useful tools
1. Free ID List Generator
https://www.mixmods.com.br/2021/07/generate-free-ids-list-mostrar-ids-vazios/
2. fastman92 processor (used to move maps)
https://www.mixmods.com.br/2020/08/programa-fastman92-processor-v1-5-gui/
3. Alci's IMG Editor
https://www.gtagarage.com/mods/show.php?id=17269
4. Grinch's IDE/IPL Sorting scripts
https://www.gtainside.com/en/sanandreas/tools/122488-ide-ipl-sorting-scripts/
step 0, get a clean copy of custom.ide, custom.img, and seabed.ipl
step 1, generate the list of free ids. go ingame and type GENEFREE
step 2, check the mod's ide file and see if the mod uses existing ids
step 3, check if the mod is placed within the border. if an object is placed beyond 3000 or -3000 then its outside the border and you need to move it
step 4, if the mod is outside the border, make sure the mod isnt too big. i do this by checking the highest coordinate (x or y) of the mod and comparing it with the lowest coordinate (x or y) of the mod
case A, the mod does not use existing ids
open the mod's ide file using a text editor, copy its contents and paste it into a copy of custom.ide
open the mod's ipl file using a text editor, copy the contents inside "inst" section, and paste it into the seabed.ipl anywhere aslong as its inside the "inst" section
add the mod's dff, txd, and col into custom.img using alci's img editor
case B, the mod uses existing ids
place the mod's ide file into grinch's "IDE ID Renumber Script" folder
check how many lines the mod's ide file has, open the free id list and check the ids that are free and amounts to more than how many lines the mod's ide file has
example: the mod's ide file has 123 lines, so i should use 6526-6862 which amounts to 337
run the python script, make sure the mod's ide file is in the script's folder
press enter
type the starting number, using the previous example, you would type 6526, then press enter
you can exit out of the script
now move the edited file into grinch's "IPL ID Sorting Script" folder
move the mod's ipl file into grinch's "IPL ID Sorting Script" folder
run the python script
press enter
double check and make sure the ipl file doesnt use the wrong ids
now you can just do the same steps as case A
case C, the mod is placed outside of the border
open your fastman92 processor folder
move the mod's ipl to the testing folder
make a backup of fastman92_processor.bat
right click on fastman92_processor.bat and click edit
replace the content with this:
@echo OFF
fastman92_processor.exe /file_type ipl /input_type text /input_game GAME_EXACT_GTASA_PC /input_filename "testing\leveldes.ipl" /output_type text /output_game GAME_EXACT_GTASA_PC /output_filename "testing\leveldes_moved.ipl" /move_position -69.0 420.0 0.0
pause
replace "leveldes.ipl" with the mod's ipl file name
replace "leveldes_moved.ipl" with whatever you want, let's say "the_mod.ipl"
the way it works is that you wanna put numbers and the tool will substract/add to the original coordinate depending on what you put
for example, -69.0 420.0 0.0
the original coordinate is 300.0 200.0 16.0
the result will be
231.0 620.0 16.0
now you can move on to case B or case A depending on the mod
case D, the map is too big
well, no way around it