122 lines
7.2 KiB
Markdown
122 lines
7.2 KiB
Markdown
# Building, problems and play-testing
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Before the game can load your level, the editor **builds** it: brushes and meshes become tiles,
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textures are packed, objects and waypoints are written, and everything is checked. Building is
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fast (a few seconds) and happens in the background, so you can keep working.
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## Check for problems
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**Level → Check for problems** runs all checks without building. The results appear in the
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**Problems** panel:
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* **Errors** (red) would break the level. They block **Build** and **Play** until you fix them.
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* **Warnings** (yellow) are things that probably do not work as you expect.
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* **Info** (blue) are hints.
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Double-click a message to select the item it is about (and frame it with **F**). The button in
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the panel's toolbar validates again without building.
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### What is checked
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| Area | Examples | Details |
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|---|---|---|
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| Level | no player start (error), several player starts, no exit in a new level, no geometry | [Objects](09-objects.md#object-checks) |
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| 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](06-geometry.md#geometry-checks) |
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| Objects | wrong parameter counts, values out of range, missing waypoints, impossible exit targets | [Objects](09-objects.md#object-checks) |
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| Waypoints | chains not stored in one piece (with an automatic repair) | [Waypoints](10-waypoints.md#waypoint-checks) |
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| Environment | fog too short or too long, missing start zone, teleport targets outside the grid, black or ignored lights | [Environment](12-environment.md#environment-checks) |
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| Visibility | the player start in a region that does not draw itself, regions that are never drawn | [Visibility regions](13-visibility.md#visibility-checks) |
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| Textures | more than 127 texture pages, textures on missing pages | [Textures](08-textures.md#limits) |
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## Build
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**Level → Build** (**Ctrl+B**, toolbar **Build**) checks and builds the level. When it is done the
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Problems panel shows **Build OK** with the numbers of tiles (and how many came from brushes),
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objects and waypoints, the size of the level file and the time it took – plus any warnings. The
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status bar keeps the result of the last build; click it to open the Problems panel.
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**File → Export level WAD…** builds the level and saves the game file (`.wad`) wherever you like
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– for your own experiments; to play or share a level you do not need it.
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## Play-testing
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**Level → Play** (**F5**, toolbar **Play**) does everything in one go:
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1. builds the level,
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2. installs a **temporary copy** of it as a level mod (next to the mods you have switched on),
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3. prepares the play-test save slot (unlocked up to your level),
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4. starts the game **directly in the level** – no logos, no menus, no map.
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While the game runs, the editor says so: the status bar shows a green **Game running: …**
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badge and the toolbar's **Play** button turns into **Stop game** (click it to quit the game). Both
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go back to normal a moment after the game has ended.
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In the game, press **Escape** to quit straight back to the editor. When the game has ended,
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LlamaMod switches your normal mod selection back on and deletes the temporary copy – play-tests
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do not fill LlamaMod's mod list. While the game runs, the copy shows up in LlamaMod as
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"*name* (play-test)" with a blue **temporary play-test** badge.
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If the editor is closed before the game, the clean-up happens the next time the editor starts.
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To keep a level in LlamaMod, use **Level → Add to LlamaMod…** (see
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[Playing without the editor](#playing-without-the-editor)) or switch on **Keep play-tested level
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in LlamaMod**.
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### Play from the camera position
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**Level → Play from camera position** (**Shift+F5**) starts the llama on the ground in the middle
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of the view, facing the way the camera looks. Point the view at the spot you want to test – a
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difficult jump, the end of a parkour – and press **Shift+F5**.
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While you hold **Shift** (or point at **Play from camera position** in the toolbar or the Level
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menu), a small **crosshair** marks the middle of the view: **green** means the llama can start
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there, **red** means it cannot – the status bar says why.
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The editor checks that there is walkable **collision** at that point: many things that look solid
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(tree crowns, roofs, decoration) have none. If there is no floor nearby, it tells you instead of
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dropping the llama into the void. The original level's opening fly-by is skipped in this mode.
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### Play-test options
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| Option (Level menu) | Default | Meaning |
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| **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. |
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| **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. |
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| **Keep play-tested level in LlamaMod** | off | On: Play installs the level as a normal level mod in the `levels` folder (as **Add to LlamaMod** does) and it stays switched on after the game. |
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| Play-test save slot (**Edit → Preferences**) | 3 | The slot the game plays with; it is backed up before it is changed. |
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> **Note:** Booting into the level uses the **Boot to level** mod, which adds code to LlamaMod's
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> private copy of groove.exe. Some antivirus programs warn about such files – see
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> [Troubleshooting](20-troubleshooting.md).
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### When something goes wrong
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| Message or symptom | What to do |
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| "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. |
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| 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). |
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| The level door does nothing | The door needs **exit floor (16)** in its own cell – use the **Exit** setup of the Objects panel. |
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| The game crashes while loading | Run **Check for problems** and fix all errors; keep everything inside the grid; only one player start. |
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| Objects are missing in the game | Some objects only appear after an event or a cut-scene; also check the visibility regions. |
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More in [Troubleshooting and FAQ](20-troubleshooting.md).
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## Playing without the editor
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**Level → Add to LlamaMod…** copies the current state of the level into LlamaMod's `levels`
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folder as a normal level mod – on the TestLevel chapter chosen in the
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[Level settings](14-level-settings.md), or replacing its original chapter. Adding the same
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project again updates that mod. To play it the normal way, tick it in LlamaMod's **Levels**
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category, click **Apply** and **Play**. New levels are on the world-9 (TestLevel) map – unlock
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it in **Save games → Unlock TestLevel (world 9)**; edited original levels replace their chapter.
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A level you no longer want in LlamaMod is removed with **Remove…** on its card
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(see [Mods](18-mods.md#level-mods)).
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