[Ben]

LC Modding Guide:

This is a directory-based guide for GTA:LC, and it contains an outline of all of the files that are included in the download - it also compares these files to the original VC defaults, as well as briefly detailing how they are different from GTA3. The aim of this is to make modding LC easier for those wishing to install either VC or GTA3 mods. Furthermore, it will also hopefully improve people's understanding of what particular files do, how they are structured, and also how to modify them.

Originally, this guide was intended to be merely an outline of how to install/convert mods to LC from VC and GTA3. However, this meant acquiring an understanding of the fundamental differences between the GTA3 and VC engines, and as such, I decided that it would be better to create a guide that dealt with all modding basics and explored those fundamental differences.

This isn’t meant to be a definitive guide to the functions/roles of each file used in GTA3, VC or LC – it is merely meant to provide enough basic information so that people can view and interpret the files, do their own research, and learn more. However, I have provided detailed information on several of the files, which may also be beneficial for any modding ambitions you may have.

Also, I've tacked on some information on how to go about different types of conversions between the GTA3 and VC engines. However, you should ensure that you fully understand what each file does, how it works, and how to edit it before attempting any conversions. That way, if you run into any problems, you'll be more likely to see where you've gone wrong, which will in turn make you a much better modder .

I first became interested in modding after discovering LC, and I’ve learnt a lot along the way. This project has only furthered my knowledge about LC and modding in general, and I hope that others will gain as much out of it as I have. It's been a learning experience that has required a great deal of research, and as such, there's several people I need to thank:

• The GTA:LC Team - for providing me with GTA:LC. Without it, this guide would simply cease to exist!
• AK-73 - for providing me with all the information I asked for in relation to the IFPs he edited; for pointing out some fundamental differences in the way that the VC engine handles animations/models when compared to III; and for his PED conversion guide from GTA3 to LC.
• ceedj - for his help with the SCM part of the guide.
• Craig Kostelecky - for hosting a bunch of the tools I've linked to in this guide.
• dex909 - for pointing out that you can change text colours through the GXT, something which I was previously unaware of.
• DexX - for pointing me in the right direction in relation to the DAT files in cuts.img and assisting me in "decoding" them; for his guide on material properties; and for helping me with the conversions part of the guide.
• [DMA]Blunted - for the information he provided in spaceeinstein's SFX archive guide.
• Fuzzy Juzzy - for identifying several GXT prefixes/suffixes for me.
• ghost of delete key - for the information he provided here in relation to IDE render flags/properties.
• Hammer83 - for the information on his site relating to the roles of the LC launcher files (see here as well).
• jarjar - for information on variables as GXT prefixes.
• Knowledge Novice - for providing me with an initial list of GXT prefixes.
• Opius - for the information published in his guide regarding ZON files.
• REspawn - for his guide on paths.
• Seemann - for his help with the SCM part of the guide.
• spaceeinstein - for his guide on the GTA3 and VC SFX archives.
• SteaVor - for some corrections regarding EXE differences.
• steve-m - for information on COL files and their format.
• ZanderZ - for the information he provided for Opius's guide in relation to ZON files.
• Everyone who's had some influence on my modding knowledge/abilities - THANKS!

So here it is - enjoy . If you have any comments, feedback, something I've missed or gotten wrong, or I've missed you on the thank-you list - anything at all - just send a PM my way . Do keep in mind though that this is still a work-in-progress - there are still several things I haven’t finished just yet.

Sadly, Ben decided to retire, so this guide will not be expanded much in the future. You can always PM me if there's something worth adding though.
-SteaVor

This post has been edited by SteaVor on Sunday, Nov 4 2007, 13:38

[Ben]

LC\anim\

This directory contains the same three files in LC, VC and GTA3 - cuts.dir, cuts.img and ped.ifp - however, in each case, the make-up of these files is different.

As with all IMG related files on the GTA3 and VC engines, the DIR file is simply an index of the files contained in the actual IMG archive. A comparison between LC, VC and III in this case would be best be done by looking into the actual cuts.img archive (I recommend using either G-IMG or Spooky's IMG Tool 2.0). Cuts.img is basically where all the information relating to cutscenes in the games is stored, with the exception of when to play them and where to place the actors (which are defined in the main.scm - see the LC\data\ part of the guide for more information), and the models used in them (which are stored in the gta3.img archive in all 3 games - see the LC\models\ part of the guide for more information).

There are three main types of files stored in the GTA3 cuts.img archive - IFPs, ANMs and DATs. In VC and LC though, there are only two - IFPs and DATs. An IFP file is basically an animation file for a PED model (that is, the "people" in the game, including the player), and, in the case of cutscenes, controls the movements of the various actors appearing in each cutscene. The ANM files in GTA3's cuts.img control the head animations of the actors - the absence of ANM files in VC/LC is due to fundamental differences in the way the game engines handle PED models - basically, in GTA3, the PED models consisted of various body parts, in which the head was one part, whereas in VC/LC, the PED models were comprised of bones and skin in one complete part. Therefore, head movements of the actors in VC/LC is defined in the IFPs.

Finally, we come the remaining file type in cuts.img - the DAT files (which are easily editable using Notepad). A comparison of a few of the DAT files in both III and LC reveals that the data inside them is exactly the same, which is not surprising considering that these files store data relating to the camera used in the cutscenes.

Basically, the format of the cutscene DAT files is as follows:
xx
f,x,y,z,
...
;
2
f,0.0,0.0,0.0,
**f,0.0,0.0,0.0,
;
xx
f,x,y,z,x,y,z,x,y,z,
...
;
xx
f,x,y,z,x,y,z,x,y,z,
...
;
;


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

xx is the number of lines in each segment of data. There are four segments in each DAT file. Presumably, each line indicates a directional change for the camera.
f is in the form of a number followed directly by an f. As far as I can tell, this f refers to frame - which could be either a frame number, or the length of time after the initial frame.
x,y,z are the coordinates of the camera position. At this stage, I'm not sure if this is reflected in the map coordinates or not (some testing will be required, but I assume it probably is).
; is simply a separator for each segment of data.

The f and x,y,z are float values.

The f-values always begin at 0 and rise ascendingly (hence my theory that it represents a measurement of time in either seconds or as a frame number (or something similar)). Also, within each DAT, the maximum number is the same for each segment of data, but this varies between different DAT files.

I've drawn the following conclusions about the structuring:
The first segment always has four float values per line - the f-value and one set of x,y,z coordinates. This is presumably to deal with more minor camera movements (hence only one set of coordinates per line).
The second segment of data appears to be some sort of mechanism for the game to check the number of frames in a particular cutscene (given that the coordinates are 0.0,0.0,0.0, which usually indicates positioning being the same as the player (in normal game-play)).
The third and fourth segments always have ten float values per line - the f-value and three sets of x,y,z coordinates. This is presumably to accommodate for the camera moving more rapidly through different frames (as in a lot of cases, the x and y values remain the same across all three sets of coordinates, with only the z value changing, for example).

The reason for having three main segments of data to deal with the camera movement (assuming my assumption about the second segment is correct) could be to create a 3D scene by having a camera cover each of the 3 axes - for example, North-South, East-West, Up-Down. I haven't looked into this in much detail though, so there's every possibility this assumption is wrong .

Also of interest to note is that the first seven lines of data segments one, three and four have the same f-values for the first seven lines. At this stage I'm not sure if this has any significance, or if there are any other patterns that are present. Furthermore, the f-values are scaled (roughly) between the first and last value. Take this example from the first segment of data in jb.dat from GTA3:

CODE

30.5625f... 30.6f... 36.3f... 36.3312f... 41.8f... 42.0313f... 42.0625f...

Between the first two values, there is a difference of 0.0375; between the 36's there is a difference of 0.0312; and between the last two, there is a difference of 0.0312 - so it's close. Furthermore, there is a gap of 5.7 between the last 30 value and the first 36 value; and a gap of 5.4688 between the last 36 value and the 41 value - that also is fairly close. However, if you ignore the 41 value, the difference between the last 36 value and the first 42 value is 5.7001, which is almost exactly the same as the other gap of 5.7. Again, I'm not sure what this means, but hopefully it can be found out.

Be aware that these are merely speculations and could be incorrect. Obviously more research is required before I can say anything here is definitive, but at least there's something to go off now .

Moving on....

...With the exception of the ANMs, the only difference between cuts.img in GTA3 and cuts.img in LC is that GTA3 contains 3 extra files. For some reason, J4_ETH.dat and J4_ETH.ifp appear twice in the GTA3 archive (both are exactly the same), and intro.dat appears in GTA3's cuts.img and not in LC's.

The other file contained in this directory is ped.ifp, in which all of the generic actions of PEDs are stored - this includes walking, running, fighting, etc. To take a look into and/or edit IFP files, you can use either G-Max or 3dsmax, however, you will need to grab the relevant plug-ins made by Kam from here.

There are several differences in the way that the GTA3 engine operates animations when compared to VC/LC, and, as such, numerous changes had to be made. The different proportions of the PED models (shoulder width to arm length) is a major difference beyond the change from body parts (in GTA3) to bones and skins (in VC/LC). Furthermore, the head bone node in LC is a bit different from the pivot point of the GTA3 head in placement - it is more to the front. Anyway, the changes that have been made to the original VC ped.ifp in LC (to attempt to reflect GTA3 in a more authentic manner) are as follows:

• idle_stance (the animation when standing still)
• run_player (normal running animation)
• sprint_civi (running with sprint button activated)
• run_left (normal movement to the left)
• run_right (normal movement to the right)
• run_backwards (normal backwards movement)
• walk_player (walking animation)
• walk_player_start (slight changes only to fit the GTA3 armed stance)
• idle_armed (the aforementioned stance used with rifles, shotguns, etc)

Note that the above changes are all in relation to the player model (player.dff in gta3.img), and on the whole, we now have a very accurate representation of GTA3 animations in LC.

However, there are some issues with a few animations, namely the fighting animations and GTA3's infamous f*cku animation. An attempt was made to convert the GTA3 fighting animations to LC, however, was not overly successful. The fighting animations in III seemed to execute a lot faster than those in VC/LC, and upon conversion, the collisions appeared out of sync with the new animations. Furthermore, whilst the fighting animations in GTA3 affected Claude exclusively, all changes made in LC affect all PEDs. As a result of these factors, we have decided to stick with the original VC fighting animations.

Regarding the f*cku animation, an attempt was also made to convert this from III to LC, but again with limited success. By default, VC has an animation that plays in similar circumstances to III's f*cku animation - however, problems arose when attempting to add a finger. Because of the different way that the VC engine handles PED model data, the finger would appear at all times, and not just whilst executing the animation (as per GTA3), and, as such, a decision was made not to convert the f*cku animation at this stage.

[Ben]

LC\Audio\

In order to play LC, you must have a FULL installation of VC on your PC before installing LC - this means that all VC radio stations (the .ADF files) must be in this directory. For those of you interested, ADF files are simply encrypted MP3 files - to access them, you'll need Raptor's Audio Decoder, and you can use any decent sound editor to edit them.

The installer automatically removes all of the unused VC audio, except for the radio stations - you can restore the original VC radio stations through the Show Config utility - open it up, click on Advanced, and go to the Audio tab. The nine entries at the top are the radio stations - to use the VC radio stations, simply click on each of these nine entries and click Restore. Once you're done with this, click Apply and then Exit the Show Config utility.

