Palworld Host Save Fix

⚠️ This tool is experimental. Be careful of data loss and always make a backup. ⚠️

Fixes the bug which forces a player to create a new character when they already have a save.

Note: If you have an advanced co-op map with level 30-40+ characters and can't get the fix to work for you, please open an issue and send the save to me. I have some major and more complete changes in the works but I need mid to late game saves to make sure I get everything and people to confirm it's working correctly before I release.

Abstract
Usage
Migration Examples
Finding Player GUIDs
Known bugs

Abstract

Palworld save files are different depending on the type of server you are running. Co-op, Windows dedicated server, Linux dedicated server, SteamCMD dedicated server, all of these are different types of Palworld servers and if you try to migrate a save file from one type of server to another, you can run into a player save bug which forces you to create a new character.

For example:

Moving a Windows co-op save to a Windows dedicated server will force the host to create a new character and lose their save.
Moving a Windows dedicated server save to a Linux dedicated server will force all players to create a new character and lose their save.
Moving a Linux dedicated server save to a Windows dedicated server will force all players to create a new character and lose their save.
Moving a Windows co-op save to a Linux dedicated server will force all players to create a new character and lose their save.
Etc.

The bug happens because players are identified and correlated to their save via their GUID. These different types of servers generate player GUIDs differently so when a player joins, the server generates a new GUID that doesn't match the old save's GUID and because of this, doesn't realize the player already has a save.

To fix this bug, we've made a script that takes the GUID of the player on the new server and applies it to the player save from the old server so that the new server will use the player save from the old server.

Usage

Dependencies:

Python >=3.10
Install Palworld Save Tools v0.17.1 with python -m pip install palworld-save-tools==0.17.1
Clone the repository with git clone https://github.com/xNul/palworld-host-save-fix

Using the GUI:

Open Command Prompt in the folder
Run command python gui.py
Browse for your save folder
Select the new character to overwrite and the old character you want to fix/keep from the dropdowns
Enable the guild fix if required
Hit the button to run the command
Read the warning in Command Prompt and press enter

Command:

python fix_host_save.py <save_path> <new_guid> <old_guid> <guild_fix>

<save_path> - Path to your save folder
<new_guid> - GUID of the player on the new server
<old_guid> - GUID of the player from the old server
<guild_fix> - True or False. Apply the fix for the [Guild bug].

Example:

python fix_host_save.py "C:\Users\John\Desktop\my_temporary_folder\2E85FD38BAA792EB1D4C09386F3A3CDA" 6E80B1A6000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000001 False

Migration Examples

How to migrate a co-op save to a Windows dedicated server

Only my co-op host isn't able to use their character on the dedicated server.

Prerequisites:

Install the dependencies above.
The dedicated server is installed, running, and you're able to join it.
Follow the workaround below for the [Guild bug] in co-op before moving the save.
If you have a Viewing Cage, follow the workaround below for the [Viewing Cage bug] in co-op before moving the save.

Steps:

Copy your desired save's folder from C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\<random_numbers> to your dedicated server at PalServer\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\0.
In the PalServer\Pal\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\GameUserSettings.ini file, change the DedicatedServerName to match your save folder's name. For example, if your save folder's name is 2E85FD38BAA792EB1D4C09386F3A3CDA, the DedicatedServerName changes to DedicatedServerName=2E85FD38BAA792EB1D4C09386F3A3CDA.
Delete PalServer\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\0\<your_save_here>\WorldOption.sav to allow modification of PalWorldSettings.ini. Players will have to choose their respawn point again, but nothing else is affected as far as I can tell.
Confirm you can connect to your save on the dedicated server and that the world is the one you want. You can connect to the dedicated server and check the world with a character that does not belong to the co-op host.
Afterwards, the co-op host must create a new character on the dedicated server. A new .sav file should appear in PalServer\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\0\<your_save_here>\Players.
The name of that new .sav file is the co-op host's new GUID. We will need the co-op host's new GUID for the script to work.
Shut the server down and then copy the entire save folder in the dedicated server at PalServer\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\0\<your_save_here> (it must be the save folder with the co-op host's new character!) into a temporary folder and remember the path for the temporary folder because it's needed to run the script.
Make a backup of your save folder! This is an experimental script and has known bugs so always keep a backup copy of your save folder.
Run the script using the command in the Usage section with the information you've gathered, using 00000000000000000000000000000001 as the co-op host's old GUID, and make sure to set <guild_fix> to False.
Copy the save folder from the temporary folder back to the dedicated server. Move the save folder you had in the dedicated server somewhere else or rename it to something different.
Start the server back up and have the co-op host join the server with their fixed character.
If, after 5 minutes of play, your Pals won't attack for you or do work in the base, follow the [Pal bug] workaround to fix them.

