Well, firstly, welcome to the Community modding section. Here, you and others can contribute to the wiki; thus information may not be as heavily detailed and sophisticated as Frictional Games' official details; but as members, we'll do our best to provide precise and detailed steps for you.

This is the Getting Started page, which will contain various links to places which should be of great advantage to you to get introduced into HPL3. Of course, whatever your qualities are, you may be able to get instructions specifically on those since this will be a generic introduction; but once you learn something, ADD IT TO THE WIKI! We need more information, and anything you can provide is beneficial!

Personally, I believe the best way to learn is to see how others do things. In this case, doing some research, understanding how to structure code, exploring levels and determining the relationships between the editors and third party applications will be of great benefits to you. '

Here are some of the things you'll need to get started:

• An installed Windows System (7/8/8.1/10), either as your main OS or a secondary OS (for example, dual-booted through Boot Camp). Virtual copies may not work due to virtual drivers' OpenGL support, though so far it's untested. You can use VirtualBox for such. Wine may also be of use for Linux users.
• A Windows installation of SOMA, as the editors are only present with Windows. You can buy SOMA from Steam, GOG or the Humble Store.
  • The editors are included with the download. You do not need to download them seperately.

These two mods which were officially released by Frictional Games should also be handy.

• Custom Loading Bar: A graphical mod and allows you to get an idea of folder structure when creating graphical adjustments to SOMA. This particular Add-On changes the Loading Bar you see as the game starts up.
• A Campaign: A Stand-Alone Content modification which can assist in putting together your own custom story or full conversion.
  • You can also alternatively try a modification set up purely for you to edit from the Creating a Campaign page.

And these official pages from Frictional Games within the HPL3 wiki should also be of good use:

• Setting up CodeLite (You can also follow a picture tutorial)
• A Beginner's Guide to Scripting
• A Guide to the Art behind SOMA Design/Development
• A Collection of Development Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Basic Modelling Tutorial (Information about Blender)
• A Work-In-Progress tutorial to setting up your mod

Other Links:

• A post from Luis about setting up config files in your modification: Forum

In terms of a modification scope, for now, you have two options:

Add-Ons: An addition or modification of files. These are the kinds of modifications which can be broken down into various subcategories - such as texture modifications, GUI mods, script mods, map mods, model mods, sound mods, core modifications… anything really. The aim of an add-on is merely to adjust or, as the name suggests, “add on” to the experience in various ways. Furthermore, it can be just.. different - you could make a playable game of Chess on one of the PCs if you wish!
Stand-Alone Content: These modifications are where your Custom Stories, Full Conversions or even an entirely different game comes in. This is what you're looking for if you're willing to create a campaign for people to play with. You can essentially create whatever you want here as well, but what files and what content you use from SOMA is dependant entirely on you.

In terms of what is included with SOMA, you can use everything and anything as you wish. All assets included with the game are available for use. However, outside the scope of SOMA, there's a few things you should consider when releasing anything. You're allowed to use:

• Any assets released by Frictional Games to be imported into SOMA (The Penumbra Series and Amnesia: The Dark Descent assets to be specific).
• Any assets released by TheChineseRoom as used in Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs.
• Any assets which have been created or provided by you. Models, sounds, music, voices, textures, etc.
• Any assets provided to you which have been created for you. This could also be anything, but you need to heed any requirements (crediting, for example).
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