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Reverse engineering the binary data format for Star Wars: Yoda Stories

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Re: Reverse engineering the binary data format for Star Wars: Yoda Stories

#51

Post by ultramancool »

cdr wrote: post #50
gear54rus wrote: post #7

10/10 good article. I wonder if something remotely similar is possible with todays games. With all the custom data formats and compression algorithms being used.

It's not necessarily easy, but decoding MMO data files can be massively profitable for players. Reams of valuable data are often stored client-side to save on sending it during gameplay. You can maybe learn what items are in the game (including items in not-yet-released updates), where the items drop, and what the exact % droprate they have. You can learn the exact HP and other stats of mobs (if it isn't normally dis…

Yeah, most often tools like you linked are built by partially reverse engineering (ie: with a disassembler and a lot of time) the game's binary though rather than a simple guessing-based method as the author used here.

Re: Reverse engineering the binary data format for Star Wars: Yoda Stories

#52

Post by josephlord »

coldpie wrote: post #48
aw3c2 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Must be a troll or a comment on the wrong thread. I know neither language, have no clue about programming and have no trouble understanding the logic in the code snippets.

It is frustrating to see tools like this written with C#, because most C# developers have no mind to cross-platform compatibility. Often they'll build the UI using the Microsoft-specific frameworks, which Mono doesn't support. .NET programs also don't often run well in Wine, leaving me with a ton of work to do to get it running on Linux. It's not really the language that's the problem so much as the incredibly propri…

This isn't tools being offered it is a description of how to do it yourself (tools will need to be adjusted to data). The code presented looks very clear with simple self explanatory basic calls made (mostly accessing, reading and writing files).

Re: Reverse engineering the binary data format for Star Wars: Yoda Stories

#53

Post by bliti »

sehugg wrote: post #3

I'm not sure why there's a sports car in the game's tileset I have a suspicion -- it's from one of Mark Hamill's more-regrettable roles. What a great Easter Egg! (unless it's actually part of the game somewhere) http://fffmp.fffmoviepostersc.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uplo...

Sort of related:

The trailer for Corvette Summer can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W9pmT6JTO4

The 70's was a strange time for custom cars. This movie preserves the custom car culture of the era fairly well.

Re: Reverse engineering the binary data format for Star Wars: Yoda Stories

#54

Post by emillon »

jwarren wrote: post #46

Great article. Thanks for being so rigorous with the step-by-step process and for annotating your thoughts on each step, it's very instructive.

That's the difficult part about documenting CTFs and reverse engineering tasks. In the past I tried to do it afterwards but it's a bit clunky. Now I try to do it at the same time, like a journal, and it's getting better (still not as good as OP :))

Re: Reverse engineering the binary data format for Star Wars: Yoda Stories

#55

Post by Jemaclus »

Every time I think "hey, I have this funky DAT file that I need data from. I bet I could reverse engineer it." And then I open the file and my eyes glaze over. Then I read a headline like this, and I think, "Hey, maybe this will help." And then I realize... nope, still way over my head.

Sigh.

Re: Reverse engineering the binary data format for Star Wars: Yoda Stories

#56

Post by PublicEnemy111 »

voltagex_ wrote: post #21
jdboyd wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That must be an Australian issue because on eBay and in local stores, it is still $10ish.

I'm not sure - http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/Video-Games-Consoles-/1249/i.html... Amazon has a (used?) copy for ~$17 - AFAICT it requires online activation so this may not work well.

I was referencing the xbox version of the game. If I remember correctly, the pc version of the game actually allowed cheaters, which takes all the fun out of it IMO

Im sure you could find an old xbox and the game for less than $90AUD. Or, you could buy an xbox, flash the disk drive, download a halo .iso and burn it to a verbatim disk. Thats what I usually do

Re: Reverse engineering the binary data format for Star Wars: Yoda Stories

#58

Post by darklajid »

coldpie wrote: post #48
aw3c2 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Must be a troll or a comment on the wrong thread. I know neither language, have no clue about programming and have no trouble understanding the logic in the code snippets.

It is frustrating to see tools like this written with C#, because most C# developers have no mind to cross-platform compatibility. Often they'll build the UI using the Microsoft-specific frameworks, which Mono doesn't support. .NET programs also don't often run well in Wine, leaving me with a ton of work to do to get it running on Linux. It's not really the language that's the problem so much as the incredibly propri…

This code should work as is using Mono.

But the complaint was weird in the first place?

Re: Reverse engineering the binary data format for Star Wars: Yoda Stories

#59

Post by coldpie »

darklajid wrote: post #58
coldpie wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is frustrating to see tools like this written with C#, because most C# developers have no mind to cross-platform compatibility. Often they'll build the UI using the Microsoft-specific frameworks, which Mono doesn't support. .NET programs also don't often run well in Wine, leaving me with a ton of work to do to get it running on Linux. It's not really the language that's the problem so much as the incredibly propri…

This code should work as is using Mono. But the complaint was weird in the first place?

> This code should work as is using Mono.

Sure, this one does, but nearly any .NET program with a GUI won't. It's very frustrating to run into useful programs that I can't run, and most often applications that fit that description are written in a .NET language.

> But the complaint was weird in the first place?

Yeah, true. There's nothing hard about reading C#, just running it.

Re: Reverse engineering the binary data format for Star Wars: Yoda Stories

#60

Post by darklajid »

coldpie wrote: post #59
darklajid wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This code should work as is using Mono. But the complaint was weird in the first place?

> This code should work as is using Mono. Sure, this one does, but nearly any .NET program with a GUI won't. It's very frustrating to run into useful programs that I can't run, and most often applications that fit that description are written in a .NET language. > But the complaint was weird in the first place? Yeah, true. There's nothing hard about reading C#, just running it.

You make it sound as if there were no portable (or 'non-windows') C# applications. Stuff I care about:

http://banshee.fm/

https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Tomboy

http://f-spot.org/

http://keepass.info/

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