Refactor and fix of various issues, add run_northstar.txt support

9 files changed, 313 insertions, 164 deletions

diff --git a/LauncherInjector/main.cpp b/LauncherInjector/main.cpp
index 0fd41daf..4f21b200 100644
--- a/LauncherInjector/main.cpp
+++ b/LauncherInjector/main.cpp
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ extern "C" {
 
 HMODULE hLauncherModule;
 HMODULE hHookModule;
+HMODULE hTier0Module;
 
 wchar_t exePath[4096];
 wchar_t buffer[8196];
@@ -68,144 +69,147 @@ void LibraryLoadError(DWORD dwMessageId, const wchar_t* libName, const wchar_t*
     char text[2048];
     std::string message = std::system_category().message(dwMessageId);
     sprintf_s(text, "Failed to load the %ls at \"%ls\" (%lu):\n\n%hs\n\nMake sure you followed the Northstar installation instructions carefully.", libName, location, dwMessageId, message.c_str());
-    MessageBoxA(GetForegroundWindow(), text, "Launcher Error", 0);
+    MessageBoxA(GetForegroundWindow(), text, "Northstar Launcher Error", 0);
 }
 
-int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
-
-    // checked to avoid starting origin, Northstar.dll will check for -dedicated as well on its own
-    bool isDedicated = false;
-    for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++)
-        if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-dedicated"))
-            isDedicated = true;
+void EnsureOriginStarted()
+{
+    if (GetProcessByName(L"Origin.exe") || GetProcessByName(L"EADesktop.exe"))
+        return; // already started
 
-    bool noOriginStartup = false;
-    for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++)
-        if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-noOriginStartup"))
-            noOriginStartup = true;
+    // unpacked exe will crash if origin isn't open on launch, so launch it
+    // get origin path from registry, code here is reversed from OriginSDK.dll
+    HKEY key;
+    if (RegOpenKeyExA(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "SOFTWARE\\WOW6432Node\\Origin", 0, KEY_READ, &key) != ERROR_SUCCESS)
+    {
+        MessageBoxA(0, "Error: failed reading origin path!", "", MB_OK);
+        return;
+    }
 
-    if (!isDedicated && !GetProcessByName(L"Origin.exe") && !GetProcessByName(L"EADesktop.exe") && !noOriginStartup)
+    char originPath[520];
+    DWORD originPathLength = 520;
+    if (RegQueryValueExA(key, "ClientPath", 0, 0, (LPBYTE)&originPath, &originPathLength) != ERROR_SUCCESS)
     {
-        // unpacked exe will crash if origin isn't open on launch, so launch it
-        // get origin path from registry, code here is reversed from OriginSDK.dll
-        HKEY key;
-        if (RegOpenKeyExA(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "SOFTWARE\\WOW6432Node\\Origin", 0, KEY_READ, &key) != ERROR_SUCCESS)
-        {
-            MessageBoxA(0, "Error: failed reading origin path!", "", MB_OK);
-            return 1;
-        }
+        MessageBoxA(0, "Error: failed reading origin path!", "", MB_OK);
+        return;
+    }
 
-        char originPath[520];
-        DWORD originPathLength = 520;
-        if (RegQueryValueExA(key, "ClientPath", 0, 0, (LPBYTE)&originPath, &originPathLength) != ERROR_SUCCESS)
-        {
-            MessageBoxA(0, "Error: failed reading origin path!", "", MB_OK);
-            return 1;
-        }
+    PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;
+    memset(&pi, 0, sizeof(pi));
+    STARTUPINFO si;
+    memset(&si, 0, sizeof(si));
+    CreateProcessA(originPath, (char*)"", NULL, NULL, false, CREATE_DEFAULT_ERROR_MODE | CREATE_NEW_PROCESS_GROUP, NULL, NULL, (LPSTARTUPINFOA)&si, &pi);
 
-        PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;
-        memset(&pi, 0, sizeof(pi));
-        STARTUPINFO si;
-        memset(&si, 0, sizeof(si));
-        CreateProcessA(originPath, (char*)"", NULL, NULL, false, CREATE_DEFAULT_ERROR_MODE | CREATE_NEW_PROCESS_GROUP, NULL, NULL, (LPSTARTUPINFOA)&si, &pi);
+    printf("[*] Waiting for Origin...\n");
 
-        // wait for origin to be ready, this process is created when origin is ready enough to launch game without any errors
-        while (!GetProcessByName(L"OriginClientService.exe") && !GetProcessByName(L"EADesktop.exe"))
-            Sleep(200);
+    // wait for origin to be ready, this process is created when origin is ready enough to launch game without any errors
+    while (!GetProcessByName(L"OriginClientService.exe") && !GetProcessByName(L"EADesktop.exe"))
+        Sleep(200);
 
