Hexing.... [Archive] - ForumsHQ
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 4:45 pm
Ok, This section is definately missing out on usage. So, to kill time before my next class (in four hours) I am going to help all you would be hexers and sysops learn to manage your board a little more effectively, hex your boards a little better, and straight up fuck with wg/mmud ;)
In this, the first of a probable many posts by me, MrBlack, the Hexing Specialist, I am going to cover the fundamentals of a hex editor, the basic structures of files and some stuff concerning wg and board setup. Probably not in this order, and if I leave something out, or add something, just remember, this is just a vague syllabus of todays class, and I don't really go by teaching schedules.
Now, to begin, I'll give everyone a little background history...
***FLASHBACK SCENE***
MrBlack, born into majormud in the year 1996, introd by his girlfriend, Acrobat, who later became MrsBlack. After 2 years of repetitious mud playing, began to run his own board, and learning from such other known players as #### and Covenant, began to setup and hex boards for fun. Later MrBlack was left in the hexing field when #### disappeared and the apparant retirement of all other hexors in the community, leaving him as the unchallenged leader.
***END FLASHBACK***
Ok, that said, now everyone knows my credentials and will not feel obliged to think 'oh, what a twat, this guy knows shit about hexing' or whatever and then you can just take my word for pure fact ;)
Ok, to start off, my favorite hex editor to use is Hex Workshop. You can get a copy of it from www.bpsoft.com the latest version is 3.11, but you can also get version 2.54. 3.11 has some nicer features, like compare (great for finding what was edited in a file if you have a backup). It also has a hex/dec/oct calculator built in, so instead of pulling out your old Windoze calculator to translate values, you can do it without so much effort. I could go on and on, but I won't, because you will only ever use the calculator, the compare (maybe) and maybe a few other features that I will mention if need be.
Anyway, as I listed once before elsewhere in these forums, here are the files required for majormud:
wccuser2.dat - User file
wccclas2.dat - Class file
wccrace2.dat - Race file
wccitem2.dat - Items file
wccspel2.dat - Spells file
wccknms2.dat - Known Monsters file
wccacms2.dat - Active Monsters file
wccupda2.dat - Update file
wccmp002.dat - Map file
wccgang2.dat - Gang file
wccshop2.dat - Shops file
wccmsg2.dat - Message file
wcctext2.dat - Text blocks file
The names are very easy to decipher, normally. I would recommend not working with the user file straight off, nor the map file or even the text file.
These are usually the hardest to work with, as there are ALOT of attributes to know and you can easily get lost workin in the files, especially if your new to this.
Now, I'm not going to tell you exactly how to hex edit, cuz that would take too long. I'm going to tell you the basics of editing, and point you to some hex maps (actually putting the maps here would be too much work, and I don't feel like it). Of course, reading thru the basics, your gonna think, 'moron, thats shit i already know!' But, believe me, you would be surprised how many idiot sysops I have dealt with that never backup and ask me, 'how do I restore the original files' or some stupid shit like that.
1. Toss your copy of Nightmare or Chronic in the trashbin.
2. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS backup!!!
3. Backup your backup!!
4. Know what your going to do ahead of time. If your adding a new monster, make sure you have the name, description (and make sure you write it out so that you can put it in properly, there are so many bbs' out there that don't know the rules to the description area, and have fukt descs for monsters), stats, etc. This is almost as major a step as backing up, and takes a lot more work than you would think (especially if you plan to have a 'balanced' board).
After these steps, there comes the editing. This is the funnest part
Now, this is where I'm gonna get technical, don't be alarmed my little newbies, this won't be hard to catch onto...
If your using Hex Workshop, like I hope you are, open any file you feel like editing (I'm going to use class for an example, since its simple). When you first open HW, you will see a split screen. On the left is the hex window, it is filled with all kinds of numbers and letters, gibberish. To the extreme left of that is a column of numbers, those are offsets (useful for referencing). On the right is a column of periods ( . ), interspersed with random gibberish and the occasional section of text that is actually readable. This is the decimal window, you will only edit in this window when changing descriptions or names of items/monsters/etc. All other editing will be done in the hex window.
Now, scroll down till you find Warrior. You will see it in the dec window. Put your cursor in front of the W, the cursor should show in the hex window as well. In the hex window is the hexidecimal value of W. You can also look to the bottom of the screen and see a window with several values listed. IT will say things like Long, Signed Long, Unsigned Long, etc. Primarily you will deal with the first 2-4 listed there (I forget what they are, I'm not actually sitting at a HW terminal).
Now, using the hex maps I have supplied to the world, located at www.sofacy.f2s.com you can now find the offsets and values for each stat for Warrior. The hex maps themselves are setup with the beginning of the file removes, so do not be confused if the W in Warrior does not start at the beginning of the row, like in the hex map, everything is still equally offset.
Ok, that should be enough for hex editing. If you have problems, or need help, then you are too stupid to hex edit, and should promptly shoot yourself and clear up the gene pool.
Now, for those of you who won't take the advice I just gave you, or are too stupid to understand what it meant, here is my second lesson for today. Setting up the board.
