Table of Contents for
Gaming Hacks

Version ebook / Retour

Cover image for bash Cookbook, 2nd Edition Gaming Hacks by Simon Carless Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2004
  1. Cover
  2. Gaming Hacks
  3. Credits
  4. Contributors
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Foreword
  7. Preface
  8. How to Use This Book
  9. How This Book Is Organized
  10. Conventions Used in This Book
  11. Using Code Examples
  12. Comments and Questions
  13. Got a Hack?
  14. 1. Playing Classic Games
  15. Legal Emulation
  16. Play Commodore 64 Games Without the C-64
  17. Play Atari ROMs Without the Atari
  18. Use Atari Paddles with Your PC
  19. Run Homebrew Games on the Atari 2600
  20. Create Your Own Atari 2600 Homebrew Games
  21. Play Classic PC Graphic Adventures
  22. Play Old Games Through DOSBox
  23. Play Reissued All-in-One Joystick Games
  24. Play Arcade Games Without the Arcade
  25. Add and Manipulate a MAME Frontend
  26. Keep Your ROMs Tidy and Organized
  27. Learn Game-Specific MAME Controls
  28. Filter Inappropriate MAME ROMs
  29. Autoboot into MAME Heaven
  30. Play Emulated Arcade Games Online
  31. Play Classic Pinball Without the Table
  32. Emulate the SNES on the Dreamcast
  33. 2. Playing Portably
  34. Play Games on Your iPod
  35. Mod Your Game Boy
  36. Take and Print Photos with Your Game Boy
  37. Compose Music on Your Game Boy
  38. Explore the GP32 Handheld Gaming System
  39. Take Your Console with You
  40. Explore the Bandai WonderSwan
  41. Play Real Games on Your PDA
  42. Install a PlayStation 2 in Your Car
  43. 3. Playing Well with Others
  44. Practice Proper MMORPG Etiquette
  45. Understand MMORPG Lingo
  46. Grind Without Going Crazy
  47. Make a Profit in Vana’diel
  48. Write MMORPG Macros
  49. Build an Effective Group
  50. Catch Half-Life FPS Cheaters Redhanded
  51. 4. Playing with Hardware
  52. Build a Quiet, Killer Gaming Rig
  53. Find and Configure the Best FPS Peripherals
  54. Adapt Old Video Game Controllers to the PC
  55. Choose the Right Audio/Video Receiver
  56. Place Your Speakers Properly
  57. Connect Your Console to Your Home Theater
  58. Tune Console Video Output
  59. Tune Your TV for Console Video
  60. PC Audio Hacking
  61. Optimize PC Video Performance
  62. Build a Dedicated Multimedia PC
  63. Use a Multimedia Projector for Gaming
  64. 5. Playing with Console and Arcade Hardware
  65. Play LAN-Only Console Games Online
  66. Hack the Nuon DVD Player/Gaming System
  67. Play Import Games on American Consoles
  68. Find a Hackable Dreamcast
  69. Play Movies and Music on Your Dreamcast
  70. Hack the Dreamcast Visual Memory Unit
  71. Unblur Your Dreamcast Video
  72. Use Your Dreamcast Online
  73. Host Dreamcast Games Online
  74. Burn Dreamcast-Compatible Discs on Your PC
  75. Burn Dreamcast Homebrew Discs
  76. Buy Your Own Arcade Hardware
  77. Configure Your Arcade Controls, Connectors, and Cartridges
  78. Reorient and Align Your Arcade Monitor
  79. Buy Cart-Based JAMMA Boards
  80. Programming Music for the Nintendo Entertainment System
  81. 6. Playing Around the Game Engine
  82. Explore Machinima
  83. Choose a Machinima Engine
  84. Film Your First Machinima Movie
  85. Improve Your Camera Control
  86. Record Game Footage to Video
  87. Speedrun Your Way Through Metroid Prime
  88. Sequence-Break Quake
  89. Run Classic Game ROM Translations
  90. Change Games with ROM Hacks
  91. Apply ROM Hacks and Patches
  92. Create PS2 Cheat Codes
  93. Hack Xbox Game Saves
  94. Cheat on Other Consoles
  95. Modify PC Game Saves and Settings
  96. Buff Your Saved Characters
  97. Create Console Game Levels
  98. 7. Playing Your Own Games
  99. Adventure Game Studio Editing Tips
  100. Create and Play Pinball Tables
  101. Put Your Face in DOOM
  102. Create a Vehicle Model for Unreal Tournament 2004
  103. Add a Vehicle to Unreal Tournament 2004
  104. Modify the Behavior of a UT2004 Model
  105. Download, Compile, and Create an Inform Adventure
  106. Decorate Your IF Rooms
  107. Add Puzzles to Your IF Games
  108. Add Nonplayer Characters to IF Adventures
  109. Make Your IF NPCs Move
  110. Make Your IF NPCs Talk
  111. Create Your Own Animations
  112. Add Interactivity to Your Animations
  113. Write a Game in an Afternoon
  114. 8. Playing Everything Else
  115. Tweak Your Tactics for FPS Glory
  116. Beat Any Shoot-Em-Up
  117. Drive a Physics-Crazed Motorcycle
  118. Play Japanese Games Without Speaking Japanese
  119. Back Up, Modify, and Restore PlayStation Saved Games
  120. Access Your Console’s Memory Card Offline
  121. Overclock Your Console
  122. Index
  123. Colophon

PC Audio Hacking

Trade flimsy computer speakers for an atmospheric surround sound stereo experience.

One of the best weapons in the elite gamer’s arsenal is a killer audio system. With the advanced audio performance in today’s games, you will often hear your enemies well before you can see them. Our amazing ears and brains can sense distance, location, direction, and environment from audio information cues. Unless you have eyes in the back of your head or another monitor behind you, gaming with a surround sound system is the best way to check straight behind you. If you want this kind of advantage, you must invest in a high-end sound card and surround speakers.

