Cheat Debugger Commands — MAME Documentation 0.287 documentation

# Cheat Debugger Commands

cheatinit

  initialize the cheat search to the selected memory area

cheatrange

  add selected memory area to cheat search

cheatnext

  filter cheat candidates by comparing to previous values

cheatnextf

  filter cheat candidates by comparing to initial value

cheatlist

  show the list of cheat search matches or save them to a file

cheatundo

  undo the last cheat search (state only)

The debugger includes basic cheat search functionality, which works by saving the contents of memory, and then filtering locations according to how the values change.

We’ll demonstrate use of the cheat search functionality to make an infinite lives cheat for Raiden (`raiden`):

- Start the game with the debugger active. Allow the game to run, insert a coin, and start a game, then break into the debugger.

- Ensure the main CPU is visible, and start a search for 8-bit unsigned values using the cheatinit command:

      >cheatinit ub
      36928 cheat locations initialized for NEC V30 ':maincpu' program space

- Allow the game to run, lose a life and break into the debugger.

- Use the cheatnext command to filter locations that have decreased by 1:

      >cheatnext -,1
      12 cheats found

- Allow the game to run, lose another life, break into the debugger, and filter locations that have decreased by 1 again:

      >cheatnext -,1
      Address=0B85 Start=03 Current=01
      1 cheats found

- Use the cheatlist command to save the cheat candidate to a file:

      >cheatlist raiden-p1-lives.xml

- The file now contains an XML fragment with cheat to set the candidate location to the initial value:

      <cheat desc="Possibility 1: 00B85 (01)">
        <script state="run">
          <action>:maincpu.pb@0x00B85=0x03</action>
        </script>
      </cheat>

## cheatinit

cheatinit [[<sign>[<width>[<swap>]]],[<address>,<length>[,<space>]]]

Initialize the cheat search to writable RAM areas in the specified address space. May be abbreviated to `ci`.

The first argument specifies the data format to search for. The <sign> may be u for unsigned or s for signed, the <width> may be b for 8-bit (byte), w for 16-bit (word), d for 32-bit (double word), or q for 64-bit (quadruple word); <swap> may be s for reversed byte order. If the first argument is omitted or empty, the data format from the previous cheat search is used, or unsigned 8-bit format if this is the first cheat search.

The <address> specifies the address to start searching from, and the <length> specifies how much memory to search. If specified, writable RAM in the range <address> through <address>+<length>-1, inclusive, will be searched; otherwise, all writable RAM in the address space will be searched.

See Specifying devices and address spaces for details on specifying address spaces. If the address space is not specified, it defaults to the first address space exposed by the visible CPU.

Examples:

`cheatinit ub,0x1000,0x10`

  Initialize the cheat search for unsigned 8-bit values in addresses 0x1000-0x100f in the program space of the visible CPU.

`cheatinit sw,0x2000,0x1000,1`

  Initialize the cheat search for signed 16-bit values in addresses 0x2000-0x2fff in the program space of the second CPU in the system (zero-based index).

`cheatinit uds,0x0000,0x1000`

  Initialize the cheat search for unsigned 64-bit values with reverse byte order in addresses 0x0000-0x0fff in the program space of the visible CPU.

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## cheatrange

cheatrange <address>,<length>

Add writable RAM areas to the cheat search. May be abbreviated to `cr`. Before using this command, the cheatinit command must be used to initialize the cheat search and set the address space and data format.

The <address> specifies the address to start searching from, and the <length> specifies how much memory to search. Writable RAM in the range <address> through <address>+<length>-1, inclusive, will be added to the areas to search.

Examples:

`cheatrange 0x1000,0x10`

  Add addresses 0x1000-0x100f to the areas to search for cheats.

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## cheatnext

cheatnext <condition>[,<comparisonvalue>]

Filter candidates by comparing to the previous search values. If five or fewer candidates remain, they will be shown in the debugger console. May be abbreviated to `cn`.

Possible <condition> arguments:

`all`

  Use to update the last value without changing the current matches (the <comparisonvalue> is not used).

