"Back To School" Campaign Troubleshooting Guide

In this guide you can learn about download and installation process of "Back To School" campaign, also about some solutions for common problems.

Download & Installation from Workshop

Before you download and install, please make sure you have the Steam Client installed along with Left 4 Dead 2. Also make sure the game has been launched at least once through Steam.

• First of all you need to get to the "Back To School Campaign" collection page:http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=121115793 either by using link on our site[bts-l4d.com] or link on any of "Back To School Campaign" add-on page (part 1,2,3... etc.):
  
  
  
  
  
• Once you get to the collection page, press "Subscribe to all" button:
  
  
  
  
• After all this icons will change to this icons, Steam (if it's running) will automatically start to download all 7 parts of the campaign:
  
  
  
  
• We NOT recommend you to launch Left 4 Dead 2 until download process is complete - files could be corrupted because of that. Also we NOT recomend you to download more than 10 add-ons in a same time for the same reasons:
  
  
  
  
• After download is finished, start Left 4 Dead 2 and wait until campaign will install automatically. Spinning ring indicates that installation is in process (also it indicates verification process for already installed add-ons) . Spinning ring will disappear after installation will be over:
  
  
  
  
• Last step - you should open "Add-ons" menu and check that all 7 parts of campaign are in the list and all of them have ticks:
  
  
  Note: If any part of campaign is missing, that means Workshop faild to install or to download this part.
  Workshop sometimes stops download the files without any information on your screen. You have to re-launch the game until all 7 parts have been totally downloaded and installed in your Addons Menu in Left 4 Dead 2.
  
  
• Now campaign is correctly installed and you can play it!

Download & Installation from Gamemaps.com or Moddb.com

• Chose our download link on our site[bts-l4d.com] and proceed either to http://www.gamemaps.com/details/6691 or http://www.moddb.com/mods/back-to-school/downloads/back-to-school-campaign-v-106-for-left-4-dead-2:
  
  
  
  
• Download .zip archive and unpack .vpk file from it:
  
  
  
  
• Move .vpk file to your "...\Steam\steamapps\common\left 4 dead 2\left4dead2\addons" folder:
  
  
  
  
• Launch the game and check that campaign was properly installed and showed up in "Add-ons" menu:
  
  
  Note: If campaign isn't showing up in "Add-ons" menu, then your download was corrupted and you should repeat all steps again.
  
  
• Now campaign is correctly installed and you can play it!

Problems that we can't solve

• Game crash on Main Menu.

  This error have nothing to do with add-ons. It's not campaigns or maps problem either, because content of any campaign or map loads in your computer's memory ONLY when you start the game on this map or campaign. When the game starts, the descriptions is the only thing that is loaded from add-ons' vpk files.
  So what is causing this error?
  After you've subscribed for something in Workshop and launch the game, game will starts the synchronization process, which is checking for addons' integrity. This process can freeze or even crash the game, depending on your current Steam's connection and game's memory usage. The chance of game crash is increasing, if you've subscribed for a lot of addons at once, or if addons are big.
  So blame Valve, modders have nothing to do with this.
  Only Left 4 Dead 2 developers know why this happens and only they can fix this error.
  
  But you can try this:
  

  Escrito originalmente por fluffy bunny whiskers!:

  I found a solution for my own problem with loading this campaign. It used to crash on the Main Menu, despite me making sure every part was subscribed/downloaded. What I did instead to make it work is to NOT click “Subscribe to All”, and rather I subscribed to Part 1, loaded L4D2 so it would install/update, exited L4D2, subscribed to part 2, loaded L4D2, exited L4D2, etc… for all 7 parts, doing only 1 part at a time. It takes time (approximately 20 minutes?), but I’ve kept checking back on this campaign to see if the error is fixed, and it never is – the campaign looked great, so I was persistent. Please give this a try if you can’t play – just remember to install one part at a time, as frustrating as that may be, and it hopefully won’t crash. It seemed like the reason L4D2 was crashing for some of us was it was “overloading” with the installation/updates of many parts at a time.

  
  

• Wrong ambient sounds

  For example - Sewer sounds in the forest.
  This error caused by conflict with “Silent Hill L4D2”[www.l4dmaps.com] and “Vienna Calling 2”[www.l4dmaps.com]. Both of them contain file “soundscapes_manifest.txt” in vpk archive. This file causes wrong ambient sounds errors in many campaigns, including Back To School. Only creators of this two campaigns can fix this error.
  
  

• Teddy bear model falling under the ground

  This error caused by conflict with “Warcelona”[www.l4dmaps.com] campaign. This campaign replaces gnome model with a pork leg (as our campaign replaces it with teddy bear), but it also overrides gnome's collision model (we instead use the default collision model) and this causes error to happen. Only creators of “Warcelona” campaign can fix this error.

In case of game crash

• My game crashes during campaign loading or map changing. What should i do?

