GTA Vice City handling.cfg

I use the column letters and names in the comments of the Grand Theft Auto Vice City\data\handling.cfg file to describe what they do. This file changes some physics and animation properties of the cars, not just the handling.

Standard Data

Official Name Description
a vehicle identifier relates this data with default.ide and other files.
b fMass Mass of the vehicle in kilograms.
c Dimensions.x Width of the vehicle in metres, used for aerodynamic and motion effects.
d Dimensions.y Length of the vehicle in metres, used for aerodynamic and motion effects.
e Dimensions.z Height of the vehicle in metres, used for aerodynamic and motion effects.
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 forward for the centre of mass.
h CentreOfMass.z Distance from the centre of the car in metres upward 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 Explained in other tutorials.
o TransmissionData.fEngineAcceleration Explained in other tutorials.
p TransmissionData.nDriveType Assigns Front, Rear or 4 wheel drive.
q TransmissionData.nEngineType Assigns Petrol, Diesel or Electric engine characteristics.
r fBrakeDeceleration Overall decelerative force, set so keyboard controls do not quite lock up the wheels.
s fBrakeBias Ratio of braking force of front compared to rear; higher values move bias forward.
t bABS Seems to have no effect.
u fSteeringLock Maximum rotation of steering arc in degrees; use negatives for rear wheel steered vehicles.
v fSuspensionForceLevel Explained in my suspension tutorial.
w fSuspensionDampingLevel Explained in my suspension tutorial.
x fSeatOffsetDistance Distance from door position to seat postion.
y fCollisionDamageMultiplier How much damage vehicle engine gets from collisions. Higher value means more damage.
z nMonetaryValue Seems to have no effect.
aa suspension upper limit Explained in my suspension tutorial.
ab suspension lower limit Explained in my suspension tutorial.
ac suspension bias Ratio of suspension force to apply at the rear compared to the front.
ad suspension anti-dive multiplier Changes the amount of body pitching under braking and acceleration.
ae Flags Name Special features which can be enabled or disabled.
af front lights Defines the size of the head lights of the vehicle. Using numbers out of range has unusual effects.
ag rear lights Same as above but for the tail lights.

Flags

The easiest way to alter flag data is to use an editor like CFG Studio 2.

Byte Value Official 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 Manipulates operation of boot object.
2 1 NO_DOORS Removes all testing for doors; used with BF Injection.
2 IS_VAN Allows double boot object.
4 IS_BUS Unsure of precise application.
8 IS_LOW Makes driver recline into seat.
3 1 DBL_EXHAUST Allows second exhaust particle animation.
2 TAILGATE_BOOT Manipulates operation of boot object.
4 NOSWING_BOOT Manipulates operation of boot object.
8 NONPLAYER_STABILISER Seems to have no effect.
4 1 NEUTRALHANDLING Seems to have no effect.
2 HAS_NO_ROOF Various slight effects.
4 IS_BIG Changes the way that the AI drives around corners.
8 HALOGEN_LIGHTS Slightly manipulates appearence of vehicle lights.
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 Doubles the width of the rear wheels.
4 NARROW_FRONTW Halves the width of the front wheels.
4 GOOD_INSAND Prevents vehicle from bogging down on sand surface.
8 SPECIAL_FLIGHT Is not mentioned in the handling.cfg comments. This is applied to some flying vehicles.

To set the wheel styles and sizes, use the Grand Theft Auto Vice City\data\default.ide file. I never documented the special data sections in this edition, sorry.