The only other changes to files in this directory occur within the SFX archive, which may be accessed using Nullpointer's GTA3-VC Sound Tools. A detailed summary of the changes the LC SFX archive is outlined below:

SFX Number	LC Description	VC Description
sfx00000-00007	Car Horns	Car Horns
sfx00008-00014	GTA3/VC Helicopter Sounds (GTA3 = sfx00008-00010)	VC Helicopter Sounds
sfx00015-00020	GTA3 Car Doors	VC Car Doors
sfx00021-00022	Car Reversing	Car Reversing
sfx00023	Start Car Engine	Start Car Engine
sfx00024	Unknown (Same as GTA3 sfx00018)	Unknown
sfx00025	Car Tyre Spin 1	Car Tyre Spin 1
sfx00026	Unknown (Same as GTA3 sfx00020)	Unknown (NOT the same as GTA3 sfx00020)
sfx00027-00028	GTA3 Police Sirens	VC Police Sirens
sfx00029	GTA3 Ambulance Sirens	VC Ambulance Sirens
sfx00030	Truck Reversing Indicator	Truck Reversing Indicator
sfx00031	Mr Whoopee Jingle	Mr Whoopee Jingle
sfx00032	Airbrake (From Large Vehicle, such as Coach)	Airbrake (From Large Vehicle, such as Coach)
sfx00033-00037	Tyre Popping, Flat, Airleak	Tyre Popping, Flat, Airleak
sfx00038-00039	Bullet Trail	Bullet Trail
sfx00040-00041	MP3 PED Noise	Roller Skates
sfx00042-00046	GTA3/VC Footsteps (GTA3 = sfx00042-00045)	VC Footsteps
sfx00047	GTA3 Car Explosion	VC Car Explosion
sfx00048	GTA3 Grenade Explosion	VC Grenade Explosion
sfx00049	Molotov Cocktails	Molotov Cocktails
sfx00050-00051	Pistol (Colt45)	Pistol (Colt45)
sfx00052-00053	Ruger	Ruger
sfx00054-00056	Uzi	Uzi
sfx00057-00058	GTA3 Sniper	VC Sniper
sfx00059-00060	GTA3 Rocket Launcher	VC Rocket Launcher
sfx00061-00063	Rocket Fire	Rocket Fire
sfx00064-00065	Flamethrower	Flamethrower
sfx00066-00067	Shotgun	Shotgun
sfx00068-00070	M60	M60
sfx00071-00073	Tec9 (Silenced Ingram)	Tec9 (Silenced Ingram)
sfx00074-00075	M16	M4
sfx00076	Blank	M4
sfx00077	Reload Pistols	Reload Pistols
sfx00078	Reload Sub-Machine Guns and Assault Rifles	Reload Sub-Machine Guns and Assault Rifles
sfx00079	Blank	Blank
sfx00080	Reload Sniper Rifles and Shotguns	Reload Sniper Rifles and Shotguns
sfx00081	Bat Swing	Bat Swing
sfx00082-00084	Minigun	Minigun
sfx00085-00087	Spas 12	Spas 12
sfx00088-00089	Python	Python
sfx00090-00091	AK-47	MP-5
sfx00092-00094	Claude Hitting Regular Wall (Unchanged From VC)	Tommy Hitting Regular Wall
sfx00095-00096	Box Collisions 1	Box Collisions 1
sfx00097-00099	Unknown	Unknown
sfx00100	Dumpster Collision	Dumpster Collision
sfx00101-00106	GTA3 Car Collisions 1	VC Car Collisions 1
sfx00107-00110	Metal Collisions (Metal Posts)	Metal Collisions (Metal Posts)
sfx00111-00114	Fence Collisions	Fence Collisions
sfx00115-00116	Unknown	Unknown
sfx00117	Unknown (Same as VC sfx00097-00099)	Unknown (Same as VC sfx00097-00099)
sfx00118-00121	Box Collisions 2	Box Collisions 2
sfx00122-00125	Bench Collision (Wooden Lathes)	Bench Collision (Wooden Lathes)
sfx00126	Unknown (Similar to VC sfx00097-00099, but at a faster rate)	Unknown (Similar to VC sfx00097-00099, but at a faster rate)
sfx00127-00131	Grass Collisions	Grass Collisions
sfx00132	Door Collision	Door Collision
sfx00133-00135	Box Collisions 3	Box Collisions 3
sfx00136-00140	GTA3 Car Collisions (Metal) 2	VC Metal Collisions (Car Collisions 2)
sfx00141-00142	Boxes Blown	Boxes Blown
sfx00143	Gate Collision 1	Gate Collision 1
sfx00144	Car Scraping (Walls, etc.)	Car Scraping (Walls, etc.)
sfx00145	Gate Collision 2	Gate Collision 2
sfx00146-00151	Glass Breaking	Glass Breaking
sfx00152-00153	Fire	Fire
sfx00154	Rain	Rain
sfx00155	Blank	After Rain
sfx00156-00157	GTA3 Bullet Shells Dropping	VC Bullet Shells Dropping
sfx00158	GTA3 Bullet Penetrating PED	VC Bullet Penetrating PED
sfx00159-00161	GTA3 Bullet Hitting Car	VC Bullet Hitting Car
sfx00162-00164	GTA3 Bullet Hitting Ground	VC Bullet Hitting Ground
sfx00165-00170	GTA3 Fist Fighting	VC Fist Fighting
sfx00171-00173	Katana Blade	Katana Blade
sfx00174-00175	Brass Knuckles	Brass Knuckles
sfx00176	Open Garage	Open Garage
sfx00177	Unknown (Same as GTA3 sfx00186)	Unknown
sfx00178	Bomb Detonate	Bomb Detonate
sfx00179	SFX Audio Adjuster	SFX Audio Adjuster
sfx00180-00265	GTA3/VC Police Radio (Some VC Sounds couldn't be replaced)	VC Police Radio
sfx00266	Hunter Blades	Hunter Blades
sfx00267	Phone Ringing	Phone Ringing
sfx00268-00278	Car Engine At Steady RPM's	Car Engine At Steady RPM's	LC Vehicle SFX Classes	VC Vehicle SFX Classes
sfx00279	Engine Echo	Engine Echo	GTA3 Perennial (sfx00268, 00288, 00383-00385)	VC Perennial (sfx00268, 00288, 00383-00385)
sfx00280-00281	Info Pickup	Blank	GTA3 Banshee (sfx00269, 00289, 00386-00388)	VC Stinger (sfx00269, 00289, 00386-00388)
sfx00282-00283	Hidden Package Pickup	Blank	GTA3 Yankee (sfx00270, 00290, 00389-00391)	VC Yankee (sfx00270, 00290, 00389-00391)
sfx00284-00287	Motorcycle Engine At Steady RPM's	Motorcycle Engine At Steady RPM's	Kuruma (sfx00271, 00291, 00392-00394)	Admiral (sfx00271, 00291, 00392-00394)
sfx00288-00298	Car Idling	Car Idling	Flatbed (sfx00272, 00292, 00395-00397)	Flatbed (sfx00272, 00292, 00395-00397)
sfx00299	RC Bandit	Blank	GTA3 BF Injection (sfx00273, 00293, 00398-00400)	VC BF Injection (sfx00273, 00293, 00398-00400)
sfx00300-00303	Blank	Blank	GTA3 Cheetah (sfx00274, 00294, 00401-00403)	Hotring Racer (sfx00274, 00294, 00401-00403)
sfx00304-00307	Motorcycle Idling	Motorcycle Idling	Borgnine (sfx00275, 00295, 00404-00406)	Zebra (sfx00275, 00295, 00404-00406)
sfx00308-00312	Airplane	Airplane	Yardie Lobo (sfx00276, 00296, 00407-00409)	Voodoo (sfx00276, 00296, 00407-00409)
sfx00313	Car Tyre Spin 2	Car Tyre Spin 2	GTA3 Taxi (sfx00277, 00297, 00410-00412)	VC Taxi (sfx00277, 00297, 00410-00412)
sfx00314-00315	GTA3 Boat Noises	VC Boat Noises	GTA3 Perennial (sfx00278, 00298, 00413-00415)	Sabre (sfx00278, 00298, 00413-00415)
sfx00316	Boat Travelling Through Water	Boat Travelling Through Water	Freeway (sfx00284, 00304, 00431-00434)	Freeway (sfx00284, 00304, 00431-00434)
sfx00317-00318	Boat Splashes	Boat Splashes	Faggio (00285, 00305, 00436-00438)	Faggio (00285, 00305, 00436-00438)
sfx00319	Boat Engine At Idle	Boat Engine At Idle	Sanchez (00286, 00306, 00439-00442)	Sanchez (00286, 00306, 00439-00442)
sfx00320-00323	Rain On Car	Rain On Car	PCJ-600 (00287, 00307, 00443-00446)	PCJ-600 (00287, 00307, 00443-00446)
sfx00324	Fall Into Water	Fall Into Water
sfx00325-00326	GTA3 Body Crushing ("Squish" Noise)	VC Body Crushing ("Squish" Noise)
sfx00327-00328	Blow Up Boxes	Blow Up Boxes
sfx00329	Rocket Ammo Depleted	Rocket Ammo Depleted
sfx00330	Rifle Ammo Depleted	Rifle Ammo Depleted
sfx00331	Unknown (Collision)	Unknown (Collision)
sfx00332-00333	GTA3 Jumping	VC Jumping
sfx00334	Car Bomb's Beeping Timer	Car Bomb's Beeping Timer
sfx00335	GTA3 Timer	GTA3 Timer
sfx00336-00337	Hydraulics	Hydraulics
sfx00338	Sex In Car	Sex In Car
sfx00339	Blank	Keep-Uppy Beach Ball
sfx00340	Blank	Degentron (Kaufman Cabs Video Game)
sfx00341-00342	DeadDodo	DeadDodo
sfx00343-00355	GTA3 Radio Tuning Noise	VC Radio Tuning Noise
sfx00356-00369	GTA3 Icon Noises (sfx00358 and sfx00366 are blanks)	VC Icon Noises
sfx00370	GTA3 Timer	VC Timer
sfx00371	Apartment North Of Misty's (Ambient Techno Music)	Blank
sfx00372-00379	GTA3 Menu Sounds	VC Menu Sounds
sfx00380-00382	Radio Static	Radio Static
sfx00383-00415	Car Engine Sounds	Car Engine Sounds
sfx00416	Van Heist Driver 1	Blank
sfx00417	Unknown	Unknown
sfx00418	Van Heist Driver 2	Blank
sfx00419-00421	Chainsaw (sfx00421 is blank)	Chainsaw
sfx00422	Dodo	RC Baron
sfx00423	Dodo	RC Bandit/RC Baron
sfx00424	Blank	Blank
sfx00425	Blank	RC Goblin
sfx00426-00430	Van Heist Driver 3-7 (Inclusive)	Blank
sfx00431-00433	Freeway Engine	Freeway Engine
sfx00434	Freeway Wind	Freeway Wind
sfx00435	Van Heist Driver 8	Blank
sfx00436-00437	Faggio Engine	Faggio Engine
sfx00438	Faggio Wind	Faggio Wind
sfx00439-00441	Sanchez Engine	Sanchez Engine
sfx00442	Sanchez Wind	Sanchez Wind
sfx00443-00445	PCJ-600 Engine	PCJ-600 Engine
sfx00446	PCJ-600 Wind	PCJ-600 Wind
sfx00447	Roast Peking Duck (North of Portland Safehouse)	Blank
sfx00448	Misty's Apartment (Misty and Joey "making whoopee"!)	Blank
sfx00449	Meeouch Club 2	Blank
sfx00450	Theatre (Near PNS)	Blank
sfx00451	"Open 24 Hours" Sex Shop	Blank
sfx00452	Car Crusher	Blank
sfx00453-00456	Hunter Sounds	Hunter Sounds
sfx00457	Ammunation Clerk Dialogue 1	Blank
sfx00458	Pager	Blank
sfx00459-00460	Ammunation Clerk Dialogue 2 and 3	Blank
sfx00461-00464	Skimmer	Skimmer
sfx00465	Blank	Elevator Ding
sfx00466	Blank	Blank
sfx00467	Train	Blank
sfx00468	General Lee Horn/Jingle	Blank
sfx00469	Car Alarm	Blank
sfx00470	Alarm	Alarm
sfx00471	Blank	Unknown (Snoring)
sfx00472-00484	Background Noise	Background Noise	LC Background Noises
sfx00485	Blank	Insects	sfx00472 = Meeouch Club
sfx00486	Misty's Building (Man Complaining)	Insects	sfx00473 = Luigi's Backdoor
sfx00487-00491	Blank	Insects	sfx00474 = Staunton Lift Bridge Moving Up
sfx00492-00495	Blank	Malibu Background Music	sfx00475 = Wong's Laundrette
sfx00496-00505	Footsteps On Grass	Footsteps On Grass	sfx00476 = Staunton Lift Bridge Alarm
sfx00506-00515	Footsteps 1	Footsteps 1	sfx00477 = Punk Noodles
sfx00516-00519	GTA3 Jumping Into Puddles	VC Jumping Into Puddles	sfx00478 = Toni's
sfx00520-00523	Footsteps 2	Footsteps 2	sfx00479 = Staunton Lift Bridge Moving Down
sfx00524-00713	p_man1 (ID# 47)	BMYBB (ID# 47)	sfx00480 = Salvatore's
sfx00714-00736	Blank	VC Port Authority	sfx00481 = Fuzz Ball
sfx00737-00756	GTA3 Police Helicopter	VC Police Helicopter	sfx00482 = Chaperone Party Sound
...	...	...	sfx00483 = Bitch'n Dog Food & Sawmill
...	...	...	sfx00484 = Airport
...	...	...
...	...	...
sfx01040-01873	GTA3 Gang Sounds 1	VC Gang Sounds 1
sfx01874-01900	VC Undercover	VC Undercover
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
sfx02033-02112		Missing/Unknown
sfx02113-02913	GTA3 Gang Sounds 2	VC Gang Sounds 2
sfx02914-02941	GTA3 Female Screams 1	VC Female Screams 1
sfx02942-02985	GTA3 Female Grunts	VC Female Grunts
sfx02986-03012	GTA3 Female Screams 2	VC Female Screams 2
sfx03013-03047	GTA3 Male Screams 1	VC Male Screams 1
sfx03048-03126	GTA3 Male Grunts	VC Male Grunts
sfx03127-03161	GTA3 Male Screams 2	VC Male Screams 2
sfx03162-03194	GTA3 Paramedic	Cuban Paramedic
sfx03195-03227	GTA3 Paramedic	VC Paramedic
sfx03228-03260	GTA3 FBI	VC FBI
sfx03261-03263	Blank	Blank
sfx03264-03279	GTA3 FBI	VC FBI
sfx03280-03281	Blank	Blank
sfx03282-03323	GTA3 SWAT	VC SWAT
sfx03324-03477	stud_wom (ID# 105)	WFYG1 (ID# 105)
sfx03478-03541	GTA3 Taxi Driver	VC Taxi Driver
sfx03542-03602	b_wom1 (ID# 54) OR female03 (ID# 53)	WFORI (ID# 54) OR WFYRI (ID# 53)	NOT DONE!
sfx03603-03661	UNCONVERTED	WFYSK (ID# 77)	NOT DONE!
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
sfx03978-04051	fan_man1 (ID#46)	BMYPI (ID# 46)	NOT DONE!
sfx04052-04125	prostitute2 (ID# 24) OR UNCONVERTED	HFYPR (ID# 24) OR WFYPR (ID# 70)	NOT DONE!
...	...	...
sfx04215-04312	UNCONVERTED OR p_man2 (ID# 45)	BMOST (ID# 34) OR BMOTR (ID# 45)	NOT DONE!
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
sfx04921-05002	b_wom2 (ID# 63) OR b_man3 (ID# 64)	WFOGO (ID# 63) OR WMOGO (ID# 64)	NOT DONE!
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
sfx05192-05252	p_wom1 (ID# 32) OR b_wom3 (ID# 44)	BFOST (ID# 32) OR BFOTR (ID# 44)	NOT DONE!
...	...	...
sfx05324-05393	prostitute (ID# 43)	BFYPR (ID# 43)	NOT DONE!
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
sfx05580-05677	ct_man2 (ID# 61)	WMYCW (ID# 61)	NOT DONE!
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
sfx06439-06520	fan_man1 (ID# 46)	BMYPI (ID# 46)	NOT DONE!
...	...	...
sfx06617-06708	b_wom2 (ID# 63) OR b_man3 (ID# 64) OR worker1 (ID# 62)	WFOGO (ID# 63) OR WMOGO (ID# 64) OR WMYGO (ID# 62)	NOT DONE!
...	...	...
sfx06776-06853	docker2 (ID# 29)	BMODK (ID# 29)	NOT DONE!
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
sfx07633-07703	worker1 (ID# 62)	WMYGO (ID# 62)	NOT DONE!
...	...	...
...	...	...
sfx07847-07921	b_wom2 (ID# 63)	WFOGO (ID# 63)	NOT DONE!
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
...	...	...
sfx08469-08693	GTA3 Cop Dialogue	VC White Cop Dialogue
sfx08694-09814	Blank	Tommy's Voices
sfx09815-09940	Claude's Pain Noises	Tommy's Grunts

