Hyper's Ark Save Editor Companion

This companion mod for Hyper's Ark Save Editor maps the physical terrain of custom maps and cave networks. External map viewers often have blind spots where default map data is missing or incomplete. This tool runs a physical sweep of the level to generate an accurate 3D layout for the external editor.

How It Works

The mod sweeps the map to track floor heights, cave ceilings, wall limits, and ground types. A full scan of a standard-sized map takes approximately one hour. Once finished, it outputs a standard .sav file. Upload this file directly into your Ark Save Editor instance to bypass the default map view and render the exact terrain captured by the scan.

Usage Rules

This is a utility extraction tool, not a background gameplay mechanic.

• Server Load: Do not run a terrain scan on an active, populated server. The sweeping process is intensive and degrades server performance while running. Execute full map scans on a closed server or in single-player.
• Resolution Limits: The scan captures the general navigational layout, not high-resolution micro-geometry. This is a deliberate limit to keep the output file size manageable and prevent memory exhaustion.
• Aborted Scans: If a scan is canceled manually, it yields an empty file rather than guessing what the rest of the map looks like. The external editor handles these gaps automatically.

Planned Additions

The current version isolates terrain floors and surface materials. Future updates expand the extraction to track server economy, player telemetry, and dynamic map elements:

• Movement Splines: Extracting player traversal logs to render historical movement paths across the 3D map in the external viewer.
• Item Transfer Logs: Tracking the movement of high-value items between players and containers to audit server economies and identify potential duplication vectors.
• Territory Heatmaps: Logging structure density to visualize tribe expansion and heavily contested zones over time.
• Combat & Death Telemetry: Mapping player and tame death coordinates to identify server hotspots and unsafe navigational corridors.
• Water Levels: Mapping global water heights to establish accurate coastlines and depths in the external viewer.
• Resource Nodes: Tracking locations for permanent harvestable nodes. This is strictly clamped to major resource types to prevent file bloat.