Surround — iOS client for OGS

Any plans to offering simple forward/back navigation on the moves on a game? It would make the app much more useful for correspondence games.

(Another possibility would be labeling the last 5 or so moves with the move numbers)

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Yes, I do have plan to implement that first, before full Analyze mode.

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Just installed via Testflight - awesome work

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If you are wondering what happened with the App Store release, I have written the story here:

In short, Apple rejected the app, and I don’t see any reasonable option to get around that.

Let me know if you have any idea on how to move this forward. I am currently quite exhausted with the whole process so I might be missing something…

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I get the feeling they’re either not reading your appeals, or they’re just idiots/asses that are writing the rejection.

I just don’t understand it.

Hey Khoa,

If I am reading the rule correctly, the exception for “reliance on a third party” is not referring to OGS, but to the SSO providers. Because OGS doesn’t rely on these providers for core site functionality, it doesn’t meet the exception.

So here’s something you might try: don’t use the OGS login screen at all. Instead, have the user log in with username and password, and don’t show the SSO options. It’s a sh**ty workaround, but might be a way to bypass this Apple SSO rule.


Edit: reading more carefully, I see you mentioned that:

  • Remove the third party social media login options: since the options are on OGS website, I will need to interfere with their page in the web view to do that, and if I do that then existing OGS users who created their accounts with those options will not be able to use my app.

Still, I think this is not a bad option. It is possible to add a username password even if you created the account with SSO, so people will have access to your app if they really want it.

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Just implement Sign in with Apple somehow: technically, I can still implement Sign in with Apple by introducing my own account system, then generate some username/password and use that to create an OGS account. However, this is a terrible user experience: later on if users want to use OGS on a web browser, either they will be unable to sign in (since there is no Sign in with Apple on OGS website), or I will have to create some confusing (and potentially unsecured) process to send them their username/password for OGS.

It makes me think about foxwq where they can create an account that can only be used on the devide that created it. I’m not saying that foxwq is a good example of UX or that creating accounts on OGS shouldn’t be negotiated with OGS… but it looks like a good compromise to me, or at least a temporary fix.

Thank you very much for all your support. I realized that I have become a bit too emotional when dealing with this issue, so I will be staying away from this project for a while to calm down, and hopefully when I get back to this later I will have some better idea on how to resolve it.

I didn’t know that this was possible, will explore it when I get back.

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rest well man :heart: thanks for your hard work

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That is understandable. You’ve put a lot of work into this only to be stopped by the gatekeepers of the App store. Thanks for your hard work, and I am wishing you and this app the best!

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Hi everyone,

I managed to reach someone who can help with the app review, it took a while but the app has been approved. You can download it for free on the App Store now:

Thank you very much for all your support during the beta testing and during the rough app review process. I plan to keep working on this app for a long time, so let me know if there is any feature you want to prioritize. :smile:

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Congratulations on coming through this trying ordeal… I would offer my hopes that it is your last, but as you are dealing with Apple, I know this would be futile :sweat_smile:

I wish you perseverance and joy in your endeavours :heart:

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Wooo! Congrats! Might have to steal my partner’s iPad to try it out :slight_smile:

Just curious, did you have to change anything about the app to get it through? Or did it just take some extra convincing?

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I didn’t have to change anything. I guess the app already complies with the guidelines, I just needed to keep appealing until it reached someone who understands the technicalities of the case.

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So frustrating when you are right all along! Well done for persevering.

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Thanks for the info. It is frustrating to hear that the reviewers don’t have a good grasp on the rules. Anyway, glad you got it through in the end!

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I hope this is just the happy beginning of a long story between you and the users of your app. Good luck in the future!

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Thanks! Whats the next step?

A tentative list:

  • Zen mode
  • Navigating back/forward on the moves in game
  • Viewing finished games
  • Profile
  • Puzzles
  • Learn to play Go
  • Tournaments and Ladders
  • Full Analyze mode
  • AI reviews

From my track records during the beta, the list might be changed a lot when I actually get to implementation though :sweat_smile:

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I have just released a small update (1.0.2) to support a recent change on OGS:

Thank you to everyone who reported this issue. A more technical detail can be found on the thread for Android app.

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