How to Fix a GameMaker Enemy State Not Switching in the Step Event

A GameMaker enemy that stays in its starting state forever is reading detection values that have not been updated yet, or never assigns a new state. Reordering the Step logic fixes it. Here is how.

How to fix it

1. Compute perception first

At the top of the Step event update dist = point_distance(...) and any timers, then run the switch(state) so transitions act on current data.

2. Assign the state explicitly

Inside each case set state = ENEMY.CHASE (etc.) when a condition is met; a case that only acts but never reassigns state can never leave the state.

3. Use an enum for states

Define an enum ENEMY {IDLE, CHASE, ATTACK} and compare against it, avoiding magic-number bugs where a typo'd state value matches nothing and the machine stalls.

Catching the ones you can't reproduce

The hardest version of this to fix is the one you can't reproduce — it only happens on a player's hardware, OS, driver, or save state, under conditions that simply aren't present on your machine. A report that says “it crashed” or “it froze” gives you nothing to act on, so the bug survives release after release while quietly costing you players.

Automatic error capture closes that gap. Each failure arrives with its full stack trace, the device and OS, the build number, and a breadcrumb trail of what the player did right before it broke, so even a failure you have never seen becomes a specific, reproducible issue. Fold identical failures into one signature ranked by how many players each hits, and your worklist sorts itself worst-first instead of arriving as a stream of vague complaints.

This is where a tool like Bugnet earns its place. Its SDK captures every GameMaker error automatically with the full stack trace plus device, OS, memory, build, and game-state context, folds duplicates into one grouped issue with an occurrence count, and ties each to the build it first appeared on — so you fix the problem that hurts the most players first and confirm it is gone when its signature disappears from the next release.