========================================================
PLEASE REMEMBER TO BACKUP ANY FILES BEFORE CHANGING THEM
========================================================

==================================================
BITTE VOR DEM BEGIN ALLE BETEILIGTEN DATEN SICHERN
==================================================


Written by DiCanio 30th March 2004


Common Problems Installing Map Mods and other issues.

There are a few trouble areas to consider if you are
having problems after adding Mods.


MAP MODS:

1.
Check that other Map Mods you have loaded DO NOT have
the same Object ID numbers. These numbers are listed
in IDE files. This is a very common problem with Vice 
City Map Mods though GTA3 ones are less prone.

eg 
Ocean Beach Area Skatepark v1.0 Final by Weirdfish installs
a new DFF file with the following Object ID

5020, opark

There is also a 5020 Object ID number in Silver City Beta 1 
by Bims.

5020, hafen

If you have identical Object ID numbers the game will 
either crash or will not load.

SOLUTION:
Change the Object ID number of one of the Map Mods and
remember to also change the references in the IPL file.
Or, you can Hash Out one of the offending Map Mods - see 
below about Hashing Out gta_vc.dat entries.


2.
You can only add FOUR extra Dynamic Objects - as defined in
the Vice City Object.dat file. If you add more than four the
game will crash or not load.

There is no real need to use existing Dynamic Objects as 
these (for the most part) can easily be made into new DFF's 
and given new Object ID numbers. Hopefully Map Mod makers 
will realise this and stop making Mods that include any
Dynamic Objects.

SOLUTION:
Either Hash Out (#) the extra objects in the IPL or get Steve 
M's Limit Adjuster program which will allow you to have more
then FOUR Extra Dynamic Objects.

Get VC Limit Adjuster here:

http://www.steve-m.com


3.
There is a limit to the amount of files you can add to your
GTA3.IMG file. The maximum number depends on the size of
added DFF or TXD files. If you have some large DFF or TXD's 
added then the limit will be reached sooner.

SOLUTION:
Go through your GTA3.IMG file looking for added files you no 
longer use and delete them. Making some large TXD's smaller 
by changing the BMP's to 8 bit textures may also help if you 
are at the very limit of added objects. See Section 6 below.


4.
There is a limit to the number of lines you can add via IPL
and IDE files. According to Steve M's Limit Adjuster you can
only have 222 extra lines in added IPL files. The limit for
added IDE lines is 76. If you have more than these two limits
your game will either crash or not load. Remember you need to
add ALL the lines for ALL your added IPL and IDE files in order
to check the total lines. Steve M's wee program will tell you 
just how much you have added and how much more you can add 
before your game will crash.

SOLUTION:
If you are over the limits try adjusting with Limit Adjuster
or just Hash Out (#) one of the added Map Mods.


5.
Hashing Out (#) Map Mods.
The simple way to avoid any limits if you have a few Map Mods
or a couple of BIG Map Mods is to Hash out - using the hash sign 
# - entries in your GTA_VC.DAT file. Hashing Out entries stops 
the Map Mod you have Hashed from loading. The advantage in 
Hashing Out entries is that you don't have to uninstall.

This is how to Hash Out entries in your GTA_VC.DAT file.

#IDE DATA\MAPS\MODS\vcwtc\vcwtc.IDE

#COLFILE 0 DATA\MAPS\MODS\vcwtc\vcwtc.COL

#IPL DATA\MAPS\MODS\vcwtc\vcwtc.IPL


6.
There is another way to avoid limits and that is by having
many extra copies of GTA VC installed. There is no limit
to the amount of copies you can have - the only limit is
the size of your hard drive ;o)
You may find you have problems getting sound in extra 
copies but apart from that it's a good solution. There are
many people with seven or eight (or more) Vice City
directories on their hard drives. All you need to do is
right-click Copy the main Grand Theft Auto Vice City 
directory then put it somewhere on your hard drive. Make
a shortcut to the gta-vc.exe and call it VC2 etc.

The good thing about having extra copies of Vice City is that 
you can install all sorts of new vehicles or Mods without 
worrying what to take out. What tends to happen if you add
extra copies of the game is that you keep one or two copies
as your 'Main' games with all your favorite vehicles and Mods 
on them and any other copies are used as test-beds for new
Mods and vehicles.


7.
Other common problems.

A:
Carelessness.
Adding extra spaces in IPL, IDE, DAT or CFG files (carcols, 
default, handling, weapon etc) is a VERY common problem and hard 
to detect. Vice Validator by Respawn can help with some of these 
problems but there is no substitute for careful work. You can 
have the same problems if you take out spaces in some of the 
above files.

Here's an example from the carcols.dat file:

greenwood, 78,78, 80,13, 2,78, 11,79, 16,8, 25,8, 33,78, 42,79
hermes, 2,2, 16,16, 17 17, 21,21, 32,32, 38,38, 43,43 60,60
hotrina,  2,35, 36,2, 51,53, 95,2, 11,22, 40,35,
hotrinb, 7,53, 3,40, 35,53, 40,75, 42.2, 46,6
hotrinc, 7,36, 16,48,  20,2, 51,22, 58,80, 72,2, 72,22,

There are TEN errors in those entries.
Can you spot them all?

Vice Validator can be downloaded here:

http://www.jbandit.net


B:
ALL added objects in GTA VC MUST have a corresponding COL file.
If you are adding a Mod with a custom Col file as part of
the Mod then check it is named correctly. If the COL file 
covers a number of objects check each COL entry in the COL 
file and see whither the names all correspond with DFF files
in the Mod. To check COL files you will need a good HEX 
editing program like HEX Workshop. Steve M's COL Editor lets 
you see the proper names of each COL entry but doesn't show HEX 
values. The name of the COL file is actually within the COL 
file itself, just because a file is named newdff.COL doesn't
mean this is actually it's real name. Open the COL file and 
check.

e.g.
If a new DFF has the name Parkbencha the COL file entry will 
be something like this:

COLL....parkbencha...........".x...?.!@....<.....]..F..."T...T.>\(.?"T.>....../>.).>@]..x.m......./>....@]..x.m......./>....p..?x.m......./>.).>p..?x.m.....q=.>..e=...?.+.=.......>..e=.W...+.=............ .......DL..@p_>...?._M<............

As long as you see an entry beginning with the letters COLL and
containing the full name of the new DFF then all should be well.

You can get a demo of Hex Workshop here:

http://www.hexworkshop.com


Steve M's Coll Editor is here:

http://www.steve-m.com


More items will be added to this list as they come to memory ;o)



Happy Modding :o)


DiCanio
shaxfadow@yahoo.com

30th March 2004


========================================================
PLEASE REMEMBER TO BACKUP ANY FILES BEFORE CHANGING THEM
========================================================

==================================================
BITTE VOR DEM BEGIN ALLE BETEILIGTEN DATEN SICHERN
==================================================