HPL3/Launch Configuration

When a mod is launched, some initialization occurs and the game is configured before the mod shows up. This article explains how to configure the startup of a mod.

Launch Configuration File

In order to make the mod launch, we need to list some configurations and settings that affect the initialization of the mod. All of the configurations are listed inside a single XML file, called main_init.cfg. The file should be located inside the config folder of the mod. When launching a mod, either via debug mode or via the game, the mod will first read the data from this file.

Minimal Configuration

These are the minimal settings that should be inside a main_init.cfg file:

<Directories  
	MainSaveFolder = "Save Folder Name"
	GameLanguageFolder = "config/lang/"
/>

<Variables
	GameName = "Mod Name"
/>

<StartMap 
	File = "map_name.hpm" 
	Folder = "maps/" 
	Pos = "PlayerStartArea_1" 
/>

Extended Configuration

These are the full settings that can be inside a main_init.cfg file in order to apply further customization:

<ConfigFiles 
	Resources = "resources.cfg" 
	Materials = "materials.cfg"
	SoundData = "sounddata.cfg"

	Game = "config/game.cfg"
	
	DefaultUserSettings = "config/default_user_settings.cfg"
	DefaultUserKeys = "config/default_user_keys.cfg"
	
	DefaultBaseLanguage = "base_english.lang"
	DefaultGameLanguage = "english.lang"
	
	Modules = "config/Modules.cfg"
	EntityTypes = "config/EntityTypes.cfg"
	Effects = "config/Effects.cfg"
	PlayerStates = "config/PlayerStates.cfg"
/>

<Directories  
	MainSaveFolder = "Main"
	
	BaseLanguageFolder = "config/"		
	GameLanguageFolder = "config/lang_main/"
/>

<Variables
	GameName = "SOMA"
/>

<MainMenu
  File="main_menu.hpm"  
  Folder="maps/"
  Pos=""
/>

<StartMap 
	File = "00_00_intro.hpm" 
	Folder = "maps/" 
	Pos = "PlayerStartArea_1" 
/>

it is recommended to not change most of the settings, and only edit things that should really be customized for your mod, such as mod name, save folder name, etc.