FAQ - Technical FAQ

This FAQ is for technical assistance with FPS Creator. For more general topics please see the other FAQs available.

Q: I'm having trouble trying to run the segment editor for FPSC.. When I run the segment editor, It loads fine! However though... after the segment editor comes up... I click on the " Mesh" button to load in the browser like Lee Bamber said in the tutorials to do... But after I click on the Mesh button... I then get a pop-up message saying " Darkbasic Enhancment pack Runtime error in line 3 " ?!??? After I click the 'Ok' button, The browser crashs on me.... What would you recommend that I do for this?
A: Ensure the FPSC-Segments.exe application is dated 30/08/2005, and that no additional DLLs are in the same folder as this application. Also confirm that the FPSC-Browser.exe application is present in the same folder and the date of that file is also 30/08/2005. Also make sure that the Files folder is also present. The tool uses file mapping to communicate so ensure your operating system does not have many background tasks running as this may interfere with the messaging that happens during the running of the tool. If you find clicking the MESH button fails each time, try running the 'FPSC-Browser.exe' first, and then ALT+TAB back to Windows Explorer and then run 'FPSC-Segments.exe'. This ensures there is no delay when the segment editor looks for the browser to allow the end user to select an asset to use. Also make sure the latest version of DirectX is being used, the sound card drivers are up to date as the tool depends on the Enhancement Pack and the enhancement pack depends on many technologies, one of which is a speech engine installed to handle the speech commands. If the Error was code #3, this means there is a sound related problem and the solution will likely be found there.
Q: I just loaded FPSC on my system and when I try to open it I get this error: "Dark Basic Pro - Enhancements Pack Runtime Error 3"
A: If you get the Enhancement DLL Error Code 3 when launching FPSC it means it is conflicting with another part of the system via the internal GetSoundBuffer function which is related to your sound system. We recommend you perform the following steps to resolve the conflict:
1. Uninstall FPSC from your system, and manually remove any files that remain
2. The default path is usually C:\Program Files\The Game Creators\FPS Creator
3. Navigate to your personal temporary folder (if you are using WindowsXP)
4. The usual XP path is C:\Documents and Settings\Your name\Local Settings\Temp\*.*
5. Delete the contents of this TEMP folder (at your own risk), or specifically any folders named DBPDATA
6. Now reset your machine to ensure no DLLs are running in the background
7. Reinstall FPSC in the recommended default path (as above)
8. Run FPSC as normal to determine if the fix worked
Q: I have heard about a Segment Editor I can use to create my very own Segments. Where can I download this tool?
A: You can download the Segment Editor from:
http://files2.thegamecreators.com/fpscreator/FPSCreator_SegmentKit.zip. It is 225MB in size.
Q: I was just wondering which programs that The Game Creators made are compatible with FPSC?, like Texture Maker, 3d Canvas Pro and so on I assume a lot are but wasn’t sure so I thought I would ask before I buy.
A: Officially we have tested against no other tools in our range. Any that do work do so as a matter of convenience, and as soon as we get V1 out the door one of my sub-sub-missions is to try each main tool against FPSC and ensure a good level of interchange exists between them, makes sense in the grand scheme of things. As a veteran of forum posting though, I must add that the definition of sub-sub-mission is that sub-missions come above them, and main missions come above sub-missions. And of course, urgent missions come above the regular missions. As a master of deligation these days (if not spelling), I will try to get the S-S-M task assigned to a willing third party as this information would be invaluable if you are considering saving cash by buying a bundle.
Q: I want to make a wall entity so it can be destroyed and you can pass through it, what should I save it as and what forder should I save it in so I can access it in FPSC editor.
A: We have already created some entities called Fake Walls which you can find in the SCIFI/WW2\WALL FURNITURE folder. Just select them from the entity library, drop them into the level (maybe use the B key to set the grid mode on so you can place with alignment to grid active). They have a default strength of 100, so shoot at it a few times with a good weapon and it will be destroyed. You can then walk through to your secret room!
Q: How do you "goto wireframe mode"?
A: Hit the "[" symbol on your keyboard for wireframe mode Hit the "]" symbol on your keyboard for shaded/textured mode If you hit your "TAB" key, a status box will pop up and give you a run down of what the engine is processing. This is an EXCELLENT to find bugs. In the bottom portion of this is a small menu that allows you to toggle settings in the game (lights, collision, display mode, entities, portals, etc). I have been able to solve so many issues with "speed problems" and "crashing" using this status box.
