Cheat Engine

[OldSchool_NES_Gamer]

Hi guys! I need help with the "pointers" part of CE. I can't seem to figure that part out at all... I am working with "The Legend of Zelda : A Link To The Past" ROM using the Emulator called Snes9X v1.53 on Win7's 64 bit OS. I found the spot where the end result for the rupees are stored, but whenever I try to change the values temporarily, it pulls the value back down to it's original level. When I try to change it permanently, it crashes the game as soon as I go into another scene. I want to max out the rupees and hold it there but this is really proving a bit difficult for me. I could REALLY use your help on this one, guys. Y'all seem to know a lot about CE as related to SNES games. I think it has something to do with pointers, but haven't quite figured that out yet. I tried not to waste space on the forum talking about a particular game, But since I am a n00b to the blog, I am not able to PM anyone right now. I do wish I could talk to someone live about this because I think it would help me the most, but I need someone who can be patient with me, especially if I don't understand what you may think might be a basic concept that everyone should already be familiar with. I understand a little bit about CE but I can't seem to wrap my head around the "pointers" topic too well... I couldn't get past lesson 6 in the tutorial... Btw, I am not familiar with assembly, (but I want to be!!.) Any help you guys can give would be most appreciated. Thanks for your time guys!!

[++METHOS]

For rupees, search for a 2 byte value. At some point, you may end up with a couple of results; one like so:

039BF774

Add the address to your cheat table. Change the value of this address to test, by adding 5 rupees. Acquire another rupee after changing the value to ensure that it does, indeed, work.

Once satisfied, right-click on the address and select pointer scan.

For the pointer scan options, change the Maximum offset value to 99999, and change the Max level to 1.

You should end up with about 500+ results.

Near the bottom of the list, you should find an address with the offset +F6CC. This is the one that I used, and although I have not thoroughly tested it, it has proven to work every time.

By the way, I am using snesgt.exe. Both, the rom file and the emulator, have been archived with my trainer.

[OldSchool_NES_Gamer]

Well it worked, but I'm not exactly sure why it worked... The only difference in what you did was to change the word from 4 bytes to 2. Does it really make that big of a difference? Maybe so... Probably just comes down to the preciseness of programming... oh well. The big discussion here though is how to figure out what these pointers are all about and how and when to use them... I have tried playing around with some online facebook games that use flash, but they seem to do something similar and I can't seem to wrap my head around those pointers. I want to learn to fully utilize CE to the best of it's abilities (and mine too for that matter...) I need someone who is willing to help me learn. I am currently attending college for computer maintenance so my time is a little limited, but I will work on it when I can. This is pretty interesting to me. I'm even willing to learn assembly, if I can, because I know it would help. Anyway, please let me know your thoughts. Thanks GNIREENIGNE!!

[++METHOS]

If you really want to learn, you need to practice. Apply what you learn by tackling different games (and game types) for a better understanding. I would recommend completing the CE tutorial. Focus on understanding what you are doing, as opposed to just completing the steps. Refer to this forum and to youtube videos for help and for a better understanding. Learning assembly would be advantageous (and is highly recommended), but can be learned as you go. Once you have completed the tutorial, start with an easy target (like zelda) and focus on easy-to-make cheats at first. Work your way up to more advanced cheats that involve sophisticated code injection etc.

As far as the basics are concerned, you can learn everything I know and more in a couple of months (much less, if you are dedicated).

[OldSchool_NES_Gamer]

The problem is I come across issues that aren't covered in the tutorials... Such as CE giving me an error when trying to initialize the search for a percentage bar type system, like the hearts in zelda or some other bar in another game. I would like to find some sort of mentor that I could talk to and get advice from so I didn't feel so alone with this...

[++METHOS]