how stages work?

[UltimaNylocke]

So what I do is, go to Lakora, put Base .REL as Final Destination and To Replace (w/e), then put the .rel in the folder, and put the STGCUSTOM1D.pac in the stages folder and rename it to match (w/e)? Got it. Now, I read the mentioning of a stage expansion code so naturally I googled it and found a dl link on Smashboards, and I have no idea what any of it means. (I'm new to like everything sry :P) so http://prntscr.com/51srm0 I got all this and I don't know what to do with it nor do I know if I can use the stage expansion code for 36 stages without having 36 stages (like if I want to use the 36 stage code and only put like 20 stages).

[Ricky (Br3)]

So what I do is, go to Lakora, put Base .REL as Final Destination and To Replace (w/e), then put the .rel in the folder, and put the STGCUSTOM1D.pac in the stages folder and rename it to match (w/e)? Got it.

Exactly. That's how you port stages.

Now, I read the mentioning of a stage expansion code so naturally I googled it and found a dl link on Smashboards, and I have no idea what any of it means. (I'm new to like everything sry :P) so http://prntscr.com/51srm0 I got all this and I don't know what to do with it nor do I know if I can use the stage expansion code for 36 stages without having 36 stages (like if I want to use the 36 stage code and only put like 20 stages).

The Stage Expansion adds a number of extra stages, that you can add without replacing any.
You should read as much as you can about it before trying it out, as you could do something wrong.

As far as I remember, all you need to do is add the proper code to the GCT you're using and use an edited sc_selmap for the expansion. If it's Project M, it'll be a little more troublesome. After all, I'm not sure if the Stage Expansion Project M GCT is up to date with the current Project M version.

I suggest you make another Help thread asking for tips (or maybe just asking for the needed files, I'm sure someone has them set already).

[UltimaNylocke]

I think I'm gonna wait for version 3.5 to mess around with the Stage Expansion Code, thanks for the help guys!