Deus Ex Speedrun Timer in D: A Game Hacking Journey

2025-07-12

Frustrated by the lack of suitable speedrun tools for Deus Ex on Linux, a speedrunner embarked on a project to create a custom timer in D. This article details the process, from initial failed attempts at finding a loading flag, to learning Linux system calls (ptrace and process_vm_readv), reverse engineering to locate suitable memory for code injection, and finally implementing the core timer functionality. The author shares experiences using D, and notes limitations such as incomplete exception handling and save-screen support.

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Development

10 Awesome D Language Features You Should Know

2025-07-03

This beginner-friendly post explores ten captivating features of the D programming language. From smaller quality-of-life improvements to major features like automatic constructors, design by contract, compile-time function execution (CTFE), and built-in unit testing, the article provides clear explanations. D's powerful metaprogramming capabilities are also highlighted, rivaling few statically compiled languages in flexibility and modeling power. The post also covers unique D syntax features such as the dollar operator, parenthesis omission, and uniform function call syntax (UFCS), significantly improving code readability and efficiency. Additionally, D supports scoped and selective imports and a built-in documentation generator, further enhancing code maintainability and readability. In short, D offers a compelling blend of features for efficient and convenient programming.

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Development Features