Halo 2 Vista XLiveless

[=sw=warlord]

Sure, I just recently started working on h2v and still working on reversing all the tag structures. I was never really into the modding scene, but it's really interesting stuff and fun as hell when dissecting everything and making use of it all. What exactly does 'extracting content' outline? Like, just output binary files of a maps entire tag structures? Like HMT? Sorry, I'm still virgin modder, these things need explained!

What i mean by extracting content is output the tags in their native form much like HEK+ does for custom edition maps.
Im not entirely sure on the dev side of it but my understanding is the program reads the cache files determines the tag clusters and outputs the data to their basic tag form in the same arrangement they would be compiled into a cache form in the first place.

[KIWIDOGGIE]

both xlive and halo2 modules call IsDebuggerPresent twice and check the debug port. This is most basic method to bypass, but once you get past that, there is a more advance anti-debug feature.

You could use a built in plugin for OllyDBG to bypass the isDebuggerPresent. Also the Debug Port check is real easy to pass. Most of the other checks rely on that. Google around for the Battlefield 2: Debug Port Reset.

That is how you would bypass it. Also xliveless has been done for GTA4.

Also the H2EK is freaking useless for all getout.

[Skarma]

What i mean by extracting content is output the tags in their native form much like HEK+ does for custom edition maps.
Im not entirely sure on the dev side of it but my understanding is the program reads the cache files determines the tag clusters and outputs the data to their basic tag form in the same arrangement they would be compiled into a cache form in the first place.

Not sure what native cache form encapsulates.. could you explain the format difference of this from a tag struct that is already in a map file? I know that the tags folder in HEK are all weird and have a weird format compared to what they are in the actual map file, I don't get why they do that. I just finished a tool that extracts all tags from a map into the respective paths, but they are the same format as they are in the map file, so idk how to get them into this "native form"... if anyone could explain how and WHY I can whip something out.

You could use a built in plugin for OllyDBG to bypass the isDebuggerPresent. Also the Debug Port check is real easy to pass. Most of the other checks rely on that. Google around for the Battlefield 2: Debug Port Reset.

That is how you would bypass it. Also xliveless has been done for GTA4.

Also the H2EK is freaking useless for all getout.

Like I said the IsDebuggerPresent() check is basic and easy to bypass, but that doesn't help anything. There is more than that... their exception handler seems to do some sort of anti debug. And also as I said in my first post, I credited the guy who did the wrapper for gta4, because that's where I got the idea.. and someone already unlocked Guerilla at least for full functionality, which is helping me with tag reversing, so I'd say it's garbage with all the locked stuff. Thanks for re-posting what I already stated!

[=sw=warlord]

Skarma: im not too sure on alot of things about coding but it could be you already have extracted the tags in their native form if you have extracted them into their directories, your best bet would be to contact kornman or theghost and see if they could give any pointers to you.
I am only decribing on tidbits i read from when HEK+ was released a few years back.

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

I don't exactly know how to do this but, if I was in your position and I did, I would deconstruct the stock tool.exe and figure out how it compiles tags, and do the reverse.

[Choking Victim]

I don't exactly know how to do this but, if I was in your position and I did, I would deconstruct the stock tool.exe and figure out how it compiles tags, and do the reverse.

Because it's just that easy, right?

[ShadowSpartan]

Skarma: im not too sure on alot of things about coding but it could be you already have extracted the tags in their native form if you have extracted them into their directories, your best bet would be to contact kornman or theghost and see if they could give any pointers to you.
I am only decribing on tidbits i read from when HEK+ was released a few years back.

TheGhost did not work on Guerilla Radio, so he would be of no help. And I doubt Kornman would help him with it. Skarma has not extracted the tags into their "native" format, it sounds like the only thing he has done is save the tag data from the map file directly...which is really not that hard to do. Tag extraction is a lot more complicated than that, which is why only a few people have done tag extraction for H2V.

I don't exactly know how to do this but, if I was in your position and I did, I would deconstruct the stock tool.exe and figure out how it compiles tags, and do the reverse.

...it's not that easy.

[supersniper]

steal the source from microsoft
:conspiracy:

but yeah it really isn't, i'm one of those people who read a tut on coding and was like woah wtf.

[Skarma]

Well, thanks for paraphrasing what has already been said, now onto the why and how! As I said already, I'm still beginner with modding maps, so telling me how hard something is does not help at all, because everything has been a challenge so far, which I enjoy though else I wouldn't be trying.
I have not even gotten to reversing the tag data yet, I've just been focusing on extracting the tag data into files, so I can easily analyze it without calculating an offset every time I want to browse a tag in binary form. I was thinking of comparing the internal tag data to the tags that came with the H2 map editing tools to see what some of the differences might be. I could also reverse the functions used by the h2ek tools that manipulate the tag structures, not really that hard.
So, the purpose of changing the format of a tag to 'native form' is just so it can be used by the other tools in the h2ek? If so, why? Why can I not use the format that is already used by the map file to edit them with my own written tools? These are some answers I'm trying to get at, please help!

[=sw=warlord]

As much as i would love to help you skarma what i've said is about all i know however im guessing shadowspartan there might know a thing or two and could give some usefull information.