~HEX HAX for PC games~

This is a fairly detailed tutorial on how to use TSearch on PCSX2 to get infinite HP, MP, Money, Ammo, EXP, items, or anything like that. This is not a trainer, so it will not directly edit your game files. This prevents your game from being corrupted, so its totally safe to use. If you alter a value via TSearch and your game crashes, don't worry. Your game files and saves are perfectly safe.

As a game design student, I like to have fun with game coding, and one of my tools is TSearch which is a memory scanning program. I have successfully used this tool to mess around in games I have on my PC such as Resident Evil 5, Left 4 Dead 1/2, Borderlands 1/2, Halo 1/2/3, Modern Warfare 2, Burnout Paradise, Medal of Honor Airborne, Flatout 2, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Dragon Age Origins, Fallout 3, Far Cry 2, Crysis, Call of Duty 4, Metro 2033, Skyrim and quite a few more new games. TSearch also works just as well with emulators like NEStopia and most importantly PCSX2 as well! This program does not change or alter the actual game code in any way, it simply finds the value being output by the game to the memory and alters it AFTER it comes out of the running game.


What you will need:
PCSX2 (stable version)

PS2 game
-(MAKE SURE the game you have is running well with your version of PCSX2 and your computer before you continue!)

TSearch
-(I uploaded a clean TSearch v1.6b for your convenience, latest version as of 11-18-2012 and I'm pretty sure the last version)

PATIENCE!
-(it may get difficult depending on what in-game value you want to alter, so don't be surprised if it doesn't work the first time every time)


READ THOROUGHLY BEFORE BEGINNING!

VERY IMPORTANT: the software is safe and will not harm, corrupt, or rewrite your game or save data in any way (unless you save it with changed hex values and even then it usually reverts game-critical hex addresses when a game is restarted) but I strongly recommend saving and making back-ups of your data just so you don't overwrite your save with messed up hex address values that could cause crashes or make NPCs not recognize you or the game not advance in some strange way. This caution is recommended for newbies but eventually you'll learn and be comfortable enough to change values on the fly and be fine.

Steps 1, 2, 3

1. Run your game and TSearch (order does not matter)

2. Click the "Open Process" button in TSearch

3. Find the "game.exe" then double click or select, then click "Open"
(for any other program or emulator, find that "program.exe" such as "pcsx2.exe")

Step 4, 5, 6

4. Find a safe spot in-game and figure out the value you want to change*

5. Click the magnifying glass in TSearch and it will pop up the search window*

6. Search for number value you want to change.*
I will use Reks's HP as an example.

7. Wait for the search to finish (DO NOT click Abort else you will have to start the search over) then click "OK"
The hits will be listed in order numerically by the hex address, not by value.

Step 8, 9, 10

8. Now you need to change the number you want to hack.*

9. Click the magnifying glass with the "..." next to it (this is the "Next Search"), this will search only in the list of hits you just got from your last search.

10. Repeat steps 8-9 until you have a fairly short list (less than 20). The shorter the list, the easier to find the one you're looking for. You can repeat these steps infinitely if it does not narrow quickly.

Step 11, 12

11. After narrowing your list of hits to a reasonable number, click the right + symbol "Add All" button to add all the hits to your cheat list or you can select single addresses by clicking them and clicking the left + symbol "Add Selected" button.

12. Next, change the value of the hits by double-clicking in the box in the "Value" column of each address in the Cheat List outlined in the pic on the bottom. I find it easiest to make this list a sequential set of values (as I did with 1,2,3,4,5 in pic) so you can easily tell which one in the list has changed the desired value in-game.*

Step 13, 14

13. When you find the right one (in this case it was the first one but it is often more random), delete the other hits from your cheat list by clicking them and pressing the "Delete" key or by selecting them and clicking the red X (circled in pic). You can then rename the hit to specify what that hit changes (for your convenience only, does not alter game).*

14. Now that you have the right one, you can set to the desired value and freeze this address by clicking the little box to the left of the address (indicated in pic). Freezing is handy if you just temporarily want to freeze that value and soon after revert it back to normal.*



