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''Note: the actual name of this article should be 'handling.cfg' but the first letter remains capitalised due to technical limitations.''
'''handling.cfg''' (or '''handling.dat''' or '''handling.meta''') is a file used by the [[GTA III Era|Grand Theft Auto III era]] game engines for vehicle data. In [[Grand Theft Auto IV]], the file is known as '''handling.dat''' and calculates more factors. In [[Grand Theft Auto V]], the file is known as '''handling.meta'''.


==Overview==
Being relatively simple to edit, many gamers tweak vehicle settings in order to change a vehicle's handling properties, such as acceleration, mass, center of mass, ride height, and braking force. The file is often edited when installing [[Modifications|vehicle mods]].
handling.cfg is a file used by the Grand Theft Auto III era game engines for vehicle data. Being relativly simple to edit, many gamers tweak vehicle settings in order to change a vehicle's handling properties, such as accelaration, mass, centre of mass, ride height and braking force.


==Criticisms==
== Criticisms ==
It is a generally held opinion that vehicles tend to have an unrealistic amount of traction, and hence have an exaggerated capacity to take corners at speed. This also renders sustained drifting almost impossible.
It is a generally held opinion that vehicles tend to have an unrealistic amount of traction, and hence have an exaggerated capacity to take corners at speed. This also renders sustained drifting almost impossible. The game engine calculates a vehicle's maximum speed based on its 'acceleration' value and its 'mass' value. This led the heavy duty trucks and buses in GTA III era games to have higher top speeds than the sports cars. The default brake force values on almost all vehicles are so high that any use of the brakes causes all four wheels to lock up, making it difficult to slow for corners. Those who seek a more realistic driving experience may tweak these settings.
The game engine calculates a vehicle's maximum speed based on its 'accelaration' value and its 'mass' value. This led the heavy duty trucks and buses in GTA III era games to have higher top speeds than the sports cars.
The default brake force values on almost all vehicles are so high that any use of the brakes causes all four wheels to lock up, making it difficult to slow for corners.
Those who seek a more realistic driving experience may tweak these settings (see below.)


==Further Reading==
Ironically, GTA IV's vehicle's handling system has been argued by some to be too realistic due to heavily decreased traction and  more subtle oversteer.
*Ben 'Cerbera' Millard's in-depth studies of handling.cfg and modifications: http://projectcerbera.com/gta/3-vc/tutorials/faq
 
== Original Files ==
These subpages contain the original handling.cfg files from their respective GTA games:
* [[/GTAIII|GTA III]]
* [[/GTAVC|GTA Vice City]]
* [[/GTASA|GTA San Andreas]]
* [[/GTALCS|GTA Liberty City Stories]]
* [[/GTAVCS|GTA Vice City Stories]]
* [[/GTAIV|GTA IV]]
* [[/GTAV|GTA V]]
 
{{modding}}{{lowercase title}}
 
[[Category:Modding]]

Revision as of 23:03, 28 April 2015

handling.cfg (or handling.dat or handling.meta) is a file used by the Grand Theft Auto III era game engines for vehicle data. In Grand Theft Auto IV, the file is known as handling.dat and calculates more factors. In Grand Theft Auto V, the file is known as handling.meta.

Being relatively simple to edit, many gamers tweak vehicle settings in order to change a vehicle's handling properties, such as acceleration, mass, center of mass, ride height, and braking force. The file is often edited when installing vehicle mods.

Criticisms

It is a generally held opinion that vehicles tend to have an unrealistic amount of traction, and hence have an exaggerated capacity to take corners at speed. This also renders sustained drifting almost impossible. The game engine calculates a vehicle's maximum speed based on its 'acceleration' value and its 'mass' value. This led the heavy duty trucks and buses in GTA III era games to have higher top speeds than the sports cars. The default brake force values on almost all vehicles are so high that any use of the brakes causes all four wheels to lock up, making it difficult to slow for corners. Those who seek a more realistic driving experience may tweak these settings.

Ironically, GTA IV's vehicle's handling system has been argued by some to be too realistic due to heavily decreased traction and more subtle oversteer.

Original Files

These subpages contain the original handling.cfg files from their respective GTA games: