Ep 8: Manfred Part 2: Hacking Online Video Games for Profit
Source: YouTube · Jack Rhysider · published Jan 18, 2018 · 28:03
This video details Manfred's early introduction to hacking, specifically recounting how his teenage curiosity led him to manipulate the save files of the original Sim City game using a hex editor 0:10.
Key Takeaways:
• Manfred's hacking journey began as a teenager driven by pure curiosity about how games stored data under the surface 0:14.
• Initial inspections of the save files looked like gibberish, prompting him to load the files into a hex editor to view the raw hexadecimal code 0:19.
• He used a trial-and-error approach, randomly changing numbers in the hex editor and reloading the game to observe the outcomes 0:28.
• He knew he had found the correct section of the file when his modifications successfully changed basic stats like the in-game year and the town's name 0:33.
• Persistent tweaking eventually paid off when he loaded the game and discovered he had given himself an amazing, game-breaking advantage 0:42.
This foundational experience with reverse engineering set the stage for Manfred's later explorations into game hacking covered in Part 1 of the series.
Sources:
- 0:10 Introduction to Manfred's first hack on Sim City
- 0:14 Finding and inspecting the save-game files
- 0:19 Using a hex editor to decode the gibberish
- 0:28 The trial-and-error process of changing values
- 0:33 Successfully altering the year and town name
- [0:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2tce_kQ_QE&t=4
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Transcript Preview
First 800 characters of the transcript
JACK: Real quick before we get started; this
is Part 2 of a two part series on Manfred. If you want to hear how he hacks online games
for fun, check out Part 1 first. [MUSIC] The first hack I ever did was on a game called
Sim City. It’s the original city-building game. My curious teenage self found where
the save-game files were stored and began inspecting these files. It was gibberish
as far as I could tell. I decided to load the file into a hex editor. This converts the
contents of the file to a hexadecimal format. I started changing a few numbers around. I was
just guessing and then loading the game back up to see if anything had changed. I knew I was
in the right area because I was changing things like the year and the name of the town. I kept
tweaking values and loading it ag…