Save Game editor

[vaultdweller]

Has anyone made (or is anyone planning to make) a tool to edit Xenonauts save files? Doesn't look like they're stored as XML like most of the game data. Such an editor would be kind of kind of useful to experiment with content and soldier stats at this point.

[Giovanni]

If savefiles aren't plain-text based, surely there's a motivation behind this decision.

We developers have some tool to test things quickly, but if we'd release those tools to the players, someone will surely use them to cheat. Reverse engineering can still be applied, files aren't encrypted, but it would ruin the fun to play honestly the game

[vaultdweller]

Not entirely sure why you would care if players cheat in a single-player game (especially when players can mod their pistols into handheld Deathstars), but if support of save editing isn't on anyone's radar, then so it goes.

The game is shaping up well as it is. Keep up the good work!

[thothkins]

especially when players can mod their pistols into handheld Deathstars)

Sgt Giovanni: Aha! take that!

Ctn thothkins: Hmmm, the alien is still very much alive Sgt

Sgt Giovanni: But I've destroyed Alderaan! Look at this Handgun of Doom!

As for cheating, I became quite attached to my two steroid boosted soldiers in the last release. The poor guys suffered massive organ failure from their narcotic abuse, but they did it all to protect Earth!

[ElTee]

Not entirely sure why you would care if players cheat in a single-player game (especially when players can mod their pistols into handheld Deathstars), but if support of save editing isn't on anyone's radar, then so it goes.

The game is shaping up well as it is. Keep up the good work!

Agreed.

I don't mean to offend you, but the impression you gave me Giovanni is that cheating is 'bad, wrong fun". The idea that having a save editor ruins the fun? Well, maybe it does for you. But the fact people on the board wants it means they"ll have fun using a save editor.

[Giovanni]

Agreed.

I don't mean to offend you, but the impression you gave me Giovanni is that cheating is 'bad, wrong fun". The idea that having a save editor ruins the fun? Well, maybe it does for you. But the fact people on the board wants it means they"ll have fun using a save editor.

I did not partecipate in the decision of making the savegames not plain texts as I wasn't in the project yet, so I can't explain you the motivations behind this decision. My previous post were just mt thoughts about it.

BTW, at this point of the project, developing a save game editor would cost us hours and hours of work, and we can't "waste" time on this, even if the community (better, a small part of it, seeing how many people took part in this discussion) would appreciate it. Maybe in an after release future, if Chris decides so. Otherwise we'll just posticipate the release date for a minor tool. Or risk to have a bugged one, which is even worse!

If you really want it, I'd suggest you to post it in the Feature Request forum, maybe some more guys will show their interest on it and somehow Chris will decide to do it. He has the last word, of course!

[thothkins]

I prefer every available resource to be spent on features and helping people mod it for post release. Save game editors I'm not at all fussed about.

[vaultdweller]

BTW, at this point of the project, developing a save game editor would cost us hours and hours of work, and we can't "waste" time on this

I prefer every available resource to be spent on features and helping people mod it for post release. Save game editors I'm not at all fussed about.

That is why I didn't ask in the feature request forum - it was a toss-up between here or the Community Involvement forum as the most appropriate place. I was asking if anyone in the community had looked into making a save editor, not if Goldhawk had done so. I more or less assumed that the devs weren't planning to make one themselves... in my two decades of PC gaming, I don't know if I've ever seen a developer do so. Such tools almost universally come from the community. That was the case with XCOMHack for the original and TFTD, as well as the multitude of editors for pretty much every RPG ever created.

[thothkins]

I've not heard of any so far. it's early days and it will undoubtedly come form someone here, as you say, if it's going to arrive at all.

[dJm]

----should have read your post better----

if you really want mess around with the stats, your best bet is the gameconfig.xml. just search for "<soldierDevelopment>". it's not a instant fix, but you'll be able to 100% all your soldiers relatively fast.

Edited October 6, 2012 by dJm
re-read post

[ShadowFox]

I myself have used save game editors, but only after I have played the game through without cheating OR if the game is very very hard and I do not want to restart and loose a good 20 or so hours of playing (on and off)

And I find it fun as well. Getting plasma weapons right away. Killing enemies with the best weapons straight away.

but like I said only after I am either stuck or have beat the game already.

[kbunny]

If you're looking to cheat at this point, I used the general purpose Cheat Engine to edit the current in-memory AP-counters for a few soldiers to quickly finish a ground combat mission (strictly for debugging purposes, I assure you ;-) ). While playing, start the cheat-tool, connect it to xenonauts.exe, start a search for the current AP-points of a soldier (20k+ results), ALT-TAB back into the game, move the same soldier around and look for the changed value. Over 3 results? Move around some more and search again, chances are you'll find the AP counter in no-time. You might try this as well with your Geoscape funds.

This is hardly the same as actually changing soldier stats, but it might be the next best thing.

[Komandos]

I noticed that I have not played games for a long time, the resources of which cannot be edited by customizing the game for yourself. Sometimes I spend more time editing games than the actual game.