Ape Apps

Here you go @Sobeirannovaocc

https://www.ape-apps.com/viewpage.php?p=34234

https://www.my-colony.com/api.php?pf=6&g=1&u=bastecklein
(replace bastecklein with desired charter code)

Returns JSON formatted array data containing a list of all user's colonies on the server.

[{

    "name":"Domination",

    "charter":"jGTKNfWT",

    "independent":"April 19, 2017",

    "population":"189595",

    "founded":"April 8, 2017",

    "screenshot":"https:\/\/www.my-colony.com\/screenshots\/ss-606928.jpg",

    "lastactive":"2019-10-10 21:06:08",

    "account":"bastecklein"

},

{

    "name":"New Munson",

    "charter":"4stQvrHA",

    "independent":"October 14, 2018",

    "population":"12343",

    "founded":"April 12, 2018",

    "screenshot":"https:\/\/www.my-colony.com\/screenshots\/ss-882625.jpg",

    "lastactive":"2019-09-09 20:12:27",

    "account":"bastecklein"

},

{

    "name":"Imperial Munson",

    "charter":"8Ksj9SAy",

    "independent":"0",

    "population":"8507",

    "founded":"September 2, 2018",

    "screenshot":"https:\/\/www.my-colony.com\/screenshots\/ss-900950.jpg",

    "lastactive":"2019-10-15 02:00:22",

    "account":"bastecklein"},

 ... ]

From there, you can drill down even further using the Colony Info API on one of the charter codes.

Well... I don't really have an easy way to change it. Let me think on it. It's not as simple as just changing it once you have signed in to several different games/chat/the website, etc...

You can now update your Ape Apps avatar/profile picture from the Edit Profile section here on the main website, without having to go to the accounts.ape-apps.com website first.

It should be back up on the Play store now.

Google Play has accepted my appeal and My Colony is back in the store! Thanks to all who contacted them to help them "see the light."

Google Play has accepted my appeal and My Colony is back in the store! Thanks to all who contacted them to help them "see the light."

So just an update, I have gotten a reply from Google and My Colony has been upgraded from "Suspended" to just "Removed," which gives me access to publish an update. I think the issue was related to the version of the game from the Ape Market being able to auto-update itself. The auto-update code is not accessible from the Google Play edition of the game .apk, but the actual code is still in there. Google must decompile and scan the .apk's for certain lines of code. I am going to try to publish an updated version of the .apk to the Play Store and see what happens.

If they accept it, the only difference going forward is that the version downloaded from the Ape Market will no longer be able to auto-update itself, which is only a minor inconvenience as only a handful of people use that edition. It will instead open a browser to the download page where they can download the .apk manually. I think it is an acceptable tradeoff though.

Try this, you put in your number and they call you back:

edit - that link didn't work, they make it hard to provide a link to contact info

It shouldn't be @Golan0 since the only way to purchase premium on the Play Store version is by going through Google Play. I hope they unblock it as well!

@Ansom the violation is not real. The app let's users export files using Helios File Manager, but they are linked directly to the Google Play store, which is obviously not an unknown source.

Update (20191016): Google Play has accepted my appeal and My Colony is back in the store! Thanks to all who contacted them to help them "see the light." Original post follows.

Without warning, Google has taken the extreme step of removing My Colony from the Google Play store for violating their malicious behavior policy, while offering no explanation or examples as to the reason for their decision. You can see further information related to this removal on this thread. Please feel free to contact Google Play regarding this decision.

https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/7100415?hl=en&ref_topic=3364260

The following e-mail is all of the information they sent me regarding the takedown:

Hi Developers at Brandon Stecklein,

After review, My Colony, com.ape.games.mycolony (Version Code 149), has been suspended and removed from Google Play as a policy strike because it violates the malicious behavior policy.

Apps that cause users to download or install applications from unknown sources outside of Google Play are prohibited.

Next Steps

1. Read through the Malicious Behavior policy for more details and examples of policy violations.
2. If possible, make changes to bring your app into compliance. Remember your app must comply with all policies listed in the Developer Program Policies and additional enforcement could occur if there are further policy issues with your apps.
3. Sign in to your Play Console and submit the policy compliant app using a new package name and a new app name.

Additional suspensions of any nature may result in the termination of your developer account, and investigation and possible termination of related Google accounts. If your account is terminated, payments will cease and Google may recover the proceeds of any past sales and/or the cost of any associated fees (such as chargebacks and transaction fees) from you.

