If you own the Gamestudio Pro Edition, you are entitled to 12 months free technical support. Otherwise you can subscribe a support ticket in the web store. Please email your question to support (at) 3dgamestudio.net, and give your support ticket number or your user ID (either displayed in SED/About, or in the password.txt file). The answers for 99,9% of all questions, however, can be found -
Q. What are Gamestudio's system requirements?
A. See
http://www.3dgamestudio.com/order7.php
Q. What Gamestudio versions are available and how do I learn to program a game?
A. There are 4 different editions that differ in ranges of capacity and prices (lite-C, Extra, Commercial, Pro). Lite-C is free. The differences between the other versions are listed on our web site
(see above link). There you can also download a free 30-days trial version, as well as tutorials for game design and scripting.
Q. I would like to know what the appropriate age for Gamestudio is.
A. Since it depends a lot on the particular interests and abilities (logical thinking, patience, curiosity), it does not make much sense to limit Gamestudio to a certain age. The youngest winner of one of our monthly contests was 14 years old, the oldest 79.
Q. I want to program an ambitious game, but don't know how to start.
A. Start small. Make your first game as simple as possible. With more experience you can develop more ambitious projects. Join a team. Huge games can't be developed alone. Within your team, specialize on a certain task - like scripting, or music, or artwork, or level design. Make a development schedule and keep it. As a beginner, don't start a project that needs a long time - like more than a year - to complete.
Q. I have a unique game idea. But I can not possibly do a job that 10 or more people do. I need a group or company to truly complete it. I am not a programmer or artist or have anything to do with computers.
A. According to our experiences, small teams with 2 to 3 people are the most successful. Almost all major Gamestudio projects were created by teams of this size. Usually, the person who designs the gameplay is also the person who does the scripting. If you don't have any knowledge about creating computer games, we suggest is that you first aquire some skills that you can contribute to the project - such as scripting, through the lite-C workshops - and then advertise in the jobs section of our forum for finding the additional members of your team, such as a level designer and an artist.
Q. Does Gamestudio contain the source code to the engine?
A. Partially.
The source code of the T7 engine - that's the 'game' part of the engine - is available with the Pro Edition. The source development kit (SDK) is included in all versions,
and offers full access to the engine functions through C++. It allows you to add new features to the engine and to the editors.
.
Q. I have a problem ordering your software through the Internet.
A. A brief introduction about how to order software products can be found on the online store FAQ: http://ccc.shareit.com/ccc/index.html. If you have specific problems with online ordering that aren't covered by the FAQ, please select "How can I contact your customer service?" on the online store FAQ page.
Q.
I ordered your software through the Share-It online shop and they rejected two different credit cards. Even my PayPal account is not accepted. What's up - don't you want my money?
A.
All major online stores - such as Share-It - use scoring agencies to decide whether to accept a payment or not. When you've often cancelled payments in the past, chances are that your credit status got a low score.
Share-It is a subsidiary of Digital River, the biggest online store system; Gamestudio has no influence on their payment acceptance policies. When you experience problems with ordering products from an Internet store, please contact the store directly. If your credit card and PayPal payment is not accepted, you can alternatively pay by cheque, wire transfer, or even cash. If the store still refuses your payment, please contact Gamestudio support at the address above - we'll try to solve the problem.
Q. I've ordered on your online shop, but haven't received the key file yet.
A. Key files for full versions
can be downloaded
immediately after you've submitted your order. If your payment is delayed (f.i. if you pay by wire transfer), the key file
and a download link
are sent by email immediately after receipt of your payment. Key files for upgrades or team editions are sent mostly within 12 hours, but at least within two business days. When you are waiting any longer than two business days, there's something wrong with your email address. Check whether you've given a correct address and whether your email account is able to receive email attachments
(see below in case of email problems)
. Also, check for possible problems with exceeded mail volume, spam filters etc. If in doubt, contact us by phone or email.
Q. My sister's name appears as the user name in the startup window (because I used her credit card and address for ordering). How can I change that to my own name?
