In my previous report, I said that I was working on the SDL3 iOS port of my strategic leaf-raking business simulation game, Toytles: Leaf Raking.
I am sorta finished, but why am I still working on it?
Sprint 2026-MJ_14: Release SDL3 update version
In progress:
- Ensure iOS version can still be built/deployed
How am I “sorta finished” with the iOS port?
I mean that I was able to successfully build the app and run it in an iPhone simulator.
Normally, I would just move on to building the app and testing it on my actual iPhone and iPad test devices.
But my goal isn’t to just manually build this app and submit it to the App Store and move on.
I currently have three different games that I support across Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. I’ve been trying to automate my builds as much as I can to make it easier for me to support these existing games and support the new ones I will be making for hopefully many years to come.
If I had to manually fight with Xcode each time that I wanted to create a new release of any one game, it would be error-prone and a waste of my time. Each release would be painful, and I would do it less often.
Now you could argue that I’ve spent too many days on this work as it is, that I’m already wasting time.
To that I would say that maybe I agree with you, that I do feel like this effort is taking too long. I am really behind on my plans due to all of this automation work I’ve been investing my time into.
So if anything, I’ll admit that I’m worried I am justifying all this effort and time when instead I should be moving more quickly.
My plans are basically on hold until I get these new releases finished, and the releases are on hold until I can automate their creation as much as I can. And maybe I’m wrong to do so?
But on the other hand, I’ve been living this manual build and release life for years, and I think I’m finally willing to put in the hard work to make my life easier.
If I have any concerns, I think it is that I so easily let myself keep working on a task long after the time I thought it was going to take, and I feel like I should be a bit more deliberate about actually deciding how to proceed.
Anyway, I fully expect that I’ll finally have this work actually automated soon. Basically, my build scripts need to be changed to do this one-off wacky thing involving supporting Apple xcframeworks for my iOS port, while pretty much all of my other ports do not have to worry about it.
Thanks for reading, and stay curious!
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