The thread that started it all

[Freakorama]

 

I've downloaded the Beta2-test7 update but, the culling are disabled without modification.

In gta-lc.ini, the DisableCulling= are in 0 but, in game, are [email protected]#king up the models(Similiar of FAQ of mod).

 

I'm using the Intel video card in my laptop.

I have the same problem, all objects/cars/people are inverted.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Futurama_Freak1

[jcab42]

Thanks for updating the first post. What?! fixed the locations of the Highway and Stunt-Park, but there's still some problems with those installers (they were made for an older version of GTA:LC). You can get them to run, but here's what could be updated:

• everywhere it says "data\gta3maps" needs to be changed to "data\maps"
• the supplied gta_vc.dat will not work with GTA:LC 3.1. Using the instructions to edit the gta_VC.dat does work.
• the supplied overview would have been good except that it needs to be moved (x= +15 z = +6). What?! fixed the other ipl's.
• the stunt-park doesn't have parked cars or crazy skins.
• the highway doesn't have LODs or signs

I've put together an alternate download which includes more than ever:

 

ULCM: Ultimate Liberty City Map

Installer for GTA:LC 3.1

 

This mod includes:

• Ultimate Stunt-Park by ODIE

• Ultimate Stunt-Park Crazy Skin by C.U.N.T.eyes

• Ultimate Stunt-Park parked cars by What!?

• Miss Liberty by ODIE and Rowell Ray Shih

• Intercity Highway with buildings w/ Liberty exit by ODIE & illspirit

• Intercity Highway Add-on by Diamond Joe Quimby

• Thunderdome by illspirit and Skizot

 

Download link:

http://www.gtagarage.com/mods/show.php?id=16323

 

• Conversion and packaging by jcab42; I also contributed a gtaforums / Rockstar graphic to go with the Crazy Skins.

 

Miss Liberty / Intercity Highway

 

Thunderdome / Intercity Highway

 

Ultimate Stunt-Park / Intercity Highway

Edited May 27, 2011 by jcab42

[SteaVor]

That's great!

All files are now saved on my local hard disk and mirrored on my webspace, lest they get lost again.

I've updated the first post with your mods and sorted the list by release date.

[SteaVor]

I've thought about using a binary diff/patch (delta encoding) tool instead of Nullpointer's tools for the SFX and today took the time to test whether it was worth the effort, i.e. whether it reduced the size of the download considerably.

 

I've tested it with both sfx.RAW and gta3.img, the two largest files by far that we'd want to ship with GTA:LC final.

I've used the 64-bit version of xdelta3.0z to create the diffs (between GTAVC unmodified and GTALC Beta 3.1) and here are the results:

 

gta3.img

VC: 327,487,488 Bytes

LC: 192,194,560 Bytes

xdelta delta file: 79,312,505 Bytes

 

sfx.RAW

VC: 340,245,502 Bytes

LC: 283,815,444 Bytes

xdelta delta file: 35.503.780

 

That looks quite impressive, but unfortunately you'll need to take into account that the delta file produced by xdelta is highly compressed already, which means that archiving it doesn't compress it any further, unlike the plain gta3.img and sfx.RAW files, which can be compressed considerably well.

 

So how would using xdelta impact the overall size of the LC download archive?

 

First of all I've extracted Beta3.1.rar into a new folder and re-RARed that folder again, to make sure all the following archives would be created with the same settings (solid archive with best compression level)

 

Size of this archive: 97,833,378 Bytes

 

If we shipped the contents of LC-SFX.rar (26,589,383 Bytes) in the same archive, we'd arrive at about 124,000,000 Bytes.

 

Now I added the LC sfx.RAW to the Beta3.1 folder and RARed it with the same settings (solid archive, max compression) and got 324,159,690 Bytes ( ).

 

Now I replaced sfx.raw and gta3.img with their xdelta counterparts and the size of the resulting archive was 129,620,066 Bytes.

 

Finally I deleted the delta file for sfx.raw from the folder to be able to compare the result with the first archive: 102,597,903 Bytes

 

 

Conclusion:

Delta encoding doesn't seem to help reduce the size of the download in our case (97,833,378 vs. 102,597,903 Bytes, 124,000,000 Bytes vs. 129,620,066 Bytes), but it seems like the right thing to do for the SFX, as this would get rid of all that creating-thousands-of-small-files-half-of-which-are-blanked-seconds-later etc.

