handling.dat

handling.dat file in GTA IV, like in previous versions of the game, controls the physics and animations of vehicles in-game. This file is found found in ..\common\data and can be edited with any text editor (after removing the read-only attribute).

Parameters

There are 37 parameters in 6 groups.

Physical Attributes

These seven values represent the vehicle's physical proportions within the game:

(A) vehicle identifier

This is used by the vehicles.ide file to identify the handling line of the vehicle.

Value: Any text string no more than 14 characters. By default, the vehicle identifier consists of uppercase letters
and numbers (TURISMO, E109, etc.)

(B) fMass

This is the weight of the vehicle in kilograms.

Value: 0.0 - 10000.0 and above.

(C) fDragMult

This value describes the wind resistance of a vehicle. As with other parameters, the value is a multiplier, meaning it takes what the game has calculated for wind resistance and multiplies it against this number.

Value: 0.0 - 2.0 and above. 1.0 means that the game will use what it has already calculated. 0.01 - 0.99 will reduce wind resistance;
        1.01 - 1.99 will increase wind resistance.

(D) nPercentSubmerged

A percentage of vehicle height in the water before vehicle "floats". So as the vehicle falls into the water, at 85% vehicle height (seemingly the default for road vehicles) it will stop sinking to float for a moment before it sinks (boats excluded).

Value: any percentage expressed as a decimal (eg., 85% = 0.85)

(E) CentreOfMass.x

This value shifts the center of gravity in meters from side to side (when in vehicle looking forward).

Value: < -10.0 to > 10.0. 0.0 means that the center of gravity will be in the center of the vehicle.

(F) CentreOfMass.y

This value shifts the center of gravity in meters from front to rear (when in vehicle looking forward).

Value: < -10.0 to > 10.0. 0.0 means that the center of gravity will be in the center of the vehicle.

(G) CentreOfMass.z

This value shifts the center of gravity in meters from top to bottom (when in vehicle looking forward).

Value: < -10.0 to > 10.0. 0.0 means that the center of gravity will be in the center of the vehicle.

Special Parameters

Extended Boat Data

ID

This should be the same as the main handling section ID.

Extended Bike Data

(A) ID

This should be the same as the main handling section ID.

Extended Aircraft Data

(A) ID

This should be the same as the main handling section ID.

Animation Group Data

(A) Group ID

This identifies the line, so it can be used by the main handling section ( (Ma) m_nAnimGroup ).