Assistance making a build queue hack

[sneezer3 0]

Some time ago someone mentioned in the pinned development thread about making a build queue hack. I understand if Nyer doesn't want to pursue it, and I'm thinking of tackling it. C&C is one of my old favorites too, and this has been on my mind for a long time now.

 

Sorry to post a thread over something so trival - I couldn't seem to find any contact info anywhere other than here so I'm unsure how else to communicate.

 

The main thing I'd like to know is if any dissassembly on C&C has been made already -- if it has it could percivably make such a hack much easier. Secondly, I'm curious if there is a prefered method of distributing a patch these days. Thirdly, is there a section in the PE file full of the x86 NOP instructions or something somewhere? I have a utilty that can add something to the PE header, but that might not be ideal for a patch -- and I'd need a place to put the code, so I'd like to get some idea as to what has been done.

 

*Note: By build queue I don't mean an individual variable for each different type of unit such as Minigunners and Grenaders, I just mean one type of unit - maybe tanks and infantry. setting a smaller goal might make it more achievable - and I feel it would help the C&C interface and gameplay greatly.

[Sonarpulse 1]

Nyergud's does his stuff by hand, the "state of the art" way to apply assembly patches is https://github.com/hifi/ra303p . (There is also AlexB's syringe method from C/C++, but that is pretty incomparable.)

[Nyerguds 102]

Not a clue what you mean with "a PE file full of the x86 NOP instructions", but there's only one x86 NOP instruction, and that's byte 0x90.

 

As for queues... I dunno. Never really saw that as a necessary feature. I'd rather focus on making modding possible and fixing bugs.

[sneezer3 0]

I was considering adding a code section to the file header and making it full of NOP instructions and jumping there. This would probably be needed because I think it's highly unlikely there is enough groups of NOP's in the file to jump back and forth and still be able to return. I thought this might have already been done somewhere in the file - this is what I was speaking of. There is other was of doing it such as patching in a DLL file's function code jump but that is much more cumbersome.

 

The patch utility linked to seems to be about modifying Red Alert's data file, and not the original C&C?

 

Anyways, I guess I'll just see what I can do and hopefully post back within a few months.

[Nyerguds 102]

...my exe file already HAS two completely empty sections added (a Code and a Data section) in which I put all my custom code. CCHyper did that for me.

 

I'llmost likely be switching to Hifi's assembler compiling system soon though, which simply makes new sections as they're needed, and exactly as big as needed.