This tutorial is to maybe get some fucking help converting SA to VC from willing people...
Step:1 - Convert all the files to VC format. (DFF & TXD & COls)
Step:2 - Convert IPL and IDE to VC format.
Step:3 - Convert all related LOD files.
Step:1Converting the DFFs, TXDs and COLs are the easiest in the 3 step process.
So here are the links to the other tuts.
DFF tut (forget about the COL part)[/URL] (This DFF part was from a GTAforums member X-seti I believe)
Step 1, Open up Kam's control panel for importing DFFs and select SA mode.
Step 2, Load in the DFF model using the
Import button from the
DFF IO panel, next click on the model in the Prespecive window (Fig 1.) and copy the model name pressing [Ctrl + C] to copy the file name of the model (Fig 2.)
Step 3. Paste the name of the model in to the COL IO window (Fig 3.) and select either COLL or COL2 options (Fig 4.)
Step 4, Press the Collision Mash button in the COL IO window (Fig 5.), and select the center of the model in the 3dsmax perspective window, You will noitce that the Collision Mash button will change to the name of the model.
Allowing you to Export a solid COL under the same name anotherbuild091.col, but you do not have to select the Collision Mash for LOD dffs, just copy the DFF name (anotherbuild091) to the COL window and Export the DFF.
Step 5, Select VC on the DFF window (Fig 7.), and Export the DFF (Fig 8.) as anotherbuild091.dff and copy that to your new Generic_Models folder.
TXD tut is
this.
COL tut is
this.Step 1 is that simple, but maybe time consuming.
Step:2Normal IDE - to make the SA IDE files into VC format, the first thing you do is using notepad, you use the replace feature and replace "LOD" for "xxxxxxxxxxx". After it is done replacing those lines in the IDE, all the ones that have the Xs you have to delete. Then use the macro "IDE SA2VC step1" and set it to run the amount of lines the IDE file has(make sure to start the macro while having the cursor before the first ID number). Then run "IDE SA2VC step2" on the IDE and again...make sure to start the macro while having the cursor before the first ID number. The you have to write in the correct IDs for each object. Find out what the next ID number is in moo (if you try creating an object in moo it will tell you the next ID number).
Normal IPL - First Collect all the IPL files for the area you are creating (there usually are around 3 to 5).
You first convert those IPL "streams" using
this tool. Once they are converted to SA format, put them into one notepad file (just the object lines). In the SA directory for maps find the area you are doing and collect that IPL too. First remove the LOD lines for it like you did for the IDE and add it to the collection of IPLs for your area. Now in the collection of all the IPLs notepad use replace to change all the negative signs to
* (this makes the macro work). Now run the macro "IPL SA2VC (replace negatives first)" and again...make sure to start the macro while having the cursor before the first ID number.
Now you are gonna copy the huge IPL file into the "IPL macro format.txt" file. I've created this file in order for the macro to work correctly. when running this macro you should have all windows closed except for the "IPL macro format" notepad window and the IPL notepad window. The start window for the macro is the IPL window and the cursor should be before the first ID number. Run the macro repeating once to test, then run it 399 times, thats the maximun amount of times that macro is able to run, I have no idea why, so you may have to run it around 4 times, and each time you have to restart macro maker.
Once it is complete, check for errors in the IPL by searching for "dummy" or "xxxx" if you find lines that have that, cut those lines into a another text file for later fixing or whatever.
Now change the
* back to the negative sign and save the IPL with the start line "inst" and the final line "end"
Step:3ok so here we go.... I'll break it down into steps so you know how the process goes...
Step 1: find the SA version IDE and IPL of your lot, delete all the lines that dont have the prefix or suffix "LOD" in it, make them VC format and put in the correct ID numbers.
Step 2: Using the IDE find the DFFs in the SA img and convert those to VC format (if you havent already).
Step 3: put your lot LOD version of the IPL (in notepad) on top of the IPL from the normal lot and using the find feature you are gonna copy and paste your coordinates' for the first LOD object and find those same coordinates in the normal IPL lot version. once you do that, rename it to "NORname" now go back up to your original LOD IPL line using the coordinates and rename that LOD object with the same name as the normal object but with the prefix "LODname" in front instead of NOR. You also have to rename the lines in both IDEs, the LOD IDE and the normal IDE. ALSO you have to rename the normal DFFs and the LOD DFFs.
Example of working LOD and Normal files:LOD IPL1906, LODgwforum1_LAe, 0, 2737.75, -1760.06, 26.2266, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1
NORMAL IPL1147, NORgwforum1_LAe, 0, 2737.75, -1760.06, 26.2266, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1
LOD IDE1906, LODgwforum1_LAe, laeast2_LOD, 1, 800, 0
NORMAL IDE1147, NORgwforum1_LAe, stadium_lae2, 1, 150, 0
Files:LODgwforum1_LAe.dff
NORgwforum1_LAe.dff
Step 4: After saving the IDE and it now has all the renamed lines, open up coleditor2 and open the normal .col version of the COLs and do a IDE check, you will noticed that since most/all the lines in the normal IDE where renamed you'll have to rename those same files inside the col archive to make them have the appropiate prefix "NOR".
Step 5: Using 3dsmax make the LOD version of the COLs
Actually, all that needs to be done is making the LOD col files using 3dsmax.
The difference between LOD cols and normal col files is that the LOD ones dont have a model which makes them 1k in size.
Here is what you need to do....
Open DFF IO
Import the LODfile.dff
Now close the DFF IO window and follow these steps.....
After saving the col, go ahead and open it with Coleditor2 and it should look like this....
No model^
ERROR CHECK: After making all the COL files for the LOD lot, make sure you can open ALL of them using coleditor2, if you can't open some it means trhe names of those col files are too long. You have to go back to step 2 and rename all those LOD-IDE, LOD-IPL, NOR-IDE and NOR-IPL with shorter names along with the LOD and NOR DFF files aswell. The new names you give them must be under 20 letters (not including the extension). Now you can do Step 5 again for those files with the error.
Step 6: Now you have to combine the LOD-IDE with the NOR-IDE and you must also combine the LOD-COLs with the NOR-COLs. The IPLs can stay seperate. Remember to put the apropiate lines in the GTA_vc.dat before testing.
