A step by step guide to editing Frontier Elite II (FE2) save game files.

If you don't know the callsign of your ship, run FE2 and load in your
commander file that you want to edit.

At the DOS prompt, type the following series of commands, whenever
you want to edit a commander file:  Remember to keep a backup copy
of the original commander file, and of course substitute the name
if the commander file that you want to edit<g>.

cd commandr			- where the commanders are
sge -d jameson._01 jameson.$01	- make the file editable
hexed jameson.$01		- edit the file
sge -e jameson.$01 jameson._01	- make the file usable by FE2
cd ..				- where the program is
frontier			- and go!.

Notes:
sge.exe is my FE2 save game extractor and restore program,
which allows the FE2 commander files to be edited in a meaningful way.

hexed.exe is a nice uncluttered editor which can edit binary files,
such as FE2 commander files.  You can use any other editor capable
of editing binary files if you so wish.

You can choose any name you like for the decoded FE2 commander files.

After a while, you may find it helpful to create a small DOS batch
file, which will do it all for you.
EG.
--------8<
@echo off
rem decodes a commander file, starts the editor, encodes the file again
rem and starts frontier.  You are back in the commandr directory
rem when you have quit from frontier.
copy %1 test._01
sge -d test._01 test.$01
hexed test.$01
sge -e test.$01 test._01
cd ..
rem
rem start frontier.  Change the '2' to be whatever sound system
rem you have, if it isn't Adlib/Sound Blaster
echo 2 | frontier
cd commandr
--------8<


Ok, so show me something to change.
===================================

1. Customising the name of your ship.

When you have the commander file in the editor, do an ascii search for
the name of your ship.  When you have found it, toggle to ascii input,
and enter a name upto 20 chars in length.  This change will last until
you sell the ship.


2. Hand over the money, this is a raid.

Goto address 0x88D2.  Your current net worth is stored in the 4 bytes
starting at this address, and is stored in $0.1 units.  If you are
starting at Ross 154, the 4 bytes will contain E8 03 00 00, which
equates to 1000 decimal, hence 100.0 credits.  Change this to
00 00 00 06, and you will have approx 10Million credits.


3. No annual repairs.

Don't you just hate all those annual repairs, and doesn't that hyperdrive
fail at the most inconvenient times<g>.  Here's what to do.

3a.
The 4 bytes starting at address 8804 contain the current date,
which when you start on Ross 154 will contain A0 D5 11 00.

Change the 11 to 21, and save the commander file.  When you run FE2,
you will notice that the date is now 5/11/6070.  Goto the ship
service page, and perform an annual service on your ship.  Save this
commander file, and quit FE2.

3b.
With the new commander file, change the byte at 8806 from 21 to 11, to
put you back in the year 3200.  You now have a ship that will not
need repairs for another 2870 years!.  This change will last until you
sell the ship (or accidentally do an annual service on it<g>).


And so endeth the first lesson.

