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10WhatsNew
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1995-01-09
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What's new?
Document d10/04 AjC
=============================================================================
If you are a user of The Hacker, you will be familiar with the way Desktop
Hacker operates, so here's file detailing the major changes in use.
The interrupt method. This is the single biggest change, as is implicit in
the mere naming of this program. Don't try to press Alt-Alt after merely
double-clicking on the game, that won't do any more. As Desktop Hacker needs
to delink a lot more, and do more difficult stuff, it keeps a record of
everything interesting a game has done so far, so that it can be undone
before returning to the Desktop, and re-done when returning to the game.
Because of this, Desktop Hacker needs to know when you are starting the game,
and in case it goes into the WIMP, it needs to know which task the game is
going to be. To tell Desktop Hacker this, you simply drag the game to it. It
notices that you've done so, starts the recording of interesting things,
and runs the game for you. You'll find that you can now press Alt-Alt - it
only works when you are actually hacking a game. The Desktop Hacker icon
will change to indicate its status - 'dHacker' means it is idling, 'Running'
indicates that a game is being run (and is probably multi-tasking at the
moment), and 'Hacking' appears when the game is interrupted.
The Lists window. This behaves in a similar way to The Hacker's old Lists
window, but you'll notice the new feature to select/deselect a block. This is
useful to rule out a range of addresses from a search, or to make sure that
only searches within a certain range are used (WRT the 'Only consider list'
on the search window). The buttons have different meanings on the main list
window too. Select (not Menu) now moves the disassembler to the address you
clicked on, and Adjust removes the address (WRT the new Disser buttons). To
print a list, you now press Menu and use the menu item 'Print'. The print
disassembly option is now located (much more sensibly) on the Disser. Lists
may be saved from this menu too - WRT the Filing window. Finally, the process
list functions now function correctly with very large lists.
The Search window. This behaves much as before, with a few re-arranged
options. The text and mnemonic searches now accept simple wildcards (see
document 09), there is an EOR-coded option for text searches, to find those
passwords, and there's a new type of search called 'References'. This search
goes through every instruction and works out what address it 'refers' to,
substituting the current interrupted game's registers into the instruction.
There are many ways an instruction may refer to another - see document 08.
Suffice it to say that once you have a lives counter, the references search
is a very easy way of finding infinite lives, be the counter accessed by
ADR, LDR, pointer, or workspace offset. Big note - Coded Text searches need
the first character in the search string to be the actual one - it can't be
a wildcard, and it must be in the right case.
Lists and searches. You may have noticed with The Hacker than creating
very large lists was difficult, and you often ran out of memory even when
you had quite enough. This is because, pre-Risc PC, the free memory pool was
managed by the Window Manager, so when single-tasking, no more memory could
be allocated. Desktop Hacker, however, multi-tasks, so you can create
absolutely whopping lists. Also, you now have 99 lists instead of just 9.
Seraching for byte 0 is now really possible! ...although not at all
recommended...
The Disser. Desktop Hacker's disassembler is much more comprehensive than
either The Hacker's or RISC OS's. See document 08 for details. The buttons
you use are also moved about (WRT the Lists window): the Adjust button
toggles the address in the list (not Select); the Select button alters an
address (not Adjust); Shift-Select moves to a reference (not Menu, and not
just a branch like with The Hacker). Goto Last (not BL return) now returns
to the last place moved from, not just if it was a Branch with Link. The two
new list buttons allow you to move quickly to the first and last addresses in
the list respectively. Clicking menu on this window now brings up the main
menu, from which many other features come.
The Filing window. The Hacker's Filing window is no longer needed, as the
normal RISC OS saving method can now be used. To save, go to whichever part
you want to save, and use whichever save box is relevant - it'll be under
whichever menu's Save item. Lists are saved from the List window; positions,
application memory, and screenshots are saved from the main menu. All loading
is performed by dragging the files to Desktop Hacker.
MemoryCompare. MemoryCompare is no longer external code; it's too useful.
To get MemoryCompare, choose the 'Compare...' item from the main menu. You
can drag in an application memory file saved out previously, set the window
up, and click OK. Unlike previously, it'll work just like a search, with the
same hourglass, escapability, and when it has finished it'll open the list.
CheatMod. The CheatMod maker is no longer an integral part of Desktop
Hacker. Instead, it's an external task, which runs independently of Desktop
Hacker. It works in a similar fashion to the old one, but there are two major
improvements, by popular demand. Firstly, CheatMods can be loaded back in and
edited, even old format The Hacker CheatMods. Secondly, there's a second
layer between keys and effects, meaning each key may perform many completely
different effects. This makes it harder for the novice, but it does mean much
more powerful CheatMods may be created. The new CheatMod maker is written by
James Ponder.
GameInfo. This is a new Desktop Hacker external task which gives in-depth
information on the game being hacked, useful and interesting for the techie.
GameInfo is written by Ben Dooks.
PicRip. PicRip is no longer external code. Just click on 'Graphics...' from
the main menu. It operates in much the same way as before, but with the
improved method of saving. Unfortunately, due to the nice two-task design,
the Graphics Ripper is now much slower to operate than before.
Choices. The Choices window offers similar but extended disassembly options
like The Hacker's, and vastly extended options to configure the interface.
You can also change the hot-keys to any combination you want - you're no
longer limited to Alt-Alt or Ctrl-Alt.
Risc PC. Desktop Hacker will work on the Risc PC. There is full support for
the new 8, 16, and 32bpp modes, and the new sprite format.
The interface. Well, it's completely different. See document d07. There's
support for hot-keys too.
Slow Down. Works in much the same way as before, but is more reliable thanks
to monotonic time emulation; works on lots more games now. It's on the icon
bar menu rather than the main menu, so that you can turn slowdown off before
running a game.
SWI trapping. This works differently, and via some *commands. See document
d12.