OpenSauce Halo CE SDK Update #2 (RC)

[SMASH]

I hate to say it but I'm basically 2 classes through with C++ (into to and OOP) and I'm still having trouble making heads or tails of most code. You sir, are very advanced.

[Kornman00]

Don't always assume that what looks advance and magic super sauce...


...is magic super sauce :P. Some of it may be, but the code base could really do with some refractoring and some changes so everything is following a set standard (ie, naming conventions; I've broken this in a few areas). Thanks for the complement though

[SMASH]

No prob. I'd really like to learn how you figured out how to do most of this and how it works. I have a pretty solid C++ foundation but I'm not really experienced in reverse engineering. Any books, or ebooks you'd recommend?

[CrAsHOvErRide]

No prob. I'd really like to learn how you figured out how to do most of this and how it works. I have a pretty solid C++ foundation but I'm not really experienced in reverse engineering. Any books, or ebooks you'd recommend?

Go crack some stuff..it's the best way to get into reverse engineering (motivation etc).

I'll PM you a vid tut

[Dwood]

Don't always assume that what looks advance and magic super sauce...


...is magic super sauce :P. Some of it may be, but the code base could really do with some refractoring and some changes so everything is following a set standard (ie, naming conventions; I've broken this in a few areas). Thanks for the complement though

Abstraction layer go! -I think that if you had organized OS by the 'levels' of code, it would be more understandable.

[Rambo]

Um, Korn... If you're working on the OS HEK side still, I found a nasty bug that can get very annoying left over from your Kornman00 v2.0 build.

Whenever I do shortcuts, such as CREL+C or CTRL+V or even delete a file with the DEL key, OS_Sapien and even OS_Guerilla crashes saying an exception occurred and the program has to shut down. This can be very annoying for people that want to do so much as clean up a folder by deleting files. We have to use regular Sapien to do this or Guerilla, or go in manually visa Windows Explorer and delete old files.

It's kind of bothersome and I'd like to see it fixed. Any idea what the causal source of the crash might be?

EDIT: This is a bug report video i created to demonstrate exactly what Open Sauce HEK is complaining about. Please download and watch and, if necessary, keep for archival purposes until you fix the bug.

[Choking Victim]

^ Doesn't happen to me.

You're saying if you copy/paste a file/folder in the open file dialog in guerilla and sapien, they exception?

[CrAsHOvErRide]

Nero is causing the problem I guess. It's farked.

[Rambo]

Or maybe it's a dependency. Let me try and remove it and see what happens.

[Kornman00]

Can't download the video ATM, will try when I have access to my computer

Abstraction layer go! -I think that if you had organized OS by the 'levels' of code, it would be more understandable.

While in most cases I would agree with that assessment, when it comes to "hacks" such as this, I don't try to go too far beyond what the engine already provides.

1) Debugging is a PitA since you have to launch black box software which provides you with no debug data on crashes besides generic exception data.

2) Introducing more complex and tricky code breaks away from the model I use when creating these hacks: deterministic compilation. A model I made up, basically any code that I create doesn't or shouldn't result in behind-the-scenes constructs such as at-startup or at-exit procedures created by the compiler. It's also needed when building pure assembly interfaces with engine code. I need to know exactly how my code will compile.

3) Almost every component deals directly with a 1:1 engine system. These systems themselves have their own abstractions however there is very little access to them besides what I've uncovered and documented in EngineFunctions.cpp. In order to make sure there aren't any conflicting designs or functionality, I kept with structures and interfaces which the game code itself has, just as if I was extending the actual source. Of course this requires a mixture of low level access and constructs. These are unavoidable

4) Footprint. I didn't want this game extension putting any sort of extra footprint on the game. Thus, most additions result in O(1) operations since everything is predetermined and preallocated, with no extra information being tracked and handled besides what the game already gives you (or rather, what you take).

Different problems call for different solutions. Not always will you use an OO framework for something. You could end up with a procedural construct instead for whatever problem. If I had actual engine source this codebase would be FAR different in implementation. However, the overall code layout/design would stay the same.