Game preservation is important. Thank you devs for adding a Single Player Offline mode!

This game is intriguing. It's not a terrible game, but it is also not a polished game. It is janky, but in that good janky way.

It has good, yet basic ideas, that just need a little bit more polish to get the game to be a bit more fun and less stressful. Great atmosphere, but the map is a bit too big at times.

If some more bugs were fixed and features were added for quality of life, then the game would really display its full potential.

Hopefully, this guide can help you enjoy the game more since the incomplete or missing features are unlikely to be patched in.

First, ensure that the game has already created a single player offline save file by running the game in offline single player mode!

If you have connected to a server, even if you are playing Single Player, you are not fully offline!

Save File Location:

• Windows PC: "C:\Users\<user>\AppData\LocalLow\SOFF Games\Next Day Survival\ServerEmulatorData" (assuming you installed on C:\)
  
• Steam Deck: TBD? (keyboard and mouse is highly recommended!)

Files in this folder:

• MsgFullPlayerProfile.nd <-- this is the player save file you will be editing!
  
• MsgPlayerStorage_[NUMBER].nd <-- the game creates these, starting with "1", if you have stored at least one item into a faction camp's storage. This guide will not cover editing these, but will include how to back these up too.
  
• steam_autocloud.vdf <-- Steam stuff. Do not modify.

Make a copy of all these files and place them somewhere else that is not in this same folder or anywhere within this path! If you mess up your file, the game will not know how to read it and will create a fresh and new save file the next time you play! As long as you keep a backup, you should be OK.

I suggest somewhere on your Desktop for easy access and organization.

The game will read your offline save file whenever you run the game and will continue writing to it very frequently as long as you have the game running!

IMPORTANT: You CANNOT edit this save file while the game is running! You must exit the game first to change values and save them in your save file and then start the game again so the game can read your changes!

Things covered in this guide:

• Changing faction, reputation and vitals
  
• All Skills
  
• Some Items
  
• Some Locations
  
• "Quicksaving" and "Quickloading"
  
• How to acquire a specific item or adjust skill XP level

Things not covered in this guide:

• Quests
  
• Faction camp storage
  
• Achievement Hunting
  
• Some other things I may not have listed

The [SaveFileName].nd are all "(n)ext (d)ay" save files, which are in a very simple JSON format when you open them in a text editor. Use any text editor that you are familiar/comfortable with to edit these files. On Windows, notepad.exe is the most basic and easily available.

You can use any online JSON linter to validate that the changes you make to this file are valid JSON. This should avoid giving you a heart attack when the game "loses your save" because of invalid JSON... be sure to make a backup of your original save before proceeding!

Here are a few online linters:

• https://jsonlint.com/
  
• https://jsonchecker.com/
  
• https://codebeautify.org/jsonvalidator

IMPORTANT: Your text editor may display a warning that you can reload your file with the latest changes if you had it open while the game was running. If you reload, you will lose any manual changes you had done, so always ensure you have closed the game and closed/reopened the save file before making changes you want written to it.

How many times have I already mentioned to backup your save? Do it now!
If you skipped all of the above and got here and won't do it, not my fault :)

Ensure that the game is not running! Open MsgFullPlayerProfile.nd with your text editor to display the JSON formatted data.

It should look similar to, but not exactly like, this:

Originally posted by MsgFullPlayerProfile.nd:

{
"playerId": 0,
"basicPlayerInfo": {
"characterType": 0,
"charName": "[YOUR_STEAM_NAME]",
"reputation": 0,
"fraction": 0,
"traitorTimeLeft": 0,
"generalSkillLevel": 0,
"level": 0,
"expKills": 0
},
...
...
...