-        CloseHandle(pi.hProcess);
-        CloseHandle(pi.hThread);
-    }
+    CloseHandle(pi.hProcess);
+    CloseHandle(pi.hThread);
+}
 
-#if 0
-    // TODO: MOVE TO Northstar.dll itself and inject in some place
-    // for example hook GetCommandLineA() before real LauncherMain gets called (ie. during InitialiseNorthstar)
-    // GetCommandLineA() is always used, the parameters passed to LauncherMain are basically ignored
-    // get cmdline args from file
-    std::wstring args;
-    std::ifstream cmdlineArgFile;
+void PrependPath()
+{
+    wchar_t* pPath;
+    size_t len;
+    errno_t err = _wdupenv_s(&pPath, &len, L"PATH");
+    if (!err)
+    {
+        swprintf_s(buffer, L"PATH=%s\\bin\\x64_retail\\;%s", exePath, pPath);
+        auto result = _wputenv(buffer);
+        if (result == -1)
+        {
+            MessageBoxW(GetForegroundWindow(), L"Warning: could not prepend the current directory to app's PATH environment variable. Something may break because of that.", L"Northstar Launcher Warning", 0);
+        }
+        //free(pPath);
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        MessageBoxW(GetForegroundWindow(), L"Warning: could not get current PATH environment variable in order to prepend the current directory to it. Something may break because of that.", L"Northstar Launcher Warning", 0);
+    }
+}
 
-    args.append(L" ");
+bool ShouldLoadNorthstar(int argc, char* argv[])
+{
+    bool loadNorthstar = true;
     for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++)
-    {
-        std::string str = argv[i];
+        if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-vanilla"))
+            loadNorthstar = false;
 
-        args.append(std::wstring(str.begin(), str.end()));
-        args.append(L" ");
-    }
+    if (!loadNorthstar)
+        return loadNorthstar;
 
-    if (!isDedi)
-        cmdlineArgFile = std::ifstream("ns_startup_args.txt");
-    else
-        cmdlineArgFile = std::ifstream("ns_startup_args_dedi.txt");
+    auto runNorthstarFile = std::ifstream("run_northstar.txt");
+    if (runNorthstarFile)
+    {
+        std::stringstream runNorthstarFileBuffer;
+        runNorthstarFileBuffer << runNorthstarFile.rdbuf();
+        runNorthstarFile.close();
+        if (runNorthstarFileBuffer.str()._Starts_with("0"))
+            loadNorthstar = false;
+    }
+    return loadNorthstar;
+}
 
-    if (cmdlineArgFile)
+bool LoadNorthstar()
+{
+    FARPROC Hook_Init = nullptr;
     {
-        std::stringstream argBuffer;
-        argBuffer << cmdlineArgFile.rdbuf();
-        cmdlineArgFile.close();
-    
-        std::string str = argBuffer.str();
-        args.append(std::wstring(str.begin(), str.end()));
+        swprintf_s(buffer, L"%s\\Northstar.dll", exePath);
+        hHookModule = LoadLibraryExW(buffer, 0i64, 8u);
+        if (hHookModule) Hook_Init = GetProcAddress(hHookModule, "InitialiseNorthstar");
+        if (!hHookModule || Hook_Init == nullptr)
+        {
+            LibraryLoadError(GetLastError(), L"Northstar.dll", buffer);
+            return false;
+        }
     }
 
-    //if (isDedicated)
-    //    // copy -dedicated into args if we have it in commandline args
-    //    args.append(L" -dedicated");
-#endif
+    ((bool (*)()) Hook_Init)();
+    return true;
+}
 
-    //
+int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
 
-    bool loadNorthstar = true;
+    // checked to avoid starting origin, Northstar.dll will check for -dedicated as well on its own
+    bool isDedicated = false;
     for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++)
-        if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-vanilla"))
-            loadNorthstar = false;
+        if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-dedicated"))
+            isDedicated = true;
+
+    bool noOriginStartup = false;
+    for (int i = 0; i < argc; i++)
+        if (!strcmp(argv[i], "-noOriginStartup"))
+            noOriginStartup = true;
+
+    if (!isDedicated && !noOriginStartup)
+    {
+        EnsureOriginStarted();
+    }
 
     {
 
         if (!GetExePathWide(exePath, 4096))
         {
-            MessageBoxA(GetForegroundWindow(), "Failed getting game directory.\nThe game cannot continue and has to exit.", "Launcher Error", 0);
+            MessageBoxA(GetForegroundWindow(), "Failed getting game directory.\nThe game cannot continue and has to exit.", "Northstar Launcher Error", 0);
             return 1;
         }
 
