handling.cfg
The handling.cfg
file stores handling configuration data and settings for vehicles in GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas.
Contents
GTA III and Vice City
The file is in plain text format. Line comments are indicated by the character ;
(semicolon) and empty lines are allowed. Each entry takes one line and data in them are separated by
(space) and
(horizontal tab). The end is indicated by the terminating string ;the end
.
Standard Data
This section contains all the performance settings for land vehicles and provides the base settings for boats, bikes and flying vehicles. In GTA III the special behaviour of boats, bikes and flying vehicles are hardcoded and are not included in the handling.cfg
file. Vice City included many of those handling data into the file.
Identifier | Type | Description | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
A | vehicle identifier | string | The identifier must be from the list of hardcoded names (see below). | |
B | fMass | float | Mass of the vehicle in kilograms. | |
C | Dimensions.x | float | Width of the vehicle in metres, used for aerodynamic and motion effects. | |
D | Dimensions.y | float | Length of the vehicle in metres, used for aerodynamic and motion effects. | |
E | Dimensions.z | float | Height of the vehicle in metres, used for aerodynamic and motion effects. | |
F | CentreOfMass.x | float | Distance from the centre of the car in metres to the right for the centre of mass. | |
G | CentreOfMass.y | float | Distance from the centre of the car in metres forward for the centre of mass. | |
H | CentreOfMass.z | float | Distance from the centre of the car in metres upward for the centre of mass. | |
I | nPercentSubmerged | integer | Percentage of the vehicle height required to be submerged for the car to float. | |
J | fTractionMultiplier | float | Cornering grip of the vehicle as a multiplier of the tyre surface friction. | |
K | fTractionLoss | float | Accelerating/braking grip of the vehicle as a multiplier of the tyre surface friction. | |
L | fTractionBias | float | Ratio of front axle grip to rear axle grip; higher value shifts grip forwards. | |
M | TransmissionData.nNumberOfGears | integer | Number of gearchange animations and sound effects to use. | |
N | TransmissionData.fMaxVelocity | float | Limits the top speed. | |
O | TransmissionData.fEngineAcceleration | float | Basic rate of acceleration. | |
P | TransmissionData.nDriveType | character | Assigns Front, Rear or 4 wheel drive. | |
Q | TransmissionData.nEngineType | character | Assigns Petrol, Diesel or Electric engine characteristics. | |
R | fBrakeDeceleration | float | Overall decelerative force, set so keyboard controls do not quite lock up the wheels. | |
S | fBrakeBias | float | Ratio of braking force of front compared to rear; higher values move bias forward. | |
T | bABS | integer | Seems to have no effect. | |
U | fSteeringLock | float | Maximum rotation of steering arc in degrees; use negatives for rear wheel steered vehicles. | |
V | fSuspensionForceLevel | float | Explained in my suspension tutorial. | |
W | fSuspensionDampingLevel | float | Explained in my suspension tutorial. | |
X | fSeatOffsetDistance | float | Distance from door position to seat position. | |
Y | fCollisionDamageMultiplier | float | How much damage vehicle engine gets from collisions. Higher value means more damage. | |
Z | nMonetaryValue | integer | Used to determine monetary award for crusher, collisions, and explosions in GTA III and the Property Destroyed statistic in Vice City. | |
AA | suspension upper limit | float | Uppermost movement of wheels in metres. | |
AB | suspension lower limit | float | Ride height of vehicle in metres. | |
AC | suspension bias | float | Ratio of suspension force to apply at the rear compared to the front. | |
- | AD | suspension anti-dive multiplier | float | Changes the amount of body pitching under braking and acceleration. |
AD | AE | Flags | hex | Special features which can be enabled or disabled (see below). |
AE | AF | front lights | integer | Defines the size of the head lights of the vehicle. Using numbers out of range has unusual effects. |
AF | AG | rear lights | integer | Same as above but for the tail lights. |
List of vehicle identifiers
The games contain a hardcoded list of vehicle identifiers. This is used to assign a vehicle's handling name to a handling index, e.g. LANDSTAL is at index 0 and IDAHO is at index 1.
