Cheat machine - The game enhancer

                                  (C) 1994
                                     by
                              J.Hertsens
                               A Forest
                                              UNREGISTERED VERSION
        : The quick and easy way to cheat on dozens of popular games ! :
                    Don't get mad, get even : Here's how
   Legal stuff
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed,
stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any other language or
computer language in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, whether
it be electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, manual or otherwise, without
prior written consent of the author.
The author disclaims all warranties as to this software, whether express or
implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of
merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, functionality or data
integrity.
Trademarks of other companies mentioned in this documentation appear for
identification purposes only and are the property of their respective
companies.
This program is copyrighted and has been released for distribution as
SHAREWARE. Please note that a great deal of effort and time has been invested
in the development of this program.  You are granted a license to try this
program  for a reasonable trial period without risk.  If, after this time,
you find the program useful and intend to use for a prolonged time you are
expected to register.
The registration fee is mentioned later in this manual.  This will entitle
you to continue to use this program beyond the trial period as well as
entitle you to program support.  You will find appropriate information at the
end of this user manual that outlines the procedures for registering your
copy of the program.
Operators of electronic bulletin boards (Sysops) are encouraged to post this
program for downloading by their users.
This program may be uploaded to and downloaded from commercial or non-
commercial systems such as Internet, CompuServe, the Source, and BIX, so long
as the only charge paid by the subscriber is for on-line time and there is no
charge for the program.  Those using, copying, sharing, and/or electronically
transmitting the program are required not to delete or modify the copyright
notice and restrictive notices from the program or documentation; anyone
doing so will be treated as a contributory copyright violator.
If you are passing this program on to others, uploading it to a bulletin
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have all the correct files necessary to get this program up and running
quickly.
This program may NOT be modified in any respect, for any reason, including
but not limited to, de-compiling, debugging, disassembling, or reverse
engineering of the program.  None of the proprietary program output may ever
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This documentation may NOT be modified.  The program may not be separated
from the documentation when distributed.  Printed or Photocopies (a.k.a.
"Xeroxed") copies of this documentation may not be distributed or sold
without the written permission of the author.
No other person other than the author may accept payment or royalties for
this program.
This license to use this program does NOT include the right to distribute or
sell it.
Distributors of "public domain" or user-supported software libraries must
obtain written permission to distribute copies of this program.  No one may
use this program as a promotion for any commercial venture or as an
enticement for the user to pay for any program, product, or service unless
they have received the express written permission of the program's author.
The registered version of this program is protected under international
copyright laws.   You are allowed to make backup copies of it for personal
use only, any other form of duplication is prohibited.
IMPORTANT NOTICES :
- Any use of this product, in any manner whatsoever, will increase the amount
of disorder in the universe. Although no liability is implied herein, the
consumer is Warned that this Process will ultimately lead to the heat death
of the universe.
 - The entire physical universe, including this product, may one day collapse
back into an infinitesimally small space. Should another universe subse-
quently re-emerge, the existence of this product in that universe cannot
be guaranteed.
- Some quantum physics theories suggest that when the consumer is not
directly observing this product, it may cease to exist or will exist only in
a vague and undetermined state.
   Introduction
Ever found yourself nearly breaking your joystick on an arcade game ?  Ever
wanted to hit your monitor with your keyboard because you came 3$ short in
your simulation ?  That's when the urge arises to discard any moral
restriction and just use a lowdown cheat.
There have been trainer/cheat cartridges for C64, Amiga, Sega, Nintendo and
virtually any machine on the market.  But, for Pc-compatibles there has been
nothing like it .... until now. Although this program does not support all
the features found on the cheat-hardware, it is a powerful tool for
maintaining a fast and easy to use database on cheats.
   What it does
Cheat Machine is a collection of cheats for various games, updated monthly.
Either Cheat Machine explains how to cheat in a game (by showing which keys
to press or actions to preform) or it does it automatically (by changing the
game-files on your disk).  And if everything else fails, it can create a
program to cheat on the more obstinate games. The registered version includes
a program to develop / write your own cheats.
   What it doesn't do
Cheat Machine does contain patches to alter the behavior of certain other
programs but it will never help you to remove any copyprotection.  All
patches contained in this software are perfectly legal.
However, on certain networks, we have found some patching utilities (created
using the patch-development-kit that comes with the registered version of
Cheat Machine) that bypass protection-procedures on certain games.  Since our
kit can be used for ANY kind of patches we cannot stop individuals from
making illegal use of it.  The author is in no way responsible for the effect
of any software created with the Cheat Machine-patching-kit.
   What it needs
Cheat Machines minimum system requirements are :
   IBM - compatible computer       (286+ strongly recommended)
   256Kb of RAM
   Screen                          (Color VGA recommended)
   Disk drive (write-enabled !) with about 70Kb free
   Keyboard
   DOS 3.2
The program loads all its needed information in memory at startup time, so
that when the main screen appears, you can remove the Cheat Machine disk and
replace it with your game disk.  This has proven to be very handy on single
drive systems : if you have no hard disk, you can still patch your save-
games.  Since most serious computer game-players have VGA as well as
SoundBlaster, we have included support for both.  There's a little animation
on the title screen and there are samples during the use of the program.