A. The user data is "burned in" your software key, so changing it would require that you order an new key via "Key Renewal" in the online store. But you don't need to - the name is only visible to yourself. It won't appear in games that you've published. The license is bound to the owner, not to the name in the startup window.
Q. How expensive are updates?
A. Updates are free for Gamestudio versions or upgrades purchased from Conitec. Upgrades to a different engine generation, like
Gamestudio/A6 to A7
, or to a higher edition are not free. You can order them in the online shop.
Q. Where can I get an update?
A. You'll find updates in the download section of the web site, under Software / Updates. For downloading them you'll need your user ID and password that is displayed under Help/About of WED or SED.
Q: What is on the Backup CD that I can order in the shop?
A: The Backup CD contains the Gamestudio Installer.
The key file is emailed separately and not contained on the backup CD, so be sure to store it at a safe place.
Q. I've lost my key file, and have forgotten my password. Can you send me another key file?
A.
Please contact the support. They have a list of hints how to recover a lost key.
Q. I need a certain feature from the Pro Edition, but don't want to pay for the full upgrade. Can I get that separately?
A. No.
Q. Can I create a start screen for the engine (while loading the intro level) instead of the standard screen? And is that only possible with the Professional edition?
A. Yes.
Q. Does "Commercial" mean, that I can publish my games or is that also possible even
with the free version?
A. You can freely publish your games produced with
any Gamestudio version, except for the Team Editions
. You'll find details in the chapter about license conditions in the manual.
Q. I need a feature or effect for my game, which seems not to be available in the engine. Can I pay for it to get it implemented?
A. We'll gladly take your money
. However, maybe the feature you need is already scheduled for the next free update, or an interim version is already available for evaluation. You'll find a list of upcoming features
under the "Beta" link
on the user forum
Q. Can I sell my Gamestudio license to someone else?
A. Yes, but the license can be transferred only once. So you need to have purchased it directly from Conitec for selling the license. Be aware that you can only sell your current license - you can not sell your old version after purchasing an upgrade! For updating our registration records please inform us about the transfer and email us the content of the password.txt file, your name and address, and the name and address of the new user. After sending him the software and your key file, delete them from your own system.
Q. Why does the software require unlocking with a personal key file?
A. To prevent software piracy. The key file contains your serial number. This way we can trace any illegal copy - or any game made with it - back to the customer who originally purchased it. This gives us the opportunity to persuade him not to commit software piracy anymore. Thus we can contribute to a better world.
Q. Can I install the Team Edition on a web server, instead of a number of client PCs?
A. Yes.
Q. I have now downloaded Gamestudio, but have no clue
how to start.
A. First install it on your PC by double clicking the setup file that you've
downloaded. Then download the
lite-C
tutorial, double click
on it to open it, and begin to read.
Q: I've downloaded the tutorials, but when I
open them all pages give me an error message. The same happens when clicking
on the manual outside WED or MED!
A. This can be caused by an ill-configured Microsoft security update that
affected the help system. Navigate to the directory where the tutorial is located,
right-click on the .CHM file, and choose Properties. In the Properties dialog,
near the bottom, click [Unblock].
On Windows Vista, a system security setting can prevent help files from being opened in certain folders - in that case copy the .CHM file in a folder you have full access rights to, such as your documents folder.
Q:
My password does not work for downloading password protected files from your website. I got that user ID and password when I registered on the online shop where I purchased Gamestudio. I got another user ID and password when I registered on a user forum. That does not work either.
A. You must use your valid Gamestudio user ID and password that you can find in SED under Help/About. Passwords you've got when registering on shops or user forums can not be used for downloading password protected files from our website.
Q:
I can not publish. The ".CD" folder
is not created.
A. You are probably attempting to create a folder in the "Program Files" section.
For this you need to enable write permissions for the Gamestudio installation
folder, or work as administrator the whole time. A better solution is to create
your projects not in the programs section, but in the documents section of
your Vista PC.
Q: I have just installed Gamestudio on another PC. Now Gamestudio doesn't work anymore. I get an error message
(Error E1513) as soon as I start any project.