Flags
The flag is a sixteen-bit integer value stored as a hexadecimal value in four bytes (characters). The number is written with the smallest value on the right, which is bit number one, with the higher value bits to the left. The below table describes what each of the sixteen bits in this setting do:
Game | Byte | Value | Column Name | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 1G_BOOST | Makes tyres spin more readily from standing starts. | |
2 | 2G_BOOST | Makes tyres spin more readily at low speeds. | ||
4 | REV_BONNET | Reverses the direction boot and bonnet axis operate. | ||
8 | HANGING_BOOT | Affects physics of boot hinged from the top. | ||
2 | 1 | NO_DOORS | Removes all testing for doors. | |
2 | IS_VAN | Allows double boot object. | ||
4 | IS_BUS | Uses Coach version of animations over standard one and makes the driver invisible (only makes sense to use on Coach). | ||
8 | IS_LOW | Uses low version of animations over standard one. | ||
3 | 1 | DBL_EXHAUST | Creates a second exhaust by mirroring the model's exhaust over the y-axis. | |
2 | TAILGATE_BOOT | Affects physics of boot hinged from the bottom. | ||
4 | NOSWING_BOOT | When damaged, boot does not swing if it normally does and falls off instead. | ||
8 | NONPLAYER_STABILISER | Seems to have no effect, could be related to how the AI operates the vehicle | ||
4 | 1 | NEUTRALHANDLING | Seems to have no effect, could be related to how the AI operates the vehicle | |
2 | HAS_NO_ROOF | Various slight effects. | ||
4 | IS_BIG | Changes the way that the AI drives around corners. | ||
8 | HALOGEN_LIGHTS | Bluish headlights. | ||
5 | 1 | IS_BIKE | Makes the game engine treat this vehicle as a motorbike when used with default.ide attributes.
| |
2 | IS_HELI | Makes the game engine treat this vehicle as a helicopter when used with default.ide attributes.
| ||
4 | IS_PLANE | Makes the game engine treat this vehicle as a plane when used with default.ide attributes.
| ||
8 | IS_BOAT | Makes the game engine treat this vehicle as a boat when used with default.ide attributes.
| ||
6 | 1 | NO_EXHAUST | Removes the exhaust animation particle for this vehicle. | |
2 | REARWHEEL_1ST | Seems to have no effect. | ||
4 | HANDBRAKE_TYRE | Seems to have no effect. | ||
8 | SIT_IN_BOAT | Makes the player sit in this boat. | ||
7 | 1 | FAT_REARW | Wider rear wheels. | |
2 | NARROW_FRONTW | Narrower front wheels. | ||
4 | GOOD_INSAND | Prevents vehicle from bogging down on sand surface. | ||
8 | Is not mentioned in the handling.cfg comments. Causes the vehicle to not render while looking behind in first person view.
|
Vice City-specific
The following sections contain information specific to Vice City.
Boat Data
Some of the Standard Data settings have a different effect for floating vehicles than they would for land vehicles.
Column Letter | Column Name | Description |
---|---|---|
J | Bank Force Mult | Amount of lean when turning. |
K | Rudder Turn Force | Effect of the steering. |
L | Speed Steer Falloff | Amount to reduce steering effect by as speed increases. |
R | Vertical Wave Hit Limit | |
S | Forward Wave Hit Brake | |
V | WaterResistance Volume Mult | |
W | Water Damping Mult | |
ab | Handbrake Drag Mult | |
ac | Sideslip Force | Strength that the boat will be pushed sideways by waves. |
Data specific to boats have lines that begin with %
(percentage sign) character.
