[OLD] How to unlock the alternate drifter

[NOTE: THIS GUIDE IS OLD! YOU ONLY NEED TO BEAT THE GAME ONCE NOW!]
This guide will show non-kickstarter backers how to play as a fully functional version of the alternate drifter!

Video Guide! :)

For those of you who prefer visuals so you can be sure you don't mess up, here you go. ;)

Requirements

You must have Notepad++ installed prior to the editing process. We will be dealing with encoding and decoding Base64, which is what save files in this game use to chart progress.

You can download it from here[notepad-plus-plus.org].
Once installed, double check that under "plugins" at the top, there is an option for MIME tools.

Backup the contents of your save files, found under %localappdata%\HyperLightDrifter

1. Launch the game

Decide whether or not you'd like to use an existing save (potentially dangerous) or a new save, starting from scratch (safer). If using a new save, wait for the intro to pass so you have control of your character, and then exit to the main menu.

Jump to the loading screen. Do NOT load your saves, yet. Know which save you want to modify before proceeding. Save 1 in game is save 0 in the folder, save 2 is save 1, and so forth.

2. Decoding and modifing saves

Find the save file you want to turn into the alternate drifter on. Open it with Notepad++.

Highlight ALL text inside of the document. At the top of Notepad++, click on:
Plugins > MIME tools > Base64 Decode

You should now see that the text makes SOME sense now, instead of being jumbled letters and numbers. Now, search for "CH" (with quotation marks) with CTRL+F. Once you reach it, change its corresponding value from 0.000000 (Regular Drifter) to 1.000000 (DLC Alternate Drifter). If you want (though I don't recommend it), you can change the value to 33 or 5 to try out Beta versions of the alt drifter, though they are VERY buggy.

3. Re-encoding and loading save

After save modification, highlight all text. Go to Plugins > MIME Tools > Base64 Encode

You should see your save file contents return to "normal." Save the file, close out of Notepad++, and load the save you modified in-game. It should look perfectly normal, but upon loading in, you'll immediately see otherwise. :)

Notes and Disclaimers

NOTES:
Upon closing the game and opening the loading screen, you will see something like this:


Because you don't actually OWN the DLC for the game that was available ONLY to kickstarter backers who paid $75 for the package, you don't have a way of loading back in conveniently.

To fix this, you will have to follow the guide again, but replace the "CH" value of 1 back to 0. After re-encoding and launching the game again, you'll have a regular drifter on the loading screen. Then you just follow the guide to re-modify the save to load the alternate drifter, and you can resume the fun. :)

DISCLAIMERS:
I am NOT responsible for the safety of your save files. If you mess up, tough luck. There's a reason I put backing up your saves as a step.

This guide was made so that people who don't have the DLC can access it. I know this will upset some backers, but c'mon. It's been like 7 months, guys. We've waited for quite a while, now. XD

When the DLC is released, please purchase to support Heart Machine. Those guys deserve it.

[Xenon]

@Seasoned Potato Wedgles - Yeah, with the new update, all you have to do is beat the game

[mattkitt28]

same

[Venka]

You don't need to do this anymore with the new update! :D

[phamvanphuc47]

Awesome. Hope hear machine release this dlc character soon. I will buy it in launch quickly. And thank you so much for great help to let this drifter playable

[Masterbeefy]

instructions unclear dick stuck in microwave

[WaywardPooch]

@PropZ No clue when it will be released. I assumed it would've been on anniversary day (March 31st/April 1st), but instead they unveiled a PS4 special edition...

[PropZ『白痴路名手』]

i was wondering do have any news on the official release of the alternative drifter?

[tick dickler]

It's also possible to get the sword and sprite-drone from the NG-cape set with value editing. Both the sword and the drone set your max health to 2 as per usual, but you can still change them and the cape around.

[WaywardPooch]

@Omega Pi X Nice one! I usually edit my last save a lot to test out things like the NG+ cape in a non-NG+ save. Didn't even see that you could edit your deaths until a few months ago. Would've saved me tons of time on my various failed one-shot runs. XD

[WaywardPooch]

@Skychee Take a look at the Notes and Disclaimers section; this is a known issue. All you have to do is close the game, follow the guide again, but before you open the game, make sure you set the CH value to 0 after decoding. Re-encode and relaunch the game. Your saves should be accessable by normal means, again.