Tutorial importing files with SparkIV

GTA-Expert » GTA IV » Tutorial importing files with SparkIV

You could import several files into the game, but the most important ones are:

  • .wtd: textures applied to 3D models.
  • .wdr: 1st format for 3D models (the most important ones are weapons).
  • .wdd: 2nd format for 3D models.
  • .wft: 3rd format for 3D models (the most important ones are vehicles).

These files are often located in archives .img (e.g. weapons.img, which contains weapons files) or .rpf (e.g. playerped.rpf, which contains clothes and other player's files).
This tutorial is for beginners, with images and detailed information. If you still have some problem, you could ask in our forum.
If you have a .png image to import, you could follow this tutorial about importing textures with OpenIV.

Introduction to SparkIV

First of all, download SparkIV, a viewer/editor for GTA IV.
Extract files and put them where do you want, e.g. "SparkIV" folder on your Desktop. Then click on "SparkIV.exe".

GTA 4 SparkIV

Click on "Browse" button and SparkIV will search your gta installation folder and will load all files. You could view files' hierarchy and open some textures/3D files preview.
In this tutorial, we'll import a .wtd (texture) file for a weapon, but the process is the same for any file (e.g. .wdd or .wdr etc.).

Backup your original files

If our .wtd will replace AK-47 with a golden one (download) you have to backup w_ak47.wtd.
As we said in the modding introduction, it's important create backups of your original files.
Open SparkIV and select \pc\models\cdimages folder, then open weapons.img, as in the picture.

Importazione files

Scroll the list until you see w_ak47.wtd, select it and click on "Export" button to export the file.

Importazione files

You have to choose destination folder for your backup, e.g. "GTA IV Backup".

How to insert new files

Finally, we could import our new file. Select \pc\models\cdimages folder and open weapons.img.

Importazione files

Now, click on "Import" button, as in the picture.

Importazione files

Now, you have to load your file (browse and find it).

Importazione files

Once you have imported file/files, you have to rebuild the archive: click on "Rebuild" button and wait for a few seconds.

Importazione files

Now, you have imported your file.