ZHM Mod SDK

A modding SDK and mod loader for HITMAN 3.

Description

This is a community-made modding SDK and mod loader for HITMAN 3. Its purpose is to allow users to easily download and use mods, and make the creation of more complex runtime mods easier for developers.

Right now it's at a very early stage, with only a few aspects of the engine exposed, but the plan is to further extend it to support basic entity, AI, and item manipulation.

Usage (mod loader & mods)

1. Download the latest version of the mod loader and the mods by going here, and downloading ZHMModSDK-Release.zip. This zip file contains the mod loader and a few sample mods.

2. Extract the contents of the ZHMModSDK-Release.zip archive to <drive>:\Path\To\HITMAN3\Retail, where <drive>:\Path\To\HITMAN3 is the path to your Hitman 3 installation directory. This will be at C:\Program Files\EpicGames\HITMAN3 or C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\HITMAN 3 by default. Make sure that you extract the files in the Retail folder and not the root HITMAN3 folder.

3. Run the game like you normally would.

4. When the game opens, you'll see a dialog asking you which mods you'd like to use. Select them and press OK. You might need to restart your game for some of them to work.

5. Open the SDK panel with the ~ key (^ on QWERTZ layouts) to change loaded mods at runtime and to use the menus of certain mods.

6. ...

7. Profit?

NOTE: Some mods might require additional setup. For mods bundled with the SDK, refer to the table below. For any other mod, make sure to consult its installation instructions.

NOTE: You can at any time change the mods you're using by pressing the ~ key (^ on QWERTZ layouts) and selecting them, or by editing the mods.ini file inside your game's Retail folder.

NOTE: If you are trying to use this on a Steam Deck or under Proton / Linux, you might need to follow these additional steps.

Sample mods

There are a few sample mods included in this repository that can be used either as reference or for regular gameplay.

Mod name	Description
NoPause	Prevents the game from automatically pausing after losing focus (eg. when alt-tabbing or minimizing).
SkipIntro	Skips the intro sequence and starts the game directly at the main menu.
WakingUpNpcs	Makes pacified NPCs wake up after a random interval between 4 and 8 minutes.
OnlineTools	Allows you to change the default domain, along with other online-centric settings. Supersedes CertPinBypass.
MaxPatchLevel	Dynamically sets the RPKG patchlevel to 1000, making the game discover patch chunks without having to modify the packagedefinition.txt file.
DebugMod	Adds a debug menu to test different SDK functionalities, like 3D rendering and entity information display.
FreeCam	Adds support for an in-game free camera that works with both KB+M and controllers. Can be toggled either from the SDK menu or by pressing P. For more details on available controls see here.
DiscordRichPresence	Sends rich presence updates to Discord with details such as level name, gamemode, etc. Requires additional setup!
Editor	A WIP in-engine "editor". Currently supports viewing spawned entities alongside basic lookup and manipulation.
Clumsy	Makes 47 very clumsy. He just can't seem to figure out how to take cover... Requires additional setup!

Uninstalling

To de-activate / uninstall the mod loader, simply delete the extracted dinput8.dll from your HITMAN3\Retail directory. You can also delete all the other files / folders you previously extracted, and the mods.ini file (if present).

Changing the console key

The console key can be changed by editing the mods.ini file in your game's Retail folder.

To change the console key, open the mods.ini file and add the following:

[sdk]
console_key = 0x29

(If the [sdk] section already exists, just add the console_key key and value)

You can replace 0x29 (tilde / grave key) with a scan code of your choice. See this table for a list of scan codes by key (column named Scan 1 Make).

For example, to change it to F1, write the following:

[sdk]
console_key = 0x3B

Changing the UI toggle key

By default, the F11 key is used to show and hide the SDK UI. You can change this key by editing the mods.ini file, similar to how you change the console key.

To change the UI toggle key, open the mods.ini file and add the following:

[sdk]
ui_toggle_key = 0x57

(If the [sdk] section already exists, just add the ui_toggle_key key and value)

You can replace 0x57 (F11 key) with a scan code of your choice. See this table for a list of scan codes by key (column named Scan 1 Make).

For example, to change it to F2, write the following:

[sdk]
ui_toggle_key = 0x3C

Game Logging

Options

• game_state_logging – Logs when the game changes states
• scene_loading_logging – Logs scene loading stages and loading progress percentage.
• scaleform_logging – Logs messages, warnings, and errors sent by the Scaleform UI system.

Logging can be enabled by editing the mods.ini file in your game's Retail folder.

To enable a logging option, open the mods.ini file and add the desired key to the [sdk] section.
For example, to enable Scaleform logging:

[sdk]
scaleform_logging = true

Usage (for developers)

To find out how to create your own mods or how to extend the SDK, check out the wiki. Here are some guides to get you started:

Making mods with the SDK

Building & debugging the SDK

You can also check out the sample mods for reference.

FAQ

I get a message like "The Mod SDK has encountered too many errors and will now unload itself" when I launch the game. What do I do?

This usually happens after a game update, and will be resolved when a new version of the SDK is released. This can take a few days, so please be patient.

If you're okay with your game breaking in mysterious ways, you can force the SDK to load by adding force_load = true to the [sdk] section of your mods.ini file (but don't ask for help when it does!)

Contributing

If you'd like to contribute to the SDK, feel free to open a pull request or an issue. If you're not sure where to start, check out the issues tab.