(this example is truncated, you should have a lot more in your file)

• playerId - do not modify
  
• basicPlayerInfo - general player info
  
• characterCustomization - i assume this is the head/shirt/underwear options when first creating your player (or when you are dead)
  
• playerState - this is where you can set your XYZ coordinates to "fast travel" to a specific location
  
• playerLife - player vitals
  
• playerGeneralStatistics - player stats (here you can give your player any amount of money)
  
• weaponsBag - the three weapon slots your player can hold (guns and melee)
  
• gearsBag - equipment you can equip on your player (helmets, pants, radsuit, etc)
  
• backpackBag - items in your current backpack (your player inventory)
  
• skillTree - your player skill progress
  
• playerQuestLog - your quest progress (do not modify, I did not test any of these values!)

Note: For each item above, the detailed sections in this guide will only be covering noteworthy properties or values that I tested and used myself.

• characterType - [unknown] don't remember what this was for
  
• reputation - set a negative or positive Integer value (e.g -100, 0, 100)
  
• fraction - the faction you belong to: 0=Neutral, 1=Looters, 2=Civilians
  
• traitorTimeLeft - [untested] I believe this is a cooldown timer if you become a traitor (i.e. kill someone from your own faction)
  
• generalSkillLevel - related to skill levels earned (see "Skills" section)

("level" and "expKills" do not appear to be of any real use)

• levelId - the map to load into: 5=Severoufimsk, 7=Dead Swamp
  
• stateTypeId - [untested] I believe this is whether your player is 0=standing, crouched, or prone
  
• positionX/Y/Z - the long decimal coordinates. Using arbitrary values is not recommended. See "Locations - Fast Travel" section instead.

• lifeState - 0=alive, 3=dead
  
• isBreakBone - [untested] I guess there may an injury for broken bones? I have not come across this. false=no broken bone, true=broken bone?
  
• health - current health: 0.0 (dead) thru 100.0 (full health). The game will write additional decimal places for values in between.
  
• stamina - current stamina: 0.0 (fully fatigued) thru 100.0 (can run a marathon). The game will write additional decimal places for values in between.
  
• hunger - current hunger: 0.0 (starvation) thru 100.0 (full). The game will write additional decimal places for values in between.
  
• thirst - current thirst: 0.0 (dehydrated) thru 100.0 (hydrated). The game will write additional decimal places for values in between.
  
• toxicity - current toxicity: 0.0 (healthy) thru 100.0 (death). The game will write additional decimal places for values in between.
  
• sick - [untested] current sickness amount: 0.0 (healthy) thru 100.0 (death)?
  
• bleeding - current bleed amount: 0.0 (healthy) thru 100.0 (death). The game will write additional decimal places for values in between.
  
• temp - [untested] unknown
  
• stomach - [untested] overeating? 0.0 (not throwing up) thru 100.0 (throwing up)?
  
• cold - [untested] body temp: 0.0 (normal) thru 100.0 (freezing damage)?

• surviveTime - 0.0 thru unlimited? (e.g. 20000.0) this may help with a certain achievement, but I suggest playing instead :)
  
• moneyAmount - 0 thru ?. Enter a whole number (e.g. 10000000) to make yourself wealthy! No grinding necessary!

The lists below are part of a JSON Array, which contain the slot the item will belong to (in your inventory screen) and the item's primaryID ("itemId"). This is where it becomes a bit trickier to make changes, so be careful!

Take a look at this JSON Crash Course if you wish to have a better understanding of what, how and why you are changing things: https://blog.sdetools.io/json-101/

The general structure of these game elements are as follows:

"propertyNameHere": {
"items": [
{
"slotId": 0,
"itemId": 0,
"food": 0.0,
"water": 0.0,
"energy": 0.0,
"regenerate": 0.0,
"condition": 0.0,
"bullets": 0,
"clipItemId": 2001
},
{
"slotId": 1,
"itemId": 1,
"food": 0.0,
"water": 0.0,
"energy": 0.0,
"regenerate": 0.0,
"condition": 0.0,
"bullets": 0,
"clipItemId": 0
}
]
}

The "propertyNameHere" corresponds to one of the sections below, and "items" is the array containing the specific item object entity and its properties. Ensure that each element inside the "items" array starts and ends with a curly brace and if including additional items, to separate each with a comma ( , ) but do not include a comma if it is the last element in the list. Again, use a JSON linter to validate your syntax is correct if unsure.

