History according to Peter

Download the file here.

I love the modern reboot of The Bard’s Tale (talking about this release).  From the all-star voice acting to the hilarious writing to the engaging RPG gameplay, it’s a true gem of a production – a rare and timeless classic.

If you’re like me, though, you’re going to be left with an empty spot in your OCD mosaic as it is impossible to max every stat and attain every talent given the level cap of 21.  Even on ‘Easy’ settings, you’ll still fall short of maxed stats by a good 20 points, and there will be at least 5 talents beyond your reach.

Luckily for us, inXile has deigned to allow us paid in-game upgrades.  Heir Fargo claims that all the purchasables can be obtained through hard work and dedication in-game… this is a lie!  Specifically, the stat point upgrades and bonus talents are capped via in-game mechanisms. While you could increase specific stats to maximum (20), you could never increase *all* stats to 20.  If you want to be a master of all the weapons and play styles, this is simply not acceptable.

At great personal expense to yours truly ($3), I have put together a save file that makes it just possible to max all your stats and acquire all the talents through the course of a full playthrough.  You will still need to apportion your stat points and talents as you level up, and you’ll still need to regularly upgrade your gear to survive as the game progresses.

What’s in the save file?

The goal here was to make it possible to unlock everything in the game through diligent play, not to hand you everything on a platter.  Of course, without actually modifying the game code, there are limits to how this can be accomplished.  This is what you get with the save file:

• 80 starting stat points: Spread evenly across the board, and meaning you will have 120 total points at level 21.  This will allow you to hit 20 (the maximum) in each category at level cap.
• 5 extra talent points: Pre-assigned, including access to all first-tier weapon styles (flail, dual-wield, and 2-handed), Shield Bash, Treasure Hunter, and Critical Hit.
• Entry-grade melee weapons: Basic flail, dirk, claymore and a lowly buckler.
• Normal-mode save points: No sense going Olde School when you’re getting so much extra power up-front.

Here’s what is not included:

• Extra adderstones or silver: Earn ’em the old fashioned way, or buy your own, creep!
• A bow:  Since it can be used to open a semi-secret side, area, you’ll have to earn your own
• Weapon upgrades:  Again, you’ll have to work for these.
• Upgraded talents: You still have to decide which way to specialize when leveling up
• Tokens/Tunes:  These are all unlocked through the course of the game… if you’re diligent!

The save file is otherwise completely clean, minted at the first possible save point in the game.

Installation

Supported Versions: PC (Steam only), Android, Mac (Steam), and jailbroken iOS.  Coming soon for Playbook and the AppStore Mac Version.

Not Supported: Original PC release (2005), Xbox (2004), PS2 (2004).

PROTIP:  If you play on multiple non-Apple devices, use DropBox to easily store the most recent version of your saved game.

PC (Steam) Installation

• Download and unzip the save file.
• Exit “The Bard’s Tale” if it is running
• Copy the unzipped file to the save folder in your Steam install directory. By default this is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\The Bards Tale\Saved Games.
• Run the game and you will see the new titled “The Drunken Rat  05:40”

Mac (Steam) Installation

• Download and unzip the save file.
• Exit “The Bard’s Tale” if it is running
• Copy the unzipped file to /Users/[your username]/Library/Application Support/The Bard’s Tale/Saved Games.  You may need to turn on hidden files if you’re trying to browse there with a finder.  Terminal will cp the file easily.
• Run the game you will see the new save listed as “The Drunken Rat 05:40”

Note that iCloud sync does not work with the Mac Steam version of this game, so you cannot easily sync your Mac Steam saves via iCloud to your portable Apple devices.  This function is only available in the Apple AppStore version of the game.

FUN FACT:  You can change the gameplay speed on the Mac Steam version simply by changing your monitor’s refresh rate.  If you want to power through the first few ‘ramp up’ areas, bump your refresh to 120Hz and let ‘er fly!  Make sure your monitor supports whatever refresh rate you choose or you could blow your hardware.

Android Installation

• You need to find The Bard’s Tale installation on your device.  This will vary depending on your OS and where you chose to install (external media for example).  In general, you’ll find it under /Android/data/com.inxile.BardsTale/files.  For example, on a Samsung Galaxy S3 where the (large) install was saved to the MicroSD card, it will be under /Storage/extSdCard/Android/data/com.inxile.BardsTale/files.  You may need to dig around a bit on your own device to find this directory.
• Exit The Bard’s Tale
• Depending on your device and installation, you can either download and unzip the file directly to the SavedGames folder in the directory you found above, or plug the device in via USB and copy the file over into the directory that way.  The file is here.
• Run the game again, and you will see the save game titled “The Drunken Rat  05:40”

iOS (Jailbroken) Installation

To upload this file directly to an iOS device, you’ll need to be jailbroken, and have a file manager like iFile installed.

The hard part is to find your Bard’s Tale installation on the device.  Look under /var/moble/Applications and you’ll see a huge list of folders with very long hexidecimal file names of 8-4-4-4-12 digits (for example 01234567-890a-bcde-f012-34567890abcd.  One of these is the Bard’s Tale, and I am uncertain if it always shows up under the same directory or not.  My own installation started with 0698af04, so if you see that one, it’s a good bet you’re in the right spot.  Once you find the right directory (it will have the folder “The Bard’s Tale.app” in it), just pop under Documents/SavedGames and you’re there.  So the final directory will look something like this:

/var/mobile/Applications/0698af04…/Documents/SavedGames/

Once you’ve got the location nailed down – don’t copy the file yet – follow these steps exactly in the order shown:

1. Start The Bard’s Tale on your jailbroken iOS device.
2. Under the menu options, find Save Game Options, and disable Auto-Save and iCloud
3. Exit the game again (kill the process if you can with something like SBSettings).
4. Use iFile to copy the save game file to the directory outlined above.  The easiest way is to use iFile to navigate to the directory and then enable its web server, allowing you to upload the file from a web browser on the same LAN.
5. Start The Bard’s Tale again.
6. Load the save game file (“The Drunken Rat 05:40”).  Walk away from the spinning ‘Save Game’ book on the ground, and then walk back over top of it.
7. Save your game in a new, empty slot.
8. Exit The Bard’s Tale – kill the process as above.
9. Use iFile to delete the “US9999” file from the saved games folder.
10. Start The Bard’s Tale again, and under your Saved Game Options, re-enable auto-save and iCloud (if you so desire).

Your game will now sync through iCloud and be available on all your iOS devices and on your Mac if you have the AppStore (not Steam) version of the game.

Mac (AppStore version) and Blackberry

Currently untested.  If you try it and manage to make it work, please share with the rest of us.

Have fun with this file, and don’t forget to leave your feedback in the comments!