Hugi Magazine 32: Say It With Flowers

Intro

I feel that my articles on Save Game Hacking are not complete, for I mention the hacking of Space Hulk but I don't explain how. So I wondered: Can I hack DOS games through DosBox? (The emulator, not Windows' dosbox.) So as I searched the Net, I found out that there's a tool called Game Wizard 32. Old DOS users might have heard that name before. But this is a Windows version, with a twist. It can be used to hack games running in a box. But, is it compatible with DOSBOX, the emulator? I tested it and the result was: yes.

The Tools

OK, now that you have installed all the related tools. It's about time to start hacking. I didn't use the word cheating because we aren't going to use in-built cheats (if there are any, like cheat codes). We are going to look for information and change it. So we're hackers! Sort of.

Space Hulk: Gun type & bullets

A lot of people think that these types of tools are only good for cheating numbers and freezing them in place. Not quite. Space Hulk is an interesting game. It's fun, complex, and very hard. Very, very hard. It provides your character with a simple gun with unlimited ammo. So simple, and so weak, you will die most of the time.

So we need a better gun. But first, we need to know where the gun is located in the memory.

Play Advance Tutorial mission 1. There are two characters holding Flame Throwers. This has ammo value, which is the key to weapon location.

Now search for the value 6. I hope you already selected DosBox as the application to hack from the GameWiz menu.

You will receive a lot of results for the value 6. That's OK. Use your character to shoot one ammo. Now search for 5.

You will receive only one occurance of the value 6 that changed to 5.

Add that to table.

Give it a good name that makes it easy for you to remember.

Now change the value to 8, and freeze it.

Tadaa! Unlimited flame ammo. Flame Thrower is good, but a PC controlled character won't shoot even if the enemy is coming. Bad PC. Now that we know the ammo location, what about the weapon type?

Use the "Add To Table" button again, reduce the location address by one, from B74 to B73.

Now keep changing the value there and switch the Freeze value off and on. Your weapon combination will change. As far as I can remember, each side of hex is equal to each hand. For example, EA means E for left hand, and A for right hand. I could be wrong. Unable to insert the value as hex, and I'm too busy to create a hex table. Anyway, enter 20 (decimal) and your character will have that powerful gun, whatever they call it. With unlimited ammo too.

What about other characters? Well, since you have a 3rd character equipped with Flame Thrower, use above technique to get the ammo location (HINT: It's 6F06B86).

Now use math and you will be able to calculate the location for the rest of your members. Both for gun type and ammo value.

Ultima 6: Gold

This is too easy, just use above technique, by giving one gold coin to other character.

Heroes of Might & Magic: Resources & number of warriors

This one is interesting. Resources is easy, as you can use above technique. But... there is a limit on how many monsters you can buy in a week. Hmm....

Getting a lot of gold or other resources is easy, use above technique. But wait, you can only buy a few monsters.

Well, don't buy wholesale just because you have tons of gold. Buy one at a time. When you have the exact location, change it to either 90 or 200. It's up to you! Do this on a dragon and you'll remain supreme.