MacroQuest64

joe not to start a flame war with you, but I don't think he was asking for offsets.

Self help is the win. If someone would point me in the direction of a guide to maintain mq2 for myself, that would be splended.

He's asking for a guide. I'd assume to fix MQ from scratch, though I'm not even sure there is one *shrug* I've never looked. I'm one of the few who will admit I wouldn't be able to fix it even with a guide.

3djoker wrote:joe not to start a flame war with you, but I don't think he was asking for offsets.

Self help is the win. If someone would point me in the direction of a guide to maintain mq2 for myself, that would be splended.

He's asking for a guide. I'd assume to fix MQ from scratch, though I'm not even sure there is one *shrug* I've never looked. I'm one of the few who will admit I wouldn't be able to fix it even with a guide.

The only guide that has ever been posted here in regards to fixing MQ2 was one on finding offsets. I believe that post was nuked into oblivion because of the misconception that it created regarding offsets and fixing MQ2. Now, we have peeps asking for that guide. And the response needs to be… what the fuck for?

-j

I'm kinda starting to see your point. BTW that post you made a few posts up *thumbs up* best post I've read on here in awhile

eqjoe wrote:These devs are heavy weights... this shit is hard. Offsets where figured out 15 mins after the exe came down from SoE. The rest of this takes all the devs spare time for days.

-j

So do you need help with the offsets or not?

ISpy wrote:

eqjoe wrote:These devs are heavy weights... this shit is hard. Offsets where figured out 15 mins after the exe came down from SoE. The rest of this takes all the devs spare time for days.

-j

So do you need help with the offsets or not?

Hahaha.... no sir. Patchday got me all but 3 of all the offsets and those three took 5 mins each to figure out. A lot of us have worked hard to patch our own and are busy testing those changes now. This patch required many struct changes and because DKAA was nice enough to answer my questions regarding the class parameter modification, I am now testing a fully functioning MQ2. No way in hell I could have figured that out myself. ieatacid was all over the memory structures... good job dude. Rumor has it that Amadeus was the guy that figured out the map and UI structs. Lax will probably come in and clean up our mess and post a zip in a few days.... but its a hell of a mess so don't hold anyone to that.

-j

On a related note, with all the shit flying around about people bitching abuot peopel asking about learning how to do this "Stuff"..

What is a good way to start into the structure learning.
Not just in relation to MQ2 "fixing" but purely for interested purpose.

I'd love to just know the backend info and "how-it-works" part of memory struct finding.

A starter course if you will that once understood and applied to all sorts of programs/games can lead into understanding how to find them in everquest in regards to MQ2.

Simply put, where did YOU guys, who do indeed know how this works (DKaa, ama, joe, lax) start before you even considered making MQ2.

THAT would be worthwhile info to me..)

I highly doubt anyone is going to sit and down and really explain how to do most of what you ask (I could be wrong of course). From what I know it's a lengthy procedure all-together.

But as you may or may not know, MQ really doesn't need anymore attention, and simply, or not so simple, guides on How To do thsi and that aren't going to help keep its "popularity" down around the community.

And honestly your about the 100th person I've seen ask pretty much the same question in the past couple of days.

(Why am I posting to these almost completely pointless topics again?)

well i'm not asking for a sit down and explain..more along the lines of recommend a good book/website etc.

I'm already going to be taking some c++ classes to start but i'm sure theres specific books and programs that lean more towards this kind of reversse engineering then conventional programming classes/books would.

Well, how do you expect anyone to help unless you show them how?

If you're looking for a coder, I've got some C++ experience, but have pretty much hit a brick wall when it comes to reverse engineering.

Frank25 wrote:well i'm not asking for a sit down and explain..more along the lines of recommend a good book/website etc.

I'm already going to be taking some c++ classes to start but i'm sure theres specific books and programs that lean more towards this kind of reversse engineering then conventional programming classes/books would.

http://www.google.com

http://www.robelle.com/library/smugbook/manmonth.html

Please purchase and read the book listed above. It might explain to everybody one of the many, many reasons that even if the devs did need your help, during post-patch time is definitely not the time they need it.

If you really want to help with the development of MQ2 start by learning a whole lot of C and a whole lot of how to program. Then continue by downloading and archiving the versions of MQ2 as they come out and the versions of eqgame.exe they go with. Look at each change to MQ2 and figure out why and then figure out what changed in eqgame.exe to make it have to happen.

Once you get good at that, after a year or so. Start talking to the Devs privately. Send them the offsets after a patch. It really is simple once you understand MQ2 to the level necessary to make all of the other changes that have to take place. Fix part of MQ2 on your own and post it for comment in the VIP section.

Because the real bottom line is that trying to help anyone figure this stuff out is absolutely no guarantee that they'll be able to do any of it on their own and that makes it a waste of time to try. Sure you may find the wunderkind that after 10 minutes of explanation understands all the intricacies of MQ2 and EverQuest and can pick it up and run with it from there on but this is so statistically insignificant as to be pointless.

If you want to help the Devs right now because you want to make sure that MQ2 comes back as soon as possible send them some money. It doesn't have to be much. Whatever you can send is more than many including me have sent.

So in order of least to most important the things you should do to help MQ2 come back working as quickly as possible are:

3) Thank the Devs for their hard work.
2) Send them money.
1) Wait patiently and leave them alone.

1 and 2 are kind of a toss up, preferably do all three.

/nod

Thanks Ispy, though I was already familiar with Brooks' Law.
I'll definitely brush up on my coding in my free time, though, and leave the devs to their work until I can figure it out myself, I guess.

Another patch today so more free time.

Another patch today so more free time.

Is there a new eqgame in this or was it just server side? I've seen the patch message and it doesn't look like there were any client changes from the verbage.

eqgame was patched, prolly only change was client side handeling of intoxication, a spell change, and AA cap uppage. I wouldn't expect to heavy of struct changes from this patch.

But I could be wrong (I'm still learning offsets, structs are out of my league currently)