READING THE TABLE - GUIDELINES:

• Items that are the same in both columns simply indicate no change from the original VC archive
• Items listed in "mixed form" (that is, "GTA3/VC") have the GTA3 sounds indicated - for example, in the case of the helicopter sounds (sfx00008-00014), sfx00008-00010 have been changed to GTA3 helicopter sounds, and sfx00011-00014 are still the VC defaults
• Cells with ... indicate conversions still to be made
• Items listed in orange have been placed in the SFX archive, but do not currently work. Explanations are as follows:
  • MP3 PED Noise - The MP3 PED from GTA3 needs to be moved into the slot of the roller skaters from VC. However, even then, the sound may still not play correctly, and an EXE hack may be required
  • Info Pickup - This sound was moved here to ensure that the menu played the correct sounds upon first loading LC; an EXE hack is required to play the info pickup sound from slots 280 and 281 instead of 356 and 357.
  • Hidden Package Pickup - This was moved here to enable the Turismo/Bling Bling Scramble, etc., checkpoint sounds to still work; an EXE hack is required to make the hidden package collection sound play from slots 282 and 283 instead of 364 and 365.
  • RC Bandit - The EXE needs to be reconfigured to play the SFX for the RC Bandit from slot 280 instead of 423
  • Full-wing Dodo (used in A Drop In The Ocean and S.A.M. - replaces RC Goblin) - the SFX for the RC Goblin slot needs to be reconfigured to play the Dodo SFX (slots 422 and 423) instead of the RC Goblin SFX (slot 425)
  • Apartment North Of Misty's (Ambient Techno Music) - This sound has been placed in a blank slot where it can be called from the EXE. However, until an EXE hack is developed for it, the sound will not play
  • Van Heist Driver Sounds (1-8 Inclusive) - These sounds have been placed in blank slots where they can be called from the EXE. However, until an EXE hack is developed for them, the sounds will not play
  • Roast Peking Duck (North of Portland Safehouse) - This sound has been placed in a blank slot where it can be called from the EXE. However, until an EXE hack is developed for it, the sound will not play
  • Misty's Apartment (Misty and Joey "making whoopee!") - This sound has been placed in a blank slot where it can be called from the EXE. However, until an EXE hack is developed for it, the sound will not play
  • Meeouch Club 2 - This sound has been placed in a blank slot where it can be called from the EXE. However, until an EXE hack is developed for it, the sound will not play
  • Theatre (Near PNS) - This sound has been placed in a blank slot where it can be called from the EXE. However, until an EXE hack is developed for it, the sound will not play
  • "Open 24 Hours" Sex Shop - This sound has been placed in a blank slot where it can be called from the EXE. However, until an EXE hack is developed for it, the sound will not play
  • Car Crusher - This sound has been placed in a blank slot where it can be called from the EXE. However, until an EXE hack is developed for it, the sound will not play
  • Ammunation Clerk Dialogue (1-3 Inclusive) - These sounds have been placed in blank slots where they can be called from the EXE. However, until an EXE hack is developed for them, the sounds will not play
  • Train - This is the two train SFX wavs from GTA3 combined into one (to make it easier to get the sound correct). This sound has been placed in a blank slot where it can be called from the EXE. However, until an EXE hack is developed for it, the sound will not play. In the event that the original two GTA3 SFX wavs are required instead of this combined sound, then sfx00466 is also a blank slot (indicated by the green cell) which can be used with this slot to be called from the EXE
  • General Lee Horn/Jingle - This sound has been placed in a blank slot where it can be called from the EXE. However, until an EXE hack is developed for it, the sound will not play
  • Car Alarm - VC by default uses the car horn sounds as alarms, unlike GTA3 which had a specific car alarm SFX. An EXE hack to over-ride the horns being used as alarms will need to be implemented, and the EXE will have to call for this particular SFX wav. In the meantime, however, car horns will continue to be used

See this topic by spaceeinstein for a full overview of both the VC and GTA3 SFX archives.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Furthermore, during the installation process, the contents of GTA3\audio\ are copied over into this folder - alternatively, if you do not have GTA3, blank files are inserted here.

There are also several other files included in this directory as part of the download:

• A3_SS.mp3 - this file is the cutscene audio for Asuka's mission "Under Surveillance" and it has been taken from the PS2 version of GTA3. For an unknown reason, Rockstar changed this audio without changing the GXT entry (subtitles), and hence the "original" audio has been restored
• AMU1.wav, AMU2.wav and AMU3.wav - these 3 files are the dialogue for the Ammunation Clerk for 3 missions. Pending EXE hacks, they have been placed into the SFX archive, and will eventually be removed from this directory
• gl_horn.wav - this file is the sound effect heard when the horn is pressed in the General Lee. Pending EXE hacks, it has been placed into the SFX archive, and will eventually be removed from this directory
• VH1.wav to VH8.wav (inclusive) - these 8 files are the dialogue for the driver of the Securicar during the mission "Van Heist". Pending EXE hacks, they have been placed into the SFX archive, and will eventually be removed from this directory

After the EXE hacks mentioned above have been implemented, this directory will then simply be a copy of the GTA3\audio\ directory, minus SFX.RAW, SFX.SDT and A3_SS.wav.

With the exception of SFX.RAW and SFX.SDT, the files in this folder are used as cutscene audio and radio stations (HEAD.WAV, CLASS.WAV, KJAH.WAV, RISE.WAV, LIPS.WAV, GAME.WAV, MSX.WAV, FLASH.WAV and CHAT.WAV). If you do not have GTA3, you will not be able to listen to the cutscenes or radio stations, however, both of these problems can be worked around. Firstly, the cutscenes - if you wish to know what's being said, simply go to Options -> Display -> Subtitles On. And for the radio, well, you can use the Show Config utility to revert back to the VC radio stations (see the Readme included with LC or the FAQ Topic for more information). Alternatively, you can just use the MP3 player.

This post has been edited by Ben on Wednesday, Jul 18 2007, 23:28

[Ben]

LC\Icons\

The only changes to this directory are with app.ico and bin.ico - these are two custom icons created specifically for LC, and they replace the VC-style icons.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LC\movies\

The only change to this directory is with GTAtitles.mpg - a custom intro movie that was created specifically for LC. Logo.mpg is unchanged.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LC\TEXT\

This directory contains all of the GXT files for LC - these contain all text entries seen in the game. Changes to these files are quite significant when compared to the original VC GXTs - entire strings have been removed and new ones added. However, there are also vast differences between LC's GXTs and GTA3's GXTs - whilst the formats remain similar, LC still has numerous extra strings (not only for extra vehicles and the like, but also for things such as the game credits).

In order to gain a thorough insight into the changes, as well as to modify the GXT yourself, CyQ's VC GXT Editor 1.2 should be used. For those of you who wish to delve into GTA3's GXT for comparison, GTA3 Mods GXT Editor can be used. Editing the strings is a simple enough process - you simply change the text to make it display what you want. However, you can also change the colour of the text displayed in-game by using a prefix, such as ~r~, ~g~, ~b~, etc. See below for an example:

CODE

Francis Intl. Airport

This is the AIRPORT string of the MAIN key table in LC as normal. However, the text can be changed to blue in-game with the ~b~ prefix, as shown here:

CODE

~b~Francis Intl. Airport

In fact, there are numerous prefixes and suffixes that relate to GXTs. Below is a list of several, although it is by no means complete:

Prefix	Result/Description
~w~	Gray
~r~	Red
~g~	Pink
~h~	White
~p~	Purple
~q~	Purple-Pink
~b~	Blue
~o~	Orange
~y~	Yellow
~h~	Bold text
~h~~k~	Refers to an instruction to press a key to complete an activity (cross-referenced in the SCM)
~k~	This is a weird one. When tested, it removed the letter of text directly after it in-game (for example, text would be displayed in-game as ext)
Suffix	Result/Description
~h~	Bold text
~k~	This is another weird one. When tested, it removed the space between two words in-game (for example, Liberty City would be displayed in-game as LibertyCity)

Another prefix/suffix you may see is the ~1~ variable - it is cross-referenced in the SCM and replaced by a determined value (depending on what it relates to exactly). For example, it might be the distance travelled in an insane stunt.

Moving on...

...There are several extra GXTs in this directory (when compared to the original VC\txd\ directory) - american_VC-Radio.gxt, german_VC-Radio.gxt, polish_VC-Radio.gxt, and spanish_VC-Radio.gxt. These files are all the same as their namesakes, except for altered credits and radio station names (for those without the GTA3 audio). polish.gxt and russian.gxt are also extra files - these are custom translations done specifically for LC.

italian.gxt is unmodified at this stage as no conversion has been done - it is underway though.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LC\txd\

The txd folder contains several TXD files (texture dictionaries - that is, they store textures used in-game), however, only a few are relevant to LC. The files that have been modified are:

• LOADSC0.TXD - this is the main splash screen seen upon loading LC, and also when starting a new game
• outro.txd - this is the splash screen shown upon exiting LC. It includes the GTAF usernames of all who have contributed to the project
• SPLASH1.TXD, SPLASH2.TXD and SPLASH3.TXD - these 3 screens are the loading screens for each of the islands, taken directly from GTA3. However, in LC, they do not show up in-game at all, and therefore could be considered unused (although they are still required to be in txd directory)

The other texture dictionaries in the txd folder are all the default VC txds. These differ from GTA3 as follows:

• VC has four intro screens - intro1.txd to intro4.txd (inclusive) - these screens are black screens with some white writing in the lower right corner (for example, "Marco's Bistro, Liberty City, 1986). GTA3 has no intro screens
• VC has 14 load screens - LOADSC0.TXD to LOADSC13.TXD (inclusive). GTA3 has 26 - LOADSC0.TXD to LOADSC25.TXD (inclusive). These screens are disabled by default (with the exception of LOADSC0.TXD in VC), but when enabled (through the EXE), they show up during the process of loading a new game - they simply show a selection of the game characters
• Both VC and GTA3 have a NEWS.TXD - ironically, it is the same in both games. It is the picture of the Liberty Tree article displayed during the opening cinematic of GTA3 - why it was left in VC is unknown
• GTA3 has two other screens - mainsc1.txd and mainsc2.txd. mainsc1.txd has the same purpose as LOADSC0.TXD in VC, and mainsc2.txd seems to be unused. In fact, mainsc1.txd in GTA3 is the same as LOADSC0.TXD in LC, except for the fact that mainsc1.txd is an 8-bit uncompressed texture and LOADSC0.TXD is 32-bit DXT compressed (resulting in higher quality and less file-size)

In order to view and modify these files further yourself, you'll need either G-TXD or TXD Workshop (and for modifying, you'll need some sort of image editing software).

