Back in 2011, we added iOS exporting to Stencyl, so that Stencyl games can be exported and published to the iOS App Store.
Exported apps are native, Objective-C apps. We aren’t using Adobe’s Flash-to-iOS exporter or 3rd party technologies like PhoneGap. You’re getting the real deal.
Subscription Model, Unlimited Free Trial
In a gist, you can develop and test your games for free.
When you're ready to publish to the App Store, you'll need to purchase a subcription. If you want priority support, that's also included in the subscription.
How to games get published?
When you decide to publish your game, Stencyl will automatically send it to our Mac cloud building service, which builds the project into an IPA (the file you send to Apple), and sends it back to you.
Although you still make the final submission, we spare you from much of the main in performing the builds.
Can non-Mac users publish iOS games?
Yes, but with some caveats. Because Stencyl outputs native apps, you can’t run them directly on a PC. Instead, you’ll test the games in Flash, which means, in most cases, the game will run identically minus iOS-specific features, such as Game Center.
With a Pro subscription, you can send your game to our servers, which will send the built game back to you so you can test it on your iOS device.
Whether this workflow is acceptable is a personal decision. About a third of the games made with Stencyl (Populate, Cloudy Bounce) were successfully developed this way.
System Requirements
iOS Developer License from Apple
Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Lion
iOS SDK 4 or 5
If you’re not on a Mac, you will only need the iOS Developer License from Apple. Why do we require the iOS SDK on Macs? Stencyl games run directly inside the iOS Simulator or on your iOS device.
The Workflow
The following is a basic, visual guide to the process for developing and publishing iOS games.
Build your game. Test it in the iOS Simulator or directly on your device.
On a PC?
Build your game. Test it in Flash. When you’re ready to test the game on your device, send the game to our server, which will convert it to a native Objective-C app. We’ll e-mail the game back to you, so you can install it and test it on your device.
Step 3 - Publish your Game (Subscribers Only)
3.1 Export to Flash
Export your game to Flash. Publish to a personal blog or a portal such as Kongregate or Newgrounds. A Flash game can generate leads for your “full” app, for example a demo version of your game.
3.2 Publish to the App Store
In order to publish your game to the App Store, you must submit the game to our servers from within Stencyl. These servers will automatically build the game and e-mail you a link to your game in IPA form.
Crash Course
The following is a video-form of our original crash course, adapted for Stencyl.
How to get Help
Stencylpedia Our official documentation. This section provides articles and videos covering the essentials.
Billing / Account Support (billing [at] stencyl.com)
If you have problems with your account, or run into any billing-related issues, this is the contact e-mail. Please do not use this e-mail to contact us about general support.
If you are interested in higher level support (e.g for a larger, commercial product), please contact us directly at partnerships [at] stencyl.com, and we’ll work something out.
The Future
What’s next for Stencyl platform as a whole on the iOS side of things?
In-App Purchases
Smart Ad Banner
Analytics
Built-In Browser
Show Keyboard
E-Mail Crash Reports
Get Current Time
Detect Language/Locale
And more!
Outside of the realm of iOS, we’ll roll out our Android and HTML5 exporters in 2012 and several significant refreshes of the toolset ( Stencyl 2.0, 2.5). We’ll continually be improving Stencyl to make it easier to use and more powerful at the same time.
Thanks for your interest in Stencyl. We look forward to seeing your game creations and helping you find the fun!
Last Updated: 2012-06-07 by Joe
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Disclaimer: The Stencyl Team does not actively monitor comments on articles. If you're seeking help for your game,
please ask a question on the forums. Thanks!
5 Comments
HannesRoets the snow leopord link takes you to the general xcode page where it lets you download for lion. Could you update the link please ? thanks in advance 05 months, 1 week ago
orangebaron I agree with hephaistos. I would like to be able to make an MMORPG. 09 months, 1 day ago
KelvinZhao Location services, notifications, social stuff pretty please~ 010 months, 2 weeks ago
hephaistos I hope in future have a "Massively Multiplayer Online Stencyl",I like MMORPG and I want to make a MMORPG game with the mmoStencylWorks. 01 year, 2 months ago
