PROJECT: Port Unity games from Android/iOS using 'Data' dir

Hello there,

I've seen quite a lot of Unity games ported to the Playbook by now.
They all share the same thing in common. They have the same DLLs and executables. The only thing that changes is the Unity data files.

This gave me a great idea. What if I open an Android APK of a Unity game and move all the Data files in to a .bar?

I have been looking at Critter Escape because it has the smallest file size (70MB). If someone knows a free Unity app that I can post up, that would be awesome.

Here is what is contained inside Critter Escape.bar for Playbook/
Main dir:

Release dir:

Most importantly, the Data directory:


Now here is the Data dir for Critter Escape on Android:


So, I wonder, does anything stop us from porting Android games over to Playbook just by dropping the data over?
Anyone want to test this out or recommend a free Unity game we can try this with?

Edit: I checked out the iOS version and it seems to more closely match the Playbook one.

Hmm.. that's interesting.. Here's a list of Unity powered games on Android.

UNITY: Game List

Stupid Zombies is free and a simple game, might make the testing easier though.. if it works as you're suggesting, maybe the complexity of the game won't really matter.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...dzombies&hl=en

Bounce the Bunny looks a lot smaller (26MB) but it has some extra libraries (Boo.lang).
I'm just concerned with size because it takes a while to upload the game to Playbook and test it out.

wow thats a lot of unity games :D
i have access to all three platforms free apps... if you need help testing i would be happy to join :)

Very interesting observation, keep it up! :yes:

I wonder if something similar could be done with the Amiga Games in AppWorld, which are just a disk image and UAE wrapped in a .bar. Would it be possible and legal to extract the (free) emulator and use it for arbitrary programs?

I got this idea nearly a month ago. Didn't work :( Although QNXPlayer "looks" same on all games, it's not exactly the same. First - different file size in each PB game.

Originally Posted by xsacha

Bounce the Bunny looks a lot smaller (26MB) but it has some extra libraries (Boo.lang).
I'm just concerned with size because it takes a while to upload the game to Playbook and test it out.

Hi Xsacha I would like to recommend Temple Run Brave by Imangi Studios its 26 mb
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...VfZ29vZ2xlIl0.

But the Level data files in the screenshots are different sizes. Surely that means they're not the same?

Originally Posted by LimeTripBlog

Hi Xsacha I would like to recommend Temple Run Brave by Imangi Studios its 26 mb
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...VfZ29vZ2xlIl0.

That's not a free game.

Originally Posted by borceg

I got this idea nearly a month ago. Didn't work :( Although QNXPlayer "looks" same on all games, it's not exactly the same. First - different file size in each PB game.

It depends what libraries are used with Unity and also what version of Unity they use. I found two games with 100% identical QNXPlayers. They were interchangable. There's absolutely no reference to the actual game in the executable. So, I believe that they could work for any game.
What problems did you run in to?

Originally Posted by SifJar

But the Level data files in the screenshots are different sizes. Surely that means they're not the same?

Well yes that has worried me. However, the level files do not appear to be related to the platform. They are unity files. So I think they are different only because they were packaged differently (different time, project, settings, etc).

If I remember well, I used libs and qnxplayer from Conas crate or Running Fred(sue me, I used piracy :P). I added level assets from some Android app, ar.drone flight I think. Bar packaged fine, installed fine, main window open and closes immediately. I was too busy to run it through debugger to see what's the problem.

Send me some latest unity libs + qnxplayer by pm. I'm gonna try with my unity demo project again.

Edit: Tried with Running Freds libs and qndplayer and Critter Escape levels (android apk) - no luck. Game closes after launch

Edit 2: Snuggle truck, iOS and PB version 99.9999% identical structure (levels etc) does not work

Originally Posted by borceg

Edit: Tried with Running Freds libs and qndplayer and Critter Escape levels (android apk) - no luck. Game closes after launch

Well Critter Escape actually has a different QNXPlayer (16MB) compared to the 11MB of normal ones. So that's a bad example.

I realise you guys aren't getting the port working, so I was hoping we could debug it and find why it isn't working.

OK, so I found a good example. One I uploaded earlier, Probe the Humans. 23MB, free, Unity app. Has the regular 11MB QNXPlayer.
I'm going to try and port the iOS or Android one.


iOS vs Playbook files

iOS seems to have less level files but combined the files have the same filesize as on the Playbook.

The level 0 on the Playbook appears identical to the level 2 of the iOS. Although, there are specific resolution sizes of images mentioned. Perhaps, if required, someone could get creative and modify these. Or, find an Android device with the same resolution.

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OK, I will now track my progress. I have started with a blank Unity Playbook project. The only files are 1) generic QNXPlayer, 2) C#/Mono libraries, 3) images for splashscreen and 4) bar-descriptor.xml. These are entirely unrelated to the app.
In my Data directory I have a folder 'Managed' and a file 'DevAnalytics' (all the Playbooks apps have this, I'll just leave it here in case QNXPlayer looks for it).
1. First, I paste the entire contents of the iPad app's Data directory in to the Data directory of my Playbook app.
2. Next I will run my packaging script (just packs it with debug token) to create my Unity.bar.

3. Now I will attempt to run it on my Playbook. As expected, there was a problem.
4. Next up, we check the log to try and discover the issue.
5. Looks like it tried the wrong resolution and failed. The only issue is the 1024x600 resolution.

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