Item Placement

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Item placement files, known by the extension .ipl, are map files used to place objects into the GTA world, as well as define zones, paths, garages, interior portals, and a lot more. Most IPL files can easily be opened and edited using any text-editing program like Notepad. In San Andreas there are also binary IPL files which are located in the IMG archives of the game. Those you can only open using a special editor.

Structure

The .ipl files are split up into many sections. Not all of them have to be used, leaving them empty works as well. Each section starts with a section identifier and ends with the keyword "end", both in a separate line.

Example:

inst
...
end

INST

Used to place objects in the world.

GTA III format

ID, ModelName, PosX, PosY, PosZ, ScaleX, ScaleY, ScaleZ, RotX, RotY, RotZ, RotW

Identifier	Description
ID	A number which is used to identify the object as defined in the IDE file inside the map system.
ModelName	The name of the model inside an image file which is defined in the gta.dat file without extension (.dff)
PosX, PosY, PosZ	The position of the object in the world as floating point values. Note: the decimal seperator must be ".", not ",".
ScaleX, ScaleY, ScaleZ	The scaling of the object as floating point values. By default each value is 1.0, which means the object is not scaled at all. Note: the decimal seperator must be ".", not ",".
RotX, RotY, RotZ, RotW	The rotation of the object as quarternion. Note: the decimal seperator must be ".", not ",".

Vice City format

ID, ModelName, Interior, PosX, PosY, PosZ, ScaleX, ScaleY, ScaleZ, RotX, RotY, RotZ, RotW

Identifier	Description
ID	A number which is used to identify the object as defined in the IDE inside the map system.
ModelName	The name of the model inside an image file which is defined in the gta.dat file without extension (.dff)
Interior	A number defining the interior (render-level) the object is located in. It is an optional parameter; by default the object's interior is 0.
PosX, PosY, PosZ	The position of the object in the world as floating point values.
ScaleX, ScaleY, ScaleZ	The scaling of the object as floating point values. By default each value is 1.0, which means the object is not scaled at all.
RotX, RotY, RotZ, RotW	The rotation of the object as quarternion.

San Andreas format

ID, ModelName, Interior, PosX, PosY, PosZ, RotX, RotY, RotZ, RotW, LOD

Identifier	Description
ID	A number which is used to identify the object as defined in the IDE inside the map system.
ModelName	The name of the model inside an image file which is defined in the gta.dat file without extension (.dff). The parameter doesn't seem to function in the game. Any name used will not affect the rendering of the model.
Interior	A number defining the interior (render-level) the object is located in.
PosX, PosY, PosZ	The position of the object in the world as floating point values.
RotX, RotY, RotZ, RotW	The rotation of the object as quarternion. Note: the decimal seperator must be ".", not ",".
LOD	The number of the LOD which is located inside the same instance block as the current model. By default this is -1 which means no LOD is defined.

CULL

Create a culling zone.

GTA III and Vice City format

CenterX, CenterY, CenterZ, LowerLeftX, LowerLeftY, LowerLeftZ, UpperRightX, UpperRightY, UpperRightZ, Flags, Unknown

Identifier	Description
CenterX, CenterY, CenterZ	A point which defines the center of the box in real world coordinates
LowerLeftX, LowerLeftY, LowerLeftZ	A point which corresponds to the lower left corner of the box.
UpperRightX, UpperRightY, UpperRightZ	A point which corresponds to the upper right corner of the box.
Flags	The behaviour of the cull zone.
Unknown	Always 0

San Andreas format 1

CenterX, CenterY, CenterZ, Unknown1, WidthY, BottomZ, WidthX, Unknown2, TopZ, Flag, Unknown3

San Andreas format 2

CenterX, CenterY, CenterZ, Unknown1, WidthY, BottomZ, WidthX, Unknown2, TopZ, Flag, Vx, Vy, Vz, Cm

PATH

Vice City only

Ped, Car and Boat Paths, defines paths relative to the world centre. Only used in GTA VC, this format is much easier than in GTA3 where the paths were stored in IDE files, and GTA-SA paths which are stored in **nodes.dat inside gta3.img. This is a quite complicated format and hardly usable without an editing program (such as Ked).

GTA SA uses compiled binary files for its paths.

GRGE

Creates a garage.

