Item Placement
IPL Sections:
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Item placement files, usually identified by the file extension .ipl, are a part of the map system and used to create and place (for example) different objects, zones of special behaviour or paths in the world. All games support standard item placement files which are mostly stored in plain text format that can be opened and edited using any text-editing program (like Notepad), but there are tools to simplify editing. San Andreas is the first game to introduce a binary format for item placement files. Most of the placement information in Grand Theft Auto IV is stored inside of binary files (see WPL).
Overview
- See also: Item Definition § Overview
The structure and format of the plain text item placement files are similar to that of the item definition files.
Binary format
San Andreas introduced an simple binary format of item placement files. They are stored as "streaming files" inside the archive files. Editing them requires an special editor (see below). The format is pretty simple and their possibilities are not completely used by Rockstar. By default they do only support inst and cars sections. It is unconfirmed if other sections also can be used or if they are just stubs which are not implemented. Anyway their binary format is completely unknown.
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Header
Each binary placement information file starts with an 4-Byte identifier followed by a header containing information about the files content.
4b - CHAR[4] - Always "bnry" 4b - INT32 - Number of item instances 4b - INT32 - Number of unknown 1 (CULL ?) 4b - INT32 - Number of unknown 2 (GRGE ?) 4b - INT32 - Number of unknown 3 (ENEX ?) 4b - INT32 - Number of parked cars 4b - INT32 - Number of unknown 4 (PICK ?) 4b - INT32 - Offset of item instances (0x4C by default) 4b - INT32 - Size of item instances (unused - always 0) 4b - INT32 - Offset of unknown 1 4b - INT32 - Size of unknown 1 (unused - always 0) 4b - INT32 - Offset of unknown 2 4b - INT32 - Size of unknown 2 (unused - always 0) 4b - INT32 - Offset of unknown 3 4b - INT32 - Size of unknown 3 (unused - always 0) 4b - INT32 - Offset of parked cars 4b - INT32 - Size of parked cars (unused - always 0) 4b - INT32 - Offset of unknown 4 4b - INT32 - Size of unknown 4 (unused - always 0)
The header is followed by the arrays of the entries. For more information about their format see the articles about the sections.
Format
The following table contains all known sections in the item placement. The supported games column lists games that support the sections but it doesn't necessarily means they're functional in the games. Mouse over the game icons to see if the games are supported.
| Section | Supported games | Description |
|---|---|---|
inst |
    |
Places objects defined in objs, tobj, anim or tanm into the world.
|
zone |
|
Creates map, navigation, and info zones. |
cull |
|
Creates zones with special attributes. |
pick |
|
Creates pickups. This section exists in GTA III, GTA Vice City, and GTA IV, but is only functional in GTA San Andreas. |
path |
|
Creates waypoints for random NPC spawns. Note: this section is also present in San Andreas and GTA IV. It is used as a base for Rockstar's paths compiler, but gets ignored by the games. For more information see: Paths. |
occl |
|
Creates occlusion zones. |
mult |
This section exists in GTA San Andreas and GTA IV but is not functional. | |
grge |
|
Creates garages. |
enex |
|
Creates entry-exit markers. |
cars |
|
Creates car generators (parked cars). |
jump |
|
Creates stunt jumps. This section exists in GTA IV but is not functional. |
tcyc |
|
Creates time cycles modifiers. |
auzo |
|
Creates audio zones. This section exists in GTA IV but is not functional. |
mzon |
|
– |
vnod |
|
Extended format of PATH – apparently only used for multiplayer mode. |
link |
|
– |
blok |
This section exists in GTA IV but is apparently ignored by the game – appears to be used to allocate responsibilities during the development stage of GTA IV, but also could be used to place decision makers. | |
mlo+ |
|
MLO placement – Used to place offsets for GTA IV's interiors. The interiors themselfes get placed inside the IDE file section mlo.
|
2dfx |
|
Used to make many game effects, for example - Particle. |
lodm |
|
– |
slow |
|
Unknown for what it is responsible, used very rare and only in two extended .WPL. Section contains a box. |
Tools
- KEd, by JernejL
- MEd, by Tonywob
- IPL Helper, by Xmen
- Binary (De-)Compiler, by ocram88
- SA Binary IPL Exporter for 3DS Max, by Gforce
See also
- Item definition
- WPL – Major GTA IV item placement file.
External links
- GTA3/VC Map File Documentation and Troubleshooting - Topic by Opius covering general features of IPL files in GTA3 and GTA VC.
- GTA SA IPL Documentation - Topic by spaceeinstein covering details of the IPL format in GTA SA.
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