• items
  • slotId - your player only has 3 weapon slots: 0=Left slot, 1=Middle slot, 2=Right slot
    
  • itemId - the primary ID of the weapon (see "Items - Weapons" section table for some specific items and corresponding values)
    
  • bullets - if your weapon uses bullets, here you can enter a whole number: 0=empty, 1000=more bullets than a magazine can carry, 99999999=so many bullets that this is as close to "infinite ammo" as you can get!
    
  • clipItemId - the ID of the magazine/clip/bullet that is used by this weapon: 0=none. Having an ID means the weapon has one attached, but is not necessary to set a "bullets" value.

(all other "weaponsBag" properties such as "food", "water", "energy", regenerate", and "condition" appear to be irrelevant to all weapons)

• items
  • slotId - your player only has 7 gear slots: 0=head, 1=face, 2=torso, 3=backpack, 4=gloves, 5=radsuit, 6=pants
    
  • itemId - the primary ID of the gear (see "Items - Clothing" section table for some specific items and corresponding values)
    
  • energy - toxic protection, but only applies if the item already has a default non-zero value.
    
  • regenerate - (armor) protection, but only applies if the item already has a default non-zero value.

(all other "gearsBag" properties such as "food", "water", "condition", "bullets", "clipItemId" appear to be irrelevant to all gear)

• items
  • slotId - the max slotId depends on how many slots the backpack you equip has, but the slotId will always start from 0=[1st row, 1st column], 1=[1st row, 2nd column], etc.
    
  • itemId - the primary ID of the item (see "Items - Medical" and "Items - Tools & Misc" sections table for some specific items and corresponding values)
    
  • food - how much an edible item will satiate hunger, but only applies if the item already has a default non-zero value.
    
  • water - how much a potable item will quench thirst, but only applies if the item already has a default non-zero value.
    
  • energy - how much the item will reduce toxicity, but only applies if the item already has a default non-zero value.
    
  • regenerate - how much health the item will restore, but only applies if the item already has a default non-zero value.
    
  • condition - [untested] seems to be part of specific items, some food, some lighters, but only applies if the item already has a default non-zero value. Perhaps food decaying and how much fluid a lighter has?
    
  • bullets - if the weapon uses bullets, here you can enter a whole number: 0=empty, 1000=more bullets than a magazine can carry, 99999999=so many bullets that this is as close to "infinite ammo" as you can get!
    
  • clipItemId - the ID of the magazine/clip/bullet that is used by this weapon: 0=none. Having an ID means the weapon has one attached, but is not necessary to set a "bullets" value.

The lists below are also part of a JSON Array, which contain the slot the skill belongs to when looking at the in-game Skill menu. The first Skill is skillId=0, second is skillId=1, so on and so forth. There are some locked skills in the menu that do not really exists and were just placeholders to an unfinished skill system, however the JSON skillId structure still has to count those, so pay attention to which skillId you are trying to modify.

The general structure of these skill elements are as follows:

"skillTree": {
"skills": [
{
"skillId": 0,
"skillLevel": 0,
"skillLearnValue": 0.0
},
{
"skillId": 1,
"skillLevel": 0,
"skillLearnValue": 0.0
},
....
....
....
]
}

Each Skill element has the same three properties:

• skillId - when looking at the skill menu, going row-to-row from left to right: 0=[1st row, 1st slot], 1=[1st row, 2nd slot], 7=[2nd row, 1st slot (locked)], etc.
  
• skillLevel - the level of the skill, which starts at 0=Level 1 and goes up to whatever the max level of the skill is minus 1.
  
• skillLearnValue - the "XP" of the skill that would be needed to fill this skill's level. This is represented in the game by the red bar with numbers at the bottom when clicking into each Skill's details.

