Support: Frequently Asked Questions

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 (displayed in SED / Help / About ). The answers for 99,9% of all questions, however, can be found -

Also, a list of all known bugs can be found under the bugs link on the User Forum; a list of all features currently in beta can be found under the beta link; and a list of features planned for future updates can be found under forecast.

General Information

Q. What are Gamestudio's system requirements? How much does it cost? What versions are available?
A. See http://www.3dgamestudio.com/order7.php

Q. What is the appropriate age for going into game development?.
A. Since it depends a lot on individual interests and abilities (logical thinking, patience, artistic skills), it does not make much sense to limit Gamestudio to a certain age. The youngest winner of our monthly game development contests was 12 years, 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. 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.
    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. 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.

Purchasing

Q. I ordered your software through an online shop and they rejected all my credit cards. Even my PayPal account is not accepted. What's up?
A. All major Internet 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, a large online store provider; 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. Today i tried to purchase Gamestudio using my credit card, but i was not able to make the purchase as i have a free email address. I got an answer saying that my email is invalid as it is by a free provider.
A. Many Internet stores don't accept credit card orders from users with anonymous email addresses. In such a case, either use a personal email address - not from an anonymous provider - or a different payment method, such as PayPal, cheque, wire transfer, or 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 are sent mostly within 12 hours, but at least within two business days after purchase. If you're 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 all products purchased from oP group . You'll find them in the Download section. Upgrades to a different engine generation however, like Gamestudio/A6 to A7, or to a higher edition are not free. You can order them in the online shop.

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 accidentally formatted my hard disk, 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 your user ID or order number , 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. 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 all engine functions through C++. It allows you to add new features to the engine and to the editors.

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 Gamestudio company. We suspect that you have illigal copy of Gamestudio. Please send me your user name and password for proof. You have 2 days before police grabb this case. Thank you for your atention".
A. You can give your user data to Gamestudio support, or on the upgrade form in the web store, but to no one else. You can identify an email by a real employee from a) a conitec.net reply address and b) better spelling.

Installing and starting

Q. I got Gamestudio, but don't know how to install it.
A. For installing software, first download the setup program and then start the setup process by double clicking onto it. For unlocking it to a full version, you'll receive a license key together with an unlock instruction after purchase.

Q. I have now installed Gamestudio, but have no clue how to start.
A. Click on the link to the manual (or on [Help]). On the first manual page you'll find an overview and learn how to start and how to get introduced into game programming.

Q. Why does the software require unlocking with a personal key file?
A. To prevent software piracy. The key file contains your serial number. 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 to abandon software piracy. This way 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'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 a 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. When I start the program, error messages appear like "DirectX 9.0c required - can't open video device - blah, blah, blah".
A: The DirectX 9 version of your PC is too old or damaged. If in doubt, just install the current DirectX 9 version - it's available on http://www.microsoft.com/downloads as well as on many game and magazine CDs.

Q: I have just installed Gamestudio on another PC. Now 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: I can't start the WED editor in the free lite-C version.
A: That's because the free lite-C version has no WED.

Forum / Website / Download

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: 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. 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've now downloaded a file from your website 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 need a password for downloading some file, but you don't need a password for unzipping them. You only need an unzip program. Some old unzip programs are known to have the problem of giving a password error when they don't support the file format.
  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.

Technical support

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. I've sent dozens of questions to Support, but haven't received an answer yet!
A. Support questions are guaranteed to be answered within 2 business days, but are mostly answered within 12 hours. The only catch is that you must be able to send and receive emails.
   Make sure that you've sent it to our support address above (sending it to a random address is unlikely to receive a response), and that you've included your support info: valid support ticket number or Pro user ID. If you are not receiving answers, look for exceeded quota of your email account, a heavy-handed spam filter, or a wrong reply address. If you don't know how to set up your email account or your reply adress, please contact the support of your email provider, or ask a friend to help you.

Q. I've written a script, but it does not work. Please fix!
A. The support people gladly answer your questions, and may even look over small parts of your code, but are strictly forbidden to write or debug user scripts. Only you are supposed to fix your script. All you need to do is listed under Debugging.

Q: Help! Your software is very buggy! The camera behaves strange, collision detection seems not to work right, sometimes files are not found, and WED often even won't start my level.
A: We think you might be the proud owner of one of the two early beta versions that leaked to the warez scene: 6.20 and 7.05. Both don't work very well as you certainly noticed. Sometimes the version number is patched for letting them appear as different versions (such as 7.07 Pro or 7.70 Pro) . 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 copy, plus legal fees). If you're short on money, just download Gamestudio / lite-C - it's legal and free.

Q. I have a technical problem with levels, models, or scripts.
A. You'll find help in the manual under WED FAQ, MED FAQ, lite-C FAQ, Engine FAQ, Physics FAQ, SDK FAQ, and when all this does not help, under Debugging.

 

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