Halo Wars 2 Package Tool

Isabel

Create and expand PKG archives, convert XML and XMB data, and rebuild Halo Wars 2 file manifests.

What Isabel Is

Isabel is New Arcadia's Halo Wars 2 package and data tool. It handles the file workflows between extracted game data, editable mod sources, and packages that Halo Wars 2 can load.

Use Isabel to:

• expand a .pkg archive into an editable folder;
• create a .pkg archive from a mod folder;
• convert editable XML sources to game-ready XMB;
• restore supported XMB files to editable XML;
• rebuild a Halo Wars 2 file manifest with current paths and CRC32 values;
• expand larger collections of packages with the command-line batch workflow.

Download Isabel

Basic Workflow

Isabel accepts files and folders through drag and drop:

Drop onto Isabel	Result
A .pkg file	Expands the package into a sibling folder.
A folder	Creates a sibling .pkg archive.
An editable XML source	Creates a sibling XMB while preserving the source suffix.
An .xmb file	Restores the supported editable source file.
A file-manifest XML	Rebuilds its package and loose-file entries with CRC32 values.

When packing a project, Isabel can convert supported XML sources to XMB as part of the package build. Keep your editable source project separate from generated packages so you can rebuild cleanly after each change.

Package A Mod

1. Put the mod files under the same relative paths used by the extracted game data.
2. Keep editable XML files in the project while working.
3. Drop the project folder onto Isabel.
4. Confirm that the sibling .pkg was created without errors.
5. Place the generated package beside the mod's file manifest.
6. Drop the file manifest onto Isabel to refresh paths and CRC32 values.
7. Test the result through Haruspis.

Command Line

The same workflows are available for scripts and repeatable builds:

Isabel.exe pack <folder> [out.pkg]
Isabel.exe expand <file.pkg> [out-folder]
Isabel.exe expand-batch <input-folder> <output-folder> [workers] [batch-size]
Isabel.exe xml2xmb <source-file> [out-file.xmb]
Isabel.exe xmb2xml <file.xmb> [out-file]
Isabel.exe manifest <file_manifest.xml>

expand-batch recursively processes PKG files while preserving their relative paths. If one or more packages fail, Isabel returns a failure exit code and writes isabel_batch_failures.txt into the output folder.

Important Notes

• Keep an untouched copy of extracted game data as a reference.
• Do not edit XMB files directly in a text editor; convert them first.
• Rebuild the package after every source change.
• Rebuild the file manifest after changing a package or loose file.
• Folders ending in _expanded are Isabel working output and are excluded from manifest scans.
• Isabel ships with HWEK beside cutter.exe; Serina's version.dll remains inactive outside the Halo Wars DE game process.

Next Steps

Continue with Getting Started: Halo Wars 2 for a full first-mod workflow. Use Forge to organize broader mod projects and Cutter for scenario editing.