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How to edit save files using note pad? (or similar)


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Notepad and similar "text" editors won't do the trick; you need a hex editor. You might want to check out HxD, a free hex editor that I've been using for a while. HxD also has a checksum-32 tool that can be used to fix the checksum dword at the end of the file so the save isn't read as corrupt. Just zero out the last 4 bytes, run checksum-32 on the whole file, and encode the results backwards ( 0x12AB34CD is encoded as CD 34 AB 12).

 

Links to VC and SA save file formats can be found at the link below.

http://www.gtamodding.com/index.php?title=Category:Save_Formats

 

BTW, if you are working with mobile version save files there are some rather significant differences in how the saves are written. I'm not sure of the technical reasons, but the mobile devices appear to write unicode "c0de" words (0xc0de, seen as DE C0 in a hex editor) before each write. Somehow you need to ignore or account for these changes. Depending on the structure you are editing, you may need to adjust the initial offsets, or offsets for all data within the structure.

Edited by OrionSR

Notepad and similar "text" editors won't do the trick; you need a hex editor. You might want to check out HxD, a free hex editor that I've been using for a while. HxD also has a checksum-32 tool that can be used to fix the checksum dword at the end of the file so the save isn't read as corrupt. Just zero out the last 4 bytes, run checksum-32 on the whole file, and encode the results backwards ( 0x12AB34CD is encoded as CD 34 AB 12).

 

Links to VC and SA save file formats can be found at the link below.

http://www.gtamodding.com/index.php?title=Category:Save_Formats

 

BTW, if you are working with mobile version save files there are some rather significant differences in how the saves are written. I'm not sure of the technical reasons, but the mobile devices appear to write unicode "c0de" words (0xc0de, seen as DE C0 in a hex editor) before each write. Somehow you need to ignore or account for these changes. Depending on the structure you are editing, you may need to adjust the initial offsets, or offsets for all data within the structure.

This link is corrupted, I cannot open it. I'm gonna download the HxD now.

It still has random numbers and weird letters in it, like opened with a notepad. Only readable word is "DIABLO DESTRUCTION".I cannot notice any garage properties or related anything. I tried gta3sf*.b of GTA III and GTA VC.

 

The link is working correctly for me, but if you copy and paste it won't work right. Try the links from the code format below.

http://www.gtamodding.com/index.php?title=Category:Save_Formatshttp://www.gtamodding.com/index.php?title=Saves_(GTA_SA)http://www.gtamodding.com/index.php?title=Saves_(GTA_VC)

It still has random numbers and weird letters in it, like opened with a notepad. Only readable word is "DIABLO DESTRUCTION".I cannot notice any garage properties or related anything. I tried gta3sf*.b of GTA III and GTA VC.

Edited by Rius

Those aren't random numbers. Almost all of them contain critical information used to encode key points of memory for the save file. You will not be able to read normal words or even numbers the way you are used to with notepad, If you want to edit binary files manually, like you stated in the opening post, you will need to learn to understand and work with that mess.

 

I don't have much experience with III or VC saves. I'm much more familiar with SA saves.

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