Should you not like this (sigh!) then you can skip the titlescreen animation
by pressing a button and you can add the parameter /NOSOUND to disable the
samples.
   How it works
When you startup CM.EXE, a scrollbox appears listing the supported games.
You can select your favorite game by using the [Up], [Down], [PgUp], [PgDn],
[Home] and [End] keys or by typing the first character of its name.  When you
have positioned the scrollbar (in inverse video) on your chosen game, hit
[Enter] to activate the "Cheat Info" -window and read the information
displayed.  The options from that window depend on the type of cheat linked
to the game you selected.
Simple text
This is the simplest form of cheat available, just read the information or
print it by pressing [P].
File patches
Read the information and activate the patch by pressing [Enter] (or abort
with [Esc]). Cheat Machine will ask you the directory where your game-files
can be found. This directory will be searched for any recognizable files. If
it finds what it is looking for, it changes those bytes that contain the info
about how much money/lives/energy/... you have. This is called a patch. The
number and names of the patched files will be listed on the screen for
verification.  All you have to do next is to start up your game as usual
(maybe restore a game) and feel the increased power.
Imbedded files / programs
These are special cheats for special games. Read the accompanying in-
structions for each specific game. Pressing [Enter] writes the file to disk.
[Esc] always cancels the current operation.
[P]   prints any cheat
 Answers to commonly asked (stupid) questions
 Q: How do I use your program, Sir ?
  A: Read this documentation.  Type CM [Enter] and see what happens.
 Q: Just what did Cheat Machine do with my files ?
  A: Nothing fancy, just a few bytes changed.
 Q: Are those patches safe to use ?  Won't it change the bytes in the wrong
  files ?  I am scared !
  A: They are as safe as they get.  Cheat Machine only looks for files in the
     directory you specified, and it compares name and size of each file
     against the values we found.  If look fast enough (or your computer is
     slow enough) you can see the names of the files being patched passing
    thru that little window, so you check it yourself. Trust us !
 Q: How come I don't get any samples like you promised ?
  A: You need a SoundBlaster or compatible card.
 Q: But I have a SoundBlaster installed !
  A: Then you probably changed the default settings on the card.
     You can change the interrupt and the base address like this :
     SET SBADR = ....(number in hex) [Enter]  (default = 220)
     SET SBINT = ....(number in hex) [Enter]  (default = 7)
     This will tell CM (and many other programs) where to find your SB.
     Beware : do this setting from Dos, not from any shell like Norton
              Commander or Pc Tools.
 Q: You <censored> <censored> !!! You messed up my game/disk/computer/life!
    How could you do that ?
  A: Well, you did that, I think.  Restore from your original disks and try
     again.  You do have the ORIGINAL disks, don't you ? Heh ?  If the
     problem persists, send us a description and we may be able to help you
     out.  By the way, don't forget to read the disclaimer at the top of this
     document.  You'll understand.
 Q: Cheat Machine promised to patch the executable of my game but then it
     "Patch failed".  What did I do wrong ?
  A: CM checks the executable for size before it patches it, so if it was
     compressed with a utility like PKLITE or DIET then CM will refuse it.
     Decompressed the game, patch it, then recompress it.  If this doesn't
     work, then you've got a other version of the game the we have.  Bad
     luck !  Report it to us.
 Q: What do I have to do with those "loaders" or "trainers" ?
  A: Those are small executables with should be started in the same directory
     as where your game resides.  They often have an accompanying .DOC file,
     so you can look there, or at the Cheat Machine comments.
 Q: Nice warez, mate.  How do you kill that darn doc-check in ........... ?
  A: That's easy : you don't ! Now buzz off and contact your local pirate !
 Q: Can I have the source code, please ?
  A: No ! Not in your life ! No way !                      (bribe us)
   Registration motivation
The unregistered version contains only "the old stuff" : i.e. cheats which we
guarantee to be more than 6 months old.  We update them when we feel like
it - which isn't very often !
No begging, please, if you want to cheat on your games while they're still
brandnew, REGISTER !.  You will get all the burning hot cheats and info a
long time before anybody else even heared about them !
We have got somebody playing the latest releases full-time, figuring  out how
to get those cheats into code !  It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do
it. (And somebody has got to pay for it, too!)
  Money for nothing, software for free
   (get the chicks yourself)
Yes, Cheat Machine can bring YOU money and other goodies :
* If you developed / discovered some new cheats of your own, or if you wrote
a walkthru for a new game, send them to us. There is a bonus for anyone who
sends in new, unknown and working information !
* Once you are registered, order a "Spreader Copy".  This is an unregistered
version of Cheat Machine which your customer number imbedded.  Next, send
this copy to friends, colleagues, BBS, user groups,.... the more the better !
