imowfaces said:
hey guys all i wanna do is get some maps (Grottos) so i want to use the save editor to get them because its the only way that i see that i can keep my game and get the maps if anyone can help me understand how to use the id be really thankful i dl the .1 but i tried the .6 it will not work for me i dont know where else to go or use i think the AR max saves over my game and i really dont want to lose all my progress i did myself i think i have 120 hrs in it.
First off, make sure you can successfully back up and restore a save file with your AR. Next, you'll need to convert the save file to a format the program can read.
This one has been posted before. Set the source format to "Action replay Max DS" and the target format to "AceKard 2| CycloDS|...". The result file should be 512KB and have the ".sav" extension.
It might help to buy another cartridge or get an emulated copy of the game to test your backup file.
Open the file in the editor and make sure everything looks right. Your character's names and everything else should match your file. if anything looks weird, go back and try converting the file again.
When you've finally gotten that far, go to the treasure tab. The editor is fairly limited but it does give you access to all the parameters of a map. Location refers to the map location. Map names are not translated, so use the level to identify which map is which (if possible). Location is the world map location of the grotto. It is numeric, and each map appears to only work with set location numbers. The numbers that work with any particular map are displayed to the right of the "Hex" check box.
There are 2 types of maps: Normal and Devil:
Normal maps are controlled by a quality rank ( 0-255) and a seed (0-65,535). Pick a combination and then set the location in the box to one of the numbers to the right. Make sure that none of the numbers are red. Red values mean that the map is not stable and may freeze the game if used.
The window to the right will display various stats about the map (name, environment, No. of floors, Number and rank of chests, locations of chests, Map Boss, and a map of each floor. The maps show the entrance, exit, and approximate coordinates of each chest. Clicking on a blue letter brings up a table of possible items that chest could have. This map window only works for Normal treasure maps. Use babelfish to attempt to translate any map window text, or compare your results with your other maps.
Devil maps are weird. I suspect they are legacy Boss maps. They are compatible with any location number. There is a "monster level" parameter that goes from 0-255 and an "unknown" parameter below that goes from 0-999. In addition, there is a "monster" combo box with 13 options. Further testing is needed and I'm anxious for Yumil to finish translating this section of the editor.
I have no idea how to get anything more useful than this out of the editor as it stands. Since all we have access to are the seed parameters of the map, the only thing this is good for is for copying a map from another save file if you find a good one, and possibly studying the result patterns of the RNG.
When you're done editing, save the file and run it through the converter. This time set the
target format to "Action replay Max DS" and the
source format to "AceKard 2| CycloDS|...". The result should work on your AR Max.