VC How-to: Installing/Making Mods

brokenfish · 10-02-2003

Note: This is currently abandoned and will most likely never be finished. If you're looking for a complete, complete guide, this isn't it. Sorry, but I just don't find enough time or reason to finish it these days. Excuse the inconvenience. Goodbye.

OK, since I do mostly modding, I thought I could make a tutorial-type post with proper English!

BEFORE BEGINNING: BLACK UP ALL FILES THAT YOU MODIFY! PLEASE DONT ASK EVERYONE FOR A FILE JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO LAZIE TO PUT IT UP!
[size=0.8]I am now offering backups to save those irresponsible people

Get them here...[/size]

After that, clear your Vice City files' "Read-Only" attributes. (Windows procedure) Select the file you are modifying (or just select all of them) and then right-click and go to 'Properties.' Somewhere near the bottom of the box is a checkbox labeled "Read-Only." Uncheck that, and you're set (Windows XP). In previous versions of Windows, you may have to individually set the attributes of the files you want. Just go into the flolder and set it for the indivudual file by itself. It's not that much harder...

Tools: [ General modding tools can be found here.]

Mission (SCM) Editor - Vice City Mission Builder by Barton Waterduck OR GTAMA by DanS and team. (equally handy; just choose whichever seems nicer to you, it's mostly personal preference.)
color=skyblue]Archive (IMG) Editor[/color] - There are various gta3.img editors available. For example, IMG Tool by spooky/illspirit, dirmanager by DNK, or DanS's ImgEd.
Image (TXD) Editor - Again, many are available. A few are ViceTXD by spooky/illspirit, Steve M.'s TXD Builder, and spooky/illspirit/MattJ have one for GTA3 that also works for Vice City files.
Text Strings (GXT) Editor - The only one I can truly recommend is CyQ's Vice City GXT Editor 1.2. It's the only completely bug-free one I have found. Make sure it is 1.2 and not 1.0. The older version will still cause the unexpected error in the game if you're not careful...
Sound (RAW/ADF/WAV) files - LithJoe had made a great sound editor for GTA SA. that is compatible with Vice City. Get that one if you're planning on modifying sound. Also, vicesimus alter and Audio Decoder by 'Pasadise #77' are good for converting radio station ADF files to MP3 for modifying. Or, if you only want to alter the dialogue sounds, use any audio editor to change the WAV files in the Audio directory.
Map (IPL) Editor - The only thing I've heard of is MooMapper by KCow. This should be fairly hard to learn and get started with.
Model (DFF) Editor - ZanozaModeler and its proper San Andreas filters are required for importing the models into Vice City. These models can be made in almost any modeling program that exports to a format that ZModeler can read.
Collision (COL) Editor - These files determine the actual "space" something takes up and defines its shape. Steve M. has an easy-to-use editor, Collision File Editor. Please tell me any more you know of.
Handling (CFG) Editor - Use Notepad or any simple text editor. No need to waste space on fancy car editors (unless, of course, you like the look. Again, it's personal preference.)
Weapon (DAT) Editor - Same as handling.cfg. For weapon.dat, Notepad will do fine.
Others - things like carcols.dat, default.dat, default.ide, gta_vc.dat, info.zon, map.zon, navig.zon, object.dot, particle.cfg, surface.dat, timecyc.dat, and waterpro.dat aren't modified a whole lot, so you shouldn't have to worry too much. Otherwise, use Notepad (with the exception of waterpro.dat. Steve M. had created another awesome program that edits the water levels for you.)

Now, choose a section:

[*Skins
Maps
Cars - INSTALLATION
Before we begin: You did back up your files, right?
You will need:
1. An IMG Editor
2. Text Editor
Let's begin.
1. Unpack the car mod's flies to a folder that you can get to (I usually put them in a folder on the desktop).
2. Open up your IMG editor, and open up your gta3.img file.
3. Rename the files of the vehicle you want to replace to mark it as a backup. So, if you want to replace the cheetah with newcar, you would rename cheetah.dff and cheetah.txd to cheetah_orig.dff and cheetah_orig.txd.
4. Now, ensure that the files in the folder where you extracted the files are properly named. Rename the .dff and .txd to the car you want to replace. As an example, we will rename them to cheetah.dff and cheetah.txd.
5. After that, go back to your IMG editor. Use the add function to add the files from the folder you made. In this case, we're inserting cheetah.dff and cheetah.txd. Now we should have cheetah_orig.dff, cheetah_orig.dff and cheetah.dff, cheetah.dff. If this is all that's required, then you're done! Go ahead and play the game. Your car should now be replaced.
6. If the car needs something else like handling editing or car colors, then open up handling.cfg and/or carcols.dat. Find the line(s) of the car that you want to replace. Delete it/them. Now copy the settings from the mod that you downloaded and paste them into handling.cfg and/or carcols.dat. Done!
Mission Mods
Weapons
Misc. (textures, sound, etc.)