This post has been edited by Ben on Saturday, Jun 30 2007, 11:07

[Ben]

LC\data\

There are several differences between the files in the data directories of GTA3, VC and LC. GTA3 contains five file types - CFGs, DATs, IDEs, ZONs and SCMs, whereas VC and LC also have an IPL file.

There are two types of CFG files in all three games - handling.cfg and particle.cfg. CFG is short for configuration, and therefore these two files represent the handling configuration and particle configuration respectively. CFG files are easily editable in Notepad (follow the guidelines for what each column represents and change the values accordingly), however CFG Studio made by Cerbera makes editing the handling.cfg easier. I'd also recommend checking out his website for more specific handling information.

When comparing GTA3 and LC, the majority of handling values are the same. However, as there were more vehicles in VC than GTA3, LC still needs to provide handling data for these extra (unused) vehicles. Furthermore, the VC-style handling.cfg is split into vehicle types - cars first, then bikes, then boats and finally planes - whereas GTA3 had the boat and plane data mixed in throughout the cars. It is also important to note that the VC/LC handling.cfgs contain an extra column for suspension anti-dive - as this was not supported in GTA3, all GTA3 cars in LC have this value set as 0.0. It is also important to note that LC uses an EXE hack that made it possible to rename the handling lines to the GTA3 names, and that there is a major difference in the way that the VC engine controls vehicle physics when compared to the GTA3 engine. Basically, the VC engine makes for more realistic handling, and as such, cars are less stable, and behave quite differently when jumping. Furthermore, cars in VC/LC cover more ground in the same amount of time when compared to GTA3. As a result of this, you will notice that several of the values in LC differ from those in GTA3 - these differences are as follows:

• KURUMA - changed Mass Z (vertical centre of mass) from 0.15 to -0.15 - now more stable, as per GTA3
• MANANA - changed Mass Z (vertical centre of mass) from 0.10 to -0.10 - now more stable, as per GTA3
• POLICE - changed Mass Z (vertical centre of mass) from 0.15 to 0.05 - now more stable, as per GTA3
• YARDIE - changed Springs from 1.80 to 1.60; changed Dampers from 0.07 to 0.05; changed Lower Limit from -0.15 to -0.28 - these are suspension settings, and have been changed to match the Voodoo from VC. The Yardie now doesn't flip when using hydraulics

Furthermore, several of the model flags are different - this is because VC supports several more flags across three extra fields (when compared to GTA3), and these flags are fairly descriptive and therefore are applied to several cars used in LC.

It is important to note that a 100% authentic conversion of the handling from GTA3 to LC is not possible without a vast amount of EXE hacking (which would involve an immense amount of research and the ability to figure out several complex calculations) - basically though, it's just not possible .

With regards to particle.cfg, VC/LC contains three extra columns when compared to GTA3 - WX, WY, and WI (stretch value of texture in X, stretch value of texture in Y, and wind factor for how much the particles are influenced by the wind direction, respectively). LC also contains several extra rows to account for extra particle setups supported by VC that were not present in GTA3. For the entries common to both LC and GTA3, the data is exactly the same though (except for the 3 extra columns).

Moving on, we come to the next file type - DAT files, short for data. DAT files simply contain data entries for various aspects of gameplay - there's a different DAT file for each aspect. DAT files are easily editable in Notepad (simply follow the guidelines for each column listed). Both VC and LC contain the same DAT files (but obviously with different data inside), and all DAT files also appear in GTA3 as well (with the exception of cullzoneempty.dat). Each of these files have their own important functions, as follows:

DAT File	Function
animviewer	References several other files that are used in gameplay. See further on for more information about the files which are referenced in this DAT
carcols	Car colour reference guide. The first section deals with the colour table, whilst the second section references the colours to a particular vehicle. See the description at the top of the file for more information
cullzone	Unknown - presumably, it has something to do with defining cullzones in-game (although I believe this particular function is handled by cull.ipl (see further on for more information)). Note that this file is exactly the same in both VC and LC (but is different for GTA3)
cullzoneempty (VC/LC only)	Unknown - although, like cullzone.dat it presumably has something to do with defining cullzones in-game (again, I believe this particular function is handled by cull.ipl (see further on for more information)). Note that this file is exactly the same in both VC and LC. Furthermore, it appears to be the same as cullzone.dat, but with the data at the top simply erased
default	References several other files that are used in gameplay. See further on for more information about the files which are referenced in this DAT
fistfite	Contains information on how Claude/Tommy attack other PEDs without a weapon. The data in all three games is quite different. Furthermore, you'll notice that VC/LC have an extra column for data relating to an extend reach multiplier and have the data arranged more neatly into specific groups when compared to GTA3
gta3 gta_vc	These two DATs have a similar function to both animviewer.dat and default.dat, in that they reference several other files that are used in gameplay. Again, see further on for more information about the files referenced in these DATs. Obviously gta3.dat is for GTA3, and gta_vc.dat is for VC/LC. As with several of the other DATs, the data inside each of the three files (one for each game) is different
object	Contains data relating to the objects used in-game. See the description at the top of the file for more information. You'll notice that the object.dat in LC is divided into three specific categories - VC objects, GTA3 objects and LC objects; whereas for both GTA3 and VC the data is all simply listed. Also of importance to note is that VC/LC support more collision damage effect flags (again, see the description at the top of the file for more information)
ped	This file simply outlines what is a threat (that is, what to run away from or which PED group to fight against) for each PED group, and other PED groups to avoid (I'm not sure exactly what this means ). Note that this file is exactly the same for both GTA3 and LC, with the only difference in VC being in the line of numerical data used by COP - the last "column" is 7.5 instead of 10 (as in GTA3/LC). I'm not sure exactly what the numerical data means at this stage either
pedgrp	As it says in the description at the top of this file, this DAT contains the list of PED groups for each zone. GTA3 only contains eight PED groups per line, whereas VC/LC contain 16 - as such, several of the entries per line are duplicate in LC (because GTA3 had less PEDs than VC). The zone applying to each line of PED groups is referenced at the far right of each row
pedstats	This file contains information on how the PEDs behave in-game. See the description at the top of the file for more information. Note that this file is the same for both GTA3 and LC, except for the fact that LC has 5 extra entries at the very bottom of the DAT (to cater for the extra PEDs used in VC)
surface	Data relating to the ground surface and how the tyres of a vehicle react on a particular surface. The higher the number, the better the performance on a surface (I think). Note that this file is the same for both GTA3 and LC, except for the fact that LC has an extra field of data for sand (included because VC made extensive use of the beach environment)
timecyc	Controls the lighting of the environment, based on certain times of the day/night. Editing via Notepad can be a little confusing, and therefore I recommend using G-CYC. VC/LC have extra columns of data when compared to GTA3, and the entries are also different. It is important to note that LC's timecyc.dat is different from GTA3's, and works in conjunction with the VC:Weather module in order to bring the GTA3 world lighting to the VC engine (that is, to LC)
train	Contains part of the train path (see further on for more information on paths). Note that this DAT is the same in GTA3, VC and LC
train2	Contains part of the train path (see further on for more information on paths). Note that this DAT is the same in GTA3, VC and LC
water	Water boundaries. See the description at the top of the file for more information - basically though, it is a coordinate system (as indicated by the description). If you haven't already figured it out, the A column is a z (vertical) coordinate. The data in all three games is different, although GTA3's data and LC's data are similar (VC's is entirely different obviously because it's a different map setup) - when compared to GTA3, LC has the same coordinates, except they have been shifted -335x and +6z (more on that later on)
waterpro	More water-related data, such as the water level, etc. The data in GTA3 and LC is identical (but VC's data is different) - to edit this file, you'll need steve-m's Water Editor
weapon	Contains data on all weapons used in-game. Obviously VC/LC have extra rows of data to cater for the fact that they have more weapons than GTA3. See the description at the top of the file for more information, as well as this post for some more detailed information on weapons replacements in LC

As you'll have noticed, I haven't gone too specific outlining the differences in these files across each of the three games - you're best off checking that out yourself (the data is easy enough to follow).

Moving on...

...Next, we have the default.ide file. IDE is short for Item Definition Entry, however, the default.ide is different to the other sort of IDE files used in GTA3/VC/LC - it has the important function of documenting and referencing the model ID#, model name, TXD name, etc., of PEDs, vehicles, wheels, weapons, cutscene objects, etc. It is important to note that these entries match up to other game files - the model/TXD names must match in the gta3.img file (see the LC\models post for more information), the handling name must appear in handling.cfg, etc. Due to its complexity, I won't go into details on the differences of the default.ides across the three games here - I encourage you to do that yourself by looking at the file using Notepad. As with the other filetypes in the data directory, there is a description for each column at the top of the file/segment of data. Basically though, in the PEDs category, VC/LC has an extra two columns on the right of the data entries - animfile and radio1,radio2 - when compared to GTA3; and in the vehicles section, VC/LC has an anims column which isn't present in GTA3.

LC (and VC) have an extra file in the data directory (when compared to GTA3) - occlu.ipl, which contains all the occlusions information (according to wikipedia, occlusion is the term used to describe the manner in which an object closer to the viewport masks (or occludes) an object further away from the viewport). IPL is short for Item Placement List, so occlu.ipl basically outlines the placements of all occlusions.

The next file-type we have is ZON files - short for zone. These files basically define the boundaries of regions or zones in the game - this is crucial in determining spawn points for cars or gang roaming areas. GTA3 has two ZON files in its directory - gta3.zon and map.zon - whereas VC and LC have three ZON files - info.zon, map.zon and navig.zon. The format of ZON files is outlined below (the information was taken from this post by Opius:

QUOTE (Opius @ Nov 13 2003, 18:37)

.ZON Documentation thanks to ZanderZ .ZONs .ZONs contain zone data. Every zone file starts with the word 'zone' and ends with 'end'. In between is the actual data: CODE Zone name, type, X1, Y1, Z1, X2, Y2, Z2, island The first X/Y are the bottomleft coordinates, the second X/Y are the topright coordinates. If there are (most likely) more zones in a file, this data is repeated for each zone. The island number is only used in GTA3, where 1=Portland, 2=Staunton, 3=Shoreside. In VC this is always 1. The type can either be 0, 1, 2 or 3. In GTA3, this is always 3, in VC all are used. I think the types are this: 0: normal zone (navig.zon) 1: zone inside a zone (navig.zon ; occurs only at the Junkyard, which is inside the Airport zone) 2: car/pedestrian zone (info.zon). Tells the game which cartype/pedestrian should drive/walk there 3: load zone (map.zon). Tells the game when a new part of the city should be loaded. I hope this all makes sense. Feel free to ask me (ZanderZ) anything about it.

That's pretty self-explanatory. Basically, gta3.zon is equivalent to navig.zon for LC (with a few differences in data entries) - note that the rule regarding coordinates for IPLs also applies to ZONs (GTA3 coordinates are shifted -335x and +6z when converted to LC).

Obviously there are vast differences between GTA3/LC and VC when it comes to ZON files since they are applicable to different cities entirely.

Last, but certainly not least, we come to the SCM files...
The MAIN.scm is the game script, which controls nearly every aspect of gameplay. Whereas the EXE implements various boundaries on what can and can't be done, the SCM works within those defined boundaries. It is important to note that there is a significant difference between the SCM structure in GTA3 and VC/LC. To get a rough idea of everything the SCM controls, I'd recommend checking out the Opcode database. Furthermore, if you're interested in coding, I suggest you check out some tutorials, as well as MB 4.7 or Sanny Builder for working with the GTA3 SCM; and MB 0.22, MB 1.5, or Sanny Builder for working with the VC SCM. If you intend to edit the LC SCM, I recommend you open MAIN.SCM.TXT and use MB 1.5 (as this is what LC has been coded with). For those of you who don't know, MAIN.SCM.TXT in the LC directory is simply a text version of the code.

LC has an extra SCM file as well - DBUG.scm. This was developed for testing purposes, and has several features available, such as all islands opened up from the start of the game, and the first mission from each "boss" available at the beginning. You can switch between SCMs quickly and easily by using the Show Config utility (see the LC\ part of the guide for more information) - open up the utility, click Advanced... and then select the Debug tab. Tick the Use Debug Script checkbox (to use the DBUG.SCM; untick it to use the normal SCM), and then select Apply and finally Exit.

