Cheat Engine

[Shmill]

I have been trying to learn how to use cheat engine, but I can't figure out what trainers are, and all of the tutorials I have found just show how you find pointers. What is a trainer, why are they useful, and how do I make one?

[ParkourPenguin]

A trainer changes values and code in a game the same way any sufficiently competent user is able to using tools like CE. The difference is that trainers should have an interface so simple anyone should be able to download it and use it even if they know nothing about how computers work. e.g. process discovery and attachment are handled automatically; cheats are as simple as pressing a button.

As for how to make one: handle processes automatically, find code with aobscans, find values with pointers and/or code injection ("injection copy"), make hotkeys to automatically change code and/or values, and present everything nicely in a window. Use Lua to do most of this (read celua.txt for documentation). There's also a trainer generator that turns a table into a trainer, but I haven't played around with it that much.

[Shmill]

Thanks! After a bit of experimentation with the generator, I think I can use it well enough for my purposes.

[Csimbi]

A trainer is a standalone external tool - typically controlled using hotkeys - to make things easier for the player in video games by the way of modifying values or code in the memory.
Originally, trainers were TSR programs in DOS. The concept of TSR is gone these days; today's trainers are more or less SW like any other, but they are still specialized to poke into memory of a game (the same way traditional trainers did).

- Cheat codes are built into the game by the devs (cheat codes are internal to the game).
- Cheat tables contain structured metadata or code that can be used via a specific external tool (such as CE for example).
- Trainers are standalone external tools made by 3rd parties. You can produce trainers with CE.

Hope that helps!