gramps
f189c5e328
The partner dashboard offers exactly one download because there is only one: the SDK zip carries the runtime (steam_api64.dll) and the release tooling (sdk/tools/ContentBuilder with steamcmd.exe for Windows and steamcmd.sh for Linux/macOS, plus the app_build and depot_build VDF templates). Verified against the zip rather than assumed. scripts/steam-sdk.sh gains --contentbuilder, opt-in because it is 27 MB of binaries that only the uploading machine needs. Distribution.md §2 now opens with that fact — there is no separate ContentBuilder download to hunt for — plus a reference table of the pages that actually get used: SteamPipe upload, DLC setup, BIsDlcInstalled, store artwork sizes, Coming Soon window, the Wallet rule, recurring subs, partner support and Steamworks.NET.
141 lines
8.4 KiB
Markdown
141 lines
8.4 KiB
Markdown
# Distribution & release mechanics
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How the build becomes an install on someone's PC. **Policy — prices, entitlement, why Steam is the
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only channel, support — is [`docs/ai/commercial.md`](docs/ai/commercial.md).** This file is the how.
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> Superseded twice on 2026-10-31. The 736-line Polar/MSIX/obfuscation plan is in
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> `git log -- Distribution.md`; the zip-plus-winget plan written earlier the same day is in the
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> same place. The reasoning that survives lives in `commercial.md` and `docs/ai/decisions.md`.
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## 1. The artifact
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A self-contained win-x64 publish plus the bundled `ffmpeg\` folder, uploaded to a Steam depot. No
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installer, no admin rights, no zip for anyone to mirror.
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```bash
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dotnet publish ytLive.csproj -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true \
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-p:PublishSingleFile=true \
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-p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true \
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-p:EnableCompressionInSingleFile=true \
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-p:PublishReadyToRun=true -o artifacts/steam-stage
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```
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- **`PublishTrimmed` stays OFF.** Trimming breaks WPF's XAML reflection (`Binding`, `DataTemplate`,
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`StaticResource`). Expect ~110–150 MB in the depot; that is the cost of "no .NET install".
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- **ffmpeg stays outside the exe** — `ffmpeg\` beside it (the app's locator contract, see
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[`output.md`](output.md) → "FFmpeg locator").
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- **`steam_api64.dll` ships beside the exe** and is loaded at startup; without it the app cannot
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read DLC ownership. Its absence must degrade to the free profile, never to a crash.
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- **WebView2 is the one machine dependency.** Valve's Common Redistributables configure the
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Evergreen bootstrapper as a prerequisite, so the depot declares it instead of us shipping it.
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- **`AssemblyName` is `LlamaCasty`** (renamed 2026-11-01, before the first depot because
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Steamworks warns about renaming a live exe) → the artifact is `LlamaCasty.exe` plus its
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`ffmpeg\` folder. `scripts/publish.sh` stages both and refuses to finish if either is missing.
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- **⛔ `ExcludeFromSingleFile="true"` on the ffmpeg content.** Without it, `PublishSingleFile` +
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`IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract` swallow the libav\*.dll family **into the exe** — a
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182 MB binary with no `ffmpeg\` folder beside it, so the locator finds nothing and every stream
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fails at runtime. The publish output is ~257 MB: 127 MB exe + 129 MB ffmpeg.
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- **Portable mode** (`portable.txt` → `.\data\`) survives as a feature for a copied install; it is
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not a delivery vector.
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## 2. Steamworks setup, once
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**The SDK zip is the only download.** It is ~24 MB and contains the runtime
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(`sdk/redistributable_bin/win64/steam_api64.dll`) *and* the release tooling
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(`sdk/tools/ContentBuilder/` → `steamcmd.exe` for Windows, `steamcmd.sh` for Linux/macOS, plus the
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`app_build_*.vdf` / `depot_build_*.vdf` templates). There is no separate "ContentBuilder download"
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on the partner dashboard — the dashboard's Downloads page only re-offers the SDK.
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**Reference links, so nobody hunts again:**
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| What | Where |
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| SDK zip (sign in to partner first) | `partner.steamgames.com/downloads/steamworks_sdk.zip` |
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| Docs home | `partner.steamgames.com/doc/home` |
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| SteamPipe upload (steamcmd + VDF fields) | `partner.steamgames.com/doc/sdk/uploading` |
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| DLC configuration | `partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/application/dlc` |
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| `BIsDlcInstalled` | `partner.steamgames.com/doc/api/ISteamApps` |
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| Store artwork sizes | `partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/assets/standard` |
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| Coming Soon / 2-week public window | `partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/coming_soon` |
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| Wallet rule (in-app purchases) | `partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/microtransactions` |
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| Recurring subscriptions | `partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/pricing/subscriptions` |
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| Partner support | `help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithPublishing` |
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| Steamworks.NET (managed wrapper) | `nuget.org/packages/Steamworks.NET` |
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1. **Steamworks account** → onboarding (NDA, identity, company details, tax interview, payout bank,
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then the **$100 Steam Direct fee** per app). The store page cannot be configured before the fee.