LC\data\maps\

I haven't quite gotten to do this just yet - I'll hopefully get to it over the weekend before uni starts on Monday (when I won't have the time to work on the guide at all) - I don't know when I'll get to this. Until I do, I recommend checking out this guide by Opius for general information, and this post for some LC-specific info.

LC\data\paths\

As with the LC\data\maps\ section, I haven't quite gotten to this yet either. I'll try to get to it before Monday as well - I don't know when I'll get to this either. Until I do, I recommend checking out this guide by REspawn for some general information.

This post has been edited by Ben on Saturday, Feb 17 2007, 02:34

[Ben]

LC\models\

For the most part, the models directory for each of the three games is fairly similar - however, there are still some differences you should be aware of.

Let's begin with gta3.dir. This file is basically an index of the files contained with the IMG archive, which we'll come to now. gta3.img houses all of the models (DFFs) and corresponding textures (TXDs) used in-game. In VC/LC, the IMG also houses the collision data for the environment (COLs) and some player animations (IFPs).

The IMG doesn't just have everything thrown in together - it has a structured order which varies between the GTA3 and VC engines. In GTA3, the structure is:

1. Radar TXDs
2. Special PED (army, cops, etc.) TXDs
3. Special PED DFFs
4. Actor TXDs
5. Actor DFFs
6. Normal PED TXDs (1)
7. Normal PED DFFs (1)
8. Normal PED TXDs (2)
9. Normal PED DFFs (2)
10. Cutscene Environment TXDs
11. Cutscene Environment DFFs
12. Actor Head TXDs
13. Actor Head DFFs
14. Environment TXDs (1)
15. Environment DFFs (1)
16. Vehicle TXDs
17. Vehicle DFFs
18. Environment DFFs (2) - mixed up

There are 3856 files all up in the archive. You'll notice from the list that there is a pattern that develops - the TXDs are placed before the DFFs, presumably to assist with more efficient rendering in-game.

One note about the environment DFFs (especially the "mixed up" ones) - they are sorted into categories according to a zone in-game. There's too many to list here though, so check them out yourself.

The structure of the LC IMG, on the other hand, is as follows:

1. Radar TXDs
2. PED DFFs
3. PED TXDs
4. Weapon DFFs
5. Weapon TXDs
6. Actor DFFs
7. Actor TXDs
8. Vehicle DFFs
9. Vehicle TXDs
10. Environment DFFs
11. Environment TXDs
12. IFPs (animations)
13. COLs (collision data)

You'll notice that there are 4495 files in the LC IMG - a fair few more than in GTA3. You'll also notice that it isn't as structured - this was more for our benefit in compiling and updating it. It also makes it easier to mod. Furthermore, you might have noticed that the pattern is the reverse of GTA3's - in this case, DFFs are loaded before TXDs to assist with more efficient in-game rendering.

VC has a similar structure to LC, but, because it has a different make-up of files (it has dedicated cutscene models whereas LC uses the same models as those used in other gameplay aspects, for example), there are some differences:

1. Radar TXDs
2. PED DFFs
3. PED TXDs
4. Weapon DFFs
5. Weapon TXDs
6. Cutscene DFFs
7. Cutscene TXDs
8. Vehicle TXDs
9. Vehicle DFFs
10. Environment TXDs (1)
11. Environment DFFs (1)
12. Environment DFFs (2) - mixed up
13. Environment TXDs (2) - mixed up
14. COLs (collision data)
15. IFPs (animations)

VC has the most files of all - 6043. As you can see, it follows the same pattern as LC - that is, it loads DFFs before TXDs - except in the case of vehicles (for some unknown reason). You'll notice that it Environment TXDs (1) is placed before Environment DFFs (1), however, those TXDs don't directly relate to those DFFs (as far as I can tell - I haven't looked too deeply, though), so that makes no bearing on the pattern. As with GTA3, it is more structured than LC, and the "mixed" environment files are sorted by in-game zones - again, there's too many to list here, so if you're interested, check them out yourself.

Next, we come to two files that only appear in GTA3 (normally) - txd.dir and txd.img. As with all IMG files on the GTA3 and VC engines, the DIR is simply an index of what's in the actual archive. txd.img is unique to everyone's PC, and dependent on your graphics configuration/setup. It houses copies of all the TXDs from gta3.img, but in a different format - the TXDs in gta3.img are 8-bit, and small in filesize, whereas the TXDs in txd.img are generally 32-bit and a lot larger in filesize. txd.img actually isn't created until the first time you play GTA3 - when you first load it up and press Start New Game, you'll see a message that reads GTA3 is optimizing textures to suit your graphics card - this is when txd.img is being created.

I mentioned that GTA3 is normally the only game to have a txd.img, but if you have a really old/poor graphics card, VC will create a txd.img for you as well - this isn't very common though.

To view either of the IMG archives, you'll need an IMG-related tool - I recommend using either G-IMG or Spooky's IMG Tool 2.0. Note that all IMG archives on these 3 games are all Version 1 archives (as opposed to Version 2 archives, which are used by San Andreas). In order to view/edit the files inside the archives, you'll need to extract them, and then refer to the following notes:

File-type	Notes
DFF	These are the physical models used in-game. To take a look into and/or edit DFF files, you can use either G-Max or 3dsmax, however, you will need to grab the relevant plug-ins made by Kam from here. Some modelling knowledge is required though, so take a look at some tutorials. There's some differences in DFF structuring between the GTA3 and VC engines, depending on what the actual model is. PEDs in GTA3 were built in separate body parts, whereas VC/LC use a bone structure with skinning. Vehicle models are basically the same in both game engines, although VC has more materials properties applied than GTA3 does (GTA3 only applies which reflection image to use - reflection01 in particle.txd by default). The only difference in the remaining models is that they are 2-faced in VC (because it has backface culling), whereas GTA3 and LC don't use backface culling, hence their models are not 2-faced. Note that there LC still has some issues in not using backface culling, so some models are still 2-faced (because one-sided models don't always work) .
TXD	These are texture dictionaries, which house textures that are applied in-game. In order to view and modify these files yourself, you'll need either G-TXD or TXD Workshop (and for modifying, you'll need some sort of image editing software). The TXDs in GTA3 can only be 8-bit or 32-bit, and aren't compressed at all. VC/LC, on the other hand, can use DXT compression, which dramatically decreases filesize without compromising quality at all.
COL	These files contain the collision data that is used in-game - that is, which surfaces are solid and which aren't. As stated above, these are only found in the VC/LC gta3.img archives (in GTA3, the COLs are found in the GTA3\data\maps\<in-game zone>\ directory - see the LC\data\ post for more information). In order to view/edit COL files, you'll need to grab yourself a copy of CE2.
IFP	These are files controlling animations - each one references animations for something different (for example, a weapon or a bike - see the file name for more information). As stated above, these are only found in the VC/LC gta3.img archives. To take a look into and/or edit IFP files, you can use either G-Max or 3dsmax, however, you will need to grab the relevant plug-ins made by Kam from here.

Moving on...

...We come to fonts.txd. In GTA3, it contains 3 textures - font1, font2 and pager, all of which use an alpha. font1 houses all miscellaneous font used in-game (in the menu for example), whilst font2 contains the font used in messages during gameplay. pager is obvious enough - it's the font used by the pager. LC and VC, on the other hand, have only two textures - font1 and font2. font1 is exactly the same in both TXDs, and I think it has the same role as in GTA3. font2 in LC looks the same, but is only 512x512 pixels (as opposed to 1024x1024 in GTA3), and uses 32-bit DXT compression (whereas GTA3 was 8-bit uncompressed) - font2 in VC is vastly different - again, I think this texture has the same role as it does in GTA3.

LC also has two extra font-related TXDs - fontrus.txd and fontspl.txd - these are slightly different in that they have been customised to suit the Russian and Polish translations respectively.

The next files in the GTA3\models\ directory are frontend.txd and menu.txd - they have the same role as fronten1.txd and fronten2.txd in VC/LC - that is, to house the textures used by the game-menus. The differences between GTA3 and VC/LC are quite extensive (which isn't surprising given that the menu screens were fairly different - GTA3's stretched all the way to the page edge, had multiple backgrounds for different menu options, and lacked a pause-menu map when compared to VC/LC, for example). Most (if not all) files in the LC and VC TXDs are different, and as such, I won't be doing a comparison of them - if you're interested, take a look with either G-TXD or TXD Workshop. Note that several of the textures used in LC are still named with VC references (the radio station logos are good examples) - this is because the EXE is programmed to read only the VC names.

Next, we come to generic.txd. This houses all generic textures that are used in-game (such as grass, pavement, etc.). The structure of the file is significantly different between GTA3 and VC/LC, so I won't be comparing them (if you're interested, take a look yourself). LC and VC appear to be the exactly the same except for the fact that LC has one extra texture at the bottom of the list - window (I'm not sure what it's for - VC had similar windows to both GTA3 and LC ). I haven't looked too deeply, so there may be other differences too.

hud.txd contains all the textures relating to the in-game HUD (except for the weapons icons in VC/LC, which are stored in gta3.img). Once again, the structure is significantly different between GTA3 and VC/LC, so I won't be doing a comparison (take a look yourself - the names of the textures in GTA3 will give plenty of indication as to what they are, which will help you draw your own comparison with VC/LC if you so desire). VC and LC, however, aren't too different at all. LC has two extra textures - screw (which is for the pager) and brassk (which is for the pager font). Furthermore, several LC textures are different when compared to VC - they include:

• spray
• lovefist
• kcabs
• icecream
• radar_strip
• radar_save
• hardware
• gun
• filmstudio
• cubans
• club
• boatyard
• bikers
• radar_phil
• radar_lawyer
• radar_kent
• radar_cortez
• radar_biker
• radar_avery
• arrow
• radardisk
• fist - note that this is the only "weapon" texture not stored in the IMG (fingers.txd is simply a blank TXD)

Again, you'll notice that several of the textures used in LC are still named according to VC, and again, this is because the EXE is programmed to read only the VC names.

intro.txd (which is only in VC/LC) is strange - it contains two textures, one which is 128x0 pixels, and the other which is 0x0 pixels . I'm not sure of its role, or what to make of it.

The next file is MISC.txd. In VC/LC, this file contains only wheel-related textures, however, it also contains some realistic weapon textures in the GTA3 file. It has been unaltered for LC - note that the textures common to both GTA3 and VC/LC are different though.

Last but not least, we come to particle.txd. As the name suggests, this file contains all textures related to particles in-game, such as smoke, blood, etc. Most of the textures are the same when comparing the LC and VC TXDs, and are similar to textures housed in the GTA3 TXD (obviously in a different format, though). Because of the sheer number of textures, I won't be doing a comparison at this stage.

There is one important thing to note regarding the reflection01 texture though. In GTA3, it is the reflection used for every vehicle in the game (this is hard-coded into the EXE) - in VC/LC, however, the reflection texture is stored in each vehicle's individual TXD.

LC\models\coll\

I haven't gotten around to doing this directory yet. Although, at first glance, it seems as it stores COL files that simply relate to the general things in-game. If anyone has any information about anything here, please send a PM my way.

LC\models\generic\

I haven't gotten to this directory yet either. I'll have to take a look into the DFFs I think, because I can't tell what it's purpose is at this stage. Again, if anyone has any information about anything here, please send a PM my way.

This post has been edited by Ben on Saturday, Feb 17 2007, 02:22

[Ben]

LC\

You'll notice that both GTA3 and VC have the same two generic files in this directory - that is, the EXE and a file known as Mss32.DLL. Mss32.DLL is a file related to the Miles Sound System configuration and settings - you might have noticed in the intro splash screens for the games, there is a mention of Miles Sound System. Anyway, basically, as far as I know, the Miles Sound System simply relates to the playing of the game audio (be it SFX or cutscene audio or radio stations, etc.) - you will never come across a situation where you'll need to modify it.

I won't go into the differences relating to the EXEs because it would take a VERY long time - lets face it, they are two completely different EXEs capable of performing different functions, with completely different memory addresses/offsets. Check out GTA Modding.com and this topic for a full list of known memory addresses/functions for both games.

