Stages and project files

Understand how Stage folders isolate your edits from your game installation, how spans (0/ and 1/) and sources/ work on disk, and how assets reference virtual paths.

Read time 5 minutes

---

In older modding workflows, changing a game file meant unpacking giant archive files and overwriting them directly. A single mistake could corrupt your game installation and force a full download.

Luna Tools avoids this completely by using Stages. Once you see what is inside a Stage folder on disk, every save, build, and export button in Luna Tools makes immediate sense.

How a Stage protects your game

Think of a Stage as a transparent override folder sitting on top of Marvel's Spider-Man 2:

1. Your game installation stays read-only. Luna Tools reads original assets from your game's toc, and never writes back into your game folder.
2. Only your changes live in the Stage. Even though the game contains over 400,000 assets, a mod that edits two files only stores those two files in your Stage folder.
3. Stage files override retail files. Whenever Luna Tools previews an asset (or when Overstrike installs your exported .stage package), any file inside your Stage replaces the retail file at the exact same path, while every untouched file still loads from the base game.

Create or open a Stage

Keep an active Stage open whenever you plan to save edits to game files:

1. Select New Stage... on the welcome screen, or select Stage > New Stage... (Ctrl+Shift+N) from the top menu bar. (If you press Save on a game asset without a Stage open, Luna Tools prompts you to create or open one first.)
2. Fill in the project details:
   • Mod Name: The display title shown in mod managers such as Overstrike (for example, Symbiote Tweaks).
   • Author: Your name or creator handle. Luna Tools remembers this for future Stages.
   • Stage Folder: Select Browse... and choose a parent directory such as D:\Mods. Luna Tools appends your mod name automatically (for example, D:\Mods\Symbiote Tweaks).
3. Select OK.

The bottom-right corner of the status bar updates from No active stage to Stage: Symbiote Tweaks.

To switch projects later, use Stage > Open Stage... (Ctrl+Shift+O) or select a project from Stage > Recent Stages.

Folder layout inside a Stage

If you select Stage > Show Stage in Explorer after editing a few assets, your project folder in Windows File Explorer looks like this:

D:\Mods\MyFirstMod\
├── info.json
├── 0\
│   ├── actors\
│   │   └── global\
│   │       └── cinematic_test.actor
│   ├── levels\
│   │   └── i20_city\
│   │       └── openarea\open_world\tile_o33\tile_o33_ground.zone
│   └── textures\
│       └── custom\
│           └── emblem.texture
├── 1\
│   └── textures\
│       └── custom\
│           └── emblem.texture
└── sources\
    └── textures\
        └── custom\
            └── emblem.lttexture

Folder or file	Role in your project
info.json	A small JSON file storing your mod's name, author, and game identifier ("MSM2"). Overstrike reads this file to display your mod metadata.
0\ (Main span)	Marvel's Spider-Man 2 groups archive files into numbered layers called spans. Span 0 holds almost all runtime game assets, including actors, configs, models, materials, animations, zones, levels, cinematics, and soundbanks.
1\ (HD texture span)	Used alongside 0\ for textures. 0\textures\... stores smaller low-resolution mipmaps for distant objects, while 1\textures\... stores full-resolution HD mipmaps. Luna Tools writes both files automatically when building standard textures.
sources\ and .lunatools\	Holds your editable Luna Tools project files (such as .lttexture or .ltsurface) and editor state. These files are for you to keep editing later and are excluded when exporting a .stage package.

Editable project files vs. compiled game files

Some workflows use an editable project file that compiles into one or more binary game files, similar to keeping a layered .psd file alongside the .png you export from it:

Editable project file	Compiled game output	Purpose
.lttexture	.texture (in 0\ and 1\)	Imports a .png image and builds compressed game textures with mipmaps.
.ltsurface	.material + .materialgraph	Defines a custom surface shader node graph.
.ltmaterial	.material (+ shared .materialgraph)	Creates reusable material instances with custom colors, scalars, and textures.
.ltcinematic	.cinematic2	Authors multi-track cutscene timelines.

TIP

When you select Stage > Export Mod (.stage)... (Ctrl+E), Luna Tools packages info.json and the numbered runtime span folders (0\, 1\, and so on). It automatically skips sources\, .lunatools\, and build reports so your .stage file stays small and clean. Always keep your Stage folder backed up so you still have your editable project files when making updates.

Virtual paths vs. Windows paths

Across Luna Tools, asset references are written without a drive letter or 0/ prefix:

levels/i20_city/openarea/open_world/tile_o33/tile_o33_ground.zone

This is called the asset's virtual path (or logical path):

• Virtual path (used inside asset fields): textures/custom/emblem.texture
• Windows disk path: D:\Mods\MyFirstMod\0\textures\custom\emblem.texture

Whenever an asset property asks for a reference to another file (such as an .actor referencing a .model, or a .material referencing a .texture), always enter the virtual path, without D:\Mods\... and without 0/ in front.

NOTE

Right-click any runtime file inside 0/ or 1/ in the Stage tab and select Copy Virtual Path. Luna Tools strips your Stage folder path and span prefix automatically so you can paste the clean path directly into any property field.

[STAGED] badges and reverting to retail

When an asset exists inside your active Stage:

1. In the Game tab of the Asset Browser, that asset appears in green with [STAGED] next to its name.
2. Double-clicking that entry in the Game tab opens your staged copy automatically rather than reopening the unmodded retail version.

To discard all edits to a staged file and return to the original retail asset, right-click the file in either the Game tab or the Stage tab and select Revert to Game Retail. Confirming deletes the override copy from your Stage folder while leaving the retail game untouched.

Additional resources

• Installation and setup: Connect your game toc file and set up Overstrike paths.
• The Luna Tools interface: Learn where panels, toolbars, and viewport camera controls live.
• Make your first mod: Practice saving a staged .config edit and building a .lttexture asset.