XML and the DEV CONSOLE (just how powerful are they?)

@Zenithspeed Ok. Thank you for letting me know.

@VectorY yeah, it's a good idea to backup if you're doing stuff with XML
idk if dev console can do anything as drastic as XML editing can

@Zenithspeed, if I'm only using the XML, do I still need to back up my game and save files?

i don't have the most experience with either, but from what i have seen, XML alone carries a lot of the weight, it's possible to do a lot of crazy stuff with it but there will be a point where stuff is hard-coded into the game, otherwise you can modify things quite freely for the most part
as for dev console, it seems to handle the execution of tasks (i.e. some player inputs like spawning/removing crafts) or at least visualizes them, but you can input your own commands too (i myself literally only use it to access planet studio)
of course, the more you change it, the easier it is to straight up break the game, sometimes irrepairably, so i advise you make backups before doing anything crazy (this of course depends on how "deep" you wanna go)
and, again, i'm not an expert on this and this information comes purely from my limited experience and may be incorrect