


  This folder contains a modded maps > timecyc.dat file, which creates less fog
and greater clipping distance, and modded maps > .ide files for greater draw
distance.


  Installation

  To increase clipping distance and reduce fog, Copy and Paste timecyc.dat into
the maps folder, clicking to replace when asked.

  To increase draw distance, Copy and Paste generic.ide into the maps folder,
clicking to replace when asked, and do the same with the other .ide files to put
each in their separate same name sub-folder of the maps folder (comnbtm.ide in
the comnbtm sub-folder, etc.).

  I supply the original files in case you want to revert to the original draw
distance, etc.  If something happens to them and you want to revert to unmodded
draw distance, etc., you can either download this mod again, download the "GTA
III" data folder from gta-downloads at the next link, or reinstall the game.
  http://www.gta-downloads.com/en/gta3/file-backups/2169-data-folder.html

****


  If you want to mod any of these files yourself, right click the data > maps
folder, click Properties, and change the folder so it isn't "read only" before
editing.  I usually use Notepad to edit files.

  The timecyc.dat file can be edited with Notepad or Cerbera's CFGStudio 2.  I
used the latter to be sure of which column of numbers I was editing then edited
and saved with Notepad.  Cerbera's CFGStudio 2 saves a file with a minimum of
spaces between entries for the speedier reading of the file by the game.  Note-
pad saves a file in the original format.

****


  timecyc.dat--clipping and fog

  There are various ways to mod timecyc.dat to suit your needs.  When "GTA IV"
came out in 2008, it was demanding on many PCs of the time, so some wanted to
decrease clipping distance or shadows for increased frames per second.

  "GTA III" showed the opposite approach.  At times, it decreased how far off
things are shown (FarClp--far clip: 150.0 to 2000.0) and increased fog (FogSt--
fog start: -200 to 100--the numbers determine where the fog starts in relation-
ship to the "camera," so I'm assuming negative numbers start it behind the "cam-
era") to the degree it did to allow the game to be played on a wider range of
PCs of the time.  But the average gaming PC has become a lot stronger since
2002.

  "...the term "clipping" is generally used to mean avoiding the drawing of
things outside the camera's field of view...."
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipping_(computer_graphics)

  The maximimum visibility in the unmodded "III" uses FarClip 2000.0 (most or
all of the whole map?) and FogSt 100.0.  ("San Andreas" uses a smaller maximum
FarClip because the map is a lot bigger.  The "4X Draw Distance Mod" by Sunrie,
which I've used and recommend, increases SA clipping distance four times to
1600.0.  Even then, having C.J. look straight down can make the ground look a
little glitchy.)
  http://www.gtagarage.com/mods/show.php?id=3225

  Assuming most everyone these days is satisfied with the best visibility in
"GTA III" but might still like some variety in the weather, I diminished the de-
creases in visibility due to clipping and fog to 1/5th.

  I didn't change anything about the schedule for how often it rains, etc., but
when it rains you just see some fog and diminished visibility on the horizon (as
in most cases in real life or in "Vice City")--the fog isn't right in Claude's
face.  You don't have to worry that there might be a building just ahead of the
Dodo, which you can't turn very quickly, in the fog.

  Unmodded timecyc.dat (I didn't note sequences of repeated pairs of numbers
                         here)

  FarClp   FogSt

  2000.0   100.0
  2000.0    10.0
  1150.0   -22.0
   650.0     5.0
   150.0  -200.0
   150.0  -100.0
   190.0   -50.0
   220.0   -50.0
   250.0   -50.0
   250.0   -30.0
   200.0   -50.0
   190.0   -60.0
   150.0   -70.0
   150.0   -80.0
   150.0  -100.0

  Modded timecyc.dat (I didn't note sequences of repeated pairs of numbers here)

  I doubled the maximum for FarClp (clipping distance) from 2000.0 to 4000.0 for
FarClp when coupled with the biggest number for Fogst, 100, and the first de-
crease in Fogst.  I kept what is usually the first decrease in Farclp from
2000.0, 1150.0, 2000.0.

  After that I made the amount of decreases from the usual maximum number for
Farclp 1/5th as big.

  For example, 650.0 is 1350.0 less than 2000.0, so I changed the decrease to be
1/5th of 1350.0, 270.0, less than 2000.0, which results in a FarClp of 1730.0.

  For FogSt, I did the same to give numbers only 1/5th as much a decrease from
100.0.  For example, 10 is 90 less than 100, 1/5th of 90 is 18, so I made the
number 18 less than 100, which is 82. 

  FarClp   FogSt

  4000.0   100.0
  4000.0    82.0
  2000.0    75.6
  1730.0    81.0
  1630.0    40.0
  1630.0    60.0
  1638.0    70.0
  1644.0    70.0
  1650.0    70.0
  1650.0    74.0
  1640.0    70.0
  1638.0    68.0
  1630.0    66.0
  1630.0    64.0
  1630.0    60.0

  Alternatively, you could rename timecyc2.dat to timecyc.dat and use it.  It's
the same except it uses less FarClp distance at the high end.

