ARD Editor
View, modify and export the currently loaded .ard file in memory.
Sections
An ard consists of 7 different sections which hold information about all characters (foe, npc, ...) in one or more locations. It might look like some sections are missing in this editor, but those are just empty.
Usage
Enter the location you want to edit (e.g. Dalmasca Estersand / The Stepping).
Decide what you want to edit (e.g. Max HP).
Guess which group it might be located in (e.g. Default Stats).
Click on the according checkbox to expand the group.
Edit everything to your liking.
You can navigate through the list of entries by modifying the Identifier.
Save Changes
Search for your current location in the location spreadsheet from Resources.
Note the name of the ard file it uses (e.g. dst_a.ard).
Create the following directory structure based on the file name:
ps2data\plan_master\in\plan_map\dst_a\area\dst_a.ard.dir.Click on the checkbox of Export Section To File to expand the group.
Click on the value field of Section Identifier to open its drop-down list.
Select a section in the drop-down list (e.g. 7 : Default Stats).
Click on the checkbox of Execute Script to run the script.
Navigate into the directory from step 3:
dst_a.ard.dir\...Confirm your choice by selecting save.
Repeat steps 3-9 if you wish to export another section. Once you are done, create an archive (.7z, .zip, .rar etc.) out of the root directory (ps2data) and install it (e.g. Vortex).
Notes
Since there is only one .ard file loaded in memory at a time, switching your current location might result in it being overwritten by another .ard file. Therefore, if you intent on keeping any of your changes, make sure to either export them before, or switch to location that uses the same .ard file.
Since this editor works with the currently loaded .ard file in memory, all changes applied to the it via mods will already be present. Hence why you can simply export your changes, install it as a mod, and continue working where you left of the last time. However, this means that you have to be very mindful with which mods you have active while working on yours as otherwise you will unknowingly work on top of the changes of other mods.
Since an .ard file is mostly used for more than one location, any changes done to it will of course also affect all of them. You can view which locations use the same ard file from the location spreadsheet in Resources.
Changing some information (e.g. Default Stats) may not have an effect until the game accesses it again for some reason. For example, when a foe spawns or when the location is entered. To force it, you can either use the Free Teleport option to teleport to the exact same location, or enter a location which uses the same .ard file.
The Free Teleport option can come in handy when trying to reach the location you want to edit.
Loading the exported files of this editor require the FF12 External File Loader to be installed.
For a detailed list of all the information available in this editor, you can view the spreadsheet in Resources.
Last updated