Q: How do you put in double doors? I know it can be done, but I cannot find the segment to build it.
A: Double doors. Possible, with some creative use of entity doors and static entities. Essentially you would forgo the use of segment doors which are a fixed design. Go to entities library and find the scenery folder. You will find all the doors, no frames just the doors. Select one and place it on your level, the rotate it 180 degrees and place it again (the telescopic door is best for this, swinging doors get predictably odd results). Now if you placed your door up against the walls you want the door to full, you will have a gap. For this use any static entity to fill up that gap and there are a few to choose from. This way you can cobble together your double door and it will look right in the game. Of course you could hire a professional artist to create an animating door and static door frame and then a sound engineer to create your open and close sound effects. This double door request might cost you (£12x8hrs)+(£12x2hrs)=£120=$200 in the triple A world, but in the land of FPSC where creativity and cobbling rules, all it will cost you is time.
Q: I was woundering, or if i just missed it, if the lifts can stop at certain levels and not go all the way up / stop when the person gets off. This is because i tried to make a level where you step out before the lift stops but it sometimes is too high to get back on. Could someone help or add this to feature request?
A: The lifts and associated FPI scipts for them default to top or bottom, and alternating between these two positions during movement. I have a few ideas how the existing FPI script actions and conditions could do layer stopping lifts, but it gets complicated. Most users would probably want a lift switch that calls the lift to the floor the player is on, and this is something I will respond to with enough requests on this thread, else more urgent matters will pull me away to work on those. The great thing about FPSC is hat if I do not have time to do this, some enterprising fellow can take up the challenge and write the FPI script without my involvement. Believe me when I say this is a big deal, as one pair of hands cn only do so much, and FPI is a big subject!
Q: How do I speed up TEST GAME?
A: It could be a leak, something we will discover next month. It could also be memory fragmentation that will slowly chop up your contiguous areas of fresh untouched memory, and slowly make it harder for Windows to page in and out the memory it needs as fast as a fresh boot would. There are things I can do for V1, however the volume of memory you deal with when testing the game is still considerable and I have no easy way of hiding it. The two big offenders are textures and character entities. The later eats memory through the huge model and animation data chunks it needs. The only idea I had to reduce this effect in test game was to use dummy textures and models, but this made everything look visually poor and was not very useful in a test game environment. Some suggestions though. When testing your game and want to keep memory hits low:
1. Switch texture quality to LOW. If you stay out of preferences altogether, you can go one stage further and open up the SETUP.INI file in the root folder, change the DIVIDETEXTURE field from 4 (which is LOW) to 16 (which will make most textures 32x32).
2. Leave adding characters until last (when your scene is finished), as this will speed up test performance and loading times.
3. Switch off lightmapping as this adds memory and a considerable amount of loading time each time you click TEST GAME.
Q: When I step on a heal zone how do I make my life go up?
A: It should go up automatically to a maximum of the players starting health. To test it, create a hurt zone as well to reduce your initial health, then step on the heal zone to go Aaahhhh.
Q: Whenever I am in the build game dialog, and it builds the 3rd level, something goes wrong. Windows reports that something is weird, and fpsc reports that it has encountered an error.
A: Send us the FPM that generated this error. It looks like whilst calculating your lightmaps, some memory was walked on that ought not to have been walked on. Also send the settings file called SETUP.INI and BUILDSETUP.INI. Make sure you can reproduce the crash before you send these three files to us so we have a chance of reproducing it at our end, thanks.
Q: Can cartography shop be used to make prefabs or segments for FPSC?
A: Short answer, no. Long answer, er, no. Basically, no. Do not get confused over FPSC terminology and terms used by other tools. Our use of the word PREFAB and SEGMENT are exclusively for explaining the assets selectable from our LIBRARY. You will hear the term prefab in many different camps these days, and they are in no way compatible to the prefabs FPSC uses. There may be a way to get assets from CSHOP to FPSC, though this will likely happen through third party enthusiasm, and only after a while, FPSC is still very new and people are still finding their feet.
