About Searching

To find the values in the game that you want to modify, you need to search for them. Initially, you may find thousands of results after a search, but using sub searches and clever thinking, you can narrow that number down to something much more manageable, such as two or even one.

MHS offers the following search types:

Some of these searches allow you to perform a Sub Search.

For details on a specific search, click one of the links above.

 

General Searching Concepts

The ultimate goal of a search is to find a single value in the game that you want to modify, however the values are often so generic that searching for them directly can return millions of results. From here, the user must find a way to eliminate as many of these values as possible to find the correct one. This is done by using sub searches, which search only through the existing list of matches created by a previous search (or sub search) and eliminates returns from the list if they do not match the specified criteria. Sub searches are repeated until either no returns are left, or until the correct result becomes obvious within the list. Finding values in your games typically means a search followed by multiple sub searches.

Highlighted are the search types available in MHS. Each of these menu items allows you to begin a new search. Starting a new search will erase all previous search results (note that simply clicking a menu item here and viewing the set-up dialog for that search will not result in the loss of any searches).

Ctrl-Shift-S will load the last search type you performed, or Data-Type Search if no searches have been performed.

To quickly start a new search, press the New Search button:

The type of search it creates depends on the last search you performed. If no previous searches were performed, it shows the Data-Type Search dialog.

The first search in a set is called the initial search.

 

Narrowing it Down-Sub Searches

After your initial search, you may end up with literally millions of returns-far too many to check one-by-one. You will recognize very quickly the need for eliminating many of the useless fake results. Sub Searches allow you to remove some of the results from a previous search if they fail to meet certain criteria.

Highlighted is the Sub Search menu item. This is not available if no initial search was performed, and some types of initial searches do not support sub searches.

 

You can also use the Sub Search button:

See Sub Search for more information.

For information on what to do after a search, see Found Addresses.

Copyright © 2006 Shawn (L. Spiro) Wilcoxen