[iriedreadlock23]

I found this little work in progress done by me not long ago. I was always wondering if there was a way to use real html pages within game, and after some experimenting I found a simple way to do it. The idea was to somehow capture html code, and build it on a JPG picture. I googled a bit and I found ABCDrawHTML2Lib to snapshot pages, for example google etc. So you just enter a webpage URL, it gets saved in temp folder, and script displays a page in game. Now, If any of you, fellow modders, are willing to help. Let's write some history and do some amazing work here. I don't require your big ups, but instead your knowledge and help. So there will be a day when you will be able to check your email, news feeds, and new GtaForums posts while playing GTAIV.

I am looking for a open-source library that can do the job of snapshoting the webpages, since the one I use is 30-day limited version of ABCDrawHTML2Lib. Offcourse, any hints on built in HTML code from GTAIV is appreciated.

[Intosia]

If it makes Jpeg how do you click on links?

[iriedreadlock23]

Well offcourse, this could be used for VIEWING PAGES, NOT for full web browsing with ActiveX or Java or Flash etc. Offcourse links could be done aswell, by simply remembering the link boxes, withing the tool for creating web snapshot. Then you could click on links. If I knew how to build a fully working web browser like Mozzila in GTAIV, I wouldnt be here, asking for people to help me out. I see that noone has come up with a way to view webpages in game yet, so here i am, breaking the ice.

If you are offering me a solution, i am willing to listen.

[Donny78]

I think some kind of translation tool could be scripted to allow you to build/configure/change them on the fly using IO/Net while ingame.

It would go something like this:

1) User requests page open with keypress or console command (console address?)
2) Script fetches webpage data and writes stream to file
3) Script reads the file (above) and converts it into GTA.Forms.**** data and stores it in variables/arrays
4) Script parses and builds what it can from the page using forms/buttons/imageboxes/textboxes etc
5) Script displays webpage data as form etc

It is very do-able IMO but would take some clever code (parse tool).

PS. that fetching link was my first google link, I don't know anything about it but searched "html to c#" to find it.

[Mark01]

The idea of browsing the web in the game is somewhat stupid... whatever, I don't know If you already looked there but every websites of the game looks like they are .html pages but renamed in .whm *see pic* I think there's maybe a better way rather than converting webpages to bitmap.

[iriedreadlock23]

Good Idea Donny78. Just thing is how fast would it be using Gta Forms? It's injected D3D overlay as I could understand, but on my rig, I've performance issues with Gta Forms, even though I get very good FPS while playing the game. However, it could be possible to do it that way. And about WHM, I realize that it contains HTML code, but reading WHM without SparkIV, and offcourse writing it back is not an easy job. Its even harder, because no mods are available yet, with WHM format. Sometimes I wish I learned C++, now I wouldn't have to ask much questions.

[Ranger366]

when opening a Website file in Spark, you can view the HTML Code. It IS HTML, whm is an "archive" which stores an HTML and image files. you can find the images in the whm files, but i cant extract them in Spark over the "Edit" tab.

[nkjellman]

I sure hope you get this to work. I like the idea. But Id recremend trying to keep some of the original gta web pages in the game. Atleast the ones you have to use in the campain like eyefindinfo. Hey we now have internet radio in SA.

[spaceeinstein]

Internet radio is easy to do compared to this. Having the game's web browser to view the Internet when you can simply use an actual browser is not worth the work.

[nkjellman]

You could make a simple script that just uses the steam web browser so its like what your aiming for. If you make a new Icon on the ingame desktop and when you click on it the steam brouser pops up.

[thelaststikshipht]

If y'all could figure out how to do it, you could modify the in-game browser itself to read, execute, etc. html, xhtml, shtml, dhtml, php, etc. pages AND the whm pages...

[DoTTGaMMa]

There has been an easy way to do this all along, its called Xfire, activate it for GTA IV and press Scroll Lock + W in game to open the web browser

[thelaststikshipht]

@DoTTGaMMa: Thank you very much for your reply... This is a pretty dated thread, and on threads like these, I don't get very many replies.
Thanks again,


TheLastStikShipht

[jpm1]

personnally i would prefer a web browser available from cyber cafes only . it would be more realistic i think