Q: I think the full version should have the ability to play Full motion video this all adds up to the build up of the story line, no one wants to sit and read aload of text about how the story began they want the narator to tell them. Thats my opinion anyway
A: For now you can trigger large WAV files from sound triggers as you progress through the level, and even start the game on a sound trigger to narrate your mission objectives. With a little FPI editing I am sure you could even have maps and images faded in and out of the screen to aid your mission brief. To tell you exactly how to do this would spoil your fun, lets see if you can figure it out I am sure there is now a core of people who hate the dreaded term 'edit an FPI script' as the answer to everything. While it does sound like a quick-fire answer, it is also true. Mainly because we did not have time to add 'everything' into the interface, so we added the 'AI FPI script system' to do the job for us As time goes by, there will be many resources surrounding the world of FPI programming!
Q: I was wondering if you could (either now or in the future) put AVIs or other interactive media for the title screen or if you could have your logo and stuff go by before the title. Also, I have heard some of the things people have made with FPI scripts and would like to know if there are ways to implant things in script not mentioned in the manual
A: There are no plans to add AVI or FMV support in any version of EA, though we are considering it for V1. The issue with AVI is speed, and playing it in the middle of a fire fight is a step towards lower frame rates and even compatibility issues when you consider the number of codecs out there. An internal animation format would be the ideal solution such as a chain of images, which to some degree has been implemented (then removed) for the EA. If there is demand, I can reimplement the idea of animating HUD image, whereby you can do simple things like a health icon which beats like a heart, or the face of your player slowly turn to a skull when shot. Animation 'inside' the game such as a monitor would require animating textures which would require more work, but again if the demand is there for V1, we can do this. When the bug base has a public line of access, this can go in as a feature request no probs.
Q: I've been trying to get a sound trigger zone to work more than just once, ie, when you pass through it, it sets off the sound that you want, but when you pass through the same area it does nothing. Is there anything that can be done to make this zone react each time that you pass through it?
A: I do not usually do this, but why not, I have done a good weeks work so I spend more time here. The FPI script assigned to the sound trigger is called soundinzone.fpi. Copy this file and rename it to myzone.fpi, then edit the contents. At the moment the contents looks like this:
;Artificial Intelligence Script
;Header
desc = Sound In Zone
;Triggers
:state=0,plrwithinzone=1:state=1,sound=$0
Change it to look like this. Ihave just done this from the top of my head so if it is wrong, I am sure some FPI bright spark will correct me before tomoz:
;Artificial Intelligence Script
;Header
desc = Sound In Zone, Over and Over
;Triggers
:state=0,plrwithinzone=1:state=1,sound=$0
:state=1,plrwithinzone=0:state=0
Can anyone see what I have done?
Q: I downloaded FPS Creator last night and I have to say I am very impressed with it so far.The only thing that I cam find is if I run levels supplied in Test level and press tab I am only getting on average 8 fps.If I run the executable game supplied it runs very smoothly with no glitches.Is ther anything I can do to increase the performance in test level.Also if I run preview level it is almost unusable due to lag.
A: In order to discount the natural performance drop of the debugger (which does need extra processing to perform its job), what you do is run your test game and notice the base of the screen has some yellow text (see manual for meanings). The F: symbol is your framerate at that momemnt. Now hit TAB and the FPS: symbol in the expanded view shows your new FPS. The differece in the values is the aproximate amount of drain the debugger requires from your system. Each system is different so values cannot be posted or announced in the manual. Use this differential to understand if it is the debugger or your level design that is causing the slowdown. I tend to keep the debugger screen off when testing, and if I hit slowdown, use the [ and ] keys to check scene polygon density, and if that is not it, I hit TAB to see if there is too much collision data or logic being demanded from that part of the level.
Q: How do you change the texture of the ground? ie I have a load of area outside and so I need to make the ground look like grass. How can I accomplish this?
A: You cannot right click a segment to change the texture, that would delete it There is a grass segment provided, you could copy and recreate your own with a different texture.
Q: Since I got it - after spending my time building just one level in FPSC and finding the best methods of optimising the level - now I seem to be just about stuck with a couple of enemies. Four that is. They eat up resources at an enourmous rate and kill the frame rates even though they may be not in view so four seems to be almost my limit. They are basic default enemies so far and dont use any pathfinding or anything like that which would be impossible with the memory consumption that would need I would think. TGC please try and improve this for later versions.
