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1997-01-25
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=============================================================================
Desktop Hacker
PD Demo Version 1.10
⌐ 1992-1997 Andrew Clover of DoggySoft
=============================================================================
Desktop Hacker has been tested and is compatible with Acorn computers
running RISC OS versions between 3.1 and 3.7. It should also be compatible
with RISC OS 2 and 3.0, but has not recently been tested.
2 megabytes of memory or more is recommended to use Desktop Hacker -
essentially, you need a little more memory than you you need to run a game in
order to hack it, and most games are a tight squeeze in one megabyte if they
run at all. If there's not enough memory to hack a game, and you try, a
warning message will appear when you quit the game and return to the desktop.
You can save memory by going to the Choices window and selecting "Don't keep
screen display over interrupt". If the warning message keeps appearing even
when you've left lots of free memory, try selecting the Reserve option, which
keeps a portion of memory aside for hacking. This is required for games that
try to claim any free memory in the computer, for example Wolfenstein 3D and
Dune 2.
Some games will fail to hack properly. This is just life: games authors
always try to use illegal or otherwise dodgy techniques, to squeeze more
performance out of the computer. Desktop Hacker anticipates this as much as
possible, but there will always be some games that can't be hacked. See the
'Games' document for details of which games have been tested, and whether
they worked.
The full Desktop Hacker package includes an application that creates stand-
alone cheat modules, that can be run on any computer, without Desktop Hacker.
Some examples of these cheat modules can be found in the CheatMods directory.
How to use Desktop Hacker
=========================
Double-click on the !dHacker icon or drag it to the icon bar to load Desktop
Hacker. To begin hacking a game, drag the game's icon to the Desktop Hacker
icon on the icon bar. The game will load and run as normal.
To interrupt the game, press down both Alt keys simultaneously. The
computer will return to the desktop environment and bring up two windows, one
showing a disassembly of the game itself, and one showing the what the ARM
processor's registers contained when you interrupted, along with other
information. Desktop Hacker disables the sound system whilst hacking a game,
to prevent some nasty crashes. You can turn the sound system back on by
pressing F12 and entering '*Audio On', but this will often crash the machine.
On top of the disassembly window there is a small button bar of some useful
features. The other features are to be found in the main menu. This can be
opened by clicking Menu on the disassembly window.
Choosing 'Continue', clicking on the button bar 'Continue' button, or
clicking Select on the icon bar icon makes the game continue playing as when
it was interrupted. Choosing 'Kill game' or quitting the game from the Task
Manager removes the game from memory as far as possible. This will not be as
effective as using a game's built-in quit feature, so you should use that
in preference, if possible. 'Kill game' will also leave the sound system
disabled.
Hacking games
=============
This demo version of Desktop Hacker is limited in its features, but some of
the most basic hacking features are there for you to try. Double click on
!dHacker, then drag a game to the Desktop Hacker icon. The game should load
and run as normal. Start the game and see how many lives you've got (or cash,
or time, or anything else you wish to change). Press both Alt keys to return
to the desktop. If the desktop seems really slow, that'll be because the game
is one of those naughty ones that removes the font cache. You can use the
Task Manager to reserve some more memory, or get DoggySoft's PD !FontSafe
utility - this stops games from behaving so antisocially.
You'll now have a window showing a disassembly of the game's memory, with
some buttons on the top. Click Menu on this window to get Desktop Hacker's
main menu. You want to find the place where the game stores the number of
lives you have, so move the pointer over the 'Search' item to open the
Search window. Type the number of lives you have into the writable icon at
the top of the window - by 'Word', which is the type of search you want, a
simple search-for-number. Then choose a list to send the results of
this search to at the bottom of the window, by the 'Send results to list'
text: there are ninety-nine lists, and the default is fine: choose number
one. Click on 'Search' to start searching.
After a short delay, a window will appear, showing all the addresses (places
in memory) where the number four was found. There will be lots of numbers,
and you don't know which is the right one, so go back to the game by clicking
on the 'Continue' button (or choosing 'Continue' from the main menu, or
clicking Select on the Desktop Hacker icon).
