How to start developing an online game using a third-party client?

Question

Game development

Hello. There is a client of a closed online game of 2008 release. I want to port this game to UE4, write a backend and anti-cheat. Where do I begin? How can I open game resources with the dat extension? I am not a programmer, I have zero knowledge, I am ready to spend years of my life. The engine on which the game is written is unknown.

Answer 1

willing to spend years of your life

You can say this only if you have also had a desire to port for several years. Otherwise, it's better to just wait - the desire will pass.
It is difficult to make such a game with a small team, it is even more difficult to make money on it, and it is impossible to make a game alone.
Why such a choice? It's easier to choose an engine, being just a programmer, otherwise it's a finger in the sky. CryEngine is more focused on MMOs, but here programmers can list the pros and cons for a long time.
If there are no source codes, then it's easier to do everything from scratch. Maybe, of course, you will be lucky, and you will be able to easily extract art and models from dat files, but this will be 10-year-old graphics. Who will she visit in our time?

Answer 2

. Where do I begin?

From google. If the game of 2008 was popular enough, there are probably already unpackers, and resource editors for it, and everything in the world. Search thematic forums.
Do not believe it - Google :) .dat is an extremely general extension that does not define anything specific.
Nothing, love...