****


  .ide files--draw distance

  Some mods called draw distance mods actually just increase clipping distance.
Basically, clipping distance refers to how far across the map you can see--how
much farther away blurry Long Distance (LOD) models begin is unchanged.  Part of
what draw distance determines is how far away you can see the more detailed tex-
tures.

  "Draw distance is a computer graphics term, defined as the distance in a three
dimensional scene that is still drawn by the rendering engine.  Polygons that
lie behind the draw distance won't be drawn to the screen."
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draw_distance

  The GTA forums tutorial by Opius at the next link includes an explanation
about "GTA III" draw distance and .ide files.
  http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=140597

  According to it, the columns in an .ide file refer to:

  ID #, DFF Name, TXD Name, Unknown, Draw Distance, Render properties

  It also recommends that if the game crashes to make sure the draw distance of
solid objects is set to above 0 and under 300.  A mod with a COL file can appear
non-solid if the draw distance is 300 or over.  COL files are only used if the
draw distance of an object is 299 or lower.


  The way the game loads section of the map (such as when Claude drives across
the bridge from Portland to Staunton) and assigns draw distance to hundreds of
things is okay with me.  As spaceeinstein showed by the way he modded map.zon
for his draw distance mod for "Vice City," you can mod the game so the whole map
shows up at once but then you'd probably want to max out the draw distance on
90-some percent of things, which creates a big performance decrease.  I didn't
want to go that far.

  "GTA III" already gives a draw distance of 299 or near that for a lot of
things.  Some things that have a small draw distance, like a bench in an alley
in Shoreside Vale, don't need to be seen clearly from Portland.  So I added a
little draw distance to things at the high and low ends of the range with a lit-
tle more added to things with draw distance in the middle of the range.  Those
things are meant to be seen from pretty far away, like across much of a town,
and this way you could see them from even farther away.

  (Most "GTA III" draw distance entries are whole numbers, but I occasionally
saw an entry like the next one, in comnbtm.ide, which gives draw distance for
what's probably a tenament building ladder as 152.25:

2077, tenament1ad, tenblock6aa, 1, 152.25, 0

  which made me wonder if I was screwing up somebody's carefully decided rela-
tionship of these draw distances.)

  Increasing draw distance the way I did probably increases the demands on your
PC more than the clipping and fog start changes of my modded timecyc.dat.  But I
tested both on an old PC (single core CPU, AGP graphics card, etc.) without any
problems.

****


  Added notes

  The .ide files I modded include data for car and ped paths--I didn't test it,
but I think you can adjust the draw distance for each of them.  If so, that may
be the way to have vehicles and peds appear over a greater portion of the map,
which some message boards I've read indicate some people would like.

  If you're one of them, remember that such an increase doesn't just create a
change in graphics but in gameplay.  Do you really want to have Claude drive
through even more "GTA III" traffic?  If I had to do that I'd have all the more
reasons to want to use a car modded to be a super car to bump it out of the way. 

****


  As mentioned above, "Spaceeinstein's DrawDistance Mod" suggested a helpful
idea for those with powerful computers.  You can edit map.zon in "Vice City" to
just contain

  map
  end

  and the whole map of Vice City will load at once instead of a part at a time.
  http://web.archive.org/web/20051122073056/http://www.gtaforums.com/index.
php?showtopic=180909
  http://www.gtagarage.com/mods/show.php?id=876
  http://www.gtamodding.com/wiki/ZONE

****


  "Vice City" timecyc.dat definitions according to a post at thefullwiki.org
  http://misc.thefullwiki.org/TimeCyc_Definition

  Shdw  integer Intensity of pedestrian, vehicle, and lamp shadows. 0 is trans-
parent, 100 seems to be about "normal", and values past that make the shadow
darker and darker. 500 will produce almost pure black shadows. 

  FarClp  The clipping plane that limits maximum visibility. Setting the value
to a smaller number produces a short visibility range, whereas larger numbers
mean you can see further. If the number is set too low (I tried 20.0), the game
will get glitchy and may not load textures! The average value for this entry is
2000.0 and most of the map is visible with this value.

  FogSt  Fog start position relative to camera? Negatives allowed. Untested.

  WaterRGBA  Color Controls the color of the water. On the pc version of the
game, the water texture is greenish-blue. It needs to be converted to grayscale
to fully see the effect of changing the water color in the timecyc.dat, as the
colors defined in this file, are multiplied by the water texture color ingame.
The last part of RGBA, the A, is the alpha channel and it controls the level of
transparency for the water. 0, will make the water totally transparent, while
255 will make the water as opaque as the game will allow. 
