Distributing Mac Applications

Overview

Developing games for Mac OS X using Unreal Engine 3 comes with special requirements, workflow, and considerations that must be taken into account. This document explains how to set up your development environment for building games for Mac OS X, as well as general workflows for testing, packaging, and deploying an Unreal project that runs on Mac.

Packaging and Deploying to Mac

In order to play your game on a Mac, it must first be packaged into an app bundle that can then be deployed to a Mac.

Unreal Frontened is the control center for building games with Unreal Engine 3. It handles many tasks, such as compiling scripts, cooking packages, packaging games, etc. When it comes time to package up and deploy a game to a Mac, Unreal Frontend will handle the entire process.

For a reference to the Unreal Frontend application, see the Unreal Frontend page.

1. Click the configuration button:
   
   This opens the configuration settings dialog.
   
2. Make sure the settings are as follows:
   For Development:
   
   
   

   Game	Platform	Game Config	Script Config	Cook/Make Config
   UDKGame	MacOSX	Release_64	ReleaseScript	Shipping_32

   
   For Shipping:
   
   
   

   Game	Platform	Game Config	Script Config	Cook/Make Config
   UDKGame	MacOSX	Shipping_64	FinalReleaseScript	Shipping_32

   
   Click the OK button to save the settings.
3. The Mac Options section should now be visible if it was not previously. If you're preparing a build for Mac App Store, make sure the Packaging Mode is set to Mac App Store. Otherwise, set it to Normal.
   
4. Click the Settings... button to open Unreal Mac Configuration Wizard and set your game's name, icon, deployment destination path etc. For more information, see the MacPackager Tool page.
5. Next, you need to add all the maps that need to be packaged into the application. This can be done in the maps section:
   
   Click the Add... button. A window will open listing all existing maps in the current game project.
   
   Select all the maps in the list you want to add:
   
   Click the Add Selected Maps button to add the maps and close the window. The maps should now be listed in the maps list:
   
6. Make sure all the steps of the pipeline job are enabled by clicking each of the buttons shown below and toggling on the Step Enabled option in the menu for each step.
   
7. Click the Start button to begin the pipeline job. The graphic will display while the pipeline job is in progress. Once complete, the output window will show the results.
   
8. The packaged game is now ready. If you set deployment destination path to a shared folder on a Mac, you can unzip the game and it'll be ready to play.

Drag and Drop Installer

To make installing your app on the Mac platform easy for the end user, you can create a drag and drop installer. Instructions on how to set up this type of installer for your UDK game are provided on the Drag and Drop Mac Installer page.

Mac App Store support

You can use Unreal Frontend/MacPackager to prepare your game for submission to Mac App Store.

Requirements

You must be a registered Mac developer in order to develop games for Mac App Store using Unreal Engine 3. If you are not already registered as a Mac developer, you can register at the Mac Developer Program site.

Note: Apple charges $99/year to register as a developer.

Submitting Mac Games

In order to submit a Mac game to the Mac App Store, you need access to a Mac. Apple requires that applications are uploaded using their Application Loader utility which is only available for Mac OS X.

You will need the following applications installed on a Mac:

• Application Loader

Certificate

In order to submit an application to the Mac App Store, the application must first be signed using a 3rd Party Mac Developer Application certificate. You need to create a certificate using Apple's Developer Certificate Utility, then import the certificate using the Mac App Store Settings tab of the Unreal Mac Configuration Wizard.