I can, however, tell you that there are 7 different EXE versions for GTA3 - a 1.0 US EXE, a 1.0 no-cd EXE, a 1.1 US EXE, a 1.1 no-cd EXE, a 1.0 German EXE, a 1.0 French EXE, a 1.1 US EXE, a 1.1 no-cd EXE, and a 1.1 German/French EXE - despite popular belief, there is no Australian EXE. The Australian version of GTA3 uses the 1.0 US EXE, however, the regional settings of your PC will determine whether or not you can interact with hookers. The 1.0 no-cd EXE is basically the same as the 1.0 US EXE, with the CD check removed (and, as a result, it also has some different memory offsets) - it constitutes a form of warez, which is illegal. There is little difference between the German and French versions - both have "gore" removed - the only differences is that the EXEs have different offsets when compared to the 1.0 US EXE and 1.0 no-cd EXE, and the German version is less "gory" than the French version. Next we come to the 1.1 US EXE and 1.1 no-cd EXE - these work the same way on Australian PCs, and are exactly the same as the 1.0 US and 1.0 no-cd EXEs (including the illegality of the no-cd EXE), except for the following changes:

QUOTE (Take 2 Games Support)

Exception error after blue Rockstar load screen fixed Error loading saved games fixed Mouse sensitivity now saved with other settings (no changes made to existing settings) Option for user to play audio files directly from hard disk. Copy the contents of the PLAY discs Audio directory into your installed Grand Theft Auto III Audio directory. Grand Theft Auto III still requires the presence of the PLAY disc when started. This may give better performance on some machines (though worse on others)

That leaves the 1.1 German and French versions, which are the same as the 1.1 US version (with the fixes applied), except the "gore" is still removed.

VC also has 7 different EXE versions - a 1.0 US EXE, a 1.0 no-cd EXE, a 1.1 US EXE, a 1.1 no-cd EXE, a 1.0 German EXE, a 1.1 German EXE, and a 1.0 Australian EXE. As with GTA3, the 1.0 no-cd EXE is basically the same as the 1.0 US EXE in that it has some slightly different offsets and has the CD check removed - it is still warez, and therefore illegal. VC also has a specific Australian EXE this time around - it disables hooker interaction. The German version is similar to GTA3's 1.0 German EXE in that it disables "gore" - note that in VC, both the German and French versions use this EXE. Next, we come to the 1.1 US and 1.1 no-cd EXEs - these are exactly the same as the 1.0 US and 1.0 no-cd EXEs (including the illegality of the no-cd EXE), except for the following change:

QUOTE (Take 2 Games Support)

This fix is an UN-SUPPORTED update that corrects polygon corruption that has been noticed on certain video cards and PC combinations - users who DO NOT have this corruption NEED NOT apply this patch!

This patch is basically obsolete now anyhow - the corruption issue was corrected by driver updates released for video cards. Note that the German 1.1 EXE also supported this fix, except that it still had "gore" removed.

Now onto LC - you'll notice that it has a LOT more in the way of files in it's main folder, as opposed to both GTA3 and VC. Being a VC mod, it still has a VC EXE, as well as Mss32.DLL. However, there are several other files as well:

File	Main Role
gta-lc.exe	This is a custom launcher that was created for the purpose of making hardcoded boundaries disappear, thus allowing LC to look and behave more like GTA3 as opposed to VC. All launcher files were created by Hammer83.
vcversion.dll	This DLL exports two functions - one to detect VC EXE version, another to adjust an offset of the 1.0 US EXE to any existing VC version. This allows LC to support all versions of VC effectively. Note that this DLL forms part of the launcher.
gta-lc.asi	This is the core part of the launcher program created for LC - it changes hardcoded settings as defined per gta-lc.ini.
IIItoVC.asi	This ASI file was created by ModelingMan, and it has several miscellaneous roles, including: Disabling the vicechee at a wanted level of 3 stars Disabling backface culling on models (which enables us to use some models directly from GTA3) Controlling the pager Controlling the scrolling text that appears on several signs/noticeboards around LC Controlling the SFX for various things (including the pager) This is by no means a complete list. To find out more, however, I suggest you decompile the ASI and see which functions have been changed.
vc_traffic.asi	This ASI file was created by AK-73, and forms the basis of his traffic/PED behaviour editing module that has been customised for LC. It enables LC to make car drivers go crazy when shot at (as per GTA3), and also helps with some other issues relating to gang spawning/roaming behaviour.
vc_weather.asi	This is another ASI file created by AK-73 - it forms the basis of his weather editing module. It allows LC to implement GTA3 weather states more effectively, as well as customise the world lighting/tint to make the atmosphere more like GTA3 and less like VC.
vcopcode.asi	This is another part of the LC launcher, and it helps to fix a rather significant problem for LC: To play the missions, GTA has a built-in interpreter which reads the commands one-by-one from the main.scm and executes them. Unfortunately, a lot of commands which were used in the GTA3 mission script are no longer supported by VC. To work around this problem, Hammer83 created a framework with which it is possible to add new commands which the VC interpreter can understand, provided that the programmer has some knowledge of assembler and memory layout of the game. The binary dynamic-link library which is automatically loaded when VC loads, is found in the main archive of the LC launcher.
vc_traffic.cfg	This file works in conjunction with vc_traffic.asi - you can make changes to the module by using the CFG (follow the descriptions for the data). Note that the CFG is currently configured as appropriate for LC.
vc_weather.cfg	This file works in conjunction with vc_weather.asi - you can make changes to the module by using the CFG (follow the descriptions for the data). Note that the CFG is currently configured as appropriate for LC.
gta-lc.ini	This is another part of the launcher. It contains the configuration settings applicable to gta-lc.exe and gta-lc.asi. The settings are already pre-defined in the LC install package, but you may have to alter them to align with your own individual setup (as per the Readme included with the LC install package).
scm_vice.ini	This file contains all opcodes. It is used by the exception handler to make the debug output more readable as it adds descriptive text to the raw opcode numbers and arguments.
Show Config	This is a shortcut pointing to gta-lc.exe which launches the configuration of the EXE. It forms part of the launcher, and is also connected to gta-lc.ini (the values in the INI can be changed with this utility as well, in a more user-friendly manner). Note that the target path for this shortcut is: CODE "C:\<your LC directory>\gta-lc.exe" -showconfig
gta-lc-scm.log (may not appear)	This file may or may not be in your LC\ directory, depending on whether or not you've had a crash whilst playing. If you do experience a crash whilst playing, you'll most likely see what is known as a debug output window, which will pop up containing a code trace (this is to help the LC team identify the cause of your crash). The data contained in the code trace is also saved to gta-lc-scm.log.

For those of you thinking that the LC launcher and other ASIs could be illegal, fear not - Rockstar's EULA stated only that modifying the EXE file directly was illegal - the use of ASIs and our custom launcher don't change the EXE file itself at all (they only change how it executes things in-game). That's the big difference between our launcher and no-cd EXEs, for example.

Also, for those of you with programming and/or mem hacking knowledge, you can find the source codes for the LC launcher files here (you can get the vcversion.dll source from here), and the source codes for VC:Weather and VC:Traffic (AK-73's modules) are included in their respective download packages. Unfortunately, I've been unable to locate the source code for ModelingMan's IIItoVC.asi - however, if you decompile it, you'll be able to see which functions have been changed.

And finally, a quick note on mods - trainers and other mods that utilise functions within the EXE might not work with LC. There's a pretty simple reason for this - when the applications hook into the EXE, they do it via the taskbar name - this presents a problem for LC because it changes the VC taskbar name to GTA: Liberty City. However, the solution is simple - open up gta-lc.ini or double click on the Show Config utility. In the INI, you'll notice that there's a line in the top section of data that reads:

CODE

ChangeTaskBar=1

Change it to:

CODE

ChangeTaskBar=0

before running any of these sorts of mods. Alternatively, if you decide to use Show Config to implement these changes, do the following:

1. Double click on Show Config
2. Click on Advanced...
3. Make sure you're on the Game Parameters tab, and also the System sub-tab
4. Down the bottom of the window is a checkbox for Change Taskbar Text and Icon - hover your mouse of this description to see an information pop-up about it
5. Untick the box
6. Click Apply and then click Exit

Note that both of these methods do EXACTLY the same thing. If you're not using any mods (such as trainers), then you don't need to worry about this. Also, this method doesn't guarantee that any mods will work - some just simply aren't compatible with LC.

This post has been edited by SteaVor on Tuesday, Nov 6 2007, 19:12

[Ben]

Conversions

Quite often I see people ask questions about how to convert a GTA3 mod to VC, or vice-versa. This part of the guide will attempt to answer that with three conversions - vehicles, map mods, and PED/player models - think of it as a sort of summary of all the information above. Furthermore, I'll cover those three conversions with LC-specific information as well for those of you interested in converting GTA3 and/or VC mods to LC . Please note that this assumes that you have some basic knowledge/experience when it comes to practical modding (whether it be editing data lines, modelling, editing textures, etc.).

Vehicle Conversion From GTA3 To VC/LC:
Any vehicle modifications involve the alteration of several files - carcols.dat, handling.cfg, default.ide, vehicles.col, <vehicle name>.dff, <vehicle name>.txd and gta3.img. Refer to the above posts for information on the functions of each of these files, where to find them, and how to edit them. Remember though, the first and most important step is to BACK UP FIRST (don't forget to back up gta3.dir as well)!

The format of the carcols.dat file is the same for both the GTA3 and VC engines, so when converting a car from GTA3 to VC, simply overwrite the data line of the VC car you're replacing with the data line of the GTA3 car you're putting in VC.

There are a few differences with handling.cfg that you need to be aware of. First and foremost, is the setup of the data - in VC, it is divided into vehicle-type categories, whereas in GTA3, all vehicles are mixed together. VC also has an extra column for suspension anti-dive that isn't used in GTA3 - this is the ad column, which is fourth from the right. When converting from GTA3 to VC, remember to add this column in, and set the entry as 0.0.

We'll come back to default.ide, because, as mentioned above, it ties all the other information together. So it's a good final checking point .

Next we come to vehicles.col. You'll need to add the collision data for your GTA3 vehicle to this file - make sure you rename your GTA3 COL file if need be.

The next step relates to the vehicle DFF, and involves actually editing the DFF file. You CAN use GTA3 vehicle models on the VC engine directly, however, there'll be some minor issues with reflections. In GTA3, only the reflection level (which is the specular multiplier controlling the reflection intensity of the standard RwMaterial) was stored in the material of each model; whereas in VC, there is extra data attached to every material on the vehicle geometry (containing the basic reflection parameters - that is, what image to use, and the intensity of the reflection) - this extra data can best be described as reflection maps. Since GTA3 didn't have this data, it needs to be created from scratch.

You should still be able to use the VC DFF file - you'll just have to edit the materials properties. To do so, you'll need a copy of Max/G-Max, as well as Kam's scripts. Import the DFF, and then use the Material Editor to apply the appropriate settings - see this topic for more information. Don't forget to save and export when you're done.

As with the DFF, converting the TXD can be complicated because of the differences between the GTA3 and VC engines. In relation to reflections, VC models specify which image to use (and that image is housed in that vehicles corresponding TXD) - GTA3 models, on the other hand, didn't do this - they all simply used reflection01 in particle.txd. So, when converting from GTA3 to VC, you'll need to build a new TXD for your vehicle. You'll need to extract reflection01 from GTA3's particle.txd and rename it according to the reflection properties you defined in your DFF. You'll also need to extract all other textures relevant to your vehicle from it's GTA3 TXD (found in txd.img - use the TXDs from here as they are much better quality than the ones housed in gta3.img). With all of these textures, build yourself a new VC-format TXD, and compress each texture with the DXT compression. reflection01 is likely to look pretty ordinary when compressed, so I'd suggest converting it to 32-bit and cleaning it up a bit. Save your new TXD with the same name as your vehicle DFF.

Now, you'll need to put your custom DFF and TXD into VC's gta3.img. Replace the DFF and TXD of the VC vehicle you wish to replace - if you get an error, simply Delete the DFF and TXD of the VC vehicle you want to replace, and Add your DFF and TXD. Don't forget to rebuild the IMG when you've done this.

Finally, we come to the default.ide. Find the line for the VC vehicle you're replacing, and check that all the entries are correct - that is, the correct model name, TXD name, handling line and game name (for the COL file and carcols line) - if you renamed all the files you converted from GTA3 correctly, then you shouldn't have to change anything here.

And that's it. You should now have a working version of a GTA3 vehicle installed on the VC engine. Enjoy.

Advanced users - if you're interesting in playing around with the SFX, check out the LC\Audio\ post for a guide to the vehicle classes determined by SFX slot (and see this topic for information on GTA3 vehicle SFX classes). If you decide you want to change the SFX for a particular vehicle, be sure to back-up SFX.RAW, SFX.SDT and main.scm. To change the SFX for a particular vehicle, you'll need to swap it into the ID slot (in the default.ide) of a vehicle from a different SFX class. Be warned though that this will affect the other vehicle as well, so think carefully about your changes. Also, if you do swap vehicles around, you'll need to re-compile the SCM (open it with MB, and press F7).

Vehicle Conversion From VC/LC To GTA3:
Think of this as the reverse of the converting from GTA3 to VC/LC - basically, you've just got to do the opposite when it comes to file editing. The same files are used - carcols.dat, handling.cfg, default.ide, vehicles.col, <vehicle name>.dff, <vehicle name>.txd and gta3.img. Refer to the above posts for information on the functions of each of these files, where to find them, and how to edit them. Remember though, the first and most important step is to BACK UP FIRST (don't forget to back up gta3.dir as well)!

