An Argument for Hexadecimal Support
In Game Guardian Game Guardian currently allows for only integer data types in its searches. If a real or complex data type needs to be found and edited, GG users must first convert these values to their integral, base ten, numeric representations. Not only are these conversions error prone, but they are counterintuitive and enormously large in their integral form.
Based on my personal experience, I'd say at least 25% of existing Android games use floating point representation for at least some of their data. I can only assume this is an attempt to discourage the editing of this data by memory editors such as Game Guardian.
As an example of the conversion needed to search for a floating point number using GG, consider the following where we want to edit the amount of gold:
Gold = 120
120 as a real number, float or double = 120.00
120.00 as a float in HEX = 0x42F00000
0x42F00000 as an integer for GG searches = 1123024896
120.00 as a double in HEX = 0x405E000000000000
0x405E000000000000 as an integer for GG searches = *4638144666238189568 (too large for GG)
As GG is currently written, to search for 120 as a floating point, you have to convert it to the unmanageable integer 1123024896 for float or *4638144666238189568 for double (too large for GG)! It would be much simpler to search for 0x42F00000 for float or 0x405E000000000000 for double. To make things even easier, if the number does not contain a decimal component (mantissa, which game storage uses usually don't), the zeros could be omitted altogether.
With the zeros left off and a hexadecimal search option implemented, a search for 120 as a real data type would result in:
42F0 (without the 0x clarification prefix) instead of 1123024896 used now for float or
405E (without the 0x clarification prefix) instead of *4638144666238189568 (too large for GG) used now for double
There may be legitimate reasons real data type searching was omitted from Game Guardian, but using this method, I've been able to hack a couple games that were basically left unresolved in the Request forums and, I have a feeling many more request could be fulfilled.
I think both Game Guardian and its users would benefit greatly if a hexadecimal data type option were added to the app's search feature.
Can I get an "ahmen?"
*EDITED: Please note, the double data type is too large to enter into GG as a base 10 dedecimal.