How to migrate a Windows/Linux dedicated server save to a Linux/Windows dedicated server

No player, co-op host or otherwise, is able to use their character on the dedicated server.

Note: This method relies on the [Guild bug] fix even though the fix itself has bugs because with this migration process, every player loses access to their character and they all have to be fixed so there is no 'good' character who can hold the guild for other players as in the co-op to dedicated server migration process above. Progress on the [Guild bug] fix is ongoing and it will hopefully be completely fixed soon.

Prerequisites:

Install the dependencies above.
The new dedicated server is installed, running, and you're able to join it.

Steps:

Copy the save folder from your old dedicated server to your new dedicated server.
In the PalServer\Pal\Saved\Config\WindowsorLinuxServer\GameUserSettings.ini file of the new server, change the DedicatedServerName to match your save folder's name. For example, if your save folder's name is 2E85FD38BAA792EB1D4C09386F3A3CDA, the DedicatedServerName changes to DedicatedServerName=2E85FD38BAA792EB1D4C09386F3A3CDA.
Start the new server and have every player create a new character. When a player creates a new character, a new .sav file will appear in PalServer\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\0\<your_save_here>\Players. The name of that new .sav file is the player's new GUID. Make sure to keep track of all old GUIDs, new GUIDs, and which player they belong to.
Shut the server down and then copy the entire save folder from the new server at PalServer\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\0\<your_save_here> (it must be the save folder with all the new characters!) into a temporary folder and remember the path for the temporary folder because it's needed to run the script.
Make a backup of your save folder! This is an experimental script and has known bugs so always keep a backup copy of your save folder.
For each player's corresponding new GUID and old GUID pair, run the script using the command in the Usage section and make sure to set <guild_fix> to True.
Copy the save folder from the temporary folder back to the dedicated server. Move the save folder you had in the dedicated server somewhere else or rename it to something different.
Start the server back up and have each player join the server with their fixed character.
If, after 5 minutes of play, a player's Pals won't attack for them or do work in their base, have them follow the [Pal bug] workaround to fix them.

How to migrate a Windows dedicated server save to co-op

Copy the save from the dedicated server to a temporary folder.
Start a new co-op game and create a new character, copy the new character C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Pal\Saved\SaveGames\<random_numbers>\Players\00000000000000000000000000000001.sav to <your_temporary_folder>\<your_save_here>\Players.
Run the script while using 00000000000000000000000000000001 as the <new_guid> and the character you want to be host as the <old_guid>.
Once complete, you can copy the save folder from the temporary folder to C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Pal\Saved\SaveGames.
Start the game and you should be able to play normally, friends can join in without any issue since there guid remains the same.

Finding Player GUIDs

If you are having trouble figuring out which GUID is associated to a player, you can try using the following steps:

Set an admin password in the older server's PalServer\Pal\Saved\Config\WindowsorLinuxServer\PalWorldSettings.ini file.
Connect to the older server, open chat, and type /adminpassword <your_admin_password>.
Open chat and run /showplayers (or you can click esc and go to the options page to see and copy your own ID after entering the admin password).
Record the playeruid field for each player.
Use a tool to convert the playeruid number to 8-character hexadecimal GUID prefix. For example, you can run

python -c "print(format(<your_player_id_number>, '08x'))"

The output of the command is the prefix player's GUID (i.e. find the .sav file that starts with the output).
Repeat the steps for the new server if needed.

Known bugs

[Guild bug]

Details: Guild membership doesn't work properly after fixing a character. This is likely happening because there's some guild configuration being missed in the character migration from the old save to the new save.

Workaround: [Co-op Only] In co-op, before moving the save, transfer ownership from the co-op host's character to another character and have the co-op host's character leave the guild. Fixes the issue entirely. Doesn't work when all players lose their save data because there is no working player to hold the guild.

[Pal bug]

Details: Pals owned by the player won't do anything at the base. This is likely caused by the Pals not being registered with the correct guild.

Workaround: On the new server, after the save has been fixed, have each player's character go into their base, drop on the ground and pick up every single Pal they own, including the base workers. This can be done using the "Drop" button in the Party menu. This will re-register the Pals with the correct guild and fix the issue entirely.

[Viewing Cage bug]

Details: The Viewing Cage isn't officially supported on dedicated servers so if you have built one in co-op, it needs to be removed from your co-op save before migrating it to your dedicated server.

Workaround: [Co-op Only] If you have built a Viewing Cage, it needs to be removed from your co-op save before migrating it to your dedicated server.

[Left Click bug]

Details: After applying the fix, some players experience a bug where you can't hold your left mouse button to attack. It seems like this only happens if you didn't do the [Guild bug] workaround but I'm not sure.

Workaround: If you leave the guild and rejoin, it goes away. Thanks /u/skalibran!

xNul/palworld-host-save-fix