mkao@crash.CTS.COM (Mike Kao) (09/09/87)
As a long-time ELITE player, I have often been frustrated by the game's
monotony. Out of boredom, I attempted to delve into the inner workings of the
game and see if I could cheat by modifying the character files. I found out
that the game either encrypted or compressed the data in the character file,
thereby rendering the game VERY hard to cheat on. With the aid of an NMI,
I was able determine where in MEMORY the character information is stored
when loaded; I also know where the stats for CASH, FUEL and CARGO are. As for
the other stats, I have not been able to determine their whereabouts yet. The
big problem is how to modify these stats in the DISK form -- the 2-sector
binary file. These data bear no resemblance to their counterparts in memory; in
addition to that, ELITE apparently performs a checksum on the encrypted data,
so haphazard byte-modifications will not work. I think that the missing link
between the decoded MEMORY data and encoded DISK data is the COMPETITION NUMBER
displayed whenever a character is saved. ELITE probably performs many bit
manipulations with this 10-digit number and somehow uses it has the key to
encrypting/decrypting the DISK file. I need help in tracing the ELITE code to
see where it actually does. I also need help to defeat the checksum. I want
to write a cheater for Apple ELITE, and I will of course give credit to whoever
assists me. Thanks!
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To insure my reception of any replies, please respond via e-mail. Thanks!
-- Mike Kao
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