// tools/loading_tip_patcher/src/main.cpp // EU4 1.37.5 loading-screen cycle-rate patcher. // // Repoints the two `movsd xmm1,[8.0]` instructions in sub_14081AF10 // (loading-screen timer setup) to a code cave holding the user's interval. // Only the loading-screen timer is affected; 9 other 8.0 sites are untouched. // // Build (MinGW-w64 GCC): // x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc -O2 -Wall -static -o bin/loading_tip_patcher.exe src/main.cpp -lbcrypt -lkernel32 -lpsapi // // Usage: // loading_tip_patcher.exe --apply patch running eu4.exe // loading_tip_patcher.exe --revert restore original bytes // loading_tip_patcher.exe --status show state.json // // config.json (REQUIRED for --apply): { "tip_interval_seconds": 30 } #include #include #include #include #include #include #include #include #include // ---- Patch sites (preferred-base VMAs; ASLR-adjusted at runtime) ---- static const uint64_t PREFERRED_BASE = 0x140000000ULL; static const uint64_t CAVE_VMA = 0x14081DE66ULL; // 10 bytes of 0xCC; use first 8 static const uint64_t SITE1_MOVSD_VMA = 0x14081D83AULL; // movsd xmm1,[8.0] (disp32 at +4) static const uint64_t SITE2_MOVSD_VMA = 0x14081D943ULL; // movsd xmm1,[8.0] (disp32 at +4) static const uint8_t SITE1_ORIG[4] = { 0x26, 0x3F, 0x5A, 0x01 }; static const uint8_t SITE1_NEW[4] = { 0x24, 0x06, 0x00, 0x00 }; static const uint8_t SITE2_ORIG[4] = { 0x1D, 0x3E, 0x5A, 0x01 }; static const uint8_t SITE2_NEW[4] = { 0x1B, 0x05, 0x00, 0x00 }; static const wchar_t* EU4_EXE_W = L"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\Europa Universalis IV\\eu4.exe"; static const char* EU4_EXE = "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\Europa Universalis IV\\eu4.exe"; // ---- helpers ---- static int json_get_double(const char* path, const char* key, double* out) { FILE* fp = fopen(path, "rb"); if (!fp) return -1; fseek(fp, 0, SEEK_END); long sz = ftell(fp); fseek(fp, 0, SEEK_SET); char* buf = (char*)malloc(sz + 1); if (!buf) { fclose(fp); return -1; } fread(buf, 1, sz, fp); buf[sz] = '\0'; fclose(fp); char needle[64]; snprintf(needle, sizeof(needle), "\"%s\"", key); char* p = strstr(buf, needle); if (!p) { free(buf); return -2; } p = strchr(p, ':'); if (!p) { free(buf); return -2; } p++; while (*p==' '||*p=='\t'||*p=='\n'||*p=='\r') p++; *out = strtod(p, NULL); free(buf); return 0; } static int sha256_file(const wchar_t* path, uint8_t out[32]) { BCRYPT_ALG_HANDLE hAlg=NULL; BCRYPT_HASH_HANDLE hHash=NULL; PUCHAR hObj=NULL; HANDLE hF=INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE; int rc=-1; if (!BCRYPT_SUCCESS(BCryptOpenAlgorithmProvider(&hAlg,BCRYPT_SHA256_ALGORITHM,NULL,0)))return -1; DWORD sz=0,rs=0; BCryptGetProperty(hAlg,BCRYPT_OBJECT_LENGTH,(PUCHAR)&sz,sizeof(sz),&rs,0); hObj=(PUCHAR)HeapAlloc(GetProcessHeap(),0,sz); if(!hObj)goto d; if(!BCRYPT_SUCCESS(BCryptCreateHash(hAlg,&hHash,hObj,sz,NULL,0,0)))goto d; hF=CreateFileW(path,GENERIC_READ,FILE_SHARE_READ,NULL,OPEN_EXISTING,0,NULL); if(hF==INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)goto d; {BYTE b[1<<16];DWORD n; while(ReadFile(hF,b,sizeof(b),&n,NULL)&&n>0) if(!BCRYPT_SUCCESS(BCryptHashData(hHash,b,n,0)))goto d;} if(!BCRYPT_SUCCESS(BCryptFinishHash(hHash,out,32,0)))goto d; rc=0; d: if(hF!=INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)CloseHandle(hF); if(hHash)BCryptDestroyHash(hHash); if(hObj)HeapFree(GetProcessHeap(),0,hObj); if(hAlg)BCryptCloseAlgorithmProvider(hAlg,0); return rc; } static void to_hex(const uint8_t h[32], char o[65]) { static const char*H="0123456789abcdef"; for(int i=0;i<32;i++){o[i*2]=H[h[i]>>4];o[i*2+1]=H[h[i]&0xf];} o[64]='\0'; } static DWORD find_pid(const wchar_t* name) { HANDLE s=CreateToolhelp32Snapshot(TH32CS_SNAPPROCESS,0); if(s==INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)return 0; PROCESSENTRY32W pe; memset(&pe,0,sizeof(pe)); pe.dwSize=sizeof(pe); DWORD pid=0; if(Process32FirstW(s,&pe)) do{ if(_wcsicmp(pe.szExeFile,name)==0){pid=pe.th32ProcessID;break;} }while(Process32NextW(s,&pe)); CloseHandle(s); return pid; } static uint64_t mod_base(HANDLE hP) { HMODULE m[16]; DWORD need=0; if(!EnumProcessModules(hP,m,sizeof(m),&need))return 0; MODULEINFO mi; memset(&mi,0,sizeof(mi)); GetModuleInformation(hP,m[0],&mi,sizeof(mi)); return (uint64_t)(uintptr_t)mi.lpBaseOfDll; } static BOOL rd(HANDLE hP,uint64_t vma,void*dst,size_t n){ SIZE_T g=0; return ReadProcessMemory(hP,(LPCVOID)(uintptr_t)vma,dst,n,&g)&&g==n; } static BOOL wr(HANDLE hP,uint64_t vma,const void*src,size_t n){ DWORD old=0; if(!VirtualProtectEx(hP,(LPVOID)(uintptr_t)vma,n,PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE,&old))return FALSE; SIZE_T w=0; BOOL ok=WriteProcessMemory(hP,(LPVOID)(uintptr_t)vma,src,n,&w)&&w==n; VirtualProtectEx(hP,(LPVOID)(uintptr_t)vma,n,old,&old); return ok; } // ---- state.json ---- static void path_next_to_exe(char* dst, size_t dstsz, const char* fname) { GetModuleFileNameA(NULL, dst, (DWORD)dstsz); char* p = strrchr(dst, '\\'); if (p) *(p+1)='\0'; else dst[0]='\0'; StringCchCatA(dst, dstsz, fname); } static void write_state(const char* path, const char* sha, const uint8_t co[8], const uint8_t s1[4], const uint8_t s2[4], double interval) { FILE* f=fopen(path,"w"); if(!f)return; fprintf(f,"{\n \"eu4_sha256\":\"%s\",\n \"tip_interval_seconds\":%.6f,\n",sha,interval); fprintf(f," \"cave_original\":[%d",co[0]); for(int i=1;i<8;i++)fprintf(f,",%d",co[i]); fprintf(f,"],\n"); fprintf(f," \"site1_original\":[%d",s1[0]); for(int i=1;i<4;i++)fprintf(f,",%d",s1[i]); fprintf(f,"],\n"); fprintf(f," \"site2_original\":[%d",s2[0]); for(int i=1;i<4;i++)fprintf(f,",%d",s2[i]); fprintf(f,"]\n}\n"); fclose(f); } // ---- modes ---- static int do_apply(void) { char cpath[MAX_PATH], spath[MAX_PATH]; path_next_to_exe(cpath, sizeof(cpath), "config.json"); path_next_to_exe(spath, sizeof(spath), "state.json"); double interval = 0.0; int rc = json_get_double(cpath, "tip_interval_seconds", &interval); if (rc != 0 || interval <= 0.0) { fprintf(stderr, "error: tip_interval_seconds missing/invalid in config.json (need > 0)\n"); return 2; } fprintf(stderr, "config: tip_interval_seconds = %.6f\n", interval); DWORD pid = find_pid(L"eu4.exe"); if (!pid) { fprintf(stderr, "error: eu4.exe not running. Launch EU4 first.