NOTES
~~~~~
4. Note: When you are trying to find a value in the game (ex: HP, MP, ammo, money), make sure that while TSearch is searching, that number doesn't change. So if you are trying to edit your HP, then get somewhere where you won't be attacked or if you are searching for the number of bullets in your clip, do not fire or change guns. The less you do while searching the better. Pausing the game or opening a menu may sometimes interfere with the search results, so if possible, stay in game and perform all subsequent searches under the same conditions (in exactly the same menu, the same item selected, the same gun active, etc). You can try searching for the value while paused or in a menu and it will often work, but if it doesn't, try searching while not paused or in a menu.

5. NOTE: This is where you will search for the value you want to edit (HP, ammo, etc).
"1 byte" searches values between 0-255
"2 bytes" searches values between 0-65535
"4 bytes" searches values between 0-4294967295
"8 bytes" searches values between 0-18446744073709551615
Values you would be searching for very rarely exceed 4bytes but are often above 2bytes so 4bytes is optimal for this application.

6. NOTE: The drop down box that says "Exact Value" has a few other search options. These options are basically self explanatory.

8. NOTE: If you want to change your health, have an enemy attack you. In this case, I attacked myself, leaving me with 98 HP. So that is the number to search for next. "Unknown Value" searches for every hex address that is running through that program. This is helpful when you don't know the exact value you wish to alter such as games that do not show the exact HP number or games that have ammo on a different counting system than usual. In that case, search for "Unknown Value", then have an enemy attack you or fire a set number of rounds. Now use the "Has Decreased" option. If the game shows the exact amount of damage inflicted (as seen in pic "Steps 8, 9, 10") or you know how many rounds you have fired, use the "Decreased By" option and input the amount of damage inflicted to you or rounds fired. You can repeat this process infinitely, but I found it very helpful to heal yourself or reload then search for "Has Increased". The more random and the larger the value difference between searches, the faster your results will narrow.

12. NOTE: The value may not change immediately in-game so usually pausing and un-pausing, going in and out of a menu, or changing the value you are tying to change again (firing a few rounds, taking a bit of damage, changing shields to change max health, spend a little money, etc) this will update the value in the memory and show in-game. If none of these tricks work you likely have the wrong address.

13. NOTE: Often times when trying to change a value there will be two numbers; One changes the display number in your HUD or in the menu, the other actually changes the desired value. When trying to change a value, you can freeze one of the two numbers then fire some bullets, take some damage, spend some money and see if the unfrozen value decreas. If both stay the same you have the right one. If you got the wrong one, you will have to reload or will have less health. If so, unfreeze that number and freeze the other then change the now frozen number to the desired value. This should fix the problem and neither number should change. Sometimes when you try to change the value of an address, the value reverts to the previous number. You can freeze that address and edit the value again. If it reverts again, that value can not be changed most often because it is a critical address and will cause crashing if you mess with it... so don't.

14. NOTE: Many newer PC games such as Resident Evil 5, Metro 2033, and Left 4 Dead are coded a little more dynamically than older games. You can use this same method to find, change, and freeze your HP, ammo, or whatever, but sometimes the hex address will revert when changing areas, initiating a cut scene, dieing, or going back to the main menu, so you will have to find the hex address you want to freeze/alter every time you do one of those. This can be rather annoying, but I usually only use this cheat when I am having a lot of difficulty on a certain level or boss. Some values you can simply put 999999999999 into the value and it will stay for the entirety of the game (as long as you don't use all 999999999999 of whatever it is).




I hope this has been helpful. If you have any more questions, PM me and I will do my best to answer your question(s) to the best of my (or Google's) ability.

Let me know if you guys like this. I'd really appreciate feedback and screenshots of your PCSX2 hex hax using TSearch.

Update: 11-18-2012
-new images uploaded to permanent host imageshack account
-clean upload of TSearch software to permanent host MediaFire account
-revised/updated some info and instructions

I forgot to mention the "OllyDbg" program shown in the Resident Evil 5 pics.
This is Olly Debuger, another memory scanner tool that I use for fixing errors in the memory.
On rare occasions a game will have errors called "Break Points", this usually doesn't happen when using TSearch to edit basic numerical values like ammo, items, HP and such. So there is no need to worry.
These Break Points happen on rare occasions when editing hex in certain games in certain lines of code, so you shouldn't run into this problem.
If you do, Here is where you can get more info on it.

Also, please give me some feedback on what you guys think about this tutorial. If there are other turorials for similar programs in this forum, let me know. I hope you guys appreciate this and have fun with it.

(04-29-2010 03:32 AM)Snowolf69` Wrote:  I forgot to mention the "OllyDbg" program shown in the Resident Evil 5 pics.
This is Olly Debuger, another memory scanner tool that I use for fixing errors in the memory.
On rare occasions a game will have errors called "Break Points", this usually doesn't happen when using TSearch to edit basic numerical values like ammo, items, HP and such. So there is no need to worry.
These Break Points happen on rare occasions when editing hex in certain games in certain lines of code, so you shouldn't run into this problem.
If you do, Here is where you can get more info on it.

Also, please give me some feedback on what you guys think about this tutorial. If there are other turorials for similar programs in this forum, let me know. I hope you guys appreciate this and have fun with it.

