What is 'hacking'? : General Discussion

Hi everyone

I came for the MMOViper but now that I've looked around a bit I must say that I am impressed. You even have sub-forums dedicated to the older classics such as Ultima Online. Wow!
Back in the day when WoW TBC was fresh I used to bot because I was starting to grow tired of the endless farming, like many of you I'd guess. The bot worked like a charm and I never had any problems with it.
Now I'm stuck in the same dilemma but with Guild Wars 2.
The difference this time however is that I have acquired an interest for programming! By no means do I think that I am ready to start programming any bots as I have barely basic knowledge of C++ and basic knowledge of Javascript.

On to the question 'What is 'hacking'?'
Never have I understood how one edits code which is already running. How does my code get access to the games' code?
I doubt it is possible to make any advanced bots with Javascript unless perhaps it's for browser-based games such as Runescape?

Because I have grown interest in programming I would very much appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction for what I need to know to get started doing what you do. I understand it will be a long process, but it's the challenges which attract me to programming and the problem-solving. If yet at times it makes me pull my hair out and scream.

What is Javascript capable of in terms of 'cheating' & 'hacking'? Are there any programmers out there who would like to take me under their wings and always be at hand to give me advice?

Much love to all of you.

I am not a programmer, can't even write a script. However if you know one language, then you will have an easier time then I of learning to make bots and hacks. The first thing you need to do, is stop using javascript. While it might be possible to make a script which could run for you, it's not something that can generally be used as you can't run it separately from a browser. You could use Java. In fact some bots have been written with it. Instead, you should probably look into learning to script in AutoIt. AutoIt has been used to make bots and game hacks. Once you get some of the basics down, you can start looking at other people's code for various bots and then use this to build upon your knowledge.

Game Hacking is a means to which you change code. The code might be changed by a few offsets. The best example of game hacking, would be through the use of Cheat Engine. Cheat Engine will allow you to compile a game hack or trainer which you create. While I do not know the specifics, I can tell you that it's a matter of doing the same thing over and over, and narrowing down which things change, then changing the "code" or rather offsets (think on/off switches). Cheat Engine does have a tutorial upon it's use.

Keep in mind, that should you decide to use Cheat Engine, that most games will look for the program's signature. Should they find it in memory, then you could be banned or suspended. So it is better to practice on games you know do not have anti-cheats, like RPGs.

Another way that cheating is done, is with Olydbg or WPE. However each of those programs are more advanced. Stick with Cheat Engine and AutoIt until you master those.


Good Luck, hope I helped a bit.

P.S. Old School Game Hacking = Hex Editor

There were some "oooolllldddd" posts in the xunleashed section here for finding "pointers" and memory locs. Or you can google basic game hacking tutorials and it will bring up a bunch of pages.

If you are serious about it, you might pick up a few books. Hoglund's "Exploiting Online Games" is a great starter, and it includes sourcecode!