\n"); return 3; } fprintf(stderr, "eu4.exe PID = %lu\n", pid); uint8_t hash[32]; if (sha256_file(EU4_EXE_W, hash) != 0) { fprintf(stderr, "error: sha256 failed\n"); return 4; } char hex[65]; to_hex(hash, hex); fprintf(stderr, "eu4.exe sha256: %s\n", hex); HANDLE hP = OpenProcess(PROCESS_VM_READ|PROCESS_VM_WRITE|PROCESS_VM_OPERATION|PROCESS_QUERY_INFORMATION, FALSE, pid); if (!hP) { fprintf(stderr, "OpenProcess failed: %lu\n", GetLastError()); return 5; } uint64_t base = mod_base(hP); int64_t delta = (int64_t)(base - PREFERRED_BASE); fprintf(stderr, "actual base 0x%llx, ASLR delta %+lld\n", (unsigned long long)base, (long long)delta); uint64_t cave = CAVE_VMA + delta; uint64_t s1 = SITE1_MOVSD_VMA + delta; uint64_t s2 = SITE2_MOVSD_VMA + delta; // Read original bytes (for revert). uint8_t co[8], s1o[4], s2o[4]; if (!rd(hP, cave, co, 8)) { fprintf(stderr,"read cave failed: %lu\n",GetLastError()); CloseHandle(hP); return 6; } if (!rd(hP, s1 + 4, s1o, 4)) { fprintf(stderr,"read site1 failed\n"); CloseHandle(hP); return 6; } if (!rd(hP, s2 + 4, s2o, 4)) { fprintf(stderr,"read site2 failed\n"); CloseHandle(hP); return 6; } // Sanity: confirm originals match expected. if (memcmp(s1o, SITE1_ORIG, 4) != 0) { fprintf(stderr, "WARN: site1 bytes != expected. got %02x %02x %02x %02x\n", s1o[0],s1o[1],s1o[2],s1o[3]); fprintf(stderr, " eu4.exe may be a different version. Aborting.\n"); CloseHandle(hP); return 7; } if (memcmp(s2o, SITE2_ORIG, 4) != 0) { fprintf(stderr, "WARN: site2 bytes != expected. got %02x %02x %02x %02x\n", s2o[0],s2o[1],s2o[2],s2o[3]); CloseHandle(hP); return 7; } // 1. Write user's double into the code cave. double iv = interval; if (!wr(hP, cave, &iv, 8)) { fprintf(stderr,"write cave failed\n"); CloseHandle(hP); return 8; } fprintf(stderr, "wrote %.6f to code cave @ 0x%llx\n", interval, (unsigned long long)cave); // 2. Repoint site1 disp32. if (!wr(hP, s1 + 4, SITE1_NEW, 4)) { fprintf(stderr,"write site1 failed\n"); CloseHandle(hP); return 8; } fprintf(stderr, "patched site1 disp32 @ 0x%llx\n", (unsigned long long)(s1+4)); // 3. Repoint site2 disp32. if (!wr(hP, s2 + 4, SITE2_NEW, 4)) { fprintf(stderr,"write site2 failed\n"); CloseHandle(hP); return 8; } fprintf(stderr, "patched site2 disp32 @ 0x%llx\n", (unsigned long long)(s2+4)); write_state(spath, hex, co, s1o, s2o, interval); fprintf(stderr, "OK: loading-screen cycle interval -> %.1f s. state saved to state.json\n", interval); CloseHandle(hP); return 0; } static int do_revert(void) { char spath[MAX_PATH]; path_next_to_exe(spath, sizeof(spath), "state.json"); DWORD pid = find_pid(L"eu4.exe"); if (!pid) { fprintf(stderr, "eu4.exe not running\n"); return 3; } HANDLE hP = OpenProcess(PROCESS_VM_READ|PROCESS_VM_WRITE|PROCESS_VM_OPERATION|PROCESS_QUERY_INFORMATION, FALSE, pid); if (!hP) { fprintf(stderr, "OpenProcess failed\n"); return 5; } uint64_t base = mod_base(hP); int64_t delta = (int64_t)(base - PREFERRED_BASE); uint64_t cave = CAVE_VMA + delta, s1 = SITE1_MOVSD_VMA + delta, s2 = SITE2_MOVSD_VMA + delta; // Read state.json for original bytes. (Simple parse.) FILE* f = fopen(spath, "r"); if (!f) { fprintf(stderr, "no state.json\n"); CloseHandle(hP); return 9; } char sb[4096]; size_t n = fread(sb, 1, sizeof(sb)-1, f); sb[n]='\0'; fclose(f); // Parse the three arrays by finding '[' after each key. uint8_t co[8], s1o[4], s2o[4]; char* p1 = strstr(sb, "cave_original"); char* b1 = strchr(p1, '['); char* p2 = strstr(sb, "site1_original"); char* b2 = strchr(p2, '['); char* p3 = strstr(sb, "site2_original"); char* b3 = strchr(p3, '['); for (int i = 0; i < 8; i++) co[i] = (uint8_t)strtol(b1 + (i? strchr(b1,',')+1 - b1 : 1), &b1, 10); for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) s1o[i] = (uint8_t)strtol(b2 + (i? strchr(b2,',')+1 - b2 : 1), &b2, 10); for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) s2o[i] = (uint8_t)strtol(b3 + (i? strchr(b3,',')+1 - b3 : 1), &b3, 10); wr(hP, cave, co, 8); wr(hP, s1 + 4, s1o, 4); wr(hP, s2 + 4, s2o, 4); fprintf(stderr, "reverted: restored original bytes at all 3 sites\n"); CloseHandle(hP); return 0; } static int do_status(void) { char spath[MAX_PATH]; path_next_to_exe(spath, sizeof(spath), "state.json"); FILE* f = fopen(spath, "r"); if (!f) { fprintf(stderr, "no state.json (not patched?)\n"); return 0; } char line[256]; while (fgets(line, sizeof(line), f)) printf(" %s", line); fclose(f); return 0; } // ---- launcher: CREATE_SUSPENDED + patch + resume ---- // This is the correct way: the movsd instructions run once during loading-screen // setup, so the patch MUST be in place before EU4 executes its first instruction. // CREATE_SUSPENDED maps eu4.exe into memory but halts before entry point; we // patch there, then resume. Not a debugger (BeingDebugged=0), so anti-debug // startup checks don't fire. static int do_launch(void) { char cpath[MAX_PATH]; path_next_to_exe(cpath, sizeof(cpath), "config.json"); char lpath[MAX_PATH]; path_next_to_exe(lpath, sizeof(lpath), "launch.log"); FILE* lf = fopen(lpath, "w"); #define LOG(...) do { fprintf(stderr, __VA_ARGS__); fprintf(stderr, "\n"); \ if (lf) { fprintf(lf, __VA_ARGS__); fprintf(lf, "\n"); fflush(lf); } } while(0) double interval = 0.0; if (json_get_double(cpath, "tip_interval_seconds", &interval) != 0 || interval <= 0.0) { LOG("error: tip_interval_seconds missing/invalid in config.json"); if (lf) fclose(lf); return 2; } LOG("config: tip_interval_seconds = %.6f", interval); STARTUPINFOA si; memset(&si, 0, sizeof(si)); si.cb = sizeof(si); PROCESS_INFORMATION pi; memset(&pi, 0, sizeof(pi)); char cmdline[1024]; snprintf(cmdline, sizeof(cmdline), "\"%s\"", EU4_EXE); if (!CreateProcessA(EU4_EXE, cmdline, NULL, NULL, FALSE, CREATE_SUSPENDED, NULL, "C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\Europa Universalis IV", &si, &pi)) { LOG("CreateProcess failed: %lu", GetLastError()); if (lf) fclose(lf); return 10; } LOG("launched eu4.exe PID %lu (suspended)", pi.dwProcessId); HANDLE hP = pi.hProcess; // Give the loader a moment to map modules even though suspended. Sleep(50); // Resolve base. Try EnumProcessModules first, then PEB. uint64_t base = mod_base(hP); LOG("EnumProcessModules base = 0x%llx", (unsigned long long)base); if (base == 0) { typedef LONG (WINAPI *pNtQIP)(HANDLE, ULONG, PVOID, ULONG, PULONG); HMODULE ntdll = GetModuleHandleW(L"ntdll.dll"); pNtQIP NtQIP = (pNtQIP)GetProcAddress(ntdll, "NtQueryInformationProcess"); LOG("NtQIP ptr = %p", (void*)NtQIP); if (NtQIP) { // PROCESS_BASIC_INFORMATION (x64): ExitStatus(4)+pad(4), PebBase(8), ... unsigned char pbi[48]; memset(pbi, 0, sizeof(pbi)); ULONG ret = 0; LONG st = NtQIP(hP, 0, pbi, sizeof(pbi), &ret); LOG("NtQIP status = %ld, returned %lu bytes", st, ret); uint64_t peb = *(uint64_t*)(pbi + 8); // PebBaseAddress at offset 8 LOG("PEB = 0x%llx", (unsigned long long)peb); if (peb) { uint64_t imgbase = 0; SIZE_T g = 0; BOOL ok = ReadProcessMemory(hP, (LPCVOID)(peb + 0x10), &imgbase, 8, &g); LOG("PEB ImageBaseAddress read: ok=%d g=%llu imgbase=0x%llx", ok, (unsigned long long)g, (unsigned long long)imgbase); base = imgbase; } } } if (base == 0) { LOG("error: cannot resolve eu4.exe base. killing process."); TerminateProcess(hP, 0); CloseHandle(hP); CloseHandle(pi.hThread); if (lf) fclose(lf); return 11; } int64_t delta = (int64_t)(base - PREFERRED_BASE); LOG("actual base 0x%llx, delta %+lld", (unsigned long long)base, (long long)delta); uint64_t cave = CAVE_VMA + delta, s1 = SITE1_MOVSD_VMA + delta, s2 = SITE2_MOVSD_VMA + delta; LOG("cave=0x%llx site1=0x%llx site2=0x%llx", (unsigned long long)cave, (unsigned long long)s1, (unsigned long long)s2); // Verify sites. uint8_t chk1[4], chk2[4]; BOOL r1 = rd(hP, s1+4, chk1, 4); BOOL r2 = rd(hP, s2+4, chk2, 4); LOG("read site1: ok=%d bytes=%02x%02x%02x%02x", r1, chk1[0],chk1[1],chk1[2],chk1[3]); LOG("read site2: ok=%d bytes=%02x%02x%02x%02x", r2, chk2[0],chk2[1],chk2[2],chk2[3]); if (!r1 || memcmp(chk1, SITE1_ORIG, 4) != 0) { LOG("error: site1 mismatch (eu4.exe version?). killing."); TerminateProcess(hP, 0); CloseHandle(hP); CloseHandle(pi.hThread); if (lf) fclose(lf); return 12; } if (!r2 || memcmp(chk2, SITE2_ORIG, 4) != 0) { LOG("error: site2 mismatch (eu4.exe version?). killing."); TerminateProcess(hP, 0); CloseHandle(hP); CloseHandle(pi.hThread); if (lf) fclose(lf); return 12; } // 1. Write user's double into code cave. double iv = interval; BOOL w0 = wr(hP, cave, &iv, 8); LOG("write cave (8 bytes double): ok=%d err=%lu", w0, GetLastError()); // 2. Repoint sites. BOOL w1 = wr(hP, s1+4, SITE1_NEW, 4); BOOL w2 = wr(hP, s2+4, SITE2_NEW, 4); LOG("write site1 disp32: ok=%d err=%lu", w1, GetLastError()); LOG("write site2 disp32: ok=%d err=%lu", w2, GetLastError()); if (!w0 || !w1 || !w2) { LOG("error: a write failed. killing."); TerminateProcess(hP, 0); CloseHandle(hP); CloseHandle(pi.hThread); if (lf) fclose(lf); return 13; } // Save state. uint8_t co[8]; memset(co, 0xCC, 8); uint8_t hash[32]; char hex[65] = {0}; if (sha256_file(EU4_EXE_W, hash) == 0) to_hex(hash, hex); char spath[MAX_PATH]; path_next_to_exe(spath, sizeof(spath), "state.json"); write_state(spath, hex, co, SITE1_ORIG, SITE2_ORIG, interval); LOG("state saved."); // Resume. DWORD prev = ResumeThread(pi.hThread); LOG("ResumeThread: prev suspend count = %lu", prev); CloseHandle(pi.hThread); CloseHandle(hP); LOG("OK: eu4.exe running with loading-tip interval = %.1f s", interval); if (lf) fclose(lf); return 0; } int main(int argc, char** argv) { const char* mode = (argc >= 2) ? argv[1] : "--launch"; if (strcmp(mode, "--launch") == 0) return do_launch(); if (strcmp(mode, "--apply") == 0) return do_apply(); if (strcmp(mode, "--revert") == 0) return do_revert(); if (strcmp(mode, "--status") == 0) return do_status(); fprintf(stderr, "Usage: loading_tip_patcher.exe [--launch|--apply|--revert|--status]\n"); fprintf(stderr, " --launch (default): CREATE_SUSPENDED eu4.exe, patch, resume\n"); return 1; }