Lose a life in the game so that you have one less, and then press Alt-Alt
again. Open the Search window and replace the number with a new number of
lives. Now you want to tell Desktop Hacker to look for places which used to
hold the old number of lives but now hold one less: they are very likely to
be the lives counter. You already have a list, number one, that records all
the places that used to hold four. Tell Desktop Hacker to use that list by
choosing it in the icon by the 'Only addresses in' text, and selecting this
option. Then choose a list to send the results to - say, number two, and
click on Search.
Now you'll have a list that contains a few addresses. Ideally it should only
contain one. If you have more numbers, try returning to the game, losing
another life, and repeating the second search process. Once you've got the
address, click Select on it in the list window, and the disassembler will
move to it. Now click Select on the same address in the disassembler window,
and a small editing window will appear, containing the number of lives you
have. You can alter the number in this window and press Return (or click on
'OK'), and this will alter the number of lives you have.
Change the number in the editing window to a larger number, and continue
with the game. Although initially you might not see your new lives, they're
there, and they'll most likely appear when you lose a life again.
This is a simple way to cheat, that can be repeated, with different numbers,
for many Acorn games. With the full version of Desktop Hacker, there are many
more, different ways to cheat.
What is this demo version missing?
==================================
With this demo version of Desktop Hacker, you can use the simplest of brute-
force hacking methods, and for many games that'll be enough. The full version
of Desktop Hacker, though, has many more sophisticated features, along with
lots of useful gaming utilities. For example...
* The full Desktop Hacker package allows you to create your own cheat modules
- so once you've found a way to cheat at a game, you can build it into a
module that will work alone, without needing Desktop Hacker. You can give
cheat modules to friends, PD libraries, and anyone else, freely.
* The full package also includes a large collection of cheat modules written
by other people. At the time of writing, this includes 757 cheats, in 214
modules, for 186 different games.
* The full version of Desktop Hacker also has many different types of
searches, not just the simple search-for-number search Word. You can
find passwords, particular instructions, and ARM code that alters certain
address - for example, to find infinite lives or more complex cheats.
* Desktop Hacker can slow down games. Just choose how much to slow down, and
watch as it becomes slower and much easier to play. Speed-up is now
possible too.
* Desktop Hacker can save the entire game position to disc. You can then
load it back in later to continue playing from where you saved. This adds
a save game feature for games that don't have one, and allows you to
attempt a difficult part of a level many times without having to play
back up to it every time you die.
* Desktop Hacker can save screen-shots of the game for you to look at,
include in DTP documents, and show to prove that you've visited a certain
level.
* Desktop Hacker can rip graphics out of games. It turns raw data into
sprites which you can edit in Paint. This and the screen-shot saver both
work with the Risc PC's new format sprites too, although few games use
32,768+ colours!
* Desktop Hacker can compare the contents of memory with an old state saved
in a file. In conjuction with the list features that are removed from the
demon, this is useful for finding cheats when you can't easily count what
you're looking for. For example, invulnerability.
* Desktop Hacker can also be activated by BreakPoints, SWI traps, SWI Group
traps and delayed traps, which will be appreciated by the more technical
user.
* The Desktop Hacker package also includes several extras, such as program to
find and save music files from hacked games.
* You also get a little paper guide that goes into a bit more detail than
these instructions can.
OK - How do I get the full version of Desktop Hacker?
=====================================================
Desktop Hacker costs ú10+VAT (ú11.75 inc.). You can send a cheque to us at
the address below, or get your credit card number and expiry to us via mail,
fax, phone, e-mail (*), or through our support BBS, Furzefield Hq. Upgrades
to later versions of Desktop Hacker are free, and can also be downloaded from
Furzefield Hq, or now also through the world wide web. The latest version of
Desktop Hacker is 1.10 (release 1.10.00).
Snail-mail: Andrew Clover,
DoggySoft,
7, Blackhorse Crescent,
Amersham,
Buckinghamshire,
HP6 6HP.
United Kingdom.
Fax: 01494-675878
Data: 01494-681711 (Furzefield Hq; ANSI, 8N1; all speeds, all hours)
E-mail address: ajc@doggysoft.co.uk
Desktop Hacker internet address: http://www.doggysoft.co.uk/chhac.html
(*) Not necessarily secure.