Deconstructing Data Files

[LRH]

Hello everyone.

Assuming it can be done, does anyone know how I would go about deconstructing the data files AGS creates when it builds the files? For example, is it possible to deconstruct a .vox file into the individual music files, or possible to get the background images from the executable? There's a few games I made that are missing the actual resource files I used to build them, so I want to see if I can recover them this way.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[Phemar]

I think the only way to get graphics from an AGS executable is to screenshot each individual frame and paste it all together.

Also, I may be wrong, but I remember many moons ago someone wrote a player for music in AGS games. I can't remember if it actually ripped the sound, I think it might have just been a player for .vox files.

But as far as I know it's otherwise impossible to deconstruct a compiled game.

[Cerno]

Have you searched the forums yet? I think your issue has been discussed a number of times.
In fact I believe a few posts down on this very page you will find a discussion on getting your data from the game exe.

[Khris]

Yeah, since AGS is open source now, in theory anybody can look up the algorithms and open the data files.
I remember Crimson Wizard "offering this service" for people who lost their sources; why don't you write him a PM?

[Phemar]

Yeah, since AGS is open source now, in theory anybody can look up the algorithms and open the data files.
I remember Crimson Wizard "offering this service" for people who lost their sources; why don't you write him a PM?

Do you mean recover the source code or just the graphics and sounds etc.?

[Khris]

Just the resources afaik; the code is compiled and you'd have to decompile it.

[Crimson Wizard]

For games built with AGS 2.72 and below it is possible to recover room scripts, because their plain encrypted text copies were stored in the game file for some reason.
In other cases (global script, custom modules, and room scripts in modern 3.+ AGS games), script is recoverable only as a compiled byte-code.
So far we have only a "disassembly" program made by one guy, but that really have little to no use for game developer, because all it does is convert machine byte-code into human-readable "assembly" commands (like "push", "pop", "jz" etc); therefore its main purpose is engine debugging.

To completely recover scripts we would need a proper decompiler. Which we don't have atm.


E: The reason why I am doing this on per-person basis is because when we first discussed this opportunity some older members of community expressed   worries that this may be used to rip off other people's work. That's why I do not distribute the "extractor" I am using in public.
(Still I am sure it is matter of time for someone else to do this eventually)

[LRH]

Ah, well good to know. Thank you for all the responses. I do apologize if this was discussed recently before. I ran a quick search, but I must have used the wrong language.