Not exactly "fast travel", but the closest that you can get. As usual, this still requires fully exiting the game, editing and saving your Save File, then starting up the game to be placed into the XYZ coordinates entered.

Note: Ensure that you change both the "levelId" and position/rotation XYZ in your "playerState".


These are only some of the possible XYZ coordinates, but you can find a custom location yourself by going in-game to that location the old-fashioned way of playing the game and waiting a few seconds (to ensure the game writes the values to your Save file), then exiting or minimizing the game and taking a look at the coordinates values that were stored to that file for your custom location.

These are just some of the noteworthy items I managed to document, but there are a lot more in the game that you can find outside of these. As usual, if you want an item not here, you will need to acquire it yourself and then take note of what values the game writes to your Save File.

Note: All values should remain as-is in the JSON element you wish to add/adjust, unless noted by (X) in one of the following columns: "food", "water", "energy", "regenerate", "condition", "bullets", "clipItemId"

If there is a decimal value, use decimal values. If whole numbers, use whole numbers!

The item name may not be accurate to what the item is actually called, as this was just based on my memory of things when trying to document...


PRO TIP: Most of this stuff you can just buy from the shops, but some equipment you have to find. It may be easier for you to just give yourself a lot of money and then just buy items from the shops as you need them.

Some noteworthy weapons...

Note: All values should remain as-is in the JSON element you wish to add/adjust, unless noted by (X) in one of the following columns: "food", "water", "energy", "regenerate", "condition", "bullets", "clipItemId"

If there is a decimal value, use decimal values. If whole numbers, use whole numbers!

The item name may not be accurate to what the item is actually called, as this was just based on my memory of things when trying to document...

Some of these do not have a "clipItemId" because I found them without any ammo. You do not need to have a "clipItemId" and just set the "bullets" value really high to pretty much never have to reload!


PRO TIP: Most of this stuff you can just buy from the shops, but some weapons you have to find. It may be easier for you to just give yourself a lot of money and then just buy items from the shops as you need them.

Noteworthy Medical items, but there are many more in-game.

Note: All values should remain as-is in the JSON element you wish to add/adjust, unless noted by (X) in one of the following columns: "food", "water", "energy", "regenerate", "condition", "bullets", "clipItemId"

If there is a decimal value, use decimal values. If whole numbers, use whole numbers!


PRO TIP: Most of this stuff you can just buy from the shops. It may be easier for you to just give yourself a lot of money and then just buy items from the shops as you need them.

These are just some noteworthy tools and misc items.

Note: All values should remain as-is in the JSON element you wish to add/adjust, unless noted by (X) in one of the following columns: "food", "water", "energy", "regenerate", "condition", "bullets", "clipItemId"

If there is a decimal value, use decimal values. If whole numbers, use whole numbers!


PRO TIP: Some of this stuff you can just buy from the shops, but some you have to find. It may be easier for you to just give yourself a lot of money and then just buy items from the shops as you need them.

This game is very much unfinished when it comes to Skills. Some are permanently locked because they don't actually exist and some don't work well or are a bit buggy.

On top of that, they are quite a GRIND to max out. If you wish to skip all that and make yourself maxed out, here is a way to do so:

Note: Skill IDs start at 0 for "level 1" and end at the Max Skill Level shown in the UI (minus 1). So a skill at level 1 should be set to skillLevel 0, skill level 3 is skillLevel 2, etc...

• "generalSkillLevel": {when changing this value, sum all your skillLevel values, but add 1 to each skill since we want to start from 1 rather than starting from 0}

• "generalSkillLevel": 86

• "generalSkillLevel": 0

You can adjust these values to any level and "XP" you want to as long as they values between the MIN and MAX values.

To "quicksave":

• Find a safe spot in-game, away from any danger.
  
• Wait a few seconds so the game can write your updated coordinates to the save file and then minimize the game.
  
• Go to the save file location and copy your MsgFullPlayerProfile.nd to another location on your PC.
  
