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EnigmA Amiga Run 1996 March
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EnigmA AMIGA RUN 05 (1996)(G.R. Edizioni)(IT)[!][issue 1996-03][Skylink CD IV].iso
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util1
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Phoenix_int.doc
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1995-07-24
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P H O E N I X Version 1.0
=========================
(c) 1995 by New Wave Design
All rights reserved!
International, freely distributable version.
Chapter 1:
- Introduction..........1.1
- About PHOENIX.........1.2
- Distribution..........1.3
- Requirements..........1.4
- Installation..........1.5
Chapter 2:
- The Interface.........2.1
- The modes.............2.2
- Workshop..............2.3
Chapter 3:
- Compare-Mode..........3.1
- Backup................3.2
- Thanx to..............3.3
- Future Plans..........3.4
C H A P T E R O N E
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Introduction:
PHOENIX is an easy-to-use program which allows everyone to change
data in saved games. For example, it`s more than easy, to give one-
self a bunch of money in any kind of managergame or any other game
that saves games.
(To be honest: PHOENIX doesn`t work with Lucasfilm-Adventures AFAIK,
but I`m working on it.)
I didn`t choose the name Phoenix because I like the capital of Arizona,
which I`ve never been to, but because getting more money in a game
may be represented by Phoenix, rising from the Ashes. Maybe a little
too metaphoric, but I like stuff like that :-)))
Phoenix uses a very simple, but efficient way to change the values:
First you tell Phoenix for which value it ought to search, in case you
only have 4$ left, you tell Phoenix to search for 4.
Then you tell Phoenix by which value the original value is to be replaced.
(1000.000$ is often very handy...:-))
Anyway, this method doesn`t work always, that`s why I included 4
different search-methods. 3 of them can be used in this Version, the 4th
method comes with the registrated version. With this you can virtually
deal with EVERY game, as long as you`re clever enough to registrate :-))
About PHOENIX:
Phoenix is, well erm..., some kind of Shareware, more exactly it`s
Crippleware. That`s because I think it really IS useful, especially
if you`re one of those guys who like playin` games.
I spent a lot of time coding it, and I think that in case you`re
using it regularly, it would be more than fair to pay for it, right?
To make it easier for you to decide if you want to pay the requested
fee, I built in something which I`d like to call "Payment Motivation".
From time to time, a requester will appear, tellin` you that you`re
using an unregistered version of Phoenix.
The other "Motivation" is that the most powerful, but not always
neccesary function "COMPARE" can`t be used in the FD-Version.
Now I guess that all of you are convinced, that Phoenix is a proggy
which is really worth being paid for, am I right?
It`s only 10 DM or 5 British Pounds or 30 French Francs or 7 US$,
or the equivalent of the above in any other European currency.
Additionally you ought to send me an envelope with either enough stamps
(in Germany) or an international reply coupon (from any other country)
plus an empty disk.
In case there will be updates (that depends on the number of people
who registrate, and the number of suggestions), all registrated users
can get them for half the price.
As stated above, I`m always interested in suggestions and bugreports,
so feel free to send them along with your registration to:
Volker Schlecht
Ziegelstrasse 22
70734 Fellbach
Federal Republic of Germany
Or just contact me via :
2:246/1416.59 (FidoNet)
karras@amiuni.tynet.sub.org (UUCP)
Please understand, that I can`t accept registrations sent via the Net.
Distribution:
Ha, that`s a really easy one : You may distribute this Version freely,
AS LONG AS (aaahhh.. here it comes..) all files contained in the original
archive are spread together.
Requirements:
You need 3 eggs, 1/2 l fresh milk, 1/2 pound of sugar....
Naahhh...All you need is an Amiga with at least Kickstart 2.04, and
maybe 1MB RAM (Not so sure `bout this, maybe it also works with 512K,
but does anyone work with that ??).
Ah, yes, and you need the Reqtools.library by Nico Francois, but that
should be just like the RAM..... everyone has it...
Installation:
Ahhhh... you have a HD? Now it`s getting more complicated. Be sure,
that you read this twice, because it can go very wrong. It really IS
some kind of hard to install, and you could do a lot of damage to
your HD.
Now here it is:
Just copy the program to any drawer on your HD where you want it to
be. If you like its Icon and doc-file, copy them also, otherwise forget
about them.
Make sure you understood all of it :-))))
C H A P T E R T W O
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Interface:
The method of using PHOENIX follows a completely new and revolutianary
concept......as long as you use a PC. For Amiga-Users a graphical user-
interface with full multitasking is quite normal, and that`s what it is.
The GUI consists of two parts. One is the part with the gadgets in, and
the other one is the part where Phoenix informs you about everything it`s
doing. This might not always be neccesary, but I like programs doing
this.
