HUD messages source file (.hmt)

The .hmt (HUD message text) file format contains source text content which, when imported by Tool, becomes hud_message_text tags.

Creating a text file for HUD messages

Start by going to the root directory of your level and creating a text file. The contents of the text file differs from the formatting used for string_list. Instead you will define a variable and set the value for the string. Here is an example:

string1=Well, what do we have here?
string2=If I'm not mistaken this looks like a list of strings.
string3=A lot of neat things can be done with strings.

Once you've set the contents of the text file make sure to save the file with the encoding set to UTF-16 LE. Make sure the file is named the following:

hud messages.hmt

Tool looks for a file with this name and extension specifically when compiling hud_message_text tags. On top of needing a specific name, it is also required for the .hmt file to reside in the root directory of the scenario the tag is intended for. For example, for the "tutorial" scenario we need to save the file at the following location:

(HEK Install Path)\data\levels\test\tutorial\hud messages.hmt

The command requires this setup in order to complete the task successfully. You can now use the command hud-messages to import your source file.

If you're using hud_message_text for scripting with display_scenario_help, then be aware that only default singleplayer paths are considered valid.

Button types

HMT can contain special keywords which are shown as key bindings or controller buttons ingame:

%a-button
%b-button
%x-button
%y-button
%black-button
%white-button
%left-trigger
%right-trigger
%dpad-up
%dpad-down
%dpad-left
%dpad-right
%start-button
%back-button
%left-thumb
%right-thumb
%left-stick
%right-stick
%action
%throw-grenade
%primary-trigger
%integrated-light
%jump
%use-equipment
%rotate-weapons
%rotate-grenades
%zoom
%crouch
%accept
%back
%move
%look
%custom-1
%custom-2
%custom-3
%custom-4
%custom-5
%custom-6
%custom-7
%custom-8

Known issues

Some button types do not show the correct bindings ingame in MCC, but do work in Standalone. This is known to affect at least %back, but does NOT affect:

%primary-trigger
%throw-grenade
%accept
%zoom

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the following individuals for their research or contributions to this topic:

Aerocatia (Button keywords in Invader source)
General_101 (Documenting HMT format and text symbols)
Photolysis (Documenting MCC button display issue)