CNC Generals

How to catch maphackers with Photoshop

Table Of Contents

# Introduction
# Requirements
# The steps
# Comments
# Problems


Introduction

This Guide will help you to catch maphackers with Photoshop, it's not easy, but it helps a lot and will help in cases, where you are not 100% sure - also known as borderline cases. It could be maphack or not, it's hard to judge from screenshots only.

Requirements

You need at least 10 minutes spare time. It seems to be easy, but the most important part is the re-enactment. You will need experience for it and better test something twice than to come to the conclusion that it was maphack and it wasn't maphack. A poor re-enactment will destroy the purpose of doing this whole stuff. You also need some basic knowledge of Photoshop, I can't teach you everything you have to know in this Guide. It's very simple - at least from my point of view after some 4+ years working with Photoshop.

The steps

• Download the Replay and watch it, don't speed your Replay up and make sure nothing distracts you.
• As soon as the dodgy move comes closer, spam Screenshots. It's better to do 10 Screenshots of which you only need 1, than to be forced to watch a Replay twice.Make a Screenshot at the second of the lock on, if possible!

The next question after you made the Screenshots and picked the best one out: What happened?

1. Which unit could have revealed something? Tankhunters, lotus and chinooks have a huge range, they are your primary "victims".
2. Did at least 7 seconds pass, so that the Fog of War definitely regenerated?
3. Was there a drone or a scan? Was it possible to boxtrick the unit?
4. Was the move predictable?
5. If there was a lock on, make sure that the unit was not a mig, a terrorist or a terrorcar - they automatically lock on under Fog when put on guard mode.
6. Was guard mode used?

There are several other things to think about. Keep that in mind.

An example:



I saw that the two tankhunters were the closest units, the gatlings range was not big enough. I also had a look at the Radar, no other units were close.

• I started my Re-enactment, load Generals, start a Skirmish game without an opponent and place units in the area. Go for the Radar upgrade and don't sell your Command centre!
• Open the Screenshot you made and zoom in. Which points are eye catching?
• Go to Generals and search for them. Also, zoom in in Generals as well as that makes it easier. Yes, it's a pixel work and it's hard to do that, but it will make it more accurate. Accuracy is very important.

I marked the eye catching points, keep in mind that Generals is an eye catcher. It means that shadows are moving over the map and they won't be at the same place in your Screenshot and in the Re-Enactment. Stones, Grass, and so on, are what you want to look for.

I placed my units at the same places as in the Replay.



It's not possible to do that 100% accurate, but it will be 98% - 99% accurate. There's always something you forgot. Make a Screenshot of that Re-enactment. You now have two Screenshots, one of the Re-enactment and one of the Replay at the point where he locked on. I think that I made a small mistake for tankhunter #2, but I was in a rush (as I had to write this guide). I have already dealt with this case, so it's not important here.

• Convert the Screenshots with Paint from .BMP to .JPEG - you will lose some quality, but it does not matter that much here.
• Start Photoshop and load one of these two Screenshots. Zoom in and select the small radar window. Then press "Ctrl + C" to copy it

• You see me selecting it. Now go to "New" -> "New Document" (or similar) and Photoshop will propose a new size. It's the size of your selection, so just press "Ok" and press "Ctrl + P" to paste your selection.
• Now do the same with the other Radar window!

This is Photoshop proposing a new size. Ignore the German gibberish.

• Create a new Layer and copy the other Radar picture in it.

• Make sure that the Layer with the radar of your Re-enactment is at the top!
• Now set the opacity of the top Layer to something under 80%, I used 77% here.

• You now can see a combination of what he could have seen in the middle in the Replay and what you could see in the Re-Enactment. The middle is important - and you see, it was a lock on under Fog.

Now you want to be sure that your Re-Enactment was accurate. You can do it together with the steps above!

• Create a new document, 1000 x 1000 pixel.
• Paste each Radar picture on a new layer
• Put them next to each other

• Create a new Layer and draw a line below each tankhunter. You will now see if your test was accurate - the tankhunter in your Re-Enactment should be on the line, together with the tankhunter of the Replay. You can see that I was right, my tankhunter 1 was not accurate, the other one was.

• Merge these layers, select them (ctrl + left click on the layer), create a new document and it will automatically have the size of your two radar Screens

Comments

As you can see, everything has to be correct in this whole Re-enactment. You will have to test it a few times and redo it whenever something went wrong. My Re-enactment would not have been allowed to be posted - it was not accurate enough. I was in a rush and also had some other problems (I have about 30 screenshots in my folder, all of this tutorial), but it should not happen to you!

Problems

If you don't know how to use anything in Photoshop - don't do this!
If you think that this is a waste of time - don't do this!
For clear lock ons all over the map - no need to do this!
If you just can't do Re-enactments properly - don't do this!
"Accuracy? It's for noobs!" - don't do this!

This post has been edited by -ToM-: Dec 31 2006, 12:32 PM

I will leave it here for a day and then move it to the Maphack Accusation Forum. Just to show how I do it and that you can do it as well - some motivation, 10 minutes spare time and some PS knowledge is required, though.

-E- The 100% accurate version can be found here - I had to redo the Re-Enactment and was in a rush.

