Powerwash Simulator Timelapse Exporter
Contents
Description
Screenshots
Features
System requirements
How to start
Download
Description
This program is to export time lapses from Powerwash Simulator, as the time lapses are half the funand the game doesn't let you.
Beware: Gifs aren't optimized/compressed/resized, so exported gifs will be very large. You can use ezgifs.com to resize it after exporting (done with the example gif below)
Updates:
29th oct 2024: Powerwash Simulator changed the way it saves complete timelapses. Updated to support the new way. Many Thanks to Uristqwerty who helped me crack the new format.
Screenshots
Features
- Loads all the finished timelapses
- preview of the time lapse
- Export as animated gif
- Export as video
System requirements
Java version 11 or newer. You can check if you have it using this command line command (Windows: Start->run->cmd):
java -version
If you get nothing or if it's telling you that it doesn't know the command "java", you probably don't have java.
If the number is 11 or higher, Powerwash Simulator Timelapse Exporter should run.
If you don't have Java or an old version, you can download the newest one at "Download".
How to start
If everything works, you can just double-click the jar file, but sometimes a compressing software like WinZip graps this file extension.
If that happens, take a look at Jarfix
Download
Powerwash Simulator Timelapse Exporter (v2)
Sourcecode Powerwash Simulator Timelapse Exporter (v2)
Java/OpenJdk:
Newest Java via Eclipse Adoptium
Comments
#10 Alphaccca wrote at 03/14/2025 07:10 AM (EST):
I wanted to use this exporter with XBOX Game pass save files, so I converted my save files, and it converts them to three files. Timelapse_0, Timelapse_0-100, Timelapse_100. The 0-100 file has the largest size so I assume that one is the whole timelapse instead of incremental files like the steam version. The exporter cannot read this file and says there are no timelapses. Any way to make this work?
#11 Akhlys wrote at 03/14/2025 01:53 PM (EST):
Well, the exporter searches for steam save files in the steam directories..
I don't know how you exported that from xbox game pass, I don't use it, but 0-100 sounds correct. The 0 file contains just the very first image of the timelapse, the 100 file the last. Probably to show as a thumbnail in game.
You can try the following:
Create a directory somewhere, name it as you like. In it, create an empty file called "player.sav". This file is never read, it's just checked if it's there to see if the user selected a save directory (ensure that it's really player.sav, not player.sav.txt or something, if you do not show file extensions).
In that directory, create another one called "XBOXEXPORT-TIMELAPSE-COMP". Doesn't have to be XBOXEXPORT, but needs to end in timelapse-comp. But your Timelapse_0-100.sav in there.
Then start the time lapse exporter. It will complain it couldn't find your steam save dir, and prompt you to select it. Select that dir you just made, the one with player.sav
Alternatively, you can put the XBOXEXPORT-TIMELAPSE-COMP folder inside C:\Users\(youruser)\AppData\LocalLow\FuturLab\PowerWash Simulator\SaveData\0
That is where the game would save them, then Powerwash Timelapse Exporter should be able to locate it automatically. No need for a player.sav then.
#12 Alphaccca wrote at 03/14/2025 03:03 PM (EST):
It seems my explanation wasn't clear. Game pass version of the game doesn't save the files in the locallow folder and saves it elsewhere with a different naming scheme. So a tool has to be used to convert the game pass save file and save it to the correct directory.
When I use this tool and convert my save files, unlike the demo version I played to see how the steam version saves timelapses, there are only THREE files. There are dozens of files for the demo timelapse, but the game pass version only saves three. 0 and 100 for the start and end thumbnails, and 0-100, a SINGLE FILE named like that which is about ~20 times the size of the other two. So I assume that they don't save the progress files as seperate images unlike the steam version but combine them into a single file.
The save file locations are the same as steam version's, since this tools is made for converting game pass saves to be used for the steam version so when I delete the single "0-100" file the tool generates a timelapse of only two images, that being the start and end one.
#13 Akhlys wrote at 03/14/2025 05:01 PM (EST):
No, that's alright. Powerwash simulator changed how they save files. Screwed me over back when they did it, too. Originally it was one file for each "frame" of the video, now they're collected in the 0-100 save file, at least on level completion. From what I remember they're still saved the old way until the level is complete.
