Tutorial written by : LinksAwakening
Last edited: August 10, 2003

TOOLS YOU WILL NEED:
- Hex Editor (I use Hex Workshop... BPSoft.com)

INFO:

Re-linking (typically done with video/movie files) is where you tell the game (i.e... the default.xbe) to look for another file other than what it is supposed to.

In other words, you could tell the game (I'll use Enter The Matrix as an example), to always look for the atari.vid file instead of the other files (i.e... the Niobe and Ghost videos). That way, whenever a Niobe/Ghost video is supposed to play, it will play the Atari intro video instead, without the need to manually rename the file multiple times.

Useful for saving space on backups, because you don't need 2 copies of the video file...

For instance... you could link all of Niobe's videos to Ghost's, and then delete the Niobe videos. Whenever a Niobe video is supposed to play, it will play Ghost's version instead (or vice-versa).

*Re-Linking is very useful when trying to fit an over-sized game onto DVD media, without deleting movies.*

PROCEDURE:

NOTE: For these instructions, I will use Enter The Matrix as an example.

1. Decide what you want to link to what. I know it sounds obvious, but seriously take a little time and decide what files you want to link to what other files.

If you will be doing it with a lot of files... I would suggest you keep a Notepad Document open and leave notes in it...

2. For an example, I will link ETM's g89_n.vid to g89_g.vid (i.e... link Niobe's video to Ghost's), so that when the game is supposed to play Niobe's video, it will play Ghost's.

Once you are ready, open up the game's default.xbe in your Hex Editor.

Using your Hex Editor's "Find" command (usually in "Edit" menu), type in the filename of the movie you want linked to another (g89_n.vid in my example) and press "OK" to find the filename.

3. Once the filename is found, replace it with the filename of the movie file you want the other file linked to (g89_g.vid in my example).

4. Continue searching for the first file (in case there are other instances of the filename) and change as needed.

5. Save your changes and try out your finished products.

Good Luck...