Now, this lesson is not going to be too indepth, just some basics (aaargh, more basics!) And, belive me, I have seen so many shitty ass boards that don't know what they are doing, I won't even go into that.
Anyway, heres my little step program for setting up the board:
1. Know what your boards name is going to be (not some stupid name, use somthing kewl, Shinra, Inc. - unoriginaly, but not bad; Druids Grove BBS - Excellent name :); HellBBS# - lame as fuck, at least it had some ansi tho...)
2. Set a theme to it. Just because your only playing MajorMud on your board, doesn't mean it has to be a generic p.o.s. board. After all, your hexing your mud game to be original, right? Make your board original too!!!!
3. Can't go wrong with ANSI art (well, prolly cuz its all you get in WG )
4. Get more games. I get tired of mud, even with all the edits you can put in, it will get boring!!! Get some other games to take my mind off the boring dribble of scripting.
5. Promote non scripting activities, like other games (tlords is great for setting competitions).
6. DO NOT hex the fuck out of the game. This is what every run of the mill p.o.s. newbie sysop does. I got away from playing norm games because it bored me. It bores me to play 65k monsters and max my level in a week. Don't do that shit, try to keep it somewhat balanced.
(For those of you that aren't bright enough to real acronymns, p.o.s. means piece of shit)
When setting up your bbs, you need a name, so during installation, you can give it the name. You'll also have to put in info about yourself and the board, used in basic logon info. You will need an IP if your on a dynamic IP, use AUTO. Static IPs don't worry. Dynamic IPs and domain name telnets are another lesson, if I feel you are worthy of learning from me.
Once the bbs is setup, install your games. Once those are installed into the base directory of WG, you can now run wgsrunmt.exe (found in the server dir).
This is where you edit all of your menu structures (surprisingly, alot of sysops don't know this). Once you use this to put your games on your menu, you can also use this to edit the visual format of your menu (ANSI art). I would recommend editing the visual format, as it makes for a much more interesting look.
Also, when done with wgsrunmt, run all the utilities for WG. Each one has text blocks which you can edit and customize. I would highly recommend doing this to make your bbs as unique as you and your mud (DGBBS has been completely stylized, it took me close to 7 hours to edit every text block)
Once all of these are done, you can be ready for business.
Now, of course, you didnt have to edit the text blocks or menu designs, but to attract more users, its always a plus Unless, your just going to be hosting the bbs for a few weeks whiel you edit the fuck out of the game, and remember, thats one of my major no-nos.
Well, that concludes todays lesson. I hope you learned something, and if you didn't, that's ok. If you did, then good, I hope you put it to good use.
Just remember, the next time one of you puts up a board, I might just happen to visit it, and if its a nice board, I might stay a while longer, and usually where ever I go, many follow
In this, the first of a probable many posts by me, MrBlack, the Hexing Specialist, I am going to cover the fundamentals of a hex editor, the basic structures of files and some stuff concerning wg and board setup. Probably not in this order, and if I leave something out, or add something, just remember, this is just a vague syllabus of todays class, and I don't really go by teaching schedules.
Now, to begin, I'll give everyone a little background history...
***FLASHBACK SCENE***
MrBlack, born into majormud in the year 1996, introd by his girlfriend, Acrobat, who later became MrsBlack. After 2 years of repetitious mud playing, began to run his own board, and learning from such other known players as #### and Covenant, began to setup and hex boards for fun. Later MrBlack was left in the hexing field when #### disappeared and the apparant retirement of all other hexors in the community, leaving him as the unchallenged leader.
***END FLASHBACK***
Ok, that said, now everyone knows my credentials and will not feel obliged to think 'oh, what a twat, this guy knows shit about hexing' or whatever and then you can just take my word for pure fact ;)
Ok, to start off, my favorite hex editor to use is Hex Workshop. You can get a copy of it from www.bpsoft.com the latest version is 3.11, but you can also get version 2.54. 3.11 has some nicer features, like compare (great for finding what was edited in a file if you have a backup). It also has a hex/dec/oct calculator built in, so instead of pulling out your old Windoze calculator to translate values, you can do it without so much effort. I could go on and on, but I won't, because you will only ever use the calculator, the compare (maybe) and maybe a few other features that I will mention if need be.
Anyway, as I listed once before elsewhere in these forums, here are the files required for majormud:
wccuser2.dat - User file
wccclas2.dat - Class file
wccrace2.dat - Race file
wccitem2.dat - Items file
wccspel2.dat - Spells file
wccknms2.dat - Known Monsters file
wccacms2.dat - Active Monsters file
wccupda2.dat - Update file
wccmp002.dat - Map file
wccgang2.dat - Gang file
wccshop2.dat - Shops file
wccmsg2.dat - Message file
wcctext2.dat - Text blocks file
The names are very easy to decipher, normally. I would recommend not working with the user file straight off, nor the map file or even the text file.
These are usually the hardest to work with, as there are ALOT of attributes to know and you can easily get lost workin in the files, especially if your new to this.
