Common issues and questions
Why does my camera not move sometimes in the viewport?
The camera might be animated. For more information, see "The scene camera and the viewport," in Cameras overview.
I exited game mode with Alt+Tab ⇆; how do I get my mouse pointer back?
You have to exit game mode with F11 before you can move your mouse pointer in movie mode.
Why does my animation stop too soon?
You may need to make your shot longer. For more information, see Manipulating shots.
How can I move a gun to the position of a character's hand?
Lock the gun to the hand, use the Zero preset on the gun's animation, and unlock the gun. For more information, see Working with locks and List of procedural presets.
How can I make a gun follow a hand's existing animation?
Lock the gun to the hand, use the Playhead preset on the gun's animation, and unlock the gun. For more information, see Working with locks and List of procedural presets.
How can I get my models and maps to work with the SFM?
If you want to use additional models or maps, beyond those that come with the SFM, recompile them first. This includes any models or maps from Team Fortress 2, or any other Source game. For information about compiling models, see Compiling a model. For information about compiling maps, see Saving and Compiling.
How can I animate the scene camera orbiting around a character?
Select the camera, place the pivot on the character, and use the rotation manipulator to move the camera in a circle around the character. For more information, see The screen manipulator and The rotation manipulator.
Why am I seeing speckles in my scene, and how can I make them go away?
What you're seeing is a preview of ambient occlusion, which is a lighting technique that simulates certain aspects of real-world light and shadow. Leaving it on means that your rendered movie will have a more realistic look. But if you want to, you can turn it off in the render settings by right-clicking in the viewport.
How do I report a bug, ask a question, or make a suggestion?
Visit the forums, and if your bug, question, or suggestion is not listed there, you might create a new forum entry. For bugs, you can also file a bug report and send it to sfmbugs@valvesoftware.com.