autoconfig_MERCS.exe — GameOS AutoConfig / Driver-Diagnostics Tool (deep-dive)¶

Reference record; not an oracle target. See the editor-tools overview.

1. Binary facts¶


File	`reference\autoconfig_MERCS.exe`
Size	913,408 B (0xDF000)
SHA-256	`844058f3ba1ad4bd4cedd81028e3f8ed71260433fd00b0b39cc83902c62f5f5c`
Toolchain	MSVC6, Linker 6.0, TimeDateStamp 2002-09-30 21:04:19Z
Machine / Subsystem	x86 (0x014C) / GUI (2)
ImageBase / Entry	0x00400000 / 0x00542A6
Rich header	XOR key 0x5C43216D, DanS @ 0x80 (MSVC6 tools)
Functions	1,128 (Ghidra)

Sections (4 — no SafeDisc .txt2):

Section	RVA	VSize	RawSize	Notes
`.text`	0x1000	0x5544E	0x56000	GameOS core + app shell
`.rdata`	0x57000	0xED6E	0xF000	strings (huge D3D/DDERR/DIERR error tables), vtables
`.data`	0x66000	0x76818	0x2000	mostly zero-init GameOS global state (~0x74818 BSS tail)
`.rsrc`	0xDD000	0x18C8	0x2000	dialog resources

Imports (10 DLLs): MFC42 112 (dynamic MFC shell), MSVCRT 66, KERNEL32 84, USER32 63, GDI32 12, ADVAPI32 12, ole32 3, MSACM32 7, VERSION 3, WINMM 5 — the same import set family as NFMEditor (same FASA shell base).

2. Purpose¶

This is not a lightweight graphics-settings editor. It is the GameOS "AutoConfig" driver-diagnostics tool (version string 50.06.09.3002, build tag Version 1.1 11/2/2000):

Probes the machine — processor details, PCI card info, DirectX version, audio/video codec install, modem/lobby providers (GetMachine Details, GetProcessorDetails, GetDirectXDetails, GetGameDetails, GetInstallAudioVideoCodecs, GetPCICardInfo).
Runs the GameOS renderer/driver test suite — enumerates D3D devices, display modes, texture formats and caps, render states, gamma calibration, video memory (local/non-local/AGP), AGP miniport mode (viaagp1.sys detection, TURBO/NORMAL), and DirectSound devices — exactly the same driver probes the game's own startup autoconfig runs.
Writes the results — the selected device/options into options.ini (§4), a VideoCard.txt driver report, and the game registry key Software\Microsoft\Microsoft Games\<game> (§5).
Reports bugs — can submit a crash/report to the FASA "Raid" SQL database (DRIVER={SQL Server};SERVER=%s;...;APP=RAID4).

The tool is the standalone, interactive form of the game's built-in autoconfig — the same GameOS code paths that MW4Mercs' -noautoconfig switch skips.

3. Layout — code and data ranges¶

Range	Size	Content
0x401000–0x404xxx	~20 KB	App shell + the `options.ini` writer (`FUN_00401b70`)
0x405xxx–0x406xxx	~10 KB	INI/section writer helpers (0x403a50, 0x404bd0, 0x4065c0, 0x4067d0)
0x40xxxx–0x44xxxx	~300 KB	GameOS core — the same framework as the game EXE: config/CLI (`FUN_00413c50` parses `/gosconfig`, `/gosnovideo`, `/gosnosound`), registry (`FUN_0041c9b0`), renderer state, texture manager, DirectSound mixer, input
0x45xxxx+	—	`VideoCard.txt` reporter (`FUN_00428a30`), PCI-card detail (`FUN_00441dc0`), sound-device details (`FUN_004201c0`)
0x457000–0x465D6E	—	`.rdata`: the full D3D/DDERR/DIERR/DSERR error-string tables + render-state enums

4. `options.ini` — what AutoConfig writes¶

The writer (FUN_00401b70, thiscall on a config object) emits an INI with three sections and the game's option keys as name=value lines:

[Graphics Options]
VideoDriverIndex          DetailTexture    MultiTexture    LightMaps
Culturals                 Footsteps        MissionMusic     NoBlend
AntiAlias                 VertexLighting   SimpleLighting   MipBias
ShadowMode                screenwidth      screenheight     bitdepth
FancyWater                MovieTextures    MaxLights        Compositing
EffectLOD                 LoadRadius       AllowDecalTransfer
[Sound Options]
LowEndSound               Radius
[Special Commands]
KillGame

Plus the font keys fontsmall / fontmedium / fontlarge / fontlarge2 / fontlarge3 and server. Values are read from the config object's fields (+0x240, +0x340, +0x440, ... — per-option), converted to text via a 0x147-typed formatter, and written through the section writer helpers (0x4067d0 / 0x4065c0). screenwidth/screenheight/bitdepth are the display-mode selection; VideoDriverIndex picks the D3D device.

