Reading EV Pilot Files

I was wondering where a planet's current defense forces numbers are kept in the original EV, and how to read them.
Basically, I want to know how many defense ships I have destroyed in a system, ie how much more do I still have to do. I peeked around the EV Data in ResEdit, and found the total number, and I imagine that the current number would be in the pilot file. Now when I cracked open this file, I couldn't help but notice it was written not in a manner which I could understand with my small mind.

Does anyone know how to comprehend the data in the pilot file?

Please forgive me if this has been beaten like a horse in the past, I rarely come to these boards.

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The pilot files are encrypted.

Quote

Escape Velocity Player File Specification
by Matt Burch
Revision 1 - 4/5/97
Valid for pilot files created by EV 1.0.4 or later
See EV Bible for additional information

Note: EV pilot files are encrypted with Andrew Welch's SimpleCrypt
algorithm, available
at http://www.ambrosiasw.com/XXXXXXXXXXX. The code key used to
decrypt EV 'MpďL'
resources is 0xABCD1234. (pretty imaginative eh?)

Here's the SimpleCrypt algorithm (the link above is broken):

	short 	 i;
	unsigned long	magicNum= key;
	unsigned long	*vPtr	= *resource;
	unsigned char	*bPtr;
	
	for (i=resSize / 4; i > 0; i--)
	{
  *(vPtr++)	^=magicNum;
  magicNum	+=0xDEADBEEF;
  magicNum	^=0xDEADBEEF;
	}
	magicNum^=*vPtr;
	bPtr=(unsigned char *) vPtr;
	for (i=resSize % 4; i > 0; i--)
	{
  *(bPtr++)	=magicNum >> 24;
  magicNum  <<=8;
	}

Once each resource in the pilot file is decrypted, you can look up the offsets for spob defense fleet counts:

	resource 129 (universe-settings and missions)
      struct AltPlayerFileDataStruct // 'MpďL' resource 129 in the pilot
      file - the name of this resource is the name of the player's ship
      {
      short versionInfo; // used internally
      short strictPlayFlag; // 0 = strict play off
      short stelShipCount(1500); // number of defense ships
      remaining at each planet
      short personActive(512); // flag to set each 'pers' active
      or not
      short personGrudge(512); // flag to give a 'pers' a grudge
      against the player
      short unused(64); // ignored
      short stelAnnoyance(1500); // keeps track of planets'
      propensity to overthrow your rule
      Boolean seenIntroScreen; // the player has seen the game
      intro screen
      short disasterTime(128); // time left on active disasters
      (<0 = inactive)
      short disasterStellar(128); // where each disaster is currently
      active
      short junkQty(128); // how much of each type of
      'junk' the player has aboard
      short priceFlux(2)(2); // global price fluctuations
      };

So the spob fleet counts start at byte offset 5 (the 6th byte is offset 5). Each number is two bytes long, and there are 1500 of them.

Or you can just download the (url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/vftp/dl-redirect.pl/PilotFileEditorV2.sit.hqx?path=evo/utilities&file;=PilotFileEditorV2.sit.hqx")Pilot Editor(/url).

-Vaumnou

------------------
Did you know that 63.8% of quoted statistics are made up on the spot?
"He's too late. SEE?!? THE CLIFFS OF INSANITY!!! Hurry up!"
"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. .... Radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." - Albert Einstein

(This message has been edited by Vaumnou (edited 06-13-2003).)

Quote

Originally posted by Vaumnou:
**Once each resource in the pilot file is decrypted, you can look up the offsets for spob defense fleet counts:

**

What is the funtionality of the other MpiL resources in the file?

(Edited for stupidity)

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(This message has been edited by AriosSw (edited 06-13-2003).)

The first one (128) is mostly info about your pilot (ship, outfs, escorts, missions, etc.), while the second one (129) is mostly info about the universe (i.e. defence fleets).

-Vaumnou

------------------
Did you know that 63.8% of quoted statistics are made up on the spot?
"He's too late. SEE?!? THE CLIFFS OF INSANITY!!! Hurry up!"
"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. .... Radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." - Albert Einstein

Hurm, I tried the EV Pilot editor, but that seems to only work on EVO pilot files. Also I got the EV pilot De/Encryptor, but that doesn't seem to work. Any tips?

------------------
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Download (url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/vftp/dl-redirect.pl?path=ferazel/addons&file;=Extemporaneous.sit.hqx")Extemporaneous 0.5(/url) for Ferazel's Wand. (260 kb)
Visit the new (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/emudevelopers/ferazel")Extemporaneous Website(/url).

Quote

Originally posted by Vaumnou:
**The first one (128) is mostly info about your pilot (ship, outfs, escorts, missions, etc.), while the second one (129) is mostly info about the universe (i.e. defence fleets).

-Vaumnou

**

Thanks, is a struct available for the first one?

------------------
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(url="http://"http://www.ariossoftware.com/programs/evone/")EVONE 1.0.0 - the plugin editor for EV/EVO/EVN(/url)

Emperor Ent: the decryptor performs the decryption/encryption, but you still have to interpret the hexedecimal data.

