DEVKEY BLOG

Shape of Dreams’ Limbo 6 can be unlocked by editing the save JSON, not the game’s config file. In this example, I make Bismuth count as having cleared Limbo 5 so that depth 6 becomes selectable.

Base Limbo opens with four Evil Lucid Dreams, but starting depth 6 requires all six.

Close the game, then back up the whole QuickSave folder:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\LocalLow\Lizard Smoothie\Shape of Dreams\QuickSave

The two files to edit have the same ID:

r_profile<UUID>.json
r_stats<UUID>.json

In r_profile<UUID>.json, mark these six pairs as unlocked. If one is already unlocked, you do not need to change it.

The values I changed for each pair were:

Achievement data:
  isNew = true
  isCompleted = true
  currentProgress = maxProgress
  completeTimestamp = current Unix timestamp
  persistentVariables = null

Lucid Dream:
  status = 2
  didReadMemory = false
  isNewHeroOrHeroSkill = false
  isAvailableInGame = true

If you only change the Lucid Dream side, startup validation may revert it, so I changed the corresponding achievement data too.

In the same file, set .root.preferredGameSettings.limbo to select Bismuth and Limbo 6.

{
  "difficulty": "diffLimbo",
  "hero": "Hero_Bismuth",
  "lucidDreams": [
    "LucidDream_FishScales",
    "LucidDream_GrievousWounds",
    "LucidDream_MadLife",
    "LucidDream_MarshOfDestiny",
    "LucidDream_Overpopulation",
    "LucidDream_PrudentJellyfish"
  ],
  "allowDejavu": false,
  "customData": {
    "GameMod_Limbo::depth": "6"
  }
}

Keep existing fields that are not shown here, such as lobbyName and heroSelectedLoadoutIndex.

In r_stats<UUID>.json, set Bismuth’s cleared depth to 5. Limbo progress is per character, so if you want to open depth 6 for another character, replace the hero name.

.root.heroes.Hero_Bismuth.completedLimboDepth = 5
.root.total.completedLimboDepth = 5

After saving, run jq empty <filename> on both files to make sure they are still valid JSON before launching the game. If Steam Cloud reports a conflict, choose the edited local copy. Because this also changes achievement data, it may be reflected in Steam achievements.

Shape of Dreams’ Limbo can be unlocked by editing the save JSON under LocalLow so that only the unlock condition is satisfied.

The target is not the game’s config file. It is this profile save file:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\LocalLow\Lizard Smoothie\Shape of Dreams\QuickSave\r_profile*.json

From the game code I checked, the Limbo unlock condition was having at least four Evil Lucid Dream entries unlocked.

Before editing, check which Evil Lucid Dreams are already unlocked and add only the missing ones. In this example, I add MadLife and Overpopulation to reach four.

The Evil Lucid Dream and achievement pairs are:

• FishScales: ACH_BARE_SKIN_SUPREMACY
• GrievousWounds: ACH_VIVID_DREAM
• MadLife: ACH_MASTER_OF_EVASION
• MarshOfDestiny: ACH_EMPRESS_OF_PAIN
• Overpopulation: ACH_M_M_M_MONSTER_KILL
• PrudentJellyfish: ACH_WRIST_FRIENDLY_BUILD

The basic flow is:

1. Close the game
2. Back up r_profile...json
3. Mark the ACH_* entries for the Evil Lucid Dreams you want to add as completed
4. Set the target LucidDream_* entries to status: 2 / isAvailableInGame: true
5. Check that the JSON is still valid

If you only change the LucidDream side, the profile validation on startup may revert it. The point is to also mark the corresponding in-game achievement as completed.

This example adds MadLife and Overpopulation. After taking a backup, it uses PowerShell + jq to write to a temporary file, validate it, and then replace the save file. If you do not have jq, manually editing the same values is fine too.

$quickSave = "$env:USERPROFILE\AppData\LocalLow\Lizard Smoothie\Shape of Dreams\QuickSave"
$save = Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $quickSave -Filter "r_profile*.json" |
  Sort-Object LastWriteTime -Descending |
  Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty FullName
if (-not $save) { throw "r_profile*.json was not found" }

$backup = "$save.bak_$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd_HHmmss)"
Copy-Item -LiteralPath $save -Destination $backup

$ts = [DateTimeOffset]::UtcNow.ToUnixTimeSeconds()
$tmp = "$save.tmp"

$filter = @'
.root.achievements.ACH_MASTER_OF_EVASION |= (.isNew=true | .isCompleted=true | .currentProgress=.maxProgress | .completeTimestamp=$ts | .persistentVariables=null)
| .root.achievements.ACH_M_M_M_MONSTER_KILL |= (.isNew=true | .isCompleted=true | .currentProgress=.maxProgress | .completeTimestamp=$ts | .persistentVariables=null)
| .root.lucidDreams.LucidDream_MadLife |= (.status=2 | .didReadMemory=false | .isNewHeroOrHeroSkill=false | .isAvailableInGame=true)
| .root.lucidDreams.LucidDream_Overpopulation |= (.status=2 | .didReadMemory=false | .isNewHeroOrHeroSkill=false | .isAvailableInGame=true)
'@

jq --argjson ts $ts $filter $save > $tmp
jq empty $tmp
Move-Item -LiteralPath $tmp -Destination $save -Force

After launching the game with this edit, Limbo was unlocked, and the Steam achievement was unlocked automatically too. If you do not want to touch Steam achievements, it is probably better not to use this method.

My Samsung 990 PRO M.2 SSD would sometimes suddenly stop reading and writing during games.

Sometimes Windows still did not see that SSD after a reboot. Rebooting once more, or shutting the PC down and starting it again, would usually bring it back.

Windows Event Viewer showed stornvme controller errors, disk Event ID 51, and Ntfs write failures around the M.2 SSD.

The only thing I changed was updating the SSD firmware in Samsung Magician.

It was 4B2QJXD7 before the update and 8B2QJXD7 after it.

On Samsung’s official Samsung Storage Firmware page, the note for 7B2QJXD7 says: “To address the intermittent non-recognition and blue screen issue.” The note for 8B2QJXD7 says: “To improve read-operation stability.” In other words, a firmware newer than my previous 4B2QJXD7 had already targeted a symptom very close to what I was seeing.

Reference: Samsung Storage Firmware

So far, the SSD has not disappeared or stopped reading and writing during games again.

The Steam version of SAND: Raiders of Sophie failed to launch with Unexpected error occurred.

In the end, after setting Sand_BE.exe to run as administrator and rebooting the PC, it started launching from Steam. The reboot seems to have been the trigger, so I still do not know whether that setting alone fixed it.

This was the dialog I was seeing.

Before that, I tried Steam file verification, moving the install from the E drive to the C drive (the drive with the OS installed), and reinstalling BattlEye. At each point, the same error still appeared.

References: Steam Community / tinyBuild support

The last thing I changed was Sand_BE.exe in the game folder.

I enabled Properties → Compatibility → Run this program as an administrator, then rebooted the PC.

After that reboot, SAND: Raiders of Sophie started launching from Steam.

When I have time, I will move the install location back to the E drive and check whether it still launches.