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DX13. Now what? And aren't UWP apps a walled garden (apps need to be signed unless you enable developer mode, which has all kinds of side effects, requires a M

by gant 10y ago

DX13. Now what? And aren't UWP apps a walled garden (apps need to be signed unless you enable developer mode, which has all kinds of side effects, requires a Microsoft account and can be revoked?)?

majewsky 10y ago
> DX13. Now what? Vulkan.
WorldMaker 10y ago
Apps can be sideloaded by default since last November. It takes a one-line PowerShell command and that's it (no Settings changes, nothing). They do need to be signed, but the signatures aren't much different than any prior "Authenticode" signing options: find a CA that sells code signing certificates and buy a certificate. (Certificates can be revoked by your CA, yes, but your CA doesn't have to be Microsoft.) If you are selling games on PC outside of Steam (MSI/NSIS/et al installers), you should already have code signing certificates and there's nothing really new there on that front. At some point (I don't recall if it will make it into the Anniversary Update or not), the install process for a UWP app won't even need the one line of PowerShell and will support just double-clicking the .appx package, and will have suitable UAC-like install prompts. Microsoft has already told Steam they should encourage UWP app installs, and supposedly the Play Anywhere stream of games from Microsoft in the next few months will also be sold via Steam as UWP installs under the hood as an option to game buyers that prefer Steam (but the expectation is that buying from Steam will not count for multi-platform cross-buy, as opposed to buying from the Windows Store). (Microsoft does provide to verified developer Microsoft accounts short term keys for developer testing, but you wouldn't want to use those for sideloading simply because they are so short term. The Windows Store also handles long term code signing for you at no additional cost ["in the cloud"], and yes that can be revoked if they kick your app out of the Store, but that shouldn't be surprising.) (Developer Mode doesn't really have "side effects" and I don't think you need a Microsoft Account to switch to Developer Mode, but I still wouldn't recommend it to non-technical friends.)

by gant 10y ago

DX13. Now what? And aren't UWP apps a walled garden (apps need to be signed unless you enable developer mode, which has all kinds of side effects, requires a Microsoft account and can be revoked?)?

majewsky 10y ago

> DX13. Now what? Vulkan.

WorldMaker 10y ago

Apps can be sideloaded by default since last November. It takes a one-line PowerShell command and that's it (no Settings changes, nothing). They do need to be signed, but the signatures aren't much different than any prior "Authenticode" signing options: find a CA that sells code signing certificates and buy a certificate. (Certificates can be revoked by your CA, yes, but your CA doesn't have to be Microsoft.) If you are selling games on PC outside of Steam (MSI/NSIS/et al installers), you should already have code signing certificates and there's nothing really new there on that front. At some point (I don't recall if it will make it into the Anniversary Update or not), the install process for a UWP app won't even need the one line of PowerShell and will support just double-clicking the .appx package, and will have suitable UAC-like install prompts. Microsoft has already told Steam they should encourage UWP app installs, and supposedly the Play Anywhere stream of games from Microsoft in the next few months will also be sold via Steam as UWP installs under the hood as an option to game buyers that prefer Steam (but the expectation is that buying from Steam will not count for multi-platform cross-buy, as opposed to buying from the Windows Store). (Microsoft does provide to verified developer Microsoft accounts short term keys for developer testing, but you wouldn't want to use those for sideloading simply because they are so short term. The Windows Store also handles long term code signing for you at no additional cost ["in the cloud"], and yes that can be revoked if they kick your app out of the Store, but that shouldn't be surprising.) (Developer Mode doesn't really have "side effects" and I don't think you need a Microsoft Account to switch to Developer Mode, but I still wouldn't recommend it to non-technical friends.)