How to properly install modifications.

** Introduction statements go here **

Now that the awkward intro is out of the way, we'll get to what programs you will need.

First off you will need an IMG editor. I've used Spark, IMG editor, and Alci's IMG editor, and Alci's is by far the easiest to use.
You can get it here.

Code:

http://www.gta-worldmods.de/phpkit/start/include.php?path=content/download.php&contentid=1840

Now that you have it downloaded, simply unzip it and run it.

Every model file has a .DFF file, which is the general model/mesh, and 1 or more .TXD files which is the texture, colors, etc.
BACKUP YOUR GTA3.IMG FILE BEFORE CONTINUING! If you mess up, your game could become corrupt, have messed up textures, or even crash at random times. So back up and file you plan to mod so you won't have to go through to process of reinstalling.
Be sure to read the mod's readme file to make sure you're modding the correct .IMG file, but in most cases you'll be modding the gta3.img file.

In Alci's img editor, click file>open. Browse to your GTASA installation directory. Open the models folder, and open up gta3.img (or which ever .img file noted in the mod's read me.)


Once you open up the file, Alci's should display a long list of various .DFF and .TXD files found within the .IMG file. These are the game's models, and textures. When you see an infernus with GRIMS rolling down the street, this is where that data is drawn from.
Now let's change that with your mods. In Alci's flick Actions>Import (Remove if exists.)


Browse to your mods. Simply select each file you want installed (Using CTRL+Click to select multiple files), and click "open". This will automatically replace the old files with your new mods, and you're pretty much done. It's always a smart idea to rebuild the archive after you've installed the mods. Actions>Rebuld Archive.


Now File>Save the .img file.
And we're all done!


FAQ & Troubleshooting:
Q: My Skin is completely white! What'd I do wrong?
A: Make sure your .txd file is the exact same name as the .dff file. (example: bmdrug.dff, bmdrug.txd) If the skin is white, the /txd file is not being matched up with the .dff. Remove the .txd you installed before, make sure the labels are the same, as stated before, and install it again.

Q: My wheel mod is completely white, I'm sure I installed the .dff and .txd's correctly.
A: Wheel mods are a bit different. You have to mod the veh_mods.ide file to tell gta which .txd file should be read for each wheel.
Go to your GTA folder>Date>Maps and open the veh_mods with notepad. find the name of the wheel. The line should look like so.

Code:

1078, wheel_lr3, vehicle, 100, 2097152

Wheel_Lr3 would be the .dff file, vehicle would be gta's default .txd The problem should be obvious.Your modded wheel_lr3, is trying to use the /txd from gta's defailt wheel textures, so it's not going to work. Your wheel mod should've come with a custom .txd file. You need to change "vehicle" to your "custom.txd" (The custom.txd could be anything, pay attention to your mod files.

Code:

1078, wheel_lr3, vehicle, 100, 2097152

Code:

1078, wheel_lr3, whateverTheNameIs, 100, 2097152

Now what your custom wheel is being told to read the custom .txd you should be fine.

Q: My game crashes at start up. What happened?
A: You didn't follow directions, or made a mistake. this is why you need backups, because unless you know EXACTLY what you did wrong, you'll have to uninstall and reinstall gta.