If you’ve reviewed the policy and feel this suspension may have been in error, please reach out to our policy support team. One of my colleagues will get back to you within 2 business days.

Regards,

The Google Play Review Team

To me, this is insane. Anybody who has played My Colony on Android knows that it does not cause users to download or install applications from unknown sources outside of Google Play. The only app it asks users to download is the Helios File Manager app if they want to export a game file, and this links directly to the Google Play store listing, which is not an unknown source.

If they are referring to a download link from an ad inside the game, that is equally insane, as the game uses Google's own AdMob ad network, and any third party apps advertised in the ads come directly from them.

I have sent an appeal request to Google Play, but have yet to hear back. Just going from prior experience of dealing with Google and from experiences I have read from other developers, the odds of a successful appeal are somewhat low. I can re-upload the game using a different package name, but it would lose all downloads and ranks, would not carry over existing Premium purchases, existing users can not update without reinstalling, and if Google bans it again for the same reason, they are likely to close my entire account, as each suspension adds a "policy strike" to your account.

As I showed in a chart on this thread, Google Play accounts for over half of the My Colony downloads, so this action would be a significant blow to the My Colony community, so any contact or pressure sent Google Play's way probably wouldn't hurt.

In the event that the game is not able to be reinstated, Android users still have options to play the game. The My Colony web app can now be installed to your homescreen as a Progressive Web App, and given the new filesystem limitations in Android 10 which block saving data directly to the external storage anyway, you really missing much by using the PWA vs the Native App.

To install the Progressive Web App, go to https://www.apewebapps.com/my-colony/ on Chrome, open the "three dots" menu from the top-right corner of the screen, and select "Add to Homescreen." The only primary limitation is that in the PWA version, the back button does not work as it does in the native app.

Anyway, the loss of Google Play is really a significant blow to the game. As I indicated, I have started the appeals process, but any help from the community on this issue, whether getting the word out or contacting Google Play, would be welcomed. I don't really see why they shouldn't reinstate the game, as their reason for taking it down is entirely bogus. Although it's also possible that they just prefer to have IAP-diamond festival games on their app store, since that it what it is filled with currently, and those probably make them way more money.

I will keep you all posted with any information that comes forward on this front!

It may help to get it reinstated. You can also see options to contact them here:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/7100415?hl=en&ref_topic=3364260

The following chart shows how important Google Play is to My Colony:


This is how many users come from which marketplace over the last 30 days.

@cry8wolf9 yes, I am just suspicious that an entire Google Play account suspension is what is coming next, judging by my own past experience and stories I have read from other developers. I do have it available on the Amazon App Store, and people can get the .apk from the Ape Market. It's just that Google Play is the only store on Android with a real amount of usage.

Here is what their (likely automated) email said:

Hi Developers at Brandon Stecklein,

After review, My Colony, com.ape.games.mycolony (Version Code 149), has been suspended and removed from Google Play as a policy strike because it violates the malicious behavior policy.

Apps that cause users to download or install applications from unknown sources outside of Google Play are prohibited.

Next Steps

1. Read through the Malicious Behavior policy for more details and examples of policy violations.
2. If possible, make changes to bring your app into compliance. Remember your app must comply with all policies listed in the Developer Program Policies and additional enforcement could occur if there are further policy issues with your apps.
3. Sign in to your Play Console and submit the policy compliant app using a new package name and a new app name.

Additional suspensions of any nature may result in the termination of your developer account, and investigation and possible termination of related Google accounts. If your account is terminated, payments will cease and Google may recover the proceeds of any past sales and/or the cost of any associated fees (such as chargebacks and transaction fees) from you.

If you’ve reviewed the policy and feel this suspension may have been in error, please reach out to our policy support team. One of my colleagues will get back to you within 2 business days.

Regards,

The Google Play Review Team

I also just got a similar e-mail and suspension for Helios File Manager, which leads me to suspect they are going through my account taking things down. I had something similar happen a few years ago, and when I tried to appeal they suspended my entire account, seemingly just for bothering them about an appeal, which took forever to get resolved.

So anyway, like I said in the last post this isn't my first time down this road with Google Play, but usually it does not turn out good at all. The internet is also filled with horror stories from other developers working with Google Play, so we will see what happens. Could be that I am done on Android now 😕

This is right, I just got a notification from Google that they have removed the game because they say it violates their malicious code policy, as it cause users to download apps from outside of the Play store.

This is, of course, insane, as the game does nothing of the sort. I am attempting to go through the appeals process, but I have been down this road with Google before on other apps, and the prospects are generally not good.