Trainers
Game trainers are programs made to modify behaviour of a computer game, usually using addresses and values, in order to allow cheating[11]. It can "freeze" a memory address disallowing the game from lowering or changing the information stored at that memory address e.g. health meter. It simply manipulates the data at the memory addresses specified to suit the needs of the person cheating at the game. These methods of cheating are often less reliable than cheat codes included into a game by its creators; certain programming styles or quirks of internal game logic, different release versions of a game, or even using the same game at different times or on different hardware, may result in different memory usage and hence the trainer program might have no effect, or stop the game from running altogether.
In the 1980s and 1990s, trainers were generally integrated straight into the actual game by cracking groups. When the game was first started, the trainer loaded first, asking the player if he/she wished to cheat. Then the code would proceed to the actual game. In the cracker group release lists and intros, trained games were marked with one or more plus signs after them, one for each option in the trainer, for example: "the Mega Krew presents: Ms. Astro Chicken++". Modern trainers append their titles with a single + and a number, as many have several functions. The number used represents the number of modifications the trainer has available[11]. Examples include "Final Fantasy VII - Ultima Edition +50 Trainer" or "Halo +15 Trainer", which would have 50 or 15 different effects respectively.
Modern trainers also come as separately downloadable programs; instead of modifying the game's programming directly, values stored in memory are changed.
There are also universal trainers, such as ArtMoney or GameWiz32, that users can use to modify customized values in their games.
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