checked google's documentation and it still says you are required to have a backup download mechanism for cases where google couldn't finish downloading it or if say the user deleted the obb file. if you could please point me to where you are reading that you don't need to include your own downloader i would very much appreciate it.

 

I didn't read it anywhere. In my post I said they may have changed that requirement since Unity have pulled the asset.

I will try and find the last version Unity uploaded, I last used it with Unity 4.2.2 and it was fine.

 

Well it's back in the asset store but not updated since May 2012 and all the reviews say it's broken (with lots of upvotes).

Here goes nothing...

 

Well it worked, but not without significant effort. Here are some issues I encountered along the way:

1. The plugin does not place its resources in good places. A some things are stuck into the root of your project, and others into the root of Plugins/Android, sometimes overwriting anything you might already have there. AndroidManafest.xml is placed directly into the Android folder, overwriting anything you may already have there.

2. The plugin requires restructuring your project so that you have a loading scene that checks to see if anything needs to be downloaded. As a side effect, whatever you've set for your splash screen doesn't stay up since the loading scene is loaded so quickly. You'll have to display your own loading screen in this scene instead.

3. Uploading the expansion files to Google Play is relatively easy, but it can take up to 6 hours for it to actually start working afterwards. In my experience it was closer to 2 hours. This makes testing the process very frustrating.

4. The default AndroidManafest settings cause the download to restart every time you rotate your device. You'll need to modify them to lock the downloader activity at your chosen orientation.

5. The example downloader script is alright as a testing tool, but don't use it in your game. Instead, use the one provided by Muckel here: http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/not-possible-to-upload-expansion-obb-files-to-google-play.208869/

6. Make sure to use # preprocessor directives to skip the plugin related code if you're in editor or not on an Android device.

7. Obb files from previous versions are not removed by default, likely increasing the chances that people will uninstall your app once their device runs low on space. It should be possible to write some code to delete them though.

 

most of those aren't exactly issues with the store asset but with the obb system itself.

 

I suffered with this issue for a while as well but it turns out the solution is MUCH simpler than you would think. For starters, the Google Play OBB downloader plugin is not needed to upload a game larger than 50mb.

Here is what you must do:

1. Check the Split Application Option and build the app

2. After the app has finished building, you must rename both the .APK file and .OBB file. The names must match like below:

-example APK name: (com.YourCompanyName.AppName.apk)
-example OBB name: (main.1.com.YourCompanyName.AppName.obb) The number 1 needs to match your build version. So if you are uploading build 4 your .OBB file will have to be named main.4.com and so on.

3. Upload the .APK file to Google Play. After the APK uploads you should be given the option to upload extra data. Keep in mind that the data needs to match the APK or else it will not connect.

4. After uploading the .OBB the summary screen should now show what your apps final file size is.

After following these steps, the app and extra data should now be uploaded correctly. Now when someone downloads your app, the extra data will be downloaded along with it automatically. Hopefully this helps.

 

@LostCityGames

Some devices do not support this and implementing the OBB downloader is required. Here's what Google says:

(Emphasis added) (http://developer.android.com/google/play/expansion-files.html)

What they mean by "in some cases" I don't know, but at least for me it's not worth taking the chance that a bunch of users will leave bad reviews then it doesn't work for them.

I did however implement analytics to tell us if and when the OBB downloader does run, so once our game is released we'll see if it was needed after all or not.

 

i heard there was something about copyright issue and they must remove it from the store. i am using an alternative downloader at apknite. same functioning but not as convient, but to be honest i dont find better choice beside this