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WolfSDK FAQ

Short answers to the questions players and modders ask most about WolfSDK 0.3.1, the mod loader and modding studio for Wolfenstein: The New Order and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Step by step: WolfSDK Loader, WolfSDK Studio, Mod format, Modding Limits.

Keywords: FAQ, frequently asked questions, questions and answers, WolfSDK help, häufige Fragen, Fragen und Antworten

What is WolfSDK?

WolfSDK is a free mod loader and modding studio for Wolfenstein: The New Order (id Tech 5) and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (id Tech 6), for the Steam versions on Windows. Version 0.3.1 is the current release; 0.2.0 (2026-10-04) was the first public one.

It writes mods into the games' archives, keeps bit-exact backups and reverts everything with one click. It has a catalogue of the engines' own cvars for cheats and quality-of-life settings and installs custom maps for The New Colossus. The Studio part browses and replaces the games' assets and saves changes as mods.

An independent community project under the MIT license, not affiliated with MachineGames or Bethesda. No EXE patch, no DLL injection.

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What is the difference between WolfSDK Loader and WolfSDK Studio?

WolfSDK Loader is for players: tick mods, Apply mods, Start game, Revert, the Cheats & QoL page with presets, and Install map….

WolfSDK Studio is for modders: the Loader plus the Studio, which browses maps, videos, audio, textures and texts of both games, shows and exports the 17,315 models of The New Colossus in 3D (with animations), replaces BC1 textures, texts, decls, sounds and videos, and shows Wolfenstein: Youngblood read only. Each replacement is saved as a mod that the loader applies.

Only playing? Take the Loader. Making mods? Take the Studio; it contains the Loader. The Studio needs The New Colossus and opens from the loader's Studio page with Open Studio. Details: Loader, Studio.

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Where do I download WolfSDK and how do I install it?

Download from the release page: https://github.com/LopeKinz/wolfenstein-modloader/releases/tag/wolfsdk-0.3.1. Players take WolfSDK-Loader-0.3.1.zip, modders WolfSDK-Studio-0.3.1.zip (it contains the Loader).

1. Right-click the ZIP → Extract All… into a normal folder, e.g. Documents\WolfSDK. Not inside the ZIP view, not under C:\Program Files: the loader saves its settings in its own folder.
2. Double-click WolfSDK.cmd. The loader finds the games through Steam; if not, use Choose folder… in the game menu at the top left (or the folder icon at the top right). The loader opens in its own window: a local page in Edge, else Chrome, else your browser.

No Python install needed: Python 3.11 is bundled. Windows only, Steam versions of both games. The source code is in the repository folder modloader/.

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How do I update from WolfSDK 0.2.0 to 0.3.0?

Safest: click Revert in 0.2.0 first, extract 0.3.0 into a new folder and apply your mods there again. Copy config.json (your ticks and values) and your own mod folders from mods\ into the new folder. From now on the loader tells you about new versions at the top right (Download, Skip this version); it asks GitHub for the release list once per start, at most every 6 hours, and sends nothing else. Switch it off with Check for updates on start on the Info page.

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WolfSDK does not start or does not find my game – what now?

• It says to extract the ZIP first: you started WolfSDK.cmd from inside the ZIP. Extract the ZIP into a normal folder.
• The loader does not start: the black window usually stays open with the error message. The same text is in %LOCALAPPDATA%\wolfsdk\start.log. Send that text when you ask for help.
• The game is not found: the loader looks for the games through Steam. Open the game menu at the top left, click Choose folder… and pick the game folder. Only the Steam versions are supported.
• Pick the game: both games can be installed at once. The game menu at the top left selects the game; the Mods page only shows the mods of the selected game.

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Windows SmartScreen warns about WolfSDK.cmd – is that normal?

On the first start Windows may show "Windows protected your PC". Click More info → Run anyway. The README of the release describes exactly this step.

WolfSDK.cmd is a plain text batch file: you can open it in Notepad and read what it does. It starts the bundled Python from the python folder and opens the loader window.

The README does not cover warnings from other antivirus programs, and there is no tested advice for them yet. If one appears, report the program's exact message (see "Where do I report bugs or get help?").