 

We'd just need to ship the xdelta command line tool with the mod instead of Nullpointer's tool. The only thing we'd need to be aware of is that binary patching obviously requires the file to be patched to be bit-identical to the one the delta file was originally derived from, but as far as I know the sfx.RAW should be identical in all versions of VC and it's hardly ever modified by average players (unlike gta3.img).

 

File size of an archive containing the sfx delta file, xdelta.exe and a one-line batch file to apply the delta would be around 26 MB, basically the same as the current LC-SFX.rar, so download size for the SFX add-on is not an issue either.

Edited January 10, 2011 by SteaVor

[SteaVor]

I've recently started playing the storyline again, and like many of you guys got stuck because I wasn't able to find enough triads to kill in "Trial by Fire".

 

Luckily I remembered the reason for this - GTA:LC is utilizing a custom ASI module ("VC: Traffic") that allows us to control traffic and ped density. However, the settings used with the latest versions of GTA:LC only optimized the vehicle density, not the density of peds. As I just wanted to get the mission out of the way and remembered what I needed to change, I've tweaked the VC:Traffic config so that loads of pedestrians will spawn around you, at least if you're on foot. This should make passing "Trial By Fire" a breeze, but beware, the ped (and thus gang member) density is set quite high, so visiting St. Marks after completing Sayonara Salvatore is NOT AT ALL recommended.

That means that using my modified settings file will make things easier for rampages and "Trial by Fire", but will make all the missions involving the mafia territory much harder at daytime ("Rigged to blow", for example!). I'm going to optimize the values and try to find a compromise between the two extremes that can be included with future version of the mod.

 

Download modified config file here - just copy the file to your main LC dir, overwriting the existing file in the process. You don't need to start a new game for the changes to take effect.

 

 

Oops, nearly forgot to mention that both ped and vehicle density now depend on the time of day. So don't start the mission at night, as you'll likely run out of time desperately searching for triads in the dark.

Here's the relevant section of the config file, showing the multipliers for both ped and vehicle density. Least traffic around midnight, most traffic around noon.

 

1.0 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.0 2.5 //First value: 0:00 (midnight)

3.0 4.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 6.0 //First value: 6:00

6.0 6.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.0 //First value: 12:00 (noon)

3.0 2.5 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.0 //First value: 18:00

 

EDIT: This file has been superseded, see the post directly below. Still, if you prefer some pretty packed sidewalks or easier rampages, I'm going to continue to offer this version of vc_traffic.cfg - it won't be included with an official version of the mod though.

Edited January 11, 2011 by SteaVor

[SteaVor]

Updated industNE.col - modified collision of the gas station model because it contained a misplaced collision box.

 

Grab it here. In case there were any updates to that file since the release of Beta3.1 (which this file is taken from), please extract the 'petrolstation' col from the file.

[SteaVor]

I've created an alternative SFX package that utilizes the magic of xdelta (see here) to turn injecting the SFX update into a painless, fool-proof process that's completed in mere seconds.

 

Download here. (already superseded by Alt's SFX installer he posted in the INSTALLER topic - thanks!)

 

I think we should use this this way of updating for the SFX files from now on - unless, of course, there are 2 or more different versions of sfx.RAW shipped with different versions of VC, which would kill this new approach right away.

 

How to install:

 

1. Extract the contents of this archive to the \audio folder inside your GTA:LC folder

2. Double-click LC-SFX.bat and wait a few seconds - the batch file will tell you whether the installation succeeded or failed.

3. That's it! You can now safely delete LC-SFX.bat and this readme file if you want to.

 

This even works if your SFX files are still set to read-only for whatever reason.

Please make sure you didn't modify sfx.RAW in any way prior to applying the SFX update!

 

EDIT: Whoah, things are surely moving at a fast pace today - Alt has already done what I would have started to do once I had confirmed that my solution was working for other people as well.

Check out his SFX installer in the INSTALLER topic.

 

_______________________________

 

 

COL update

 

_______________________________

 

 

Here's the optimized version of vc_traffic.cfg - this bumps up the density quite a bit, but not too much. This should be pretty much final now and should be included within the next version of the mod.

 

Download

 

_______________________________

 

 

Oh, and a question: The incomplete intro sequence is still bugging me and I thought about using wanderers, but is my memory serving me correctly in that there is a limit as to the number of concurrently activated wanderers? (Limit = 3?) This would make the wanderer approach unfeasible.