 Whenever anybody registers using your spreader copy, your customer number
will be printed on the registration form as well and you will receive a
percentage of the registration fee.   Sit back and wait for the cheques
to arrive.  What a job !
The registered version contains more detailed information on this service.
   Registration
This program may only be distributed with this documentation, complete and
unchanged and it may only be used for a trial period of 30 days or 25 runs
without registration.  After this trial period, you are obligated to register
or erase it.
Registration entitles you to :
- A personalized version of the most recent version of CM
- Utilities to develop your own cheats / patches
- Hundreds of compressed Kb's of walkthru's & hints on adventure games
- Complete documentation on the above
- 3 free updates when you want them (default = monthly)
- Free phone-support
- The unregistered versions of several of our other programs
        Product                            Price (Bfr)    (US$)
          Cheat Machine for individuals          350          12
          Cheat Machine for companies          to be negotiated
          Cheat Machine monthly Update           100           4
          Cheat Machine 12 Updates !             850          30
            You must be registered before you can order updates.
            Contact your bank for payment in your local currency.
                                 J. Hertsens
                                 A Forest Software
                                 Boesmolenstr. 14
 Send all correspondence to :    B1540 Herne
                                 Belgium Europe
                                 Tel : +32-2-3962567
                                 Fax : +32-2-3960092
                                 BBL : 320-0790668-91
   Registration Form
We have gotten rid of the old "print-this-file-and-fill-it-in"-type of
registration forms.  How do yo register then ?  Simple, just type
CM /R [Enter]  (at the DOS prompt of course !);
And the program will do all the work for you.  The form will be filled in
automatically and send to whatever destination you specify.  If you have a
weird sort of printer, send the form to a file and print it later using the
appropriate utility.  Slip this form together with the check in an  envelope
and mail it.  We even added have the destination address so you can "cut-and-
paste".  That's it.
Accompanying the registered program you will find information on how to order
the updates.
Check or money order should be made payable to the author mentioned above.
And hey ! Have Fun !

Due to popular demand, finally, here's the "What's new ?" file :
(It's not all very precise because we like to code more than we
like to document)
       -------- Versions of Cheat Machine ---------
* 0.1
  Beta version, not released to general public.
* 1.0 thru 1.3
   - First real test cases
   - Contains the print-me-out form in the documentation
* 1.4 thru 1.84  (As far as we remember)
   - A lot of code improvements
   - Added ability to print any cheat, not just type "info"
   - Added VGA intro screen
   - Added "Automated registration system"
   - Removed print-me-out form in documentation
   - Added VGA-font-boxes
   - Fixed VGAReset function which caused slight changes in the font on some
     VGA's.  Sorry.  It now behaves according to IBM's specs.
   - Patching a file no longer changes it date
   - Added Help screen (does anybody use it ?)
   - Added CM.PIF for Windows users
   - Added FILE_ID.DIZ for BBS operators
   - Added 3 "ANSI" exit screens (saw a program that had 1, had to do better !)
   - Fixed error handling when trying to write on writeprotected disk
   - Improved patching routine : more flexible
   - Added /? parmeter (does anybody need it ?)
* 1.85
   - Added WHATSNEW.DOC !
   - Code improvements
   - Added some animation on intro-screen
   - Added & improved Cheat Machine kit for registered users
* 1.86
   - Added virus / tampering resistance
   - Added secret credits-screen
     Acces it by pressing .... uuuh something with [Ctrl]
   - Revised Cheat Machine kit documentation
* 1.87
   - Added support for SoundBlaste compatibles (Couldn't resist temptation)
     (Use /NOSOUND to turn off, SET SBADR= and SET SBINT=  to change defaults)
     Is it worth the extra 25Kb ?  Send us your comments.
   - Fixed bug in "fast-letter-search" algo.
   - It finally happened : the programs on the registered version grew
     so large they couldn't be zipped to a 720K diskette.  Since we now
     ship 1.44Mb's, we added some more programs.
Note :
Althoug we regulary increase the version number, this has nothing
to do with the age of the cheats.  In other words, we are as still
improving the code (the program) as well as the data (the cheats).
The version number reflects the changes in the code, the date in the
upper window of the main screen reflects the age of the cheats.  Of course,
when you recieve an update, it will contain the latest version of the
code as well as the data.  (In fact, you get the newest version of everything)
This file is hatched by :
   Because we all love to play computerGames....                 (Zone 100)
For more information, contact one of the HQ's from Games Network International
or download GAME-NFO.ARJ by your local GamesNet board.
HeadQuarter I    : Saxenheim BBS, Vierhouten (NL)
                   31-(0)5771-1035
HeadQuarter II   : TH Rijswijk BBS, Rijswijk (NL)
                   31-(0)70-3401534
                   31-(0)70-3401540  HST, -> Mail only
                   Both lines ZOOM 28K8 SOON!
HeadQuarter III  : Games Unlimited BBS, Zoetermeer (NL)
                   31-(0)79-425544   ZOOM 28K8
                   31-(0)79-428374   HST DS
Games Network International....JOIN US !!