Crimson Browser And Mod Manager

Crimson Browser And Mod Manager is a standalone archive browser and modding utility for Crimson Desert.

Overview

Crimson Browser And Mod Manager is a standalone tool designed to browse archives and assist with modding in Crimson Desert. It reads 0.pamt metadata, lets you explore .paz archive contents, previews several common asset formats, extracts files, and rebuilds supported mod-folder or overlay VFS overrides without altering the original archives.

Requirements

To use the tool, you need:

• Windows

• Python 3.10 or newer

• A Python installation that includes Tkinter

• The Python packages listed in requirements.txt

• vtk for the built-in 3D model viewer

• vgmstream if you want preview support for WEM audio files

Install And Run

You can launch it with the provided EXE or batch file, or run it manually:

1. Install Python 3.10 or newer.

2. Open a terminal inside the Crimson Browser folder.

3. Run: pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Make sure tools/vgmstream-win64/vgmstream-cli.exe is present if you want WEM preview support.

5. Edit config.txt and set your game path, for example: archives_path=D:PathToCrimson Desert and theme=dark

6. Run: python crimson_browser.py

You can also start only the Mod Manager with python crimson_browser.py --mod-manager, use run_mod_manager.bat for direct Mod Manager startup, or launch the packaged standalone build from dist\Crimson Browser & Mod Manager\Crimson Browser & Mod Manager.exe.

The packaged standalone version is meant to work on a target machine without needing a separate Python installation or additional pip setup.

First Launch

On first startup, the tool reads the archive metadata and creates a fast cache. Future launches use that cache automatically unless you manually click Refresh Cache.

Current Features

The tool currently includes:

• Archive browsing with search, filtering, sorting, and optional tree-style paths

• A persistent fast cache so archives do not need to be parsed every time

• Preview tabs for text, images, 3D models, video, audio, and hex data

• Partial-compressed DDS preview and extraction support through meta/0.pathc

• Partial-compressed DDS reimport that also updates matching meta/0.pathc metadata

• Configurable light and dark mode stored in config.txt

• Extraction of selected files or all filtered files with progress and ETA

• PAM and PAMLOD extraction that also exports OBJ files automatically

• .paloc preview, JSON sidecar export, and JSON reimport support

• Single-file reimport as a rebuilt mod_folder pack-group override

• Batch folder reimport from any loose folder tree

• ChaCha20 decrypt and re-encrypt support for compatible entries

• Full affected pack-group rebuilds with updated 0.pamt and meta/0.papgt

• Automatic creation of new 16-byte-aligned .paz chunks when replacements become too large for the original slot

• A Mod Manager UI for managed mods/<mod>/files sources, metadata editing, enable or disable controls, and load-order priority

• Build Active Mods, which merges enabled mods into one final overlay output under mod_build/0036 plus mod_build/meta/0.papgt

• Deploy In Game, which uses both traditional mod_folder overrides and final mod_build output, with local .bak backups

• A Launch Game button for bin64/CrimsonDesert.exe

• Direct Mod Manager startup with --mod-manager or run_mod_manager.bat

• A Mod-Manager-only mode with its own Options and Credits buttons

• A dedicated bottom status and progress bar in the Mod Manager for long operations

3D Model Viewer

The built-in 3D model viewer includes:

• Embedded PAM and PAMLOD parsing

• A VTK-based offscreen renderer integrated directly into the main tool

• Built-in OBJ export

• Left-drag rotation and right-drag light control

• A Reset View button

• Texture toggle

• Heavy-mesh decimation toggle

• Flip Normals toggle

• Automatic lookup for referenced textures from loaded archives when available

• PAMLOD texture lookup that also checks grouped references and DDS variants

• Preservation of texture alpha and transparency in the 3D preview when available

Audio, Video, And Image Preview

Preview support includes:

• WEM audio playback through vgmstream

• MP4 video preview with playback, seeking, and fullscreen support

• Image preview with zoom, pan, and checkerboard transparency background

Extraction Notes

• LZ4 files are extracted in decompressed form.

• Partial-compressed DDS files are rebuilt into normal DDS for preview and extraction when meta/0.pathc provides the texture header.

• If a file cannot currently be decrypted or decompressed, the raw data is written out instead.

• PAM and PAMLOD extraction also exports an OBJ file beside the extracted source.

• Matching textures are exported next to the OBJ when found.

Reimport Notes

• Original archives are never modified.

• Output is written into mod_folder as rebuilt pack-group overrides.

• Supported reimport types include raw entries, LZ4 entries, Partial DDS entries, clear entries, and ChaCha20-encrypted entries.

• The tool updates PAZ offsets, sizes, checksums, 0.pamt, and meta/0.papgt for affected groups.

• It uses normal LZ4 recompression for rebuilt payloads instead of risky exact-size forcing.

• It does not yet support non-DDS Partial entries, Zlib recompression, or QuickLZ recompression.

• It also does not currently support reimport for encrypted entries outside of ChaCha20.

Fast Cache

The tool stores archive metadata and entry lists in:

crimson_cache/archive_index_cache.pkl

Use the Refresh Cache button if you want to force a full cache rebuild. The cache now relies on archive metadata signatures instead of extra live-state files, which makes fast-cache reuse more reliable for direct Mod Manager workflows.

Standalone Notes

A packaged one-directory standalone build is supported. The standalone folder includes all bundled runtime dependencies and resources next to the EXE. It also comes with run_mod_manager.bat for direct Mod Manager startup.

The Mod Manager is still somewhat messy, but it is now a portable kind of messy, which at least makes it more convenient.

Known Limitations

• Reimport currently updates existing file entries only, not completely new archive paths.

• Minimal multi-mod builds in mod_build rely on the game’s overlay system to resolve untouched original chunks from the base installation.

• Current runtime path evidence still suggests numeric %d.paz chunk naming, so named chunk files are not being used at this time.

• Partial DDS reimport is now supported, but non-DDS Partial entries and Zlib or QuickLZ recompression are still unresolved.

Credits

• Version: 0.13.0

• All the knowledgeable people at ResHax, especially MrIkso and NoName

• LukeFZ for pycrimson and .papgt structure research

• Lazorr for breaking the ChaCha20 encryption and decryption and for related tools

• Lathiel for model conversion scripts and foundational work

• CallMeSlinky for the PATHC parsing and repack groundwork

• kh0shn4w for the AutoFontModder release that helped compare exact-size font workflows

• Uses vgmstream for WEM audio preview support

Basic Usage

1. Run the EXE or batch file, or install dependencies with pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Set your game path in config.txt

3. Run python crimson_browser.py

4. Let the first launch build the fast cache

5. Browse, preview, extract, or reimport supported files