• If anything goes wrong in your game, you can just exit the game, restore your backed up Save File and restart the game to be back where you saved!

IMPORTANT: This DOES NOT save your car! Use the "Fast Travel" method and give yourself the necessary items to start the car to get a new one if you lost it.

To "quickload":

• Ensure the game is not running.
  
• Navigate to location where your backed up MsgFullPlayerProfile.nd Save File is located.
  
• Copy/Paste it to the game Save File location (replace it when prompted).
  
• Start the game to be back where you saved!

All of this is not very convenient or that "quick", but it beats losing all your the items on your player and backpack!

There is no way to currently quicksave nor quickload from within the game without changing the source itself, which would trip up EasyAntiCheat.

The alternative was to create a couple of Windows (.bat)ch files and assign them to some hotkeys I could quickly press in-game so the scripts run in the background.

Note: This was quickly created for Windows 11 with a powershell call to get a timestamp, so YMMV. Also, be sure to set your own user variables in each file, namely "SET_THE_GAMES_SAVE_FILE_PATH" and "SET_YOUR_QUICKSAVE_FOLDER_PATH".

It was easiest to:

• First save these scripts as a .bat file
  
• Then create a shortcut (right click .bat file >> "Show more options" >> "Create shortcut")
  
• Next, edit the shortcut to run minimized (right click .bat file >> "Show more options" >> "Properties" >> Change "Run:" to "Minimized" and Apply/OK)
  
• Finally, using some software (I used iCue because I have a Corsair keyboard with G keys) map a couple different keyboard keys to execute the shortcuts created.

@echo off
title Next Day: Survival - Quick Save Helper

REM ====== SET USER VARIABLES HERE ======
set maxQuicksaves=10
set quicksaveSourceDir="SET_THE_GAMES_SAVE_FILE_PATH"
set quicksaveTargetDir="SET_YOUR_QUICKSAVE_FOLDER_PATH"
REM =================================

REM ====== SCRIPT REUSABLE VARS ======
set ndExe=nextday_game.exe
set ndPlayerProfileSave=MsgFullPlayerProfile.nd
for /f "delims=" %%a in ('powershell.exe -NoLogo -NoProfile -Command "Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd_HHmmssfff"') do (set "timestamp=%%~a")
REM ==================================

echo:

tasklist /fi "ImageName eq %ndExe%" /fo csv 2>nul | find /i "%ndExe%">nul
if "%errorlevel%"=="1" (
echo CANNOT QUICKSAVE WHEN GAME IS NOT RUNNING
goto :end
)

echo quicksave process START...
REM ------ quicksave cleanup ------
echo cleaning up and keeping the %maxQuicksaves% most recent quicksaves...
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion

set /a delCount=0
for /f "tokens=*" %%a in ('dir %quicksaveTargetDir%\%ndPlayerProfileSave%.*.quicksave /b /o-n') do (
set "file=%%a"
set /a count+=1
if !count! gtr %maxQuicksaves% (
echo Deleting !file!
del %quicksaveTargetDir%\"!file!"
set /a delCount+=1
) else if !count! equ %maxQuicksaves% (
echo Deleting !file!
del %quicksaveTargetDir%\"!file!"
set /a delCount+=1
)
)
echo cleaned up !delCount! old quicksave files...
endlocal
REM -------------------------------

set ndPlayerProfileSave=MsgFullPlayerProfile.nd
set ndPlayerStorageSave=MsgPlayerStorage*

set ndPlayerProfileQuicksave=%ndPlayerProfileSave%.%timestamp%.quicksave

set quicksaveProfileSourceFullpath=%quicksaveSourceDir%\%ndPlayerProfileSave%
set quicksaveProfileTargetFullpath=%quicksaveTargetDir%\%ndPlayerProfileQuicksave%
echo quicksaving %ndPlayerProfileSave% as %ndPlayerProfileQuicksave%...
copy /v /y %quicksaveProfileSourceFullpath% %quicksaveProfileTargetFullpath%

