Troubleshooting
 
If something goes wrong while using Power Game Factory, an error message generally appears explaining the problem. Information on serious problems is recorded to the Error Log file, which can be found by navigating to Macintosh HD/Users/[your user name]/Library/Application Support/Power Game Factory/Power Game Factory Error Log.txt. If Power Game Factory exhibits ongoing strange behavior, the contents of the Error Log file should be sent to Sawblade Software so that the problem may be fixed in a future release. If possible, the game project that was open when the problem occurred should be exported and sent to Sawblade Software for evaluation. Updates to Power Game Factory are made available free of charge at the Sawblade Software Web site.

In certain rare situations, the Power Game Factory application may freeze without warning. If Power Game Factory freezes and remains unresponsive for a long time, press Command-Option-Escape to bring up the Force Quit Applications Dialog. Select Power Game Factory from the list of applications and click the Force Quit button. Force quitting Power Game Factory discards unsaved changes to any open game project, so only force quit the application if you are reasonably sure that it is frozen, rather than just busy.

Problems With Testing

If Power Game Factory freezes while a game project is being tested, it is likely the result of a problem with the design of the game project. Potential causes may include recursive routines that repeat themselves endlessly and objects that are allowed to create infinite numbers of other objects; for example a projectile might emit exhaust particles which in turn emit their own exhaust, quickly filling the level with unmanageable numbers of objects.

In the event of a freeze, force-quit the application and make the necessary changes to the game project. Identifying the causes of problems with a game project becomes easier if the game project is tested frequently.

Problems With Saving

If Power Game Factory freezes and must be forced to quit while in the middle of saving a game project, more serious problems may result. Partially saved game project data is unusable, and Power Game Factory will be unable to reopen the game project.

The surest way to avoid losing game project data is to periodically export functional game projects to a safe location, so that they may be restored if necessary. For information on exporting and re-importing game projects, see the File Menu section.

After a serious application failure, some game project assets may be recovered from the Temporary Game Data folder, which is located in Macintosh HD/Users/[your user name]/Library/Application Support/Power Game Factory/Temporary Game Data/.