EDIT: Found it - looks like it would be doable if (and only if) ModelingMan or another EXE guru found a way to override this limit.

Edited January 11, 2011 by SteaVor

[Alt]

So, if you wanna to go this way I suggest you silent version of SFX add-on installer.

It works similar to SteaVor's one but has some differences:

1) Check your version of sfx.RAW comparing its MD5 to original;

2) Show banners when checking version and updating files;

3) Show message boxes if something is wrong (sfx.RAW wasn't found in current folder or sfx.RAW isn't original) and when installation ends;

4) Has been made with NSIS and VPatch.

 

DOWNLOAD!

 

Also if you liked it want to use I share SFX installer sources for LC Team.

[SteaVor]

Thank you very much, Alt!

 

Given that NSIS seems to be the way to go for the installer of GTA:LC Final it makes sense to use the VPatch module. I've confirmed your SFX installer works as advertised on my copy of the game, so I'd suggest we use this installer instead of the old RAR archive. I'm currently uploading the installer to Samutz' and my webhosting; will provide links when it's done uploading.

 

EDIT: Mirror links are up: Mirror #1 | Mirror #2

Edited January 11, 2011 by SteaVor

[Drag0nflamez]

A RARchive would most definitely suck.

[SteaVor]

 

We're not going to use RAR archives for the final version of GTA:LC, but a full-blown installer - that 's the very point of this topic.

[Drag0nflamez]

I think the project of porting LC to SA would be much easier - since there were already trains and unused train paths.

 

Anyway, tl;dr

I used Zmodeler etc to turn the train dff from III into something that VC will liek more. Not sure if it'll work. It's a rar archive with the dff and textures.

http://sharebee.com/300a098f

[SteaVor]

How does your model differ from the one that's been used in the mod up to now?

[Drag0nflamez]

How does your model differ from the one that's been used in the mod up to now?

i said tl;dr

so apparently the trains are already driving or what? I haven't been looking at this mod for a long time

[SteaVor]

Yes, the train has been (nearly) fully functional for a few years already.

[SteaVor]

I've tried to update the first post of this topic, but the forum database decided that it doesn't like that type of huge, complex posts anymore and just returned a blank post.

Thankfully I still had the post in the clipboard and was able to paste its contents to a safe location on my PC. I needed to split the first post into three to make IPB accept it, but at least it works now.

 

Anyway, the first posts of this thread are now updated with the latest download links and pieces of information, in particular the only (and crash-inducing) way to fix the culling issue for people using Intel chipsets.

 

I've also updated various other topics to reflect the current state of the mod and added clear warnings to old download topics to make sure that people following outdated links know that there's Beta3.1 out there for them to download.

 

EDIT: Sh*t, the board software is still eating the second post of the topic - to make it show up again I needed to cut off the last part of the post dealing with the installation of the SFX add-on, but these instructions probably won't be applicable in the near future anyway if we decide to use the NSIS VPatch functionality to update the SFX files.

 

EDIT2: The contents of the second postare still visible, so should be stable now (I hope.)

Edited January 12, 2011 by SteaVor

[SteaVor]

Here's what I wrote in the FAQ in the third post of the HELP&QUESTIONS topic - please follow the instructions to see if it works for you with Beta3.1:

 

 

The first issue appears due to disabled culling that the Intel chipsets can't seem to handle properly. There's a solution for this, however the file that enables the fix is unstable and increases the frequency of random crashes considerably, so you'll need to decide whether you can live with that. We plan to ship a "proper" fix with the final version of GTA:LC. If you want to see Liberty City as it's supposed to look like and are able to tolerate the crashes, download this package, extract IIItoVC.asi-20070525-v7t3+t4+t5, rename it to IIItoVC.asi and put it into your main LC folder, overwriting the existing file.

 

Now go to your main LC folder and open gta-lc.ini. Scroll down a bit and find the [Misc] section. In that section, there should be a line that reads:

DisableCulling=1

Simply change the 1 to a 0 and then go to File -> Save. Close the INI and then load up LC - the models should now display correctly.

[Alt]

 

•Remove read only settings from VC.

•Install specific components of the GTALC installation only (models, data, etc)

•Web Install

I don't think this is really needed because:

1) NSIS can overwrite and delete files with "read only attributes".

2) Whats the point of this? You can easily extract all stuff using 7-zip for example

3) I don't really imagine how this works but if it's check-boxes in installer for some specific add-ons I think its bad idea. Just mention in ReadMe add-ons topic.

