Decode C++ encoded ASCII extended values?

Question

Hi guys, I have a little question regarding ASCII Codes. Is it possible to to find out what type of encoding is used in C++ for ASCII extended values?

I want to try and find a way to decode a game animation source file without having to de-compile the game source which is not allowed. I simply want to understand whats going on in the file and maybe modify it slightly so I can make some small changes. The extension used is .pma and the engine I believe is "Prism3D". I can open the file with a hex editor and an example might be :

HEX: 7C 2E C8 40 EC 15 22 which gives me some ASCII Extended values that are not very readable.

I have no experience with c++ but was wondering if some sort of complier/de-compiler tool could e created with PHP to make the file readable?

Kindest Regards, Phil.

Answer 1

The code you see is Binary. i'm not sure what you are trying to do, but basically you need to know the file format before you can do any changes and most chances are it's not plain text nor UTF-8 based file but binary, file in a format decided by the application's author.

You can try to either look for the .pme extension online ( i didn't get any result that would match really, but you might stand a better chance since you know the application saving the files) or try to reverse engineer the code which will force you to hire one who can or know c\c++ and assembly of the machine the application is for (most likely X86).

If you want you can post some more details and i'll try to help you find the format, but it's not guaranteed that the format is an open one and can be found.