DAT

DAT is the extension used for general data files for Grand Theft Auto. They are commonly plain text files (although there are binary ones) and many have different structures.

List of data files

Files that do not have a specific game are present in every game of GTA 3D series (GTA III, GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas) and GTA HD series (GTA IV, GTA V).

Game	File	Description	Notes
	CAPS.DAT	Stores information about the capabilities of the user video card.	binary file
	FemalePlayerSettings.dat, MalePlayerSettings.dat	Contains info necessary to render the multiplayer player
	spath*.dat	Defines script path data for objects
	ambient.dat
	animgrp.dat, animgrp1.dat	Contains predefined animation sequences (By default different types of walking)
	animviewer.dat
	ar_stats.dat		Present in GTA IV but unused?
	bloodFx.dat
	carcols.dat	Contains information about vehicle colors
	cargrp.dat
	carmods.dat	Defines vehicle tuning abilities and additional car components which can be attached to vehicles using the tuning garages.
	CHASE*.DAT	Controls all cars in the introduction sequence	binary files located in the .\data\paths directory
	cj_gta.dat
	clothes.dat	Defines different rules for clothing. There are different commands to generate special behaving rules for different clothes the player is able to buy.	Present in GTA IV and GTA V but unused.
	credits*.dat
	cullzone.dat	Contains cullzones flags and coordinates	binary file, unused in Vice City
	cullzoneempty.dat		binary file, unused
	default.dat	General map listing file
	distantlights.dat		binary file
	entityFx.dat
	explosionFx.dat
	fistfite.dat	Contains information for melee attacks
	flight*.dat	Defines path data for all airborne NPC aircraft
	fonts.dat	Contains information about the fonts used in the game	The fonts are split up into sprites. Fonts themselves are located in the .\models\fonts.txd texture dictionary.
	frontend.dat
	furnitur.dat	This file is unused and can be left blank, but it must not be deleted since the game tries to parse it. It originally contains information about furniture which was planned to be used for automatically generating different furniture in interiors. However, this file and the interior models/collision files are not used by the game engine, and other required files are missing.	Present in GTA IV but unused?
	gridref.dat	Defines responsibilities of certain map areas and their owners for Rockstar's internal bug tracking system called Bugstar.	Leftover from San Andreas development stage, apparently not required by the game.
	gta.dat	General map listing file	called gta3.dat for GTA 3 and gta-vc.dat for Vice City
	gta_quick.dat
	handling.dat	Contains the attributes of all vehicles in the game (handling.cfg from previous games)
	hud.dat	Contains initial display settings for each HUD component
	hudcolor.dat	Contains RGB colour values that the game uses
	loadingscreens*.dat	Contains the animation of static loading screen images
	map*.dat		located in the .\data\maps directory, unused
	materialFx.dat
	materials.dat
	melee.dat		Present in GTA IV but unused?
	meleeAnims.dat	Specifies all anims available to the melee system
	moveblend.dat	Contains some parameters for blended ped animation
	nav.dat	This file is read in to initialise the "CPathServer" pathfinding class
	navprecalc.dat		binary file
	networktest.dat
	numplate.dat		Present in GTA IV and GTA V but unused.
	object.dat	Defines additional object information for dynamic objects
	ped.dat	Contains information about pedtypes and their relationships
	pedProps.dat
	pedgrp.dat	Contains information about default spawned characters for each zone
	pedpersonality.dat
	pedpopulation.dat		binary file
	pedstats.dat	Specifies properties of characters
	plants.dat
	polydensity.dat
	popcycle.dat
	procobj.dat
	scenarios.dat
	shopping.dat	Describes additional shopping information for various features (like car modifications or clothes). It defines their price just as their influence on different statistics. All information of this file can be requested by the script where it gets processed.
	statdisp.dat
	surface.dat	Contains friction multipliers for all surfaces
	surfaud.dat
	surfinfo.dat
	timecyc.dat	Controls the weather and the game's appearance
	timecycp.dat	Controls the weather and the game's appearance
	tracks*.dat		located in the .\data\paths directory
	train.dat, train2.dat	Stores fixed train camera nodes	Present in Vice City but unused
	visualSettings.dat (IV)	Stores initial values for configuration of in game elements
	water.dat	Controls sea level and water maps
	water1.dat
	waterpro.dat
	weapon.dat	Controls weapon properties