San Andreas format

PosX, PosY, PosZ, LineX, LineY, CubeX, CubeY, CubeZ, DoorType, GarageType, Name

Identifier	Description
PosX, PosY, PosZ	A coordinate of one of the corner marks
LineX, LineY	Those values are added to the first position values. They define one edge of the box
CubeX, CubeY, CubeZ	Another world coordinate. Together with the abstract line created with the first 5 coordinates this forms a cube in the world.
DoorType	The type of the door
GarageType	The type of the garage
Name	A string which is used to manipulate the garages behaviour through the main.scm

ENEX

This creates entrances to exits or interior connections to real world by placing yellow markers on the map for CJ to walk through. Note that changes to the flags and links of existing markers are not updated by the text files after the save is created so maintaining the proper sequence of enex lines is a primary concern. New connections can be added to an existing save if temporary (burglary) connections are not present in the save data. Indoor saves generally have no temporary enex data. Add the markers at the very end of the gta.dat else it can negatively affect currently placed markers. 376 of 400 possible enex connections are used in a standard game.

San Andreas format

X1, Y1, Z1, ROT, W1, W2, C8, X2, Y2, Z2, Rot2, Int, Flag, Name, Sky, I2, Time On, Time Off

X1, Y1, Z1

entrance location

ROT

 ???

W1

X width of entry

W2

Y width of entry

C8

constant 8

X2, Y2, Z2

exit location

Rot2

exit rotation in degrees

Int

The target interior number

Flag

The type of marker

Name

Interior name, used to find the counterpart and to identify via mission script

Sky

Sky color changer

I2

unknown integer flags, could be weather related

Time On

enables the marker at this time

Time Off

disables the marker at this time

San Andreas Enex Flags

Flag	Name	Description
1	unknown interior	Only used for interior markers
2	unknown pairing	Used mostly for interior markers; also Big Ear & LS Skyscraper
4	Create linked pair	Pair with unflagged mate during new game start
8	Reward interior	Sets flag 0010 on pair mate when used
16	Used reward entrance	Set by accessing reward interior
32	Cars and aircraft	Enable for cars and aircraft
64	Bikes and motorcycles	Enable for bikes and motorcycles
128	Disable on foot	No foot traffic. Use for cars and/or bikes only
256	Accept NPC group	Group members accepted at destination of pair (passengers stripped)
512	Food date flag	Set and cleared by food date (cut-scene related)
1024	unknown burglary	Set on Bayside and Temporary Burglary doors
2048	Disable exit	Player can enter but cannot exit a two-way pair
4096	Burglary access	Enabled and disabled during Burglary
8192	Entered without exit	Set by Entrance, Cleared by Exit; Applies to one side of a two
16384	Enable access	Enabled by default; often cleared by scripts
32768	Delete enex	Enex is deleted when used

San Andreas Enex Sky Colors

Sky Color	Descriptions
0	blue sky
1	white fading to black
2	Black with yellow lights.
3	same as 1
4	same as 2
5	white fading to purple fading to black with yellow lights
6	white fading to black with yellow lights.
7	white fading to green fading to black with yellow light (probably clouds)
8	same as 6
9	same as 6
10	same as 2
11	Purple (gay) retarded shadows not much sight.
12	same as 6
13	same as 6
14	same as 7 only green is ocean blue
15	same as 6
16	same as 2.....
17	Nightly Mist
18	Blue fading yellow (sunrise i think)
19	Blue air with white clouds
20	darker blue air with lightblue clouds
21	Darker Blue air with white clouds
22	Orange with white clouds
23	Orange fading gray with orange clouds (weird)
24	this is red fading PURPLE with no seeing rang that you can't even see yourself
25	Dark Purple to grey with nice sun reflection
27	same as 19
28	the best one: big sun white clouds and blue air
29	Blue air white clouds HUGE SUN
30	Orange with dark orange clouds

PICK

Creates a weapon pickup.

San Andreas format

ID, PosX, PosY, PosZ

Identifier	Description
ID	A number which defines a weapon
PosX, PosY, PosZ	Floating point values defining where the pickup should be placed in the world.

JUMP

Creates a unique stunt jump.