These keys are the same option names the MW4Mercs option table consumes (the game EXE's option table at 0x0076C918 + -noautoconfig interplay — cross-reference only).

5. Registry / file side effects¶

Software\Microsoft\Microsoft Games\%s (0x45959C, written from FUN_0041c9b0) — the per-game config key; %s is the game/product name.
Software\Microsoft\Multimedia\Sound Mapper\ (0x45AD00) + \DirectSound\ Mixer Defaults / Device Presence — sound device selection.
Software\Microsoft\Windows Messaging Subsystem (0x45CEA8) and Config Manager\Enum\ (0x61AC0, hardware key DeviceDesc, HardWareKey, DriverDate, videoram from FUN_00441dc0) — PCI/device enumeration.
VideoCard.txt (0x45BD04, written by FUN_00428a30) — a driver report (driver file/version/date/size, video memory, renderer caps).
Screen.bmp (0x5D088) — screen-capture output (GameOS @Kscreen%04d.%s screenshot naming).

6. Per-card compatibility flags¶

.rdata holds the GameOS per-card workaround registry — the same compatibility knobs the game applies for broken drivers:

SceneRenderer, NoMultitexture, NoAlphaTest, NoStretchTexture, RenderEqualZ, BrokenAlphaTest, ForceSquareTextures, LimitTextureSize, Limit500VidTextures, AllowLowMemoryCard, DisableTextureDeletes, SlowDisplayModeChange, TextureOffset, LowEndCard.

These are the auto-selected renderer/tuning flags; AutoConfig tests the device and enables the appropriate ones before writing the option set.

7. Key functions¶

VA	Role
0x00401B70	`options.ini` writer (sections + all option keys)
0x00403A50 / 0x00404BD0	INI open / section begin
0x004065C0 / 0x004067D0	option value writer helpers
0x00413C50	GameOS CLI/config init (`/gosconfig`, `/gosnovideo`, `/gosnosound`)
0x0041C9B0	game registry key reader/writer (`Microsoft Games\%s`)
0x00428A30	`VideoCard.txt` reporter
0x00441DC0	PCI/device registry enumeration (`DeviceDesc`, `HardWareKey`)
0x004201C0	sound-device details (`PrimaryBuffers`, `DSBCAPS_*`)
0x00425940	version-string handler (`Version 1.1 11/2/2000`)
0x0041F070	DirectX-details failure reporter (`Driver version/date/size`)
0x004011B0	app window title (`AutoConfig`, `AutoConfig Version %s`)

8. Notable strings¶

AutoConfig (0x466050) · \Tools\AutoConfig (0x46605C) · AutoConfig Version %s (0x466458) · 50.06.09.3002 (0x466448) · Version 1.1 11/2/2000 (0x66A24) · options.ini (0x466470) · Graphics Options / Sound Options / Special Commands (0x46647C/90/A0) · KillGame (0x4664B4) · all option keys (0x4664C0–0x466724, §4) · VideoCard.txt (0x45BD04) · Screen.bmp (0x45D088) · @Kscreen%04d.%s (0x45903C) · Software\Microsoft\Microsoft Games\%s (0x45959C) · Software\Microsoft\Multimedia\Sound Mapper\ (0x45AD00) · Config Manager\Enum (0x61AD8) · viaagp1.sys (0x6192C) · - AGP miniport driver in TURBO/NORMAL mode (0x61828/50) · No software rasterizer available (0x4592C8) · DRIVER={SQL Server};...APP=RAID4 (0x63AF4) · /gosconfig (0x458E34) · /gosnovideo (0x458EA0) · /gosnosound (0x458EAC) · PLACEHOLDER DEVICE (0x66434) · GeForce (0x667BC) · %ix%ix%i (0x667B0) · No Rendering Devices Found (0x66768).

9. Notes¶

The tool shares its GameOS core with the game EXE and the other editor tools (identical CLI switches, registry paths, D3D error tables) — it is the best standalone reference for what the game's startup autoconfig does and which options.ini keys the game reads.
.data VSize (0x76818) is ~95% BSS — the GameOS renderer/sound/input global state, mirroring the game's own globals; no layout captured here.
No .txt2/SafeDisc section (unlike MW4Ed2).