This post has been edited by Cypher: Oct 3 2006, 08:13 AM

yeap, thats second best anti mh after aceton

very nice post cypher. i personally didnt know how 2 use photoshop but this will help me for sure

ah yes wondered how this was done


bravo

Well written post Cypher!

ummmmm............a couple things
1st of all u should get bitched out 4 double posting, remember how u yelled @ me 4 it about 5 times now? no disrespect just making a very good point. If people up as high as u r allowed 2 2x/3x post then i say sr ynow i didnt know. but just seems unfair 2me.

& about the MH..........

sometimes when i am fighting i make a unit walk 2 where i think he has something(exp. say TD 1v1 UvC i make 4 MD's right @ start, 1st goes i rally 2 walk towards his base. so while im making the other 3 & making supply & sending the 2nd dozer down the left flank to his oil, I also have 1 md walking striaght down the middle @ nothing but there is case. And i watch him closely as he gets closer i make sure 2 stay on him & when something comes in range that he can kill i "lock on"--as u call it-- with LL. so it may appear that i knew that his dozer, BM, or supply truck--wat have u--was there. but i didnt i just sent him there bcuz some china players take middle @ start 4 a good base 4 WF & rax rushing HQ's aka Gat/TH. now i have done this many times & killed their dozers, so they are left with 1 & feel they must make CC again asap--using 2k, which helps me plenty @ start-- & everytime i do this i get accused of MHing, but tbh i dont even know how 2 do that shit--& never want 2, mainly bcuz i b tempted 2 use it 2 honestly--. 1 guy said in quote "U fucking asshole I havent played a fair nonMH game in a long time, thkx a lot!" & i responded well dude this is your 1st in a while then..." & he is like nice try u fucking MHer no way u got that dozer so well less u had radar 2 c he was there & i c u sold you cc so u must MH)

is it possible that many other people do that 2 & u people who Accuse others of MHing r just pissed they got u or that u lost or something? Or am i talking about something comepletely diff.

Now in my average career in ZH & Gen i have felt many times(as a nub) that i was being cheated in some way or another, mainly by china players. Bcuz of their ability 2 get so many units fast & how fast i always died, but as i have played china now quite a bit & have gotten considerably more skilled @ the game i now know that it was SKILL that killed me & not cheats............

now if i get a warn 4 this or yelled @ i dont care its just "imo" & i am up 2 learn new things about CnC G/ZH all the time


now that i have gotten better @ both i havent 1 time accused 1 person of cheating(minus dam obvious ScudBuggers!) & i know if i lose its bcuz of lack of awareness/smarts/skill on my part that gives it up 4 me. & i hope many of u other people out there will come 2 grips with that fact 2..................................PLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEASE

anyways nice talking 2 u Cypher..! i liked PMing with u yesterday, made me feel important talking with a guy as high up as u man, very groovy


& 2 the rest of u peps...............................................................C U ON THE BATTLE FIELD!!!!!!! & HAPPY HUNTING!!

I'm no exception of any rules here, don't worry. The only difference: I wrote that guide twice yesterday and moved one of them here today. Look at when I made this thread, it was yesterday. I put it in the right order, I don't do that for a post count or anything, in fact I don't care about my post count.



Yes, many players use it as an excuse as they can't accept that they lost. It always makes you feel better about a lose if you think that your opponent had an unfair advantage. About the situation you mentioned, I have a big experience, I know that some moves are always lucky, there's always luck and experience involved.



I'm nothing special. Feel free to ask me when you have questions, I don't mind.

This post was not really a part of the guide.


The double post of him was noting to worry about. He wrote a big guide. Just for a better overview he made a new post cause like I said, it wasn`t part of the guide. It`s a big difference.

cool Cyp man, didnt know thats y people freak out about 2x/3x/4x posting, bcuz of the dam "post count"?...............kind of silly

its like the records online

they dont mean much people dont take them seriously

& so far eveytime i have 2x/3x posted it was bcuz i didnt know u could edit & sometimes my PC wont show that i put a post there b4, so when i make a new 1, the fucker i put there b4 comes back & im like qoute "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMM IT!", o well lol

im sure ill take u up on that offer 2 talk some more



& btw u r a very moddest person Cypher, every1 on this site knows u & as i can c u r everywhere(u always find my "offensive" posts & yell @ me, wp m8 ) & u should realise u do s lot bcuz if u didnt notice every1 else does & they love ya 4it as do i.

& do u even play anymore? i never see u on any games

CnC g/zh
BFME1/2
any of them?

& i think that MHing happens a whole lot less then people want 2 admit & losing fair & square happens a whole lot more them people want 2 admit also, but thats imo btw.

I cant get photoshop working lol

steel. shut the hell up.

Where i can get a free photoshop?

well u cant get a free full photoshop unless u pirate it but if u go to adobe website there is a demo version i believe...

i have adobe reader, is it diff? can i use Paint of windows XP for substitute?

GJ Cypher


nope adobe acrobat reader is only for PDF´s. u need photoshop maybe it could be done with photoshop elements not sure whats included in elements.

and u can´t do that with paint i think (i never use it only for converting bmp to jpeg)

This post has been edited by pApA^LeGBa: Oct 8 2006, 13:26 PM

can i do this with the windows photoshop?

Sorry, didn't see this earlier. Umm, are you sure that you aren't talking about paint? Photoshop is a mighty 2D editing program, whilst paint isn't really..

no its not paint lol

nice job ^^