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How do I apply mods?

Close the game. Select the game in the game menu, open the Mods page, switch the mods on (they are saved at once; there is no Save button), click Apply mods, then Start game. Check mod set (Overview page) checks them without writing anything. Later, a double-click on Spielen.cmd ("play") applies the ticked mods if needed and starts the game.

Applying always reverts to the original first and then writes the whole ticked set, so you can apply again at any time. If two mods set the same value, the higher priority wins and a conflict is reported. Two mods that change the same textures are refused: tick one skin per weapon.

Status: applying and reverting with backups is Confirmed in game. Most shipped mods are only checked structurally (see each mod's description).

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How do I undo mods and get the original game back?

Close the game and click Revert. It restores the game files bit for bit from the loader's backups. Each game has its own backups and Revert; select the game first. Since 0.3.0 Revert also restores replaced sound packs and video files. In The New Colossus, Revert also removes the Cheats & QoL lines the loader wrote into default.cfg. A custom map is not a mod: take it out with Remove map on the Overview page.

Do not delete the backup folders in the game's base folder (_wolfsdk_backup for The New Order, _wolfsdk_tnc for The New Colossus) while mods are applied. Last resort, in Steam: Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files.

Status: Revert is Confirmed in game.

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What do I do after a game update?

Best: click Revert before Steam updates the game. If the game already updated while mods were applied, click Revert first and then Apply mods again.

The loader compares the archives with its backup. If an update changed them, it refuses to write and says that a file "no longer matches the backup. Game update?". It does not write over files it does not recognise.

If Revert cannot finish after an update, let Steam repair the game (Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files) and report the message in Discord. Before you apply again, check your mods with Check mod set: it shows whether their assets and paths still exist.

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Does WolfSDK work with Game Pass, GOG or Epic?

No for Game Pass, untested for GOG and Epic. WolfSDK supports the Steam versions of both games only.

• Microsoft Store / Xbox Game Pass: does not work. That version locks the game files, so the loader cannot write mods.
• GOG and Epic: untested. The loader finds the games through Steam and starts them through Steam (steam://rungameid/...), so Start game is built for the Steam version.

So far WolfSDK has only been tested on one PC with the Steam versions.

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Does WolfSDK work with the German (censored) version?

Probably only partly. The German cut version of the games has different textures. Skins and texture mods made from the international version probably do not apply there. This is unverified: nobody has tested WolfSDK with the German version yet.

Mods that change values (weapons, enemies, cvars) are not affected by the textures, but they are untested on the German version too. If you try it, a report in Discord helps.

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Do I need a DLC? Which DLC do custom maps need?

Only for custom maps. Mods, Cheats & QoL and the presets work with the base game.

A custom map for The New Colossus needs the DLC The Freedom Chronicles, episode 2: the custom map takes the place of the DLC map c2v1 and is loaded in the game through that episode. Without that DLC episode, an installed custom map cannot be started this way. Ways to load maps without the DLC exist only as research so far (Research-Report-R3-Mapselfcontained).

The New Order needs no DLC for anything in WolfSDK.

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How do I install a custom map in The New Colossus?

On the Overview page under Quick actions, click Install map… and choose a finished map file (chunk_22.resources). The loader sets it up as its own DLC folder dlc\dlc_0. Remove map takes it out again. If mods are applied, the loader usually asks for a Revert first.

The loader cannot build a map: the file has to come from someone who built it. The map replaces c2v1 and needs the DLC The Freedom Chronicles, episode 2.

Status: installing a custom map is Confirmed in game. Background: TNC Custom Map Status.

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How do I use the developer menu in The New Colossus?

Tick the mod Dev Menu Map Loading, click Apply mods and Start game, then open the developer menu. Its map entries load maps again; each entry runs devmap. Confirmed in game. The 126 restored developer start points are Not yet confirmed in game.

The entry WolfSDK: Mod test map (c2v1 with 11 weapons and 8 enemies for trying out mods) loads (Confirmed in game), but the map file is not in the public packages: the entry only works once the test map is installed in dlc\dlc_0.