The above still applies. In your save dir, rename the directory with those three save files in it "(something)_TIMELAPSE-COMP"
I guess the converter simply wasn't updated for that. I noticed the change back when I last updated the program, in october.
Naming it ...-COMP tells the game (and my exporter) that it's a COMPlete, 3-file, save. With just timelapse, it's treated like an in-progress-save, as in, one image each file.
#14 Akhlys wrote at 03/14/2025 05:06 PM (EST):
I should say, they changed it on steam as well. Steam version also only saves 3 files on level completion.
just name it ..timelapse-comp and you should be golden
#15 Alphaccca wrote at 03/14/2025 11:31 PM (EST):
Thank you!
#8 Terra wrote at 01/18/2025 04:45 AM (EST):
Could you add DLCs and Bonus Jobs?
#9 Klaue wrote at 01/18/2025 02:32 PM (EST):
I can't - the game doesn't save them. After you finished a bonus job/dlc, close the game and start it again, you can't watch the time lapse any more.
I can only work with the timelapses the game actually saves :)
#1 Sam wrote at 10/22/2024 12:23 AM (EST):
I'm ripping my hair out trying to get this to work. I have java 11 from openjdk (OpenJDK Runtime Environment Temurin-11.0.25+9 (build 11.0.25+9)) but when trying to open nothing happens. I've also tried to open with the javaw.exe file but nothing.
#2 Akhlys wrote at 10/22/2024 01:23 AM (EST):
You could try the Jarfix in the "How to start" above. or open a console where the jar is and run
java -jar PowerwashSimulatorTimelapseExporter.jar
But I noticed they changed how Timelapses are saved and I only get a single incomplete one any longer, so you may not have too much success even if you get it to run. Gonna have to look into that once I got some spare time.
#3 Sam wrote at 10/22/2024 10:05 PM (EST):
Unfortunately jarfix says I don't have jre installed (even though java -version works on cmd). I believe this is because openjdk jre installs a different location in the Eclipse Adoptium folder but that's just a guess. Tried opening a cmd prompt before and using the java -jar command while in the right directory but that also results in just nothing happening. Figure this is a problem with how my java installed or something. I'm not an expert so I'll have to look into it some more. Appreciate the response! Hope you get it working
#4 Akhlys wrote at 10/23/2024 02:07 AM (EST):
I guess it's possible that jarfix doesn't work with the newest java versions, I haven't used it in a while. java -jar should have worked tho, or at the very least given you some error message. Are you on mac or something? It should work on mac as well, but maybe there are some peculiarities there that I don't know, I have no mac.
But I think until I updated it for their new way to save timelapses (if I'm able to, it's not like they document it) it won't be of too much help anyway
#5 Sam wrote at 10/23/2024 02:20 AM (EST):
Nope I use windows. Yeah no error message when I double click or try to run Java -jar, both result in nothing happening. Java -jar method doesn’t display any message at all. And yeah I couldn’t find any information at all about the timelapses. I was actually quite surprised how little people were talking about it. I’ve never even seen a .sav file until I was looking into trying to get these timelapses.
Is it possible I would need both a jdk and a jre? Could you tell me exactly which version of java you use? Thank you for your time!
#6 Akhlys wrote at 10/23/2024 08:17 AM (EST):
The sav file is not a specific format, it's their own custom format. It contains an L4Z compressed image near the start, and until a short time ago, saved like 100 files each with a single screenshot. Now they seem to have put them all together in one file, but I have yet to figure out how.
I think adoptium bundles JRE and JDK anyway, not 100% sure, but either would be fine. JDK is just if you wanna make own programs. I personally use java 17, but that's hardly the problem.
What I would try is open the task manager, see if a java process is running and if so, terminate it and try again. Besides that I don't really know what to do, you should either see something or get an error message
#7 Akhlys wrote at 10/29/2024 11:19 AM (EST):
Heya Sam
I cracked the new format, the new version should work again.
Also, turns out that it didn't do anything was my fault. If not a single timelapse was found (and since the Powerwash sim update, none that is not in-progress would have been found) it just exited. I added a message now in case that happens again.
#0 Sam wrote at 10/22/2024 12:13 AM (EST):
I'm ripping my hair out trying to get this to work. I have java 11 from openjdk (OpenJDK Runtime Environment Temurin-11.0.25+9 (build 11.0.25+9)) but when trying to open nothing happens. I've also tried to open with the javaw.exe file but nothing.