how do i edit save files?

[Kebabiman the Kebab-Giver]

i want to get rid of an ascension perk
i tried myself, broke my back-up save (used 7-zip and notepad++)

would be nice if someone explained it to me step-by-step, thanks

[Pseudonymous]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQG5-IfuYTQ
&
https://stellaris.paradoxwikis.com/Save-game_editing (this should help too)

Make sure you keep the save file named "ironman.sav" if you are playing ironman mode or else your progress will not save correctly.

[Kebabiman the Kebab-Giver]

Originally posted by Pseudonymous:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQG5-IfuYTQ
&
https://stellaris.paradoxwikis.com/Save-game_editing (this should help too)

Make sure you keep the save file named "ironman.sav" if you are playing ironman mode or else your progress will not save correctly.

i watched the video and looked at the wiki page, that's how i ruined my back-up save

[Pseudonymous]

I modded my saves just fine. You have to be really careful about what you're adding or removing from the file, any mistakes will certainly result in failure. Trial and error is the only way youll learn how to mod. Keep at it

[GrumpyPlok616]

i think this is out of date, as my save files seem to be encrypted and I can't figure out how to unzip them since they are just text documents.

[Homer-DOH-Simpson]

This is old but i stumbled over it, as this was i was trying to do an hour ago.
You only need 7 zip (i don't know if tc=off is required for this) BUT you can edit the gamedata file in the opened archive. I got bugs with the whole extracting process and don't do that anymore - it even works with standard notepad.

[Chirchy]

how are you guys getting anything but gibberish

[silver9990]

Originally posted by Chirchy:

how are you guys getting anything but gibberish

I just extracted the .sav file into a folder & opened the files with Notepad2.

[Mistfox]

Originally posted by Chirchy:

how are you guys getting anything but gibberish

Might want to open a new thread, this one is from 2019 but you can first open notepad then use it to open the file you want to edit.

[NebulaCollector]

Originally posted by Chirchy:

how are you guys getting anything but gibberish

Use Notepad++ to open the .sav files. If you use 7-zip, it'll correctly compress the files for when you want to play on your edited savegame.