Program Overlay into Game

Hello, I am an Admin in a clan for the game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. We are using a VB6-coded Rcon tool, and in order to use it we have to Alt+Tab out of the game to issue commands. I could use the in-game console, but we'd rather not, plus we've put time into this Rcon program.

My question is, is there a way to code it to make the commands issuable from an overlay on the screen while in game? I know that it would have to interact with DirectX in some way, but that's about it.

Some details on what we're looking for:

> Press a button (like "Insert") to invoke the overlay, and present a list of commands. Then press that button again to hide it.
> Customizable coloring/layout/etc. (which we might be able to do that, not sure though)

That's all I can think of for now, but if we come up with anything else I'll be sure to post them.

Could someone point me in the right direction? I've tried browsing these forums for some info on it, but found nothing.

I am very tech-savvy, just not with programming. I only barely know the basics, and so I'm just beginning.

Thank you for your help in advance. If you need anything, please ask me.

Hey Sleepy

I dont know how the game "call of duty" is made but I assume that its using directX in a full screen mode and is using directInput for getting keyboard and mouse input.

What you might want to look into is a technic called hooking - however I should warn you that this is advanced stuff.

The technics used are the same for making virus and hacking games ( dont code down the wrong path ;) )
The following has a great forum for learning how to make game trainers and hooking directX with overlays etc. http://delta-h.net

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/system...rectX_COM.aspx

http://www.codeguru.com/cpp/g-m/dire...p/c11453/#more

or simply google : DirectX Hooking
or : directX code injection

Happy learning :)

Thank you for the quick reply. I visited the links above, but I'm still so confused. And yes, it is very advanced for me.

I still have no idea where to start...

Call of Duty 4 is a DirectX 9 game.

unfortunately there is no simple way to do this (that i know off) - so you might either want to give up or get into some long-haired coding :D

Well, thank you for your help and time. I do appreciate it. I will just continue following the same method that I have been, aka give up. Thanks again. =)