-        {
-            wchar_t* pPath;
-            size_t len;
-            errno_t err = _wdupenv_s(&pPath, &len, L"PATH");
-            if (!err)
-            {
-                swprintf_s(buffer, L"PATH=%s\\bin\\x64_retail\\;%s", exePath, pPath);
-                auto result = _wputenv(buffer);
-                if (result == -1)
-                {
-                    MessageBoxW(GetForegroundWindow(), L"Warning: could not prepend the current directory to app's PATH environment variable. Something may break because of that.", L"Launcher Warning", 0);
-                }
-                free(pPath);
-            }
-            else
-            {
-                MessageBoxW(GetForegroundWindow(), L"Warning: could not get current PATH environment variable in order to prepend the current directory to it. Something may break because of that.", L"Launcher Warning", 0);
-            }
-        }
+        PrependPath();
 
+        bool loadNorthstar = ShouldLoadNorthstar(argc, argv);
         if (loadNorthstar)
         {
-            FARPROC Hook_Init = nullptr;
-            {
-                swprintf_s(buffer, L"%s\\Northstar.dll", exePath);
-                hHookModule = LoadLibraryExW(buffer, 0i64, 8u);
-                if (hHookModule) Hook_Init = GetProcAddress(hHookModule, "InitialiseNorthstar");
-                if (!hHookModule || Hook_Init == nullptr)
-                {
-                    LibraryLoadError(GetLastError(), L"Northstar.dll", buffer);
-                    return 1;
-                }
-            }
-
-            ((bool (*)()) Hook_Init)();
+            printf("[*] Loading Northstar\n");
+            if (!LoadNorthstar())
+                return 1;
         }
+        else
+            printf("[*] Going to load the vanilla game\n");
 
+        printf("[*] Loading launcher.dll\n");
         swprintf_s(buffer, L"%s\\bin\\x64_retail\\launcher.dll", exePath);
         hLauncherModule = LoadLibraryExW(buffer, 0i64, 8u);
         if (!hLauncherModule)
@@ -213,12 +217,24 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
             LibraryLoadError(GetLastError(), L"launcher.dll", buffer);
             return 1;
         }
+
+        printf("[*] Loading tier0.dll\n");
+        // this makes zero sense given tier0.dll is already loaded via imports on launcher.dll, but we do it for full consistency with original launcher exe
+        // and to also let load callbacks in Northstar work for tier0.dll
+        swprintf_s(buffer, L"%s\\bin\\x64_retail\\tier0.dll", exePath);
+        hTier0Module = LoadLibraryW(buffer);
+        if (!hTier0Module)
+        {
+            LibraryLoadError(GetLastError(), L"tier0.dll", buffer);
+            return 1;
+        }
     }
 
+    printf("[*] Launching the game...\n");
     auto LauncherMain = GetLauncherMain();
     if (!LauncherMain)
-        MessageBoxA(GetForegroundWindow(), "Failed loading launcher.dll.\nThe game cannot continue and has to exit.", "Launcher Error", 0);
+        MessageBoxA(GetForegroundWindow(), "Failed loading launcher.dll.\nThe game cannot continue and has to exit.", "Northstar Launcher Error", 0);
     //auto result = ((__int64(__fastcall*)())LauncherMain)();
     //auto result = ((signed __int64(__fastcall*)(__int64))LauncherMain)(0i64);
-    return ((int(__fastcall*)(HINSTANCE, HINSTANCE, LPSTR, int))LauncherMain)(NULL, NULL, NULL, 0); // the parameters aren't really used anyways
+    return ((int(/*__fastcall*/*)(HINSTANCE, HINSTANCE, LPSTR, int))LauncherMain)(NULL, NULL, NULL, 0); // the parameters aren't really used anyways
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/LauncherInjector/memalloc.cpp b/LauncherInjector/memalloc.cpp
index 64bc7b76..1d0f13e6 100644
--- a/LauncherInjector/memalloc.cpp
+++ b/LauncherInjector/memalloc.cpp
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 #define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
 #include <Windows.h>
 #include "memalloc.h"
+#include <stdio.h>
 
-HMODULE hTier0Module;
+extern HMODULE hTier0Module;
 IMemAlloc** g_ppMemAllocSingleton;
 
 void LoadTier0Handle()
 {
-    hTier0Module = GetModuleHandleA("tier0.dll");
+    if (!hTier0Module) hTier0Module = GetModuleHandleA("tier0.dll");
     if (!hTier0Module) return;
 
     g_ppMemAllocSingleton = (IMemAlloc**)GetProcAddress(hTier0Module, "g_pMemAllocSingleton");
@@ -18,10 +19,11 @@ const int STATIC_ALLOC_SIZE = 16384;
 size_t g_iStaticAllocated = 0;
 char pStaticAllocBuf[STATIC_ALLOC_SIZE];
 
