Renpytom
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Notarizing Mac Applications
🕑 Added 2019-09-27 22:01:53 +0000 UTCThe newest version of macOS, 10.15 Catalina, will require your games to be notarized by Apple before running. Because of this, game stores such as Steam will require your games to be notarized before they can be sold to macOS users.
This month's article explains how to get yourself set up with an Apple developer account, how to set your computer up with the keys needed to sign applications, and how to sign and notarize a Ren’Py game using a shell script I created for this purpose. While this requires access to a Mac (or a compatible system like a Hackintosh), it doesn’t require the use of Ren’Py after initial game creation, making it possible to have a trusted partner with a Mac and paid-up developer account create the notarized version for you.
This might be one of the more complex articles I’ll write here, and one of the least Ren’Py-centric. Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the beast - notarizing apps for macOS is complex. I’d like to thank everyone for their support, as it let me do a deep dive into this and keep macOS supported as a Ren’Py platform.
Comments
Xolf
How utterly tiresome. Really love the way they're reaching out to small developers and encouraging them to support the Mac platform (cough)...
Winter Wolves Games
right now no, because it's not "enforced" - but in January next year they should start doing it, and those methods won't work anymore. In theory. I'm waiting to see what happens...
Xolf
Having just been doing some testing, it seems notarization is currently NOT actually required in certain circumstances. Those circumstances can include: the game is downloaded via Steam (just tested with the free game 'this was for you.'), or if the zip file is transferred to the Mac by being downloaded on a PC and then copied to a USB stick which is then plugged into the Mac...
Renpytom
I haven't actually done the steam upload, but I think the right thing to upload is the contents of the .dmg file, which is the same thing as the .app this tool produces as a byproduct.
Obscurasoft
Thanks again for the instructions Tom! When notarizing the Steam version, would you upload the .zip you compile "for markets" into the notarization folder? (This is the build that gets uploaded to Steam). Or something else?
Crissa Kentavr
I have never heard of such a thing ever happening.
Winter Wolves Games
I already pay the $99/year membership for iOS, but I won't be supporting this madness. I don't have time to waste and even if Mac sales are only 6-7% it would still be worth it financially for me. But I won't do it. I don't want to encourage this madness. It's the first step to having Mac a closed system, next step? removing all apps they don't like? no thanks. Windows and Linux FTW :)
Belgerum
Thank you.
Renpytom
I've added the word 'paid' to clarify that.
Renpytom
I haven't heard of it, but I didn't look into that.
Belgerum
I won't notarize if it means I have to spend $99/year on a "Developer Program Membership". Most devs using renpy probably don't sell enough copies of their game on Mac (most gamers use Windows) to make that price worth it, especially if they don't own a machine running Mac OS to do the notarization. I appreciate your guide, and I just finished reading it, but I feel that you should probably mention that you need a membership closer to the beginning of the article, since people could potentially start following the guide, or perhaps even buy a mac to do notarization only to find out later that it's not financially worth the membership fee.
Forsaken Productions
Does Apple still take down apps they discover were made on a Hackintosh? I know the odds of being caught are slim but just wondered if that's still a thing.
