Troubleshooting

Valve Hammer Editor 3.4

Troubleshooting

Below are some of the most common questions and answers from Design Support mail.


What information should I send to Design Support?

Before you email Design Support, make sure you've setup the editor as outlined in the Valve Hammer Editor 3.4 Setup Guide, otherwise you will be referred there before any help can be provided.

When emailing Design Support, be sure to include the following pieces of information:

  • What operating system you're using.

  • What video card you're using (and in the case of multiple video cards, all of the video cards you're using).
  • Which video drivers you're using.
  • Anytime compiling or running a map is involved in the problem, provide the complete contents of the compile Process Window in your email (see note below).

This information isn't always required, but it can really speed up the problem resolution when all information is available.

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How do I copy the contents of the compile Process Window?

When debugging map problems, one of the most important bits of information is the compile process output. = 4) BSPSPopupOnMouseOver(event)" CLASS="BSSCPopup">This is the compile Process Window (the actual contents when you see it will be similar, but may not be exactly alike).

Right-click inside the window. A small menu will pop up. Choose Select All. All of the text in the Process Window will become selected. Now, right-click on the selected text and this time choose Copy. You can now paste it wherever you like (ie: into an email, if you're emailing Design Support).

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How do I setup the editor?

For information on this, please refer to the Valve Hammer Editor 3.4 Setup Guide.

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I'm getting the error "Couldn't Validate Half-Life".

This error occurs when you try to run the Half-Life executable without first changing to the Half-Life folder. There are a number of reasons this can happen.

  • The editor and/or the advanced compile mode is setup incorrectly. Make sure you've set things up as outlined in the Valve Hammer Editor 3.4 Setup Guide.

  • The editor's advanced compile mode can appear to be setup correctly and certain commands will appear to fail for no reason. This most commonly happens with the Change Directory and Copy File commands. When this type of error occurs, you will see the following type of output in the compile Process Window:

      ** Executing...
      ** Command: Change Directory
      ** Parameters: D:\games\Half-Life

      * Could not execute the command:
        "Change Directory" D:\games\Half-Life\valve
      * Windows gave the error message:
        "The operation completed successfully."

    Even though it looks correct, and the parameter is a valid directory, it produces that error. Confusing huh? :) To fix a command you've already created, just select it, then select the appropriate command from the Cmds menu. Nothing will appear to change, but it will be fixed.

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My multiplayer map isn't appearing in the multiplayer map list.

For a level to appear in the multiplayer map list, it must have an info_player_deathmatch in it.

The info_player_deathmatch entity creates a player spawn point for multiplayer games. When a player spawns in a level (either because he is just entering the level, or he has just died and is respawning) his location will be picked randomly from all of the available info_player_deathmatch spawn points.

Its a good idea to include a large number of these spawn points to prevent predictable spawning.

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One of my toolbars is missing! How do I get it back?

This requires a bit of registry tweaking. Load up Regedit by selecting Run from the Start menu and typing regedit, then pressing the Enter key.

Once in Regedit, expand the following path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Valve\Valve Hammer Editor

In Regedit's Valve Hammer Editor folder, select and delete the key called Barstate-Summary. This will reset all of the toolbars to their default positions.

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How do I get back to having 4 views - the 3D, top, front, and side views?

Select Options from the Tools menu. Click on the General tab. Under Window Setup where it says Use independent window configurations, make sure there is not a check next to that option, then close and restart the editor.

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My level has a leak. How do I fix it?

For information on this, please refer to the tutorial entitled How to I fix leaks in my level?

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My sprites have suddenly turned into textures!

There is an issue where, if you open a new 3D window (or close the existing one then open a new one), sprites are displayed as seemingly random textures in the 3D view. To fix this, save your map, then close and reload it.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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