`equal` (`eq`)

  Without <comparisonvalue>, search for values that are equal to the previous search; with <comparisonvalue>, search for values that are equal to the <comparisonvalue>.

`notequal` (`ne`)

  Without <comparisonvalue>, search for values that are not equal to the previous search; with <comparisonvalue>, search for values that are not equal to the <comparisonvalue>.

`decrease` (`de`, `-`)

  Without <comparisonvalue>, search for values that have decreased since the previous search; with <comparisonvalue>, search for values that have decreased by the <comparisonvalue> since the previous search.

`increase` (`in`, `+`)

  Without <comparisonvalue>, search for values that have increased since the previous search; with <comparisonvalue>, search for values that have increased by the <comparisonvalue> since the previous search.

`decreaseorequal` (`deeq`)

  Search for values that have decreased or are unchanged since the previous search (the <comparisonvalue> is not used).

`increaseorequal` (`ineq`)

  Search for values that have increased or are unchanged since the previous search (the <comparisonvalue> is not used).

`smallerof` (`lt`, `<`)

  Search for values that are less than the <comparisonvalue> (the <comparisonvalue> is required).

`greaterof` (`gt`, `>`)

  Search for values that are greater than the <comparisonvalue> (the <comparisonvalue> is required).

`changedby` (`ch`, `~`)

  Search for values that have changed by the <comparisonvalue> since the previous search (the <comparisonvalue> is required).

Examples:

`cheatnext increase`

  Search for all values that have increased since the previous search.

`cheatnext decrease,1`

  Search for all values that have decreased by 1 since the previous search.

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## cheatnextf

cheatnextf <condition>[,<comparisonvalue>]

Filter candidates by comparing to the initial search values. If five or fewer candidates remain, they will be shown in the debugger console. May be abbreviated to `cn`.

Possible <condition> arguments:

`all`

  Use to update the last value without changing the current matches (the <comparisonvalue> is not used).

`equal` (`eq`)

  Without <comparisonvalue>, search for values that are equal to the initial search; with <comparisonvalue>, search for values that are equal to the <comparisonvalue>.

`notequal` (`ne`)

  Without <comparisonvalue>, search for values that are not equal to the initial search; with <comparisonvalue>, search for values that are not equal to the <comparisonvalue>.

`decrease` (`de`, `-`)

  Without <comparisonvalue>, search for values that have decreased since the initial search; with <comparisonvalue>, search for values that have decreased by the <comparisonvalue> since the initial search.

`increase` (`in`, `+`)

  Without <comparisonvalue>, search for values that have increased since the initial search; with <comparisonvalue>, search for values that have increased by the <comparisonvalue> since the initial search.

`decreaseorequal` (`deeq`)

  Search for values that have decreased or are unchanged since the initial search (the <comparisonvalue> is not used).

`increaseorequal` (`ineq`)

  Search for values that have increased or are unchanged since the initial search (the <comparisonvalue> is not used).

`smallerof` (`lt`, `<`)

  Search for values that are less than the <comparisonvalue> (the <comparisonvalue> is required).

`greaterof` (`gt`, `>`)

  Search for values that are greater than the <comparisonvalue> (the <comparisonvalue> is required).

`changedby` (`ch`, `~`)

  Search for values that have changed by the <comparisonvalue> since the initial search (the <comparisonvalue> is required).

Examples:

`cheatnextf increase`

  Search for all values that have increased since the initial search.

`cheatnextf decrease,1`

  Search for all values that have decreased by 1 since the initial search.

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## cheatlist

cheatlist [<filename>]

Without <filename>, show the current cheat matches in the debugger console; with <filename>, save the current cheat matches in basic XML format to the specified file. May be abbreviated to `cl`.

Examples:

`cheatlist`

  Show the current matches in the console.

`cheatlist cheat.xml`

  Save the current matches to the file cheat.xml in XML format.

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## cheatundo

cheatundo

Undo filtering of cheat candidates by the most recent cheatnext or cheatnextf command. Note that the previous values are not rolled back. May be abbreviated to `cu`.

Examples:

`cheatundo`

  Restore cheat candidates filtered out by the most recent cheatnext or cheatnextf command.

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