How do I make my own cheats?

[ReyVGM]

Can anyone give me detailed (and simple) instructions to find my own cheats with MAME?

I want a score modifier code for Strikers 1945 Plus, how do I start the cheat search for that?
And for Baseball Stars Professional, a cheat to select the score and the inning, how would I go around looking for that cheat?

[Gaius_4]

A typical way... (although I've never even tried to cheat the score -- but I'm sure you have your reasons and that's good enough ) ... I personally prefer the 'advanced' method over the 'classic'.

Start the game.. shoot a couple things, maybe activate an invincibility cheat if there is one, then go into the cheat menu and select 'Start a New Cheat Search' > Save Current Data, (then exit..?). *Play a just little more to increase your score. Next: go into 'Continue Cheat Search'.*

Normally I have the LHS (Left Hand Side) set at Current Data, and the RHS set at Previous Data. For the Comparison (and since you are wanting to find your score which gradually increases) have that set for Greater. Then highlight 'Do Search' and see a whole bunch of differences. Then repeat till that number of differences gradually gets lower and lower. You could probably get a game over if that resets the score then search for a Less comparison.

Or another thing you could try is get your score to a certain point, search for 'greater' if you've been searching before that for an increase, then if there's a way to reset your score (i.e. starting over) the next time you get to that exact same score - make the comparison Equal.

I can only imagine why you want to do this, and I have a good idea; so then I have to say this: Why not just take a 'snap' (F12) of the game with enough of the numbers you're wanting to have for the score, then open that in a Paint/Art program and manipulate it that way? Even the 'Show Graphics (F4) might have some numbers you're wanting to see. But I don't know if you can use F12.

Or perhaps I'm totally off on this one.

When replying to this I was thinking only of the Strikers 1945 (uh... is that a shoot'em up? )... Sport games were never my thing... and never will be. But any time you want to find the addresses that effect the score - what I told you might work. *shrugs*

[ReyVGM]

Thanks, I'll try that method.

I want the score modifier cheat because you get certain screenshots on the second loop ending that depend on the score you got

What about the Baseball Star Professional cheats? Score seletor, inning selector, jump to the last game of the tournament. Any idea how to make those?

[Gaius_4]

What about the Baseball Star Professional cheats? Score seletor, inning selector, jump to the last game of the tournament. Any idea how to make those?

You're welcome.

For the Innings I can only suggest that each time you get to a new inning search for a greater difference.

Restart and these higher numbers should go back to a lower number or '0'. Then search for a Less(er) difference.

Everytime you get a homerun and gain more points: search for anything greater.

Restart and search for any address that has a lower byte.

When you search for things that have increased - the cheat system remembers only those address which bytes/numbers INCREASED. When you start over and search for anything less it will compare the current results with anything that had changed before. Those that were equal or increased will not be included in the current search results, thus narrowing down your search for those addresses that determine the score, inning, etc.

I hope that made sense.

edit: It may be handy to have a pencil and notebook paper nearby. When you get down to a managable few lines that keep on changing, without any less results on a recent search, you can write those addresses down. After they change you can have another column and write what bytes the addresses changed to (some examples might be like) :

E0546B 00
E0546F 02
E07201 A1
E088FB 0B

After you, say, get a home-run those addresses change like this:

E0546B 00 01
E0546F 02 04
E07201 A1 A2
E088FB 0B 0F

Now if all of these addresses change we might thing that all of them are responsible for the home-run score. The next results might look like:

E0546B 00 01 02
E0546F 02 04 06
E07201 A1 A2 A3
E088FB 0B 0F 14

Probably the most logical addresses that are responsible for the score would be E0546B and E07201 since they increased by 1 hexidecimal byte each time you got a home-run.

So if you reset and look at these addresses again they may look like this:

E0546B 00 01 02 00
E07201 0B 0F 14 A0

If so: here's where you can go ahead and hit 'A' (for Add) on the E0546B address.

Then go into Add/Edit a Cheat. I'll let you figure out the rest. I've got to do something and well.... It'll be a good learning experience for ya.

Have fun.

[ReyVGM]

I wasn't able to make the cheats, any of them