A. Check how the DEP (data execution prevention) is set in your Windows configuration.
Go to My Computer / Properties / Advanced / Performance
/ Settings / Data Execution Prevention, and make sure that it's in its
default setting ("For essential Windows programs and services only").
A wrong DEP setting prevents on-the-fly compiling lite-C or C-Script source code.
Q: Help! Your Gamestudio software is very buggy. The camera behaves strange, collision detection doesn't work properly, and WED often can't start my level.
A: You might be the proud owner of one of the two beta versions that leaked to the warez scene: 6.20 and 7.05. Both were early beta versions and don't work reliably as you probably noticed. Sometimes the version number is patched for letting them appear as different versions. Please contact Support for getting a working, legal Gamestudio version. We won't prosecute you as long as you don't distribute the illegal version further, or publish anything created with it. If you do, it can become expensive ($900 per distributed copy, plus legal fees). If you're short on money, just download Gamestudio / lite-C - it's legal and free.
Q: I can't start WED in the free lite-C version.
A: That's because the free lite-C version does not have a WED.
Q. I can not register at the forum - my email address
isn't accepted.
A.
You'll need a personal email adress for registering on the user forum. Anonymous email addresses are not accepted, so please select an email provider that offers non-anonymous services.
Also check possible
spam filter settings to make sure that you can receive email on the address
you've entered. If you don't have a personal email address, you can't register
on the user forum, however there are many other forums on the Internet
where you can discuss Gamestudio related issues.
Q. I registered at the forum and recieved the confirmation
email, but I am not allowed to post any messages or view my profile. It
tells me I'm not logged in, but it accepts my username and password.
A. Your browser security settings don't allow registered forum
access. Please check your security settings, enable cookies, and check also
whether your firewall settings might prevent logging in a forum. Click the [FAQ] link
on the forum bar for further advice.
Q.
How
can I advertise my product on the download page? I also wonder whether
also I can get pictures of my game onto your gallery?
A.
Enter your product description and image on the Wiki.
Create a Wiki page for your game, and upload screen
shots. Eventually your screenshots can make it into the
gallery. For advertising your Gamestudio related products on the download page,
see the information under "3rd Party Tools".
Q. I've downloaded the trial version, but get a 'file corrupted' error when I try to install it.
A. For downloading large files you need a reliable Internet connection. Otherwise, try it with or without using a download manager. Depending on the quality of your internet connection, a download manager often helps, but sometimes makes matters worse.
Q. I want to download some password protected files, but my forum password is not accepted!
A. You'll need the user name and password that you
either can find in the password.txt file in your Gamestudio folder, or that is indicated in SED / Help / About.
Forum passwords won't work. Names and passwords are case sensitive. Enter them exactly as they are written in the file. If the download still does not work, check your Internet Explorer security settings and verify that you are able to download files. Try another file from the download page if in doubt. If your internet connection is unreliable, use a download manager for resuming broken downloads.
Q. I've now downloaded a tutorial and tried to unzip it, but it then keeps asking me for a password. This also happens with some other ZIP files that I download from the Internet. Where do I get a password?
A. You don't need a password for unzipping files, but you need a proper unzip program.
Some old versions of unzip programs are known to have this problem.
There are many free or low-price unzip programs on the internet, such as Winzip or 7zip. Newer Windows versions also come with a built-in unzip capability. When unzipping ZIP files contained in other ZIP files (such as the tutorial samples in the tutorial archive), make sure to unzip the main file first.
Q. What's your phone number for questions about Gamestudio?
A. We have no telephone support, but you can send your question by email to
the address given above.
Q.
Help! I've sent dozens of questions to the support, but haven't
received an answer yet!
A. Support questions are answered mostly within 12 hours, but at least within two business days. If you haven't got a response
after two business days, either your email or our response wasn't received.
Make sure that you've sent it
to our support address above (sending it to an arbitrary Conitec email address
is unlikely to receive a response), and that you've included your valid support
information
(support ticket number or Pro user
ID).
