Research for in-memory EXE-Patching

Started at:	June 25th 2001
Status:	Completed!
Description:	This project consisted on coming up with a way to patch EXE files in memory. This could be useful in projects that require patching that only affects the game when a special loader is run. The small WC3 KS mission editor is basically an EXE loader, with a lot of reused code from my old WC4 mission editor and a simple interface made in a few hours.
Tasks:	Research: Completed! Small WC3 loader: Completed! (evolved into the mission editor linked below)
Tools used:	Hex editor, fan tools, Visual C++
Crew:	Mario "HCl" Brito Research and programming
Recommended specs:	N/A
Screenshots:	Mission editor,
Downloads:	Simple mission editor for WC3 Kilrathi Saga
Other notes:	Well, it works for me, that's all i say. Installation of the mission editor should be very straight forward, just read the readme file. The mission editor only works with Kilrathi Saga WC3! Send feedback and bug reports here

Wing Commander Prophecy - Audio and Video format research

Started at:	July 14th 2001
Status:	Completed!
Description:	This project consisted on researching and making compressor/decompressor tools both for the audio formats used in Wing Commander Prophecy (music, comms, sound effects, etc: the algorithm is called XA) and for the video format (which is used, for example, in comms: this format will be referred to as UV2, because it's the file extension comm files use). In a first stage, i researched how these formats are coded. When the coding method was understood, decompressors and compressors were made available.
Tasks:	Audio Research: Completed! Audio Decompressor: Completed: it's able to decompress WCP MGI, XA, WVE and IFF (C XA) formats to WAV. Audio Compressor: Completed! UV2 Research: Completed! UV2 Decompressor: Completed, WCP Movie Decompressor included on the Wing Commander Movie Player Movie Tool: Completed: Although it doesn't compress to UV2 format, the FMV patch makes it possible to have fan-made FMV playing in WCSO
Tools used:	Hex editor, fan tools, Visual C++
Crew:	Mario "HCl" Brito Research and programming
Recommended specs:	N/A
Screenshots:	Bug comms (testing my uv2->tga unpacker), Testing my UV2 Linux Player, Playing WCP FMV on Linux,
Downloads:	Prophecy Audio Tool v1.0 v1.1 (latest) - Allows compressing and decompressing every type of WCP sound file. Secret Ops FMV Patch - This small patch uses an OpenDivX DLL (divx.dll, which was developed by Project Mayo) to decompress OpenDivX frames inside Secret Ops, either as FMV or comm sequences. Secret Ops FMV Tool - This console program allows conversion of OpenDivX movies to a format that Secret Ops is able to play. (Note that the FMV patch must be installed or WCSO will crash when attempting to play movies created this way) Secret Ops FMV: Patch & Tool Documentation - This documentation explains, every step of the way, how to encode a movie and play it inside Secret Ops. MGI Builder - Allows building complex MGIs, with several tunes which will be triggered during the game.
Other notes:	To compress new audio with the audio tool, you must record a WAV file in PCM format, 22khz, 16-bit. Usually it can be either mono or stereo (only the MGI format doesn't work with mono audio, due to the way WCP works). The compressor code is still a bit slow... so don't be too quick to assume that the program stopped responding. If you're compressing a relatively large WAV, be prepared to wait a bit. To encode new movies, you need a movie encoded at 15 frames per second, common screen sizes are 320x160 and 320x240 (movie dimensions must be multiple of 16). If the movie has audio (movies can be either FMV or comms) it must be coded in PCM format, 22khz, 16-bit stereo and then compressed to XA. More details can be found on the movie tool documentation. Send feedback and bug reports here