Chapter 6. Hacking Setup and Software

The rest of the hacks in this book are mods, which means they are not tricks or glitches they are ways that you can hack Halo 2 itself. To try these hacks, you will need access to an Xbox with a mod chip installed these are referred to as modded Xboxes.

Although it used to require significant effort to set up a modded Xbox, these days there are simple options. If you want to get a modded Xbox but aren't interested in installing a mod chip, you can buy a pre-modded system online. For more information about pre-modded systems, refer to http://www.xbox-modchips.com/premodded.htm. For more information about using modded Xboxes, refer to http://www.xbox-scene.com. The following books also have a great deal of information on modding an Xbox:

The Black Art of Xbox Mods, by Jonathan Harbour (SAMS)

Game Console Hacking, by Joe Grand (Syngress)

Hacking the Xbox, by Andrew "Bunnie" Huang (No Starch Press)

Once an Xbox has been modded, you should set up FTP access so that you can network it with a PC. This access allows you to transfer Halo 2 files (such as maps) to your PC, modify them, and transfer them back to your Xbox. You can use any FTP client to perform the transfer I use CuteFTP (http://www.cuteftp.com), which you can see in action in [Hack #54].

The only way that Xbox mods can be played is via a system link connection. Under absolutely no circumstances should you attempt to connect to Xbox Live with either an active mod chip or a modded map. If you try to do this, you will be permanently banned from Xbox Live. Furthermore, attempting to use any mod on Xbox Live will seriously undermine the credibility of all modders. Anyone who uses a mod to cheat will lose the respect and support of the entire modding community.

The remainder of the hacks in this book will require the use of modding applications that run on a PC. With that in mind, this chapter introduces you to the most popular Halo 2 modding apps. For more information about Halo 2 mods and modding applications, refer to the tutorials on http://www.halomods.com.

The hack thermometer level for subsequent chapters is based on how difficult the hack is to reproduce with Halo 2 modding software. In other words, the work to mod the Xbox, establish the FTP connection to the Xbox hard drive, and install the modding software is not considered in the calculation of thermometer level.