AriosSw: Go (url="http://"http://clocki.tripod.com/pilotfile-data.txt")here(/url) to get the structs.

-Vaumnou

------------------
Did you know that 63.8% of quoted statistics are made up on the spot?
"He's too late. SEE?!? THE CLIFFS OF INSANITY!!! Hurry up!"
"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. .... Radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." - Albert Einstein

I should note that Matt and Andrew changed the crypt key for Nova's pilot files. 🙂

Dave @ ATMOS

------------------
Co-creator of EV Nova

yet someone allready cracked it.

------------------
-Unreal Centipede
------------------
Need a minor plugin made? Email me! (url="http://"mailto:Unrealcentipede@yahoo.com")mailto:Unrealcentipede@yahoo.com(/url)Unrealcentipede@yahoo.com

Eh? Who?

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If it's just a game, and life is all a game, then isn't the game real life?

Look around on the nova board. I rember he posted it there.

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Found him! its seant

Quote

EVN encryption has been broken, but I'm unwilling to release the details as I don't want peoplpe to cheat. Besides, the encryption is only part of the puzzle. One must understand the file structure of the pilot file. Right now I fell confident that I know 90% of the structure; some is still a mystery.

I'm willing to cook up a modified EVN pilot to prove it's been done (for bragging rights and to prove it's been done). The trick would be for people to figure out whether the pilot was modifed through editing or plugins.

(url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/webboard/Forum9/HTML/001090.html")From Here(/url)

------------------
-Unreal Centipede
------------------
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Quote

Originally posted by pipeline:
**I should note that Matt and Andrew changed the crypt key for Nova's pilot files.:)

Dave @ ATMOS**

You mean that it's different from the EV/EVO key, or that 1.0.6 uses a different key than 1.0.5? If the latter, can it still read vers. <= 1.0.5 pilots?

SimpleCrypt keys are easy to break, you know. REALLY easy. Especially when you know or can guess the underlying data.

-Vaumnou

------------------
Did you know that 63.8% of quoted statistics are made up on the spot?
"He's too late. SEE?!? THE CLIFFS OF INSANITY!!! Hurry up!"
"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. .... Radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." - Albert Einstein

Quote

Originally posted by Vaumnou:
**SimpleCrypt keys are easy to break, you know. REALLY easy. Especially when you know or can guess the underlying data.

**

One could logically make that assumption based on the name.

The encryption in EV/EVO/Nova pilot files is very basic simply because its only purpose is to make it slightly difficult to modify pilot files.

mcb

------------------
"If it's not on fire, it's a software problem."

How does one know if the de-crypter has worked? The text looks very similar to how it did before. I am vaguely familiar with EV files, and this seems to lack the normal sense of a file. After de-crypting the second column had some of this in it:

ABA712345C336728E5CC90541D9FF1AD2A860E77D79E739068E58C909939F56EA9490A945957774CE6AE88

And the third column a bit of this:

´ß43g(ÂĂęT üŇ*ÜwűsęhÂĺęô9nŠI
îYWwLĘĆŕ–ˇ,$3̋r{ ečáöęŻĎßĎ ;Xv–ËDăRKŮĆ)•
W÷Ęrĺk?číó|oŽőYőnLĘÍě5Ď5'Nˆ€VjdŠń

These clippings don't seem to make much sense, did the de-cryptor really work? It seemed to go quite fast when I ran it on my computer, so I am suspicious. Thanks for all the help.

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Quote

Originally posted by Emperor Ent:
< snip>

It looks like that was originally an EVO pilot, but you used the EVC decryptor, or visa versa. EVC and EVO used the same key, but had different resource types (Mpďl/Opďl), so the decryptor won't decrypt the wrong pilot type at all.

-Vaumnou

------------------
Did you know that 63.8% of quoted statistics are made up on the spot?
"He's too late. SEE?!? THE CLIFFS OF INSANITY!!! Hurry up!"
"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. .... Radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." - Albert Einstein

(This message has been edited by Vaumnou (edited 06-17-2003).)

Quote

Originally posted by Emperor Ent:
**How does one know if the de-crypter has worked? The text looks very similar to how it did before. I am vaguely familiar with EV files, and this seems to lack the normal sense of a file. After de-crypting the second column had some of this in it:

ABA712345C336728E5CC90541D9FF1AD2A860E77D79E739068E58C909939F56EA9490A945957774CE6AE88

**

It looks like it didn't decrypt it (though I can't be sure). Once it does decrypt it, remember the data is going to be in hexidecimal form.

-STH

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"Create enigmas, not explanations." -Robert Smithson

Quote

Originally posted by seant:
**It looks like it didn't decrypt it (though I can't be sure). Once it does decrypt it, remember the data is going to be in hexidecimal form.

-STH**

Notice the first four bytes look suspiciously like "ABCD1234", the EV/O encryption key. B.T.W., Emperor Ent, you appear to be flying a Shuttlecraft, and you appear to be landed on Liberty Station. Am I right?

-Vaumnou

------------------
Did you know that 63.8% of quoted statistics are made up on the spot?
"He's too late. SEE?!? THE CLIFFS OF INSANITY!!! Hurry up!"
"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. .... Radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." - Albert Einstein