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Is starstat.exe the same as starstat.c Thu, 05 November 2020 17:12 Go to next message
ricks03 is currently offline ricks03

 
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https://wiki.starsautohost.org/wiki/Starstat_%26_Starinfo has the file and links to starstat.c. I used that code years ago to build the same functionality in Perl, but my starstat.pl doesn't handle if a .m (turn) file includes more than one turn.

When I look at the starstat.c code, one thing that starstat.exe does is has the ability to detect and include the information if a .M file includes one or more turns (and display ex:
"Game Year: 2408 to 2411")

In a .M file with a single turn, the value for fMulti is set to 0 in the first Block 8.

Unlike almost everything else, if a second turn is appended, the first turn's block 8 is modified, changing the value of fMulti to 1. The second turn then has a fMulti value of 0.

Oddly, if a third turn is added (and any additional turns after that as well) to the .M file, fMulti's value is ALSO 0.
So we have a .M file contents:
block 8: Turn =8, fMulti=1
block 8: Turn =9, fMulti=0
block 8: Turn =10, fMulti=0
block 8: Turn =11, fMulti=0
etc.

As best as I can tell, starstat.exe returns the turn year from the first block, and the last block. Be a lot easier if they were all fMulti=1 but the last one so you could tell which block was the last block, but whatever.

OK, when I then look at the c code in starstat.c for that result, it's

if (rtbof.dt == dtTurn && rtbof.fMulti)
{
fseek(in, -2, SEEK_END);
fread(&w, 1, 2, in);
printf(" to %u", w + 2400);
}


which, in my completely lousy and nonexistent c skills, says:
If this is a turn(.M) file, and fMulti is true, then go to the end of the file, back up 2 bytes, read forward two bytes, add 2400 to the result and display the result.

The thing I don't understand is that the last two bytes are the two bytes of Block 0, which are decidedly not the/a year. And the last byte of block 8 is the values of Shareware, Turn Submitted, etc, so clearly not the other turn result.

Clearly I'm failing here somewhere. Can someone better in c look at that code and help me understand exactly where starstat.exe is finding the information based on the above c code?

The reason I care? Because I have code that can detect for many of the known cheats and hacks in a stars turn. However, when I'm parsing through the .M file, if the game has a lot of players, and a lot of players have stopped submitting turns, the amount of time it takes to process a file is really really long. I have the other solution of effectively reading thorugh and puzlzing out which block 8 is the LAST block 8, but I'm hoping there's a better way.


[Updated on: Thu, 05 November 2020 17:12]




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Re: Is starstat.exe the same as starstat.c Sun, 08 November 2020 11:13 Go to previous message
ricks03 is currently offline ricks03

 
Officer Cadet 1st Year
Creator of TotalHost and Stars! utilities
Created TotalHost and Stars! utilities

Messages: 222
Registered: January 2012
Location: NC
OK, to answer my own question.

The last two bytes of a turn (.m) file are the year of the turn. You can get the turn by adding the last two bytes to 2400 to get the turn. That's true for turn files that include multiple turns, and turn files that include but a single turn.

My mistake was that I was looking at Block 0 as an encrypted block, when instead block 0 is not encrypted.

The information on : https://wiki.starsautohost.org/wiki/Technical_Information should be updated to indicate that Block 0 is also unencrypted.



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