Nice this is a great guide it worked perfectly with need for speed underground but I am having trouble with gran turismo 4

(06-26-2010 12:36 AM)n309210 Wrote:  Nice this is a great guide it worked perfectly with need for speed underground but I am having trouble with gran turismo 4

I have successfully used TSearch to get money in GT4, but that is all.
What kinds of problems are you having? Is it with TSearch itself or are you having difficulty changing/freezing a particular value.

(may not be related to your problem, but are extra tips from personal experience)
NOTE: Attempting to freeze a timer/clock or change time trial times is an EXTREMELY challenging task. Each game producer uses a completely different method for counting real time. Some use separate counters for hours/minutes/seconds (ex.: 1hr,30min,30sec ), while others may use a single large number (ex.: 3630sec )based on a proprietary counting system that is directly relevant to the game mechanics. These counters are constantly pulling data from the game and change HEX address with every change in value which makes them very hard to track down.

NOTE: Another issue with searching for values is that there are almost always at least two or more HEX addresses with the same value of the address you are searching for. This is the result of having multiple counters for that particular value.

(04-15-2010 05:33 AM)Snowolf69` Wrote:  NOTE: Often times when trying to change the value of ammo in clip, there will be two numbers. One changes the display number in your HUD, the other actually changes the number of bullets in your clip. So when trying to change ammo in clip, you can freeze one of the two numbers then fire a lot of bullets to make sure that you got the right one. If you got the wrong one, the display number will stay the same, but you will run out of ammo and have to reload. If so, unfreeze that number and freeze the other, this should fix the problem.

This is the same for timers/clocks. There will be a counter for the actual time, and another counter for the display clock on your screen. The constant changing of value of the time and unknown method of time tracking makes altering time values difficult using TSearch.

Anyone is welcome to PM me with any other questions or tips related to using TSearch and I will put them in here to help.

(06-26-2010 02:20 AM)Snowolf69 Wrote:  

(06-26-2010 12:36 AM)n309210 Wrote:  Nice this is a great guide it worked perfectly with need for speed underground but I am having trouble with gran turismo 4

I have successfully used TSearch to get money in GT4, but that is all.
What kinds of problems are you having? Is it with TSearch itself or are you having difficulty changing/freezing a particular value.

(may not be related to your problem, but are extra tips from personal experience)
NOTE: Attempting to freeze a timer/clock or change time trial times is an EXTREMELY challenging task. Each game producer uses a completely different method for counting real time. Some use separate counters for hours/minutes/seconds (ex.: 1hr,30min,30sec ), while others may use a single large number (ex.: 3630sec )based on a proprietary counting system that is directly relevant to the game mechanics. These counters are constantly pulling data from the game and change HEX address with every change in value which makes them very hard to track down.

NOTE: Another issue with searching for values is that there are almost always at least two or more HEX addresses with the same value of the address you are searching for. This is the result of having multiple counters for that particular value.

(04-15-2010 05:33 AM)Snowolf69` Wrote:  NOTE: Often times when trying to change the value of ammo in clip, there will be two numbers. One changes the display number in your HUD, the other actually changes the number of bullets in your clip. So when trying to change ammo in clip, you can freeze one of the two numbers then fire a lot of bullets to make sure that you got the right one. If you got the wrong one, the display number will stay the same, but you will run out of ammo and have to reload. If so, unfreeze that number and freeze the other, this should fix the problem.

This is the same for timers/clocks. There will be a counter for the actual time, and another counter for the display clock on your screen. The constant changing of value of the time and unknown method of time tracking makes altering time values difficult using TSearch.

Anyone is welcome to PM me with any other questions or tips related to using TSearch and I will put them in here to help.

I was trying to do it with money but i couldnt get it to work at all, I just ended up using some cheat codes but I did get it to work on need for speed underground.

dont quote big things like that specially when you are talking about the one above you... keep the posts simple and small (normal)

I think I will stick with cheat engine for now always worked on a lot of games for me espacially those that does not have anti cheat protection

I used to do HEX hacking all the freaking time with SNES games

.. Im now a little older so I have become lazy. There are easyer ways to get the hack you want.

But we appreciate the post im sure a lot of people will find this usefull

(06-27-2010 12:19 AM)iakoboss7 Wrote:  dont quote big things like that specially when you are talking about the one above you... keep the posts simple and small (normal)

O sorry my bad, I just hate when someone replies to something and you cant tell what they replied to but I guess if its right above then a quote isnt needed.

As I've said, it won't always work the first time as the results are based solely on guessing and hoping, but the best I can do is suggest a little patience and wish you luck. And, yes, easy built-in cheat codes work too.

I have used a lot of trainers myself and appreciate the work of the creators, but HEX has been my tried and true hax since most of the trainers I've used have been picky about my hardware for some unknown reason or don't support x64 OS. My main reason for posting this here is that I was hard up for finding a trainer for PCSX2, and not just save states, that would allow me to do what I wanted with any PS2 game I could throw at it. (ex: I don't really NEED 99 Zodiac Spears...but why not?)
And thanks for introducing me to Cheat Engine as well since I clearly missed it somehow.

Thanks for your input and I hope that at least a few bored PC and PCSX2 gamers will find my tutorial helpful.