View source for Troubleshooting

This page attempts to document common problems with ''TF2 Classic'', and their solutions.

== I get an error when I try to extract the game! ==
This error may occur when using Windows Explorer's built-in ZIP extractor. It's generally recommended to instead use third-party archivers (see below) to extract the game's files.

Tested and supported options include [https://www.7-zip.org/ 7-Zip], [https://peazip.github.io/ PeaZip], and [https://www.winzip.com/en/ WinZip (not free)]. WinRAR will likely also work, however it is discouraged as it's been known to randomly botch extractions in the past, along with being proprietary.

== My game doesn't appear in my Steam library! ==
You should first make sure your folder structure is correct. Inside your <code>sourcemods</code> folder, there should be a <code>tf2classic</code> folder, which should contain a <code>gameinfo.txt</code> file. If this doesn't perfectly line up, you extracted it incorrectly. If you have a path that looks like <code>sourcemods/tf2classic-2.0.3/tf2classic</code> or if all of your files are dumped loosely in <code>sourcemods</code>, that will cause it to be undetectable.

This issue can also appear if Steam and ''TF2 Classic'' are installed on separate disks (for instance, Steam on your <code>C:</code> drive and ''TF2 Classic'' on your <code>E:</code> drive). The solution is to create a "symlink", a folder in your Steam installation that redirects to a folder on your external disk. The steps to do this vary depending on your system.

==== On Windows: ====
1. Locate your <code>sourcemods</code> folder. If you can't find it, you can run <code>reg query HKCU\Software\Valve\Steam /v SourceModInstallPath</code> in Command Prompt to see the path.

2. Delete your <code>sourcemods</code> folder, otherwise the symlink can't be made. If any mods are still in there, transfer them over to your preferred new location.

3. Open Command Prompt as administrator.

4. Enter this command: <code>mklink /d /j "path to steam sourcemods" "path to your sourcemods"</code>

Replace <code>"path to steam sourcemods"</code> with your Steam <code>sourcemods</code> path, for instance: <code>"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\sourcemods"</code>

Replace <code>"path to your sourcemods"</code> with whatever path you require, for instance: <code>"D:\Games\sourcemods"</code>

==== On Linux: ====
1. Delete your Steam <code>sourcemods</code> folder, usually found at <code>~/.steam/steam/steamapps/sourcemods</code>

2. Open a terminal and run <code>ln -s /path/to/your/sourcemods ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/sourcemods</code>

Like you would Windows, exchange <code>/path/to/your/sourcemods</code> with the full path to the folder you wish to use on your external disk. 

Note that any external disk used for running games '''must be readable and writable by your user, and you must have execute permissions.''' If this is an NTFS disk, follow Valve's guide on preparing it: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/wiki/Using-a-NTFS-disk-with-Linux-and-Windows.

== (Linux) My game can't connect to servers!/My in-game overlay doesn't work! ==
On Linux, ''TF2C'' requires a special launch option to function properly. Right-click the game in your Steam library, click "Properties", then paste this into the Launch Options field:

<code>LD_PRELOAD="$HOME/.steam/steam/ubuntu12_32/gameoverlayrenderer.so" %command% -steam -steam</code>

This should fix the overlay, and allow you to connect to game servers.

== "The server you are trying to connect to is running an older version of the game." ==
This error is partially erroneous. Most commonly, the server isn't running an older version of the game, you are. If you downloaded ''TF2C'' 2.0.0 from some third-party mirror, you'll receive this error when connecting to official servers. Hence, you'll need to reinstall the game from an archive using the latest version of the game.

== The launcher tells me that SDK2013 isn't installed, but it is! ==
This can happen if Source SDK Base 2013 Multiplayer is installed onto a separate drive from Steam itself. It must be installed onto the same drive that the Steam client is on.

== The launcher says that SDK2013 needs to be updated, but it is! ==
You should try to launch SDK2013 from Steam once. Even if Steam claims it's fully installed, it may still require validation or other work, which Steam will only perform when you try to run it. After launching and closing it again, restart the launcher.

== Players are invisible in my game! ==
This tends to happen if your network is unreliable or your game stutters. It's possible to run a command to fix this, though you'll need to run this command every time it happens.
1. Enable the Developer Console in the game settings.
2. Press the ~ (tilde) key on your keyboard to open the console.
3. Run <code>record demo;stop</code>

== See also ==
* [[Installation]]
* [https://discord.gg/3zMk4vn Discord server] (post in the #technical-issues channel if your issue could not be resolved here)

[[Category:Guides]]