Cheat Engine

CodeRipper · Newbie cheater Reputation: 0 Joined: 07 Apr 2023 Posts: 13

Firstly let me start out by saying I am a noob at this! I have been watching a couple of great game hacking series on YouTube but when it comes to applying the same steps to my own game (Jaws of Extinction) I am hitting an issue...all the values I save have the same address, and command

The Address column in the YT videos all showed the game title followed by a code (e.g. GTA5.exe+102F2F9) and this changes for each entry in his list, and so does the entries in the Name column; but in my list all of the values are the same other than for the names I game them like so...

Address: Name:
VCRUNTIME140.dll+140C Energy :mov [rax],ecx
VCRUNTIME140.dll+140C Health :mov [rax],ecx
VCRUNTIME140.dll+140C Stamina :mov [rax],ecx
VCRUNTIME140.dll+140C 9mmAmmo :mov [rax],ecx
VCRUNTIME140.dll+140C CommonArrows :mov [rax],ecx
VCRUNTIME140.dll+140C 9mmAmmo2 :mov [rax],ecx <-- from second scan after reloading the gamesave.

All but the last entry above were from the first scan, then reloaded the game and noticed the issue with 9mmAmmo2.

What, if anything, am I doing wrong. I have confirmed that the entries do alter/freeze the correct assets/attributes in the game but I cannot create a pointermap to easily find those entries again upon reloading the game.

ParkourPenguin · Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2023 10:09 am Post subject:

The values don't have the same address. It's the instruction accessing the values that's the same.

I have no idea what you think the issue is with 9mmAmmo2 or why you think it's any different from the first one.

What you're doing wrong depends on what you're trying to do. If you're trying to find a pointer, use the pointer scanner:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dyIrcx8Z8g

If you're doing something with code injection, see step 9 of the CE tutorial. That step concerns instructions that access multiple addresses.

Dark Byte · Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2023 11:47 am Post subject:

also are you sure the address is correct?

does changing it have any effect in the game without it resetting back? (e.g display values)

CodeRipper · Newbie cheater Reputation: 0 Joined: 07 Apr 2023 Posts: 13

Firstly, thank you both for responding.

ParkourPenguin · Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2023 8:14 pm Post subject:

There is no "real" address. A value's address is its address. `VCRUNTIME140.dll+140C` is the address of the instruction that accesses the values' addresses.

Did you follow the video I linked where it shows how to generate and use multiple pointer maps? Remember to restart the game: using multiple pointer maps generated in the same game instance won't help much.
You shouldn't have that many results- probably a few thousand, maybe a few million at most. Keep rescanning at different points in the game, then pick whichever one you want.

Decrease the max offset and/or max level and use "max different offsets per node" if the scan is taking too long. You might lose valid results.

The code list window isn't particularly useful for values...
What's "most efficient" depends on how much you know. Code injection (search "injection copy") is good, but shared instructions are a pain to deal with (see step 9 of the CE tutorial). Personally, I know how to read assembly well enough to track down the exact pointer path the game is using by looking up the callstack from an access to the value, but that's due to years of experience. You could also combine the two: use code injection to get a node in a pointer path to the value, but that's uncommon.

If you really want to learn more, you should start learning assembly, but that's going to take a while. You can try asking someone else to do it for you on a third party site:
https://forum.cheatengine.org/thirdparty.php

CodeRipper · Newbie cheater Reputation: 0 Joined: 07 Apr 2023 Posts: 13

Thank you again, I can create pointer maps and yes I am closing out of the game entirely between searching for the values and then created new mappings, but thank you for making sure I did this. Had I know known to I could imagine I would be finding myself even more frustrated!

ParkourPenguin · Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2023 10:03 pm Post subject:

The pointer scanner is the closest thing to a magic button that does all the work for you.

Code injection (search "injection copy") can get the address, but again, shared instructions are annoying.

Everything else would require an understanding of assembly that goes beyond the basic AA scripts used in the CE tutorial.

CodeRipper · Newbie cheater Reputation: 0 Joined: 07 Apr 2023 Posts: 13

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me get my feet wet.