A: The art of increasing your game FPS is just that, an art. I write a small demo for PC Gamer yesterday and by adding a few walls, and adjust the logic of the characters I smoothed out the entire game so it never dropped below 30fps. The performance meters (press TAB) will help understand where the drain is, except for one area that is not logged and which I will be looking at for V1. It seems when you MOVE, some extra unmetered activity is sucking up FPS, and only in some situations that I cannot pin down. The general rule for great FPS is use the [ and ] square bracket keys to toggle wireframe on and off, see where lots of the scene is being rendered, and use walls and corners to block off all views to the portal that links that part of the map (the portal is the invisible hole such as a doorway, window or turning in a large room that seperates the large areaboxes that make up the entire level. Reduce the number of area boxes that must be rendered and your FPS shoots up because if the entity within the area box is thinking, and the area box is not rendered, the entity does not have to do as much thinking. Another quick tip, go into your characters and look for the appear1.fpi script name. Click to change this FPI script name to a new script found in the PEOPLE folder called appearnofloorlogic.fpi. You can use this if you KNOW that your character is not going to fall down any holes or climb any stairs.
Q: Is there tools to protect your resources? Aren't those (fpi scripts etc.) encrypted when compiling a game? I cannot compress the game.exe file at all, how do you do it (im just curious).
A: An FPSC executable has some differences to a regular C++ executable, and as such a compression tool to reduce EXE file sizes might fail. There are tools that CAN do this, you will just have to hunt them down. I already know of one user who is wrapping up the executable in a pre-launch windows interface to set additional properties. It seems there are some coders who just want to take things apart.
Q: I downloaded one game it was 30MB. How big is the avg. game going to be?
A: In regards to the size of final executables, what is the perception of the size. Is a large size good or bad? Do you think a large 100MB game executable is the result of a poor product? And specifically, what can we do to educate users about this subject. As many of you know, most commercial games these days require a huge amount of media to present a realistic game world. No one will settle for monochrome walls and blip noises anymore, and a 4MB texture file is normal these days. A typical small level saved out as a game will be around 30MB, with a larger level twice that and multiple levels easily reaching a CD full uncompressed. Are there any ideas and insights how we can present this information so it helps users understand WHY they are this size? This is Early Adopter, so your wildest ideas please!
Q: I was going to get this until i heard that there is a splash screen at the end. So once you have created your models and spent a long time putting them into this, when you finish creating the program it tells the whole world that you didnt create it. Why?
A: We have added some info on the splash screen in the FPSC holding website, but I take it you did not see this. If you had complete control of the entire development, where would you mention the presence of the splash screen? I think it is important people know this before purchasing the EA version to avoid similar disappointment. It also makes good commercial sense. I would rather one person walk away saying how good FPSC is to his two friends, than a person walking away saying how misleading FPSC is to his three friends. No news travels faster than bad news!
Q: I think this is because my PC crashed after I downloaded FPSC but now whenever I load up FPSC it says "An error has occured with your application have to close" so i do then I load it up again and it loads up fine but the part where you load your prefabs and segments into is just black! I think I will have to uninstall then install it again! But I am not sure whether I will lose the programme to download it again.
A: A few things to try in this situation:

1. I noticed the install path was a non-default path. Try uninstalling, deleting all temp files from this afforementioned path folder (and the FPSC folder itself), then reinstall and leave the default alone, ie (I:\Program Files\The Game Creators\FPS Creator\). Perhaps even the C drive if you have the time for many experiments.
2. DirectX 9.0c, 3D Card drivers and non-conflicting system drivers are all vital to smooth running of this software, so spending an hour to make sure your system is completely up to date is useful to discount these possibilities during your test, and also will help the rest of your system when doing other things too.
3. Any background tasks that are running such as virus defence and firewalls are vital, and there are others such as music playing tools, display monitoring tools and download managers that are not vital. Disable as many non vital tools as you can so you know the only thing the processor is doing is critical work and the software you want to use.
4. The problem in this case sounds familiar to similar problems that relate to what we have termed 'missed messages'. Instructions from one part of the software to the other, which for some reason are missed on some systems. This could be due to processor load, system efficiency, how fast the memory is, how much safeguard software is running on your system, etc. Removing EVERYTHING from the processor (including anti virus software) is a more dangerous test, but more conclusive. I recommand if you try this step, to physically disconnect from the internet, try the software, then do a full virus detection before and after reconnecting your internet service. I would hate to mess someones system up with this last step of advice so please use your own judgement here.