The mod Hidden Menu Options adds a main menu entry for the developer menu (Not yet confirmed in game). More: TNC Dev Menu.

Keywords: developer menu, dev menu, devmenu, devmap, load map, level select, mod test map, Dev Menu Map Loading, Hidden Menu Options, Entwicklermenü, Dev-Menü, Karte laden

How do I open the console in The New Order?

Press Ctrl+^: Ctrl plus the key left of 1. A plain ^ or ~ does nothing, and com_allowConsole does not open it. Not yet confirmed in game (read from the code).

A bare name value on a cheat cvar is refused ("CANNOT be set in retail!"). toggle force-sets it, e.g. toggle g_permaGodMode 0 1. The loader sends cheat cvars from Cheats & QoL as +toggle at start, so the cheat reset does not wipe them (Not yet confirmed in game).

god, noclip, notarget, give and spawn do not exist in The New Order. Use toggle g_permaGodMode 0 1 and toggle g_freeCam 0 1. The command list is on the Info page.

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How does the console work in The New Colossus?

The New Colossus has a real console in the retail game, but it accepts only 34 of 234 commands and 304 of 3,256 cvars; everything else answers "Unknown command". Research opened it with the start argument +com_enableDeveloperMode 1 (Developer Mode).

Non-exposed commands (God, Notarget, g_infiniteAmmo 1) run from a file executed with resourceExec <file> -s. The Sandbox Tools and Photo Mode mods replace unused config files for this, and you bind a key to resourceExec. Confirmed in game for God and infinite ammo.

give, spawn, noclip and lowercase god do not exist in this game. Details: TNC Console Unlock.

Keywords: console, The New Colossus console, TNC console, restricted console, Unknown command, resourceExec, developer console, Konsole TNC, Entwicklerkonsole, Befehl unbekannt

Why do my F-key binds not work in The New Colossus?

A bound key in The New Colossus runs at the restricted console level (34 commands), where toggle, noclip and the cheat commands do not exist. A bind like bind F1 "toggle g_permaGodMode 0 1" does nothing. So WolfSDK sets no default F-key binds there (0.1.0 did; they never worked).

The mods bind a key to resourceExec <cfg> -s instead: it runs a loader-replaced config file unrestricted. Apply the mod, then bind once in the console (binds are saved):

• Sandbox Tools: bind F6 "resourceExec snapdemo.cfg -s", bind F7 "resourceExec snapedit.cfg -s"
• Photo Mode: bind F8 "resourceExec default_snap.cfg -s"

The New Order gets default F1–F4 binds (Not yet confirmed in game).

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How do I get god mode, infinite ammo and other cheats?

The New Colossus: tick Sandbox Tools, Apply mods, then bind the keys once (see the F-key question). F6 toggles god mode, Notarget and infinite ammo; F7 kills all enemies. God mode and infinite ammo: Confirmed in game. Notarget and F7: Not yet confirmed in game.

The New Order: the Cheats & QoL page sets cvars at start (e.g. g_permaGodMode), F1–F4 get default binds, and the mod Cheats - Health and Ammo gives the campaign the values of the 999 mode. All Not yet confirmed in game.

Cheats & QoL lists the complete cvar lists: 3,116 for The New Colossus and 3,186 for The New Order (before 0.3.0 only the 31 measured tweaks for The New Order). Both games are single player.

Keywords: cheats, god mode, godmode, infinite ammo, unlimited ammo, noclip, notarget, kill all enemies, Sandbox Tools, Cheats & QoL, unendlich Munition, Gottmodus, unverwundbar

How do I make my own mod?

Two ways:

• With the Studio (no code): download WolfSDK-Studio-0.3.1.zip, open the Studio page, click Open Studio, pick a texture, text, decl, sound or video and replace it. The Studio saves the change as a mod in the mods folder. Then switch it on on the Mods page, Apply mods, Start game. Guide: WolfSDK Studio.
• By hand: create a folder in mods with a mod.json that lists the changes, for example one value of a weapon decl. Every field with real examples: Mod format. Which decls and paths exist: Modding Guide.