For receiving emails you need a properly working email account. Setting up an email account is normally very simple and does not require knowledge of internet and email details. Almost all email providers offer a control panel for checking and controlling your account. If you have problems receiving emails from us, look for exceeded quota, a wrongly set up spam filter, a wrong reply address, or an attachment size limit. They are the four most frequent reasons for email problems. If you have persistent problems or don't know how to set up your account, please contact the support of your email provider, or ask a friend to help you.
Q. An employee of your company asked me for my user name and
password. Can I give it to him? This is what he wrote: Hello.
I'm from Conitec company. We suspect that you have illigal copy of Gamestudio. Please reply me with your user name password and key. You have
2 days before police grabb this case. Thank you for your atention.
A. You can give your user data to the
Gamestudio support, or when ordering
a upgrade in the web store, but to no one else.
You can identify
an email by a real Conitec employee from a) a conitec.net reply
address and b) better spelling.
Q. When does a new MED come out? When does Gamestudio
support [..cool feature to be put in here..]?
A. Information about future features can't be given by the support, but
a list of planned features can be found under the beta and forecast links on
the user forum.
Q. I've written a script, but it does not work. Please
fix!
A.
For obvious reasons the support people are not allowed to fix errors in
your scripts. But you'll get first help at debugging.htm.
Make yourself familiar with writing good code. Work through the
script tutorial or workshops. If you still get error messages, check your syntax.
Typical errors are wrong file names or forgotten semicolons or wrong brackets
in the script. The error message tells you in which line you've made the
mistake. Use the debugger for finding out what's going on in your script.
Read the section "engine error messages" in your manual. If you are still
stuck and don't have a support ticket, ask at the user forum - usually
you'll be helped fast.
Q. Help! When I run the game, everything
is spinning!
A. Put your joystick in center position.
Q: Starting the engine,
the following error appears: "DirectX failure - DirectX 9.0c required".
What does that mean?
A: Your DirectX installation is faulty or too old. Download
the current DirectX version. It's available on the Microsoft website as well as on many game and magazine CDs.
Q: On startup the engine immediately terminates with
the message "Can't
open video device".
A: DirectX can fail, or even crash without any error message if the virtual memory
is
running low. This happens when your levels consume too much memory. Keep the
nexus well
below
200, or better below 100.
Q: My model doesn't cast a shadow despite it's SHADOW
flag is set. Also it's lighting doesn't
look right.
A: Shadows are only cast by nontransparent models. And shadows, lighting, and
collision detection don't work when the entities' origin is inside a wall or
floor. Open the model in MED and check if the origin is really at the center
of the entity, and not, for instance, at or below it's feet.
Q: My entity doesn't move correctly. It's either stuck
at its place, or falling through the floor.
A: See the previous answer.
Q. I
have problems with the sorting of transparent entities or alpha channel textures.
For instance, I'm trying to make a tree by crossing two sprites like a 'X.
When using 32 bit TGA sprites, the first sprite is always drawn before the
second sprite. This doesn't happen when I use PCX or BMP or 24 bit TGA sprites.
A. Transparent entities
- meaning entities with
TRANSLUCENT
flag or with an alpha channel
texture - can not write into the z buffer. Thus the engine sorts them according
to the distances of their origins. Nevertheless, transparency causes
visible errors when objects intersect or when a concave mesh consists of
transparent polygons. You just have to think a little to
avoid those mistakes. For instance, make your 'X' from 4 connected sprites
rather than 2 intersecting sprites, and separate a transparent mesh into
convex parts.
Q. If
I compile a test level for multiplayer mode to an *.exe, how can I define
who is the client and who is the server?
A. By using the -cl / -sv parameters.
Q. When the camera is close
to a wall, I can see through it. How can I fix this?
A. Reduce view.clip_near (default
15).
Q. According
to the WED tutorial I need to assign a behavior action to an entity. On
my part however, there is no action to choose from. The "choose action" area
is completely empty.
A. After you have created
a new level, you have to assign a script. If there is no such script assigned
to your level yet, you can not pick actions from this script. Here the procedures
to follow:
a) Create a new level (or open one you already have)
b) Save the level under any name you like ("Save as..")
c) Now click onto "New" in the script line of Map Properties.