~Takin' a break for now pricks...

(As you can tell, this isn't done yet. I shall be updating this post as more things become available. Please list any tools or steps, etc. that I missed.)

This probably won't be touched for a while. To "request" a guide, post it. I'll try to find time to update this sometime. When I do have time.

**Kodo** · 10-02-2003

I think this would be more appropiate for the modding forum. Nice work though

brokenfish · 10-02-2003

updated

**ZCAB** · 10-11-2003

This'll help a lot of peeps out, nice work bf.

brokenfish · 10-11-2003

thanks!

tell me if i need anything else (besides the actual modding tutorial links; theyll come soon after i finish my site up

)

10-16-2003

i'm new to this.. where can i get these tools..
is there a site just for gta mods..
is there any tutorial on this..
PLEASE HELP!!!

brokenfish · 10-16-2003

the latest and safest files are available from my site now

tutorials will come on the weekend probably

11-03-2003

hey im a little stoned here

,

on step 2 you say to " open IMG tool " which i did
then on step 3 you said to rename the backup files...
how do i open a dff or txd in an img tool? or did you mean just do it on windows? cuz you said open IMG tool then rename them lol...........

brokenfish · 11-03-2003

sorry, i meant open the img file. but you didnt figure out huh :p

11-19-2003

hey fellas..
im looking more and more at these mods.. and ill like to start one my self..
i posted before here. but are there tools out now.. that i can use..
when making a model are u guyz using 3ds max to make them?

also can u use ur mods in multiplayer verison thats out there...

what do i need to do to start this..???

stealth1991 · 11-22-2003

Broken Fish i need to know how to add a polygon with Zmodeler please ask somon like switch or somon if you dont know please!!

brokenfish · 11-28-2003

i dont know exactly how zmod works.
did you try adding triangles and work from there?

or is it all vertices and then you join them?

11-28-2003

I need An IMG Editor and Text Editor... help?

brokenfish · 11-28-2003

text editor: notepad.

img editor: rappo might have one.
use his until mine gets back up.

**rappo** · 11-28-2003

Well, it would be pretty weird if you dont have at text editor... almost every computer comes with one (Notepad or Wordpad).

I think that the best IMG Editor out there is Spooky's IMG Tool.