-// they should never be used here, except in LibraryLoadError
+// they should never be used here, except in LibraryLoadError // haha not true
 
 void* malloc(size_t n)
 {
+    //printf("NorthstarLauncher malloc: %llu\n", n);
     // allocate into static buffer
     if (g_iStaticAllocated + n <= STATIC_ALLOC_SIZE)
     {
@@ -32,7 +34,7 @@ void* malloc(size_t n)
     else
     {
         // try to fallback to g_pMemAllocSingleton
-        if (!hTier0Module) LoadTier0Handle();
+        if (!hTier0Module || !g_ppMemAllocSingleton) LoadTier0Handle();
         if (g_ppMemAllocSingleton && *g_ppMemAllocSingleton)
             return (*g_ppMemAllocSingleton)->m_vtable->Alloc(*g_ppMemAllocSingleton, n);
         else
@@ -42,6 +44,7 @@ void* malloc(size_t n)
 
 void free(void* p)
 {
+    //printf("NorthstarLauncher free: %p\n", p);
     // if it was allocated into the static buffer, just do nothing, safest way to deal with it
     if (p >= pStaticAllocBuf && p <= pStaticAllocBuf + STATIC_ALLOC_SIZE)
         return;
diff --git a/NorthstarDedicatedTest/dllmain.cpp b/NorthstarDedicatedTest/dllmain.cpp
index 1aa4bd3b..dfc3afe1 100644
--- a/NorthstarDedicatedTest/dllmain.cpp
+++ b/NorthstarDedicatedTest/dllmain.cpp
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ bool InitialiseNorthstar()
 {
     if (initialised)
     {
-        fprintf(stderr, "[WARN] Called InitialiseNorthstar more than once!\n");
+        fprintf(stderr, "[info] Called InitialiseNorthstar more than once!\n");
         return false;
     }
     initialised = true;
@@ -81,8 +81,7 @@ bool InitialiseNorthstar()
     InstallInitialHooks();
     InitialiseInterfaceCreationHooks();
 
-    // adding a callback to tier0 won't work for some reason
-    AddDllLoadCallback("launcher.org.dll", InitialiseTier0GameUtilFunctions);
+    AddDllLoadCallback("tier0.dll", InitialiseTier0GameUtilFunctions);
     AddDllLoadCallback("engine.dll", WaitForDebugger);
     AddDllLoadCallback("engine.dll", InitialiseEngineGameUtilFunctions);
     AddDllLoadCallback("server.dll", InitialiseServerGameUtilFunctions);
@@ -91,7 +90,7 @@ bool InitialiseNorthstar()
     // dedi patches
     {
         AddDllLoadCallback("engine.dll", InitialiseDedicated);
-        AddDllLoadCallback("launcher.org.dll", InitialiseDedicatedOrigin);
+        AddDllLoadCallback("tier0.dll", InitialiseDedicatedOrigin);
         AddDllLoadCallback("server.dll", InitialiseDedicatedServerGameDLL);
         AddDllLoadCallback("materialsystem_dx11.dll", InitialiseDedicatedMaterialSystem);
         // this fucking sucks, but seemingly we somehow load after rtech_game???? unsure how, but because of this we have to apply patches here, not on rtech_game load
diff --git a/NorthstarDedicatedTest/gameutils.cpp b/NorthstarDedicatedTest/gameutils.cpp
index 97011059..3e62037c 100644
--- a/NorthstarDedicatedTest/gameutils.cpp
+++ b/NorthstarDedicatedTest/gameutils.cpp
@@ -78,16 +78,25 @@ void InitialiseServerGameUtilFunctions(HMODULE baseAddress)
 
 void InitialiseTier0GameUtilFunctions(HMODULE baseAddress)
 {
-	baseAddress = GetModuleHandleA("tier0.dll");
-	if (!baseAddress)
-		throw "tier0.dll is not loaded";
-
 	CreateGlobalMemAlloc = reinterpret_cast<CreateGlobalMemAllocType>(GetProcAddress(baseAddress, "CreateGlobalMemAlloc"));
 	IMemAlloc** ppMemAllocSingleton = reinterpret_cast<IMemAlloc**>(GetProcAddress(baseAddress, "g_pMemAllocSingleton"));
-	if (!ppMemAllocSingleton || !*ppMemAllocSingleton)
+	if (!ppMemAllocSingleton)
+	{
+		spdlog::critical("Address of g_pMemAllocSingleton is a null pointer, this should never happen");
+		throw "Address of g_pMemAllocSingleton is a null pointer, this should never happen";
+	}
+	if (!*ppMemAllocSingleton)
+	{
 		g_pMemAllocSingleton = CreateGlobalMemAlloc();
+		*ppMemAllocSingleton = g_pMemAllocSingleton;
+		spdlog::warn("Created new g_pMemAllocSingleton");
+	}
 	else
+	{
 		g_pMemAllocSingleton = *ppMemAllocSingleton;
+		extern size_t g_iStaticAllocated;
+		spdlog::info("Using existing g_pMemAllocSingleton for memory allocations, preallocated {} bytes beforehand", g_iStaticAllocated);
+	}
 
