Debug Mode

Debug mode can help a lot during development. It’s a little weird in vanilla, as it’s split into two parts.

Limited Debug

On startup, the game checks for the presence of a file named debug_tester.dat in the game’s directory.

This gives you two things:

• Some debug items
• Accessing the switch/variable debug menu in game via the F9 key

Proper Debug

By launching the game with the --debugMode=true argument, the game better recognizes it’s in debug mode. Note that it does not provide the benefits of Limited Debug, as they’re separate.

Most notably, it sets the $debug variable to true in Ruby, which you can use anywhere in scripts or the editor. An example of that can be found in the INIT map, where it checks $debug and sends the player to the debug room if it’s true.

The overall usefulness besides quick access to the debug room is up to you.

To set it up, create a file named start_debug.bat in the game’s folder, and write one of the following lines into it, depending on the version:

Steam version:

Copysteamshim.exe --debugMode=true

itch.io version:

Copyoneshot.exe --debugMode=true

If you’ve changed the engine, then look into its documentation on how to apply debug mode, as it may have a better solution.