OpenIV

OpenIV is a robust and comprehensive tool kit that allows prospective modders with the utilities they need to make adjustments to some of the most popular Rockstar games. Rockstar Games is perhaps the most aptly named developers working in the game industry. Every single one of their games exudes swagger, and they've earned a reputation as a company able to put out games with a depth and quality largely unparalleled in the industry. While the Grand Theft Auto series in particular is a franchise so big that every release is an event, practically every game Rockstar puts out is loaded with hundreds of hours of possibilities. For some fans, that's not enough. A number of modding tools have appeared on the market that allow you to change everything from the physics to the character models to the abilities available to players and the physics that define the world. OpenIV is one of the best around, and it's the go to platform you want to own if you're looking to dig into the guts of a Rockstar game and make something original with what's available there. It allows you to manage and archive components of Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto V, and Max Payne 3.

The one word that most aptly describes OpenIV is ambitious. This is a piece of software that was initially designed with the ambition of porting Liberty City - the setting of Grand Theft Auto IV - over to the newest iteration of the franchise. While a cease and desist order shuttered this notion, that doesn't mean that OpenIV shut down. They've continued to update and expand their tool to meet the needs of the community while navigating the standards set out by Rockstar Games. There's no doubt that novices will be overwhelmed by what's available here. OpenIV is designed with the experienced modder in time, but the people willing to put in the work will find a wide range of different utilities available to them. Fortunately, it comes with an expansive wiki run by the community, documentation, and a forum that the enterprising modder can use to get caught up on the ins and outs of the platform.

The big bonus of OpenIV is how easy it makes modeling within the engine that Rockstar created. Whether you're looking to create original characters and cars or fundamentally change the structure of the city, there are plenty of options available to you. An archives manager is available for both IMG and RPF files, and there's a built in view for most of the fundamental files used in these games. They also include an audio player and the ability to both import and export popular 3D files from other modelling programs. It's a complex system, but it's an invaluable asset for anyone looking to mess around with the code and design of these core games.

Pros:

• One of the most powerful modding tools for Rockstar games on the market
• An open source and free to use platform

Con:

• Limited by Rockstar terms of use
• Can be incredibly difficult for newcomers to understand