For PC gamers, surround sound is a bit different from standard console audio fare. Most modern games use DirectX’s Direct3D audio standard. Direct3D simulates 3D environments better than Dolby Digital (http://www.dolby.com/) can. This format supports everything from two speakers all the way up to 7.1 and 8.1 systems, as long as the software renders audio to that many speakers.

Connecting a computer surround speaker package is straightforward because the speaker set usually includes connection cables. Be sure to follow the guidelines for speaker set up and positioning in [Hack #39] .

Some high-end speaker packages from Logitech (http://www.logitech.com/), Creative Labs (http://www.creativelabs.com/), and Klipsch (http://www.klipsch.com/) have started to include onboard Dolby Digital decoders as well, allowing them to function as limited-use A/V receivers. In addition to the analog inputs, they have up to three separate digital inputs. If you connect your PC to the analog input, you can save the digital inputs for a DVD player or game consoles.

The Meaninglessness of Computer Speaker Power Ratings

If you need even more versatility, an alternate setup is to attach your computer to a home theater A/V receiver and use conventional, nonpowered speakers. This approach provides a great advance over most low-fidelity computer speaker systems. Computer speakers are not subject to the same regulations regarding how they specify amplification power.

In a standard A/V receiver, the manufacturer must specify wattage using the RMS method; the given rating represents the power that the amplifier produces when it drives all channels simultaneously. In contrast, computer speaker ratings show the peak capacity of a single channel. The reason that manufacturers can get away with this is because the amplifier is mounted outboard (usually inside the subwoofer), and is therefore not subject to the same Federal Communications Commission regulations. Obviously, the RMS method is a much fairer representation of an amplifier’s actual power and renders self-powered computer speaker ratings virtually meaningless by comparison.

Because using a personal computer as the center of a home entertainment system is fairly new, PC speakers have remained quite pedestrian and substandard. With the growing popularity of the home theater PC, a few notable exceptions have started to raise the bar. This bar is still low, though; the high end tops out at about $500 for an all-in-one package consisting of five speakers, a subwoofer, an amplifier, and a surround decoder in a single set. This is just a starting point in the realm of a serious set of home theater speakers capable of producing realistic volume levels in a large room. Therein lies the major difference. Computer speakers assume that the listener is right there, so they perform with a near-field environment in mind. Whether you have gone beyond the confines of a small office into a larger room or simply want a high-end experience, it may be time to graduate to an actual home-theater-grade setup for your computer system.

Your ideal setup will probably fall into one of two scenarios: connecting to an existing system or building a dedicated multimedia PC ( [Hack #45] ).

Connecting to an Existing Home Theater

You will need a long cable (or set of cables) to connect your gaming rig to your home theater. Depending on your sound card, you will need a specific cable that connects the two systems. Most SoundBlaster cards require a set of 1/8-inch headphone-jack-to-RCA cables for every two channels you would like to bring over. If you have a 5.1 Dolby Digital receiver, you will need three cables for your six-channel system. If you have a Pro Logic system, you will need just one set of these cables. Your Pro Logic receiver provides surround sound using its own processor.

Most modern A/V receivers today have a six-channel input specifically for SACD and DVD-Audio players. For the most part, these go unused. I recommend connecting the six RCA connectors from the computer here. You can also still play DVD-Audio discs with the Audigy 2 and newer cards from your computer’s DVD tray.

Be careful to connect the channels correctly. There are usually very small printed indicators on the back of the card itself, but it may be easier to read the card’s instructions instead. Use the card’s audio software to produce a test tone to confirm the connections and balance your speaker levels. Once you’ve connected everything, you can control your volume with the receiver in the same room, making things a bit easier to manage.

Advanced SoundBlaster cards with outboard connection units (the Platinum and Platinum eX models) contain both Toslink and coaxial digital connections on the front panel. The M-Audio Revolution card (http://www.m-audio.com/) has a coaxial digital output directly on the back of the card. Using a digital connection to connect to your receiver saves you having to buy two or three analog cables. Instead, you’ll connect with just a single line. However, digital cables tend to be more expensive, so weigh the cost carefully. If your run is short, it is a good idea to go digital. Otherwise, do the math to see which method makes more sense. The biggest benefit of a digital connection is that you can keep your analog connection to the computer’s speaker system for gaming and switch your receiver to the digital connection for normal audio without removing and replacing wires every time.

Any of these methods will give you a taste of multiroom audio with access to your entire music collection from the comfort of your couch. Provided you have made the video connection ( [Hack #44] ), you can enjoy your archived movies there as well.

Hacking an Older Pro Logic Receiver

If you have an older Pro Logic receiver, you may not have six-channel input. Instead, you may have a set of pre-inputs on at least two channels that will allow you to bypass the processor on the receiver, giving you full Dolby Digital performance if you send it the right signals. If you have a Dolby Digital sound card in your computer and three sets of analog RCA cables, plug them into your receiver as pre-inputs. You will have to control the volume from the computer side, however, because this method totally bypasses the receiver’s preamplification. There are a lot of great older receivers out there configured this way. They’re often inexpensive because they lack the most current Dolby Digital circuitry.

When shopping around for this sort of amp, look on the back of the unit for jumpers, those little metal shunts that connect two sets of RCA jacks on the back panel. A Pre-Input section was a high-end feature years ago, but with newer formats, these older but powerful receivers have lost most of their value. Additionally, these receivers also had great features such as learning remotes and heavy-duty amplifier sections. Combining the brains of your computer with the brawn of these receivers is a great way to give these fine components a new lease on life and treat yourself to an inexpensive but powerful audio system.