The comments that Phoenix shows are so obvious that they don`t need
further explanation.
The gadgets might be a little more cryptic, so I`ll explain `em :
LOAD : Guess what ?? Right! This loads a game!
SAVE : Saves it again.
INFO : This is the MOST important part of PHOENIX. It informs you
about itself and ME!
START : Who needs that ? It just starts the search.
Search for : Here you tell Phoenix for which value it is to search for.
Replace by : Here you tell Phoenix which value you want instead.
ASCII Search : Checkbox. With this one you activate the ASCII-Search
mode. The mode is described in 2.2
String Search : See above.
Backup : Backs up the original game, before saving the changed
one. Always useful, switch it on!
COMPARE : Ha! This one starts the COMPARE-mode which probably
is the most powerful function in Phoenix. Unfortunately
you`ll have to registrate before you can use it.:-)
QUIT : That`s a function you can use in all versions. It quits
Phoenix.
The Modes :
1) Search & Replace
-------------------
This is the primitive but fast usual method. It searches for a value
in the saved game and replaces it by another value. This does not work
if a value can be found in the game twice or more, which can occur with
very small values. If Phoenix tells : "Not unequivocally found!", you
have to use COMPARE, which you can`t use in the unregistered version.
Search & Replace is started by the "Start" Button.
2) ASCII & String Search
------------------------
Maybe a value in a game isn`t saved as a value, but as a character or
a string. In that case this method leads to success. It`s use just the
same way as Search&Replace
3) Compare
----------
See chapter 3.1
Workshop:
Now, to make it easier for you to understand the way PHOENIX works,
I decided to write a little "Workshop". For this we use an imaginary
saved game which contains the following values:
Cash: $345 (saved as a word, for those who know what that means.)
Lives: 3 (saved as ASCII-Character)
Score: 123 (saved as String)
depts: $10.000 (Saved as word, but 10.000 occurs two times in the game)
First I guess you`d like $20.000 rather than $345, so we tell Phoenix
to search for 345 and replace it by 20000 (Don`t use a "." in numbers!!).
Then we press the "START"-Button, and wait a while. After some time,
Phoenix opens a requester, telling us, that it has found the value, and
asks if it shall replace it. We click on "Yes", and that`s it.
Afterwards we save the game, and play on with some more money.
Now, you need more lives than just 3. But the method above doesn`t work.
Now there`s still the possibility that they`re saved as ASCII, in that
case just switch on the ASCII-Search Checkbox, and do as described above.
The same goes for the string search.
Getting your depts down to 0 is a little harder, because Phoenix can`t
find it unequivocally and therfore doesn`t knoe which value to replace.
That`s why "Search & Replace" doesn`t work here. In that case you use
"COMPARE". You just compare your game with another on, which you saved
right after starting the game, so it contains the original values.
(In that case 0 depts.), now you load your game, tell which value
"COMPARE" is to search for, and by what it`s ought to be replaced, then
you click on "COMPARE" and with the requester appearing, load the
game containing the original values. After a while Phoenix should show
a requester telling "Value in game: 10000. Value in original : 0",
so you know that Phoenix found the right value, and clicking on
"Replace" does the job.
BTW, you don`t have to search for a special value with COMPARE, it
also can show any difference between the two games. Often also helpful!
COMPARE is a registrated-version-only function!
C H A P T E R T H R E E
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
COMPARE-Mode:
See chapter 2.3 for explanation.
BACKUP:
I haven`t got very much to say about this. It`s just a function which
ALWAYS should be switched on.
THANX TO:
- Every single Heavy-Metal Band who released on of the CD`s I have. They`re
far too much to list here, but their music was a great help while writing
the program and the docs.
- Markus Junginger for writing the MegaEd and releasing it as PD.
- ACID-Software for the Blitz-II Compiler.
- ESCOM for buying C=.
- Each one of you who read this text until here.
- My Amiga for running this proggy nearly bug-free :-))
Further Plans:
First I have to say, that I really have plans to improve Phoenix,
but in how far I can realize this depends on the number of people
who registrate or at least tell me, that they`re using it. I`d really
love to know if you like PHOENIX, even if you don`t registrate, tell
me your opinion anyway. I can be reached by the addresses in chapter
1.2.
Now here are the plans:
- A small built-in Hex Editor for hard-to-cheat games.
- Improved "Compare"-Mode
- An ability to load packed games might also be useful
- Maybe a runtime-search method which allows to change values while
the game is running in a multitasking environment.
Sounds nice, dunnit? And don`t forget, that all registrated users
will get eventual updates for half the price.
HAVE FUN WITH PHOENIX !!
Volker Schlecht, 24.7.1995