Kaze Hankami wrote: ↑Wed Jul 02, 2025 2:58 pm
How do I edit that file?
this is unfortunately a technical and lengthy response, but given how lousy the search function is and how the mechanics of this are hidden on multiple pages of this 70+ page thread I'll summarize it here. i would prefer to just give you a link to someone's previous work on this but i don't think there is a link that actually lays it out in one place. so.
in
Steam\steamapps\common\Space Marine 2\client_pc\root\paks\client\default are two files, default_other.pak and default_other.pak.cache. these files are data files containing information that the game loads describing all kinds of stuff. in particular to our interests, it describes weapon characteristics and damage.
before doing anything else, make copies of those files and place them somewhere where you won't fuck with them. messing up the data structures in them will cause your game to crash on launch. we're going to cleverly edit them, not mess them up, but if something goes wrong we want them handy to drop back in to avoid having to Verify Game Files for 15min. ALSO, if you're using the bypass (and bypass toggler), make copies of them as "default_other.pak_ORIGINAL" and "default_other.pak.cache_ORIGINAL" and leave those in the default PAKs folder.
to access them you will want WinRAR. the files are archive files but are not compressed and in order to manipulate their contents you need to be able to open an archive file and then replace its contents with edited versions which are not compressed; WinRAR will do that. you also have to associate the files with WinRAR so that it'll open properly as an archive; you can associate .PAK files with WinRAR, or I rename them in my working folder to default_other.pak.001 so that WinRAR natively recognizes them, or... whatever. just get WinRAR to open them.
WinRAR allows you to search the contents of archives it opens but i'll save you some time and tell you where the weapons information is stored. projectile weapons are at
ssl\weapons\creator\firearm_library_pve.sso and melee weapons are at
ssl\weapons\melee\weapon_descriptions\melee_weapon_descs\... (there are individual files for each melee weapon, player weapons are named with a "melee_" prefix in the file name).
within firearm_library_pve.sso you'll see that it's basically laid out similar to a JSON file: a bunch of nested text sections containing data. you'll have to find the weapons you want to edit based on their names (which don't exactly correspond to in-game names) and then search in that section for two things in particular: "damage" (this is just a number, edit it as you wish, not complicated at all), and "maxAmmo". i typically adjust maxAmmo so that the weapons are infinite and never need reloading; to do so, you want to add two lines after maxAmmo = ####: "isInfiniteAmmo = True" and "isInfiniteClip = True". use the same indenting as the maxAmmo line since that might matter (might not). you can search the file for other instances of isInfiniteAmmo to see how the game uses it (i think the Guardsmen lasrifles have this, for example) to make sure you're doing it right for other weapons.
Heavy weapons have "_support_" in their weapon names. Story mode weapons have "story" in their weapon names. feel free to adjust Guardsmen lasrifle damage, they can do amusing shit in Siege mode if you tweak them up.
within the various melee weapons desc files you'll see "damage" again up at the top, change that to whatever you wish. note also "riposteEnabledStartTime" and "riposteEnabledDuration", you can set those to 0 and 0.66 to enable perfect parries regardless of your timing. pretty sure that works with Block timing as well but i never use Block weapons.
there are other files and things to edit throughout but the above guide should get you started. for example, editing ssl\ui\assets\loading_screen\ui_bootup_screen_view.sso will allow you to skip the loading screens (there's a sample edited file doing this on Nexus). i do this to my edited PAKs as a way to detect instantly on load-in if the PAK is working correctly: if it crashes, oops, if it skips the loading screen i'm good, if there's a loading screen my edited PAKs aren't loaded.
after editing your files, you need to replace them back into the PAK. to do so, open up the PAK as an archive, navigate to the file locations, and then drag-and-drop your edited files in to replace the original files.
NOTE!!!! when you drag them in, WinRAR will open a window and you get all kinds of options, whatever, in the lower left there is a Compression drop-down menu. you MUST select "STORE" as the compression type or else you will get a crash on loading (since the game doesn't expect any compression it won't be able to read compressed files). replace everything you want replaced, in their proper spot.
then copy your archive (again, i'm clever so i use the "pak.001" filename suffix so i copy that archive, then rename as "default_other.pak". you do you) as "default_other.pak" (or if you're using the toggler, "default_other.pak_MODIFIED") and place it in the default PAKs folder.
if you're using the bypass you don't need to create a corresponding cache file, but if you want to there's a mod on Nexus called pakcacher that will create cache files from PAKs if you want to.
then go play.
remember, if you've fucked this up, your game will crash. it's an easy fix but that's a sign you've made a mistake.
SUMMARY:
0, acquire WinRAR
1, save a copy of the original PAK and CACHE files
2, use WinRAR to open default_other.pak and extract files from the PAK which you want to edit
3, edit files as you see fit
4, reload those files back into the PAK archive with "Stored" compression
5, place the modified PAK file back into the default PAK folder