Because the carcols.dat is in the same format for both engines, you can simply overwrite the data line of the GTA3 car you're replacing with the data line of the VC car you're putting in GTA3.

There are a few differences with handling.cfg that you need to be aware of. First and foremost, is the setup of the data - in VC, it is divided into vehicle-type categories, whereas in GTA3, all vehicles are mixed together. VC also has an extra column for suspension anti-dive that isn't used in GTA3 - this is the ad column, which is fourth from the right. When converting from VC to GTA3, remember to remove the entry for this column. Also, VC supports extra model flags when compared to GTA3, so these unsupported flag types will need to be removed (if applicable).

Next we come to vehicles.col. You'll need to add the collision data for your VC vehicle to this file - make sure you rename your VC COL file if need be.

The next step will involve editing the DFF (model) for your vehicle. As noted above, in GTA3, only the reflection level (which is the specular multiplier controlling the reflection intensity of the standard RwMaterial) was stored in the material of each model. On the other hand, in VC, there is extra data attached to every material on the vehicle geometry (containing the basic reflection parameters - that is, what image to use, and the intensity of the reflection) - this extra data can best be described as reflection maps, and these will need to be removed (except for the reflection level).

To remove the materials properties, you'll need to import the DFF into Max/G-Max (with Kam's scripts) and then use the Material Editor to remove all applied materials properties (except for reflection level) - see this topic for more information. Don't forget to save and export when you're done.

Again, the TXD conversion process is a bit complicated as well. GTA3 doesn't support DXT compression, so you'll need to remove that from all textures contained in your vehicle's TXD. You'll also need to delete the image used for reflections by your vehicle as GTA3 uses reflection01 in particle.txd by default. Also, bear in mind that your textures must be 8-bit or 32-bit in GTA3, so change this if necessary. After making these changes, I'd suggest extracting the TXD and building a new GTA3-format one with the textures you've extracted. Save your new TXD with the same name as your vehicle DFF.

Now, you'll need to put your custom DFF and TXD into GTA3's gta3.img. Replace the DFF and TXD of the GTA3 vehicle you wish to replace - if you get an error, simply Delete the DFF and TXD of the GTA3 vehicle you want to replace, and Add your DFF and TXD. Don't forget to rebuild the IMG when you've done this. You'll also need to delete txd.img and txd.dir - the next time you run GTA3, these two files will be re-created (this happens during the message you see that tells you that GTA3 is "optimizing textures for your graphics card").

Finally, we come to the default.ide. Find the line for the GTA3 vehicle you're replacing, and check that all the entries are correct - that is, the correct model name, TXD name, handling line and game name (for the COL file and carcols line). Check this carefully, especially if you put a VC-only vehicle (for example, the Comet or Phoenix) into GTA3.

And that's it. You should now have a working version of a VC vehicle installed on the GTA3 engine. Enjoy.

Advanced users - if you're interesting in playing around with the SFX, check out the LC\Audio\ post for a guide to the vehicle classes determined by SFX slot (and see this topic for information on GTA3 vehicle SFX classes). If you decide you want to change the SFX for a particular vehicle, be sure to back-up SFX.RAW, SFX.SDT and main.scm. To change the SFX for a particular vehicle, you'll need to swap it into the ID slot (in the default.ide) of a vehicle from a different SFX class. Be warned though that this will affect the other vehicle as well, so think carefully about your changes. Also, if you do swap vehicles around, you'll need to re-compile the SCM (open it with MB, and press F7).

Map Mod Conversion From GTA3 To VC:
Map mods generally comprise some combination of the following file-types - DFFs, TXDs, COLs, IDEs and IPLs. So, the first step as always is to back up any of the files you are going to be editing FIRST! Yes, that includes gta3.img AND gta3.dir.

With regards to DFFs, you should be aware that VC has backface culling enabled, so you'll need to edit the DFF in Max/G-Max to make it 2-faced as appropriate.

As with vehicles, you'll need to create a custom VC-format TXD, complete with DXT compression. So, extract the textures from your GTA3 TXD, and build the new TXD from scratch (extract your TXD from txd.img if need be - remember that it will be much better quality than if you were to take it from gta3.img).

The COL files are exactly the same format between both games, so they can be used directly from GTA3 to VC. As always, you'll need to plug your COL file into a custom folder within the VC\data\maps\ directory, and then reference it in gta-vc.dat. I don't recommend it, but if you plan to add it to one of the default COL files used in VC, remember that they are housed in gta3.img and NOT in the maps directory like GTA3 - you'll need to extract them from the VC IMG, edit them, and then replace them.

The IDE format is also the same between GTA3 and VC, so you shouldn't have to change anything here - just check that it references the correct model ID#, etc. As with the COL, don't forget to plug your IDE into a custom folder within the VC\data\maps directory, and then reference it in gta-vc.dat.

The IPL format is slightly different between the two engines - VC has one extra column of data when compared to GTA3. Generally, you're not going to need to play around with this number, but you must have an entry for it in your IPL. Furthermore, you'll obviously need to ensure you have the correct coordinates for the location of your map object (as VC and GTA3 have significant differences due to their size/layout). As with the COL and IDE, you'll need to plug your IPL into a custom folder in your VC\data\maps\ directory, and reference it in gta-vc.dat.

Once you've ensured that all your files are named correctly, and you've inserted your DFF and/or TXD and/or COL into VC's gta3.img, AND you've followed the above steps, you should be done.

Map Mod Conversion From VC To GTA3:
As with GTA3 to VC, the same file-types can be used here. Once again, the first step as always is to back up any of the files you are going to be editing FIRST! Yes, that includes gta3.img AND gta3.dir.

Firstly, we've got DFFs. In this instance, your model(s) need to have their backfaces removed, otherwise they'll look strange in GTA3. Use Max/G-Max, with Kam's scripts, to make this change.

With regards to the TXD, you'll need to create a custom GTA3-format TXD. That means that all textures must be extracted, and converted to either 8-bit or 32-bit. Any DXT compression must be removed, and then the textures can be recombined into a new GTA3-formatted TXD and saved. This TXD should be inserted into gta3.img - txd.img and txd.dir should be deleted so the game can rebuild all textures properly the next time it loads.

The only difference in relation to COL files is that VC supports two additional materials - sand and grass. There's likely to be a compatibility issue with GTA3 if your COL file uses these materials, so you may need to edit it to change them as appropriate. As always, you'll need to plug your COL file into a custom folder within the GTA3\data\maps\ directory, and then reference it in gta3.dat. I don't recommend it, but if you plan to add it to one of the default COL files used in GTA3, remember that they are housed in the GTA3\data\maps\ directory and NOT in the IMG like VC.

The IDE format is the same across both games, so you shouldn't have to change anything here - just check that it references the correct model ID#, etc. As with the COL, don't forget to plug your IDE into a custom folder within the GTA3\data\maps directory, and then reference it in gta3.dat.

The IPL format is slightly different between the two engines - VC has one extra column of data when compared to GTA3. Obviously, you'll need to remove this column from your IPL entries. Furthermore, you'll obviously need to ensure you have the correct coordinates for the location of your map object (as VC and GTA3 have significant differences due to their size/layout). As with the COL and IDE, you'll need to plug your IPL into a custom folder in your GTA3\data\maps\ directory, and reference it in gta3.dat.

Once you've ensured that all your files are named correctly, and you've inserted your DFF and/or TXD and/or COL into GTA3's gta3.img (and deleted txd.img and txd.dir if necessary), AND you've followed the above steps, you should be done.

Map Mod Conversion From GTA3 To LC:
Follow the same process as you would for converting from GTA3 to VC, however, note the following differences. First and foremost, LC doesn't use backface culling, so you SHOULD be able to use a DFF from GTA3 directly (without editing it). If it doesn't show up in-game though, you'll have to make it 2-faced.

The only other difference to note is in the IPLs - obviously LC's coordinates are much closer to GTA3's than VC's are, however, any GTA3 coordinates must be shifted -335x and +6z units to ensure they are correct for LC.

Map Mod Conversion From LC To GTA3:
Follow the same process as you would for converting from VC to GTA3, however, note the following differences. Whilst LC doesn't use backface culling, bear in mind that some of the models may still have backfaces, so you'll need to check this in Max/G-Max and remove them if applicable.

The only other difference to note is in the IPLs - you'll need to change any LC coordinates by +335x and -6z when converting to GTA3.

PED/Player Model Conversion From GTA3 To VC:
This guide was written by AK-73 (although I've edited it here a little bit) especially for me in order to explain how to convert the GTA3 prison Claude model to LC (at this stage, LC still had backface culling enabled) - it's for G-Max (with Kam's scripts), although the steps shouldn't be too different for Max either.

Before we get into though, DON'T forget to back-up your files first (including your DFF, gta3.img AND gta3.dir).

QUOTE (AK-73 @ Prison Claude Conversion Guide - GTA3 To LC)