 	Error = reinterpret_cast<ErrorType>(GetProcAddress(baseAddress, "Error"));
 	CommandLine = reinterpret_cast<CommandLineType>(GetProcAddress(baseAddress, "CommandLine"));
diff --git a/NorthstarDedicatedTest/hooks.cpp b/NorthstarDedicatedTest/hooks.cpp
index 3de8d483..9d2be61c 100644
--- a/NorthstarDedicatedTest/hooks.cpp
+++ b/NorthstarDedicatedTest/hooks.cpp
@@ -6,14 +6,24 @@
 #include <iostream>
 #include <vector>
 
+// note that these load library callbacks only support explicitly loaded dynamic libraries
+
 typedef HMODULE(*LoadLibraryExAType)(LPCSTR lpLibFileName, HANDLE hFile, DWORD dwFlags);
 HMODULE LoadLibraryExAHook(LPCSTR lpLibFileName, HANDLE hFile, DWORD dwFlags);
 
+typedef HMODULE(*LoadLibraryAType)(LPCSTR lpLibFileName);
+HMODULE LoadLibraryAHook(LPCSTR lpLibFileName);
+
 typedef HMODULE(*LoadLibraryExWType)(LPCWSTR lpLibFileName, HANDLE hFile, DWORD dwFlags);
 HMODULE LoadLibraryExWHook(LPCWSTR lpLibFileName, HANDLE hFile, DWORD dwFlags);
 
+typedef HMODULE(*LoadLibraryWType)(LPCWSTR lpLibFileName);
+HMODULE LoadLibraryWHook(LPCWSTR lpLibFileName);
+
 LoadLibraryExAType LoadLibraryExAOriginal;
+LoadLibraryAType LoadLibraryAOriginal;
 LoadLibraryExWType LoadLibraryExWOriginal;
+LoadLibraryWType LoadLibraryWOriginal;
 
 void InstallInitialHooks()
 {
@@ -22,7 +32,9 @@ void InstallInitialHooks()
 	
 	HookEnabler hook;
 	ENABLER_CREATEHOOK(hook, &LoadLibraryExA, &LoadLibraryExAHook, reinterpret_cast<LPVOID*>(&LoadLibraryExAOriginal));
+	ENABLER_CREATEHOOK(hook, &LoadLibraryA, &LoadLibraryAHook, reinterpret_cast<LPVOID*>(&LoadLibraryAOriginal));
 	ENABLER_CREATEHOOK(hook, &LoadLibraryExW, &LoadLibraryExWHook, reinterpret_cast<LPVOID*>(&LoadLibraryExWOriginal));
+	ENABLER_CREATEHOOK(hook, &LoadLibraryW, &LoadLibraryWHook, reinterpret_cast<LPVOID*>(&LoadLibraryWOriginal));
 }
 
 // dll load callback stuff
@@ -46,20 +58,51 @@ void AddDllLoadCallback(std::string dll, DllLoadCallbackFuncType callback)
 	dllLoadCallbacks.push_back(callbackStruct);
 }
 
+void CallLoadLibraryACallbacks(LPCSTR lpLibFileName, HMODULE moduleAddress)
+{
+	for (auto& callbackStruct : dllLoadCallbacks)
+	{
+		if (!callbackStruct->called && strstr(lpLibFileName + (strlen(lpLibFileName) - strlen(callbackStruct->dll.c_str())), callbackStruct->dll.c_str()) != nullptr)
+		{
+			callbackStruct->callback(moduleAddress);
+			callbackStruct->called = true;
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+void CallLoadLibraryWCallbacks(LPCWSTR lpLibFileName, HMODULE moduleAddress)
+{
+	for (auto& callbackStruct : dllLoadCallbacks)
+	{
+		std::wstring wcharStrDll = std::wstring(callbackStruct->dll.begin(), callbackStruct->dll.end());
+		const wchar_t* callbackDll = wcharStrDll.c_str();
+		if (!callbackStruct->called && wcsstr(lpLibFileName + (wcslen(lpLibFileName) - wcslen(callbackDll)), callbackDll) != nullptr)
+		{
+			callbackStruct->callback(moduleAddress);
+			callbackStruct->called = true;
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 HMODULE LoadLibraryExAHook(LPCSTR lpLibFileName, HANDLE hFile, DWORD dwFlags)
 {
 	HMODULE moduleAddress = LoadLibraryExAOriginal(lpLibFileName, hFile, dwFlags);
 	
