Using ghost files to customize a race [NFS4]

[Zalcus20]

Hi. I found some more useful offsets for the ghost file. I have uploaded GST Editor 2.5 which includes these offsets and a few updates.  Also after conducting several tests, I found that changing the getaway/time trap mode timer via the ghost file is not possible. The times are preset and are most likely hardcoded to the executable and only by setting the number of laps in Time Trap mode can the amount of time be changed. I did find an offset (000010E4) that I suspected to be the timer when viewing three Time Trap ghost files side by side in hxden. Being that it was 4 bytes from the Lap offset (000010E8) I immediately concluded that this had to be the timer. However, when I tested it each time in the game, changing the value did absolutely nothing! Which leaves the mystery: what does changing the value 000010E4 do? Anyway, here are the helpful offsets that will enhance your gameplay with ghost files.

Ever wanted to have a customized two player game? Now it’s possible. 
00000FE8 = Arcade Mode 
0=Single Player  1=Two Player

00001148 and 00001144 = Number of Players (Human) 
1=One human player 2=Two human players

Missed using cheat codes when using this ghost file method? Well now they’re back with a vengeance.
0000112C-00001130 = Cheat Code
00 00 00 00 = No Cheats
01 00 00 00 = GOFAST
02 00 00 00 - 02 00 00 0F = TR00-TR15
08 00 00 00 = MOON
10 00 00 00 = MADLAND
20 00 00 00 = SKYVIEW
40 00 00 00 = OUTMYWAY
80 00 00 00 = RESETYA

To get two or more cheat codes activated you add the values of the cheat codes together. Example: If you want to use OUTMYWAY and RESETYA, add the values for OUTMYWAY (Hex number 40) and RESETYA (Hex number 80) together which will be equal to Hex number C0. The game will recognize this number as the two cheat codes together and will load it as such. My updated version of Ghost Editor which is now 2.5 has the numbers in decimals, so it will be easier to add the codes together.

Driving Assists (I wish the Best Line was kept for NFSHS. I liked knocking the cones off the road. Oh, well).

000010B0 and 000010C4 = Braking 
0=OFF 1=ON

000010B4 and 000010C8 = Collision Recovery
0=OFF 1=ON

000010B8 and 000010CC = Traction
0=OFF 1=ON

000010BC = Damage
0=ON
1=Visual Only/Physics off
2=Physics Only/Visual Off 3=OFF

000010C0 and 000011D4 = Pursuit
0=OFF  1=ON

I think this completes the ghost file project as I cannot find or think of anything else to look for. Now comes that question: WHAT NEXT?

[DrSpeed]

Great job finding all those! Gonna have some fun with the cheats now. I'm going to rewrite the first post to make it easier to see for the human eye. Lots of numbers to keep track on.  Any suggestions?

I guess the next thing would be if it's possible to make a specific police AI to patrol instead of standing still. Had a reading some time ago it's caused by broken patrol points? Anyway, this could be another hardcoded thing.

This honestly has expanded the possibilities with NFS4. I've been having more fun with this game than ever before and I'm glad I shared this with you all. I'll still be here to explore and experiment and will hopefully find even more stuff. I'll make a topic on how to customize a race in NFS3 when it's ready. 

[Zalcus20]

Not sure what to do about making it easier on eyes. Was never good with organizing 
That info about broken patrol points...that's quite intriguing. I honestly liked that effect where the Ai cops pull to the side of the road and stand. Makes it realistic like if they have a radar gun scanning your speed or something. I'm afraid though, that this would be something hardcoded and would take tons of work to get fix. 

Quote from DrSpeed:"This honestly has expanded the possibilities with NFS4. I've been having more fun with this game than ever before and I'm glad I shared this with you all."

Agreed. Playing against 8 cops instead of 5 makes me feel like I'm playing nfs most wanted (2005). They keep coming out of nowhere. And I'm very glad you decided to go ahead and share the info with the nfs community, too. 

Also, many thanks to VEG, who fixed the poly limit which enables the game to display all those cars at once! HS truly lives on. 

[dandresden]

Anyone found address for Nickname(AI Name)?

[Zalcus20]

Quote from DrSpeed

The adresses here is for Player One, to change for the next player simply add 70 in the adress, and another 70 for the next one et cetera.
Note: Each player always starts with the name, so it's quite easy to keep them apart.

