How to get larger edit areas (by modding)

Overview

This is a guide to help you enlarge your edit areas by modding the game files. I assure you that this is not a clickbait. In this example, I will be editing the Creative Island hangar.

Introduction

Firstly, I’d like to assure you that this is not a clickbait. I promise that, when done correctly, this will increase the sizes of your edit areas. Please be careful though, as you are editing game files. Remember to make a back up of any files you plan to change. For this example, I will be increasing the size of the Creative Island Hangar edit zone. You will not need to download any external files and finally, I am not responsible for any corrupt files: edit your files at your own risk!

Enlarging the edit area

1. In File Explorer, navigate to (default path):
   “C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonStormworksromdatatiles”

   You can do this by hitting WindowsKey+R and entering the path and hitting enter. Note that this is the default folder path, so if you have installed Stormworks somewhere else then you will need to navigate to:

   “(Install Location)Stormworksromdatatiles”

2. You will now see a list of .xml files and .bin files. These are the files for each island in the game. In this example I am editing the creative island, which is “island_15.xml”. Create a copy of the file you are going to edit and place it in a different location to have as a backup. It is very important that you follow this step. Note: you only need to edit .xml files
3. Open the .xml file, which in this example is “island_15.xml”, in any text editor. I am using Visual Studio Code (because I’m a nerd) but any editor like notepad will do.
4. Search for the word “edit_areas” (usually with Ctrl+F). You should find the tag “<edit_areas>” with lots of “<edit_area>” child elements beneath. Their “id” attribute corresponds to the type of edit area (E.g. id=”hangar_edit” is obviously the hangar).
5. Find the “grid_size” attribute of your edit area. Set this to “0”. (Remember to keep the quotes).
   
6. Find the “size” property set the x, y and z to something sensible up to 255.
   
7. Check for any typos and save your file . Don’t be that guy who forgets to press Ctrl+S and then comments saying “This not work. This CLICKBAIT!”
8. Run Stormworks. You should have a bigger edit area. If an error occurs, then replace the file with the backup.

Notes

Here are some things to remember

• Please, please, please remember to make a backup before editing your files.
• I recommend not to make all the dimensions 255. Doing this can create performance issues, especially when using the symmetry tool.
• Some game updates may change your edits back to their original values.
• You must reload Stormworks to see these effects.
• I am not responsible for any corrupt game files.
• Sorry about the bad pictures.

As always, if you have any queries or improvements, please comment below.
Enjoy.