  
  First
  Turn off "Improved L4D2 Decals" and "Improved Blood Textures" add-ons.
  Also turn off old version of Andy's realism mod[l4d2.gamebanana.com].
  Campaign has a conflict with this add-on. We are going to eliminate this conflict in the next updates till than, turn off this add-ons.
  
  Second
  If “Paged Pool Memory Available” in video options set on “High”, set this option on "Medium" first and if doesn't help - set it on “Low”. Also try to turn off “Multicore Rendering” in options.
  

Purple and black textures, error signs everywhere

• When i load maps everything is purple and black with neon error signs everywhere. What's wrong?

  
  
  One of the campaign's parts was corrupted during download or just didn't install properly. You should open "Add-ons" menu and check that all 7 parts of campaign are in the list and all of them have ticks:
  
  
  If any part of campaign is missed, then you need to get back to "Back To School Campaign" collection page, unsubscribe from missed parts and subscribe again.

Missing textures in second and third chapter of campaign

• I have several missing textures (purple and black checkered texture) on 2nd and 3rd map, is it normal?

  After one of the last updates Valve have deleted several textures from the game.
  They haven't used them by themselfs, but several modders have, and now they are missing in several custom maps and campaigns.
  
  Till next update just use http://www.gamemaps.com/details/8719.

Campaign's parts conflict with each other

• Campaign's parts conflict with each other in my addon's menu, what's wrong?

  All parts of each big campaign (which has multiple parts - "I Hate Mountains", "Yama", "Dead Before Dawn" etc.) interfere with each other after last L4D2 update.
  It's old bug from L4D2 Beta, it was fixed already in Beta version, but now it apparently came back again.
  Only L4D2 devs can fix it and apparently they don't care about it.
  But, even with this bug, all of campaigns work fine, so only consequence of this bug is annoing red font in add-ons menu.

New weapon animations are missing

• I've seen freaking cool weapon animations in trailer, but there is no such animations in my game. Where can i get them?

  
  That was arby's "Re-animations" add-ons. This add-ons have been removed from campaign because of people complains. As soon as arby upload this add-ons into Workshop, we'll add them to "Back To School campaign" collection.
  Till then you can get arby's "Re-animations" here:
  M9 Pistols[www.l4dmaps.com], Hunting Rifle[www.l4dmaps.com], Desert Eagle[www.l4dmaps.com], Autoshotguns[www.l4dmaps.com], SMGs[www.l4dmaps.com], M16[www.l4dmaps.com], Military Sniper Rifle[www.l4dmaps.com], AK-47[www.l4dmaps.com], SCAR-L[www.l4dmaps.com], Pump-Action Shotguns[www.l4dmaps.com], Grenade Launcher[www.l4dmaps.com], L4D Survivor Hands Fixed[www.l4dmaps.com].

Problems with pathfinding

• I can't find the way! I don't know what to do during panic events! Any help?

  
  For easy navigation and useful advices during the events we recommend turning on Game Instructor feature during the first few playthroughs.
  To do that, go to Menu>Options>Multiplayer>Game Instructor and turn it on.
  
  
  Now Game Instructor is on (but you can turn it off anytime at the options).

Performance issues

• I have performance issues in some locations also loading time is kinda long. Help?

  
  Yes, campaign have some performance issues and long loading times due to large and detail environments. We are working on that.
  But you must understand that our campaign have higher system requirements than original game in a first place, and they won't change dramatically even after we'll finish with optimization.

[Anything Goes]

I was really keen to play this but I get the crash from the word go. As soon as I launch L4D2 and it starts synchronising it freezes, then crashes. I then actually have to restart steam for it to work again.

[envirozavr]

@Prof.Farnsworth, I think one or several parts of campaign is missing for you .

[Prof Farnsworth]

rly nice campaign, but i got a little problem. a few of the textures don't load correctly and show the pink/black pattern instead. the schoolbuses like the one right at the start and the excavators. also the helicopter-wreck after the event and the sinks in the prison-tract of the police station. antennas on the roofs of certain buildings and some wall-textures.
any idea how i can fix this? other than reloading the whole thing if possible :)

[The Filthy Destroyer]

THe General Improvements mod and I assume any mod that adds an extra melee slot will need to be turned off due to part 4 Cinema, where you need to cut the wire with the axe, the extra slot I guess somehow messes with the process, so yeah. Although, after cutting thatm there isn't much else so you can just skip to part 5

[envirozavr]

@Benedict Lowerdick, right now we don't know why exactly it's happening. Seems like it has something to do with some modded non-official servers.

[BenDownLowe]

Tanks were invisible for me. Any ideas as to why this was?

[envirozavr]

@Kodek (GB), Thanks

[envirozavr]

English, please. ( or Russian :D )

[76561198007008098]

geile map kann ich alle empfehlen WEN ihr wollt SarazarLP hat die map auch gezockt damit ihr wisst wie ihr spielen könnt ^^.

[ROCK N ROLL]

that is so cool