I don't know if it will help a lot of people, but as I saw some members asking "how do you..." or "what do you use for..." in topics, maybe this list will interest a few beginners.
If you have suggestions, feel free to tell me. I didn't put all the tools, because some of them are crap or because another tool does the same thing, better.

Finding alternatives easily : go to this website for generic tools or this one for GTA IV specific tools.
 
 
- Text
 
Notepad++ : forget the good old Windows Notepad, this one is powerful, adaptative, and full of options. Perfect for modifying data files or coding.
Download
 
 
- Image
 
Gimp2 : if you want to make textures or other graphic stuff, here is the champion.
Download - Plugins
 
Alternative : Paint.NET
 
 
- Sound
 
Audacity : cut, add effects, and fix your audio files. Useful if you are modding GTA IV audio.
Download
 
 
- Archive
 
7zip : please, get rid of this awful WinRAR, 7zip is 100% free and as effective. You'll need a tool like this to extract or compress files.
Download
 
Alternative : PeaZip
 
 
- Script
 
VisualStudio Express : if you want to create C# or Vb.NET scripts. Need a lot of learning !
Download 2010 - Download 2012 (I find 2010 way better)
 
ScriptHookDotNet Dev & Docs : necessary for GTA IV .NET scripting. Look at GTA forums in IV Coding section for tutorials, samples, and help. Need a lot of learning !
Download
 
 
- GTA IV Specific
 
OpenIV : import, export, edit files. Full of options. A must have for car or ped mods and other things like that. Plus, you can use OpenFormats.
Download
 
SparkIV : same as OpenIV without OpenFormats. Choose the one you want. I use both, following my needs.
Download
 
IVneedle : it can edit a lot of data files. I mean, a lot, really. Handling, Timecyc, Peds, etc...
Download
 
X GXT Editor : if you need to rename a car, a street, or whatever. Useful if you have replaced your police cars and want a coherent name for example.
Download
 
GTA-IVaud : open, extract, replace audio files. It's why Audacity was listed above ;) Be advised that some audio files like loading theme can't be edited for the moment.
Download
 
 
///////////////////////
About 3D modeling : I thought of Blender as a free alternative of Zmodeler. Yeah, it doesn't support GTA IV formats, but maybe you can export in an open format supported by OpenIV.
I didn't test it, so if someone knows or is gonna test, I would like to know if it's possible and I'll add it in this list of course.
 

 

- Resources

 

Abstract Fonts / Dafont / FontSquirrel : download free various fonts for your textures.

Go to AF - Go to DF - Go to FS

 

LCPDFR Development Resources / GPM Development Support : download 3D modeling objects, templates, and misc other things.

Go to LCPDFR-DR - Go to GPM-DS

 

DeviantArt Resources & Stock : download Photoshop/Gimp brushes, texture filters, logos, and other graphics stuff.

Go to DA-RS

 

FreeSound : the name says it all, here you'll find a lot of sound effects for your scripts/audio mods.

Go to Freesound

 

 

- Hosting Websites
if you need to host some testing files or other stuff that can't be uploaded to lcpdfr.com
 
Dropbox : free account : 2GB, can be extended a little for free. Size per file limit : web : 300MB / client : none.
Go !
 
Google Drive : free account : 5GB, if you have a gmail/google account, you have a GoogleDrive account. Size per file limit : 10GB.
Go !
 
Mega : free account : 50GB. Size per file limit : none.
Go !
 
Servimg : image hosting only, useful for screenshots or other illustrations.
Go !
 
Skydrive : 7GB, if you have an hotmail or live or outlook mail account, you have a Skydrive account. Size per file limit : web : 300MB / client : 2GB.
Go !
 
I don't include 4shared because downloaders need an account and MediaFire because it deletes files after a month without downloading.
About image hosting, I don't include Imageshack or Ompldr because sometimes images are deleted.

 

 

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Don't forget to read / watch the helpful tutorials of our beloved website too !