00001160 = Name
Believe 10-12 characters is the max limit here?

You can also use my GST Editor cheat table if you have Cheat Engine 6.6 installed on your system. 

[MADMAN_nfs]

Hey,
Zalcus is right, using his GST Editor is much more comfortable than fiddling with the Hex Editor every time. Btw thanks again for the effort with investigating the files and providing the cheat engine script.

[FranknFurter]

.. question folks,
the 'Cheat Engine 6.6' is required for the GST Editor 2.5 to work .. I have downloaded it from Chip server (not installed yet), but the Chip website explicitly warns that it might do harm to your machine .. any hints for the installation of Cheat Engine 6.6 software other than Chip website's hint to customize installation?

Thanks
Frank

[Zalcus20]

I got my copy of cheat engine 6.6 from the cheatengine website. They do warn you that it might trigger your antivirus, but the file does not actually contain a virus.

Link:http://www.cheatengine.org

[DrSpeed]

I always wonder where the game stores the data for the Tournaments, the AIs favorite color, what police car to load for each track and all that...

Maybe it's possible to change the pre-sets so it's like: the game loads a playable Caprice on Dolphin Cove and Empire City, but still load the Traffic version on the Atlantic tracks. Route Adonf loads a special BMW M5 with red sirens instead of blue, that'd be cool. Maybe someday in the future...

Way back in the day, I remember 2 programs that does interest me now:
One was a Traffic Editor, you could set what traffic cars would appear on each track.
The other one was a Career Editor (I think it was a bit unstable).
I basicly want to know what files was affected by them, if anyone still have these programs somewhere. Maybe it's possible to HEX-edit those files as well?

[Zalcus20]

Interesting. I have never heard of those programs. I have something called KmEdit (Kareermode Editor) which is in German that allows you to customize the career mode but not the AI.

The only hint that I can give you for where all that data is stored is somewhere in that 1,938 KB nfs4.exe file. There are so many lines of data in that file that locating a specific line will be problematic.    But not impossible.

And I'm sure it's possible to HEX-edit those entries. Some time ago, I was able to make the aus.tga cop skin display on the European tracks by HEX-editing several entries in the exe.  My theory is that the Gst file gets all its data from the main nfs4.exe (or nfsgame.exe). So, all that data we found in the Gst file project should be in the main exe. 

EDIT: If I'm not mistaken, I think the KM Editor affects the files found in Savedata/DB

[Remko]

Download links for KM edit in this topic, for anyone that wants it: http://www.nfsaddons.com/forums//index.php?topic=1709.0

I don't exactly remember which tool supposedly let you edit the traffic cars, though, could that have been the Track Mixer, maybe?

[DrSpeed]

Thanks Remko! Traffic Mixer does ring a bell, maybe that was it. Wish I remember exactly, but it was over 12 years ago. 

@Zalcus
I assume you simply replaced germ/fran/uk.tga with aus.tga to make it appear? That's what I'm finding in it so far. 
I had a peek in the CDB files in the DB folder, it's gonna take awhile to understand their structure.

[Zalcus20]

Oh, yeah. That's right. I got KM edit from here thanks to Remko a few years back. Sorry, my memory was failing me for the moment. 

@DrSpeed: That's exactly what I did with the cop skins. And before the gst file method I used to change the opponent names this way, too. The problem was I couldn't change the length of the names or the game wouldn't display them correctly. 

[Remko]

Oh, yeah. That's right. I got KM edit from here thanks to Remko a few years back. Sorry, my memory was failing me for the moment. 

You're not the only one I automatically Googled 'KMedit", got NFS Addons as one of the first results and was all like "ooh, right..."

Thanks Remko! Traffic Mixer does ring a bell, maybe that was it. Wish I remember exactly, but it was over 12 years ago. 

Maybe it is, the Track Mixer certainly was around that long ago.
If not, I hope someone else has an idea, because I just can't find a tool/hack for NFS4 called Traffic Editor in my NFS download folders, maybe it was called something different instead.

[MADMAN_nfs]

Maybe you guys talking about "Real Track"? I think that had an option to mix traffic on different tracks (see screenshot).