llamamod/docs/manual/15-build-play.md

Building, problems and play-testing

Before the game can load your level, the editor builds it: brushes and meshes become tiles, textures are packed, objects and waypoints are written, and everything is checked. Building is fast (a few seconds) and happens in the background, so you can keep working.

Check for problems

Level → Check for problems runs all checks without building. The results appear in the Problems panel:

• Errors (red) would break the level. They block Build and Play until you fix them.
• Warnings (yellow) are things that probably do not work as you expect.
• Info (blue) are hints.

Double-click a message to select the item it is about (and frame it with F). The button in the panel's toolbar validates again without building.

What is checked

Area	Examples	Details
Level	no player start (error), several player starts, no exit in a new level, no geometry	Objects
Geometry	tiles outside the grid, tile models over 8000 vertices, overlapping identical tiles, no floor under the player start, no exit floor (16) in the door's cell, small gaps between floors	Building geometry
Objects	wrong parameter counts, values out of range, missing waypoints, impossible exit targets	Objects
Waypoints	chains not stored in one piece (with an automatic repair)	Waypoints
Environment	fog too short or too long, missing start zone, teleport targets outside the grid, black or ignored lights	Environment
Visibility	the player start in a region that does not draw itself, regions that are never drawn	Visibility regions
Textures	more than 127 texture pages, textures on missing pages	Textures

Build

Level → Build (Ctrl+B, toolbar Build) checks and builds the level. When it is done the Problems panel shows Build OK with the numbers of tiles (and how many came from brushes), objects and waypoints, the size of the level file and the time it took – plus any warnings. The status bar keeps the result of the last build; click it to open the Problems panel.

File → Export level WAD… builds the level and saves the game file (.wad) wherever you like – for your own experiments; to play or share a level you do not need it.

Play-testing

Level → Play (F5, toolbar Play) does everything in one go:

1. builds the level,
2. installs it in LlamaMod's levels folder as a level mod (next to the mods you have switched on),
3. prepares the play-test save slot (unlocked up to your level),
4. starts the game directly in the level – no logos, no menus, no map.

In the game, press Escape to quit straight back to the editor. When the game has ended, LlamaMod switches your normal mod selection back on; the level itself stays installed.

Play from the camera position

Level → Play from camera position (Shift+F5) starts the llama on the ground in the middle of the view, facing the way the camera looks. Point the view at the spot you want to test – a difficult jump, the end of a parkour – and press Shift+F5.

The editor checks that there is walkable collision at that point: many things that look solid (tree crowns, roofs, decoration) have none. If there is no floor nearby, it tells you instead of dropping the llama into the void. The original level's opening fly-by is skipped in this mode.

Play-test options

Option (Level menu)	Default	Meaning
Play boots straight into the level	on	Off: the game starts at the main menu with the map cursor on your level (choose Spiel starten → slot → Enter on the map); groove.exe is not changed.
Escape quits the play-test	on	In a play-test the pause key ends the game at once. Off: Escape opens the normal pause menu.
Play-test save slot (Edit → Preferences)	3	The slot the game plays with; it is backed up before it is changed.

Note: Booting into the level uses the Boot to level mod, which adds code to LlamaMod's private copy of groove.exe. Some antivirus programs warn about such files – see Troubleshooting.

When something goes wrong

Message or symptom	What to do
"The game is still running"	The level files cannot be replaced while the game runs. Click Quit game and play to close it and start the play-test, or quit it yourself.
The llama falls through the floor	Look at the collision (C); give the floor collision (the brush's collision faces, or a collision material other than 30).
The level door does nothing	The door needs exit floor (16) in its own cell – use the Exit setup of the Objects panel.
The game crashes while loading	Run Check for problems and fix all errors; keep everything inside the grid; only one player start.
Objects are missing in the game	Some objects only appear after an event or a cut-scene; also check the visibility regions.

More in Troubleshooting and FAQ.

Playing without the editor

The level is now a mod in LlamaMod's Levels category. To play it the normal way, tick it in LlamaMod, click Apply and Play. New levels are on the world-9 (TestLevel) map – unlock it in Save games → Unlock TestLevel (world 9); edited original levels replace their chapter.