Today, we are releasing OpenIV 2.9.2. This version does not includes new features but contains important changes to provide support for the latest version of Grand Theft Auto V.
Grand Theft Auto V
First time since 2015, we have updated OpenIV.ASI – our plugin, which provides mods support for Grand Theft Auto V. The latest version of GTA V has some non-critical changes in the code, which affected by OpenIV.ASI, and we made similar changes in our code. Without those changes in OpenIV.ASI, your game had crash during loading screen in some very specific scenario, only when you have Simplified Chinese language selected in game. Use ASI Manager to update OpenIV.ASI in your game folder.
General changes, improvements, and fixes
• We fixed an issue where sometimes OpenIV crashes while renaming folders inside archives.
• We fixed an issue where import of texture image with 2×2 sizes was impossible due to infinite loading.
• We fixed an issue where files was not shown in OpenIV after they was drag-and-dropped in game folder using Windows File Explorer.
We have an instruction how to translate OpenIV into your own language and we are calling for you to do so. You can find the localization guide here on GitHub. This version does not have differences from 2.9.1.
Open folder: You now can open folders the same way as archives. Use menu “File > Open folder…” and select folder you want to open. Selected folder will appear at the end of the list in navigation tree.
Delete confirmation dialog: OpenIV will now show you delete configuration dialog, it will help you to avoid accidental removal of game files. You can disable this feature in OpenIV configuration.
Grand Theft Auto V
• We added support for carvariations.ymt file
• We added support for vfxvehicleinfo.ymt file
You can edit those files using inbuilt OpenIV Text editor or export them to META/XML format.
Grand Theft Auto IV
• We fixed an issue where wrong High Level Code was generated in SCO Viewer.
General changes, improvements, and fixes
• We fixed an issue where it was impossible to use context menu on travel buttons (Back/Forward) when history list contain many items.
• We fixed an issue where some users might get “Unable to initialize Windows DirectX subsystem” fatal error message.
• We added ability to use keyboard arrow keys to navigate through shaders information in models viewer.
• We made minor visual changes in “More information” dialog in models viewer.
• We fixed an issue where users might see “Confirm edit mode” dialog while creating archive in edit mode.
• We changed keyboard shortcut for creating new archive from “Ctrl + N” to “Ctrl + Shift + N”.
• We added ability to use “Ctrl + N” keyboard shortcut for creating new archive in current location (Same as “Ctrl + D” for folder).
• We fixed an issue where status bar does not updates when items are added or removed.
• We fixed an issue resulting in unexpected behavior when double-clicking on group header in file list.
• You now can use “Shift + Delete” keyboard shortcut for permanently deleting files while using Recycle Bin (This works for files on disk not for files in archives).
• We fixed an issue resulting in “Edit mode” button become disabled in specific scenario.
• We improved support for Junctions or Symbolic links. You now will be able to use global search while your game folder is Symbolic links.
• We changed the way how Size column is displayed in file list. Now it works just like Windows File Explorer.
• Some more changes was made, they are minor or are not worthy of mention.
We have an instruction how to translate OpenIV into your own language and we are calling for you to do so. You can find the localization guide here on GitHub. As for existing localizations you can find list of differences between 2.9 and 2.9.1 here.
In order to qualify all of the questions we had received during past weeks, we make some explanations: Unfortunately, we were unable to answer those questions earlier due to real life (yeah we have some).
The community
First of all, we want to say “Thank you” to everyone who supported us in this tough situation. We’re very grateful for your support; for demonstration of the fact, that modding community is still a minority, but very vocal, creative and determined minority. You made the impossible and this story is already scribed into the history of PC gaming and the Internet itself.
Yes, this is your victory! Congratulations and many thanks once again!
OpenIV and modding
The development of OpenIV will be continued as before. OpenIV never supported GTA Online modding and will not support it in the future. Our work will be continued within the Rockstar modding policy.
Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto V
Unfortunately, our highly anticipated mod “Liberty City in GTA V” will not be released because it clearly contradicts with Rockstar modding policy. Liberty City mod is a big loss for us, since it was a huge part of our motivation to push OpenIV functionality.
If you are wondering what is next, well, we are currently revising our plans for the future.
We feared that this day would come… And now it’s here.
The day, when GTA modding was declared illegal.
GTA modding had long and glorious history.
Since GTA III, people have created lots of different mods: from simple texture replacements to impressive full conversions.
And the modding always was a “gray zone” — a battlefield between lawyers and PR…
For almost ten years of OpenIV development, we had tried to play as nice as possible and even more:
Strictly following of Civil Code of Russia (only reverse engineering for interoperability).
Only clean-room reverse engineering.
No distribution of original data and code.
And absolutely no messing with Online…
On June 5th, 2017, we had received an official Cease-and-Desist letter.
It clearly says, that with OpenIV we “allow third parties to defeat security features of its software and modify that software in violation Take-Two’s rights“.
Yes, this letter is illiterate both technically and grammatically (really, they don’t even bothered with proof-reading the text).
Yes, we can go to court and yet again prove that modding is fair use and our actions are legal.
Yes, we could. But we decided not to.
Going to court will take at least few months of our time and huge amount of efforts, and, at best, we’ll get absolutely nothing.
Spending time just to restore status quo is really unproductive, and all the money in the world can’t compensate the loss of time.
So, we decided to agree with their claims and we’re stopping distribution of OpenIV.
It was a hard decision, but when any modding activity has been declared illegal, we can’t see any possibilities to continue this process,
unless top management of Take-Two company makes an official statement about modding, which can be used in court.
We are happy to announce the release of OpenIV 2.9! This release includes new tools, map editing features for Grand Theft Auto V and numerous improvements and bug fixes in the different areas of OpenIV.
Important note
It was almost a year since last major OpenIV release, because of that, we decided to delay some features, move them into future versions and make release with current state. This is means our original schedule for the first half of 2017 will be slightly changed. Instead of one OpenIV 2.9.1 release, we are going to have several 2.9.X versions before OpenIV 3.0. Unfortunately, this also means our Liberty City in GTA V modification also behind the schedule, but we still hope to release first beta around late spring. We hope you can understand our decision.
Text Editor
OpenIV now have brand new inbuilt Text Editor, which allows you to edit XML, META and other text files directly in OpenIV without exporting them from archives. New Text Editor has have many useful features like syntax highlighting, customizable search, code folding and more. We will continue to our work on text editor improvements and new features, please report any issues or suggestions you have.
Grand Theft Auto V
For Grand Theft Auto V we have long awaited editing capabilities for map files, such as .ymap, .ytyp and _manifest.ymt. Now you are able to export those files into META/XML format or edit them directly in new OpenIV Text Editor. We also provided support for carcols.ymt and levels.ymt, you will be able to edit those files as well. We will continue our work to support more .ymt/.ymf files in the future releases.
openFormats for Grand Theft Auto V
We also have made numerous changes and improvements to both models (YDR/ODR) and collisions (YBN/OBN) openFormats for Grand Theft Auto V. With those changes you will have more features in models and collision editing.
The “mods” folder support
The “mods” folder became important addition to Grand Theft Auto V modding and we continue to improve your experience with it. We added new options, which gives you more control of editing game files.
Tools improvements
Besides new Text Editor we made some changes in other OpenIV tools. For example, in the Search tool you now will be able to select area where you want to make search. It can be game or mods folder only or both of them.
Other important changes
We also made many other changes and tried to fix some annoying bugs. As always, you can find full change log here.
UI Localization
Finally we have written an instruction how to translate OpenIV into your own language and we are calling for you to do so. You can find the localization guide here on GitHub. As for existing localizations you can find list of differences between 2.8 and 2.9 here.
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