Send and receive invites of GKTurnBasedMatch - ios

Question

I am developing a board game. Using Game Center for multiplayer, but currently stuck at how to send or receive invitations of GKTurnBasedMatch. I am creating match programmatically using:
GKMatchRequest *request = [[GKMatchRequest alloc] init];
request.defaultNumberOfPlayers = 2;
[GKTurnBasedMatch findMatchForRequest:request
withCompletionHandler:
^(GKTurnBasedMatch *match, NSError *error) {
if(error) {
NSLog(#"%#", error.localizedDescription);
return;
}
[self.delegate startGameForMatch:match];
}];
The GKTurnBasedMatch instance in parameter of above block, has only local player with other player as nil and I need to display details of opponent in the game.
NSMutableArray *participantIds = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
NSLog(#"%#", match.participants);
for (GKTurnBasedParticipant *participant in match.participants) {
if(participant.playerID) [participantIds addObject:participant.playerID];
}
[GKPlayer loadPlayersForIdentifiers:participantIds
withCompletionHandler:^(NSArray *players, NSError *error) {
NSMutableString *string = [[NSMutableString alloc] init];
for (GKPlayer *player in players) {
[string appendFormat:#"---- Alias: %# DisplayName: %#", player.alias, player.displayName];
}
NSLog(#"%#", string);
}];
Am I missing something or Game Center works like this?
I read that participants of the match wont get invitations until that GKTurnBasedParticipant is GKTurnBasedMatch.currentParticipant but I need to display the details of opponent when game started.
Thanks for the help. Point me in correct direction.

Answer 1

This happens when you create a match against a random opponent. Try creating a second test user in iTunesConnect and signing into that user on a second device.
Then, send that second test player an invite to be your friend. This will allow you to more easily test your game with multiplayer features without having to wait for a random match to be found.
After the friend request is accepted, try creating a new game once more. Now, invite your 'Friend' to your game and start your turn. You will now notice that the (null) variables will - for the most part - be filled in. Something like this should now appear in your log-
GKTurnBasedParticipant 0xb9432e0 - playerID:G:123456789 status:Invited matchOutcome:None lastTurnDate:(null) timeoutDate:(null)