[Craig Kostelecky]

Damn SteaVor. I'm overwhelmed by your comeback. I think I need to put you back in charge (and get you my latest files). I'm not opposed to releasing what I have publicly. I just haven't had time to do it. Especially since I'm back working full-time again

[Drag0nflamez]

•Remove read only settings from VC.

•Install specific components of the GTALC installation only (models, data, etc)

•Web Install

I don't think this is really needed because:

1) NSIS can overwrite and delete files with "read only attributes".

2) Whats the point of this? You can easily extract all stuff using 7-zip for example

3) I don't really imagine how this works but if it's check-boxes in installer for some specific add-ons I think its bad idea. Just mention in ReadMe add-ons topic.

1) Good point

2) User experience, some people who mod it are n00bs, that need quick backups (though including a backup program would work out too)

3) Web install means that you can make the installer itself like 1MB or so and then it downloads the rest of the files. It's meant to speed up the download. Plus it allows you to let it only download the things you need. So it's not meant to be included as part of a 60MB+ archive

 

If you need some help with NSIS - there's a wiki for that

[Drag0nflamez]

Yes, the train has been (nearly) fully functional for a few years already.

Is it normal that you have to wait like really long for the Portland subway?

[Alt]

Still I think those tasks are pointless and doesn't cost time for their creating. Simpler = better

Instead of this "add-on thing", I think that installer really needs to check if your version is the most updated. If not it proposes you to download newer installer and downloads it through browser (that's how MTA installer works). But I think it would be better not to download immediately but purpose to visit webpage where user can find list of changes, updated full installer and smaller hotfix for his version

[Drag0nflamez]

Still I think those tasks are pointless and doesn't cost time for their creating. Simpler = better

Instead of this "add-on thing", I think that installer really needs to check if your version is the most updated. If not it proposes you to download newer installer and downloads it through browser (that's how MTA installer works). But I think it would be better not to download immediately but purpose to visit webpage where user can find list of changes, updated full installer and smaller hotfix for his version

The launcher should feature this too then With auto-updating via bittorrent (i know a bittorrent site with a couple of dedicated seedboxes) & FTP & HTTP) WITH seperate files so resuming would work out better (instead of an all new version which would probably be a waste of goddamn playing time)

[SteaVor]

There are not as many trains or subways on the tracks as in GTA3 due to yet another VC EXE limit that we haven't been able to work around yet, so you'll need to be patient if you want to ride them.

[Alt]

I totally agree with yours last post

Edited January 12, 2011 by Alt

[SteaVor]

I'd really like to have the installer take care of removing the read-only flag from all files because this would ease further modding of the game (installing unofficial mods or VC cars or whatever) as it would eliminate a frequent cause of mod installation issues - "make sure the file's not set to read-only" is a standard phrase if someone reports a problem modifying the game files, so getting this out of the way by having the installer take care of it automatically would be nice.

[Alt]

Thats not really problem if we use cmd with hidcon in NSIS cover

Try this! (place in folder where you want to remove read-only flags, it also works for sub-folders and even rrof.exe )

And another good thing that its not recognized as any kind of virus (I had this problems once). Enjoy!

---

Recently I've re-uploaded LC SFX installer and src of it (with very minor change - removed $EXEPATH, instead if this using $EXEDIR everywhere).

Edited January 13, 2011 by Alt

[Drag0nflamez]

 

There are not as many trains or subways on the tracks as in GTA3 due to yet another VC EXE limit that we haven't been able to work around yet, so you'll need to be patient if you want to ride them.

Wait, this just came to me.

You know those screens that you see when you go to another island in GTA3, GTAVC, GTALCS & GTAVCS

In LCS, you see one when you enter the subway, so I think the subway was defined as another island in the game. So here's my idea; what if you could turn the subway into another 'island' so you can have all the vehicles & stuff you want in there, and when you exit you'll get back to the island where the station actually is?

 

EDIT: lol - I must've killed this whole forum by this post?

Edited January 16, 2011 by Drag0nflamez

[spaceeinstein]

The LCS subway system is in a separate interior, like the interior of the Ocean View Hotel is separate from the outside world. That doesn't change the fact that there is a limited number of subway paths you can create here.

[WHAT!?]

Ah you made the post. Glad I could help out with this. GTAIII's Liberty City just doesn't feel right without the Stunt Park. Love using the bikes on this.