Debug mode

Debug mode is used mainly by developers and modders to analyze the running state of the game. It can be enabled to show detailed information about the game world, and its information varies based on which level is active. The default keys to enable debug mode are f5 through f7.

For example, one can:

• See the path the Biters are coming from and where they plan to target,
• See the position / coordinates of the cursor,
• See a grid-overlay for the Tiles and Chunks,
• See the blocks in a railway network,
• See additional non-game related information, such as Updates Per Second and FPS.

Activate the debug mode

You have 4 debug-levels:

• Always - This is the default mode, if no mode is active. Keep very few things active here.
• Basic - The first mode, accessed by pressing F5. What power users often use.
• Detailed - The second mode, accessed by pressing F6. The most commonly used for modders and developers.
• Full - The third mode, accessed by pressing F7. Shows literally everything, tends to be unreadable.

To switch back to "always" you need to press the previous key again. Example: Press F5 to go to "basic", then press F6 to watch "detailed" and then press F6 again to switch back to "always".

Configuring the debug mode

To configure the 4 modes, press F4. This opens up a menu with many options. You can move this menu with the mouse, if it hides some interesting underlying thing. You can switch between 4 folders, which reflects the option for that debug-mode ("always", "basic", "detailed", "full"). The options are the same for each mode. Each mode can be configured to the user's liking, the different modes are only for convenience. A search function (CTRL + F) is available.

List of debug-options and their function

Option	Description
show-fps	Will show the current frames-per-second, or FPS. Should be normally about 60.
show-detailed-info	Shows the cursor position in Tiles (and subdivisions of that), Chunks and Region Current resolution and zoom How many objects are on the screen (painted by the graphic card) How many entities, chunks and paths are in the game and used.
show-time-usage	Many important internal statistics about how much time each calculation takes.
show-sprite-counts	The counts of each sprite rendered on screen.
show-multiplayer-waiting-icon	When in a multiplayer game: if the game is currently waiting for the server to process.
show-multiplayer-statistics	The latency information when in multiplayer.
show-tile-grid	Shows the borders of the Tiles and Chunks.
show-collision-rectangles	Shows the collision boxes of each entity (red).
show-selection-rectangles	Shows the a blue box over each entity, if you hover over it, it will be selected.
show-paths	The calculated paths for the biters in different colors.
show-next-waypoint-bb	Shows waypoints for biters (in green), nearly the same info as the next.
show-target	Shows the current target of the biters (red).
show-unit-group-info	Biter groups, which belong together (circles and lines belonging together)
show-unit-behavior-info
show-last-path-detail	The A*-algorithm at work, calculating new paths.
show-path-cache	The source-positions of a path and about the length (?)
show-path-cache-paths
show-rail-paths	Which path a train will follow.
show-rolling-stock-count	Shows inserter positions
show-rail-connections	Shows rail connections.
show-rail-segments	Shows the segment borders and enables you to see the borders of the block.
show-rail-blocks
show-rail-joints
show-train-stop-point	When a train slows down it shows the calculated point where it should halt
show-train-braking-distance	The distance a train will take to stop at its current speed
show-train-signals
show-network-connected-entities	Displays the network-id of the electric network that a pole is connected to
show-circuit-network-numbers	Shows the number (and color) of circuit networks
show-energy-sources-networks	Which network-id an entity is connected to.
show-active-state	Inserters, fish, turrets are turned to passive, if not used; Red = inactive, Purple = inactive until enemies aren't around (turrets etc), Green = inactive until player isn't around (fish). Passive entities consume less CPU power.
show-wakeup-lists	When an entity is sleeping in another entity it shows which entities it's sleeping in.
show-pollution-values	Shows the numeric pollution amount on each chunk.
show-active-enemies-on-chunk-counts	Not 100% clear: displays in the map view, how much biter nests (blue) are targeting to which are (red for the number of biters?), green: unknown?
show-active-chunks	Shows in the map view, which chunks are "on", unmarked chunks are not calculated.
show-polluted-chunks	Shows which chunks have pollution.
show-enemy-expansion-candidate-chunks	Where is space left to spread the brood?. Goes from red (nearly no space) to green (space to expand).
show-enemy-expansion-candidate-chunk-values	Which chunks the enemies will try to expand into.
show-bad-attack-chunks
show-tile-variations	Shows, which tile-variation (1, 2 or 4 tile sized) is painted for which area of the map. Quite confusing, zoom in to see the meaning.
show-raw-tile-transitions	Turns connected textures for land and water off, so the distinction can easily be made.
show-tile-correction-previews	When in the map editor it shows what tiles will be corrected to what variations when painting tiles.
show-fluid-box-fluid-info	How much fluid is in a pipe/storage tank, shows flow of liquid in pipes.
show-environment-sound-info	Displays which sound of which entity is played and how loud.
show-logistic-robot-targets
show-fire-info
show-sticker-info
show-map-generator-info