R* has decided to leave some interesting comments and features on some files, which I found interesting. So I did a research on every file I could find... Some even can be explained by topics present here. Obviously I'm not going to post the whole file in here...


/data
animviewer.dat: Looks like an alternative loading for the game, which I still have to try.

ar_stats.dat

Interesting how R* leaves some of the development notes in here. Also warning anyone that edits this compiled file, to update the enumerations on the source code too.


carcols.dat - Line 8

Deji has recently found debug keys which aren't readable by normal keyboards, on the game's memory (Think he posted this somewhere), and this file confirms it further. These simple unreadable keys might be PS2 controller keys, which were used to reload files while playing the game. Maybe someone could explore this feature on the PC version or would we need the source code?


default.dat

I still haven't understood what this file does, might have been a development fast loading option as it includes a few IDE's, nothing more. It's interesting how R* avoids loading problems by making files load alphabetically and per directory.


furnitur.dat

This is interesting. I don't think this file is used but might be, it suggests that SA had a feature to furniture your own house (See flag # E - can place in front of Window) or maybe you could get stolen or as the game observes, you can steal. Another interesting thing was the fact that it says DON'T CHANGE ANY OF THESE VALUES. Still haven't tried this, might edit later.
Thanks to Deji, it's apparently used to store items inside burglary houses and it's also used to randomise them, this file stores which items are stealable and which are placed into X house.

Line 313

Hmm. Below this there are some model categories called MISC_ORNAMENTS and so on, maybe tiny stuff to decorate your house further and currently disabled. Might later edit aswell, taking the comments out of some models.


gridref.dat

It seems to attrib. a grid location for each developer. What could this be used to? I remember seeing in GTA3, when you tried to access the Ghost Town, some developer names would appear on the map. I don't know why these names MUST!!!! be the artist's bugstar user ID but I have an idea what this was used for, reporting bugs, and each part of the map was attributed to each artist, and apparently the system was called BugStar.


handling.cfg

As obvious. Well it hasn't been changed since 1999 except some car models added, this might prove GTA3 was being developed since 1998-99...


info.zon
Looks like an unused file for GTA3, includes some coords and model ID's such as CHINA.


main.sc

Partial code.
Interesting, it's a test script for an industrial level (GTA3?) and it includes a magic car with some flags, which are disabled. We need scripters to explore over here! Apparently it is a script but it's uncompiled unlike SCM which you can't open with notepad. It includes GTA III and GTA VC code (thanks Siggi!)


map.zon

That's all the file has. The map.zon controls the island zones and also the type of cop car (LA,SF or LV) if there is no zone, it spawns the country cop car. The last value is always UNUSED for zones controlling the island-ID's. Normally you have all zone-names stored in the map.zon and the island-boundary-zones with their ID's in the map.zon. The last number is the Island-ID.
You can lock/unlock them using SCM.


numplate.dat

It saves license plate palette settings for the PS2 version of the game, for each city. R* also uses Paintshop Pro 7...


peds.ide

There you go, the purpose of default.ide.

Line 25

Fernando? GTA VC?


plants.dat Line 7

Another file that could be reloaded while the game was running. Might be another thing to research on the game's memory. Deji has found two hidden keys as I said on other file above, but these manage missions and race objectives. Also one to skip a mission, maybe when they modified main.scm and decided to test whatever they modified. This file manages plant ID's and characteristics.

Line 15

This type of comments makes me want the source code so leaked...


popcycle.dat

This file manages peds and where they should spawn, also the type and ID of ped and their actions. Few interesting notes there, such as this file uses percentages of map to spawn and if someone fucked up and the sum went more than 100%, the game would scale the density of the pedestrian and print a warning on the debug console.
at how they name the prostitute ID: Prozzies.


shopping.dat
Stores cost data for weapons, car mods, clothes and how much fat, sex appeal, muscle, respect they give you.

Line 15

I had heard of a calories feature before but it just seems how the game handles both fat and health data at the same time, just like in real life. Though if that were the logic, when you would eat a burger, fat would increase, but calories at the same time would double increase the fat and double decrease the health. Maybe an unused feature?


statdisp.dat

The description on the file says all. Yet developers needed a manual on how to handle these stats, located in a directory on the game's development root folder.

Line 22:

One could change these conditions to what they want and change how the game handles stats. I could change that "morethan" to "lessthan" and it would warn me I was getting too fat when I was actually getting skinnier


vehicles.ide

Defines who drives these cars, how are they driven and their characteristics. Someone should try that 0x02 flag though, try to debug that thing.


/data/Decision
In this folder, the artist responsibilities take place, I don't actually know if this is used but it stores some data on player decisions with other players and with the world (peds) in general.

/data/maps
As obvious. Map files generated from 3ds max files, these files don't have any interesting comments, just generated from weeks of hard work modelling and placing maps.

/data/Paths
Stores paths data and includes the unused train tracks that go around the map. One modder explained at GTAForums that these files were randomly generated to match the missions objectives and nothing more (Snail Trail, Wrong Side of The Tracks), so they go around the map flying and at the same time match the tracks for a while but as I said not for long.

/data/Script
Includes the game script. Now could someone investigate main.scm and do it on a different post?


Well this is it, as I don't have access to the source code this post can't be much longer... That's all folks! Though I might add img files and stuff.

This post has been edited by Spider-Vice: Sep 8 2011, 09:41 PM

It is part of maps, loaded because of gta.dat:



Maybe Rockstar Games was going to make GPS? (NAVIG.ZON)?

It is used to separate zones and:
- display GXT text of place when you are entering zone
- for gangs:


This post has been edited by fastman92: Apr 24 2011, 05:03 PM

Main.sc is apparently a very native part of source. Perhaps Rockstar wrote main.scm for III era (maybe IV too) using this syntax.

Thanks for all the contribs.

Fastman: Navig.zon is actually the file that controls the text of the zone you are. For example, you enter Mount Chilliad, and the game shows on the bottom Mount Chilliad. All that is managed by that file. The main.scm uses this to check if you are in the zone.

In a convo between me an NTAuthority, he sent me this:


They are apparently from some early PS2 game guides.


None of the functions to do this will still exist, though. But in case anyone like me wishes to go on a huge mission to reimplement what might have been... here's something to go on

Is it just me or are the rotor blades of the helicopter and the propeller of that Rustler similar to VC?

Yes they are I noticed that too. The police Maverick is also VC's which shows these are very early screens.

furniture.dat is used. If you go into a burglary interior, you may notice that each time you enter, items are in different places. The data file sets what object models can be placed where and which ones are stealable. It also sets which types of objects they are. The engine uses the data from this file and generates new locations for the interior objects each time.

Pretty damn clever.

Oh yeah.. and "calories" is basically the players hunger. If the calories is low, the player starts losing health, etc. You can also gain calories from entering the hot dog van, which is a bit random since you don't get it from pizza bikes or ice cream trucks... Something I added for Vigilante Justice

Oh well thanks for the explanation I'ma update the first post.

Found this as part of MTA's source (the part which was provided by R* )...


They also had naggy comments in the source!

Interesting how R* actually gave them bits of SA! Which file is that?

CStats.h

Ummm so is there a way to enable that in SA?

If NTAuthority says it's hard to do, it IS hard to do.

When did he say that?