Support

Help & Bug Reports

SteelStacks is Pre-Alpha. Bugs are expected. Here's how to get help, report issues, and find out what's already known and being worked on.

Discord

Community & Bug Reports

The fastest way to get help. Post in #bug-reports or ask in #general: other players and the dev are active.

Open Discord

Controls Guide

New to SteelStacks?

The full controls reference covers keybindings, movement mechanics, obstacle types, checkpoints, and multiplayer setup.

Read the Guide

Updates

Patch Notes & Known Issues

Check the main page for the latest update notes. Known Pre-Alpha issues are also listed below on this page.

View Changelog

FAQ

Common Questions

Pre-Alpha specific questions. This list grows as the Discord surfaces new common issues.

The game doesn't launch. What do I do?

Make sure you've fully extracted the zip: do not run the executable directly from inside the archive. If it still doesn't open, try right-clicking → Run as Administrator. If Windows Defender flags it, add an exclusion for the game folder. Report persistent launch failures in Discord with your Windows version and any error message shown.

Do I need to install anything?

No installer required. Extract the zip to any folder and run the SteelStacks.exe directly. Some machines may need the Visual C++ Redistributable: download it from the official Microsoft site if you get a missing DLL error.

Is controller support available?

Not in Pre-Alpha. Keyboard-only for now. Controller support is on the roadmap but doesn't have a confirmed version target yet.

The game runs slowly / has frame drops.

Try running in windowed mode first. If that helps, the issue is likely fullscreen scaling overhead. Make sure your GPU drivers are up to date. Performance optimisation passes are planned as development continues.

I fell through a platform / clipped through a wall.

Known pre-alpha issue at very high velocities. It's actively being worked on. Note the level name, roughly where it happened, and how fast you were going (if you know), and report it in #bug-reports on Discord.

Can I save my progress?

Progress is saved locally between sessions. If your save disappears, it may have been cleared by an update that restructured the save format. This will happen occasionally during Pre-Alpha: saves are not guaranteed to be compatible between versions.

How do I submit a speedrun?

Post a recording in the #speedruns channel on Discord. No formal leaderboard exists yet, but the community tracks times there. Screen recording software like OBS (free) works fine.

Known Issues

Pre-Alpha Bugs

These are confirmed and being actively worked on. No need to report them again.

Movement

Wall-jump angle inconsistency at very high incoming speeds. The launch arc deviates slightly from expected.

Physics

Platform clip-through in rare cases when dashing at maximum velocity into stacked horizontal surfaces.

Audio

Missing audio on some machines when using certain Bluetooth audio devices. Plug-in headset workaround confirmed.

Multiplayer

Lobby desyncs when one player's ping exceeds ~200ms. Server-hosted lobbies planned to fix this.

Timer display flickers briefly on level load when playing at resolutions above 1440p.

Found a new bug?

Post in #bug-reports on Discord. A good bug report includes:

Which level it happened in
What you were doing (dashing, wall-jumping, in a lobby, etc.)
Your Windows version and whether it's reproducible
A screenshot or clip if you can capture it

Report on Discord