Rule the Waves 3

Rule the Waves 3

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Intro into savegame modding
By tbrsim
A light intro into savegame modding
   
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The file structure
Your savegames are actually complete folders where all kinds of game data is stored in separate files.
The first 5 "savegameslots" are automatically created as empty folders on a new install but if you choose higher numbers the game will create the same folder structure.


Within each savegame folder there are multiple files. All of them are text files that are easily editable with a text editor. I recommend notepad++.

Most files are the actual ship designs in your game, both your own as well as those of the AI.
RTWGameX.bcs
The "central" savegame file however is RTWGameX.bcs ("X" in all cases in this guide stands for the savegame number). Here you find the date, definitions of the various nations, their wealth, dock size, technological progress etc.

Quick savegame edit tips for RTWGameX.bcs:

The player nation always is Nation0, is you are in -erm- temporary budget difficulties you can edit your current funds in the line

Funds=

within the [Nation0] segment.

Want to change overall game size (e.g. really supersize all navies):

Change

FleetSize=

under [General], which is a flat multiplier on all naval budgets. Warning: excessively high numbers will result in hundreds of capital ships and may result in nations running out of ship names.
MapDataX.dat
MapdataX.dat is the file where provincial ownership and other factors are stored. Changing province ownership between "active" nations is non-trivial because fortifications, airbases and ongoing construction projects are stored in RTWGameX.bcs.

Quick savegame edit tip for MapdataX.dat:

Search for one of your home regions, e.g.

MapArea0Possession1Name=Germany

and give yourself a domestic oil source:

MapArea0Possession1Oil=1
Discover
There is lots to discover in the savegame files. You can create your own "Final Countdown" scenario or use date editing to create extremely long games with very slow tech progress. And for more ambitious modders savegame editing is the best start. Lots more detailed info is on the NWS RTW2 subforum, most of it applicable to RTW3 as well.

Have fun!
25 Comments
WorldOfHurt Dec 22, 2024 @ 10:37pm 
Is there a way to edit the unlocked research?
Vilab Jun 12, 2024 @ 1:56pm 
Since the update the save files are located in the "my games" folder on Windows
BlueWar1 May 28, 2024 @ 2:02pm 
Thank you Renegade B for the help.
BlueWar1 May 28, 2024 @ 1:44pm 
With this May 10, 2024 RTW3 update. All the files normally on the Steam local C drive are no longer there and appeared stored in a game server, inaccessible to modding. How do we get around this?
Danger! Flying Objects Apr 27, 2024 @ 2:13pm 
Some notes for "amenders".

-Be careful about giving yourself TOO much Funds. If the game sees you have a ton of liquid cash, it will say the Navy is overfunded and give the Army a chunk of your budget. This means budget cuts. In general, having over 300,000 Funds at once will get your budget slashed. This also applies even if you're NOT savegame modding, so keep spending your cash!

-If you're having perpetual cash problems and are constantly resetting your Funds, you're overbuilding your navy. However, if you just want to build little boats, the values you want are BaseResources and BudgetModifier. BaseResources is the strength of your country's economy -- events like Industrial Development and Global Crash modify this. BudgetModifier is how much of that economy you as the navy are getting -- most budget events change this number instead, and if it's too big the game will also get leery. To give yourself more room, crank up BaseResources first, then BudgetModifier.
Renegade Bastard Apr 13, 2024 @ 2:53am 
Just so that I don't have to go hunting through dev logs to find this info again

Saves are now stored in
C:\USER\USERNAME\Documents\My Games\Rule the Waves 3
tbrsim  [author] Dec 1, 2023 @ 6:29am 
Note to all: A major update for the save structure is incoming, this guide will stay valid until that update goes mainline. I will have a look at the new file structure then.
tbrsim  [author] Dec 1, 2023 @ 6:28am 
you can. there is a major update pending which will change savegame structure but until then you need to edit the owner in the mapdataX.dat file in your savegame folder:

MapAreaXPossessionXOwner=

This is directly above the possession name, if there is no primary nation owner you can directly write in your nation's name. If a primary nation is the owner the bases and fortifications complicate things and you would need to hunt them down in the RTWGameX.bcs file, I do not recommend this.
nagato_oneesan Nov 25, 2023 @ 8:54am 
@tbrsim thanks for the info...i have another question...can we edit the unclaimed nations like we can in dreadnoughts?i would like to take korea rather than waiting for a random event to pop up, but which always pop up for AI germany for some reason...
tbrsim  [author] Nov 20, 2023 @ 11:52am 
@pablo: Shipyard capacity is in the DockSize= fiigure with a multiplier by fleetsize.