Apple Updates App Store Guidelines - Lootboxes Must Disclose Odds, VPN Can't Violate local laws, etc - Sensationalist Headlines

[url]https://9to5mac.com/2017/12/20/app-store-guidelines-template-apps-vpns-more/[/url] [QUOTE]Apple has announced today that it is revising its App Store guidelines with a handful of notable changes. The latest version of the guidelines offers new details for template applications, cryptocurrency trading clients, VPNs, and more… Perhaps most notably, Apple has clarified its controversial language on template-based applications. It was reported earlier this month that the company was cracking down on apps generated using template services, but that decision ended up having a detrimental effect on many legitimate applications. Today’s updated App Store guidelines, however, offer more clarity. Apple now says that any apps built around a template or using a template service must be submitted by “the provider of the app’s content.” This means that if a local restaurant builds an app using a template, it must be the one that submits the app to the App Store – rather than the template service itself.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]The new App Store guidelines also offer a new section on VPN apps. Following its controversial removal of VPN apps in China earlier this year, Apple now says apps offering VPN services must not violate local laws and must be clear on what user data is collected: [QUOTE]5.4 VPN Apps Apps offering VPN services must utilize the NEVPNManager API and must make a clear declaration of what user data will be collected and how it will be used. VPN apps must not violate local laws, and if you choose to make your VPN app available in a territory that requires a VPN license you must provide your license information in the App Review Notes field.[/QUOTE][/QUOTE] [QUOTE]There’s also new language on apps that offer so-called “loot boxes,” with Apple now requiring developers to disclose odds of receiving prizes. Essentially, a loot box is when a game offers a random selection of “prizes” as an in-app purchase. While not yet super common in mobile games, the tactic is catching on quick (and with controversy) on desktop gaming – so this seems to be Apple working to get ahead of the curve. [QUOTE] Apps offering “loot boxes” or other mechanisms that provide randomized virtual items for purchase must disclose the odds of receiving each type of item to customers prior to purchase.[/QUOTE][/QUOTE] Fun Fact: Hearthstone is on iOS and cross-plays.

Not too big on the VPN thing

So VPN's can't circumvent website blockings by the government like pirates bay or access the dark web or? I'm confused as to what "local laws" mean Really hope the loot box odds start a trend and see Google implement a similar policy on their service

[quote]Apple now says that any apps built around a template or using a template service must be submitted by “the provider of the app’s content.” This means that if a local restaurant builds an app using a template, it must be the one that submits the app to the App Store – rather than the template service itself.[/quote] Makes me wonder how the fuck some of our apps are even on the store since they are basically templates where only company information, app skin, and the API endpoint changes. [editline]21st December 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=fruxodaily;52994595]So VPN's can't circumvent website blockings by the government like pirates bay or access the dark web or? I'm confused as to what "local laws" mean Really hope the loot box odds start a trend and see Google implement a similar policy on their service[/QUOTE] Asian games already tell you how fucked your chances of getting what you want are. We're talking 0.027% chances to get what you want when it costs ~$3 a pop.

Can't violate or can't be used to violate? Really something that should've been made clearer. [editline]now[/editline] Ehh guess the wording applies either way, at least to people in china. I don't think the VPN part will be a problem in the US, but I'm assuming data collection is probably mandatory there.

[QUOTE=Wii60;52994485]Fun Fact: Hearthstone is on iOS and cross-plays.[/QUOTE] something tells me that they'll probably just drop iOS support

[QUOTE=Wii60;52994485]Fun Fact: Hearthstone is on iOS and cross-plays.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Octopod;52994667]something tells me that they'll probably just drop iOS support[/QUOTE] Blizzard already had to disclose droprates in china like a year ago [url]http://hs.blizzard.cn/articles/20/9546[/url] [url]http://ow.blizzard.cn/article/news/486[/url] etc

[QUOTE=Octopod;52994667]something tells me that they'll probably just drop iOS support[/QUOTE] yeah and lose all that money? how did you even come to this conclusion?

Some bits of the VPN rules are good, like the data collection disclosure bit however, the local laws part is kinda counter-intuitive, isn't it? Many people use VPNs to bypass government censorship

[QUOTE=Octopod;52994667]something tells me that they'll probably just drop iOS support[/QUOTE] Probably not, there isn't really a problem with forcing them to disclose drop rates. Drop rates already have really accurate tracking from community sites for a lot of games, it's not a big deal.

[QUOTE=phygon;52995116]Probably not, there isn't really a problem with forcing them to disclose drop rates. Drop rates already have really accurate tracking from community sites for a lot of games, it's not a big deal.[/QUOTE] the problem isnt with disclosing droprates, its with not being able to tamper with them quietly in the future that I imagine issues arise. gacha games used to get whales by the dozen by disclosing stuff like "RATES RISEN FOR XYZ" and then raising X's rate by a fraction of the rest (see GBF monkeygate). While obviously there's no definitive proof of blizzard doing that, let's not forget that they're pursuing a predatory business model to begin with and ahve shown in the pass to be willing to attempt to bypass legislature (their first sttempt where they tried to change lootboxes in china to be buying some pitiful number of coins with a lootbox bonus as a "gift"). even with the results posted where they did so in china already, saying the avg crates before a legend, epic, etc is a far cry from actually posting individual drop rates, since, why yes, you MAY have a 1/13.5 chance to get a legendary, but your chance of getting this one in particular may be lower than the others but really, droprates arent where western gachas make the money anyway. the big reason that they can have such decent droprates compared to eastern lootbox garbage is because we see an influx of "recolors" taking over, ensuring that even if you pass the rng boundary to get x skin for y weapon/character, you have another chance it wont be the color or shader or quality of knife you wanted. this lets them raise rates to more acceptable levels, because we now have another chance to get screwed. So I think they'll cooperate with this and try to deflect complaints about lootboxes towards points like these and make you forget you're paying to have a chance of not being scammed, all the while boasting about how their rewards system has a chance to not reward you and how nice they are for implementing that in their games.

[QUOTE=Greenen72;52994715]Blizzard already had to disclose droprates in china like a year ago [url]http://hs.blizzard.cn/articles/20/9546[/url] [url]http://ow.blizzard.cn/article/news/486[/url] etc[/QUOTE] Hearthstone is region-locked and they could of changed the drop rates for one region while leaving the rest at a different drop-rate. now they have to disclose the drop rate for the american and european game

[QUOTE=FurrehFaux;52994619]Can't violate or can't be used to violate? Really something that should've been made clearer. [editline]now[/editline] Ehh guess the wording applies either way, at least to people in china. I don't think the VPN part will be a problem in the US, but I'm assuming data collection is probably mandatory there.[/QUOTE] A lot of nations have very restrictive laws in regards to VPNs. For instance Russia.

[QUOTE=Greenen72;52994715]Blizzard already had to disclose droprates in china like a year ago [url]http://hs.blizzard.cn/articles/20/9546[/url] [url]http://ow.blizzard.cn/article/news/486[/url] etc[/QUOTE] The thing that gets me with those stats and the whole "disclose chance" thing even though it states an average or % chance you could effectively make a loot box system that removes the RNG side and will quite literally only give you one legendary per X boxes instead of rolling dice which will still be valid under the data revealing rules. You could even be like most electronic gambling machines, have such an infinitesimally small chance to start with that slowly rises its effectively giving the user no chance to get the item until conditions like opening a certain number of boxes are met. In the end you can still bring that down to a % chance to get something, but it isn't really a % chance at all until you meet the conditions they listed there such as '1 in 10 boxes' but if you only open 9 your chance is effectively 0%