Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata\ and then there will be folder(s) with numbers unique to your Steam profile. In one of those folders, there will be another folder with the number 360830 which is the steam id for Yooka Laylee (or something like that). Inside that folder will be a folder "remote" where YL saves its save files as .dat files. slot0 is file 1, slot1 is file 2, slot2 is file 3. Pick the file you want to edit and open it with Notepad++ or an IDE. Notepad++ is free download online and is a useful text/code editing tool.
¤¤¤¤¤Mod Edit¤¤¤¤¤ GOG USERS: Save files should be located in C:/Users/¤username¤/AppData/LocalLow/Platonic Ltd/Yooka-Laylee ¤¤¤¤¤End Edit¤¤¤¤¤
IMPORTANT: Make sure that you do not add a slot#.dat file when a previous slot#.dat does not exist. For example, if you do not see slot0.dat in your "remote" file, then do not copy another .dat file and rename it to slot0.dat. This will cause soft locks to happen. Instead, while in game, go to your first file and start a new game. This will let the game generate a slot0.dat for you that you can now edit.
If you are experiencing softlocks in the game after editing a savefile and can't seem to fix it, try Hedweg's guide here: https://www.speedrun.com/yl/guide/zd9xk
You can edit files while you are in the main menu, but there is a chance that the game will soft lock when you attempt to play a file.
Line #: Description/Function
2-29: Player Data 8: Camo Cloak 9: Sonar Shot 10: Sonar 'Splosion 11: Sonar Shield 12: Roll 13: Slurp Shot 14: Slurp State 15: Empty Move? 16: Reptile Rush 17: Glide 18: Flappy Flight 19: Buddy Slam 20: Lizard Leap 21: Buddy Bubble 22: Lizard Lash 23: Ground Attack (Tail Twirl) 24: Air Attack (Tail Twirl)
Locked World: "worldStateData": ""
Unlocked World: "worldStateData": "{"_variables":{"worldUnlocked":{"_value":true,"_name":"worldUnlocked","$type":"NodeCanvas.Framework.Variable`1[[System.Boolean, mscorlib, Version=2.0.5.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=7cec85d7bea7798e]]"}}}"
Expanded World: "worldStateData": "{"_variables":{"worldUnlocked":{"_value":true,"_name":"worldUnlocked","$type":"NodeCanvas.Framework.Variable1[[System.Boolean, mscorlib, Version=2.0.5.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=7cec85d7bea7798e]]\"},\"extensionUnlocked\":{\"_value\":true,\"_name\":\"extensionUnlocked\",\"$type\":\"NodeCanvas.Framework.Variable1[[System.Boolean, mscorlib, Version=2.0.5.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=7cec85d7bea7798e]]"}}}"
30-3639: Worlds 31-481: Empty World 482-932: Hivory Towers 933-1383: Tribal Tropics 1384-1834: Galleon Galaxy 1835-2285: Capital Cashino 2286-2736: Glitterglaze Glacier 2737-3187: Moodymaze Marsh 3188-3638: Empty World
3640-4057: Arcade Stats
4058-4659: Game Data (This whole section needs to be mapped out. It stores stuff like whether you pressed a switch, triggered a dialogue, expanded a tome, etc. The first section contains descriptions for events, and the second section contains the values for those events. The pairs of corresponding descriptions and values are separated by exactly 300 lines.) 4230,4530: PlayTimeSecondsLastSave - Time from last save in seconds 4238: IntroCutsceneShown - Intro cutscene has been watched 4284,4584: CurrentLoadStartPoint- Where you spawn in coming from the main menu. The game will soft lock if you try to spawn at a hub tome you have not unlocked. [0=ShipWreck Creek 1=Hub1 Entrance 2=Hub2 Entrance 3=Hub3 Entrance 4=Hub1 TT Tome 5=Hub2 Glacier Tome 6=Hub2 MM Tome 7=Hub3 CC Tome 8=Hub3 Galaxy Tome 9=TT Level 10=Glacier Level 11=MM Level 12=CC Level 13=Galaxy Level 14=TT Level Expanded 15=Glacier Level Expanded?(keys don't show up unless you actually expand), 16=MM Level Expanded 17=CC Level Expanded 18=Galaxy Level Expanded 19=Hub1 Waterworks Entrance 20=Hub1 Sonar Totem Door 21=Hub1 Quiz1 Entrance 22=Hub2 Assembly Line Door 24=WaterWorks Entrance 26=Hub2 Windybridge Shortcut 27=Hub3 Entrance 28=Hub3-Hub2 Shortcut 29=Hub3 Capital B Tower 30>=Blank?]
4660-4664: Tonics Active