 	if (moduleAddress)
 	{
-		for (auto& callbackStruct : dllLoadCallbacks)
-		{
-			if (!callbackStruct->called && strstr(lpLibFileName + (strlen(lpLibFileName) - strlen(callbackStruct->dll.c_str())), callbackStruct->dll.c_str()) != nullptr)
-			{
-				callbackStruct->callback(moduleAddress);
-				callbackStruct->called = true;
-			}
-		}
+		CallLoadLibraryACallbacks(lpLibFileName, moduleAddress);
+	}
+
+	return moduleAddress;
+}
+
+HMODULE LoadLibraryAHook(LPCSTR lpLibFileName)
+{
+	HMODULE moduleAddress = LoadLibraryAOriginal(lpLibFileName);
+
+	if (moduleAddress)
+	{
+		CallLoadLibraryACallbacks(lpLibFileName, moduleAddress);
 	}
 
 	return moduleAddress;
@@ -71,16 +114,19 @@ HMODULE LoadLibraryExWHook(LPCWSTR lpLibFileName, HANDLE hFile, DWORD dwFlags)
 
 	if (moduleAddress)
 	{
-		for (auto& callbackStruct : dllLoadCallbacks)
-		{
-			std::wstring wcharStrDll = std::wstring(callbackStruct->dll.begin(), callbackStruct->dll.end());
-			const wchar_t* callbackDll = wcharStrDll.c_str();
-			if (!callbackStruct->called && wcsstr(lpLibFileName + (wcslen(lpLibFileName) - wcslen(callbackDll)), callbackDll) != nullptr)
-			{
-				callbackStruct->callback(moduleAddress);
-				callbackStruct->called = true;
-			}
-		}
+		CallLoadLibraryWCallbacks(lpLibFileName, moduleAddress);
+	}
+
+	return moduleAddress;
+}
+
+HMODULE LoadLibraryWHook(LPCWSTR lpLibFileName)
+{
+	HMODULE moduleAddress = LoadLibraryWOriginal(lpLibFileName);
+
+	if (moduleAddress)
+	{
+		CallLoadLibraryWCallbacks(lpLibFileName, moduleAddress);
 	}
 
 	return moduleAddress;
diff --git a/NorthstarDedicatedTest/memalloc.cpp b/NorthstarDedicatedTest/memalloc.cpp
index 113f56b9..cff0ecac 100644
--- a/NorthstarDedicatedTest/memalloc.cpp
+++ b/NorthstarDedicatedTest/memalloc.cpp
@@ -17,24 +17,48 @@ const int STATIC_ALLOC_SIZE = 100000; // alot more than we need, could reduce to
 size_t g_iStaticAllocated = 0;
 char pStaticAllocBuf[STATIC_ALLOC_SIZE];
 
-void* operator new(size_t n)
+// TODO: rename to malloc and free after removing statically compiled .libs
+
+void* malloc_(size_t n)
 {
 	// allocate into static buffer if g_pMemAllocSingleton isn't initialised
 	if (g_pMemAllocSingleton)
+	{
+		//printf("Northstar malloc (g_pMemAllocSingleton): %llu\n", n);
 		return g_pMemAllocSingleton->m_vtable->Alloc(g_pMemAllocSingleton, n);
+	}
 	else
 	{
+		if (g_iStaticAllocated + n > STATIC_ALLOC_SIZE)
+		{
+			throw "Ran out of prealloc space"; // we could log, but spdlog probably does use allocations as well...
+		}
+		//printf("Northstar malloc (prealloc): %llu\n", n);
 		void* ret = pStaticAllocBuf + g_iStaticAllocated;
 		g_iStaticAllocated += n;
 		return ret;
-	}	
+	}
 }
 
-void operator delete(void* p)
+void free_(void* p)
 {
 	// if it was allocated into the static buffer, just do nothing, safest way to deal with it
 	if (p >= pStaticAllocBuf && p <= pStaticAllocBuf + STATIC_ALLOC_SIZE)
+	{
+		//printf("Northstar free (prealloc): %p\n", p);
 		return;
+	}
 