Let's start with the first and most important hint - save regularly and save to different files, especially if you have stuff ahead that sounds complicated or that cannot be easily undone. If you have Kam's latest G-Max script, my GTAMAX tool should be included there. Start G-Max only over this tool (I have a link to it in my quick launch toolbar). When G-Max is running, a green GTA icon should appear in your system tray. Start with U for user viewport, as perspective only distorts the view. Maximise view with the icon at very bottom right of the screen. Screenshots Explained: G-max Basics - some basic orientation with the G-Max interface Material Editor - some basic orientation with the G-Max Material Editor Matching Claude - how to match the two Claudes (if necessary) 2-faces - a suggestion for which two body parts should be 2-faced Skinning - how playerp should be processed during skinning Setting Up The Conversion: Firstly, extract playerp.dff from GTA3's gta3.img, and then import it into G-Max. Open up the Material Editor, and select Pick - then click on one of the body parts of prison Claude (it doesn't matter which as they all have materials with the same properties) to fetch the material of that body part into the Material Editor. Then select all parts of prison Claude (either with the mouse or through menu Edit -> Select All). Go back to the Material Editor, and click Apply, so that every body part has one and the same material (as opposed to every body part having a different material but the same properties). Finally, select Show Map in Viewport - voila! - you should be able to see a fully textured Claude.  If not, you have to click the field next to Color in the Material Editor for this material, and then the top field under Bitmap Parameters in the next menu in order to choose the right texture (bear in mind though, that to do this, you'll need to extract playerp.txd from GTA3's gta3.img, and then extract the texture from the TXD). Next, select all (Edit -> Select All) and then clone your model (Edit -> Clone).  Move the clone aside and hide it. You move it by keeping all the objects selected and entering -3 in the x field at the bottom of the screen (to hide the clone, right click on it and select Hide Selection - to unhide it, right click and select Unhide All).  Do NOT Hide/Unhide All (Mesh) though - that's for hiding parts of a single object. Now, press the H key and select the playerp dummy of prison Claude.  Then, choose move in the top toolbar. At the bottom of the screen there are 3 textfields for x/y/z. By entering different numbers we're going to have the new coordinates entered. We want prison Claude to be at (0,0,0) so enter 0 in any field that isn't already at 0 (make sure that the values in the other fields don't unexpectedly change from 0 to another value too).  Next, toggle the little button left of the x text field. Now we DON't move prison Claude to the value entered, BUT RATHER by the value entered.  Enter 3 in the x field and watch Claude move a bit to the left. The point is - move our actual prison Claude so that it won't overlap with its clone nor with the Claude model we're going to import now. Now that we have some space at (0,0,0) we're prepared for the import of Claude.  Extract player.dff (my Claude) from LC's gta3.img and import it - you may select A for Auto-Skin first. Once imported, let's make sure his texture gets shown in viewport, so, go to Material Editor, and select Pick, and then click Show Map In Viewport (and if necessary, loading the texture as above for prison Claude, only this time load the one for normal Claude from LC ). Making Prison Claude Match Normal Claude: Now, delete playerp by selecting it and hitting the Delete key, and then select swaist via the H key menu. Rotate swaist, for example, by (NOT to) 90 degrees in the x direction and then 180 degrees in the z direction. The two models should now have the same facing. Move swaist back the distance you moved the playerp dummy before (in the example used above, it was 3).  LC Claude and prison Claude should overlap pretty well now - pretty well, but not good enough yet. Hit F3 to toggle Wireframe Mode (hint - you can select colors in the field next to the name of the object).  Now is the time to make the two Claude's match as perfect as possible.  Below are some approximate rotations for all body parts, but you will need to double check them.  This process can be a bit tricky because sometimes changes in one field can introduce changes in others (for whatever reason).  Also, sometimes G-Max doesn't show what you have entered by 360-entered value or 180-entered value or something like that.  I don't think it should be a problem though, especially if the other values are correct and it looks right on screen too. However, if you want to be sure you have the right rotation, rotate the bone around by hand until you have value in each field that are near the desired values, and then enter the final values.  I figure G-Max maintains some internal transform values that are responsible for all of this, but I don't quite understand it all either . The basic point though is - make prison Claude match my normal Claude as much as possible.  The values below are my suggestions - maybe you can come up with better rotations.  If you do enter my values though, there might be a slight slant in prison Claude that we will correct in the next step.  Also, note that these values are likely to be out by little bit when converting ordinary PEDs, but they're a start: Body Part x y z Swaist -90 179.4 -90 Smid 90 0.954 90 Storso 89.994 1.054 89.999 Supperarml -77.5 0 0 Slowerarml -77.5 1.001 0 SLhand 176.875 -2.361 4.935 Supperarmr 77.5 180 0 Slowerarmr 77.504 -178.999 0 SRhand -3.125 2.361 175.065 Shead 89.929 -7 90.057 Supperlegl 83.789 1.931 -89.572 Slowerlegl 83.696 10.014 -88.963 Sfootl 89.051 -0.497 -90.176 Supperlegr 96.21 1.732 -89.449 Slowerlegr -83.704 170.383 89.918 Sfootr 90.949 -0.297 -89.821 Press L for left viewport, then if necessary, move swaist downwards so that there is a bit of normal Claude above, and a bit of normal Claude below - basically, so that prison Claude is all in all centered (see the Matching Claude screenshot) on normal Claude. Move and rotate prison Claude via the swaist object - it's the object at the top of the hierarchy and thus you will be able to influence all of prison Claude through it.  Hierarchy can be seen with H and display subtree checked by going to Graph Editors -> Open Track View -> Objects.  Just move and rotate prison Claude by swaist so that it matches LC Claude the most. Check models from all sides, and check all parts too.  Save before connecting body parts in the next step. Making Prison Claude Into One Object At (0,0,0)/(0,0,0): Hit h and select swaist, then move it again to the side so that we have some space for the next step.  Remember the distance you have moved prison Claude so you can move him back easily. Select and hide everything else but prison Claude.  Only things that should be part of the final prison Claude model must be visible at this stage, because the next step is to select swaist, then go to Modify Tab -> Attach List -> Select All.  This turns all body parts into one object.  Rename swaist to playerp in the upper right corner of the screen. Move playerp back to original position.  Now go to the Hierarchy tab, select Affect Pivot Only, move pivot to (0,0,0), select Align To World, then untoggle Pivot Only again. Now we must go away from the Hierarchy tab to the Utility tab (from where you also can start Kam's scripts). Select the Reset Xform utility and if you have playerp still selected, press Reset Selected.  Make sure you only had playerp selected.  Then go back to the Modify tab - a Reset Xform modifier has appeared on top of our object.  Right Click on it and then Collapse All to make it disappear (its effects get permanently incorporated into playerp). This is done to make sure that the model's rotation data is set to (0,0,0) for all purposes.  Double-check if playerp's position and rotation are BOTH (0,0,0). If so, we can proceed - right click and then select Unhide All again. Now move normal Claude to the side (we'll only need it for reference from this point on).  Move it to the same side as your prison Claude clone (the other reference model) but twice as wide away.  Leave room on one side of prison Claude for the next steps. Making Prison Claude 2-Faced: Save and then save again in a different file to be sure. Next, select the playerp model, go to the Modify tab and select the Element sub-mode. There are 5 sub-modes all-in-all: vertices, edge (rarely used), face (for selecting triangle by triangle), polygon (for selecting groups of triangles that are below a specified angle connected to each other), and finally elements (for selecting parts that once were part of the same object before attaching objects). What we must do now is to make those parts of prison Claude that are not double-sided yet, double sided. Leave the sub-mode and hit the Scale button (next to Rotate) and enter 1000. Look at the big prison Claude from all sides now - you will see that at some angles some faces that should be visible aren't. If you have trouble finding all the faces that need to be 2-faced, go to Customize -> Customize User Interface and assign Alt+Shift+B as the hotkey for Backface Cull Toggle. Now look at the large prison Claude from all sides and take note of the faces that disappear by toggling the Cull on and off with the hotkey.  I recommend at least lower arms and legs downwards, plus the faces that formerly made up the swaist object (see the clone of prison Claude for reference). Most likely also the Smid faces. Also see the 2-faces image for reference but make up your own mind about what you think needs to be 2-faced. Be careful about this though - if you overlook something, it will not be easy to undo and you might have to start from scratch (READ - the last save point above) to eliminate the bug.  In any case, after taking note of the parts you want to be changed, undo or reload until your back to the point right before scaling prison Claude to 1000 (that step was just to make finding all the relevant faces easier).  What you need to do now is to select all elements that do NOT need to be 2-faced.  Select and then right click on them, choosing Hide (Mesh) from the menu.  Do that either one element at a time, or by adding them successively to one selection by keeping Ctrl pressed while selecting elements. After doing that, only those faces you want to be 2-faced should remain visible. Now select all remaining elements, and Shift-Clone these faces to Element by entering Move or Rotate Mode, and making a single click on them while holding down the Shift key.  In the menu that opens up, select Clone to Element (it will make the cloned faces become a part of our playerp object and not clone them into a seperate object).  Make sure you don't drag the mouse while clicking, as this would move or rotate the clones faces and we don't want that. After having them cloned all we need to do is to reverse the sides of the freshly cloned element faces.  Keep them selected and go all the way down in the rollout on your right side to Surface Properties and hit the Flip button there. Now right click and select Unhide All (Mesh).  To be sure, make the scale check a second time, but save in a new file before doing so, like above. Skinning Prison Claude: Add Skin Modifier from the Modifier List (in the Modify tab) below the object's name, and then add Bones to Skin Modifier (I don't know if the order of bones is important, but to be sure, do it in the same order as the bones of normal Claude), and double-check. Hit Edit Envelopes, select the root bone, turn into Wireframe mode (if you're not in it already).  Go down to Weight Properties and set Paint Str to 1.0, Radius to 2.5 and Feather to 0 (always 0). Paint Str is to determine how strongly the vertices that are about to get painted to should be influenced by the currently selected bone - 0 is no influence, 1.0 is sole and total influence.  Radius is the size of the tool's ball and if feather is not 0, the weight decreases towards the edge of the ball (hence why it should be 0). Now hit the Paint Weight button and the tool will be ready to use in the viewport. Center it on prison Claude - we want to make sure in this step that each vertex gets assigned to at least one bone, otherwise the export won't work right in the end.  After being finished with prison Claude we will also be able verify whether we did paint our vertex weight right - if we did it right, no vertex will in the end be still linked to the root bone. Now add an Edit Mesh modifier on top of the Skin Modifier and make sure that backface cull is turned OFF for prison Claude (all faces should be visible).  What we're going to do now is select an element of prison Claude in Element sub-mode, starting with the shoes. We'll move it by [b]3 units to the still free side. There we can paint it without having to fear painting the vertices of the other elements accidentally - after you're finished painting it, move it by another 3 into the same direction so that it doesn't get in the way of selecting the elements we yet have to vertex paint.  In the end, prison Claude will be 6 units away from (0,0,0), but then we'll simply delete the Edit Mesh modifier, and it will be as if we've never touched it .  See the skinning screenshot for reference. Next, select the right foot of prison Claude and move it 3 to the side.  Then go into the Skin Modifier, ignore/disable the warning, choose the right bone for the element (which is R Foot in this case), set Paint Tool Radius to 1.0 and paint all vertices of that element so that the R Foot bone has total influence over them.  Then, after you're finished, move it 3 units further away and repeat with next element and the appropriate bone. But which element should go to which bone?  In most cases that should be apparent.  If in doubt compare with the objects that made up prison Claude originally, or with the way I painted vertices in Edit Envelopes for normal Claude.  That's why we've been keeping the two after all - for reference.  Make sure though that you don't attach vertices to finger and/or toe bones, at least not for now. Now to the best order in which to do this - I recommend doing both legs, element-by-element in their entirety first, then move to the arms.  Be careful though - hands can be tricky in getting ALL the faces and ONLY the faces of the hand.  If necessary, Hide (Mesh) the lower arm and Unhide All (Mesh) as before - but, as before, be careful not to hide faces that should belong to the hand.  If you did it right, both 2-sided hands have 68 faces each - compare it by selecting the hand and taking note of the number of selected faces in the selection rollout.  After you're finished this step, Unhide All (Mesh) and proceed with the arms. Next comes the faces of the former Storso object - make sure you got a clean seperation there too.  This is maybe going to be the most difficult part, as the neck belongs to the former Storso but reaches in the head.  Hide (Mesh) everything that is head - we want the neck to be clear and clean.  The faces that cap the neck inside the head belong to Storso too, NOT to the head.  Look at it from all sides and hide all remaining faces that belong to the head until the head has been hidden in its entirety.  Then proceed as usual by moving former Storso to side, paint the vertices (they should be influenced by spine1 - NO vertices should be influenced for now by neck or the clavicles).  Then Unhide All (Mesh).  Next is the head, then smid, and last is swaist. Now that we're through that, check if root really has no vertices anymore. If there's a single red dot, you have overlooked at least one vertex, so correct it and attach it to the right bone.  If all is well, delete the Edit Mesh modifier by right clicking on it and watch prison Claude mode back to the origin again . Now we're ready for the test.  First though, double save the scene as before.  Next, test to see if both Claudes rotate with bones. Hit the Rotate button, select one of the bones with vertices attached to it, and rotate them a bit to see your model in action. If all is well there too, undo the rotations or reload from last save, the rotation must be correct (as they were before). The Export: Now we're almost ready for export. The playerp mesh isn't linked to the root bone yet though.  It can't be linked directly (as G-Max complains) - try it if you want to. Anyways, the fastest way to get around that and link it that I know of is to go to Edit -> Clone Root Dummy (root01), then delete the old root dummy - FIRST link root01 to mesh, THEN pelvis to Root01, and finally rename Root01 to Root.  Now we've got only 1 hierarchy. (Hint - The Link button is a bit to the left of the Move button.  You can link by name by selecting Link Mode and then hitting the H key. However, DON'T forget to leave link mode if you want to simply select a different object inbetween links - you can leave link mode by hitting the Move button, for example.). Now we're ready for export - (if necessary, run my script from the MAXScript menu) select VC with UV and Nor on, VCol and MMC off.  With Kam's script, select playerp and all bones and then hit Export - with mine, only select the top of the hierarchy which is now playerp.  With Kam's, I think you need to hit Bones/Skin Export, whereas with mine hit Export DFF (text). Be aware that my GTAMAX has a slight bug that I haven't fixed just yet. It sometimes doesn't read out/save the file on the second and subseqent exports. If the DFF doesn't appear in the specified directory, simply close and restart G-Max via my GTAMAX tool and export again.

And that's about it. Keep in mind that this was specifically for converting prison Claude to LC, so other conversions will be different, but basically, they'll follow a similar process.

PED/Player Model Conversion From GTA3 To LC:
Follow the same process as used for converting from GTA3 to VC, except skip the 2-faced step - LC doesn't need a back-face as backface culling has been disabled.

Don't forget to back-up your DFF, gta3.img AND gta3.dir first.

PED/Player Model Conversion From VC/LC To GTA3:
Unfortunately, I've yet to come across any guides that deal with this thus far. I'll keep a lookout - if anyone knows of any, please send a PM my way.

Basically, however, you should be aware of the differences between GTA3 and VC PED models. As stated above, GTA3 PEDs are formed from single body parts that are moved separately, whereas VC PEDs comprise a complete mesh and skin, bound together with a bone structure - as such, you can't actually "convert" a VC PED model to GTA3; you'll need to build each body part of a GTA3 PED model separately, with no bone structuring. I recommend loading up a few different GTA3 PED DFFs in Max/G-Max and playing around with them to get a better insight into how to go about working with them, and then eventually moving on to creating your own GTA3 PEDs.

As always, BACK-UP your files first - your DFF, gta3.img AND gta3.dir.

[Ben]

Change Log

Any changes to the guide will be noted in this post. Hope you like it .

February 17:

• Added REspawn and SteaVor to the credits list
• Added Opius's map files guide to LC\data\maps
• Added REspawn's paths guide to LC\data\paths
• Added a note about issues with LC still sometimes culling model backfaces
• Changed some info regarding the EXEs

February 27:

• Made a minor change to the SFX archive descriptions - I realised slot 424 is actually a blank in both the VC and LC archives

April 2:

• Updated SFX table in conjunction with updates to the SFX archive

July 4:

• Updated LC\Audio\ content to reflect new findings in relation to the SFX archive, and removed LC\audioLC\ section to match the directory structure of the latest download package

July 19:

• Minor update to the SFX table in the LC\Audio\ section

August 11:

• Retired from LC - looks like the guide remains incomplete (unless someone wants to finish it off)

August 12:

• Changed the first post to reflect Ben's retirement. Thank you for all the effort you've put into this guide!

This post has been edited by SteaVor on Sunday, Aug 12 2007, 10:23