get it here: http://gtawip.com/main/modules/mydow...le.php?lid=306

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10-02-2003	#1
brokenfish Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,310	Vice City - Installing/Making MODs Note: This is currently abandoned and will most likely never be finished. If you're looking for a complete, complete guide, this isn't it. Sorry, but I just don't find enough time or reason to finish it these days. Excuse the inconvenience. Goodbye. OK, since I do mostly modding, I thought I could make a tutorial-type post with proper English! BEFORE BEGINNING: BLACK UP ALL FILES THAT YOU MODIFY! PLEASE DONT ASK EVERYONE FOR A FILE JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO LAZIE TO PUT IT UP! [size=0.8]I am now offering backups to save those irresponsible people Get them here...[/size] After that, clear your Vice City files' "Read-Only" attributes. (Windows procedure) Select the file you are modifying (or just select all of them) and then right-click and go to 'Properties.' Somewhere near the bottom of the box is a checkbox labeled "Read-Only." Uncheck that, and you're set (Windows XP). In previous versions of Windows, you may have to individually set the attributes of the files you want. Just go into the flolder and set it for the indivudual file by itself. It's not that much harder... Tools: [ General modding tools can be found here.] Mission (SCM) Editor - Vice City Mission Builder by Barton Waterduck OR GTAMA by DanS and team. (equally handy; just choose whichever seems nicer to you, it's mostly personal preference.) color=skyblue]Archive (IMG) Editor[/color] - There are various gta3.img editors available. For example, IMG Tool by spooky/illspirit, dirmanager by DNK, or DanS's ImgEd. Image (TXD) Editor - Again, many are available. A few are ViceTXD by spooky/illspirit, Steve M.'s TXD Builder, and spooky/illspirit/MattJ have one for GTA3 that also works for Vice City files. Text Strings (GXT) Editor - The only one I can truly recommend is CyQ's Vice City GXT Editor 1.2. It's the only completely bug-free one I have found. Make sure it is 1.2 and not 1.0. The older version will still cause the unexpected error in the game if you're not careful... Sound (RAW/ADF/WAV) files - LithJoe had made a great sound editor for GTA SA. that is compatible with Vice City. Get that one if you're planning on modifying sound. Also, vicesimus alter and Audio Decoder by 'Pasadise #77' are good for converting radio station ADF files to MP3 for modifying. Or, if you only want to alter the dialogue sounds, use any audio editor to change the WAV files in the Audio directory. Map (IPL) Editor - The only thing I've heard of is MooMapper by KCow. This should be fairly hard to learn and get started with. Model (DFF) Editor - ZanozaModeler and its proper San Andreas filters are required for importing the models into Vice City. These models can be made in almost any modeling program that exports to a format that ZModeler can read. Collision (COL) Editor - These files determine the actual "space" something takes up and defines its shape. Steve M. has an easy-to-use editor, Collision File Editor. Please tell me any more you know of. Handling (CFG) Editor - Use Notepad or any simple text editor. No need to waste space on fancy car editors (unless, of course, you like the look. Again, it's personal preference.) Weapon (DAT) Editor - Same as handling.cfg. For weapon.dat, Notepad will do fine. Others - things like carcols.dat, default.dat, default.ide, gta_vc.dat, info.zon, map.zon, navig.zon, object.dot, particle.cfg, surface.dat, timecyc.dat, and waterpro.dat aren't modified a whole lot, so you shouldn't have to worry too much. Otherwise, use Notepad (with the exception of waterpro.dat. Steve M. had created another awesome program that edits the water levels for you.) Now, choose a section: [Skins Maps Cars - INSTALLATION Before we begin: You did back up your files, right? You will need: An IMG Editor Text Editor Let's begin. Unpack the car mod's flies to a folder that you can get to (I usually put them in a folder on the desktop). Open up your IMG editor, and open up your gta3.img file. Rename the files of the vehicle you want to replace to mark it as a backup. So, if you want to replace the cheetah with newcar, you would rename cheetah.dff and cheetah.txd to cheetah_orig.dff and cheetah_orig.txd. Now, ensure that the files in the folder where you extracted the files are properly named. Rename the .dff and .txd to the car you want to replace. As an example, we will rename them to cheetah.dff and cheetah.txd. After that, go back to your IMG editor. Use the add function to add the files from the folder you made. In this case, we're inserting cheetah.dff and cheetah.txd. Now we should have cheetah_orig.dff, cheetah_orig.dff and cheetah.dff, cheetah.dff. If this is all that's required, then you're done! Go ahead and play the game. Your car should now be replaced. If the car needs something else like handling editing or car colors, then open up handling.cfg and/or carcols.dat. Find the line(s) of the car that you want to replace. Delete it/them. Now copy the settings from the mod that you downloaded and paste them into handling.cfg and/or carcols.dat. Done! Mission Mods Weapons Misc. (textures, sound, etc.) ~Takin' a break for now pricks... (As you can tell, this isn't done yet. I shall be updating this post as more things become available. Please list any tools or steps, etc. that I missed.) This probably won't be touched for a while. To "request" a guide, post it. I'll try to find time to update this sometime. When I do have time. Last edited by brokenfish : 01-05-2004 at 09:33 PM.*

10-02-2003	#2
Kodo Hello Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Michigan Posts: 3,992	I think this would be more appropiate for the modding forum. Nice work though __________________

10-02-2003	#3
brokenfish Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,310	updated __________________ brokenfish Last edited by brokenfish : 10-03-2003 at 04:11 PM.

10-11-2003	#4
ZCAB Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tiel, The Netherlands Posts: 4,533	This'll help a lot of peeps out, nice work bf. __________________

10-11-2003	#5
brokenfish Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,310	thanks! tell me if i need anything else (besides the actual modding tutorial links; theyll come soon after i finish my site up ) __________________ brokenfish

10-16-2003	#6
theonlyone Posts: n/a	i'm new to this.. where can i get these tools.. is there a site just for gta mods.. is there any tutorial on this.. PLEASE HELP!!!

11-03-2003	#8
smallpackage Posts: n/a	hey im a little stoned here , on step 2 you say to " open IMG tool " which i did then on step 3 you said to rename the backup files... how do i open a dff or txd in an img tool? or did you mean just do it on windows? cuz you said open IMG tool then rename them lol...........

11-19-2003	#10
theonlyone Posts: n/a	hey fellas.. im looking more and more at these mods.. and ill like to start one my self.. i posted before here. but are there tools out now.. that i can use.. when making a model are u guyz using 3ds max to make them? also can u use ur mods in multiplayer verison thats out there... what do i need to do to start this..???

11-22-2003	#11
stealth1991 Registered User Amateur Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: vermont Posts: 160	Broken Fish i need to know how to add a polygon with Zmodeler please ask somon like switch or somon if you dont know please!! __________________

11-28-2003	#12
brokenfish Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 2,310	i dont know exactly how zmod works. did you try adding triangles and work from there? or is it all vertices and then you join them? __________________ brokenfish

11-28-2003	#13
tondi Posts: n/a	I need An IMG Editor and Text Editor... help?

11-28-2003	#15
rappo Professional Dumbass Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,056	Well, it would be pretty weird if you dont have at text editor... almost every computer comes with one (Notepad or Wordpad). I think that the best IMG Editor out there is Spooky's IMG Tool. get it here: http://gtawip.com/main/modules/mydow...le.php?lid=306 __________________

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