+	//printf("Northstar free (g_pMemAllocSingleton): %p\n", p);
 	g_pMemAllocSingleton->m_vtable->Free(g_pMemAllocSingleton, p);
+}
+
+void* operator new(size_t n)
+{
+	return malloc_(n);
+}
+
+void operator delete(void* p)
+{
+	free_(p);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/loader_launcher_proxy/Memory.cpp b/loader_launcher_proxy/Memory.cpp
index d5642ca5..6c69d80f 100644
--- a/loader_launcher_proxy/Memory.cpp
+++ b/loader_launcher_proxy/Memory.cpp
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 #include "pch.h"
 
-HMODULE hTier0Module;
+extern HMODULE hTier0Module;
 IMemAlloc** g_ppMemAllocSingleton;
 
 void LoadTier0Handle()
 {
-    hTier0Module = GetModuleHandleA("tier0.dll");
+    if (!hTier0Module) hTier0Module = GetModuleHandleA("tier0.dll");
     if (!hTier0Module) return;
 
     g_ppMemAllocSingleton = (IMemAlloc**)GetProcAddress(hTier0Module, "g_pMemAllocSingleton");
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@ const int STATIC_ALLOC_SIZE = 4096;
 size_t g_iStaticAllocated = 0;
 char pStaticAllocBuf[STATIC_ALLOC_SIZE];
 
-// they should never be used here, except in LibraryLoadError
+// they should never be used here, except in LibraryLoadError?
 
-void* operator new(size_t n)
+void* malloc(size_t n)
 {
     // allocate into static buffer
     if (g_iStaticAllocated + n <= STATIC_ALLOC_SIZE)
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ void* operator new(size_t n)
     else
     {
         // try to fallback to g_pMemAllocSingleton
-        if (!hTier0Module) LoadTier0Handle();
+        if (!hTier0Module || !g_ppMemAllocSingleton) LoadTier0Handle();
         if (g_ppMemAllocSingleton && *g_ppMemAllocSingleton)
             return (*g_ppMemAllocSingleton)->m_vtable->Alloc(*g_ppMemAllocSingleton, n);
         else
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ void* operator new(size_t n)
     }
 }
 
-void operator delete(void* p)
+void free(void* p)
 {
     // if it was allocated into the static buffer, just do nothing, safest way to deal with it
     if (p >= pStaticAllocBuf && p <= pStaticAllocBuf + STATIC_ALLOC_SIZE)
@@ -47,3 +47,13 @@ void operator delete(void* p)
     if (g_ppMemAllocSingleton && *g_ppMemAllocSingleton)
         (*g_ppMemAllocSingleton)->m_vtable->Free(*g_ppMemAllocSingleton, p);
 }
+
+void* operator new(size_t n)
+{
+    return malloc(n);
+}
+
+void operator delete(void* p)
+{
+    return free(p);
+}
diff --git a/loader_launcher_proxy/dllmain.cpp b/loader_launcher_proxy/dllmain.cpp
index 31360a8e..6db50986 100644
--- a/loader_launcher_proxy/dllmain.cpp
+++ b/loader_launcher_proxy/dllmain.cpp
@@ -3,9 +3,12 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <system_error>
 #include <Shlwapi.h>
+#include <sstream>
+#include <fstream>
 
 HMODULE hLauncherModule;
 HMODULE hHookModule;
+HMODULE hTier0Module;
 
 using CreateInterfaceFn = void* (*)(const char* pName, int* pReturnCode);
 
@@ -44,7 +47,7 @@ void LibraryLoadError(DWORD dwMessageId, const wchar_t* libName, const wchar_t*
     char text[2048];
     std::string message = std::system_category().message(dwMessageId); 
     sprintf_s(text, "Failed to load the %ls at \"%ls\" (%lu):\n\n%hs", libName, location, dwMessageId, message.c_str());
-    MessageBoxA(GetForegroundWindow(), text, "Launcher Error", 0);
+    MessageBoxA(GetForegroundWindow(), text, "Northstar Launcher Proxy Error", 0);
 }
 
 BOOL APIENTRY DllMain( HMODULE hModule,
@@ -66,32 +69,61 @@ BOOL APIENTRY DllMain( HMODULE hModule,
 wchar_t exePath[4096];
 wchar_t dllPath[4096];
 
