PATH

PATH (IPL section)

Short description:	Used to define paths for traffic
Supported games:
IPL Sections: 2DFX • AUZO • BLOK • CARS • CULL • ENEX • GRGE INST • JUMP • LINK • LODM • MLO+ • MULT • OCCL PATH • PICK • RTFX • SLOW • TCYC • VNOD • ZONE

PATH is a section in the item placement file in Vice City. It is used to define paths for traffic. Paths are grouped into nodes, each with at most 12 sub-nodes. The group nodes define the type of vehicle going to be used by the sub nodes. Sub nodes contain path coordinates which are linked to each other. There are two kinds of links:

• internal links – connecting nodes within the same group.
• external links – connecting nodes over two different groups.

Format

path
GroupType, -1
	NodeType, NextNode, IsCrossRoad, X, Y, Z, Median, LeftLanes, RightLanes, SpeedLimit, Flags, SpawnRate
	NodeType, NextNode, IsCrossRoad, X, Y, Z, Median, LeftLanes, RightLanes, SpeedLimit, Flags, SpawnRate
	NodeType, NextNode, IsCrossRoad, X, Y, Z, Median, LeftLanes, RightLanes, SpeedLimit, Flags, SpawnRate
	NodeType, NextNode, IsCrossRoad, X, Y, Z, Median, LeftLanes, RightLanes, SpeedLimit, Flags, SpawnRate
	NodeType, NextNode, IsCrossRoad, X, Y, Z, Median, LeftLanes, RightLanes, SpeedLimit, Flags, SpawnRate
	NodeType, NextNode, IsCrossRoad, X, Y, Z, Median, LeftLanes, RightLanes, SpeedLimit, Flags, SpawnRate
	NodeType, NextNode, IsCrossRoad, X, Y, Z, Median, LeftLanes, RightLanes, SpeedLimit, Flags, SpawnRate
	NodeType, NextNode, IsCrossRoad, X, Y, Z, Median, LeftLanes, RightLanes, SpeedLimit, Flags, SpawnRate
	NodeType, NextNode, IsCrossRoad, X, Y, Z, Median, LeftLanes, RightLanes, SpeedLimit, Flags, SpawnRate
	NodeType, NextNode, IsCrossRoad, X, Y, Z, Median, LeftLanes, RightLanes, SpeedLimit, Flags, SpawnRate
	NodeType, NextNode, IsCrossRoad, X, Y, Z, Median, LeftLanes, RightLanes, SpeedLimit, Flags, SpawnRate
	NodeType, NextNode, IsCrossRoad, X, Y, Z, Median, LeftLanes, RightLanes, SpeedLimit, Flags, SpawnRate
end

	Identifier	Type	Description
Group
A	GroupType	integer	0 = Pedestrian traffic 1 = Road traffic 2 = Water traffic
B	-1	integer	always -1, used as a delimiter
Node
A	NodeType	integer	0 = Null 1 = External 2 = Internal
B	NextNode	integer	-1 = Do not link to any other node in this group 0 to 11 = Link to this node number in this group
C	IsCrossRoad	integer	Boolean determining if there is a cross road in the imaginary line joined by two nodes
D,E,F	X, Y, Z	float[3]	X, Y, Z coordinates of the node * 16
G	Median	float	Pedestrian traffic: width of walkway Road traffic: width of divider between left and right lanes.
H	LeftLanes	integer	Number of lanes left of the node. This is ignored for internal nodes
I	RightLanes	integer	Number of lanes right of the node. This is ignored for internal nodes
J	SpeedLimit	integer	Sets the speed of vehicles traveling through the path 0 = Slow 1 = Medium 2 = Fast
K	Flags	integer	General node behavior 0 = No flags 1 = Ignored by traffic 2 = Police roadblock (only for road traffic node) 4 = Restricted node 8 = No effect, may be used by water traffic to increase maneuverability
L	SpawnRate	float	Spawn rate frequency ranging from 0.0 to 1.0

Description

Car Paths Visualization

Ped Paths Visualization

Consider a small segment of the line in vehicle paths node. The group has to be defined and then there must be 12 nodes inside it. If the total number of internal and external nodes in a group is not 12, then the remaining should be filled with null nodes.

The internal nodes define the connections inside the group whereas the external nodes define the connections to other group. External nodes in a group are connected to other external nodes in different group external sub-nodes by having the same coordinates.

Spawns are always made in internal nodes, and external nodes only act as a link. For vehicles, lane information and the median width inside internal nodes are ignored, those information are only retrieved from external nodes. And also for vehicles, junctions are always kept in a separate group and external nodes of the group must always point to beginning of a connected line segment, whereas pedestrian nodes can mix the two.

One can add a maximum of 4 paths group in Vice City though this limit can be increased by Maxorator's Path hacks. ^[1]

Tools and scripts

•  GTAForums: In-Game Paths Maker – by Swoorup
• ^ Maxorator's Path Limit Hack – by  GTAForums: Maxorator

External links

• Description of the Vice City paths format – by Cerbera
•  GTAForums: In-Game Paths Maker for VC – by Swoorup
•  GTAForums: Flags description – by AK-73
•  GTAForums: Statistics for paths.ipl – by Steve-m