Q: Can we get a free download of the manual to help us decide to purchase?
A: Look in the news section of the FPS creator website, you will find a link to the full manual.
Q: Weren't we supposed to be able to export our levels to DBPro? Is that supported in the EA? If not, will it be supported in V1?
A: I had hopes to export a little level loading code so DBPro users can run around empty FPSC levels, a great starting point for your own flavour of first, third or otherwise perspective game. Then it dawned on me after Christmas you would need the version of DBPro I have, the much prized U5.8+. The plus stands for lovely little commands you probably will not get in U5.8 standard It thus made sense only to release the level loading code when you had a compiler than could compile it, that is U6.0. I will endevour to hurry this along, but as you might expect my focus is still on FPSC V1, fixing more urgent bugs and making sure we get the retail product just right, and with the help of the great EA feedback, I think we will do it.
Q: How do you use models form Darkmatter?
A: You cannot *import* your own models with the EA release. You will have to wait till v1.
Q: I was just wondering how we use the basic shader abilities or bump mapping in fps?
A: See the "Let their be water" thread in the FPSC forum. In EA the FX assignments are hidden from the interface for simplicity (ie lava uses ripple, some lights use illumination map, glass uses cubemap, etc). If you explore the file system and look for FPE and FPS files, then scroll through the lines of text you will notice paths to .FX files. You are free to change these paths and/or the FX files themselves. Remember however when you change ANYTHING in this manner, FPM levels from other users may not work as expected. I recommend always to make a copy from the original, and modify the original. I have laid out USER folders in places where you can put your modified files.
Q: Can the FPSC media be used in any other program I make?
A: The license will provide the answers you are looking for as to the extent to which you can use FPSC media. I can confirm that using the media or code in any way for non-freeware use is strictly not okay. We will announce details of FPSC licenses to allow such use after the V1 product is completed.
Q: Lets say I make 3 levels and list them all in the Build Game window. I have 3 levels in a row, but how do we move the player from one to the next? Optimally I'd like to have the player use a door or a teleporter to signify changing locations and allow them to move on to the next level.
A: Select the MARKER tab, scroll to the bottom, select WIN ZONE, drop it into the map, walk on it in your game, and you progress to the next level.
Q: I set the key name to key1 and set it in the entery to have to use on the door but the door still opens even without the key. How do you fix this?
A: The manual explains step by step how to assign a key to a door. Work from the idea that you start by entering the segment library and picking a door whos name ends with (key), then go to the entities library and select any key from any category. Paint the door into your level and drop the key into your level. Test the game and you can approach the door, a message appears, collect the key and then you can open the door with the RETURN key. The SCIFI level 2 FPM shows this in action.

To make the key ONLY open THAT door, you change TWO items of data. You change the NAME OF THE KEY (from 'key' to 'ironkey'), by right clicking the key entity and modifying the first field item at the top left area of the proprties window. Do not forget to click APPLY CHANGES! You then right click the door, and you will notice the properties for the door entity shows a field called USE KEY with the na eof the key to the right, ie 'key'. You can guess what you need to do, that is right, change the name of this field from 'key' to 'ironkey'. You have now assigned this unique key to this unique door.
Q: I painted a door into my level, but after a while, decided to take it out. I left clicked the door to grab hold of it, but it wouldn't move. After trying several methods, I made an attempt at removing the settings of the door, hoping the door would go away. Anyway, now it's just a blank grey elipse that wont do anything. I tried to fix it but I can't remember which door it actually was. So is there a way to remove it?
A: Yes I added in the DELETE KEY in entity properties mode as a way to get past this very mysterious 'entity remains' bug. I thought you might like to carry on with your levels, even if you get hit by this odd behaviour of the EA segment overlay editing sometimes.
Q: Are there plans on any content addons? Also is it legal to sell content addons for use?
A: We'll release new content packs (urban warfare / modern-day military being hot on the list). But first we need to get Version 1 released and then set the artists onto the project and it takes quite a while to model as much media as you get with FPSC! Fear not, they are coming though. As for making your own content packs - this is far from "illegal" !! infact if you do this and contact us then we may even want to help re-sell your content with you. I recommend mining as much as possible from trial and error with the file structure, and in the case of real brain buster problems post to our forum and we will add information to the cause. It will be no secret how to recreate entire library packs for FPSC. As already mentioned, we wish to encourage this, not restrict it. We will of course add to this collection of user created packs with our own offerings We are bursting with ideas, and only have a few artists to handle the subsequent explosion.