+bool ShouldLoadNorthstar()
+{
+    bool loadNorthstar = !strstr(GetCommandLineA(), "-vanilla");
+
+    if (!loadNorthstar)
+        return loadNorthstar;
+
+    auto runNorthstarFile = std::ifstream("run_northstar.txt");
+    if (runNorthstarFile)
+    {
+        std::stringstream runNorthstarFileBuffer;
+        runNorthstarFileBuffer << runNorthstarFile.rdbuf();
+        runNorthstarFile.close();
+        if (runNorthstarFileBuffer.str()._Starts_with("0"))
+            loadNorthstar = false;
+    }
+    return loadNorthstar;
+}
+
+bool LoadNorthstar()
+{
+    FARPROC Hook_Init = nullptr;
+    {
+        swprintf_s(dllPath, L"%s\\Northstar.dll", exePath);
+        hHookModule = LoadLibraryExW(dllPath, 0i64, 8u);
+        if (hHookModule) Hook_Init = GetProcAddress(hHookModule, "InitialiseNorthstar");
+        if (!hHookModule || Hook_Init == nullptr)
+        {
+            LibraryLoadError(GetLastError(), L"Northstar.dll", dllPath);
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    printf("WILL CALL HOOK INIT\n");
+    ((bool (*)()) Hook_Init)();
+    return true;
+}
+
 extern "C" __declspec(dllexport) int LauncherMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow)
 {
     {
         if (!GetExePathWide(exePath, 4096))
         {
-            MessageBoxA(GetForegroundWindow(), "Failed getting game directory.\nThe game cannot continue and has to exit.", "Launcher Error", 0);
+            MessageBoxA(GetForegroundWindow(), "Failed getting game directory.\nThe game cannot continue and has to exit.", "Northstar Launcher Proxy Error", 0);
             return 1;
         }
 
-        bool loadNorthstar = !strstr(GetCommandLineA(), "-vanilla");
+        bool loadNorthstar = ShouldLoadNorthstar();
+
         if (loadNorthstar)
         {
-            FARPROC Hook_Init = nullptr;
-            {
-                swprintf_s(dllPath, L"%s\\Northstar.dll", exePath);
-                hHookModule = LoadLibraryExW(dllPath, 0i64, 8u);
-                if (hHookModule) Hook_Init = GetProcAddress(hHookModule, "InitialiseNorthstar");
-                if (!hHookModule || Hook_Init == nullptr)
-                {
-                    LibraryLoadError(GetLastError(), L"Northstar.dll", dllPath);
-                    return 1;
-                }
-            }
-
-            ((bool (*)()) Hook_Init)();
+            if (!LoadNorthstar())
+                return 1;
         }
+        //else printf("\n\n WILL !!!NOT!!! LOAD NORTHSTAR\n\n");
 
         swprintf_s(dllPath, L"%s\\bin\\x64_retail\\launcher.org.dll", exePath);
         hLauncherModule = LoadLibraryExW(dllPath, 0i64, 8u);
@@ -100,11 +132,21 @@ extern "C" __declspec(dllexport) int LauncherMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE
             LibraryLoadError(GetLastError(), L"launcher.org.dll", dllPath);
             return 1;
         }
+
+        // this makes zero sense given tier0.dll is already loaded via imports on launcher.dll, but we do it for full consistency with original launcher exe
+        // and to also let load callbacks in Northstar work for tier0.dll
+        swprintf_s(dllPath, L"%s\\bin\\x64_retail\\tier0.dll", exePath);
+        hTier0Module = LoadLibraryW(dllPath);
+        if (!hTier0Module)
+        {
+            LibraryLoadError(GetLastError(), L"tier0.dll", dllPath);
+            return 1;
+        }
     }
 
     auto LauncherMain = GetLauncherMain();
     if (!LauncherMain)
-        MessageBoxA(GetForegroundWindow(), "Failed loading launcher.org.dll.\nThe game cannot continue and has to exit.", "Launcher Error", 0);
+        MessageBoxA(GetForegroundWindow(), "Failed loading launcher.org.dll.\nThe game cannot continue and has to exit.", "Northstar Launcher Proxy Error", 0);
     //auto result = ((__int64(__fastcall*)())LauncherMain)();
     //auto result = ((signed __int64(__fastcall*)(__int64))LauncherMain)(0i64);
     return ((int(__fastcall*)(HINSTANCE, HINSTANCE, LPSTR, int))LauncherMain)(hInstance, hPrevInstance, lpCmdLine, nCmdShow);
diff --git a/loader_launcher_proxy/loader_launcher_proxy.vcxproj b/loader_launcher_proxy/loader_launcher_proxy.vcxproj
index 65ef19ba..9cc7a4c7 100644
--- a/loader_launcher_proxy/loader_launcher_proxy.vcxproj
+++ b/loader_launcher_proxy/loader_launcher_proxy.vcxproj
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@
       <ConformanceMode>true</ConformanceMode>
       <PrecompiledHeader>Use</PrecompiledHeader>
       <PrecompiledHeaderFile>pch.h</PrecompiledHeaderFile>
-      <LanguageStandard>Default</LanguageStandard>
+      <LanguageStandard>stdcpp17</LanguageStandard>
     </ClCompile>
     <Link>
       <SubSystem>Windows</SubSystem>