Stores - Guide

Overview

The purpose of this guide is for game makers to setup a complete store experience using Beamable.

This guide includes everything needed to use the Store Flow Feature Prefab in the "Beamable SDK for Unity". Or watch this video.

Video Series

Part 1 & 2

Part 3

Game Maker User Experience

There are 3 major parts to Store setup process. During development, the game maker's user experience is as follows:

Steps

Follow these steps to get started:

Note: The game maker is to choose either Step 1a or Step 1b. Not both.

Step 1a. Set up Unity IAP

This step assumes a dependency on Unity's UnityIAP solution. There is little or no custom code required for this solution.

A benefit here is fast development.

Step	Detail
1. Open the Unity Services Window	• Unity → Window → General → Services
2. Activate the Unity "IAP" Service	• Click the "On" button Note: After this step, continue per Step 2

Step 1b. Set up Custom IAP

This step assumes no dependency on Unity's UnityIAP solution. There is significant custom code required for this solution.

A benefit here is flexible development.

Step 2. Set up Platform

The following assumes a cross-platform mobile project. Adjust the steps according to the specific target platforms as desired.

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Gotchas

Here are hints to help explain some of the trickier concepts:

• These platform-specific instructions are subject to change because platform development is rapid.
• App Store SKU’s must be properly setup in the App Store(s) before the system will allow the player to complete a Hard Currency purchase.
• The Google Play Console requires an .apk (or .aab) to be uploaded that has billing permissions, before allowing the user to create in-app products. This should be enabled by default if you have the Unity IAP service enabled.

Step 3. Set up Beamable Content

For simplicity, some Beamable data structures may be omitted from this diagram.:

For the setup, objects of types Store, Listing, Item, and SKU are needed. In the following steps, one of each type of object is created.

Note: An Item is a resource archetype, meaning one can be represented in multiple Listings by using a Lookup Table an associated script. See Multiple Listings With Same Item below for more info.

To ease the process, the objects are created in reverse order; starting with the lowest-level concept: SKU.

Step	Detail
1. Open the Content Manager	• Unity → Window → Beamable → Open Content Manager
2. Create the "SKU" content	• Select the content type in the list • Press the "Create" button • Populate the content name
3. Configure the "SKU"	• Populate all fields
4. Create & Configure the "Item" content	• Select the content type in the list • Press the "Create" button • Populate the required fields
5. Create & Configure the "Listing" content	• Select the content type in the list • Press the "Create" button • Populate the required fields Note: Populating optional field too? See Advanced Listings below for more info
6. Create & Configure the "Store" content	• Select the content type in the list • Press the "Create" button • Populate the content name Note: Active Listing Limit defaults to 20 listings if not set
7. Select the "Shop Configuration"	• Unity → Window → Beamable → Open Toolbox • Click the "Config" Button
8. Open the "Shop" Configuration	• Populate all fields Note: See Configuration of Item Renderers below for more info
9. Save the Unity Project	• Unity → File → Save Project Best Practice: If you are working on a team, commit to version control in this step
10. Publish the content	• Press the "Publish" button in the Content Manager Window

Step 4a. Setup Beamable UI

Note: The game maker is to choose either Step 4a or Step 4b. Not both.

A benefit here is fast development.

Step 4b. Setup Custom UI

A benefit here is flexible development.

Advanced

This section contains any advanced configuration options and workflows.

Advanced Listings

The required fields are populated in the Create & Configure the "Listing" content step above.

Here are optional, advanced fields for greater Listing customization.

Scheduled Offers

Beamable allows you the ability to schedule particular offers in a store to be available to players starting at a particular date and ending on another date. For example, players will only see a Christmas special offer only during the week of Christmas.” Pairing this to the previously mentioned “SET TIME” cheat and you can be sure that what will be delivered to players is what you’d expect.

The required fields are populated in the Create & Configure the "Listing" content step above.

Here are optional, advanced fields to setup Scheduled Offers for a Listing.

Limited Time Offers

These are very similar to Scheduled Offers but these are player specific. For example, when a player first sees an offer, that player has N minutes to purchase before the offer is no longer available. This creates a sense of urgency to make sure to “get it before it’s too late!”

The required fields are populated in the Create & Configure the "Listing" content step above.

Here are optional, advanced fields to setup Limited Time Offers for a Listing.

Multiple Listings With Same Item

An Item can be singularly represented with an icon as shown above. For example, the data can represent exactly one "Hat".

However an Item can also be re-instanced multiple times for use in the same game project. For example, the data can represent a category of "Hats" with specific sub-types like "Normal Hat", "Magic Hat", and "Stylish Hat".

A Lookup Table allows for reuse of one Item archetype rather than create new Items for each Listing. The Lookup Table may define the name, behavior, icon, and more for each instance of the defined Item archetype.

To create one Item and for use in multiple Listings follow the steps below.

Step	Detail
1. Create the Lookup Table class file	• Create a new C# file • Copy from MyCustomHatLookupTable.cs shown below Note: This class derives from Unity's ScriptableObject
2. Create the Lookup Table asset file	• Unity → Asset → Create
3. Configure the Lookup Table asset file	• Populate all fields

Code

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Beamable SDK Examples

• The following example code is available for download at GitHub.com/Beamable_SDK_Examples

Here is the code for step #1 above. It is presented as inspiration, however the actual code needed will vary per the specific needs of the project.

using UnityEngine;
using Beamable;
using Beamable.Common;

namespace Beamable.Examples.Features.StoreFlow
{

  [System.Serializable]
  public struct HatLookupEntry
  {
    public string Name;
    public HatBehaviour Hat;
    public Sprite PreviewSprite;
  }
  
  [CreateAssetMenu(
    fileName = "MyCustomHatLookupTable", 
    menuName = "Beamable/Examples/Features/MyCustomHatLookupTable", 
    order = 0)]
  
  public class MyCustomHatLookupTable : ScriptableObject
  {
    public List<HatLookupEntry> Hats;

    public HatBehaviour GetHatPrefab(string name) => GetHatEntry(name).Hat;

    public HatLookupEntry GetHatEntry(string name) =>
      Hats.FirstOrDefault(entry => 
                          entry.Name.Equals(name,
                          StringComparison.CurrentCultureIgnoreCase));
  }
}

Configuration of Item Renderers

The ShopConfiguration asset file contains references for these renderers.

• ListingRenderer - This determines the rendering of each Listing UI within the overall Store UI. The default value is BasicListingRenderer.
• ObtainRenderer - This determines the rendering of each Item UI within the overall Listing UI. The default value is ObtainSummaryListRenderer.

The defaults are provided automatically for basic functionality. Override as needed for advanced use cases. The default object's source code is viewable and serves as the starting points for creating custom overrides.