HPL2/Tools

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< HPL2
Revision as of 00:45, 9 November 2020 by Darkfire (talk | contribs) (Added community tools section)
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Editors
Level Editor Everything that you do in the other editors comes to use here.
Model Editor Makes your 3D models come to life with ingame functions.
Particle Editor Create fire, smoke and other particles to spice up levels and models.
Material Editor Should a texture come with normal, specular or illumination maps? Should the material be transparent or sound like metal?
HPL Language Tool Helper tool to build,edit, and translate language files
Viewers
Map Viewer Gives extra information about the level and allows viewing without running the game. A useful tool for optimization.
Model Viewer See how your model will look ingame without having to start the game or make game specific files. Useful for porting assets.

Installation Instructions

Keep in mind that these tools, while having been used to produce actual content and a lot of effort has been put on making them as stable as possible, are a constant work in progress, so bugs and the like may arise anytime. Make sure to back up your work often, and it is highly recommended to use a versioning system (e.g. Git).

Windows

Download the Windows HPL Editor Suite for Amnesia:

This file must be unpacked into the folder where you find Amnesia.exe, all .dll files and folders with game data. This may be one of two locations depending on which version of the game you have.

  • For Steam users: This will be your game installation directory, usually C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\Amnesia - The Dark Descent\
  • For retail/other users: This will be inside the "redist" folder inside your installation directory, for example C:\Program Files\Amnesia - The Dark Descent\redist\

When reporting crashes and bugs, always include a description of the problem and any log output from the editors themselves. Logs are located in your <Documents>\HPL2\ folder.

Linux

Download the Linux HPL Editor Suite for Amnesia:

Updated 2011-02-19 Updated to fix crashes when selecting enemies.

Extract the zip and run the installer (hpl_editor_suite.sh).

The installer should automatically find your currently installed copy of Amnesia if you installed it in one of the common installation locations. If not, simply select the Amnesia folder where you installed the game.

Note: No menu items are created by the installer, it simply installs the editor data files and executables for your platform.

Note: The HplLangTool.exe is included in the Linux HPL editor suite, it is a .NET application that does run under wine/mono.

When reporting crashes and bugs, always include a description of the problem and any log output from the editors themselves. Logs are located in your ~/.frictionalgames/HPL2 folder.

Mac OS X

Download the Mac OS X HPL Editor Suite:

Extract the zip and run the installer (HPL2 Editor Suite Installer). The installer should automatically find your currently installed copy of Amnesia no matter where you purchased it (including Steam). After installing the tools, simply run Amnesia and select the "Editor Suite" tab in the launcher to run the tools.

Notes:

  • This[Clarify] currently is not for the Mac App Store release, as updates to Amnesia will completely remove the Editor suite. Please read this for more information.
  • Update 2011-02-19 Includes fixes for crashes and "hangs"
  • Update 2011-03-19 Includes fixes for a crash that occurs when selecting entities to add to a level
  • You must install the Amnesia 1.0.1.2 Mac OS X Patch (this is a Mac-only patch). Steam users will get the update directly from the Steam client.

When reporting crashes and bugs, always include a description of the problem and any log output from the editors themselves. Logs are located in your ~/Library/Application Support/Frictional Games/HPL2 folder.

Community tools

After the HPL2 games went open-source, the community managed to compile newer editors with a few quality-of-life improvements. They are available for Windows and Linux. The new features include:

  • A much more comfortable color picker
  • Dark theme (installed by default, but the original one can be reinstated)
  • Keyboard shortcuts for common utilities (e.g. grid snapping)
  • Ability to load MFP maps and assets without errors
  • Other small improvements

Check this Github page to download the latest version. Not all files and editors are included in this download, so please install the original editors first.

Installation:

  1. Download the archive of your choice.
  2. Extract the contents into the main directory of Amnesia.
  3. Merge and overwrite all when asked.

No information will be lost by replacing these files, so no need to create a backup.