Source SDK Known Issues

In the new SDK it is necessary to build the client and server DLLs before running the MOD. Please build them if you see this message when trying to run the MOD.

Image:Couldnotloadclient.JPGSource SDK Known Issues (Valve Sofware)

Chris Sherman from SHU’s helpdesk has spent several hours helping me try to get the Half-Life 2 SDK working in a classroom lab for EL 405: New Media Projects. We’re making progress. Once we gave the students SuperUser access to individual computers in the lab, we’ve been able to install Half-Life 2 so that the game plays. We’ve also been able to install the editor, so that students can create levels. But when we try to compile and run the maps, we get the above error message. When I track down this error message, it looks like we’ll need to install Microsoft .net (which is a huge mega-installation that opens up a whole new can of worms). I know I didn’t install that on my laptop, and I remember reading somewhere that there’s an alternative C++ compiler that works with the HL2 SDK. I also noticed that that particular lab has Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 installed, and there does seem to be a conversion utility that lets you change the HL2 files so that Visual Studio 6.0 can use them. But that’s not something I can fiddle with at home — I have to be at the lab in order to try that. So I’m going to keep looking.

Students have been able to install Inform 7 and Blender 3D on the lab computers without any trouble. We purchased site licenses for The Games Factory 2 and Flash, so those never gave us any problems.

I’ve still got a couple of weeks before I’m scheduled to teach HL2 modding. At the moment, while it would be awkward and silly, I could have the students e-mail me the maps they make during the classroom exercises, and they could run them on my laptop. But that’s hardly an ideal solution. (I really wish Tim Holt’s Half-Life 2 modding book were out… sigh.)

6 thoughts on “Source SDK Known Issues

  1. i have this problem. i can’t find any source SDK file to download or install. i wanna create map for Gmod but just can’t find Source SDK.
    i downloaded Valve hammer editor but can’t find folder in what are textures for editor. pls help as soon as possible. and pls don’t answer my question here cause i’l forget this site so send me answer to E-Mail

  2. Thanks for that perspective. That particular lab is the fanciest that the Humanities Division uses, but our computer needs aren’t as advanced as the CS majors need. I have high hopes that we’ll get past this next hurdle. There is plenty for us to learn about before we get to that point, though.

  3. Just fyi…the .NET runtime is a fairly standard part of windows nowadays, in fact you can install it from the windows update site itself. Newer versions of windows also ship with it preinstalled. I’m just saying – it shouldn’t be that big of a deal to install it. Frankly, I would expect that letting your students have SuperUser access to the lab computers would be a bigger can of worms than installing the .NET runtime.

    Also, if it really truly does need the .NET runtime, you won’t be able to just use a different compiler.

    Hope I’m helpful. It’s totally possibile I misunderstood what you were saying. Good luck!

  4. Good luck getting HL2 up and working, it is a shame that express Visual C++ 2005 is not really suitable and that you need VC++ 2003. I will also second wishing that Tim Holt’s book was out as it is months behind schedule, at this rate (Half Life 2 Mods For Dummies by Erik Guilfoyle) will be released first.

  5. Good luck. Teaching this is going to be quite a challenge…heck, it already is. Hope the students enjoy the outcome once you get past the hiccups because mods are, well, cool!

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