Q. Out
of the blue, WED (or MED) doesn't work anymore. Whenever I open it
I only get a message like "Can't find GXLxxx.DLL".
A. You've accidentally
assigned a wrong video driver to the editor windows. First, make sure that
a file named GXL2DX8A.DLL (the only DirectX8 DLL that can be used
by MED) is contained in your Gamestudio folder. Otherwise, install Gamestudio
first. Now open File
-> Preferences,
select Video Out,
and set both 2D and 3D views at GXL2DX8A.DLL. Open a
level in WED (or a model in MED) and make sure that it's visible in all
views. This confirms that your GXL2DX8A.DLL file is undamaged.
For
Gamestudio version 6.60 or above, use GXL2BASDX9A.DLL for DirectX9.
Q. Which
formats can I import into WED?
A. Levels made with Qoole
(.qle) or Quake1 / Halflife level editors (.map). An import
tool for 3DS MAX is also available on the download page.
Q. How
do I create terrain?
A. Terrains must be available
as HMP files. HMP files are generated by the model editor MED out of 2D graphics
(PCX, BMP). Afterwards the terrain must be saved as a .HMP file. Now the
HMP file can be loaded and placed within WED. This graphic files contain
an altitude profile and you can create them through terrain generators like
Terragen or Bryce (see link page). There are also converter programs available
in the net to convert altitude profiles into MAP / QLE files.
Q. Do
many lights in WED cause a decrease of the frame rate?
A. The illumination is
calculated during the build process, so it does not influence the frame rate.
Q. Since
it takes a whole lot of time to compile a level, I got the idea to improve
this situation by upgrading the hardware. Does a faster processor or more
main memory really lead to a faster result?
A. More RAM is most likely
the better choice. If there's not enough memory available, the hard disc
is used for intermediate storage of the level data and this results in a
noticeable longer compiling time. All Windows versions come with programs
to check the current memory capacity. Start the map builder and watch how
much memory is used at the most for all programs (f.i. 130 MB). Is that value
higher than the installed RAM (f.i. 128MB), you should install more memory
indeed. If it is used just the half of the memory available, a new processor
would be the right decision.
Q. Where
do I find 3D models? And how can I import models made with other packages
into Gamestudio?
A. In the internet there
are some collections (f.i. 3dcafe.com) where you can get models for free.
These are usually in 3DS format, and can normally be imported in
MED without problem. Other import formats supported by MED are X, OBJ,
and ASE. Most model editors are able to export in one of those formats.
Q. I've
imported a model in MED, but it is not visible in the engine.
A. Two possible reasons:
the model is too small, or it's all transparent. Check it's size and the
material alpha settings.
Q. How
can I create my textures on my own? I cannot rename
my BMP files into a WAD file.
A. WAD files are collections/albums
of textures. Textures on the other hand are pictures that meet certain
demands (size, number of colors etc.). Create an image by Paint of the
size of 256 x 256 pixel and a color depth of 24 bit (see Windows manual).
Save it as a .BMP file. Now, in WED click right into a WAD texture window,
then click onto "Add Texture". Choose the .BMP file created by yourself.
From now on your image is available in 3D Gamestudio as a texture.
Q. I would like to learn programming - how shall
I proceed?
A. - Read the script tutorial in the manual.
- Work through the workshops.
- Read the Acknex User Magazine.
- Talk to other users in our forum / ask questions.
- Take a good look at the included scripts.
Q. How
can I program to shoot at a (prepared) wall and produce hole?
A. a) create your level
the way it shall look in it's final state - that means with all the holes.
b) put map, sprite or model entities into the holes so these are covered.
c) remove the entities by script when they are hit.
Q. When
my game is finished, how will I get it into the stores?
A. The traditional way
is by publishers (Electronic Arts etc.). Another distribution option is shareware.
That means you place a demo level in the internet. For further levels you
charge money.
Q. I
need an installation program like InstallShield. Can you help or send me
one?
A. Freeware installation
programs, like GkSetup or InnoSetup are listed on our
Wiki
, or can be
found by using a search engine (www.google.com).