Now, I'm not going to tell you exactly how to hex edit, cuz that would take too long. I'm going to tell you the basics of editing, and point you to some hex maps (actually putting the maps here would be too much work, and I don't feel like it). Of course, reading thru the basics, your gonna think, 'moron, thats shit i already know!' But, believe me, you would be surprised how many idiot sysops I have dealt with that never backup and ask me, 'how do I restore the original files' or some stupid shit like that.
1. Toss your copy of Nightmare or Chronic in the trashbin.
2. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS backup!!!
3. Backup your backup!!
4. Know what your going to do ahead of time. If your adding a new monster, make sure you have the name, description (and make sure you write it out so that you can put it in properly, there are so many bbs' out there that don't know the rules to the description area, and have fukt descs for monsters), stats, etc. This is almost as major a step as backing up, and takes a lot more work than you would think (especially if you plan to have a 'balanced' board).
After these steps, there comes the editing. This is the funnest part
Now, this is where I'm gonna get technical, don't be alarmed my little newbies, this won't be hard to catch onto...
If your using Hex Workshop, like I hope you are, open any file you feel like editing (I'm going to use class for an example, since its simple). When you first open HW, you will see a split screen. On the left is the hex window, it is filled with all kinds of numbers and letters, gibberish. To the extreme left of that is a column of numbers, those are offsets (useful for referencing). On the right is a column of periods ( . ), interspersed with random gibberish and the occasional section of text that is actually readable. This is the decimal window, you will only edit in this window when changing descriptions or names of items/monsters/etc. All other editing will be done in the hex window.
Now, scroll down till you find Warrior. You will see it in the dec window. Put your cursor in front of the W, the cursor should show in the hex window as well. In the hex window is the hexidecimal value of W. You can also look to the bottom of the screen and see a window with several values listed. IT will say things like Long, Signed Long, Unsigned Long, etc. Primarily you will deal with the first 2-4 listed there (I forget what they are, I'm not actually sitting at a HW terminal).
Now, using the hex maps I have supplied to the world, located at www.sofacy.f2s.com you can now find the offsets and values for each stat for Warrior. The hex maps themselves are setup with the beginning of the file removes, so do not be confused if the W in Warrior does not start at the beginning of the row, like in the hex map, everything is still equally offset.
Ok, that should be enough for hex editing. If you have problems, or need help, then you are too stupid to hex edit, and should promptly shoot yourself and clear up the gene pool.
Now, for those of you who won't take the advice I just gave you, or are too stupid to understand what it meant, here is my second lesson for today. Setting up the board.
Now, this lesson is not going to be too indepth, just some basics (aaargh, more basics!) And, belive me, I have seen so many shitty ass boards that don't know what they are doing, I won't even go into that.
Anyway, heres my little step program for setting up the board:
1. Know what your boards name is going to be (not some stupid name, use somthing kewl, Shinra, Inc. - unoriginaly, but not bad; Druids Grove BBS - Excellent name :); HellBBS# - lame as fuck, at least it had some ansi tho...)
2. Set a theme to it. Just because your only playing MajorMud on your board, doesn't mean it has to be a generic p.o.s. board. After all, your hexing your mud game to be original, right? Make your board original too!!!!
3. Can't go wrong with ANSI art (well, prolly cuz its all you get in WG )
4. Get more games. I get tired of mud, even with all the edits you can put in, it will get boring!!! Get some other games to take my mind off the boring dribble of scripting.
5. Promote non scripting activities, like other games (tlords is great for setting competitions).
6. DO NOT hex the fuck out of the game. This is what every run of the mill p.o.s. newbie sysop does. I got away from playing norm games because it bored me. It bores me to play 65k monsters and max my level in a week. Don't do that shit, try to keep it somewhat balanced.
(For those of you that aren't bright enough to real acronymns, p.o.s. means piece of shit)
When setting up your bbs, you need a name, so during installation, you can give it the name. You'll also have to put in info about yourself and the board, used in basic logon info. You will need an IP if your on a dynamic IP, use AUTO. Static IPs don't worry. Dynamic IPs and domain name telnets are another lesson, if I feel you are worthy of learning from me.
Once the bbs is setup, install your games. Once those are installed into the base directory of WG, you can now run wgsrunmt.exe (found in the server dir).
This is where you edit all of your menu structures (surprisingly, alot of sysops don't know this). Once you use this to put your games on your menu, you can also use this to edit the visual format of your menu (ANSI art). I would recommend editing the visual format, as it makes for a much more interesting look.
Also, when done with wgsrunmt, run all the utilities for WG. Each one has text blocks which you can edit and customize. I would highly recommend doing this to make your bbs as unique as you and your mud (DGBBS has been completely stylized, it took me close to 7 hours to edit every text block)
Once all of these are done, you can be ready for business.
Now, of course, you didnt have to edit the text blocks or menu designs, but to attract more users, its always a plus Unless, your just going to be hosting the bbs for a few weeks whiel you edit the fuck out of the game, and remember, thats one of my major no-nos.
Well, that concludes todays lesson. I hope you learned something, and if you didn't, that's ok. If you did, then good, I hope you put it to good use.
Just remember, the next time one of you puts up a board, I might just happen to visit it, and if its a nice board, I might stay a while longer, and usually where ever I go, many follow