% | Identifier | Type | Description |
---|---|---|---|
A | ID | string | The identifier must be from the list of hardcoded names (see above). |
B | ThrustY | float | |
C | ThrustZ | float | |
D | ThrustAppZ | float | |
E | AqPlaneForce | float | |
F | AqPlaneLimit | float | |
G | AqPlaneOffset | float | |
H | WaveAudioMult | float | |
I | MoveResX | float | |
J | MoveResY | float | |
K | MoveResZ | float | |
L | TurnResX | float | |
M | TurnResY | float | |
N | TurnResZ | float | |
O | Look_L_R_BehindCamHeight | float |
Bike Data
Data specific to bikes have lines that begin with !
(exclamation mark) character.
! | Identifier | Type | Description |
---|---|---|---|
A | ID | string | The identifier must be from the list of hardcoded names (see above). |
B | LeanFwdCOM | float | |
C | LeanFwdForce | float | |
D | LeanBakCOM | float | |
E | LeanBackForce | float | |
F | MaxLean | float | |
G | FullAnimLean | float | |
H | DesLean | float | |
I | SpeedSteer | float | |
J | SlipSteer | float | |
K | NoPlayerCOMz | float | |
L | WheelieAng | float | |
M | StoppieAng | float | |
N | WheelieSteer | float | |
O | WheelieStabMult | float | |
P | StoppieStabMult | float |
Flying Data
Data specific to flying vehicles have lines that begin with $
(dollar sign) character.
$ | Identifier | Type | Description |
---|---|---|---|
A | ID | string | The identifier must be from the list of hardcoded names (see above). |
B | Thrust | float | |
C | ThrustFallOff | float | |
D | Yaw | float | |
E | YawStab | float | |
F | SideSlip | float | |
G | Roll | float | |
H | RollStab | float | |
I | Pitch | float | |
J | PitchStab | float | |
K | FormLift | float | |
L | AttackLift | float | |
M | MoveRes | float | |
N | TurnRes.x | float | |
O | TurnRes.y | float | |
P | TurnRes.z | float | |
Q | SpeedRes.x | float | |
R | SpeedRes.y | float | |
S | SpeedRes.z | float |
GTA San Andreas
Standard Data
This section contains all the performance settings for land vehicles and provides the base settings for boats, bikes and flying vehicles. The below table provides the column letter, column name and a brief description for each setting available in this section.
Column Letter | Column Name | Description |
---|---|---|
A | vehicle identifier | Relates this data with vehicle.ide and other files.
|
B | fMass | Mass of the vehicle in kilograms. |
C | fTurnMass | Used to calculate motion effects. |
D | fDragMult | Changes resistance to movement. |
F | CentreOfMass.x | Distance from the centre of the car in metres to the right for the centre of mass. |
G | CentreOfMass.y | Distance from the centre of the car in metres forwards for the centre of mass. |
H | CentreOfMass.z | Distance from the centre of the car in metres upwards for the centre of mass. |
I | nPercentSubmerged | Percentage of the vehicle height required to be submerged for the car to float. |
J | fTractionMultiplier | Cornering grip of the vehicle as a multiplier of the tyre surface friction. |
K | fTractionLoss | Accelerating/braking grip of the vehicle as a multiplier of the tyre surface friction. |
L | fTractionBias | Ratio of front axle grip to rear axle grip; higher value shifts grip forwards. |
M | TransmissionData.nNumberOfGears | Number of gearchange animations and sound effects to use. |
N | TransmissionData.fMaxVelocity | Limits the top speed. |
O | TransmissionData.fEngineAcceleration | Basic rate of acceleration. |
P | TransmissionData.fEngineInertia | Smooths or sharpens the acceleration curve. |
Q | TransmissionData.nDriveType | Assigns Front, Rear or 4 wheel drive. |
R | TransmissionData.nEngineType | Assigns Petrol, Diesel or Electric engine characteristics. |
S | fBrakeDeceleration | Overall decelerative force. |