Edited May 23, 201312 yr by DarthWound

Thanks :D

My pleasure ^^ most of them are well-known so some members will find this thread useless lol, but if it can helps beginners, I didn't waste my time.

This is an excellent post sir!! Great Job! :D

Thanks :)

GTA-IVaud 1.1.6 ------> Link

Nice collection, but what the fuck is a "Go"? (I do obviously know what it is, but I still think you should use MB and GB here, the english abbreviations)

@Matosh : thanks for the link, I'll update.

@Break : lol you're right, I'm used to the french abbreviations... I'm gonna fix it, thanks.

---

edit : done

Edited May 11, 201312 yr by DarthWound

Topic Pinned

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Thanks a lot! Just downloaded 5 of those!

Thanks a lot! Just downloaded 5 of those!

 

lol thanks, I'm glad that it helps.

I'm just curious, what are the 5 you've downloaded ?

 

lol thanks, I'm glad that it helps.

I'm just curious, what are the 5 you've downloaded ?

 

 

Notepad++, Gimp2, Audacity, IVNeedle, X GXT Editor. Probably won't use all of them anytime soon, but are nice to have!

Edited May 11, 201312 yr by willpv23

Notepad++ and Gimp2 can be useful for a lot of stuff and everyday tasks, I'm glad that you've discovered those ones here :)

Also.. I believe you can use OpenIV for adding/replacing audio files also. I always replace sirens in it!

 

Edit: Fixed Spelling lol :P

Edited May 14, 201312 yr by Sasrical

Yeah, OpenIV can not only replace audio files like Spark but also add them.

Oops, thanks guys, I fixed it. I thought I read that in the forums (I must admit that I use more spark than open).

I downloaded X GTX editor, and every time I try to boot it I get this:

 

 

 

Here's what I get in the errors.txt

Index was outside the bounds of the array.
   at XModdingUtils.GTASA.UserSettings.Open(String filePath)
   at XModdingUtils.GTASA.UserSettings.get_CurrentUserSetting()
   at X_GXT_Editor.PreviewSet..ctor()
   at X_GXT_Editor.Main..ctor()
   at X_GXT_Editor.Program.Main()

Edited May 19, 201312 yr by BroJam67

I had this error too a few months ago.

I asked to the creator of this software, and his solution worked (see spoiler).

Check in errors.txt of X GXT that GTA SA is mentionned.

 

Here are the emails about this error :

ME

Hi man, been using your awesome editor since a long long time, I have now an error :
"The index is outside of limits of the frame" <- weird translation because I don't really know what's the problem
"L'index se trouve en dehors des limites du tableau" <- original french error message

Errors.txt :
L'index se trouve en dehors des limites du tableau.
   à XModdingUtils.GTASA.UserSettings.Open(String filePath)
   à XModdingUtils.GTASA.UserSettings.get_CurrentUserSetting()
   à X_GXT_Editor.PreviewSet..ctor()
   à X_GXT_Editor.Main..ctor()
   à X_GXT_Editor.Program.Main()

I haven't did anything, just reinstalled my GTA IV a few days ago. It seems to be the cause... stange :/
I tried removing and reinstalling the editor, removing the user.config in AppData and every other related folders, but I still have the error.

Thanks for your help :)

 

HIM

 

Hey there,

The problem is with your GTA SA. Your "gta_sa.set"(inside "<DOCUMENTS>GTA San Andreas User Files" directory) seems to be corrupted. Either delete that file or rename it to something else.

 

ME

LoL thanks a lot, I haven't seen the "SA" in the errors.txt file, I didn't thought of GTA SA at all, I don't play it often.
Have a nice day and thanks again !

I had this error too a few months ago.

I asked to the creator of this software, and his solution worked (see spoiler).

Check in errors.txt of X GXT that GTA SA is mentionned.

 

Here are the emails about this error :

ME

 

HIM

 

 

ME

 

 

Thanks! It worked fine :)

What about a good video editor?