BC-0173 · TROUBLESHOOTING
Editorial review 2026-09-26
Timer Does Not Work in Roblox Build
Diagnose a timer by its intended phase transitions: when it starts, whether it counts up or down, when it stops and what retry restores. Inspect the displayed units and the actual end-state behavior separately. Do not compensate for a timer defect by changing the game's duration until its rule is clear.
Symptom
A game timer has incorrect start, progress, stop, display or retry behavior.
Immediate action
Define direction, units and the phase in which counting should begin before changing a time value.
Diagnostic branches
- Time advances while the round should still be waiting.
- Request the correct start boundary while preserving the configured duration.
- The active timer does not visibly progress.
- Record the active phase and display separately from other moving game elements.
- The display reaches its end but the intended outcome is absent.
- Investigate the timer-to-outcome transition rather than changing duration.
- Counting continues after an outcome or carries into retry.
- Specify terminal stop and fresh-round restoration as distinct checks.
Least-destructive change
Repair the timer lifecycle without using a longer duration to conceal a missing transition.
Retest
- Waiting and active phases have their intended time behavior.
- An outcome stops the timer and conflicting outcomes follow the explicit design priority.
- Retry restores the defined initial display before another active round.
Escalation
Keep the phase sheet, displayed values and outcome observations if the issue persists. This guide does not infer clock APIs, frame timing or an official optimal round length from the symptom.
Working notes
Write the timer contract in player-visible terms. A countdown for survival and a stopwatch for completion have opposite directions and different end conditions. A label without units or a rule for when counting begins can look broken even when a value is changing.
Observe the waiting, active and ended phases. A timer that advances before Start has a different defect from one that never begins, stops during ordinary play or continues after failure. Record whether opening an existing menu is intended to pause the round; do not assume that a menu automatically suspends time.
Compare the display with the outcome it is supposed to drive. If a countdown reaches its displayed end but play continues, the boundary problem may be the end transition rather than clock movement. If the round ends while the visible timer still suggests time remains, preserve both observations without diagnosing a scheduler or rounding implementation.
Specify how competing outcomes should be resolved if the design permits a goal and timeout together. That priority is a design choice to make explicit, not a hidden Roblox default. Keep the chosen duration, score and controls unchanged while repairing the timer lifecycle, then check a fresh retry for an old value or lingering activity.
Examples
- Phase sheet: waiting—unchanged initial display; active—countdown progresses; failure—display stops; retry—initial value restored before play. Fill actual observations alongside these proposed expectations.
- Proposed repair: Start the existing countdown only when the round becomes active, stop it when failure is recognized, and restore its configured initial value on retry. Keep the duration and the current failure rule unchanged.
- End discrepancy: the display reaches the designed end while the player can still collect points. Record the continued action and missing terminal state separately from whether the digits counted down.