T | fBrakeBias | Ratio of braking force of front compared to rear; higher values move bias forward. |
U | bABS | ABS Brakes "0" = no and "1" = yes |
V | fSteeringLock | Maximum angle of steering in degrees. |
a | fSuspensionForceLevel | |
b | fSuspensionDampingLevel | |
c | fSuspensionHighSpdComDamp | Stiffens the dampening strength as speed increases. |
d | suspension upper limit | Explained in my suspension tutorial. |
e | suspension lower limit | Explained in my suspension tutorial. |
f | suspension bias between front and rear | Ratio of suspension force to apply at the front compared to the rear. |
g | suspension anti-dive multiplier | Changes the amount of body pitching under braking and acceleration. |
aa | fSeatOffsetDistance | Distance from door position to seat postion. |
ab | fCollisionDamageMultiplier | Amount of engine damage vehicle gets from collisions. Higher value means more damage. |
ac | nMonetaryValue | Used to calculate the Value of property damaged statistic. |
af | modelFlags | Special animations features of the which can be enabled or disabled. |
ag | handlingFlags | Special performance features. |
ah | front lights | Type of head lights of the vehicle. |
ai | rear lights | Same as above but for the tail lights. |
aj | Vehicle anim group | Refers to an Animation ID number. |
Model Flag Data
Column "af", called "modelFlags", is a sixteen-bit integer value stored as a hexadecimal value in four bytes (characters). The number is written with the smallest value on the right, which is bit number one, with the higher value bits to the left. The below table describes what each of the sixteen bits in this setting do:
Byte | Value | Column Name | Description |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | IS_VAN | Allows double doors for the rear animation. |
2 | IS_BUS | Uses Coach version of animations over standard one and makes the driver invisible (only makes sense to use on Coach). | |
4 | IS_LOW | Uses low version of animations over standard one. | |
8 | IS_BIG | Changes the way that the AI drives around corners. | |
2 | 1 | REVERSE_BONNET | Bonnet and boot open in opposite direction from normal. |
2 | HANGING_BOOT | Affects physics of boot hinged from the top. | |
4 | TAILGATE_BOOT | Affects physics of boot hinged from the bottom. | |
8 | NOSWING_BOOT | When damaged, boot does not swing if it normally does and falls off instead. | |
3 | 1 | NO_DOORS | Removes all testing for doors. |
2 | TANDEM_SEATS | Two people will use the front passenger seat. | |
4 | SIT_IN_BOAT | Uses seated boat animation instead of standing. | |
8 | CONVERTIBLE | Changes how hookers operate and other small effects. | |
4 | 1 | NO_EXHAUST | Removes all exhaust particles. |
2 | DBL_EXHAUST | Creates a second exhaust by mirroring the model's exhaust over the y-axis. | |
4 | NO1FPS_LOOK_BEHIND | Prevents player using rear view when in first-person mode. | |
8 | FORCE_DOOR_CHECK | ||
5 | 1 | AXLE_F_NOTILT | Front wheels stay vertical to the car like GTA 3. |
2 | AXLE_F_SOLID | Front wheels stay parallel to each other. | |
4 | AXLE_F_MCPHERSON | Front wheels tilt like GTA Vice City. | |
8 | AXLE_F_REVERSE | Reverses the tilting of wheels when using AXLE_F_MCPHERSON suspension. | |
6 | 1 | AXLE_R_NOTILT | Rear wheels stay vertical to the car like GTA 3. |
2 | AXLE_R_SOLID | Rear wheels stay parallel to each other. | |
4 | AXLE_R_MCPHERSON | Rear wheels tilt like GTA Vice City. | |
8 | AXLE_R_REVERSE | Reverses the tilting of wheels when using AXLE_R_MCPHERSON suspension. | |
7 | 1 | IS_BIKE | Use extra handling settings in the bikes section. |
2 | IS_HELI | Use extra handling settings in the flying section. | |