San Andreas format

StartLowerX, StartLowerY, StartLowerZ, StartUpperX, StartUpperY, StartUpperZ, TargetLowerX, TargetLowerY, TargetLowerZ,
TargetUpperX, TargetUpperY, TargetUpperZ, CameraX, CameraY, CameraZ, Reward

Identifier	Description
StartLowerX, StartLowerY, StartLowerZ	These values define a point in the world as floating point values. The point represents one of the lower edge points of the plane representing the start of the unique stunt jump.
StartUpperX, StartUpperY, StartUpperZ	These values are used in the same way as the first ones. They represent a point on the upper edge of the plane (diagonal opposite).
TargetLowerX, TargetLowerY, TargetLowerZ	A point on the lower edge of the target plane.
TargetUpperX, TargetUpperY, TargetUpperZ	A point on the upper edge of the target plane (diagonal opposite).
CameraX, CameraY, CameraZ	The position of the camera.
Reward	The amount of cash the player earns after he has finished this stunt successfully.

TCYC

Creates black sky if you enter the zone. Also exists for all towns in countryside. Probably custom weather?

San Andreas format

X1, Y1, Z1, X2, Y2, Z2, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

AUZO

This creates an audio if you enter the zone.

San Andreas format 1

Name, ID, Switch, X1, Y1, Z1, X2, Y2, Z2

Identifier	Description
Name	Name used to identify the zone
ID	Sound played in this zone
Switch	Makes the audio always on or always off. Can be forced through the script using opcode 0917
X1, Y1, Z1	A point which corresponds to the corner of the box, usually the lower left.
X2, Y2, Z2	A point which corresponds to the opposite corner of the box, usually the upper right.

San Andreas format 2

Name, ID, Switch, X, Y, Z, Radius

Identifier	Description
Name	Name used to identify the zone.
ID	Sound played in this zone.
Switch	Makes the audio always on or always off. Can be forced through the script using opcode 0917.
X, Y, Z	The center of the zone.
Radius	The distance the sound will be heard.

MULT

San Andreas and GTA4 only

In San Andreas, this was never used in the game. This section is currently unknown and may never be known; it is ignored by the game.

CARS

Creates a parked car generator

San Andreas format

PosX, PosY, PosZ, Angle, CarID, PrimCol, SecCol, ForceSpawn, Alarm, DoorLock, Unknown1, Unknown2

Identifier	Description
PosX, PosY, PosZ	The real world coordinates of the car as floating point values.
Angle	The angle of the car in radians (degrees/~57.2958).
CarID	The ID number of the car as defined in the IDE or -1 for random car parks (influenced by the popcycle.dat file)
PrimCol, SecCol	A car color defined in the carcols.dat file. If it is set to -1 the color will be randomly chosen.
ForceSpawn	Vehicles spawn more reliably if this is set to 1.
Alarm	The probability of triggering the alarm system (0 - 100).
DoorLock	The probability that the doors of the vehicle is locked (0 - 100).
Unknown1, Unknown2	Unknown (Zero).

OCCL

Creates zones for separated rendering.

Vice City and San Andreas format

mid x, mid y, bottom height z, width x, width y, height from bottom height to top, rotation

Identifier	Description
mid x, mid y	The middle of the occlusion box in X and Y coordinates.
bottom height z	The bottom Z coordinate of the occlusion box.
width x, width y	The width of the occlusion box in units.
height from bottom height to top	The difference in height from the top of the occlusion box to the bottom.
rotation	The rotation of the occlusion box in angles.

ZONE

Although technically an IPL section, this is usually only used in zone files (extension .zon).

BLOK

GTA4 only

VNOD

GTA4 only

LINK

GTA4 only

MLO+

GTA4 only

RTFX

GTA4 only

LODM

GTA4 only

SLOW

GTA4 only

2DFX

GTA4 only

Useful Tools

•  GTAForums: IPL Helper - by Xmen
• Binary (De-)Compiler - By ocram88

External Links

•  GTAForums: GTA3/VC Map File Documentation and Troubleshooting - Topic by Opius covering general features of IPL files in GTA3 and GTA VC.
•  GTAForums: Paths Documentation for SA, VC and GTA3 - Topic by REspawn detailing Vice City's paths
•  GTAForums: GTA SA IPL Documentation - Topic by spaceeinstein covering details of the IPL format in GTA SA.
•  GTAForums: Enex Documentation - Topic by OrionSR
•  GTAForums: Explanation of GTA SA LOD System - Post by steve-m explaining the LOD system for IPL files in GTA SA.
• Explanation of the path-section in a VC IPL - by Cerbera