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2. **App IDs.** One **base app** (free) and one **DLC app** (the lifetime Pro). Note both numbers:
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the DLC app ID is what the app passes to `BIsDlcInstalled`.
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3. **Depot.** One depot holding the publish output; the base app and the DLC share the install
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directory, and the DLC package grants no files of its own — it is entitlement only.
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4. **Steamworks SDK.** `./scripts/steam-sdk.sh ~/Downloads/steamworks_sdk_165.zip` extracts
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`steam_api64.dll` from `sdk/redistributable_bin/win64/` into `steam/` (gitignored) and stages
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`steam_appid.txt` = 480 — Valve's Spacewar app, so `SteamAPI.Init()` works locally before
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LlamaCasty has an App ID. Add `--contentbuilder` on the machine that uploads a depot. The csproj
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copies the DLL **beside the exe** (`Link`) with `ExcludeFromSingleFile`, and copies
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`steam_appid.txt` in Debug only — never into a depot. The managed side is the `Steamworks.NET`
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package (`SteamApps.BIsDlcInstalled`).
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5. **Store page** configured and made public **two weeks before release** — Valve's rule, and it is
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the window where wishlists accumulate.
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## 3. Release
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```
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publish → steam-stage → steamcmd + app_build.vdf → build upload → set live → announcement
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```
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1. **Upload the depot** with `steamcmd +login <user> +run_app_build ..\scripts\app_build_<appid>.vdf
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+quit`. The VDF names the app, depot, content root and branch.
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2. **Set the build live** in Steamworks → *Builds* → the new build → **Set Build Live** on the
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default branch. That *is* the release; there is no artifact to hash and no manifest to submit.
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3. **Announce** with Steam Events (release notes appear in the library and on the store page).
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4. **Verify**: install from a clean Steam account, confirm `BIsDlcInstalled` returns false, buy the
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DLC (or use a test licence), confirm the high tiers unlock, then refund the test purchase.
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**Updates** are the same upload with a higher build ID. The app keeps **no self-updater and no
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version banner** — Steam is the update path, and that policy has not changed.
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## 4. Entitlement wiring
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- `IEntitlement` has two implementations: **Steam DLC** (lifetime, local) and **Polar** (monthly,
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network + 7–14 day lease). Resolution is `Pro = steamDlc || polarValid`; anything unresolved is
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the free profile.
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- **Never sell the monthly inside the Steam build.** Steamworks requires in-app purchases to use
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the Steam Wallet; the app may *state* that monthly plans exist on the site, with no checkout,
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no price and no payment field. Confirm the wording with Steamworks support before shipping it.
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- **Never gate a feature.** The only delta is the output profile.
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## 5. Release checklist
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- Build clean, 0 warnings (`./scripts/verify.sh`), tests green.
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- `steam_api64.dll` present; app starts **without** Steam and falls back to the free profile.
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- DLC ownership false → free profile; true → every tier offered.
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- `LlamaCasty.exe` rename landed (never rename a live exe).
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- Clean Steam install on a second machine, then an update pushed and observed.
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- Store page public for the full two weeks; support contact and announcements configured.
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- Portable mode: `portable.txt` present → data lands in `.\data\`.
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## 6. Legal and takedown
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- **`LICENSE`** (EULA) forbids redistribution, resale, reverse-engineering and circumvention, and
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disclaims warranty.
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- **`PRIVACY.md`** must name any third party the app contacts — Google/YouTube today, **Polar** the
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day licence validation ships. Steam itself is named by Valve's own policy, not ours.
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- **`THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt`** stays shipped and shown in About; the ffmpeg pin stays
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`lgpl-shared`; no GPL component may be linked (see `product.md` → "Licensing").
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- **DMCA**: a takedown needs only the notice — host, link, good-faith statement, signature.
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Statutory damages need a registration ($65). Worth doing once there is something to pirate.
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- **What actually protects the product** is in `commercial.md` → "Anti-piracy posture": a free tier
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good enough that a crack buys nothing, Steam's own delivery, short Polar leases, and a licence ID
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in About. **Not obfuscation, not a native DLL, not hardware locking.**
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## 7. Effort, once
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| Step | Effort |
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| Steamworks onboarding + $100 fee | 0.5–1 day, mostly waiting on verification |
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| Publish profile + `steam_api64.dll` + `IEntitlement` Steam path | 1 day |
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| Depot + first `steamcmd` upload | 0.5 day, then ~15 min per release |
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| Store page + assets (screenshots, capsule art) | 1–2 days |
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| Clean-account install + DLC purchase/refund test | 0.5 day |
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