Q: Today i was playing around with making a flikering light. And i also made one. Now i go to file>Builg game and then i builded the game to test the flickering light in an EXE. (The box with dynamic light WAS ticked). But when I run the game as EXE the light wont even show. But if I run the game in test mode the flickering light shows.
A: Yes this is a bug, and confirmed. Flickering lights are also a performance drain in EA at the moment so my best advice is avoid using them until we have dealt with both issues.
Q: Can you change your menu text?
A: Just change the bitmaps the menu is built from. You cannot change the function of the buttons though. Only what they look like and where they appear. As Rich said, just change the image files. A word of warning. Keep your original installer always to hand, and any time you fel the urge to change an original FPSC file, make a copy of it, rename it and modify that! Changing your original assets is flexible and powerful, but dangerous and unpredictable too. Especially if your friend sends you one of their levels and it 'does not quite look right'.
Q: I accidently hit quit and it says only "do you wish to save first?" There needs to be an option not to quit at all.
A: Agreed, we will add this in.
Q: How do bump maps work? I looked ar one of the FPE files, and saw a pointing to effectbank/bump/bump.fx - - but this doesnt exist? Also do you not need a 'bump' texture to go with the image, or is it derived from the shader bump.fx. And if so why isnt there a bump folder, with bump.fx in?
A: Exactly what I would have done about two hours into using the product, start looking at the files! Yes the bump.fx is something that will be used in V1, when I have written some blindingly fast FX files for you. At the moment most FX files available show off the wow factor visuals, and do not concern themselves with speed too much (those that I have seen). To work a really fast shader takes time and a hefty dose of talent. I have both in scarse supply, certainly when it came to EA. I am chasing down some nice shaders that will use the paintstakingly prepared normal and specular maps, and then speed them up for V1 release. When this happens, many of the entities will come to life with real normal maps and some nifty bump effects. I know a guy that does this for a living so there is hope!
Q: Is there anyway to make the jump and camera movement more fluid?? i.e. rather than coming to a complete halt, the camera glides quickly but smoothly to a halt? and also, for the jumping to be less... ping pongy..! I notice also the player can press directional keys whilst jumping, so u get that bouncing action! Can this be changed
A: Yes I also felt that having a subtle camera wobble as thr player walks and runs would have added to the flavour of the game. When we have established a feedback system for new features, please list out what control you would need over the player/camera in terms of these adjustments. Would they be visual, or would the player slowdown before stopping, which may affect gameplay if the player comes to the edge of a cliff, slows down, and slips off the end. We make some assumptions current on your behalf in EA, what assumptions would you all like to override for V1?
Q: Does anyone know whether you can create cutscenes or add text to it during the game (ie when the player gets to a trigger zone there is a new "objective" at the bottom of the screen or a cutscene showing where to go)?
A: No is the quick and reliable answer. If you want to get your hands dirty and play with FPI script files, you can copy the dooruse.fpi and modify it to use your own image containing details of your next level objective, which can then be faded in and out as desired. Not animation, but nice graphics and can be triggered when the player gets close enough to the entity using this modified script, or when the player hits RETURN in close proximity. Have fun!
Q: First, isn't there a main player fpi? All I see is what there for the main player marker, no fpi. Second, how can we make other characters use transporters?
A: There is no main player FPI or the ability to transport characters around the level. Both good suggestions though. The nearest to main player AI is to manually edit the setuplevel.fpi in the files\gamebank\mygame (or whatever your project is called). This FPI is called at the start of the level and keeps running constantly. You can add code in here that runs throughout the level, a very close approximation to a main player FPI script.
Q: I would like to make a program that allows the user to modify their game settings by editing the setup.ini. Can someone give a line-by-line explanation of the setup.ini file. I noticed that changing the "keyx" values allows for using different keys to move within the game. However, I need to know what the valid values are (they don't appear to be the ANSI values). As stated in the quote above, the resolution can be changed, but the manual doesn't say which setting to change. A detailing of the setup.ini file would be very helpful.
A: The BUILD GAME item from the FILE menu allows all the values of the setup.ini to be edited, excluding those we do not directly support in the current version of the software. Also, preferences changes these values as well when using the SETUP.INI for the test game mode.