set quicksaveStorageSourceFullpath=%quicksaveSourceDir%\%ndPlayerStorageSave%
set quicksaveStorageTargetFullpath=%quicksaveTargetDir%
echo quicksaving %ndPlayerStorageSave% into %quicksaveStorageTargetFullpath%...
copy /v /y %quicksaveStorageSourceFullpath% %quicksaveStorageTargetFullpath%

echo QUICKSAVED!
echo quicksave process END
goto :end

:end
echo:
echo GO HAVE FUN!!!
exit

What does this do?

• Checks to see if the game executable is currently running
  
• Exits if it is not running, otherwise determines the 10 most recent quicksave files to keep and cleans up any extras.
  
• Then creates a new "quicksave" file to your target folder path with the format: MsgFullPlayerProfile.nd.{timestamp}.quicksave
  
• Finally, it also copies all your MsgPlayerStorage_[NUMBER].nd save files just in case :)

@echo off
title Next Day: Survival - Quick Load Helper

REM ====== SET USER VARIABLES HERE ======
set quicksaveSourceDir="SET_THE_GAMES_SAVE_FILE_PATH"
set quicksaveTargetDir="SET_YOUR_QUICKSAVE_FOLDER_PATH"
REM =================================

REM ====== SCRIPT REUSABLE VARS ======
set ndExe=nextday_game.exe
set ndPlayerProfileSave=MsgFullPlayerProfile.nd
set quickloadTarget=%quicksaveSourceDir%\%ndPlayerProfileSave%
for /f "delims=" %%a in ('powershell.exe -NoLogo -NoProfile -Command "Get-Date -Format HHmmssfff"') do (set "timestamp=%%~a")
REM ==================================

echo:

tasklist /fi "ImageName eq %ndExe%" /fo csv 2>nul | find /i "%ndExe%">nul
if "%errorlevel%"=="0" (
echo CANNOT QUICKLOAD WHEN GAME IS RUNNING
goto :end
)

echo quickload process START...
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion

set "latestFile="
for /f "delims=" %%a in ('dir %quicksaveTargetDir%\%ndPlayerProfileSave%.*.quicksave /b /a-d /o-n') do (
set "latestFile=%%a"
goto :break
)

:break
echo copying latest quicksave %latestFile% to %quickloadTarget%
copy /v /y %quicksaveTargetDir%\%latestFile% %quickloadTarget%
endlocal
echo QUICKLOADED!
echo quickload process END

goto :end

:end
echo:
echo GO HAVE FUN!!!
exit

What does this do?

• Checks to see if the game executable is currently running
  
• Exits if it is, otherwise will copy the most recent quicksave file to the game's Save File location

FAQ? FAQ who? FAQ you!

No. Those save files are stored on the online servers.

No, at least not from my testing.

Restore your backup Save file!

Unfortunately, this is how the game reacts. Hopefully you did not have any gear in the trunk :(
Use the "Fast Travel" method from this guide to quickly go get a new one!

You may need to walk away from that spot and then come back so the game can load the car. Not too far, just enough so you can turn back around and see that it has loaded :)

Fortunately, this is how the game reacts. I think this works in our favor to avoid having to play during the in-game nighttime hours where it's a bit harder to see things. You can also use this to your advantage to "reset" certain "daily" things, such as using TX-99, Vitamins, or Quest reset timers...

Are you really sure? Did you use a JSON linter like I suggested? Try that first. Restore a backup Save otherwise.

I am not a developer for this game. EasyAntiCheat seems to be preventing doing anything outside of the bounds of this save file manipulation, even for Single Player offline.

I disagree, but I have a lot of experience with this type of stuff.

Too lazy. But not lazy enough to write this guide ;)
Maybe someone else will take this knowledge and do something about it.

Good find! Let me know so I can review and correct it.

Comment with what you'd like to include and I'll review it when I can.