Check a new mod with Check mod set before you apply it.

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How do I replace textures or sounds?

Textures: in the Studio (WolfSDK Studio package), pick a texture and replace it with a PNG; the Studio saves it as a mod. BC1 textures of The New Colossus take a PNG of any size. Normal maps (BC5) need a PNG of exactly the texture's size, green channel in DirectX convention (Not yet confirmed in game). During research, a custom BC1 pistol skin was seen in a running game.

Sounds and videos: since 0.3.0 the Studio replaces them for The New Colossus, because Revert now restores the original sound packs and video files (0.2.0 held this back). A sound is a 16-bit PCM WAV with the sound's channel count and at most its length; a video is a Bink 2 file made with RAD's tools, with the same size and frame rate as the game's. Not yet confirmed in game (not yet tried in game).

Texts and decls can be replaced in the Studio too. Do not tick two skins for the same weapon at once.

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Is WolfSDK safe? Is my game safe with mods?

Yes. WolfSDK is built so that every change is safe to undo with Revert:

• Before the first write it backs up the original data of everything it changes, including a full copy of every archive it rewrites.
• A write-ahead journal records each operation. After a crash or a power cut the loader detects the unfinished operation, and Revert can finish it. A file lock prevents two operations at once.
• It refuses to write while the game runs and stops before writing when the disk is too full.
• Both games are single player: mods and cheats affect no one else.

Last resort: Steam's Verify integrity of game files. Tested on one PC so far, so back up your saves to be safe (next question).

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Do I need to back up my save games?

Yes, once before you start. Copy the folder %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\MachineGames somewhere safe. The loader backs up the game files, not your saves, and it has not been checked for every mod whether old saves load cleanly with and without it.

The game file backups need about 1 GB free on the game's drive; with The New Order it can be up to about 3 GB, depending on the mods. If there is not enough space, the loader stops before it writes anything.

Keywords: save games, savegame, save files, backup saves, Saved Games, MachineGames, disk space, free space, Spielstände sichern, Speicherstand, Backup, Speicherplatz

Which WolfSDK features are confirmed in game?

Confirmed in game (with 0.2.0; the code behind it is unchanged in 0.3.0):

• Applying and reverting mods with backups.
• Installing a custom map (Install map…).
• Sandbox Tools: god mode and infinite ammo.
• Dev Menu Map Loading: the developer menu runs devmap and loads the map.
• WolfSDK: Mod test map loads.

Nothing about the new 0.3.0 features is confirmed yet (see the next question).

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Which WolfSDK features are not yet confirmed in game?

Not yet confirmed in game (WolfSDK 0.3.0):

• The 126 restored developer start points.
• Sandbox Tools: Notarget and F7 (kill all enemies).
• Hidden Menu Options.
• The presets Ultra+, Clean Image and Photo Mode.
• The Photo Mode mod (F8).
• The New Colossus: cvars written into default.cfg.
• The New Order: the console with Ctrl+^, cheat cvars via +toggle, the F1–F4 binds.
• Studio: replaced sounds and videos (new in 0.3.0), normal maps (BC5) and the Kiscule script and mission editor.
• The New Order: cvars beyond the 31 measured tweaks.
• The Cheat Menu (Example) mod (new in 0.3.1).
• Most other shipped mods: they are only checked structurally. Unless a mod's description says otherwise, treat it as untested in game.

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Where do I report bugs or get help?

• Discord: the community server is linked on the website: https://lopekinz.github.io/wolfenstein-modloader/#community
• GitHub issues: https://github.com/LopeKinz/wolfenstein-modloader/issues

Helpful in a report: which game, which mods were ticked, what you clicked, and the text from the loader window (the Activity list) or from %LOCALAPPDATA%\wolfsdk\start.log. WolfSDK has been tested on one PC so far, so every report helps.

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How can I support WolfSDK?

WolfSDK is free and stays free. If it helps you, you can buy the developer a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/swscc5yr7rs. Nothing is locked behind it.

The loader has the button Support the project on its Info page. Bug reports and tests on other PCs help just as much.

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