Guide & examples

How to do the most common edits with the save editor. The same steps work in the desktop app — both share one engine.

Finding your save folder

On Steam, saves are usually under …\steamapps\common\Age of Civilizations II\saves\games\<map>\<your save>\. If you have several saves, the right folder is the one whose files changed most recently after you last saved in-game. Load all the files from that folder — different data (civilizations, provinces, diplomacy) lives in different files.

Search vs. Filter

• Search finds text within the tree you're already viewing. It does not understand field=value syntax.
• Filter scans the whole save and rebuilds the tree to show only matching objects. It accepts a civilization tag or name (ser2, por), or the powerful field=value form (e.g. iTrueOwnerOfProvince=1 — every province owned by civilization 1).

Typical flow: Filter to narrow down, then Search or expand to pinpoint. After a field=value filter, Batch Edit sets one field to one value across every match at once.

Add money

Filter your civilization by tag (e.g. ser2), expand it, find iMoney, double-click it and enter the amount. Save, load in-game — done.

Rename a civilization

Edit sCivName (the displayed name) and/or sCivTag (the short tag). Longer names and non-Latin alphabets such as Cyrillic work fine.

Transfer provinces / annex a country

Say the target is civilization 1 and you are civilization 52:

1. Filter iTrueOwnerOfProvince=1 to select every province they own.
2. Click Batch Edit, set iTrueOwnerOfProvince to 52, confirm.
3. Re-run the same filter — it should show 0 matches, confirming the transfer.
4. Save, copy the files back into your save folder, and load in-game.

Confirm the ids from your own save first — filter by tag to check who is civ 1 and who is civ 52.

End a stuck war

If the game won't let you make peace (the offer sits there and the AI never responds):

1. Filter your civilization (ser2) and expand it.
2. Open the lRelation list — the entry at the other civ's id is your relation toward them. While at war it's often -100 (maximum hostility).
3. Change that value to 0. That ends the war.
4. Save and load in-game.

A leftover "you can sign peace" notification may linger for a turn or two after the war is already over — it's harmless and clears on its own.

Other things you can change

Technology level, research progress, diplomacy points, province population, and much more — browse the tree and edit any value. If the game stores it, it's in there.

Is it safe?

Your files are never uploaded — everything runs inside your own browser. Neither version overwrites your originals; you get edited copies to download. Always keep your own backup of the save folder before replacing anything.