Unlimited Mission Time

[Dragon Coder]

I made a small Cheat Engine patch for the game, it allows you to prevent the mission ending when the timer runs out.
Just load the file in cheat engine and check the "Disable Mission Timer" checkbox.
When the timer goes to zero it begins counting up, the AI still functions even after you pass the time limit.  
You can re-enable the mission timer anytime you want by unchecking the "Disable Mission Timer" in cheat engine, if the time limit already passed it will immediately end your mission.

Download Below
Cheat Engine File

[Lucky_Strike]

Can you also reverse time?

This is for PC-only I presume. Can you show a video or something of this in action? Might give folks a little more confidence that it's not going to empty their bank accounts ...

I would try it but am not at my PC and don't have a clue as to what 'Cheat engine' is as I'm an 'onest gamer guv.

[Vergeltungswaffe]

Interesting possibility, but considering that this guy joined, posted this sus link, and hasn't been back on since, I'll pass.

[Jace11]

Has anyone tried it and got it working? I imagine it's version dependent, I don't even have Normandy installed and I still haven't upgraded it to engine 4 yet. It is interesting though if someone found something like this, and I'd like to see something similar for the other titles. Infact I opened up CE and had a look. Seems genuine enough, converts a jle which is presumably related to a timer. It's probably identical in all the other titles, but the addresses will be different and finding them is difficult without a few clues what to look for.

[Artkin]

I havent tried it yet but the file is a cheat table. Interesting stuff

[womble]

Just a double note of caution: cheat generators are favourite ways of getting malware onto your computer. Be very sure this isn't a clever way of getting you to shut off your AV while you install.

Secondly, there's next to no point overrunning a game's natural end. AI plans are based on timers, so if it's a scenario, the AI won't have any orders after the "designed" finish. If it's head-to-head, you can set the game's duration for yourselves. Sure, you'll sometimes want to, for a few good reasons, but I'm dubious it's worth the risk of my first point.

[Dragon Coder]

So, as far as risk, I can assure you there is nothing harmful. 

It is very likely version dependent. My version is 4.03 (game engine 4)

In fact, you can open the file in a text editor and see the code, it does almost nothing.  It simply replaces a single assembler line which causes it to jump to mission end when timer runs out with no operation.

I did test this with a defense mission, with a short timer,  the AI continued to move and attack long after the timer ended, in scenario missions where certain actions are timed, it is correct they won't continue those after mission end, but basic AI functions still work.

I will post a video later today.

As far as reversing time. I attached an updated file that includes the elapsed time address (in milliseconds).  You can change this backwards, however if you do, you need to save and reload to prevent units from delaying their responses till the timer catches back up.  
Be sure not to check the box next to elapsed time in cheat engine, or it will pause the timer, the game engine still runs but new orders will likely never happen.

CM Normandy.CT

Edited September 12, 2022 by Dragon Coder

[Dragon Coder]

You can see the timer run out then begin counting up.

[Lucky_Strike]

Thanks for the vidjoe - nicely chaotic btw.

I have no idea what I might use this for, but I can see that some folks might have fun with it. Does it work with pbem games if both players have the cheat engine thing and your patch installed?

Question to @womble - how are time extensions handled wrt AI plans - does the scenario designer have to include extra AI plans if they make an allowance for a scenario having extra time?

[Dragon Coder]

I have not tested it, but I believe it will work in multiplayer and pbem games if both people use it.
I mostly made it because I hate the 2 hour limit on Quick Battles, the scenario editor can give you 4 which is more reasonable for large battles.

But like the video, I've had more than a few battles that ended with a suicidal charge trying to capture objectives before the timer ran out. 

That grenade thrower in the video was an absolute legend though. He ran right out in the middle of the street, threw two grenades, ran back, dodging bullets left and right, never saw him go down.  He never would have had his shot at glory without the patch, since the mission would have ended 20 seconds before his rampage.
 

[chuckdyke]

1 minute ago, Dragon Coder said:

I have not tested it, but I believe it will work in multiplayer and pbem games if both people use it.

Only time it would be applicable as it doesn't require triggers. It could have a "Quick Battle' option without having to purchase units again. 

[Jace11]

3 hours ago, Dragon Coder said:

I have not tested it, but I believe it will work in multiplayer and pbem games if both people use it.
I mostly made it because I hate the 2 hour limit on Quick Battles, the scenario editor can give you 4 which is more reasonable for large battles.