4 | IS_PLANE | Use extra handling settings in the flying section. | |
8 | IS_BOAT | Use extra handling settings in the boats section. | |
8 | 1 | BOUNCE_PANELS | |
2 | DOUBLE_RWHEELS | Places a second instance of each rear wheel next to the normal one. | |
4 | FORCE_GROUND_CLEARANCE | ||
8 | IS_HATCHBACK |
Handling Flag Data
Column "ag", called "handlingFlags", is a sixteen-bit integer value stored as a hexadecimal value in four bytes (characters). The number is written with the smallest value on the right, which is bit number one, with the higher value bits to the left. The below table describes what each of the sixteen bits in this setting do:
Byte | Value | Column Name | Description |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 1G_BOOST | Gives more engine power for standing starts; better hill climbing. |
2 | 2G_BOOST | Gives more engine power at slightly higher speeds. | |
4 | NPC_ANTI_ROLL | No body roll when driven by AI characters. | |
8 | NPC_NEUTRAL_HANDL | Less likely to spin out when driven by AI characters. | |
2 | 1 | NO_HANDBRAKE | Disables the handbrake effect. |
2 | STEER_REARWHEELS | Rear wheels steer instead of front, like a forklift truck. | |
4 | HB_REARWHEEL_STEER | Handbrake makes the rear wheels steer as well as front, like the monster truck. | |
8 | ALT_STEER_OPT | ||
3 | 1 | WHEEL_F_NARROW2 | Very narrow front wheels. |
2 | WHEEL_F_NARROW | Narrow front wheels. | |
4 | WHEEL_F_WIDE | Wide front wheels. | |
8 | WHEEL_F_WIDE2 | Very wide front wheels. | |
4 | 1 | WHEEL_R_NARROW2 | Very narrow rear wheels. |
2 | WHEEL_R_NARROW | Narrow rear wheels. | |
4 | WHEEL_R_WIDE | Wide rear wheels. | |
8 | WHEEL_R_WIDE2 | Very wide rear wheels. | |
5 | 1 | HYDRAULIC_GEOM | Lowrider hydraulics |
2 | HYDRAULIC_INST | Will spawn with hydraulics installed. | |
4 | NOS_INST | Vehicle automatically gets NOS installed when it spawns. | |
8 | HYDRAULIC_NONE | Hydraulics cannot be installed. | |
6 | 1 | OFFROAD_ABILITY | Vehicle will perform better on loose surfaces like dirt. |
2 | OFFROAD_ABILITY2 | Vehicle will perform better on soft surfaces like sand. | |
4 | HALOGEN_LIGHTS | Bluish headlights. | |
8 | PROC_REARWHEEL_1ST | ||
7 | 1 | USE_MAXSP_LIMIT | Prevents vehicle going faster than column N value for maximum speed. |
2 | LOW_RIDER | Allows vehicle to be modified at Loco Low Co shops. | |
4 | STREET_RACER | When set, vehicle can only be modified at Wheel Arch Angels. | |
8 | UNDEFINED | No effect. | |
8 | 1 | SWINGING_CHASSIS | Lets the car body move from side to side on the suspension. |
2 | UNDEFINED | No effect. | |
4 | UNDEFINED | No effect. | |
8 | UNDEFINED | No effect. |
Boat Data
This section contains all the performance settings from the section for floating vehicles, such as boats and flying vehicles which can land on water. The below table provides the column letter, column name and a brief description for each setting available in this section.
Column Letter | Column Name | Description |
---|---|---|
J | Bank Force Mult | Amount of lean when turning. |
K | Rudder Turn Force | Effect of the steering. |
L | Speed Steer Falloff | Amount to reduce steering effect by as speed increases. |
S | Vertical Wave Hit Limit | |
T | Forward Wave Hit Brake | |
a | WaterResistance Volume Mult | |
b | Water Damping Mult | |
d | Handbrake Drag Mult | |
e | Sideslip Force | Strength that the boat will be pushed sideways by waves. |
Tools
- CFG Studio - a comprehensive handling editor for GTA3, GTA VC and GTA SA by Cerbera.
- Handling.cfg Reloader
See also
External links
- GTA3 Handling Definitions - Project Cerbera
- VC Handling Definitions - Project Cerbera
- SA Handling Definitions - Project Cerbera