Save File Format

Warning!	The information detailed on this page may not be in the present available build, and may only be available in an upcoming build! Therefore, all information here is to be considered volatile and could change or be removed without notice.

Warning!	The information below is to be considered a draft. This means that the information presented is not final, so don't go running wild with this information.

Shield Cat saves are stored in the /saves directory. This directory is platform specific, please see Installation Instructions for its location on your platform.

Please note, save files can only be easily accessed and modified on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. It may be possible on other platforms, but it is not supported.

Shield Cat save files are saved using the following structure:

 OTTSAV00.BIN

where 00 is the number of the save file. The game, therefore, supports up to 255 save files.

Save information is stored in blocks, where each block has a certain data associated with it. There cannot be two blocks of the same type. All blocks listed below must be present, or the file will be considered invalid.

In Gamemaker, it is loaded and saved as a Buffer with type buffer_fast. It is buffer_u8 1 byte aligned.

Header

OTTSAV files start with the following header:

 SC_OTTSAV_V00

where 00 is the version of the save format. During the prototype phase, all save files will use format 00. The format may also change a lot.

LINF

The LINF block contains info about Lance and the abilities he has, max health, max magic, attack, defense, abilities equipped, and others. It is 50 Bytes in length.

Please note that Lance's health, magic, attack, and defense are computed from his base stats + any upgrades that you may have, and are provided for convenience. If you modify these numbers, and then Lance gets a new upgrade, the numbers will be corrected.

Offset	Bytes	Description
0	2 Bytes	Lance's max health
2	2 Bytes	Lance's max magic
4	1 Byte	Lance's attack stat
5	1 Byte	Lance's defense stat
6	4 Bytes	The abilities Lance has, as packed bytes. Please see the Ability Byte Format table below.
10	4 Bytes	The abilities Lance has equipped, as packed bytes. Please see the Ability Byte Format table below. Please note that if it is marked Lance has an ability equipped that he does not actually have, undefined behavior will occur.
14	1 Byte (packed)	Various flags about Lance's state: Bit 0: if Lance is allowed to use his equipment or not. If 0, none of his abilities will show. Bits 2-3: number of health potions Lance has (up to 3) Bits 4-5: number of magic recovery potions Lance has (up to 3) Bits 6-7: unused.
15	1 Byte (packed)	Various flags about the game itself: Bit 0: If this is a randomized mode save or not. A Randomized Mode Remap File will be required. Bits 1-3: Game difficulty mode. Mode 0: Chill Mode Mode 1: Regular Mode Mode 2: Cool Mode Mode 3: Fun Mode Mode 4: Custom Mode. A Custom Difficulty Data File will be required. Modes 5-7: Unused. Bit 4: If cheats were enabled on this file or not. Bits 5-7: Unused.
16	3 Bytes	How many Pretty Petals Lance has in his possession.
19	1 Byte	Which save location Lance saved at.
20-50	Unused, reserved for future use.

Below is an explaination of the packed bytes that represent the abilities Lance currently owns and has equipped. For a detailed explaination of his abilities, please visit Lance's Abilities.

Ability Byte Format
Bit Offset	Ability/Upgrade Name
Shield
0	Shield Ability
1	Shield Upgrade - Homing
2	Shield Upgrade - Wave
3	Shield Upgrade - Indestructible
Dagger
4	Dagger Ability
5	Dagger Upgrade - Explosion
6	Dagger Upgrade - Piercer
7	Dagger Upgrade - Surplus

FLGS

These are event flags for different events that happen in the game. It is 256 bytes in length, with 2048 possible event flags. If a value is 0 then it hasn't happened yet, while a value of 1 means that the event occurred.

Below is a description of the flag offsets, and what each one means when it is set to 1.

Please note that not all flags are consecutive. This allows me to add more later and group them together.

Bit Offset	Bit description
Boss States
0	Parker defeated
1	Suzette defeated
2	Trent defeated
3	Olivia defeated
4	Ruby defeated
5	Claire defeated

TRSR

These are the different treasure locations in the game, and whether you got the treasure at that location or not. This block is 128 bytes in length, allowing for 1024 treasures.

Please Note that not every treasure slot is used. This allows me to add more treasures later and keep them in the same group.

This page is a stub. Roxy will probably come along later and add more to it.