Editing the URW save files

[Bedlam]

I am looking for a way to do a few things to the character save files, which used to be possible in prior versions but I am not very sure how do them now in URW v3.87:

- reset the animal population
- reset the zoomed-in maps, without resetting the zoomed-out map, and preserving several zoomed-in maps that contain heavily developed player bases with thousands of items
- reset the villages

I've got an important character whom I love dearly and who is 10+ real life years old; all import worked fine on URW's side, the game plays well, however I'm noticing annoying things such as not having any blacksmiths in my previously-visited coastal Driik villages (and I visited just about them all, as you can imagine), animal populations being strangely low, where I catch almost nothing but a few birds and foxes in my extensive trap fences and setups, even with grandmasterly trapper skill. Been playing for about a URW year, and have not even once seen a bear, not in the wild and not in the many bear traps I have created in past versions.

I tried kicking them down and resetting, but the problem appears to be bear populations in my game now (maybe they all mistakenly went into perma-hibernation on me due to import processes, I don't know). I also used to see many snakes, and nowadays not a single one is seen anywhere in my game.

Grateful for any ideas from those more experienced with save files in the character folder and how they can be utilized.

[Bert Preast]

AFAIK you won't get any blacksmiths in already visited villages. I assume resetting the map would solve this, but if you reset all the villages then of course you'll lose any reputation you've built up with them.

The trapping system was changed a few years back; in the old days, building traps would spawn animals to fall into them, but I think now you just have to wait and hope.  Also, traps only seem to function when you're checking them regularly - I often leave my area for a couple of weeks at a time, and there's never anything in my traps when I get home.

Wildlife should respawn every quarter, I think.  If animal populations seem low, bear in mind that in modern versions, you're not the only hunter out there.  Bandits, vagabonds, foreign traders, hunters, woodsmen, bears, lynxes, wolves, gluttons, are all competing with you, and will take prey when they find it.

I thought snakes were always very rare - one of my late game challenges is to get enough snake leather to make Finland's most fashionable pair of shoes!

For resetting maps and villages, you'd need the Ubermodder.  Your only hope is that @Night might take pity on you and help out.  I'd suggest sending him a message and offering your wristwatch and/or bottom, and he could either sort it or at the least tell you if it's something that's possible to do!