But like the video, I've had more than a few battles that ended with a suicidal charge trying to capture objectives before the timer ran out. 

That grenade thrower in the video was an absolute legend though. He ran right out in the middle of the street, threw two grenades, ran back, dodging bullets left and right, never saw him go down.  He never would have had his shot at glory without the patch, since the mission would have ended 20 seconds before his rampage.
 

Is there any chance of you releasing similar tables for the other titles? If not, could reveal how you located the code in memory, I've used cheat engine before with other titles, but with CM it's been a case of anything interesting being too difficult to find. There are very few useful strings to use as guides etc. e.g is it a countdown timer or count up? is it a 4 byte value or a floating point. 

 

As for how I would use it, well I have a couple of saved games in other titles, where I am nearly out of time, and I played these games maybe a year ago but they were great fun so I kept the saves and well, most scenario designers give you plenty of time but in these I just ran out from being a bit cautious. Just want to see how I would get on with a few more turns.

[BornGinger]

10 hours ago, Lucky_Strike said:

how are time extensions handled wrt AI plans - does the scenario designer have to include extra AI plans if they make an allowance for a scenario having extra time?

If the designer thinks that the player might want or need extra time he can choose that option. Then the designer can either make additional AI-movements up to the end of that extra time or just skip the extra movements if he thinks that they aren't necessary.

[Dragon Coder]

6 hours ago, Jace11 said:

Is there any chance of you releasing similar tables for the other titles? If not, could reveal how you located the code in memory, I've used cheat engine before with other titles, but with CM it's been a case of anything interesting being too difficult to find. There are very few useful strings to use as guides etc. e.g is it a countdown timer or count up? is it a 4 byte value or a floating point. 

I do not own any other titles currently or I would release it for all.
The timer counts up in milliseconds as a 4 byte value, that address is easy to find. The hard part is finding the assembly call that ends the mission, assembly is not the most readable language and the timer address is accessed thousands of times a second by lots of different code sections.  I spent hours tracing through assembly code to track it down, not a great deal of fun. However, I think I could find the next one much much faster with the knowledge I gained on the first. 

I will look into the other titles and perhaps purchase a couple, any specific requests?

Also, I would be willing to screen share with someone who owns another title and show them how to track it down. (Send me a PM if anyone is interested)

[Lucky_Strike]

18 hours ago, Dragon Coder said:

That grenade thrower in the video was an absolute legend though. He ran right out in the middle of the street, threw two grenades, ran back, dodging bullets left and right, never saw him go down.  He never would have had his shot at glory without the patch, since the mission would have ended 20 seconds before his rampage.

Where the Iron Crosses grow ...

8 hours ago, Dragon Coder said:

I will look into the other titles and perhaps purchase a couple, any specific requests?

Does it work on the demos? If it's not version specific that is; some, if not all the demos are not the most recent game engine.

It may well be that the same patch will work for all the current games since the engine is supposed to be unified now. Some brave soul might feel inclined to try it ...

13 hours ago, BornGinger said:

If the designer thinks that ...

Thanks for the explanation.

[Dragon Coder]

1 hour ago, Lucky_Strike said:

Does it work on the demos? If it's not version specific that is; some, if not all the demos are not the most recent game engine.

Sadly the demos won't work for the same reason you must match versions, it will only work for one compiled version.  If the executable changes at all, then the addresses are likely to change as well.

[Jace11]

Thanks for the info, I managed to find the timer for Shock Force 2, but not the jump that needs replacing with a nop etc. However, I just manipulated the timer to give myself more time instead so it's fine. Will try the other titles I have. I'm not up to date on all the patches for Red Thunder and Fortress Italy, but I am for Shock Force 2, Cold War, Final Blitzkrieg and Black Sea. You just gotta remember to x 60 x 1000 when calculating what time to set the clock back to.

 

Edit, turned out to be not that simple. Lots of movement artifacts, and weird unit behaviour. Ah well.

Edited September 14, 2022 by Jace11

[Dragon Coder]

2 hours ago, Jace11 said:

Edit, turned out to be not that simple. Lots of movement artifacts, and weird unit behaviour. Ah well.

Try saving and reloading right after updating the timer.

[Dragon Coder]

I went ahead and bought the super pack and created Disable Mission Timer Cheat Engine files for Shock Force 2, Cold War and Black Sea.

CM Shock Force 2.CT CM Black Sea.CT CM Cold War.CT